Energy and water earmarks flow to campaign donors.
Greenwire 12 Mar
Solutions
Politics
Other NewsEditorialsChortling at Chu.Our secretary of energy pushes bio-refineries and windmills to oil executives at an energy conference as the administration announces a three-year offshore drilling ban. This is a policy for economic suicide. Investors Business Daily 13 Mar Cap and tax.The chosen solution for reducing greenhouse-gas emissions, a combination of energy taxes and carbon controls, is politically inexpedient. That means that the Senate's Green Three will have to buy the votes they need, sweetening the deal with special favors and parochial giveaways. National Public Radio 12 Mar Unconventional gas: This changes everything.Natural gas is becoming less like oil and more like coal, which is a good thing. Economist 12 Mar Ex-goalie offside on oilsands.Hardly a day goes by without some misinformed demonization of Alberta's oilsands. The latest comes from former New York Rangers goaltender Mike Richter, who blamed the lack of snow at the Vancouver Olympics on global warming caused by "dirty oil" from Alberta. Calgary Herald 12 Mar Obama's energy 'deal'.President Obama used his January State of the Union speech to promise "a new generation of safe, clean nuclear power plants" and "new offshore areas for oil and gas development." Judging by its recent decisions, we'd say his Cabinet hasn't received the memo. Wall Street Journal 11 Mar The electorate will decide climate law.Cap-and-trade legislation has failed to advance, and in what some see as an effort to get it moving, the Environmental Protection Agency has threatened to act against stationary sources of pollution itself. Charleston Daily Mail 10 Mar Energy usage in the 21st century.Energy generation and pricing are poised to undergo significant change in the coming decades. We think the PUC's move last week will serve as an introduction to that new world. Denver Post 07 Mar Promising idea from the TVA.The Tennessee Valley Authority hopes to nudge its customers toward time-of-day metering as part of an overall plan to curb growth in electricity demand. Memphis Commercial Appeal 06 Mar OpinionInterview: Energy Secretary Steven Chu.Energy Secretary Steven Chu, a vocal advocate for alternative energy and nuclear power, was in Silicon Valley earlier this week to talk about the role of clean energy in combating global climate change. San Jose Mercury News 13 Mar Debate: Nuclear plants.Policymakers and citizens recognize the need to work toward a more diversified and sustainable mix of energy sources. For most, this mix would include a new generation of nuclear power that has been widely promoted by the industry as safe, clean and affordable. Green Bay Press-Gazette 13 Mar Nuclear safe, efficient way to meet energy demands.For starters, producing nuclear-generated electricity is cheaper than any other major source of power. Granted, the cost of building nuclear plants is high, but comparatively low nuclear fuel costs yield significant savings over a plant's lifetime. McClatchy Newspapers 13 Mar Nuclear is a safe and efficient way to meet rising energy demands.What would help create hundreds of thousands of well-paying jobs, bring millions of dollars to federal and state treasuries, provide clean air, and enable America to be less dependent on foreign oil? Building more nuclear plants. McClatchy Newspapers 12 Mar Energy Secretary Chu looks ahead.The US needs to step up and lead in the global clean tech energy revolution. Climate Central 12 Mar Climate surprise and empty desert vistas.Climate change requires us to respond by building large numbers of renewable energy facilities in lieu of burning carbon-based fuels. That is the only direct route to resolving our overarching environmental challenge: to directly reduce CO2 emissions. San Diego Daily Transcript 12 Mar Solar PV has failed in Germany and it will fail in the UK.Against my instincts I have come to oppose solar photovoltaic power in the UK, and the feed-in tariffs designed to encourage it, because the facts show unequivocally that this is a terrible investment. London Guardian 12 Mar Battle over biofuel strategy.One of the few points of agreement is that current biofuels policy looks like a serious mistake. BBC 11 Mar |
Putin in deal to build nuclear reactors for India.
World Economic Forum
India and Russia today signed a nuclear co-operation agreement, which paves the way for the building of about a dozen nuclear reactors in India, with Russian help, over the next few decades. London Guardian 13 Mar Leno engineers a rerun.
