Antarctica may not be warming as fast as computer models project; windpower and solar companies boom; and Wal-Mart offers state government free expert energy audits. It’s your Thursday edition of The Daily Five:

Climate Models Overheat Antarctica: Sometimes being wrong is good news. A new report from the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) suggests concern about warming in Antarctica may be overstated. NCAR scientist Andrew Monaghan says that while warming is clearly happening elsewhere, the best climate models consistently show greater heating than has been historically observed. Why the divergence? It seems that the models assume more water vapor in the Antarctic atmosphere than is actually present. (Newswise)

Spin This: Booming Wind Industry Still Seeks Subsidies: There’s no doubt that the U.S. windpower industry has experienced nothing short of a building boom over the past two years. But industry lobbyists are pressing hard for continued federal subsidies. Big European players — such as turbine fabricator Vestas — didn’t experience consistent growth until their home nations established long-term tax incentives for renewable power companies. The American Wind Energy Association wants Congress to extend the extending the production tax credit (PTC) through at least 2009. (WSJ.com)

Solar Sector Sucked Into Oil’s Wake: Recent bad news on the oil price front has CleanTech sectors on Wall Street flying high. Michael Carboy of Signal Hill Group describes the recent success of alternative energy concerns as an oil “tailwind.” Recent trading winners: SunPower, First Solar, Evergreen Solar, Trina Solar, and Canadian Solar — each stock rising from 6 to 17 percent in recent days. (Forbes)

Capitols Get Free Energy Audit From…Wal-Mart?!: Well, who saw this coming? Not only is big box retailer Wal-Mart actually making progress in its own energy and resource management — now they’re consulting others. The Arkansas-based retail giant will conduct free energy audits for capitol buildings in 19 states and Puerto Rico. The company will pay engineering firms to do the field work, then make recommendations based on their own experience in green renovation. (Maria Energia)

MTI Micro plans fuel cells for digicams: Fuel cells aren’t just for automobiles these days: they’re turning up as power supplies for our increasingly energy hungry portable devices. MTI MicroFuel Cells says they’ve developed a highly compact fuel cell for use in portable digital cameras. The company has signed deals with two as-yet-unnamed electronics manufactirers to replace lithium ion batteries with methane-based, rechargeable fuel cells. (CNET News)

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