Business Facilities Magazine released its report on the top cities in alternative energy. I was happy to see my home city of Louisville, Kentucky made a couple of good lists. Louisville was #8 on the list of alternative energy leaders.
The top 10 list of alternative energy industry leaders is below:
- 1. Tuscon, AZ
- 2. Albuquerque, NM
- 3. Midland, MI
- 4. Clarksville, TN
- 5. Greenville, SC
- 6. Fort Madison, IA
- 7. Knoxville, TN
- 8. Louisville, KY
- 9. Junction City, KS
- 10. Bakersfield, CA
- One item that helps Louisville to get on this list is the recent news that a $20 million philanthropic contribution went to the Speed School for Engineering at the University of Louisville. Kentucky Governor Beshear has now established the Kentucky Center for Renewable Energy Research and Environmental Stewardship at the University of Louisville.
More good news for Louisville is White Energy Technology Riverport LLC wants to build a clean-energy facility that would produce alternative fuel for use in power generation at Jefferson Riverport International in southwest Jefferson County in Louisville.
Louisville also was #7 on the list of best cost of living. All of this news is music to my ears. Yay for us!
To see more of the city rankings : http://www.businessfacilities.com/Rankings/BFJulAug10_METRO_RANKINGS.PDF
Where does your city stack up?
We all remember the Cash 4 Clunkers program from last year. This was where you could trade in your older not-so-good on gas mileage vehicle for a vehicle with higher gas mileage while receiving a rebate. Well, this year we now have the 'Cash for Appliances' program for household appliances. The state of Kentucky will pay consumers up to $400 to purchase appliances designated as Energy Star Appliances. Those are appliances that meet government standards for energy efficiency. Energy Star appliances can be seen here.
The 'Cash for Appliances' program in Kentucky begins on Earth Day on April 22. Rebates will run from $50 up to $400 depending upon the appliance. In Kentucky 16 appliances have been designated to be part of the program. They include dishwashers, refrigerators, front-loading clothes washers, and hot water heaters. Dryers are not included because they are not energy efficient.
General Electric's new hybrid hot water heater which will soon be manufactured in Louisville is expected to be one of the more popular products. The state of Kentucky has $4 million to give to consumers. Once the money is gone the program is over. The amount of money each state gets was determined by its population.
To be eligible consumers have to purchase an E-Star appliance that will replace an older less efficient one. Some stores like Sears say they will be open extra hours to deal with what they expect will be a big increase in their business on that day.
To learn more about Kentucky's 'Cash for Appliances' program, specifically which appliances are eligible along with the rebate amount go to the Kentucky Department for Energy Development and Independence.
The temperatures are getting cooler and the leaves, they are changin' colors. In my corner of the world in Kentucky, I get
red from burning bushes,
green from evergreen shrubbery,
yellow is from maple trees,
golden brown from oak trees and
white from pampas grass.
Notice the Moon showing itself off in the photo below: 
Well that it for my neck of the woods for this autumn. These colors are about as peak as my colors seem to get. Do you have photos of your Fall colors?
