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Energy Efficiency 
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In State of the Union Speech, Obama Targets Jobs, Energy
With much of his focus on jobs and the economy, the president called for policies aiming to spur a “rising, thriving middle class” and quicken the country’s slow climb from recession. But in the wide-ranging speech, he left plenty more for states to chew on — particularly in energy and environmental issues. more
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Northeastern States To Drastically Cut Emissions Cap
Nine Northeastern states will drastically cut the region’s carbon cap under proposed changes to the region’s cap-and- trade program, they announced Thursday. more
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As Washington Gridlock Persists, States Get Creative in Funding Renewable Energy
The federal government has drastically reduced its funding for renewable energy. States have come up with some unusual ways to try and replace it. more
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States Ease Financing for Energy-Efficient Upgrades
Several states are experimenting with an “on-bill” loan financing program that aims to spur investment in energy efficiency for homes and businesses — even for owners who lack capital. more
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Energy Efficiency Push Survives State Budget Crunch
TODAY'S TAKE: As Congress scales back its Home Star program and state budgets shrink, states are looking for long-term savings by investing in their own energy efficiency programs. A new report finds that all states improved energy performance in the past year.more -
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Consumers Wary of Smart Meters
New high-tech electric meters are supposed to help save energy. As states let utilities roll out smart meters, however, consumers are complaining that their costs are going up rather than down.more -
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Loans for Green Homes
States are awash in federal money for energy efficiency - $5 billion to weatherize low-income homes and another $6.5 billion for a wide range of projects from enforcing building codes to researching new energy efficiency technologies. But a South Carolina electric cooperative association wants $4.5 billion more to help rural homeowners who they say will otherwise be left out of the green revolution. The funding would allow an innovative home-efficiency financing plan forged in a handful of states to go nationwide, potentially making a big dent in the Obama administration's energy goals.more -
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Mixed Response to Appliance Rebates
TODAY'S TAKE: A federal stimulus program that offers rebates to consumers who buy energy-efficient appliances is getting a mixed response, suggesting that it depends heavily on how states manage it. Iowa and Minnesota have seen such strong demand that state Web sites crashed. Georgia and Michigan are among the states that still have plenty of rebates on hand.more -
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States Rethink Weatherization Program
Inspired by $5 billion in stimulus money, some states are proposing radical new approaches to a decades-old home insulation program for low-income families. But critics are leery of changing a program that works.more -
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Home Insulation Program Takes Heat
A little-known home insulation program for low-income families is getting a huge boost in funding under the Obama administration's economic stimulus plan, but critics doubt states will be able to hire and train workers fast enough to meet the deadlines.more -
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Renewable Energy Fuels Colorado Governor
Few governors have championed renewable energy as aggressively as Colorado Democrat Bill Ritter. So far, voters seem to appreciate his efforts.more -
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States' green-building laws 'lead by example'
While rarely requiring private developers to meet eco-aware standards enacted for public buildings, some states are offering builders tax breaks and other incentives to pursue energy-efficient construction. Long-term energy savings are a bonus.more -
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California's Latest Exhaust Rules Riling Carmakers
The automobile industry is suing to block California's precedent-setting effort to slash tailpipe emissions of heat-trapping gases linked to global warming in a showdown that will shape the kind of cars on the road next decade. more
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States Set Example with Green-Power Policies
Colorado lawmakers are expected to vote this week on making renewable energy account for a certain percentage of power purchases. Fifteen other states already have laws that let government set the pace in buying energy from green power, broadly defined as sources such as wind, sun and water. more
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States Push Pollution Rules, Power Line Authority
This was the year of the blackout, an almost unfathomable electrical failure that in minutes turned off the power from New York to Toronto to Cleveland on the afternoon of Aug. 14, stranding millions. It was also a year when states balked at White House efforts to rewrite the Clean Air Act in ways that some states fear will aggravate pollution and smog. Yet the states, while insisting that Washington keep enforcing environmental rules, also want the feds to keep hands off state power line decisions. more
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California Sets Pace In Renewable Energy Development
If most states had followed California in developing renewable energy resources in the 1980s, experts say, the United States today would be significantly less dependent on pollution-causing fossil fuels and close to compliance with the Kyoto climate change accord the Bush administration recently repudiated. California has invested heavily and consistently in energy conservation programs and the development of wind, solar, biomass, geothermal, hydro and other forms of alternative power generation - even in the face of its electricity debacle. more
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NGA Meeting Ends With Fed-State Plan on Electric Ills
Providence , R.I. - The National Governors' Association Tuesday unveiled a plan to work with the Bush administration to identify and fix problems with the U.S. transmission grid, the nation's electric power distribution system. more
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California Crisis Overshadows Power Plant Building Boom
Citizens throughout the country are finding there's little they can do to stop an unprecedented power plant construction boom as states seek to prevent California-sized electricity problems by building more power plants and private investors move to cash in on fears of power outages. Although precise figures are hard to come by, an estimated 700 plants are under construction or on the drawing boards to be completed by 2007 at a cost of about $140 billion, according to Arlington, Va.-based Energy Ventures Analysis Inc., a leading consultant in the energy field. more
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Power Shortage Not California's Only Energy Problem
Californians who have thus far avoided the sting of rising electricity costs in the midst of the state's power crisis should brace themselves for the trip to the mailbox when this month's natural gas bill arrives. But it's not just Californians who will feel the pinch. With supply tight, demand increasing and prices soaring, natural gas bills nationwide for this December could be twice as high as last year's winter bills. more
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States Embracing Use of 'Green Power'
Demand for "green power" -- electricity generated by renewable energy sources such as wind and water -- is slowly rising. The movement owes its momentum to state policies. Texas, for example, recently passed an electric utility deregulation law stipulating that a certain percentage of Lone Star electricity must be made with green power. For more information, click on more