General Motors
"Tonight Show" host Jay Leno is reviving the turbine-powered EcoJet: "In 1963, Chrysler Corporation produced a batch of turbine cars and took them on test drives around the world. In countries where people were still riding bicycles and donkeys, Americans were driving jets." New York Times 13 Mar Made in the U.S.A.: Efficiency materials.While solar and wind manufacturers in the United States struggle to fend off Chinese competition, energy efficiency equipment seems to have no such problem. New York Times 13 Mar £3bn coal power plant will test strength of Ed Miliband's environment rules.A new plant in Scotland will have to prove that carbon capture technology works. London Guardian 13 Mar Honda drives toward home solar hydrogen refueling.Coming not so soon and probably not to a house near you is the home solar hydrogen refueling station -- Honda Motor Co's latest idea in its drive to make hydrogen the fuel of choice for zero emission cars. Reuters 13 Mar British Columbia OKs 19 projects in clean power push.British Columbia has given the green light to 19 private-sector clean energy projects that together will generate more than 2,400 gigawatt hours of electricity annually, enough power to supply nearly 218,000 homes in Canada's Pacific Coast province. Reuters 13 Mar World Bank to partner with Caribbean on renewable energy options.On Thursday, the President of the World Bank met with the heads of government of CARICOM countries in Rouseau, Dominica. Small island states face unique challenges, and the Bank is exploring opportunities to support renewable solutions. Kingston Jamaica Observer 13 Mar Kenya approves new mega wind farm.The government has approved Gitson Energy Ltd's plans to build a 300-megawatt wind farm at Bubisa in Marsabit. Turkana Windpower also plans to build a 300 MW wind farm at Turkana. Nairobi Daily Nation 13 Mar Sunshine is free, so can photovoltaics be cheap?Here's how to make a solar cell from silicon: take one solid block of doped silicon, saw it into thin wafers, layer said semiconductors beneath a panel of transparent glass, connect them to a metal electrode that can channel away the electrons knocked loose by incoming photons. Scientific American 13 Mar Scottish Power wins carbon capture technology funding.Scottish Power has won "tens of millions of pounds" in government funding to develop new technology to tackle climate change. BBC 13 Mar Scots energy giant given grant to help plan 'clean' power station.Energy firms ScottishPower and E.ON have been awarded funding to design power plants which can trap and store carbon emissions permanently underground. Edinburgh Scotsman 13 Mar State support key to U.S. nuclear revival.Full support from state regulators is viewed as critical to keep the U.S. nuclear revival moving forward, utility executives said this week at the IHS CERA energy conference in Houston. Reuters 13 Mar Senate approves bill that includes biodiesel credit.The U.S. Senate approved a bill that extends the $1-a-gallon tax credit for biodiesel, which expired Dec. 31. Bloomberg News 13 Mar Climate-change panel under scrutiny.A global coalition of national science academies will review how the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change operates, United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon announced this week. Chemical & Engineering News 13 Mar Longannet owner to share £90m government fund for carbon capture.Prospects for a new industry bringing 10,000 jobs to Scotland are a step closer after a Whitehall decision to finance work on adding carbon capture and storage equipment to Longannet power station in Fife. London Times 13 Mar White House finalizing rules to cut car emissions.The White House is finalizing rules on the first U.S. greenhouse gas emission standard for automobiles, which would raise average fuel economy 42 percent by 2016, in a bid to slash oil imports and fight climate change. Reuters 12 Mar Energy: A foot on the gas.Policymakers have faced a trilemma: how to make energy supplies secure, affordable and clean. Now an abundance of gas appears to provide the answer to all three problems at once. However, there are two problems that could prevent gas from being the “long-term energy solution.” London Financial Times 12 Mar Burning wood as renewable power draws scrutiny in Oregon and nationwide.The modern incarnation of civilization's oldest form of generating energy is seen as one of Oregon's best sources for generating reliable, home-grown electricity that doesn't come from fossil fuels. Portland Oregonian 12 Mar Exxon chief doubts natural gas in cars is viable move.Exxon Mobil Corp. chief executive Rex Tillerson isn't just promoting his own petroleum products – he's investing billions of dollars to boost Exxon's natural gas production. He just thinks we'll need more natural gas for power generation, not for cars and trucks. Dallas Morning News 12 Mar Natural gas: An unconventional glut.A gasified American economy would have profound effects on both international politics and the battle against climate change. Economist 12 Mar Home efficiency program poised for growth.A widely praised program to encourage homeowners to add solar panels and make their houses more energy efficient is on the verge of a ramp-up. New York Times 12 Mar Canada snuffs out renewables funding.Canadian environmental groups have blasted the federal government following the axing of a crucial renewable power funding programme in last week's budget. London Business Green 12 Mar Electric cars jostle for position on the power grid.Wall plugs will be increasingly appearing on production models from the world's biggest car makers. So, electricity providers and governments will be scrambling to prepare for the as-yet-unknown effects of shackling our transport power needs to the electricity grid. New Scientist 12 Mar Scientists propose naming electricity savings after physicist.A group of prominent scientists propose "the Rosenfeld," a unit for electricity savings, be named after Bay Area physicist Arthur Rosenfeld who is widely known as the "godfather" of energy efficiency and served on the California Energy Commission. San Jose Mercury News 12 Mar Fuel cells a tough sell in a coal-fired economy.The replacement for this dirty power in coming years may not be what most expect - it could come from a box about the size of a small washing machine that sits down the side of your house. Melbourne Age 12 Mar Executive departures at clean energy firms.The past week has brought a spate of executive departures at renewable energy start-ups, with the president of SolarReserve, a power plant builder, and the chief executives of Clipper Windpower and Aurora Biofuels stepping down. New York Times 12 Mar State regulators approve $9 million in solar research grants, PG&E solar contract.The California Public Utilities Commission approved more than $9 million in solar research grants Thursday and also gave the go-ahead to a solar contract for the Pacific Gas & Electric Co. Los Angeles Times 12 Mar Five countries fall behind on European renewable energy goals.The European Commission said on Thursday that five countries were failing to meet goals for renewable energy but that they could make up their quotas by buying electricity from North Africa and the Balkans. New York Times 12 Mar California OKs renewable energy credits to meet mandate.California utilities can use renewable energy credits to comply with state renewable-energy requirements, which should make it easier for utilities to meet the state's aggressive mandates, the California Public Utility Commission decided Thursday. Dow Jones Newswires 12 Mar Bio-fuel plant opens.Fiji's inaugural bio-diesel plant was launched on Koro Island mid-week at a cost of $392,000 initially employing seven villagers, which will later increase to 12. Fiji Times 12 Mar |