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1. Bill O’Reilly says he found a solar installer

   Well, arch conservative, Fox News entertainer Bill O'Reilly has put the call out to get solar panels installed on his roof. He cites American dependence on OPEC as his reason for investigating solar panels. This conflates oil and coal as the resource we're dependent on, but hey, if O'Reilly got an EV and hooked it up to solar panels on his roof, then he'd be sticking it to foreign oil. I'm not holding my breath but it's good to see a conservative acknowledge the problems of foreign energy dependence.

   Submitted by Adam Lesser

2. Data center power consumption to rise 20 percent in 2012

   Market research firm, DataCenterDynamics, projects that data center power consumption will rise 20 percent to 31 GW globally in 2012. The growth rates have been less than expected over the past 5 years, in terms of data center power consumption, but a relatively more robust global economy may spike power demand again.

   Submitted by Adam Lesser

3. Renewable energy becoming cost competitive, IEA says

   The International Energy Agency has issued a report, arguing that renewable energy sources continue to fall in price and will become cost competitive in the future. Hydroelectric, wind, and solar were singled out as sources with good pricing trends.

   Submitted by Adam Lesser

4. Are Google’s green days over?

   Google has abandoned internal projects that develop green tech tools in favor of investing $850 million in outside companies.

   Submitted by Adam Lesser

5. Made with the wind

   Wind power leader Vestas is sponsoring a new branding that would go on products, saying "windmade." The idea is to brand products made with clean energy in much the same way that "fair trade" has become a brand indicating fair wages. I think this is a great way for renewable energy players to focus not just on utilities but on consumers.

   Submitted by Adam Lesser

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