A Charlottesville company and researchers at the University of Virginia are developing a new turbine to harness wind power for electricity. The prototype wind turbine—dubbed the Blade Runner 5000—is designed to be smaller, cheaper and more efficient than traditional wind turbines. The most noticeable difference is that the turbine’s blades rotate on a vertical axis, rather than the typical horizontal axis.

MIDDLEBURY, Vt. Middlebury College used to heat its buildings with oil, then switched to wood chips. Now it has planted a sustainable and relatively cheap fuel source—willow shrubs—that could help cut demand on the state’s forests. With a 9-acre patch of the fast-growing willows, the college is conducting a biomass energy experiment.

MIDDLEBURY, Vt. Middlebury College used to heat its buildings with oil, then switched to wood chips. Now it has planted a sustainable and relatively cheap fuel source—willow shrubs—that could help cut demand on the state’s forests. With a 9-acre patch of the fast-growing willows, the college is conducting a biomass energy experiment.

Gov. Timothy M. Kaine yesterday issued an executive order implementing a broad range of eco-friendly, energy-efficiency measures in Virginia government designed to reduce energy consumption and the carbon footprint of state operations. Executive Order 82 requires that state-owned or leased buildings meet “green” certification standards and mandates increases in the use of recycled office supplies and renewable fuels. It also calls for cutbacks in the costs to heat, cool, light and irrigate state-owned facilities.

One of the signature components of green-energy legislation pushed by Gov. Timothy M. Kaine—reducing electricity consumption in Virginia 19 percent by 2025—started out as a mandate. Virginia lawmakers removed it when they unanimously passed Senate Bill 1248 last month. Seeking compromise, Kaine has amended the legislation and reinstated the 19 percent reduction—but only as a goal and not an order.