(Nan’s Note: We’re on the right track, which I am grateful for. It’s not perfect, but at least New Mexico is doing something.)
Gov. Bill Richardson has painted a target on New Mexico’s coal-fired power plants, saying they provide a major source of electricity for homes and businesses in the state but pump far too much pollution into the air.
Richardson called out the coal plants during his State of the State speech before the Legislature on Tuesday, but his administration says they’re not the only polluters the governor is after.
Find out what else he has in mind at the Santa Fe New Mexican.
Look at a map of coal plants in New Mexico.
(Nan’s Note: No comment! Sheesh! Once again, consumers have their heads in the sand and want to take no responsibility for their energy use. Granite countertops win out over energy efficient improvements, even though it has been proven time and time again that energy efficiency is a better investment. Do I need to mention it is also better for the planet? Ok. That was a comment. Rant over. Read on.)
By Cory Vanderpool
If someone were to give you $10,000 for home improvements, how would you spend it? Would you pick ways to make your house look better or choose upgrades that would make your home more energy efficient?
If you are leaning towards beauty over efficiency, you’re in the majority.
…snip…
A startling 31 percent (of The Shelton Group’s Energy Pulse survey) said that it would take an increase of more than $129 a month on their utility bill before they would consider investing in energy efficient renovations.
Find more survey results at Triple Pundit.
(Nan’s Note: I have had a ‘wait-n-see’ attitude about Copenahagen. It’s hard to keep up with the news, since it continues to rapidly change. So this is a hopeful proposal from Joe Biden that came out last week – create jobs with bigger renewable energy tax breaks for manufacturers! My favorite part, remodeling junkie that I am, is a tax credit for homeowners to retrofit their homes for energy efficiency! Congress needs to pass this, of course, so make your voices heard! Thank you!)
By Zachary Shahan
In the midst of the Copenhagen negotiations last week, the White House announced a proposal to give a huge increase in tax breaks to manufacturers who produce wind, solar, geothermal, or other clean energy technologies. The goal of the tax breaks is to stimulate more job growth and promote clean energy technology more in the US.
With clean energy technology poised to become the third largest sales sector in the world, Obama and Biden realize that they must stimulate this field in the US a bit more to get the jobs that go with that growth.
Read more about this proposal at Clean Technica, one of my favorite sites for renewable energy news!
By Stephanie Simon
GOLDEN, Colo.—It takes a certain ruthlessness to create the greenest office building in the nation.
The National Renewable Energy Laboratory, a unit of the U.S. Department of Energy, is midway through construction of a $64 million project that lays claim to that title. The architects and engineers have spent hundreds of hours calculating the energy use of every aspect of the building, from the elevator to the exit signs. They have tweaked the design again and again with the aim of getting the 218,000-square-foot building to perform at net zero—meaning it will consume so little energy that it won’t need to draw a single electron from the grid.
Finish this fascinating article from The Wall Street Journal.
By Carinna Storrs
NEW YORK—Overlooking the city of Stuttgart in southern Germany, a four-story modern glass house stands like a beacon of environmental sustainability. Built in 2000, it was the first in a series of buildings that are “triple-zero,” a concept developed by German architect and engineer Werner Sobek, which signifies that the building is energy self-sufficient (zero energy consumed), produces zero emissions, and is made entirely of recyclable materials (zero waste).
Check. This. Out. Scientific American. Wow.
(Nan’s Note: A zero-energy house is built with fewer materials than a standard home and produces as much energy as it uses over the course of a year. This is an amazing, doable goal to shoot for, and I’d like to see more homes built this way. My only complaint with the home in this article is the size. Although it is green-built, at almost 4,000 square feet, it still uses more resources than a home of 2,000 square feet, or smaller. Having grown up in a large house, where half of the space was rarely used, and naturally being resourceful and frugal, I am a compact-home advocate. Other than this home’s size drawback, I am all for zero-energy design!)
By Laura Snider
SpringLeaf community will be 100 percent sun-powered
Local developer Ron Monahan stood outside the first of 12 homes he and his business partner plan to build in a new north Boulder subdivision and talked about his vision: “We’re bringing this to the masses.”
“This” is a zero-energy home. It’s a house built with less lumber and more insulation; with recycled countertops and bamboo cabinets; with a geothermal system and a 10-kilowatt solar array. And it’s built in what will become the first zero-energy neighborhood in Boulder, and likely, one of the first in the country.
Read the entire article at The Daily Camera.
by Bryan Welch
The fastest-growing energy technology in the world is solar, but it’s very unlike passive solar. Photovoltaic solar collectors capture solar energy in a supremely adaptable and portable form. Photovoltaic panels and films, made mostly of silicon, convert sunlight into electricity by allowing sunlight to stimulate electrons to a higher state of energy, then converting that energy into electrical current. Basically, the photons in sunlight, hitting a collector, create free electrons that can be siphoned off as electrical current.
