Latest News
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Early Sunset on Missouri Solar Utility Rebate
The writing was on the wall; we knew it was coming. In Missouri, the $2 per watt rebate being paid by investor-owned utilities (IOUs) was scheduled to be reduced to $1.50 per watt starting in 2014. This reduction was designed to make the rebate last longer, since it represented as much as 2/3 of the…
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Film Review: Chasing Ice
The 22nd annual St. Louis International Film Festival, which ran from November 14-24, offered the typical variety of independent films. I appreciated the chance to review a few of the movies featuring environmental issues. Chasing Ice was a riveting documentary about the melting glaciers in the great Arctic Circle. James Balog, a photographer for National…
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Film Review: Uranium Drive-In
The 22nd annual St. Louis International Film Festival, which ran from November 14-24, offered the typical variety of independent films. I appreciated the chance to review a few of the movies featuring environmental issues. Uranium Drive-In highlighted a bleak situation in Colorado, illustrating an ongoing debate about nuclear power and the environment vs. jobs and…
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Update on Missouri Solar Coaster
Since writing my November Going Green column, a lot has happened. Ameren Missouri, the largest utility in Missouri, filed a petition with the Missouri Public Service Commission stating that they had reached their 1% cost cap over which they could no longer offer solar rebates. In reviewing Ameren’s calculations, the PSC testified that some of…
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Green Gift Envelopes
Once again, ‘tis the season to give gifts. We are conditioned to think that these gifts must come in boxes or bags, but an attractive alternative may be shared in a simple envelope. I’m not suggesting cash (even if that’s the quintessential green!) or gift cards, but something more personalized that shows the recipient how…
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Forecast for Missouri Solar Industry: Partly Cloudy
In 2008, two-thirds of Missouri voters approved the Missouri Clean Energy Initiative, which required that investor-owned utilities in the state get at least 15% of their electric power from renewable resources like wind and solar by 2021. Voters were promised that a 1 percent cap would be placed on utility costs to minimize impacts on…
