In a sign that the sun may finally be shining on solar energy, an administrative law judge in Minnesota has found that a plan to build distributed solar arrays and supply renewable-energy credits delivers life-cycle value superior to rival proposals to build combustion-turbine plants. He recommends the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission select the solar developer's proposal.Geronimo Energy, Edina, Minn., was the lone developer offering solar energy in response to a call from Xcel Energy Inc. for 150 MW of capacity by 2017 and possibly 500 MW by 2019. Geronimo proposed a ground-mounted single-tracker system of photovoltaic panels with 130 MW

Building-products manufacturers in North America will have access to an expanded array of testing and certification services as a result of federal approval of a new tie between two of the region's largest firms.The OK by U.S. antitrust officials paved the way for the Dec. 24 acquisition by Intertek Building Products, Arlington Heights, Ill., of Architectural Testing Inc. (ATI), York, Pa., for $95 million in cash.Intertek Building Products, a unit of London-based Intertek PLC, bought ATI from a private equity firm and the firm's management shareholders. The unit is one of 16 in the U.K. parent firm that provide global

Hopes are high that a July 18 hearing in U.S. District Court in Miami will ratify the Florida Dept. of Environmental Protection's permit and associated projects to improve water quality in the Everglades.

PHOTO COURTESY OF DUKE ENERGY Duke Energy's Dan River Combined-Cycle Station in Eden, N.C., is leading the utility's shift to natural gas from coal, a growing trend. Related Links: View complete report with Data and Analysis (pdf) Demand Starts To Unfreeze Pay Take the Natural-Gas Highway Cheap natural gas is lighting a fire under manufacturing, a sector of the U.S. economy given up for dead as the Rust Belt spread and the so-called service economy became the nation's fallback. Taking advantage of low-cost feedstock, a petrochemical industry boom on the U.S. Gulf Coast is expanding to areas near the great

The expiration of grants for renewable energy under the federal stimulus act and weak support in Congress for further support are limiting the prospects for biomass powerplants.

Bulldozers may soon be pushing dirt in the Everglades following the issuance Sept. 3 of new marching orders from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to the State of Florida to improve the quality of water entering the Everglades Protection Area. The agency was acting in response to pressure from an April U.S. District Court decision ordering EPA and the state to begin enforcing the water quality standards mandated by Florida’s 1994 Everglades Forever Act and the Federal Clean Water Act. Work is under way on the 2,000-acre Lakeside Ranch Stormwater Treatment Area, but EPA has ordered Florida to create 42,000

Bulldozers may soon be pushing dirt in the Everglades following the issuance Sept. 3 of new marching orders from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to the State of Florida to improve the quality of water entering the Everglades Protection Area. The agency was acting in response to pressure from an April U.S. District Court decision ordering EPA and the state to begin enforcing the water quality standards mandated by Florida�s 1994 Everglades Forever Act and the Federal Clean Water Act. To comply with the court order, EPA has notified Florida that clean water standards for phosphorus are not being achieved

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), acknowledging that he lacks the votes to pass a comprehensive energy and climate-change bill, has decided to pursue narrower legislation. At press time, Reid was poised to introduce a scaled-back measure that he hopes will move to the Senate floor before the August recess. He says, “This is not the only energy legislation we’re going to do. This is what we can do now.” Reid’s bill has five elements: holding BP “accountable” for the Gulf oil spill; incentives for converting diesel-fueled heavy trucks to natural-gas power; rebates to spur energy-efficient improvements in homes; spending

It would take $77.7 billion in capital spending to bring U.S. transit systems to a “state of good repair,” the Federal Transit Administration estimates. A study, released on July 21 by FTA, says that rail accounts for $59.2 billion of the total, including $42.7 billion for heavy rail. Bus and other non-rail systems comprise the rest. FTA says it would take $18.3 billion annually for 20 years to achieve overall good-repair condition. Reaching that level over six years would require $27.3 billion a year. Just addressing “normal replacement needs” would cost $14.4 billion, the agency says. Hitting any of those

Transportation groups are cheering a Senate proposal to target aid for multimodal infrastructure to move goods. The Focusing Resources, Economic Investment and Guidance to Help Transportation Act, introduced on July 22 by Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.), would direct the Dept. of Transportation to develop and implement a long-term strategic plan for freight and create a freight planning and development office at DOT.