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Your information source for the fast-growing renewable energy industry, and the politics and business behind it. Company news, legislative and policy updates, investment insight, and analysis and opinion. Delivered twice daily – fast, accurate and unbiased. More here.
On Vacation
Green Energy Brief is conserving energy and will be back on August 24th. From our perch in the White House press room, Green Energy Brief talks with the movers and shakers in the renewable energy industry - from the President on down. Look for exclusive interviews and podcasts and more - right here. We'll see you on August 24th!Latest Podcast: President's Green Jobs Advisor
Van Jones is advisor to President Obama on green jobs, at the White House Council on Environmental Quality. He talks with Green Energy Brief's Paul Brandus about job growth, shaping the West Wing's energy agenda, and more. Click here to listen, and visit our MultiMedia Center for more material. Green Energy Brief is distributed to 475 radio stations via the Public Radio Exchange, PRX.org. Want your story heard coast-to-coast? Contact us at info@greenenergybrief.com.Friday, July 31, 2009
By Paul Brandus paul@greenenergybrief.com
Energy Innovation: How’s Obama’s Doing?
A “MicroDish” array in Arizona (NREL)
While the phrase R and D is familiar to most readers, the path from idea to innovation to established technology almost always involves two more D’s — with the full cycle being research, development, demonstration, deployment. Now an intensifying fight is brewing over just how many D’s are included in President Obama’s pledge to invest $150 billion over 10 years to propel energy innovation.More from Dot Earth…
Renewables Supply Over 11% of U.S. Energy
According to the latest issue of the "Monthly Energy Review" by the U.S. Energy Information Administration, production of renewable energy for the first third of 2009 was six percent higher compared to the same time period in 2008. Moreover, in April 2009 alone, renewable energy sources accounted for 11.1 percent of domestic energy production, exceeding the amount contributed by nuclear power.
Meantime, thanks to the recession, total U.S. energy consumption dropped 5.7% during the first four months of 2009 compared to the same period in 2008 with fossil fuel use accounting for most of the decline. For the first four months of 2009, U.S. renewable energy production was comprised of hydropower (34.6%), wood + wood wastes (31.2%), biofuels (19.0%), wind (9.3%), geothermal (4.7%), and solar (1.2%). Most of these sources grew compared to the first third of 2008 with wind expanding by 34.5%, biofuels by 14.1%, hydropower by 8.2%, and geothermal by 2.6%. The contribution from solar sources remained essentially unchanged while wood + wood waste declined by 4.9%. Here’s the government report…
Rise In 2Q Cleantech Investment Bodes Well For 3Q
After an anemic first quarter, venture capital investments in clean technology rose 73% in the second quarter to a total of $572.1 million, suggesting there is momentum for an industry expected to gain steam from government stimulus funding.
The number of deals in the quarter doubled from the first quarter to 48, according to data from Dow Jones VentureSource. The latest figures are still below the $1.41 billion spread across 57 deals in last year’s second quarter.
But the expected release of stimulus money into the sector through grants and incentives should help get investments back on track, said Joe Muscat, Ernst & Young LLP director of cleantech for the Americas.
“Barring any unforeseen capital markets circumstances, I do think we’re in a period of growth here,” Muscat says…
Emissions Trading Booming
According to a recent World Bank report, the global market in CO 2 emissions doubled its size last year, with transactions totaling $126bn in 2008 compared with $64bn in 2007 and $30bn in 2006. With the U.S. now in the process of creating its own cap-and-trade system, the market is set to get ever bigger. Currently, 75% of all transactions are in allowances and derivatives under the European Union emissions trading scheme, 80% of which are traded at the London-based European Climate Exchange . Utilities, investment banks, hedge funds and trading houses are now all involved in the business of emissions trading. More from the FT…
Wind Power: BP Chooses Land Over Sea
If your wind turbine conks out and it’s located off the Shetland Islands where the Atlantic Ocean meets the North Sea, who are you going to call? That’s one of the questions that nagged Tony Hayward, CEO of BP and guided BP’s decision to abandon the UK and look to the wide open "onshore" spaces of the U.S. Although, the British coasts have the best wind resources in Europe and the government provides large subsidies, BP’s concerns about the ability of wind turbines to survive for 20 years in extreme offshore conditions, the ability to repair offshore turbines, and the frustration at getting local approval for onshore alternatives, led BP to chose America instead. More from the Wall Street Journal…
Thursday, July 30, 2009
By Paul Brandus paul@greenenergybrief.com
Study: Efficiency Could Cut Energy Use 23% by 2020
A worker insulating a home being built in Austin, Tex. Homes account for about 35 percent of the potential efficiency gains identified in the McKinsey report. Benjamin Sklar for The New York Times.
