As the economy continues to improve, so does the green economy. Here’s the latest news for you:

• For a Few, Focus on Green Products Pays Off:  Manufacturers who have long aligned themselves with environmental causes, like Seventh Generation and Method, have rebounded better from the recession than the “green” lines of larger, more traditional manufacturers.
• Start-Ups Work to Reinvent the Combustion Engine: As the first mass-produced electric carshit the streets, Pinnacle is just one of several start-ups backed by prominent Silicon Valley venture capitalists aiming to reinvent the century-old internal combustion engine. The big promise: vast improvements in fuel economy and reduced greenhouse gas emissions at a lower cost.
• GE Goes Solar: The giant global conglomerate has announced it will build a 400 megawatt annual production capacity thin-film solar manufacturing plant in the U.S. This largest solar manufacturing plant in the U.S. will employ 400. GE will announce the plant site, or sites shortly. Multiple locations are possible, sharing the wealth among communities as it were.
• Next To Go Mainstream: Mass Energy Storage: If energy from wind and solar can be stored at the right price (read low) then the intermittency of those renewables will no longer be a problem: mass energy storage could eventually turn intermittent renewables into baseload, round-the-clock power. Here are some companies that are pursuing this.
• Viridity Energy to Develop Large Scale Energy Storage to Optimize Wind Energy for Philadelphia University and Hospitals: Viridity Energy has announced a partnership with Thomas Jefferson University and Thomas Jefferson University Hospitals (Jefferson) to develop and implement a project aimed at maximizing the economic and environmental value of its energy resources.
• Solar upstart BrightSource Energy files to go public: BrightSource Energy plans to raise $250 million from the stock market to build a pipeline of utility-scale solar power projects.
• On the hunt for green-tech game changers: Many clean-tech companies have run into a wall trying to scale up their products, for purely business reasons, such as the high costs of building factories or the difficulty of selling to conservative utilities. But by picking their niches, some promising green-tech companies have made real progress, even if the field of venture investors may be narrowing.

Lots of action in the green economy in the past few weeks - check it out:

• Lake Erie offshore wind project is a ‘go’: General Electric and an Ohio-based wind developer plan to build an offshore wind farm in Lake Erie in late 2012. The Great Lakes region has good wind and potential for substantial power production.
• Toyota and Telsa to revive Fremont plant for electric vehicles: Toyota announced plans today to build an electric vehicle at the recently closed New United Motor Manufacturing Inc. (NUMMI) plant in Fremont, Calif. Reopening the plant will create 1,000 jobs.
• 900 homes have solar panels at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina: The United States military will have solar panels for hot water installed in 900 homes at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina, making the base one of the largest residential producers of solar thermal power. Each house on the base will have one panel on its roof that will cover 75 percent of its hot water needs.
• Climate bill will create 200,000 jobs: A new report estimates that, if enacted, the provisions in the Senate climate and energy bill  would create 200,000 new jobs each year from 2011 to 2020. Given that the number of employed civilians in the United States currently exceeds 140 million, that’s a drop in the bucket.
• Cannon Power Group and Gamesa Partner on Baja California Wind Farm: Cannon Power Group and Gamesa Technology Corp. have announced that they have entered into an agreement for the development of a series of wind farms known as the Aubanel Wind Project in Baja California, Mexico near the town of La Rumorosa – approximately 60 miles east of San Diego and 15 miles south of the US - Mexico border.
• DOE awards $62 million for solar power R&D : The U.S. Department of Energy has made $62 million available to 13 companies to test equipment and materials, such as molten salts, to add storage to solar power systems that use heat to produce electricity.

The past few weeks have been busy ones in the world of green jobs. We’ve rounded up the most important news to help you on your green job hunt:

• California’s new climate change law will add more jobs: The California Air Resources Board, tasked with monitoring state air pollution levels, projects the law will add 10,000 new jobs to the state by 2020. So if you’re in California, that’s good news!
• Smith Electric Vehicles building in Kansas City: As part of their growth in the US, Smith Electric Vehicles is now assembling their Newton medium duty electric truck in Kansas City, Missouri. They’ve also been added to the GSA purchasing schedule, which means a shot at GSA’s $1 billion per year purchasing of electric vehicles.
• Navy awards $200 million for 40 MW of solar power on US bases: The Navy choseSunEdison, AECOM Energy/Solar Power Partners Inc., SunPower Corporation, SunDurance Energy LLC, and Chevron Energy Solutions Company to construct, own, operate, and maintain the systems, selling the power to the Navy and Marine Corps through power purchase agreements.
• Biodiesel tax credit restored: The US Senate approved a massive job-creation bill  on Wednesday that restores a $1 a gallon biodiesel tax credit for 2010 that had expired at the end of last year. The US biodiesel industry employs about 23,000 people.
• Ingeteam picks Milwaukee for US wind, solar factory: Spain-based Ingeteam, a supplier to the wind and solar energy industries, will build a $15 million clean energy manufacturing facility in Milwaukee and create 275 jobs.
• Nevada lands first Chinese wind turbine factory in US: The factory, to be developed in conjunction with US Renewable Energy Group and American Nevada Group, will employ about 1,000 Nevada workers in â”high paying, long-term jobs”.

