Interior Secretary Ken Salazar and California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed a memorandum of understanding to streamline siting and approval of renewable energy facilities on public lands.  The memorandum, the first between a state and the federal government involving energy production, aims to expedite about 30 solar, wind and geothermal projects on track to break ground by the end of 2010 and become eligible for more than $15 billion in federal stimulus funds.

In this opinion piece, Senator John Kerry writes, "Conventional wisdom suggests that the prospect of Congress passing a comprehensive climate change bill soon is rapidly approaching zero."  The senator continues:  "The message to those who have stalled for years is clear:  killing a Senate bill is not success; indeed, given the threat of agency regulation, those who have been content to make the legislative process grind to a halt would later come running to Congress in a panic to secure the kinds of incentives and investments we can pass today.  Industry needs the certainty that comes with Congressional action.  We are confident that a legitimate bipartisan effort can put America back in the lead again and can empower our negotiators to sit down at the table in Copenhagen in December and insist that the rest of the world join us in producing a new international agreement on global warming."

Solar companies are likely to report their brightest earnings in a year as the industry emerges from a brutal downturn, but analysts warn aggressive accounting may cast a shadow on the sector's outlook.  The industry has seen its profit margins and sales growth erode in the past 12 months as a glut of supply and a dearth of financing in the industry stunted the business, which had been expanding by more than 40% per year.  Still, analysts expect companies such as First Solar Inc, SunPower Corp and Chinese-based Suntech Power Holdings to report more demand in the third quarter, helped by a U.S. government economic stimulus spending and increased lending by big banks that pulled back in 2008.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced three new steps to strengthen its ability to enforce energy efficiency standards. The steps include the formation of an enforcement team within the Office of the General Counsel. Second, the Department announced a program to randomly review manufacturers’ compliance with DOE certification requirements. Finally, the Department issued guidance further detailing its energy efficiency enforcement regulations.

Beginning late next year, California pollution regulators will charge companies for emitting greenhouse gases.  The statewide fee, believed to be the first in the country, will help California pay for the monitoring and regulation of its carbon emissions required by its climate change law.  The fee is expected to raise $63 million within the first year and hit about 380 companies that produce, distribute, refine or use natural gas, coal, electricity, crude or distillates.  The targeted companies represent 85% of the state’s greenhouse gas emissions.  Businesses will pay 15 cents per metric ton of carbon dioxide they or their customers emit in the first three years of the program.  In 2014, when the state pays off loans it took out to pay for the program, the fee will likely fall to 9 cents per metric ton.

In its first look at the state of clean-tech jobs in the U.S. and globally, Clean Edge, Inc. investigates how these jobs are changing the face of industry, where the hotbeds of growth exist, and whether current clean-tech salaries are living up to their 'green-over blue-collar' promise.  According to the report, the top 15 metro areas in the U.S. for clean-tech job activity, based on an analysis of job postings, investment and patent activity, and other data, include the San Francisco Bay Area at No. 1.

The idea of a net zero-energy home as a science experiment or something you'd move into as soon as it was done are both on display at this year's Solar Decathlon student competition. Students put together high-tech homes that cost well over $700,000 and simpler ones that could be made for as little as $80,000. The contest pits 20 colleges against each other to build the best house powered only by solar energy. Student teams assemble their creations on the National Mall where they are judged in 10 contests and viewed by the public.
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Developers of algae biofuel were told at a conference to form alliances, protect their intellectual property and not be afraid to accept government funding.  One way companies can protect their IP is through patent pools, where several companies form a consortium to share their patented technology.