The biggest opportunity to improve the nation’s energy situation is a major investment program to make homes and businesses more efficient, according to a study released Wednesday by the consulting firm McKinsey. An investment of $520 billion in improvements like sealing ducts and replacing inefficient appliances could produce $1.2 trillion in savings on energy bills through 2020, the study found. The report said such a program, if carried out over the next decade, could cut the country’s projected energy use in 2020 by about 23 percent, a savings that would be “greater than the total of energy consumption of Canada,” Ken Ostrowski, a senior partner in McKinsey’s Atlanta office, said at a forum in Washington on Wednesday. It would also more than offset the growth in energy use that would be expected otherwise. Read the report here…
White Roofs Catch on as Energy Cost Savers
The roof of a Wal-Mart store. J. Emilio Flores for The New York Times
Relying on the centuries-old principle that white objects absorb less heat than dark ones, homeowners and businesses are beginning to embrace “cool roofs” as one of the most affordable weapons against climate change. Studies show that white roofs reduce air-conditioning costs by 20 percent or more in hot, sunny weather. Lower energy consumption also means fewer of the carbon dioxide emissions that contribute to global warming. What is more, a white roof can cost as little as 15 percent more than its dark counterpart, depending on the materials used, while slashing electricity bills. More from the New York Times…
Scientists Looking for Ways to Make Biofuels Pay Off
“Biofuels promise more than just carbon correctness,” writes Rachel Ehrenberg in Science News. “They offer a renewable, home-grown energy source, reducing the need for foreign oil. They present ways to heal an agricultural landscape hobbled by intensive fertilizer use. Biofuels could even help clean waterways, reduce air pollution, enhance wildlife habitats and increase biodiversity. Yet in many ways, biofuels are in their beta version…”
New England Energy Developers Look to Wind
Energy developers in New England are apparently hoping for windy days rather than sunny skies.
With the push on to increase the portion of the region's power that is renewable energy, nearly 85 percent of proposals for such projects depend on wind energy, according to Gordon van Welie, the president and CEO of ISO New England, the Holyoke-based agency that distributes power in the six states.
"The reason that wind has gotten so much attention is that is has been the most economically viable of the all the renewable resources thus far and we actually have a fair amount of wind in New England," he said this week. More from MassLive…
Exelon gets OK to build Chicago Solar Plant
Exelon Corp. and SunPower Corp. have gotten approval from Chicago's City Council to develop the nation's largest urban solar power plant at a former industrial site on the city's South Side.
The council approved leasing Exelon Solar LLC a 41-acre tract on a so-called brown-field site for 25 years to install about 32,000 SunPower solar panels. The project might begin producing power in January, the companies have said.
Development of the $60 million, 10-megawatt photovoltaic array is contingent on getting federal loan guarantees from the U.S. Energy Department. Chicago-based Exelon has said it wants to finance 80 percent of the project with help of a loan guarantee. More from the Chicago Daily Herald…
NJ to More than Double Solar Power Generation
Regulators approved more than $515 million in projects Wednesday that will more than double the amount of solar power generated in New Jersey and will solidify the state's No. 2 spot behind California in power produced from the sun.
The state Board of Public Utilities gave the green light to proposals from four utilities that together will yield 145 megawatts of solar energy, enough to power about 130,000 homes, and will boost the state total to 232 megawatts.
"We're all in this climate change boat together, and we're all going to sink or swim together," board president Jeanne Fox says. More here…
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
By Paul Brandus paul@greenenergybrief.com
What’s the Difference Between House and Senate Energy/Climate Bills?
Whether it’s overall renewable portfolio standards, effect on the electric grid, carbon allowances, tax incentives and jobs and worker training, there are, in some cases, notable differences between the House Resolution 2454 (ACES) and the Senate bill 1462 (ACELA). Thanks to the Solar Energy Industries Association…
Innovation Taps Low Geothermal Heat
A new method for capturing significantly more heat from low-temperature geothermal resources holds promise for generating virtually pollution-free electrical energy, reports Environmental News Network. Scientists at the Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory are testing a new innovative approach to safely and economically extract and convert heat from vast untapped geothermal resources.
"By the end of the calendar year, we plan to have a functioning bench-top prototype generating electricity," predicts PNNL Laboratory Fellow Pete McGrail. "If successful, enhanced geothermal systems like this could become an important energy source." A technical and economic analysis conducted by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology estimates that enhanced geothermal systems could provide 10 percent of the nation's overall electrical generating capacity by 2050. More from Reuters…
Wind Power Installation in the U.S. Slows
New installments of U.S. wind energy in the second quarter of this year fell by more than half from the first quarter as the recession helped cut contracts for new turbines, an industry group said.
New installations totaled about 1,210 megawatts in the second quarter compared with about 2,790 MW in the previous one, the American Wind Energy Association said on Tuesday.
"The recession is a force that is having an effect on the industry, as it is on most other industries," said a spokeswoman.
Many wind power supply chain companies have stopped hiring or have furloughed employees due to the slowdown in contracts for turbines, AWEA added. More from Reuters…
Study: Financing ‘Elusive’ for Solar Power Projects
The demand for solar power in the United States, while growing, still lags smaller countries like Germany and Spain, says a new report from Pike Research of Boulder, Colo.
And while government subsidies for solar projects are increasing, “financing for solar projects remains elusive,” Pike research said.
