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V3Solar has released a new solar energy technology that the start-up claims could be cheaper than coal. In an exclusive on the Clean Technica blog last Thursday, the southern California-based start up claimed that its conical solar arrays can generate electricity at 8¢ a kilowatt hour: or less than two-thirds of the price of conventional electricity and even a cent cheaper than natural gas.

IKEA Group releases its 2012 sustainability report today. The 58-page document attempts to answer a question many ask themselves at the site of the ginormous blue and yellow temples of retail prowess: can a megastore selling cheap furniture and home furnishings in 300 stores around the world become a beacon of sustainability?

With just seven cows and hardly any consumers understanding “why” it made sense to eat organic, we had no supply, and no demand. Today, our annual sales are over $360 million, and the rest of the organic industry has continued to grow right alongside us. In the U.S., sales of organic food and beverages have grown from $1 billion in 1990 to over $31 billion today. Even during the recent economic downturn the organic sector grew at a much faster pace than the conventional food sector.

Taking a cue from retail warehouse buyers’ clubs, residential solar photovoltaic (PV) system buyers across the country are realizing substantial cost savings by joining group efforts to purchase and have rooftop solar PV systems installed.

Amid the shiny cars, people with dusters keeping the cars impeccably shiny, and shiny women, a few items were on display at this year’s North American International Auto Show in Detroit that would hold any crusty old environmentalist’s attention. Bikes. Not just any old, embarrassing can’t-get-your-ass-up-a-hill electric bikes. A shiny, highly-engineered bike.

With the dramatic decline in solar technology prices, more businesses and commercial property owners are taking a serious look at solar power. That brings more competition for a limited supply of commercial solar incentives offered by utilities or by government agencies -- incentives that can make or break the economics of a solar power project.

The Notbox Company, a seven-year-old venture led by former Wall Street financier Thomas Hellman, has announced that it is bringing its “leaner, meaner and greener” packaging solution to North America. The London-based Notbox, which has been serving European clients for several years, offers reusable packaging products that provide alternatives to unsustainable cardboard packaging.

Remember BP, the wind power company? It is easy to focus on a certain event in the Gulf of Mexico almost three years ago, but the global energy titan has a thriving wind energy business, too. Add the incentives for clean energy projects here in the U.S., and BP and other large firms are investing in wind turbines across the country.

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