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(Bloomberg) -- BMW AG’s car-assembly plant in South Africa is doing its bit to help the German carmaker edge toward a global target to supply all its production with renewable energy: It’s getting some of its power from cow manure.
The White House has appointed San Diego County Supervisor Greg Cox to the National Ocean Council's Governance Coordinating Committee, a group that advises the President on ocean policy issues.
The regional transportation plan update under development for two years at the San Diego Association of Governments will face a possible adoption vote this week, as SANDAG officials are planning its consideration at the agency's board meeting this Friday.
The San Diego County board of supervisors adopted ordinance changes Wednesday designed by the state to improve permitting for solar rooftops.
A nearly $10 million plan to renovate the East Mesa Detention Facility Complex will be on the county Board of Supervisors' agenda in the coming week.
San Diego-based EasyTurf, a field turf company, has completed an 8,700-square-foot synthetic turf replacement project for the Moonlight Amphitheatre in Vista.
As the deadline nears for municipalities across the state to adopt expedited solar installation permitting, progress made from one jurisdiction to another can be found on a new online compliance map at the Center for Sustainable Energy's website.
San Diego International Airport launched on Thursday The Good Traveler pilot program, allowing individuals to purchase carbon offsets and merchandise with proceeds going toward conservation projects that help counteract the effect of greenhouse gas emissions on the environment.
Sempra U.S. Gas & Power LLC on Monday reported plans for a 100-megawatt expansion of its Mesquite Solar complex in Arlington, Ariz., about 60 miles west of Phoenix.
Vista-based Solatube International Inc., a manufacturer and marketer of Tubular Daylighting Devices (TDDs), has named Todd Maerowitz as its director of international sales.
A new online store has been launched by San Diego Gas & Electric in an effort to help customers lower energy bills using energy-saving products offered by third-party retailers.
Sempra Energy (NYSE: SRE) subsidiary Sempra U.S. Gas & Power was recently honored by the nonprofit organization Clean Energy Project at the National Clean Energy Summit 8.0, held Aug. 24 in Las Vegas.
California's Title 24 energy code defines the "worst building you can legally build." As California drives towards more efficient buildings, the worst building has gotten a lot better! But codes are never a replacement for good design, and the need for integrated design solutions and early energy planning has never been greater.
Beginning Monday — and just a couple of months before Poseidon Water's Carlsbad Desalination Project is scheduled to become operational — the International Desalination Association's 2015 World Congress on Desalination and Water Reuse will take over parts of the San Diego Convention Center.
The battle between rooftop solar and utilities is moving into California’s statehouse.
Sempra Energy (NYSE: SRE) won government approval to export liquefied natural gas from a proposed terminal in Port Arthur, Texas.
What's described by San Diego Gas & Electric as a major milestone for its renewable energy delivery, the utility achieved a new record last week of 1,042 megawatts of renewable generation on its power grid.
A Del Mar energy executive has donated $5 million to UC San Diego to help combat climate change.
DENVER -- SunEdison Inc., the largest clean-energy developer, began construction on a Colorado solar farm that will be the largest in the state and comes out ahead in direct competition with natural gas.
More than 400 volunteers, including civilian, military and Harbor Police divers, are expected to take to the shores of San Diego Bay on Saturday, Aug. 29, to remove trash and debris in the 25th annual Operation Clean Sweep.
The Department of the Navy, Western Area Power Administration, and Sempra U.S. Gas & Power hosted a ceremony Thursday at Naval Air Station North Island to commemorate an agreement to construct a 210 megawatt direct current solar facility to benefit 14 Navy installations in California.
A new technology that San Diego Gas & Electric says significantly reduces the cost for many customers installing residential rooftop solar was deployed by the utility last month.
Crude markets already in a downward spiral sank under the weight of a supply report showing growing stockpiles of oil after a major Midwest refinery shutdown.
The Center for Sustainable Energy announced the opening of its Northeast regional office in Cambridge, Mass.
NEW YORK -- A string of deals involving rooftop solar companies has shown both the appeal and potential of the business -- and limits to investor enthusiasm.
CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) -- California regulators could achieve savings in water use, electricity rates and greenhouse emissions by turning to Wyoming wind power to help offset the natural ups and downs of wind and solar power in their state, according to a University of Wyoming report released Monday.
The San Diego Audubon Society, a local organization dedicated to fostering the protection and appreciation of birds, wildlife and local habitats, announced ReWild Mission Bay and its new website, rewildmissionbay.org.
LANGLEY, Wash. (AP) -- Severe drought is parching large sections of America, but that doesn't mean giving up on gardening. Plants can be coaxed through the hot summer months despite severe water restrictions.
Roger Titchenell, mayor of Albright, W.V., a coal-plant town that lost its coal plant, isn't angry at the Environmental Protection Agency.
