Ebay installs solar panels after Utah lobbying victory

Ebay has installed its largest renewable energy project - a 665 kW solar installation at its Topaz data center in South Jordan, Utah - enabled by a recent legislative victory. Senate Bill 12, signed into law on March 21, allows companies to buy and transmit power directly from renewable energy developers. 

Ebay lobbied for the law with an association of data center professionals representing 1,000 companies in 66 countries, including Google, Oracle, Twitter and Adobe. The Utah legislation is free-market based, giving choice to major energy users when it comes to sourcing their energy, according to Mindy Lubber, president of investor advocacy organization Ceres, writing in Forbes. That reduces exposure to fossil fuel prices and increases a company's ability to control energy costs, Lubber said. 

Grant program supported up to 75,000 wind and solar jobs: congress killed it anyway

A federal grant program created to boost renewable energy development during the height of the economic crisis supported 75,000 jobs and more than $25 billion in economic activity, according to a new analysis from the Department of Energy.

The grant program was created in February of 2009 as part of the stimulus package. It allowed developers to take a cash grant through the Treasury in lieu of a tax credit, helping thaw out the frozen capital markets and stimulate strong activity in the renewable energy sector.

Big energy states meet to discuss the future of energy policy

A group of states responsible for almost a third of the domestic energy production have joined forces to assert their rights to manage their own resources and environment.

The Energy Producing States Committee officially launched Thursday in inauspicious fashion, as about two dozen legislators, energy company representatives and government staffers met in a small conference room in a downtown Salt Lake City hotel. During the first of two days of meetings, the members hammered out their mission statement and heard presentations on the future of American fossil fuels, renewable energies and nuclear power.

Solar industry scores another record year in market value

The solar industry seems to have turned in yet another record-breaking year in 2010, as the total market value of the sector spiked 67% to $6 billion from $3.6 billion in 2009, according to an annual report.

Companies installed 878 megawatts of photovoltaic solar and 78 megawatts of concentrating solar power facilities, enough to power about 200,000 homes, according to trade group Solar Energy Industries Assn. and GTM Research on Thursday.