Renewable Energy Trends, February 2010

The New York Times reported on President Obama’s proposed spending plan sent to Congress this week.

With a proposed budget increase of 6.8 percent, the Department of Energy appears to be one of the few ‘winners.’ However, not all sources of energy were pleased, as fossil fuel providers were unhappy with budget cuts related to the oil industry.

According to the Times, “Obama recommended subsidizing new nuclear plants with loan guarantees and shoveling more money at wind and solar research.” Read article

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The University of California, Davis, is planning on building a waste-to-energy power plant. The project calls for the plant to begin running in 2013 or 2014.

UC Davis received a federal stimulus grant to help fund the new plant that will be one of the nation’s first.

Read the full article for more on the new renewable resource efforts to be used to supply electricity to apartments for faculty, staff, and students.

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In a follow-up, Popular Science has published the fifth step in “Renovating American Infrastructure,” sewage.

The discussion centers around turning the country’s estimated 12 trillion gallons of wet sewage into energy and drinking water. Read about: “turning sledge into electricity, using robots to detect sewage pipe leaks, and using urine to make fertilizer.”

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