The report predicts that the U.S. market for solar-generated power will surpass Spain’s by the end of the year and will top Germany’s by 2013. But while demand is growing, the ability to meet the demand may lag, says the report titled “U.S. Solar Energy Demand Dynamics.” More from the Orlando Business Journal…
Accelerating Carbon Sequestration in Alberta
An advisory group in Alberta, Canada, is proposing that carbon dioxide captured from large industrial operations could be pumped into dozens of semi-depleted oil fields, with the idea of extracting billions of dollars of uneconomic crude from conventional Alberta reserves. The group – made up of oil industry veterans – says the idea has “great potential,” but admits there are high upfront costs. More from the New York Times…
The Carbon Capture Challenge
"The technology will function. I'm sure. I'm absolutely sure," says Reinhardt Hassa, the CEO of Vattenfall Europe Generation, a German firm that has successfully tested a small carbon and capture storage (CCS) system at a power plant near Berlin. His firm is now building a much larger CCS system. But as the Financial Times reports, capturing carbon is one thing. Doing it in a wide-spread and cost effective scale is another…
Nissan Offers Sneak Peek at Electric Car
Nissan has set a date for the unveiling of its still-unnamed electric car. The current E.V. prototype, shown here, is based on the Nissan Versa.
Nissan is finally ready to unveil its still-unnamed battery electric car. The sheet will be drawn back at the opening of its new global headquarters in Yokohama on Aug. 2. More from the New York Times…
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
By Paul Brandus paul@greenenergybrief.com
The Holy Grail: Batteries
INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION Nick Peterson, a coater machine operator at International Battery in Allentown, Pa. The company is in a global competition to develop small, cost-effective batteries for electric cars, windmills and solar cells. Photo by Justin Maxon for The New York Times...
The competition is on to build smaller, lighter, more powerful batteries that could help transform the American energy economy, writes Matthew Wald in the New York Times.
Racing against other companies around the globe, U.S. firms are on the front lines of an effort to build smaller, lighter, more powerful batteries that could help transform the American energy economy by replacing gasoline in cars and making windmills and solar cells easier to integrate into the power grid.
This summer the Obama administration plans to announce how it will distribute some $2 billion in stimulus grants to companies that make such advanced batteries for hybrid or all-electric vehicles and related components…
Wind Power: Did You Know…
A proposed wind farm in Nantucket Sound is in the running to become the United States' first offshore wind project, and could add clean energy capacity to the densely populated Northeast.
Below are facts about wind power in the United States, as provided by the American Wind Energy Association and Cape Wind:
* Cape Wind's 130 planned turbines would generate 420 megawatts of power, enough to meet 75 percent of the demand on Cape Cod and the islands of Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard.
* The United States currently has 28,206 megawatts of installed wind turbines, which represents about 1 percent of the nation's electricity supply. All the utility-scale developments have been built on land, with the most capacity in Texas, Iowa, California, Minnesota and Washington.
* In the United States, wind power now produces enough electricity to prevent the emission of more than 29 million tons of carbon dioxide. It would take 17,000 square miles (44,000 sq km) of forest -- an area larger than Massachusetts and Connecticut -- to absorb that much of the greenhouse gas.
* The U.S. offshore industry has focused on the East Coast rather than the West since the Pacific Ocean gets deeper more quickly, making construction a greater challenge. In Europe, where offshore wind farms have been in operation since the 1970s, most are located in 80 feet of water or less.
* U.S. states are also hoping new investment in offshore wind will bring jobs. Rhode Island in particular -- with one of the highest unemployment rates in the nation -- is counting on a staging area in Quonset Point that Deepwater plans to use for building its projects to employ about 800 people.
Why Not Make Turbines at Wind Farms?
Green Inc.’s Kate Galbraith has an interesting idea: Since wind turbines are so difficult to transport, why not manufacture them on site — at a wind farm? Clipper Windpower, a wind developer and manufacturer, is considering doing exactly that at a site in South Dakota. The company hopes to build a 5,000-megawatt wind farm (even bigger than the “world’s largest wind farm” that T. Boone Pickens once planned) in an area southeast of Pierre, the state capital. The farm alone would require 2,000 turbines — enough perhaps to justify, say, its own tower factory…
EU to Push for 30% Emission Cuts
The European Union will push for a global reduction in carbon dioxide emissions of 30%, says Swedish environment minister Andreas Carlgren. He says the 30% target has "broad support" among EU members but is conditional on other nations raising their limits. The EU has already agreed to reduce CO2 emissions by 20 percent from 1990 levels by 2020. More from the AP…
Solar Stock Boom: Should You Invest?
Watch this quick roundtable from CNBC’s “Fast Money…”
Thousands of Wind Jobs are the Talk of Indiana
State and federal climate change legislation combined with new energy standards could bring more than 39,000 new jobs to Indiana, state officials say. The American Wind Energy Association says Indiana is one the most viable sources for wind energy for the eastern and northeast states, although it lacks a renewable energy standard. More from NWITimes…
Monday, July 27, 2009
By Paul Brandus paul@greenenergybrief.com
Will the U.S. Lose the Clean Energy Race?
“If the United States had responded to the Soviet launch of Sputnik the way today's Congress is responding to the Asian energy challenge, America would have lost the space race and been left behind in the industries that fueled a half century of economic progress,” write Teryn Norris and Jesse Jenkins in the San Francisco Chronicle. China alone is reportedly investing $440 billion to $660 billion in its clean-energy industries over 10 years. South Korea is investing a full 2 percent of its gross domestic product in a Green New Deal. And Japan is redoubling incentives for solar, aiming for a 20-fold expansion in installed solar energy by 2020. The U.S.? Just a fraction of all that…
Energy efficiency incentives likely to grow
“You're probably familiar with some of the federal government's incentives for home energy efficiency, -- heftier tax credits for solar panels, solar water heaters, geothermal heat pumps, heavy-duty insulation, windows, air conditioning and the like,” writes Kenneth Harney in the Washington Post.