Various projects promoting smart growth, transit and active transportation recently received a total of $15 million in grants from the San Diego Association of Governments, providing the grant recipients with funding for both capital and planning projects.
The San Diego Chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects is accepting applications from local community groups for a $5,000 grant.
Executives from 13 major U.S. corporations announced at least $140 billion in new investments to decrease their carbon footprints as part of a White House initiative to recruit private commitments ahead of a United Nations climate-change summit this year in Paris.
Last week, I discussed why Tesla’s latest announcement was big. The electric carmaker said it planned a modification that would give its autos the ability to accelerate faster than cars that cost two to three times more and keep up with those that cost 10 to 20 times more.
A budget amendment related to the proposed addition of express lanes to State Route 94 between Interstate 805 and Downtown San Diego — funding a new transit-oriented demonstration project along that corridor — was approved by the San Diego Association of Governments on Friday, drawing praise from groups pushing for more transit opportunities in the region.
Southern California rideshare service Opoli Technologies partnered with BYD Motors Inc. to “green” their fleet in San Diego, with BYD providing Opoli 50 zero-emissions e6 electric vehicles.
Emmes Realty Services has unveiled 30 electric vehicle (EV) charging stations in its public parking garage at 707 Broadway in downtown San Diego.
The state of California has awarded San Diego-based Envision Solar a contract to supply its rapid-deployment solar-powered electric vehicle charging stations to state departments, giving the renewable energy company contracted rights to the work until at least June 11, 2016.
NEW YORK -- Building vast fields of solar panels for utilities is cheaper than bolting lots of little ones to rooftops, and now First Solar Inc. has more data to prove it.
The San Diego City Council on Monday unanimously adopted a plan to cut the city's landfill-bound waste to zero over the next 25 years.
The American recycling business is in the dumps. According to Dave Steinert, the CEO of Waste Management, America’s largest recycling company, the industry is experiencing a "national crisis," with almost all of America’s 2,000 high-tech recycling facilities -- including Steinert's own -- running in the red.
(Bloomberg) -- Facebook Inc. set a goal of running half its operations with clean energy by the end of 2018, and eventually expects to reach 100 percent.
In recent years, environmental activists have demanded that universities, foundations and other institutional investors divest their shares of coal, oil and gas companies.
CORDOVA, Md. — Mike Geske wants a drone.
The U.S. Green Building Council has announced two changes to documentation requirements for projects that may be eligible for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certifications.
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -- As the farm-to-table movement connects more consumers with local farmers, some farms have shortened the distance between the plow and the plate. They're inviting customers over for pizza.
The San Diego Metropolitan Transit System (MTS) announced that it has been awarded $31.9 million from the Transit and Intercity Rail Capital Program (TIRCP).
Environmentalists love energy companies that don't pollute. That should be obvious. Not so obvious: So do investors.
The U.S. Green Building Council, the nonprofit known for developing the nationally recognized Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, or LEED, standards, announced on Tuesday a new path through which California project developers can earn LEED certification.
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled against the Obama administration’s effort to limit toxic pollution from the nation’s coal-fired power plants, leaving the fate of a landmark environmental regulation in doubt.
Many people are unaware that we are in the midst of the biggest transfer of money and power in the history of the United States. For the past 60-plus years, the electric utility industry has been monopolized by very few companies operating in very large service territories with a captured client base. That model is changing rapidly.
EDF Renewable Energy, a San Diego-based independent power producer, has placed a wind turbine order with Vestas Wind Systems to supply the 150-megawatt Salt Fork Wind Project.
Finavera Wind Energy Inc. has closed its acquisition of San Diego-based Solar Alliance of America, a solar sales and marketing firm.
(Bloomberg) -- The worst Texas drought in half a century has ended, with storms flooding downtowns and once-parched prairies.
(Bloomberg) -- Renewable energy will draw almost two-thirds of the spending on new power plants over the next 25 years, dwarfing spending on fossil fuels, as plunging costs make solar the first choice for consumers and the poorest nations.
KB Home and Australia-based Nexus eWater have built and installed the first U.S. residential water-recycling system in Rancho Penasquitos.
OneRoof Energy Inc. is partnering with with Fry’s Electronics to install kiosks in select Fry's stores aimed at giving customers the opportunity to learn how easy and affordable it is "to go solar."
Nearly 1,000 people attended the San Diego Gas & Electric Energy Showcase Expo on Thursday, for information on energy-focused ideas ranging from new electric-vehicle technologies to "sustainability circles."
