News Articles

MBEF is following strategic national energy news that impacts both the economy and our environment.

• U.S. Department of Energy: EPA and USDA to Promote Renewable Energy Generation from Livestock
  

  May 5, 2010

  The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced a new interagency agreement on May 3 to promote renewable energy generation and slash greenhouse gas emissions from livestock operations. The agreement expands the work of the AgStar program, a joint EPA-USDA effort that helps livestock producers reduce methane emissions from their operations. The beefed-up program will provide up to $3.9 million over the next five years to help the facilities overcome obstacles that prevent them from recovering and using biogas, the methane-rich gas produced by the decomposition of manure. The collaboration will expand technical assistance efforts and improve technical standards for the construction and evaluation of biogas recovery systems. The partnership will also expand outreach to livestock producers and assist them with pre-feasibility studies. [read more]

• U.S. Department of Energy: NREL: More Customers are Participating in Utility Green Power Programs
  

  May 5, 2010

  The number of U.S. utility customers participating in voluntary green power programs continues to grow steadily, reaching more than 650,000 in 2009, according to DOE's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). That's a gain of about 50,000 customers since 2008, or about 8%, despite the tough economic conditions. Also, green power sales exceeded 6 billion kilowatt-hours (kWh) in 2009, a gain of about 1 billion kWh since 2008. The sales are supporting roughly 6,000 megawatts of renewable power capacity. Overall, more than 850 utilities nationwide provide voluntary green power programs, in which consumers can choose to help support additional electricity production from renewable resources such as wind and solar power. [read more]

• U.S. Department of Energy: DOE Announces Award of Four New Projects for Energy Efficiency, Renewable Energy, and Water Conservation Upgrades at Federal Facilities
  

  May 4, 2010

  The U.S. Department of Energy announced today four new agreements valued at a total of $52.5 million under its Energy Savings Performance Contracts (ESPC), which are designed to help the federal government save energy and water. The new "task orders" will result in energy-saving upgrades at the Bureau of Land Management, National Wildlife Center, and two General Services Administration (GSA) facilities. Under an ESPC, the contractor—an Energy Service Company (ESCO)—designs, constructs, and obtains the necessary financing for energy-savings projects, and the agency makes payments over time to the contractor from the money it saves on its utility bills. The contractor guarantees the energy improvements will generate savings that will cover all payments to the contractor. Once the improvements are paid for, the federal agency receives all of the long-term cost savings. [read more]

• Legal Newsline : Referendum on Calif. greenhouse law appears headed for voters
  

  May 3, 2010 by CHRIS RIZO

  SAN FRANCISCO (Legal Newsline)-California voters will likely be asked in the November general election if the state's greenhouse gas law should be put on hold for rosier economic times, a postponement the Democratic frontrunner for attorney general, Kamala Harris, said Monday would be a colossal mistake. [read more]

• The Maneater: Missouri S&T selected for $1 million grant
  

  April 30, 2010 by Zach Toombs

  Missouri University of Science and Technology was selected by the U.S. Department of Energy on Thursday to receive a $999,997 grant for research to change the way the country uses and produces energy. [read more]

• Quincy Herald Whig: President shows support for renewable energy during visit to plant in Macon
  

  April 29, 2010 by Doug Wilson

  MACON, Mo. -- Speaking from a platform next to a loader full of corn, President Obama told a crowd at the POET Biorefining facility that renewable fuels are an important part of the nation's energy future. [read more]

• Ozark First: Obama Talks Jobs, Clean Energy in Missouri
  

  April 28, 2010

  (Macon, MO) -- President Barack Obama was in the Midwest Wednesday discussing the economy and how clean energy will help bring jobs as well as more security to the United States. [read more]

• Associated Press: Obama touts renewable energy at Missouri plant
  

  April 28, 2010 by JULIE PACE

  MACON, Mo. — President Barack Obama on Wednesday pleaded for commonsense financial reforms to prevent some of the risky Wall Street behavior that contributed to the economic near-meltdown. [read more]

• Center For American Progress: Taking Biofuels to the Next Level
  

  April 28, 2010 by Jake Caldwell

  Palm tree farmer Dylan Bailey explains the process of growing the jatropha plant in Delray Beach, FL, on June 12, 2009. The jatropha plant is a source of biofuel that can contribute to cut our oil dependence and diversify our energy alternatives. SOURCE: AP/Alan Diaz [read more]

• The Oval: Obama: Energy programs can help rescue rural America
  

  April 28, 2010 by David Jackson

  President Obama brought the same message to Missouri today that he did to Iowa yesterday: New energy programs can help revive rural towns hit hard by globalization and recession. [read more]

