Washington: House sends Hatfield's biomass bill to Gov. Gregoire

The state House on Tuesday overwhelmingly approved a bill to include decades-old wood waste incinerators and boilers at pulp mills as renewable energy.

The bill, sponsored by Sen. Brian Hatfield, D-Raymond, now awaits Gov. Chris Gregoire's signature to become law. It is expected to allow Weyerhaeuser Co., Longview Fibre Paper & Packaging Inc. and other pulp producers to earn millions of dollars in renewable, long-term energy sales.

New bill would classify ethanol derived from coal & natural gas as 'renewable resource'

Six members of the House of Representatives introduced a bill on Wednesday that would include ethanol produced by nontraditional means, such as coal- and gas-derived ethanol, in the federal renewable fuels mandate.

Ethanol derived from petroleum-based sources would be competing in a market currently dominated by corn-derived ethanol. Other biofuels have been slow to reach commercial viability, and some of the most promising next-generation fuels have yet to even leave the laboratory, so demand for new sources of ethanol has climbed higher and higher.

NJ Governor Christie unveils final draft of energy master plan

Reaction to Gov. Chris Christie's final energy master plan draft was mixed, but solar industry advocates endorsed the changes to the plan intended to stabilize the market for a key incentive.

The plan, which requires legislative approval, serves as the outline for the state's energy policy, including the state's strategy for renewable and clean energy. The final plan follows the release of a draft version in June. Since then, the Board of Public Utilities has held three stakeholder meetings and received comments from 300 companies, associations and individuals, the administration said.

NJ renewable energy proposal debated

New Jersey’s proposed energy policy calls for 22.5 percent of the state’s power to come from renewable sources within 10 years — a goal that was the subject of heavy debate at a legislative hearing attended by nearly 100 people Thursday.

Environmentalists said they want a 30 percent target, but business leaders said that would drive their costs up.

Eminent domain mining law posed to change

Nevada's 130-year-old legal provision giving mining companies the right of eminent domain might be about to get buried because of an unlikely coalition of liberal and conservative forces.

Environmental activists and Tea Party Republicans have joined forces in criticizing the provision, which dates back to Nevada's Comstock era when mining companies ruled the state's economy and its politics.

Green jobs growing in California

Green jobs at clean-tech or alternative-energy companies are flourishing in California, with nearly a quarter of them based in Los Angeles, a study has found.

Employers offering jobs in fields such as solar power generation, electric vehicle development, environmental consultation and more added 5,000 jobs in 2008. About 174,000 Californians were working in eco-friendly fields by early 2009, compared with 111,000 in 1995, said nonprofit research group Next 10.

Solar debate hot in the southwest desert

On the construction site of the $2 billion Ivanpah solar power plant here, burly laborers slowly walk around their trucks, dropping to their knees to peer underneath before turning the ignition. Hanging on each rearview mirror is a placard warning workers to “Look under your car for desert tortoise before you drive away!”