Purdue gets grant to develop cheaper solar cell
Purdue University researchers are working to increase the efficiency of a new solar cell that they say could become a significant player in energy production.
Energy & Environment
Articles
Bloomington officials narrowly OK I-69 extension
A Bloomington planning panel voted narrowly Friday to back off its opposition to a section of the Interstate 69 extension from Indianapolis to Evansville that would pass through Monroe County.
Foundations try to tap grain farmers’ wealth
The average price Indiana farmers received for a bushel of corn reached a high last August of $7.18, nearly twice as much as the prior year. That kind of windfall tends to benefit farm-equipment sales, but it could also lead to more charitable giving.
Honda looks to dealers to boost natural gas station network
Honda Motor Co. wants to double sales of its Indiana-made Civic Natural Gas sedans, but doing so
requires more fuel stations. The car maker wants some of its dealers to install pumps to sell the fuel.
Indiana county OKs project for 80 wind turbines
Charlottesville, Va.-based Apex plans to install the wind turbines in southern Wells County, about 100 miles northeast of Indianapolis.
Citizens Energy projects bigger savings from deal
Cost-savings tied to the purchase of the city’s water and sewer utilities are also expected to be realized sooner than predicted.
Ener1 reorganizing; Bright Automotive folds
Both firms appeared a few years ago to be poised to hire thousands of workers. But they slid into a tailspin as anticipated funding failed to materialize and the market prospects for hybrid and electric engines dimmed.
CARTER: Community enthusiasm palpable with eco causes
Indianapolis is beginning to focus on environment, livability.
Greencastle plant key in Ford’s environmental movement
Supplier to begin producing door part made from kenaf, a plant similar to bamboo but related to cotton.
Trucking firms shunning costly clean-burning engines
Trucking fleets, already buckling under higher costs for insurance and fuel, are finding ways around new rules that nearly eliminate nitrogen oxides and particulate matter but also sent prices of new trucks soaring.
Hybrid-vehicle hopeful Bright Automotive folding
Bright Automotive Inc., an Anderson company that once hoped to become a major hybrid-vehicle player with hundreds of employees in central Indiana, has called it quits after failing to land a $450 million government loan.
Abound Solar halts production, cuts 180 jobs
A Colorado-based solar module maker that hoped to create up to 1,200 jobs in Indiana by next year said Tuesday that it was laying off about 180 workers in Colorado as the company focuses on a more efficient product.
Citizens Energy projects greater, faster savings from deal
Citizens Energy Group says savings from combining the city’s water and sewer utilities will be 13 percent higher than expected and come two years sooner than previously predicted.
Ball State begins final phase of ambitious geothermal project
Eventually, the system will heat and cool 5.5 million square feet of buildings and save $2 million a year in operating costs.
Airport spending millions to protect rare bats
The Indianapolis Airport Authority board has approved a $504,872, two-year contract with Indiana State University to study the federally endangered Myotis sodalis, which brings to $2.5 million what the airport has paid ISU since 2004 to track and observe the minuscule mammals.
House committee deals blow to Rockport synthetic-gas plant
Questions about a synthetic natural gas plant proposed for southern Indiana led a House committee to strip tax breaks for the $2.6 billion project from a bill that already has passed the Senate.
CityWay designed to integrate retail, housing, hotel, YMCA
Architects were told to push the envelope and integrate. Be mindful of where you are in the city and integrate well.
Warmer-than-usual winter could ruin state’s fruit crops
Early warm temperatures could be bad news for the state's profitable blueberry and apple crops, which bring in more than $13 million each year. It could also hurt Indiana's growing wine-grape industry.
Columbus manufacturer to begin solar panel production
Nusun Solar says an endorsement by Underwriter’s Laboratories should lead to mass production of its commercial and residential panels.
IDEM: I-69 construction affecting streams
The Indiana Department of Transportation and a contractor on the Interstate 69 project downstate have been cited for more than a dozen deficiencies in preventing erosion and the flow of sediment into streams.