Read the entire article at Mother Earth News
(Nan’s Note: This is an email I received yesterday from a woman I met through the USGBC’s GreenBuilt Tour last spring, Gail Rubin. The timing is perfect, since tax season is just around the corner! )
As we prepare to enter the last month of 2009, you may find this information on how people can get the Solar Energy Tax Credit applied to this year’s state and federal taxes to be helpful. Please don’t hesitate to contact Ryan Helton at ECMD (his contact info is below) or me if I can be of assistance. Thanks for your consideration!
Gail Rubin
G/R/P/R on behalf of
Energy Conservation and Management Division
New Mexico Energy Minerals and Natural Resources Department
505-265-7215
Gail_Rubin@comcast.net
* * * * *
As this year draws to a close, those who want to take advantage of federal and state tax credits for the installation of a solar energy system on their 2009 tax returns need to act soon.
Homeowners and businesses can get a 40% tax credit on the cost of installing a solar photovoltaic (PV) or solar thermal system. The federal government provides a tax credit for 30% of the cost, and the state of New Mexico adds another 10% tax credit on state taxes. To be eligible for the state tax credit, solar systems must be certified through an application process administered by the Energy Conservation and Management Division (ECMD).
Individuals need to install their solar energy systems using a professional installer by the end of this year to apply the tax credit to their 2009 tax returns. Both the federal and state tax credit will continue to be available through 2016.
The state has eliminated the annual deadline for applying for the 10% New Mexico tax credit. Those who install a solar system by the end of December 2009 and apply for system certification to ECMD soon after will have adequate time to get their tax filing paperwork done before Tax Day on April 15, 2010.
In addition, those who installed a solar system between 2006 and 2008 but did not submit the paperwork for the 30% state tax credit offered before the federal tax credit cap was removed can still obtain it and apply it to their current state taxes. If you are in this group, you can re-file state tax returns for the year the system was installed and obtain the 30% state tax credit.
For 2009, to date there have been 75 tax credit applications for PV systems and 51 applications for solar thermal systems. The state has allocated a total of $5 million a year in solar tax credit support, up to $3 million annually for photovoltaic tax credits and $2 million for solar thermal tax credits.
Hundreds of New Mexicans are taking advantage of the Solar Market Development Tax Credit. The 700th application since the program started came in this November. Over 1.2 megawatts of solar power production have come online since the program’s inception in 2006!
Homeowners need to work with their installers to help move the process along and make sure they get the necessary forms and attachments approved in time for the tax return deadline. By starting the paperwork on installations completed in December right away, homeowners should have all the approvals from ECMD by mid-March at the latest.
All forms are available at the ECMD web site, www.CleanEnergyNM.org. Click on the “Clean Energy Incentives” tab on the left side of the home page, then click on the Solar Market Development Tax Credit link. This page includes a checklist of information necessary to complete the application for this tax credit.
ECMD stands ready to help applicants complete the required forms to obtain the solar market development tax credit. For assistance, call Ryan Helton, Solar Program Manager, at 505-476-3318 or email Ryan.Helton@state.nm.us.
* * * * *
This email was reprinted in full with permission. Obviously, it is geared towards New Mexico. For infomration about tax incentives in your state, check out the Database of State Incentives for Renewables and Efficiency.
Graphic courtesy Mona Makela
(Nan’s Note: Although this article is aimed at businesses considering installing solar power, the points the authors make apply to homeowners, too. And I agree with all of them!)
By Michael Polentz & Tara Kaushik
Most businesses acknowledge the inherent benefits of using the sun to generate clean energy while, at the same time, saving on utility bills. However, there remains great uncertainty on how best to finance the initial capital required for the installation, operation and maintenance of integrated photovoltaic, hot water or thermal solar systems.
Find the authors’ simple, five-step guide for acquiring and/or installing a solar system at Environmental Leader.
By James Kachadorian
Solar saves money, benefits the planet and makes for a comfortable house that requires little in the name of back-up fuel.
Homeowners are increasingly worried about their dependence on fossil fuels. They’re also more and more intrigued by the information about solar energy. Why? Because it saves money, benefits the planet, and makes for a comfortable house that requires little in the name of back-up fuel.
James Kachadorian, civil engineer and founder of Green Mountain Homes, has all the information a homeowner needs in order to implement a passive solar house. Read on!
At Alternet, read an excerpt from The Passive Solar House: The Complete Guide to Heating and Cooling Your Home by James Kachadorian.