William Siegel has spent 28 years at Kleinfelder, working his way up to CEO of this full-service, employee-owned, global engineering, architecture and science consulting firm, which is dedicated to solving the world’s most difficult infrastructure and natural resources challenges. In 2009, when the company’s key markets -- energy, facilities, government transportation and water -- rapidly changed due to the economy, Siegel led an aggressive effort to remake Kleinfelder for the new market reality. Departing from 50 years of tradition, the firm changed from being structured around individual regions and service lines to having today’s full-service, global, client-based structure.
More than 75 local, national and international exhibitors showcasing recent innovations and energy-saving technologies and services will gather Thursday at San Diego Gas & Electric's annual Energy Showcase Expo at the San Diego Convention Center.
The Conrad Prebys Aztec Student Union and the Aztec Recreation Center (ARC) are now LEED Certified, pushing San Diego State University closer to its goal of making all Associated Students facilities LEED Certified by 2020.
Sempra Energy (NYSE: SRE) will move forward with plans to sell stock in Sempra Partners LP, a master-limited partnership that could own stakes in certain liquefied natural gas and renewable energy assets.
A few weeks after the California Public Utilities Commission approved a scaled-down version of the power purchase agreement between San Diego Gas & Electric and the developers of the proposed Carlsbad Energy Center, SDG&E is ready to file a revised contract.
A second public hearing on the San Diego Association of Governments' regional plan draft will be held Thursday as the planning agency refines the required update to its regional transportation plan.
FRESNO (AP) -- The city of Riverside has sued a state agency over water restrictions intended to combat the drought, claiming the rules are unfair because the city has ample groundwater supplies.
The 14th Street Promenade Master Plan is being designed to create a north-south pedestrian and bicycle-friendly connection from C Street to National Avenue, where 14th Street ends.
Canada will use innovation to meet its greenhouse-gas targets and avoid major industrial disruption, the Prime Minister said.
San Diego Gas & Electric and groups representing environmental, environmental justice, electric vehicle service providers, automakers and labor signed a settlement agreement in support of SDG&E's Electric Vehicle Grid-Integration pilot project.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has recognized the Building Owners and Managers Association International with a 2015 ENERGY STAR Partner of the Year Sustained Excellence Award for its continued leadership in protecting the environment through superior energy efficiency achievements.
San Diego-based EDF Renewable Energy’s 200-megawatt Longhorn Wind Project in Texas reached commercial operation on May 1, 2015.
LAS VEGAS -- Three solar projects proposed on federal land northeast of Las Vegas have been approved with output projections rivaling what has been expected from one of the world's largest solar power plants nearby.
Infill development with smaller lot sizes tends to use less water, says a report released Monday by Circulate San Diego.
The Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) has selected the locally based Center for Sustainable Energy (CSE) to administer a new incentive program aimed at increasing the number of zero-emission vehicles that state residents own.
After five years of restoration, the Seacliff Open Space Preserve (SOSP) has now been established in Oceanside. The preserve is made up of 2.87 acres along the south side of the mouth of the San Luis Rey River just west of Interstate 5.
NEW YORK -- Move over, shale. The sun is now the fastest-growing source of U.S. electricity.
The recent announcement that Canada won't match U.S. emission-reduction targets offers a fresh look at Canadians' enduring bipolarity on climate change: They're far more likely than Americans to say the problem is real, yet keep voting for a government that does nothing about it. Therein lies a cautionary tale for the rest of the world.
The San Diego Association of Governments has confirmed that its Bike to Work Day will be held as rescheduled on May 29, motivating what it expects to be thousands of bike riders to switch from engines leg power for a day.
Underwriters Laboratories LLC has announced a memorandum of understanding with UC San Diego to help support developments in sustainable energy technology.
Three months after revising the initial contract terms meant to open the energy sector to private companies for the first time in 75 years, Mexican regulators are up against another deadline.
Citing grid reliability, the California Public Utilities Commission on Thursday approved a smaller version of the original power purchase agreement that lays the groundwork for the natural-gas-fired Carlsbad Energy Center.
San Diego-based Sempra U.S. Gas & Power's Copper Mountain Solar 1 facility in Boulder City, Nev. has been recognized as the first solar power plant in the U.S. to receive the Voluntary Protection Programs Star work site designation from the state of Nevada Occupational Safety and Health Administration (Nevada OSHA). The award is the organization's highest recognition for exemplary safety performance.
OneRoof Energy Inc., a residential solar services provider and wholly owned subsidiary of OneRoof Energy Group Inc., announced that it has closed the previously announced purchase of 100 percent of Black Coral Capital LLC's sponsor equity interest in OneRoof Energy's first tax equity fund.
The cities of Poway and San Diego took top honors in the National Mayor’s Challenge for Water Conservation, a conservation effort held by the Wyland Foundation.
As homeowner interest increases in leasing and buying solar systems to offset electricity costs, the real estate industry is working to keep pace with the information that could pertain to their clients and potential transactions.
