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Governor Bev Perdue announced today the North Carolina Energy Office has awarded $8.5 million in federal Recovery Act funds to 43 public and private agencies.

The funds will be used to make downtown local government and small businesses more energy efficient, promote conservation and use of renewable fuels in industrial buildings and provide for greater energy efficiency in commercial and large nonprofit facilities.

Read more and see who recieved funding…

About 300 homeowners in the Carolinas this year will receive the technology they need to charge electric cars, courtesy of Progress Energy and Duke Energy.

The free charging stations will mean a savings of several thousand dollars for the early adopters of the Chevy Volt, Nissan Leaf and Ford Focus.…

The SunShot initiative was first announced soon after the State of the Union speech, but on Friday, the Energy Department announced it would provide $27 million to nine new solar projects that are supposed to strengthen the supply chain for solar components.

Dr. Chu said the United States should attempt a “sunshot” by aiming to cut the cost of…

February 02, 2011

The U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE's) Energy Innovation Portal now has more than 300 business-friendly marketing summaries available to help investors and companies identify and license leading-edge energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies. The Portal is an online tool that links available DOE innovations to the entrepreneurs who can…

I am attending this symposium next Monday and Tuesday and would be happy to discuss the content after my return if you have an interest.

-Jon Snover

Building on a pledge in his State of the Union address to invest in infrastructure and clean energy, President Obama will unveil proposals today to improve the energy efficiency of commercial buildings with tax incentives and competitive grants to states and municipalities.

Obama plans to announce the Better Buildings Initiative during today's trip to State College, Pa., home to Penn…

The Southeast Agriculture & Forestry Energy Resources Alliance issued a press release earlier today concerning implications of a new report they had commissioned. This report, Implications of Legislative Woody Biomass Definitions, has four key findings according to the press release. They are:

1.  After accounting for the woody biomass that is consumed by traditional industries, 28 percent of the South’s woody biomass inventory is available for biomass to…

In the world of energy production, particularly bio-fuels, most efforts focus on large scale production and utilization. But two ongoing projects in western North Carolina - the Energy Xchange and the Jackson County Green Energy Park - are going in the other direction, and focusing on smaller, community-scale applications for the use of bio-methane from landfills.

Both of these facilities use landfill gas as a fuel…

On Friday, Iberdrola Renewables, Inc. filed an application with the North Carolina Utilities Commission for a proposed wind farm on 20,000 acres of private land near Elizabeth City, NC.

If built, the Desert Wind Power Project, the current name of the project,  is considering development of a 300-megawatt…

Article in NY Times Dealbook covers clean energy discussions from Day 3 of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.  A couple highlights...

In a Davos appearance, Ban Ki-moon, the United Nations…

Using detailed land analysis, Illinois researchers have found that biofuel crops cultivated on available land could produce up to half of the world's current fuel consumption – without affecting food crops or pastureland.

Published in the journal Environmental Science and Technology, the study led by civil and environmental engineering professor Ximing Cai identified land around the globe available to produce grass crops for biofuels, with minimal impact on agriculture or the…

Haywood County has landed a $1 million grant to turn the methane pouring off a no-longer-used landfill into energy.

The money comes from the N.C. State Energy Office as a part of their Energy Efficiency and Conservation Plan, which offers funding for local projects aimed at....

 …

The deadline for applications is March 9th at 2 pm.

North Carolina's State Energy Office has announced a new program which offers grants between $100,000 and $500,000 for energy efficiency upgrades such as solar electricity, solar-thermal systems, and installation of energy efficient lighting. This program is for owners of commercial or industrial facilities and incorporated "large" non-profits (non-profits which occupy a space that they own of 20,000 square feet or more) to conduct…

Applicants must have:

• HERS Field Technician or Rater Certification by hire date
• Healthy Built Homes Training by hire date
• Strong understanding of building envelope and systems 
• High…

A Business Plan Competition for Women Sponsored by AdvantageWest & VERVE Magazine

Are you an established business that wants to expand? A would-be entrepreneur with a great idea for a startup? We want to hear your big idea! Enter the VERVE-aciously BIG Idea Business Plan Competition for a chance at $10,000 in cash, prizes, business support services and expert advice

ELIGIBILITY

To participate in the VERVE-aciously BIG Idea…

Blue Ridge Food Ventures featured in NYT as an example of a niche small business incubator!

Full article…

   Last night, President Obama addressed the nation in The State of the Union. Most of this speech focused on the economy but there were numerous focus points on the future of clean energy in our nation. President Obama compared the research of clean energy to that of the space race stating,

"This is our generation’s Sputnik moment. Two years ago, I said that we needed to reach a level of research and development we haven’t seen since the height of the Space Race. In a few…

On Jan. 18, Acme-McCrary Corp. in Asheboro, a century-old national leader in the manufacture of legwear and other garments, announced the development of one of the nation's largest solar thermal energy projects. The project is supported in part by a grant from the N.C. Department of Commerce's Energy Office under its Renewable Energy Grant program, funded through the federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

North Carolina's U.S. Senator Kay Hagan, along with the N.C.…

Looking for capital for your green business?  Here are a few snippets from a good overview of 2010 venture deal flow from Local Tech Wire...

Venture capital investing rebounded strongly in North Carolina last year, returning to pre-recession levels.  The data shows:

1. The number of investments rose

2. The spread of deals by company category was…

2010 saw record breaking investment in the Clean Energy sector. According to Bloomberg New Energy Finance, this record makes 2010 the strongest year  for investment in Clean Energy, by far. The drivers mainly responsible for this rapid growth were  China, European offshore wind, European rooftop solar and research & development. The sectors which had significant growth were solar power, wind power, and energy-smart technologies, such as smart grid, energy management, electric vehicles…