“But these are just the beginning of an unprecedented push by the government that's getting underway for energy conservation in housing.”
DARPA looking for Pop in “Solar Arms Race”
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, the U.S. military's chief high-tech office, is looking for a few good photovoltaics. Not just any garden variety solar panels, mind you. The agency is soliciting proposals for Low-Cost Lightweight Portable Photovoltaics (PoP) that can stand up to battle conditions and environmental extremes while delivering high power conversion efficiency. Think backpacks with built-in solar capacity, with teeth. More from Reuters…
Ebb & Flow of Wind Presents Challenges to Grid
A decade ago, wind powercapacity on the BPA – the Bonneville Power Capacity – was just 25 megawatts. Today it’s 2,105 megawatts, enough energy to power two cities the size of Seattle. But it is a challenge to manage that capacity, along with all the other power created by 31 dams and a nuclear power plant – and while respecting wildlife and commercial river traffic. More from the Seattle Post-Intelligencer.com…
Russia Looks Beyond Fossil Fuels
Amid all the talk about whether China, India and other developing countries would join he fight against greenhouse gas emissions, one big country - Russia – has barely been mentioned. Yet Russia - the largest exporter of natural gas, and the second largest supplier of oil – is a huge emitter of greenhouse gas itself, and is in track, in fact, to rival the United States as the top per capita emitter within the next 20 years. What is the Kremlin doing about it? More from the New York Times…
Philadelphia’s Solar-Powered Trash Compactors
…Meet the “BigBelly”
Philadelphia has replaced 700 downtown trash bins with 500 of the high-tech compactors, which use solar energy to condense trash — cutting down collection trips by 75 percent. The manufacturer of the compactors – they’re called the BigBelly - devices are being piloted by governments and other entities in 40 states and 20 countries. More from the AP…
U.N. Chief: Fighting Climate Change Impossible Without China
…U.N. Secretary general Ban Ki-moon
As December’s global climate conference in Copenhagen draws near, United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon is urging China to step up its commitment to curbing greenhouse gas emissions. "Without China, there can be no success this year on a new global climate framework," says Ban, who says Beijing should strive to become a global leader in combatting climate change with green development and clean energy. He says the Chinese government must make it a priority to foster sustainable, green and low-emissions development in order to battle climate change and to set an example for developing countries and the rest of the world. More from the AP...
Thursday, July 23, 2009
By Paul Brandus paul@greenenergybrief.com
Climate Change: Will it Create Jobs?
Three Democratic governors – in New Jersey, Colorado, and Washington - say that efforts to curb global warming and spur the development of cleaner sources of energy have created jobs and new businesses in their states, a trend that could expand nationwide if Congress passes federal legislation. All three states have adopted measures to achieve reductions in the gases blamed for global warming and standards requiring a certain percentage of electricity from renewable sources. But in testimony before a Senate panel, other politicians disagreed. More from the AP...
Wind Power: The Long and Winding Road
Convoys of turbine parts for windmills slow traffic and attract attention in coastal towns like Searsport, Me., on their way to western Maine. Joel Page for The New York Times.
On America’s highways, wind turbines may be the ultimate oversize load, writes the New York Times. As demand for clean energy grows, towns around the country are finding their traffic patterns roiled as convoys carrying disassembled towers that will reach more than 250 feet in height, as well as motors, blades and other parts roll through. Escorted by patrol cars and gawked at by pedestrians, the equipment must often travel hundreds of miles from ports or factories to the remote, windy destinations where the turbines are erected. Plenty can go wrong despite months of planning…
North Carolina Mulls Ban of Mountaintop Wind
A furious battle over the aesthetics of wind energy has erupted in North Carolina, where lawmakers are weighing a bill that would bar giant turbines from the state’s scenic western ridgelines. As it currently stands, the bill would ban turbines more than 100 feet tall from the mountaintops. Residential-scale turbines (typically 50 to 120 feet high) could still go up, but the industrial-scale turbines that can produce 500 times as much power or more would be effectively ruled out. The legislation appeared likely to pass the state Senate last week, but got sent back to committee. More from the New York Times…
Testing Small Wind Turbines
(Martin LaMonica/CNET)
With people looking for clean and cheaper forms of energy, sales of small wind turbines are brisk and projected to grow in the coming years. There are now dozens of different small wind turbines available in a dizzying number of designs, although most commercial products are just smaller versions of big turbines--a propeller with three blades. How well do they work? CNET finds out…
Gov: Pennsylvania's Solar Capacity To Triple
Governor Edward G. Rendell is vowing to triple the Keystone State’s capacity with nearly $23 million in new grants and loans for companies. “From a 134-acre solar park in the northeast to hot water heaters for Pittsburgh firehouses, Pennsylvania is investing in its energy future,” Rendell said. More from RealEstateRama...
Is the Smart Grid at the Tipping Point?
The Smart Grid has gotten plenty of hype and little action, but in the last few days there are serious signs that it may finally be at some kind of tipping point, writes GreenBiz. What the smart grid needs most of all, of course, is money, and the Federal government continues to pour funds into it…
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
By Paul Brandus paul@greenenergybrief.com
What’s Your Question for the President?
Green Energy Brief’s Paul Brandus has a seat at tonight’s White House news conference, which starts at 8:00pm Eastern time. Have a question you’d like Paul to ask? Send it to: Paul@greenenergybrief.com…Congress to Restore Hydrogen Car Funding
…coming to a gas station near you?