NEW YORK (AP) -- A roof grows in Brooklyn.
SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) -- San Jose businesses and residents will soon have to restrict their water use or face fines, as the city becomes one of the largest in the state to impose strict water-use limits amid California's ongoing drought.
California, facing the fourth year of an unprecedented drought that’s drying up hydroelectric supplies, has more than enough solar power to make up the difference, the state’s grid operator says.
The California Public Utilities Commission on Thursday delayed a vote on a power purchase agreement between SDG&E and developers of a proposed power plant in Carlsbad.
WASHINGTON -- The Supreme Court said Monday it will hear a dispute over a regulation that offers financial incentives to factories, retailers and other large electricity users to reduce their power consumption.
The San Diego Association of Governments launched on Monday its Walk, Ride, and Roll to School mini-grant program, aimed at increasing active transportation and safety education for students in the region.
The Pala Band of Mission Indians received on Monday a loan for more than $1.2 million from San Diego Gas & Electric for energy-efficient equipment scheduled to be installed in the nearly 630,000-square-foot Pala Casino Spa & Resort.
Eric Johnson, the sustainability manager at Sony Electronics, has been appointed president of the board of directors of I Love a Clean San Diego.
San Diego Gas & Electric joined U.S. Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz on Thursday to formally launch the U.S. Department of Energy's Partnership for Energy Sector Climate Resilience.
Kilroy Centre Del Mar, owned and managed by Kilroy Realty Corporation, and San Diego Tech Center, owned by Locale Advisors and Lionstone Investments and managed by Edgecore Real Estate Group, have been named the Pacific Southwest regional winners of “The Outstanding Building of the Year” in the suburban low-rise and the suburban mid-rise categories respectively, by the Building Owners & Managers Association.
San Diego saw marked improvement in air quality based on three measures in the American Lung Association’s State of the Air 2015, reaching its best levels yet.
On March 13, the city of San Diego and the San Diego Unified Port District sued agrochemical giant Monsanto and two related companies for their role in polluting the bay with polychlorinated biphenyls, commonly called PCBs.
Sempra U.S. Gas & Power announced Thursday that it has acquired the Black Oak Getty wind project in Minnesota from Geronimo Energy LLC, a utility-scale wind and solar energy developer. The terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
The most important piece of news on the energy front isn't the plunge in oil prices, but the progress that is being made in battery technology.
LOS ANGELES — An Orange County appeals court ruled Monday that San Juan Capistrano's tiered water rates are unconstitutional, potentially dealing a blow to agencies statewide that have used the pricing structure to encourage people to save water.
General Dynamics NASSCO launched the world's first liquefied natural gas-powered containership Saturday at a ceremony at the company's shipyard.
SACRAMENTO -- California, expecting the lowest hydroelectric generation in a decade, will lean on solar and natural gas-fired power to get through spring and summer months when demand typically peaks.
San Diego is one of two cities that will begin a pilot program of new GE technology designed to help the city become more intelligent and efficient. Along with Jacksonville, Fla., San Diego will try a new GE LED program that uses LED street lighting installations to connect, collect and analyze data being generated.
Apple Inc., the world’s largest company by market value, is backing two solar farms in southern China with SunPower Corp.
PALO ALTO, Calif. -- Apple Inc. is expanding its environmental efforts by investing in a new Chinese solar power project and preserving 36,000 acres of “sustainable” timberland in Maine and North Carolina.
The largest residential solar company in the United States expanded its San Diego office and plans to bring 60 new jobs to the area, increasing its local workforce by 70 percent.
Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto could use some good news.
Pearson Fuels of San Diego and G&M Oil Company of Huntington Beach opened their newest E85 Flex Fuel station in Calimesa on Tuesday, and unveiled plans for 13 additional E85 sites throughout Southern California built through a collaboration between the two companies.
BERLIN -- Sitting in a control center that helps ensure uninterrupted power for 82 million Germans, Gunter Scheibner is proving that renewable energy from the sun and wind can be just as reliable as fossil fuels.
Sempra Energy’s (NYSE: SRE) subsidiary Southern California Gas Company is launching demonstration projects to create and test the first-ever carbon-free, power-to-gas system in the United States.
City of San Diego stakeholders have helped fund the international, widespread distribution of a National Geographic Channel documentary highlighting the city’s innovation, technology and people that make the city vibrant.
Residential solar services provider OneRoof Energy Inc. announced Thursday it has expanded service to include Connecticut and New Jersey.
Division within the California Public Utilities Commission has delayed the hearing for whether a proposed power plant in Carlsbad should be allowed to enter a power-purchase agreement with San Diego Gas & Electric.
The San Diego County Board of Supervisors has rescinded the county's climate action plan in the wake of court findings that it violated the California Environmental Quality Act for not properly addressing future greenhouse gas emissions reductions.
