Geothermal Heat Pump Systems

Geothermal heat pump (GHP) installations, a renewable energy technology where water is circulated through underground pipes to provide buildings with heating and cooling, are often confused with geothermal electricity generation or overlooked for wind or solar.  

In early July, two bills passed the New York State legislature to provide tax incentives to GHP installations -- which will help to put this technology on equal tax footing with other renewable resources.

The Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) is a "think and do tank" that helps corporations, non profit organizations, academic institutions, the military, and other organizations implement market based solutions to work in more efficeint, ecologically responsible ways.  

Maine is sweetening the pot to try to get homeowners to make their homes more energy efficient this summer. The state is offering a $1,000 cash bonus for home energy improvements completed by August 31, 2010, according to the Morning Sentinel. The new incentive is in addition to the $3,000 cash incentive that has been in effect since January to homeowners of all income levels, as well as up to $1,500 in federal tax credits.

If there ever was an event for our time, it is the Solar Decathlon (original post w/video) on the National Mall in Washington DC, the fourth one of which just concluded. Begun in 2002, with support from the U.S. Dept. of Energy (DOE), The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), and BP Solar, the Solar Decathlon brings together 20 universities from the U.S., and some from overseas, to erect innovative, full sized, green, solar powered, energy efficient homes in a "solar town" on the expanse of grass in front of the Nation's Capitol.