Congress appears close to restoring the $100 million in funding for hydrogen research that Energy Secretary Steven Chu cut from his budget two months ago. Both the House of Representatives and Senate have voted to restore funding – with the House approve $26.9 billion for the DOE including $153 million for hydrogen and fuel cells in the Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy program, plus $40.45 million for hydrogen from coal.
The Senate Appropriations Committee is even more bullish, approving $190 million for the program. Reconciliation of the two budget figures (assuming the full Senate leaves the $190 million intact) could result in a final amount greater than the $168 million for fuel cells in the 2009 Energy Department budget. “We’re encouraged,” said Patrick Serfass, a spokesman for the National Hydrogen Association. More from the New York Times…
Farming and Forestry’s Role in Global Warming
That’s what the Senate’s Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee is looking at this morning. Scheduled to testify: Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack; EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson; Roger Johnson, president of the National Farmers Union; John Holdren, director of the White House Office of Science and Technology; Bob Stallman, president of the American Farm Bureau Federation, Columbus, Texas; Jo Pierce, family tree farmer from Maine, representing the Forest Climate Working Group, Baldwin, Maine; and Jason Grumet, founder and president of the Bipartisan Policy Center.
U.S. Solar Market Has “Improved Markedly”
…the residential solar market has remained “robust”
The head of Chinese solar panel maker Yingli Green Energy Holding Co Ltd's fledgling U.S. business says the U.S. market for solar power has improved dramatically in the last six weeks. Robert Petrina tells Reuters that increasingly attractive returns on solar projects have attracted more debt financing from banks in recent weeks, while the Obama administration earlier this month finally unveiled guidelines that will allow companies to apply for $3 billion in government grants for renewable energy projects.
"Things have improved markedly in the last six weeks," Petrina said, adding that the biggest change has been in the market for commercial solar projects. Residential sales of solar panels, he said, have remained "rather robust" throughout the economic downturn. But the tax equity market, under which banks funded solar power developments in exchange for renewable energy tax credits, has yet to recover, Petrina said…
China to Boost Solar Subsidies
The Chinese government will boost subsidies for solar power in a bid to speed up the development of about 500 megawatts of solar energy in the next two or three years. That’s about the size of an average coal-fired power plant. It’s part of China’s broader renewable-energy push, which so far has focused almost exclusively on wind power. China’s unofficial goal is to have 10 gigawatts of solar power by 2020, compared with 100 gigawatts of wind power. More from the Wall Street Journal…
Making Wind Energy When There’s No Wind
Wind power’s biggest flaw is well known: even in the windiest of places, it doesn’t blow all the time. Variable wind speeds timed at the same time of day that our demand for power spikes (in the afternoon) and the reduced efficiencies it presents is one of the biggest obstacles for the industry to expand as many would like to see. Which is why the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee has received a $422,266 grant from the U.S. Department of Energy for a research project that may help improve turbine’s efficiencies. One thing they’re looking at: is looking at mechanical changes to current gearbox technology. More from the Milwaukee Environmental News Examiner…
Minnesota = Wind Country
The Gopher State, already the fourth-biggest wind producer in the nation, plans to get bigger still. A report – ThinkTank Minnesota 2020 – says the state could create more than 2,200 jobs and generate about $9 billion in economic development over the next several decades by constructing 4,059 megawatts of wind generated power. A good portion of the jobs created would be in the manufacturing sector, according to the report, an industry that has been hit hard during the recession. Since 2005, Minnesota rapidly increased its wind capacity, growing by about 31 percent each year. More from the Minneapolis-St. Paul Business Journal…
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
By Paul Brandus paul@greenenergybrief.com
Report: Wind Power on Track for 20% Share by 2030
…20% of America’s electricity by 2030, says DOE
Wind power is on track for a 10-fold increase that would supply 20% of America’s electricity by 2030. That’s according to the annual Wind Power Report from the U.S. Department of Energy (DoE) prepared by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.
Last year, U.S. wind power capacity grew by 60%, with a record $16 billion invested, making the U.S. the fastest-growing wind power market in the world for the fourth consecutive year. States like Iowa and Minnesota already generate nearly 10% their power from wind. More from EETimes…
Made In the USA: Wind Turbines
Germany’s Nordex says its U.S. subsidiary will build a manufacturing plant in Jonesboro, Arkansas. The plant is expected to begin producing turbines in 2010 and create approximately 600 jobs. With a typical wind turbine requiring about 8,000 components, that could mean a ripple of additional manufacturing openings. More from Reuters…
Japan Planning Big Increases in Renewable Power
…lot of light bulbs on the Ginza
Japan, which imports all of its oil, is shifting rapidly into green energy. The Yomiuri Shimbun reports the government wants to double electricity-generation by 2020, by emphasizing biomass, small-scale hydroelectric power generation and geothermal power, and to increase capacity three times or more by 2030. But the big focus is on solar, with Tokyo’s goal of upping generation by 20 times by 2020 compared to 2005 levels…
Solar Cells, Automation and Green Jobs
…more green energy, but fewer green jobs? Agence France-Presse
Aside from its environmental benefits, solar energy is frequently touted for its job creation potential, writes the New York Times. But for solar manufacturers themselves, machines – not employees – may be the key to their long-term survival. Take, for example, photovoltaic solar panels — the most common form of solar technology. As Roger Efird, the managing director of the U.S. branch of Suntech Power, a solar energy company based in China, the process of making these cells is already largely automated. But industry analysts and manufacturers say solar power still holds significant promise for job creation — though mostly on the installation and maintenance side of things…
New White House Job: Climate Czar?