NEW YORK -- Utilities in the U.S. Northeast stand to lose as much as half of residential sales by 2030, as customers install solar and battery-storage systems and generate their own power, according to a report by the Rocky Mountain Institute.
As California heads into its fourth year of drought, Gov. Jerry Brown is taking the unprecedented step of ordering mandatory rationing.
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) -- Drought conditions are expanding across a large section of the United States, from California to the Great Plains.
The Board of Supervisors' upcoming Tuesday and Wednesday meetings range from professional football in San Diego to the county's 2012 climate action plan.
Energy storage is the new frontier in renewable power. More applications for Self Generation Incentive Program funding for energy-storage projects were filed in the last three months — 9,527 kilowatts of capacity in SDG&E territory— than the last two years combined, and the industry is expected to experience huge growth in the next five years.
LOS ANGELES -- California is entering its fourth year of drought as its rainy season ends with blue skies and brown hillsides from San Francisco to Los Angeles, threatening crops and livestock in the most productive agricultural region.
San Diego Unified School District's capital improvements are funded by two General Obligation bond measures -- Propositions S and Z. A board-approved phasing plan for bond projects is being implemented by the district's Facilities Planning and Construction Division.
San Diego ranks as having the second-highest number of solar panels in the country after Los Angeles and the fourth-highest number of panels per capita, according to a study released Thursday by the Environment California Research and Policy Center.
The Obama administration’s plan to collect information on biofuel production may herald further delays in setting targets for how much renewable fuel U.S. refiners should be consuming.
Escondido-based Baker Electric Solar announced Tuesday its receipt of two separate awards from the solar panel manufacturer SunPower for its performance as a SunPower dealer in 2014.
Within a few weeks, the San Diego County Board of Supervisors could require single-family homebuilders in unincorporated areas to include electrical infrastructure and space for future solar energy generation and electric-vehicle charging systems.
The NECA Show is the largest gathering of manufactures and distributers for electrical professionals in North America.
Since 1994, San Diego Unified School District has pursued innovative projects to save energy, reduce utility costs, and protect the environment while promoting sustainability in the district.
Over the past three decades, the electric utility landscape has changed considerably. We’ve seen a growing focus on reducing energy consumption, implementing energy efficient solutions and going “green.” But, this wasn’t always the case. What used to be the domain of hippies is now fair game for the average business person. Solar energy is a viable solution moving forward, ultimately costing less per month and annually.
A local Native American tribe has been selected as one of 11 tribes around the nation to receive a combined $6 million from the federal Department of Energy to accelerate the implementation of renewable energy and energy efficiency technologies on tribal lands.
Scheduling your appliance-related chores for off-peak hours can help ease strain on the local power grid, and could even save you money in lower electric rates down the line. An app developed by San Diego State University computer engineering professor Yusuf Ozturk makes it easy to know the best time to plug in.
Porsche AG may expand its growing lineup with a battery-powered vehicle to cater to demand for cleaner luxury vehicles and counter the rise of Tesla Motors Inc.
The San Diego City Council on Tuesday voted to ask the state Public Utilities Commission to restructure its electricity rates to support conservation measures, while protecting customers from rapid rate increases.
According to WaterSense, an EPA Partnership Program, approximately 1 trillion gallons of water are wasted in the United States each year from minor, and preventable, household and irrigation leaks.
With California in its fourth year of drought, local businesses say the top priority for the state Legislature should be ensuring access to reliable water sources, according to a monthly survey of businesses throughout San Diego County.
Envision Solar International Inc., the renewable energy media, branding and electric vehicle-charging product company, recently received orders for its EV ARC products from Carleton Management Inc. in San Diego.
The state Supreme Court appears to have given the San Diego Association of Governments a lifeline for its 2050 Regional Transportation Plan, a 40-year blueprint approved by the planning group in 2011.
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -- A new concept in renewable energy is catching fire across the country, allowing customers who might find solar panels too expensive or impractical to buy green energy anyway.
San Diego-based Envision Solar International Inc. (OTCQB: EVSI) announced Thursday that it recently received first orders for its EV ARC electric vehicle charger system from the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Baker Electric, serving Southern California’s electrical needs since 1938, continues to make a bold impact in and throughout San Diego County with projects that have ranged from installing intricate electrical systems at residential and civic properties to new, sweeping solar installations on buildings throughout the region.
Here’s the latest news on some long-term projects happening around the county. Projects are listed by estimated cost.
One Paseo, the controversial and precedent-setting mixed-use development approved for Carmel Valley, could open in 2018 and inspire more high-density projects.
NEW YORK (AP) -- Wal-Mart is launching an online shop on its site that aims to help customers find products that are good for the environment from manufacturers that have been leaders in sustainability.