• Favstocks.com: Clean Energy Leadership from the White House to Main Street
  

  April 28, 2010 by The White House

  Over the past two days, President Obama traveled to Iowa, Missouri and Illinois as part of his Main Street tour. He witnessed the hardships that Americans are facing from the economic crisis that plagues our nation. However, he also witnessed the possibilities and opportunities for growth that are happening all over the country, through investment in our clean energy economy. [read more]

• The New York Times: Big Wind Farm Off Cape Cod Gets Approval
  

  April 28, 2010 by Katharine Q. Seelye

  BOSTON — After nine years of regulatory review, the federal government gave the green light on Wednesday to the nation’s first offshore wind farm, a fiercely contested project off the coast of Cape Cod. [read more]

• SolveClimate: Wind Power to Nuclear, Team Obama Talks Up a Diverse Energy Portfolio
  

  April 28, 2010 by SolveClimate Staff

  The oil crises of the 1970s sent the U.S. scrambling for home-grown energy and innovative replacements for foreign oil. But when oil prices dropped in the `80s, much of that support vanished. The result: The U.S. is just as reliant on imported oil today. [read more]

• MSNBC: OBAMA TALKS ECONOMY WITH IA WORKERS
  

  April 27, 2010 by Athena Jones

  FT. MADISON, IA -- *President Obama* today kicked off a two-day, multi-stop trip to the Midwest with a tour of a wind turbine plant just across the Illinois border here, saying he wanted to talk with locals about the financial pain towns like this one are feeling but also about their economic potential. [read more]

• The Maneater: MU researchers turn coffee to biodiesel fuel
  

  April 27, 2010 by Samantha Sunne

  Coffee isn't just a fuel for people anymore. [read more]

• Connect Tristates: Obama promotes clean energy jobs
  

  April 27, 2010 by Associated Press

  FORT MADISON, IOWA (AP) -- President Barack Obama says investments in clean energy technologies can help return jobs to the country's heartland and ensure that America doesn't fall behind other nations.     Obama made the comments at a wind energy plant in Iowa that employs more than 600 workers with help from tax credits in last year's economic stimulus law.     It was the president's first stop on a two-day Midwestern trip aimed at convincing voters his economic policies are working despite continued high unemployment.     Obama said wind power could generate as much as 20 percent of the country's electricity two decades from now. And he predicted passage of sweeping energy legislation that's in limbo in the Senate, saying the country's security and economy - and even "the future of our planet" - depend on it. [read more]

• Student Life: WU can do better than coal
  

  April 26, 2010 by Bruce Nilles

  Prestigious colleges and universities like Washington University have the potential, capacity and responsibility to lead the nation when it comes to making the right choices. They are the centers of research and innovation that develop the models, ideas and young people who will transform our world and lead to better living standards, a more secure nation and a healthier society. [read more]

• National Resource Defense Council Switchboard: We Can't Afford to Wait for Climate Action
  

  April 26, 2010 by Frances Beinecke

  The clean energy and climate legislation so vital to our country has been temporarily delayed. We need to get it back on track. We can’t afford to lose any more time. [read more]

• Reuters: SCENARIOS-Challenges to California climate change law
  

  April 26, 2010 by Peter Henderson

  California's climate change law is the most aggressive in the United States and it faces challenges this election year. [read more]

• St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Going green within means
  

  April 21, 2010 by Kim McGuire

  It's not always cheap to go green. [read more]

• The Missourian: 'Poop-to-power' bill advances to House committee
  

  April 20, 2010 by Kiki Schmitz

    [read more]

• Climate Progress: New polls show Latinos and African Americans support bipartisan climate and clean energy jobs bill
  

  April 20, 2010

  Poll after poll shows that the general public STILL favors the transition to clean energy.  Two new polls show that the majority of African Americans and Latinos believe that switching to clean energy will create jobs and keep the economy strong while also combating climate change.  CAP Energy Opportunity intern Sarah Collins has the story. [read more]

• Yahoo! News: Mo. homeowners could get help going green
  

  April 16, 2010 by SARAH D. WIRE, Associated Press Writer

  JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – Missouri homeowners could get help going green through a proposed financing program that would pay the upfront costs for energy efficiency improvements. [read more]

• Yahoo! Finance: Mo. homeowners could get help going green
  

  April 16, 2010 by Sarah D. Wire, Associated Press Writer

  Missouri homeowners could get help going green through a proposed financing program that would pay the upfront costs for energy efficiency improvements. [read more]

• Kansas City Business Journal: Kansas wind power standing slips
  

  April 15, 2010

  Kansas continues to be in the upper echelon of states generating electricity through wind power, but it took a few steps back last year as other states added projects faster, according to new statistics. [read more]

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