Monday was the first day on the job for Kate Moran, the senior policy analyst for the White House Office of Science Technology and Policy. In her new role, Moran will provide advice on issues relating to oceans, the Arctic and global warming. Moran is the formerly the associate dean of the Graduate School of Oceanography at the University of Rhode Island. She says: “Climate affects all aspects of our life, our food, our energy, our politics, defense, security, and so it's crosscutting." More from the AP…
Samsung’s $4 Billion Green Initiative
The German industrial giant will invest heavily in developing green products and reducing greenhouse gas emissions from its manufacturing facilities by 50% by 2013. More from Reuters…Scientists Zero In on New York’s CO2
Interesting piece from the AP on how researchers in New York are tracking CO2 emissions at a micro level – literally from neighborhood to neighborhood. The urban experiment may help shape efforts to curb emissions of carbon dioxide — one of the main contributors to global warming…Monday, July 20, 2009
By Paul Brandus paul@greenenergybrief.com
GM to Open Battery Plant Near Detroit, Hire 100
…just how green will GM be?
The “Help Wanted” sign is out at the new General Motors Corp. – it’s looking to hire 100 people to assemble battery packs for its new rechargeable electric car at a facility south of Detroit. That’s according to the AP, which cites a single source. The new factory will take batteries made by LG Chem in South Korea and assemble them into packs that will power the new Chevrolet Volt, said the source, who requested anonymity because GM hasn't officially announced the plant site. The Volt, due in showrooms by November of 2010, will be built at an existing GM factory that straddles the border between Detroit and the tiny enclave of Hamtramck. That plant now makes the slow-selling Buick Lucerne and Cadillac DTS full-size sedans…
BP Bails on Jatropha, But Eyes Ethanol
As other companies eye jatropha as a possible biofuel, BP is walking away from the shrub – and its joint venture with Britain’s D1 Oils – for less than $1 million. But it is stepping up its involvement in ethanol , and biobutanol. But another company continues to see big bucks in jatropha (see next story) More from the Wall Street Journal…
600 Billion Gallons of Biodiesel from Jatropha
That’s the 2012 goal of Abundant Biofuels, a Monterey-based firm, that sees a huge market in third-world nations like the Philippines, Peru and Colombia that are near the equator. Why? Because fuel will come from the jatropha plant, which tends to grow within 10-15 degrees of it. More from the Mercury News…
FERC’s Strategy to Speed Up the Smart Grid
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) will set priorities to guide industry in developing smart grid standards, the agency says. The guidelines are aimed at increasing the grid’s operating efficiency, and establishes policy for recovery of costs by utilities. More from Utility T&D…
British Govt. Unhappy With Progress on Renewables
Saying it isn’t satisfied with the pace of renewable energy growth, the British government says it will intervene directly to accelerate the rollout of renewable and low-carbon technologies as part of its wide-ranging Low Carbon Transition Plan. Energy and climate change Secretary Ed Miliband says he will exercise powers in the Energy Act that allow the government to take direct control over the grid access regime that manages how renewables projects are connected to the grid. "The new rules should be in place within 12 months and instead of waiting for over a decade for grid connections as can happen now, we can get the fast access to the grid the renewable projects need," he says. More from Reuters…
OPINION: RFK Jr. on “America’s Coal Addiction”
Wooster University
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the president of the Waterkeeper Alliance, tells the Financial Times that “Whatever the slick campaign financed by the powerful coal barons might claim, coal is neither cheap nor clean.” He says “America’s cornucopia of renewables and the recent maturation of solar, geothermal and wind technologies will allow us to meet most of our energy needs with clean, cheap, green power. In the short term, natural gas is an obvious bridge fuel to the “new” energy economy…”
Windscapes: Where Energy Is in the Air
Century Wind Project, Blairsburg, Iowa / Mitch Epstein
Nice piece in the Sunday New York Times magazine, showing a variety of wind power sites around the country – and some great photography…
QUICK HITS:
Powering Schools with Small Wind Turbines (InDenver Times)
Restaurant Turns Onions Into Methane Fuel (GreentechMedia)
Friday, July 17, 2009
By Paul Brandus paul@greenenergybrief.com
California Setting the Solar Pace
A solar installation in Saratoga, Calif. Noah Berger for The New York Times
The number of rooftops in the Golden State with solar panels is up 100 fold over the last decade. Sounds terrific until you learn that’s still only 50,000 homes. This in a state with 37 million people. But the pace is picking up, with solar capacity growing by a third between 207 and 2008. And California’s installed capacity is now two-thirds of the national total. What’s next, and what are the national implications? The New York Times has the story…