Borrego Solar Systems Inc. is about to begin construction of a 3.9- megawatt wholesale distributed generation solar energy system in Suffolk County, New York, the company reported Thursday.
A program to trade in older, more heavily polluting taxi cabs for new hybrid or alternative-fuel cabs serving the airport is being launched by the county Air Pollution Control District and San Diego International Airport.
Envision Solar International Inc. announced Thursday the deployment of its autonomous, solar powered electric vehicle charging station, the EV ARC, using its new ARC Mobility transportation system.
Sempra Energy agreed to join state-run Petroleos Mexicanos’s plan to build the first export facility for liquefied natural gas in Mexico at an under-utilized import terminal on the Pacific Coast.
San Diego Gas & Electric announced the establishment of an endowment for the Living Coast Discovery Center in Chula Vista, a move that would fulfill an obligation set by its permit to move the South Bay Substation.
San Diego-based Maxwell Technologies Inc. (Nasdaq: MXWL) reported Wednesday that Freqcon GmbH, a German developer and distributor of renewable energy systems, has deployed an energy storage system for the Tallaght Smart Grid Testbed in Ireland.
The so-called Sunshine State hasn’t been a great place for homeowners to install solar panels.
The California Energy Commission recently awarded San Diego Gas & Electric a nearly $5 million grant to expand the Borrego Springs microgrid.
(Bloomberg) -- Chinese shares related to electric vehicles jumped amid speculation they will benefit from Apple Inc.’s entry into the industry.
(Bloomberg) -- Apple Inc. is investing $848 million in a solar farm to harvest electricity in a partnership with First Solar Inc.
San Diego-based solar energy system designer and installer Baker Electric Solar is hosting its inaugural Solar Discovery Day Feb. 21, inviting the public to the complimentary solar education event.
A San Diego City Council committee Wednesday voted to oppose a proposed rate restructuring by San Diego Gas & Electric over fears that it would raise rates for low-income and elderly customers.
The U.S. Green Building Council released on Wednesday its annual ranking of the top 10 states in the nation for LEED, the world’s most widely used and recognized green building rating system. California made the list, taking the No. 7 spot.
The Center for Sustainable Energy has been awarded $712,000 from the U.S. Department of Energy for a project aimed at eliminating barriers to solar energy system adoption at multiple tenant commercial properties and multifamily housing.
The San Diego-based packaged seafood company Chicken of the Sea has released its corporate sustainability report, which this year has outdone previous reports by setting specific, measurable goals in areas the company said matter most.
San Diego-based Sapphire Energy Inc., a producer of renewable solutions from algae, announced that Dr. Jim Astwood has joined the company as senior vice president of product management.
The city of San Diego's Water Purification Demonstration Project earned praise last week during the 2015 Winter Conference held last week in Palm Springs by the California Association of Sanitation Agencies.
The Associated General Contractors of America, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the National Center for Manufacturing Sciences have announced a joint partnership to help contractors learn how to comply with federal and state environmental guidelines.
The San Diego Taxpayers Association, a long-time critic of government spending, has set its sights on a new target: the $6.7 million project to add greenery to state Route 163's passage through Balboa Park.
Saudi Arabia isn't the nicest ally to have. The desert kingdom just handed out a sentence of 1,000 lashes to a blogger for running a website devoted to freedom of speech.
Cheap gas may make electric cars an even harder sell, according to BMW AG, the German luxury automaker that’s aiming for plug-in versions of all its top models.
Jay Leopold, regional manager of DPR Construction San Diego, broke ground on an important research facility, developed eco-friendly office space and continued to be one of the local leaders in building information modeling in 2014.
NEW YORK -- U.S. solar companies boosted their employee rolls by 22 percent last year, and now employ 86 percent more workers than they did in 2010, driven by rising demand in the world’s third-largest market.
NEW YORK -- NRG Energy Inc. plans to become the second- biggest U.S. rooftop solar company by year-end as falling prices put pressure on its conventional power production division.
The Obama administration plans to require the oil and gas industry to cut methane emissions from the drilling and transportation of fossil fuels by as much as 45 percent over the next decade, another step in its efforts to curb greenhouse gases tied to climate change.
National Electrical Contractors Association San Diego President Tim Dudek has stepped into his second year as president of the trade group's chapter and set his sights on continuing to expand training.
After six years of grousing about mediocre jobs reports, we're finally in a solid stretch of decent employment growth.
San Diego-based South Pacific Tuna Corp. signed an agreement with PNAO/Pacifical, the marketing arm of the eight Pacific Island Nations known as the Parties to the Nauru Agreement, to supply tuna that meets Marine Stewardship Council standards.