Here’s our latest roundup of news related to current and planned green jobs:

• eSolar and NRG agree on partnership:   NRG Energy, one of the United States’ most coal-dependent utilities, has signed a deal with California startup eSolar to develop solar power plants. Read more…
• Distributed solar is creating jobs: In California, regulators authorized the utility Southern California Edison’s program to install 500 megawatts of solar on commercial rooftops. Also, the New York Power Authority announced a program to install 100 megawatts of solar arrays around the state. Read more…
• San Francisco readies for electric cars: The San Francisco building code will soon be revised to require that new structures be wired for car chargers. Read more…
• Financing spurs building retrofits: On the heels of San Francisco’s announcement last week that it plans to spend $150 million greening up homes, comes a new report that studies a slew of other innovative ways to finance energy efficiency improvements for all types of buildings. Read more…
• NV Energy and NextLight Renewable Power Sign 25-Year Power Purchase Agreement for Solar Project: The project will employ up to 230 workers during construction and is targeted for initial energy deliveries in May 2011. Read more…
• More wind power in Nebraska: The Nebraska Public Power District, along with Midwest Wind Energy, Edison Mission Group, and EMG affiliate Laredo Ridge Wind, have announced the signing of a 20-year power purchase agreement that will pave the way for construction of an 80-megawatt wind farm near Petersburg, Nebraska. Read more…

A quick rundown of green jobs news for the week:

• Green jobs in the midwest: A new report from the Univ. of Michigan and the Climate Group could add up to 100,000 new jobs in the midwest from wind turbines, hybrid vehicles manufacturing, and other low carbon technologies.
• Climate change creates more jobs: Revenues from energy efficiency, renewables, and other climate-related sectors could top $2 trillion by 2020, according to a report by HSBC Global Research. Growth of this magnitude will fuel increased job opportunities.
• Wind power is going strong: The world’s wind power capacity grew by 31% in 2009, with new wind developments representing more than $2.2 billion in investments.
• Hawaiian solar: Hoku Scientific and Tianwei are investing $50 million in solar projects throughout Hawaii - creating jobs for both installation and operation of the projects.

With 24-hour news stations, the internet, and radio spewing news at you, sometimes it’s easy to miss what’s important. In this case, news about green jobs, currently available and soon to be. So we’ve rounded up some recent items that may affect your own job search - in a positive way:

• Samsung Signs $6.6 Billion Deal to Build Wind and Solar Power in Ontario- Under the terms of the agreement, officials said, Samsung must build four manufacturing plants in Ontario, promising 16,000 direct and indirect jobs over the next five years. The energy generated will be enough for 580,000 homes.
• More solar power to be built in 2010: Between 500 and 600 megawatts of solar power will be built this year across the United States €” about double the figure of last year — according to Larry Sherwood, who compiles and studies such data as a consultant to the Interstate Renewable Energy Council, a nonprofit industry group. Key employers would be Southern California Edison and Pacific Gas and Electric.
• Indiana Chosen for Electric-Car Plant: The Think City, a battery-powered, two-seat hatchback, is set to begin rolling off the Indiana assembly line in early 2011, ramping up to a potential annual production of 20,000 cars by 2013. Think said it will spend more than $43 million to upgrade the Elkhart factory, which is expected to eventually employ more than 400 workers.
• Confluence Solar to Invest $200 Million in Tennessee Manufacturing and Distribution Facility: Innovation Valley Inc., a regional economic development initiative of Knoxville and Oakridge Tennessee has announced that Confluence Solar will invest $200 million in a manufacturing, warehousing and distribution facility in Clinton, Tennessee, near Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL).
• Tesla officially calls Chicago home: It appears Tesla Motors has truly sweetened up their Chicago home and officially opened its Windy City doors.

Each of these represent new green jobs - so get hunting and good luck!