Debate on Clean Energy Leads to Regional Divide
Turbine blades bound for a wind farm in Maine. Joel Page for The New York Times
As the pace of wind and solar power development picks up, politicians, utilities and regulators are squabbling over where to put the transmission lines that’ll be needed. The rift has been exposed by the Congressional debate over that giant climate change and energy bill. More from the New York Times…
Wind Industry Renews Call for Tougher RES
As Congress deals with the Energy and Climate bill, lawmakers are getting some advice from the wind industry: strengthen proposed renewable electricity standards (RES). General Electric’s John Krenicki – GE is the top manufacturer of wind turbines in the U.S. – says the Waxman-Markey bill passed by the House and a bill cleared by a Senate committee would have “disastrous” consequences for the industry in the near term. He warns “Massive new investments in manufacturing will not be made in the U.S. today based on the hope of a strong carbon price signal 10 years from now…it would take a 12% renewable electricity standard by 2012. More from the American Wind Energy Assn…
World’s First Hydrogen Power Plant
Jetstream Wind Inc., a New Mexico-based company says it’ll build what it calls the world's first utility-scale, zero-emissions hydrogen power plant. The $219 million plant would use electricity from wind, solar and other renewable energy sources to separate water into hydrogen and oxygen. The hydrogen would then be burned in a turbine — similar to those used by natural gas-fired power plants — to generate enough electricity to power about 6,000 homes and businesses."Basically, it's a scaled-up model of eighth-grade science," says CEO Henry Herman said. "In eighth grade we took DC batteries, ran cables into water and produced hydrogen gas. All we're doing is utilizing that on a much larger scale." More from the AP…
Thursday, July 16, 2009
By Paul Brandus paul@greenenergybrief.com
U.S., China Forming Clean Energy Research Center
The United States and China, the world's biggest greenhouse gas emitters, say the joint clean energy research center will focus on coal and clean buildings and vehicles. The research center is an effort at compromise between the two governments, which disagree on whether China should join richer nations in adopting binding emissions-reduction targets to stave off environmental devastation from climate change. "I know we can accomplish more by working together than by working alone," says Energy Secretary Steven Chu. More from the AP…
Venture Capital Titan On Capitol Hill Today
As the Senate considers a controversial energy and climate bill, businesses are lining up – on both sides – to make their case. Today, John Doerr, partner at Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers – perhaps the best known venture-capital firm in the United States – will testify before the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee on “Business Competition and Carbon Emissions Limits.” Former Vice-President Al Gore is a partner at Kleiner as well, incidentally. Also testifying: John Krenicki, vice chairman of GE, and president and CEO of GE Energy Infrastructure; Julian Wong, senior policy analyst at the Center for American Progress Action Fund; and Harry Alford, president and CEO of the National Black Chamber of Commerce…Wal-Mart Begins Switch to LEDs
The world’s largest retailer, eyeing big energy savings, has converted a parking lot at its Leavenworth, Kansas superstore to light-emitting diodes. LED parking lot lights will reduce parking lot energy needs by more than 50% and maintenance costs by more than 80% compared to traditional parking lot lights. For retailer sites that are open 24 hours a day, traditional lights must be replaced every two years; LED lights will be replaced every 10 years on average. The test site, based on specs provided by the Department of Energy, could serve as a template for the conversion of stores nationwide. More at energy.gov...New Incentives for Electric Cars in Canada
As Toyota, General Motors and others rush to bring electric vehicles to market, the Canadian province of Ontario says it will offer consumers subsidies of 4,000 to 10,000 Canadian dollars ($3,600 to $8,900) to purchase of plug-ins or battery electric vehicles, starting next July. Premier Dalton McGuinty says the plan “helps get more people behind the wheel of a green vehicle to create jobs, reduce smog and equip Ontario for the 21st century.” The Toronto Globe and Mail says “a rebate of $10,000 would reduce the expected price of the Volt to about $30,000 from $40,000, closer to what Americans and Canadians are willing to pay for a mainstream, everyday car.” More from the New York Times…
Turns Out the Smart Grid is, Well, Pretty Smart
Environmental Leader profiles three smart grid programs – in Maui, Canada, and ew Zealand – that it says are helping utilities and manufacturers control pwer demand, integrate renewable energy into the grid and improve the grid’s overall productivity and reliability…Can Wind Farms Change the Weather?