The city of San Diego announced Wednesday that its Public Utilities Department is working with local nonprofit River Partners to restore approximately 100 acres around the Upper Otay Reservoir.
The $435 million East County Substation project that broke ground in early 2013 has been energized and is now operating within San Diego Gas & Electric's electricity transmission system, according to a release from the utility.
SAN FRANCISCO -- Clean-energy programs initiated by Gov. Jerry Brown and governors before him have California already well on its way to meeting his new goals for reducing the use of climate-changing fossil fuels, industry experts and state officials said Tuesday.
Materials that may be cheaper and more efficient than silicon at converting the sun’s rays into electricity could be key to the next generation of solar power, scientists say.
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) -- As he was sworn in for a record fourth term, Gov. Jerry Brown charted an ambitious new goal on Monday for California in its fight against climate change, challenging the nation's most populous state to increase renewable energy use to 50 percent in the next 15 years.
San Diego-based EDF Renewable Energy placed a firm order with Vestas Wind Systems A/S for 150 megawatts of wind turbine generators. The order closes the books on the master supply agreement announced in September 2013 with orders totaling 1,094 megawatts. Delivery of this new order of 75 V100-2.0-megawatt turbines is scheduled for third quarter of 2016.
As Assembly Bill 2188, signed into law in 2014 by Gov. Jerry Brown, takes effect, expect San Diego County cities to make major changes to their rules for residential solar energy installation permits.
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) -- New Mexico's largest electric provider has proposed charging fees to customers with rooftop solar systems, saying those customers still rely on the grid when the sun isn't shining and should pay their fair share of the fixed costs of maintaining the system.
When the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries failed to cut production quotas last month, the initial investor reaction was, “Hallelujah! Lots more savings for energy buyers! Blowout Christmas spending by consumers!”
From oil and gas to renewable resources, the topic of energy is always in flux, and that held true in San Diego in 2014.
When the U.S. Federal Reserve ended its quantitative-easing program in October, it also ended the primary driver of U.S. stocks during the past six years.
San Diego-based Sullivan Solar Power has become the fourth, and largest, solar energy firm to receive company-wide accreditation in the nation from the North American Board of Certified Energy Practitioners, according to a Sullivan release.
A milestone in the use of San Diego Gas & Electric's Sunrise Powerlink was announced Thursday, as the utility reported that more than 1,000 megawatts of renewable power is now being delivered to the county through the transmission line.
LAS VEGAS (AP) -- Nevada regulators on Wednesday refused a second request to waive competitive bids for utility company NV Energy to buy solar power from a proposed solar generation station on the Moapa River Paiute Indian Reservation outside Las Vegas.
Sempra U.S. Gas & Power, a subsidiary of San Diego’s Sempra Energy (NYSE: SRE), announced Wednesday that it received an award for industry leadership in electricity generation at this month's Platts Global Energy Awards ceremony in New York.
The Unified Port of San Diego has begun its search to fill the agency's top post, which became vacant after Wayne Darbeau was fired in July.
Ballpark Village LLC, a partnership between JMI Realty and Lennar Corp., has announced its retention of C. Spengler Strategies to provide environmental and construction consulting services for its Ballpark Village project in downtown San Diego.
The United Nations talks, which ended Satuday, in Lima have highlighted two fundamental sticking points over how to deal with climate change.
Biofuel-producing companies looking to survive regulatory and market uncertainty must be able to adapt, an industry executive said Tuesday at an energy summit.
The following properties are local winners for The Outstanding Building of the Year (TOBY) awards for 2014.
It is often said that people who don't want to solve the problem of climate science reject the underlying science, and hence don't think there's any problem to solve.
Invenergy Clean Power LLC announced Monday a successful close to the financing and start of the operation of its Desert Green Solar Farm in Borrego Springs.
Representatives from every national government are meeting this week to work toward a global climate agreement, and the location of the conference -- Lima, Peru -- offers critically important lessons for negotiators.
Dec. 5 (Bloomberg) -- Innovative Solar Systems LLC, a developer that has built about 1 gigawatt of capacity in the U.S., is planning a merger and initial public offering as soon as the middle of next year.
San Diego's efforts to preserve and enhance its natural environment were discussed Thursday as Citizens Coordinate for Century 3 continued its yearlong series on shaping the region's next 100 years.
A closed-session meeting of the San Diego Association of Governments board of directors has been scheduled for Friday, in the wake of last week's appellate court decision against SANDAG and the regional transportation plan it adopted three years ago.
SACRAMENTO -- Record rains have fallen across California. And yet the drought remains.
A year-long dialogue series on shaping San Diego's next 100 years and hosted by the group Citizens Coordinate for Century 3 will continue Thursday.
Dec. 3 (Bloomberg) -- Audi AG plans to roll out an electric-powered crossover in 2017 to challenge Tesla Motors Inc. for wealthy, environmentally conscious consumers.
