May 1st, 2013 
Eric Wilson 
The snow has finally melted in Minnesota (though another round of flurries falls as I post this). Nothing signifies spring in the sustainability world quite like the season’s first Tour de Fat. In Atlanta’s Piedmont Park, New Belgium’s annual celebration of bicycles returns after its winter hiatus. Today and tomorrow an exciting event is taking [...]
Posted in Conferences, Energy Efficiency, Eric Wilson 
Tags: Atlanta, Calendar, California, Minnesota, New Belgium Brewery, Noelle Phares, Santa Barbara, Stephen Chu 
No Comments » February 1st, 2013 Eric Wilson 
Following the lead of other cabinet officials, Dr. Stephen Chu submitted his resignation from the Department of Energy (DOE). Chu, a former academic from the University of California Berkeley and past winner of the Nobel Prize for Physics, stepped down today. He led the DOE during President Obama’s first term in office. Like many other [...]
June 4th, 2012 Eric Wilson Last year we wrote about the inaugural America’s Home Energy Education Challenge, a nationwide competition aimed at reducing energy consumption by targeting school age children (third through eighth grades) and their families. Last month Secretary of Energy Stephen Chu announced the winners. The competition was open to all schools, with five student teams in rural [...]
Posted in Behavior, Conservation, Education, Energy Efficiency, Eric Wilson, News Tags: Colorado, Department of Energy, Stephen Chu No Comments » February 29th, 2012 Eric Wilson Earlier this month Secretary of Energy Steven Chu announced “plans to launch a new Energy Innovation Hub for advanced research on batteries and energy storage with an investment of up to $120 million over five years.” The purpose of this newest hub “will be to deliver research leading to revolutionary new technologies.” Applications are due [...]
Posted in Eric Wilson, Renewable Energy Tags: Battery, Coal, Department of Energy, Electricity Generation, Natural Gas, Nuclear, Solar Energy, Stephen Chu, Wind Power No Comments » February 21st, 2012 Eric Wilson As part of the massive $3.8 trillion dollar federal budget proposed recently by President Barack Obama, $27.2 billion was geared toward the Department of Energy (DOE). For those interested, here is a PDF of the DOE budget. Secretary of Energy Stephen Chu provided details of the budget proposal as it pertains to his office. In [...]
February 15th, 2012 Eric Wilson The United States’ Department of Energy (DOE) is working to bring down solar energy costs. The program, known as the SunShot Initiative, “is a collaborative national initiative to make solar energy cost competitive with other forms of energy by the end of the decade.” The goal is to drive down the costs of solar energy [...]
Posted in Economics, Eric Wilson, News, Renewable Energy Tags: Concentrated Solar Power, Department of Energy, Solar Energy, Stephen Chu, SunShot No Comments » February 9th, 2012 Eric Wilson Last month the US Department of Energy (DOE) selected teams from 20 colleges and universities to take part in the 2013 Solar Decathlon at Orange County Great Park in Irvine, California. (A full list of schools can be seen below). The location for next year’s Decathlon marks a departure from previous ones which were held [...]
January 17th, 2012 Justin Manger At a recent speech in Detroit - a kind of pep rally for the city and its car industry – Energy Secretary Dr. Steven Chu had some good news about the cost of the batteries that power electric vehicles. In addition to making inroads on new kinds of battery technology, he talked about the likely decreases in [...]
Posted in Business, Clean Technology, Economics, Green Products, Justin Manger, News, Policy, Transportation Tags: Battery, Cars, Electric Vehicles, Stephen Chu, Washington DC No Comments » October 8th, 2011 Eric Wilson Much like the World Track and Field Championships, which are held every other odd-numbered year and boast the world’s greatest athlete (i.e. the decathlon winner), the Solar Decathlon in Washington D.C. also takes place biannually on years ending in odd numbers. Two years ago, the team from Germany was victorious for the second straight competition. [...]
August 8th, 2011 Eric Wilson Go to doe.gov and you will end up at the government’s website for the Department of Energy. The Energy Department also runs Energy.gov, which relaunched their sister site late last week in order to “make it easier for you to find important energy information and services in your community.” Check out the revamped site. They [...]
Posted in Energy Efficiency, Eric Wilson, Green Economy, News, Policy, President Obama Tags: Department of Energy, Energy, Stephen Chu No Comments »
