"President Obama's energy team is mandating up-front standards for smart grid technology to ensure that what is built by the disparate forces involved works and is efficient."

"Los Angeles will eliminate the use of electricity made from coal by 2020, replacing it with power from cleaner renewable energy sources, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa said."

The offshore wind farms that were to replace Germany's nuclear and coal-fired power plants aren’t coming online quickly enough.

"The US, China, and dozens of other countries are meeting [this week] in Egypt to chart the course of a new international agency aimed at promoting renewable energy."

"Interior Secretary Ken Salazar announced measures on Monday to hasten the development of solar energy on Western public lands."

"The Energy Department issued new standards for lighting that would save large amounts of energy by boosting the efficiency of fluorescent tubes common in office buildings and reflector lamps used in recessed fixtures in homes and retail stores."

"A new study argues the human costs of coal mining in Appalachia far outweighs its benefits."

"Where the natural gas from the Alaska Natural Gas Pipeline will end up is a murky question. ..."

"Several U.S. companies hope to race ahead of foreign rivals by using federal loans and grants to commercialize electric cars and lighter, longer-lasting batteries. But a Canadian company might get there first."

"Two of the nation’s biggest coal-burning utilities said Thursday that they were withdrawing from a $2.4 billion project to demonstrate carbon capture and storage, and would instead pursue their own work in the field."

"The federal government today issued five leases to allow wind-energy companies to explore the possibility of building wind farms off the coast of New Jersey and Delaware."

"The Department of Energy has released the first third of its $25 billion advanced technology loan fund for automakers to 'create thousands of green jobs while helping reduce the nation's dangerous dependence on foreign oil.'

Southerners are looking to their forests for alternative fuel.

Tesla Motors' chief executive, whose company has been mired in legal actions, predicted in a blog post that the company would become profitable next month.

"The Senate approved a $1 billion program yesterday to give vouchers to consumers who trade in their gas-guzzling clunkers for more fuel-efficient models -- a move that dealers hope will revive slumping auto sales."