Long Beach-based environmental consultant Alta Environmental has announced the opening of a new office serving San Diego County, providing environmental technical and expert consulting to both public and private sector clients.
The U.S. Supreme Court agreed to decide whether the Obama administration went too far with new power-plant pollution caps that the government estimates will cost almost $10 billion a year.
"Global warming strikes America! Brrrr!” So tweeted U.S. Rep. Vicky Hartzler (R-Mo.) last week, as much of the United States experienced extreme cold.
As November’s general election creates numerous possibilities for policy change both in San Diego and across the country, a group of executives from companies and groups involved in the expansion of solar energy systems discussed the state of their economies at a Daily Transcript roundtable.
As the number of buildings attaining LEED status in San Diego continues to rise, the definition of energy efficiency and the technologies that make for it continue to evolve.
In the aftermath of the summer bankruptcy of the government-backed California solar panel maker Solyndra, expectations among renewable energy wonks, who describe the company’s failure as an outlier among many successes, remain generally high. But some policy research analysts are more skeptical — not doubtful, but still skeptical.
Last week, millions in San Diego County found themselves without electricity in the wake of a multi-state blackout. But not everyone was without power.
Working in the energy business was never a goal for Lee Krevat, now the director of smart grid and clean transportation for San Diego Gas & Electric, and in fact was the result of a begrudgingly made career switch from Silicon Valley at the behest of his family.
It took eight years of operating in the red before Pearson Fuels began to turn a profit, but now that the alternative-fuels gas station and distributer is celebrating its 10th anniversary, it is finally seeing revenues in the multiple six-figure range, general manager Mike Lewis said. What’s his advice to others considering entering the market? “Don’t do it.”
When entering San Diego's business community about 30 years ago, Clint Walker’s aim had nothing to do with being in the solar business. His success as the co-founder and president of Southwestern Solar Systems since his entrance to the business in 2009 came about in much the same fashion his other major endeavors have.
Holly Smithson's thirst for action and results led her to CleanTECH San Diego, the industry association that was just being put together back then by Mayor Jerry Sanders and Jim Waring, its founder chairman.
When Cecilia Aguillon, director of marketing and government relations for Kyocera Solar Inc., immigrated to the United States from El Salvador as a teen, she grew into a young adult with a lofty goal in mind: to save the world.
In 2007, executives at Baker Electric decided to take a chance on a budding industry. After taking some lumps out of the gate, Baker's emergence into the solar electric installation market is becoming a regular and important part of its business.
Some people look at buildings and see a combination of wood, steel and mortar with a number of things inside to make them more comfortable and workable — lighting, computers and maybe a few windows, even if they can't be opened.
KVA Stainless Inc. is a research and development company involved in developing and promoting a martensitic stainless steel alloy that rivals the strength of titanium but is lower in cost and lighter in weight, making it suitable for many industrial applications, from automotive to agriculture, as well as oil and gas pipelines, sports equipment, aviation, medical devices and train cars.
Reducing emissions and energy costs while helping the environment is the goal that drew Doug Poffinbarger to energy consulting.
Austin Veum Robbins Partners (AVRP) approaches its design with a blend of pragmatism and beyond-architecture thinking that keeps it successful, and an awards recipient, even in climates like today's softer market.
Miramar-based Waxie Sanitary Supply, one of the nation's best-known producers and distributors of bathroom and kitchen paper and cleaning products, has gone green.
A homegrown San Diego business has taken its architectural foam products onto the green scene.
With over a decade installing residential and commercial solar, Stellar Solar is one of the oldest and most experienced solar energy companies now operating in San Diego – we specialized in solar before it was hot!
Oct. 9, 2012 -- George Chamberlin talks with Sachu Constantine, director of policy at the California Center for Sustainable Energy, about the solar industry and what its impacts are on the region, state and country.
Learn about the latest eco-friendly innovations and how local businesses are trying to reduce their impact on the environment.
This edition focuses on new technologies and green building techniques that can aid in conserving water.
Learn about new options to finance solar energy systems, how retrofitting a swimming pool can reduce utility costs and local government’s latest commitment to become sustainable.
Learn about the latest eco-friendly innovations and how local businesses are trying to reduce their impact on the environment.
Read about local pioneers in environmental science, how electric cars are taking over San Diego’s streets, and why one Chargers player loves his Smart car.
From “green roofs” to sustainable surfboards, learn about the latest eco-friendly innovations and how local businesses are trying to reduce their impact on the environment.
Learn about the latest innovations in eco-friendly technology and how local businesses are going green.
Take a closer look at how businesses in various sectors throughout the region are embracing sustainability.
Explore some of the local companies and products driving green innovation.
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