Think, the Norwegian electric vehicle maker, has started production of the City at its plant in Elkhart, Ind.
The company plans to build 300 Think City electric cars there by year-end and some 2,500 in 2011. Get the full story »
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Obama signs import ban on Asian bighead carp
President Barack Obama has signed into law a ban on bringing bighead carp into the U.S. They are among two Asian carp species threatening to infest the Great Lakes.
The measure signed Tuesday adds bighead carp to a list of wildlife that cannot be imported or taken across state lines. The only exceptions would be for scientific, medical or educational purposes and would require a permit. Get the full story »
BP shares hit 7-month high on new asset sales
BP shares on Tuesday jumped to their highest level in seven months after the company announced it was selling another $775 million in assets to help pay for the Gulf oil spill.
The British oil giant expects to pay nearly $40 billion to handle the spill and has aggressively raised money to meet that obligation. In addition to suspending its dividend and selling bonds, the company has sold nearly $22 billion in assets. It plans to shed up to $30 billion in company assets by the end of 2011. Get the full story »
Exelon completes purchase of John Deere wind unit
Exelon Corp. has completed its acquisition of John Deere Renewables, a wind power company. In so doing, Exelon adds 735 megawatts of clean, renewable energy to the utility’s portfolio, or enough to power up to 220,000 households. Get the full story »
Exelon nuclear plant closing 10 years early
The nation’s oldest nuclear power plant will close in 2019 — 10 years earlier than planned — but will not have to build costly cooling towers, according to two people with direct knowledge of the situation.
The people, who spoke to The Associated Press on Wednesday on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to discuss the plans ahead of an announcement expected Thursday, said the Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station in the Forked River section of Lacey Township will close a decade earlier than called for under its current license.
In return, the aging plant, owned by Chicago-based Exelon Corp., will not be required to build one or more cooling towers to replace its current technology, which draws 1.4 billion gallons of water a day from Barnegat Bay, killing billions of aquatic creatures each year. Get the full story »
BP challenges U.S. estimates of oil spill rate
BP is mounting a new challenge to U.S. government estimates of how much oil flowed from the runaway well deep below the Gulf of Mexico. The issue will be critical in determining the size of federal pollution fines the company will pay.
Starbucks aims to recycle all used cups by 2015
(AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
Starbucks may soon serve your morning coffee in a used paper cup that has been recycled into a new paper cup or napkins, as the coffee chain aims to ensure that 100 percent of its cups are reusable or recyclable by 2015.
In 2008, Starbucks set several aggressive goals to reduce its environmental impact. Over the past year, the company has introduced front-of-the-store centers in Toronto and Seattle to recycle cups, and in San Francisco, where cups can be composted. Get the full story »
ComEd fighting Illinois conservation effort
From Crain’s Chicago Business | Exelon’s Commonwealth Edison Co. is the chief opponent of an Illinois Power Agency proposal that would to help the largest consumers of electricity finance major capital projects that would allow them to cut usage. Such cuts would hurt ComEd’s revenue and potentially reduce wholesale power prices. Get the full story>>
Exelon, others take industry clean-up in own hands
A group of utility executives who once lobbied Congress to cap greenhouse-gas emissions say they are now pressing ahead with their own efforts to clean up the industry.
“We’re making our own destiny,” said Chris Gould, vice president of corporate strategy for Exelon Corp. in Chicago, the nation’s largest owner of nuclear-power plants and one of the biggest backers of the failed “cap and trade” legislation. Get the full story »
Nissan Leaf to get equivalent of 99 mpg
The Nissan Leaf, a 100 percent electric car is test driven at the 2010 Los Angeles Auto Show. (AP/Damian Dovarganes, file)
Nissan’s new electric car, the Leaf, will get the equivalent of 99 miles per gallon in combined city and highway driving, based on government testing.
Nissan says the Environmental Protection Agency’s fuel efficiency window sticker will estimate that the electric car will get the equivalent of 106 mpg in city driving and 92 mpg on the highway. Get the full story »
One more hurdle for Volt: EPA mileage rating
General Motors has begun commercial production of the Chevrolet Volt, producing cars at the automaker’s Detroit plant intended for sale or lease to consumers.
But there’s one final problem, one that’s been dragging on for years, that needs to get cleared up. Get the full story »
Chevy to sell Volt in Chicago by mid-2012
Expect the Chevrolet Volt to be available in the Chicago area by mid-2012, when General Motors rolls out its extended range electric car across the country. Get the full story »
GM’s Chevy Volt named green car of the year
(Bill Pugliano/Getty Images)
The Chevrolet Volt plug-in electric car, the centerpiece of a revitalized General Motors, was named 2011 Green Car of the Year on Thursday.
The highly anticipated Volt received the industry’s top environmental honor the same day GM shares began trading on the New York and Toronto stock exchanges.
The Volt edged out the Nissan Leaf, Ford’s Fiesta, the Hyundai Sonata Hybrid and the Lincoln MKZ Hybrid to win the award. Get the full story »
Experts say Congress may slow green job growth
Republican gains in the next Congress will likely curtail spending on green construction projects, but the sector promises to be a source of job growth for an economy that sorely needs it, advocates say.
“America needs 30 million jobs. Our mission ought to be to make those green jobs,” David Foster, executive director of the BlueGreen Alliance, a coalition of nine labor unions and four environmental groups, told the Greenbuild Expo in Chicago. Get the full story »
