PORTLAND, Ore. - In an ongoing effort to 'go green,' Oregon Health & Science University has now installed an electric car charging station for its patients, visitors and staff.

The charging station is located on the fifth floor of the large parking structure across from Doernbecher Children's Hospital on Southwest Campus Drive.

The economy was in the tank last year but the clean-energy sectors tracked by Clean Edge continued to grow. What's hot in 2010?

The clean energy business grew more than 11 percent in 2009, despite a continued recession, according to the annual Clean Energy Trends Report, released Tuesday by Portland-based research and publishing firm Clean Edge.

When Nike first began incorporating sustainability into its business practices, the risks and opportunities we grappled with seemed distant -- indeed, even non-existent to most businesses.

There was no "best practices" path to follow. So out of necessity and using our culture of innovation we experimented with different approaches, invited a few select partners to join with us, and hoped that our passion and ability to innovate would carry us forward.

Fifteen years later, the risks and opportunities that businesses face from environmental and social challenges are more obvious than ever.

The Klamath Tribes have recently announced plans to develop a biomass cogeneration facility on the former Crater Lake Mill Site that they recently acquired. The biomass facility is the “centerpiece” in what will become known as the Tribes’ “Giiwas Green Enterprise Park.” According to Joe Kirk, Chairman of the Klamath Tribes,

Google’s Bill Weihl expresses his opinion, “We see a chance to make a difference in the field of renewable energy and energy information that can help bring the world to a lower carbon and more efficient economy.” Google is known for its Internet search engine. Now they want to make inroads into green technology too. They declared in 2007 that they want to invest in clean and green technology and want to do research of their own in the field of alternative energy. Now Google’s engineers are putting their effort and energy into solar technology. We all know that solar power is clean and green fuel. But the cost of solar panels prevents us from utilizing solar energy extensively. Now Google Inc. is trying to come up with its own solar panel with a reduced cost of 25%.

Gov. Ted Kulongoski signed into law Thursday a bill allowing electricity produced from older biomass energy facilities to count toward the state’s renewable energy requirements.Under House Bill 3674, biomass plants built before 1995 will now be eligible for renewable energy credits that utilities can count toward meeting the state’s renewable energy standard.

The homes that underwent the strictest certification, being tested by third parties, and thus likely to be the "greenest" did even better. They commanded prices 25% higher than regular homes, says the ECert report by Seattle-based GreenWorks Realty. It evaluates data from the Northwest Multiple Listing Service, which began allowing real estate agents to mark homes as eco-certified in 2007.

After retiring from a 27 year career with PP&L as a Residential and Commercial Division Manager, Buzz Thielman had a dream to build a company that would assist large corporations, commercial businesses and industries in saving energy.  With humble beginnings, Buzz started RHT Energy Solutions and has developed an impressive list of clients: Energy Trust of Oregon, Pacific Power, Avista, and the Bonneville Administration, among others.  The business side is remarkable, but RHT is our February Spirit of Green Success story because they "walk the sustainable walk".