Washington, D.C. - Rep. Jay Inslee (WA) has introduced the Americans Making Power Act, or AMP Act, which would establish a national standard for net metering. The legislation would allow Americans to feed back into the grid excess renewable power they generate through their homes, small businesses and even places of worship.

Washington DC — The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has issued a Request For Information (RFI) to gain public input on the development of a Wind Energy Workforce Roadmap, which will provide details on the current workforce landscape in the wind industry as well as future steps necessary to train and develop a green workforce for the sector.

The project, "Power Through Policy: Best Practices for Cost-Effective Distributed Wind," will identify policies most helpful in making consumer-owned wind turbines more affordable, measuring the impact of various policy combinations on the cost of energy, and highlighting attractive state and utility markets for small wind turbines that offer the quickest return on investment.

Minneapolis, MN - The Midwest is one of the nation's most valuable renewable energy regions. In this conference, leading renewable energy professionals address opportunities and challenges for developers including the business and regulatory environment for renewables in the Midwest.

St. Paul, MN - This year's E3 conference takes place Tuesday, November 30 at the Saint Paul RiverCentre. E3 2010 keynote speakers include energy policy expert Daniel Kammen and U.S. Department of Commerce Assistant Secretary Nicole Y. Lamb-Hale. Conference topics will include:

Washington, D.C., April 28, 2010 - U.S. Senators Harry Reid, Blanche Lincoln, and Debbie Stabenow were joined by former president Bill Clinton and wind energy developer Dan Juhl as they hosted a Rural Summit at the capitol. The event brought together stakeholders from communities around the country to focus on revitalizing rural America through economic development and job creation, and preserving the rural way of life for future generations.

Washington, DC - The Sustainable Energy Coalition, in cooperation with Members of the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate Renewable Energy & Energy Efficiency Caucuses, will host the 13th annual Congressional Renewable Energy & Energy Efficiency EXPO + Forum.

"Increasing the amount of energy America gets from wind is a good idea," agree 89% of American voters, according to a new poll released by the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA). The poll shows that only clean energy sources incuding wind, solar, and natural gas receive a favorable opinion, while coal and oil are given unfavorable ratings, and nuclear energy has split ratings with no majority opinion.

The US currently generates close to nine percent of its electricity from renewable sources such as wind, solar, biomass, and hydropower. During the past several years, renewable electricity markets have surged as a result of new federal and state policies.

Transmission Lineman
photo: mnorri, some rights reserved

There are many hurdles for connecting renewable energy projects to the existing electric power grid. Transmission lines already operate near full capacity. Substations may not handle new interconnections. Regulatory processes span state and federal authorities, and interconnection standards vary from state to state. Plus, it's not clear how to best allocate costs for infrastructure improvements between utilities, energy developers, and rate-payers.