Courtesy: ecopartnership.gov
That interesting question is posed by Steve Tracton in the Washington Post, who writes: “The efficiency, effectiveness and economic value of wind power clearly depends critically on the weather, along with factors such as terrain, vegetation and building structures, which affect the speed, direction and variability of the wind striking the blades of wind turbines. But can wind farms, in turn, affect the weather? Fascinating…
Best Practices: Sweden
When Green Energy Brief’s Executive Editor, Paul Brandus, lived in Europe for five years in the 1990s, one of his favorite countries to visit was Sweden. These days it’s one of his favorite destinations for another reason: its remarkable progress in switching to renewable energy. Sweden gets an estimated 43% of its energy from renewable sources. How do they do it and what can the United States learn from Sweden? Read this...Wednesday, July 15, 2009
By Paul Brandus paul@greenenergybrief.com
Exxon-Mobil in $600M Algae Biofuels Effort
The world’s largest publicly traded oil company, eyeing big potential in alternative fuels, will plow the money into a new photosynthetic algae biofuels program, including more than $300 million for Synthetic Genomics, the startup run by genomics pioneer Craig Venter. Exxon says that within a decade, the project should be producing “large quantities” of transportation fuel. Venter, by the way, is best known for mapping the human genome. More from Earth2Tech…Experts Call for Bigger Federal Push on Wind Power
The Energy Department thinks wind could generate 20% of U.S. electricity needs by 2030. That figure today? Just 2%. So how to reach the 2030 goal? The U.S. should ramp up investing in research on lighter turbines, taller towers and more efficient generators, energy experts from New York and Texas tell a House panel. Details from the Houston Chronicle…Feds Sell Leases to Geothermal Developers
A federal auction of land leases tied to geothermal power development has generated more than $9 million, the Energy Dept. says. The money will be divided among federal, state and local governments. Most of the leases were tied to about 243,000 acres of federal land in Nevada. Leases for about 12,000 acres in California and Utah also were sold, the DOE said. "This sale reflects the growing interest in developing these renewable public resources to meet the energy needs of Western communities," says Interior Secretary Ken Salazar. More from the Wall Street Journal…
Copenhagen Countdown: Dividing the CO2 Burden
At last week’s G8 summit, developed nations agreed to slash their carbon emissions 80% from 1990 levels by 2050. But fast-growing developing nations like China and India? No. Their reluctance threatens to undercut December’s global climate conference – and that’s where Princeton professor Robert Socolow comes in. He, and other scholars at the Princeton Environmental Institute have developed their own framework for emissions – which is aimed at balancing emissions goals with economic development goals. More from the NY Times…Abu Dhabi Buys Stake in Electric Car Maker Tesla
Courtesy: Tesla
The Abu Dhabi investment fund that is Daimler's largest shareholder has bought about 4 percent of electric car producer Tesla Motors, deepening the oil-rich Arab state's push into green technology. According to the Associated Press, Aabar Investments will take over two-fifths of Daimler's approximately 10 percent stake in Tesla. Financial terms were not disclosed. Stuttgart-based Daimler, the maker of Mercedes-Benz vehicles, acquired almost 10 percent of Tesla in May. That deal included an agreement for the companies to work together on battery systems and electric drive trains…
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
By Paul Brandus paul@greenenergybrief.com
AWEA Downplays Pickens’ Wind Move
Photo by Paul Brandus / Green Energy Brief
No doubt you heard last week that energy tycoon T. Boone Pickens was pulling back from his planned mega-wind farm in Texas. News reports blamed it on 1) the credit crunch, 2) plunging natural gas prices and 3) the need for new transmission to connect new wind farms to population centers.
But “there are positive developments that outweigh the impact of he Pickens news,” writes the American Wind Energy Association’s Chris Madison, He cites three: 1) strong Q2 installation figures, 2) large Treasury grants for renewable energy projects and 3) strong long-term fundamentals…
Intersolar Show Underway in San Francisco
Despite the recession, this year’s gathering is as big as ever, orgznizers claim, with some 15,000 visitors expected. What are the top issues being talked about?
Details from Earth2Tech’s Katie Fehrenbacher…
Alaska Airlines Joins Boeing’s Biofuel Effort
As test flights by major airlines show increasing promise for biofuels, Alaska Airlines will become the 14th major carrier to sign on with Boeing’s Sustainable Aviation Fuel Users Group. The aerospace giant sees biofuels as a way to eventually ease dependence on fossil fuels – while reducing greenhouse gas emissions. More on Boeing’s effort here…
Solar Farms On Federal Land: Hurry Up and Wait
Courtesy: EPA
In recent weeks, we’ve mentioned how the Interior Department is moving ahead with plans to open up 670,000 acres of federal land in six western states for the development of solar power plants. But savvy solar firms have actually been submitting applications for two years, for the best sites on some 1.8 million acres, reports the New York Times. But despite the eagerness of those firms to get going – and the eagerness of the Obama administration to jump start renewable energy, the Bureau of Land Management won’t complete its evaluation of the solar zones until the end of 2010…
China’s New Great Wall: Renewable Energy
…impervious to outsiders?
Energy Secretary Steven Chu and Commerce Secretary Gary Locke arrive in Beijing today, and at the top of their agenda: persuading China to agree to specific target reductions in greenhouse gases – which it wouldn’t do at last week’s G8 summit in Italy.
But Chu and Locke also want the People’s Republic to end what some call protectionist tactics around its renewable energy industry. China - which has called renewable energy a strategic industry - is said to be shielding it from foreign competition until it can be built up and take on the world. More from the New York Times…
Europe Eyes Electricity from the Sahara
A dozen companies, including industrial giant Siemens and Deutsche Bank, are launching a venture that one day could provide Europe with 15% of its electricity: a huge series of solar thermal power plants and wind turbines in the Sahara Desert. The Financial Times says power would then be shipped under the Mediterranean via high-voltage direct current (HVDC) lines. A Siemens executive says the project has been on the drawing board for decades, “and now for the first time has become technically feasible…”
England seen missing 2010 renewable energy target
Britain’s 10% by 2010 renewable energy standard will be missed by a wide margin, warns the British Wind Energy Association. The BWEA says, in fact, it wont even be close, with most places only hitting half the target. Details from Reuters…
Monday, July 13, 2009
By Paul Brandus paul@greenenergybrief.com
Cashback Pledge for Green Power
…one turbine could mean $8,000 for a town (AFP)
A British plan would pay homeowners who generate their own energy and contribute it to the electric grid. Such a “feed-in-tariff” system, says that country’s Energy and Clinate Change Secretary Ed Miliband, could “help create the clean energy of the future.” More from the BBC, including an interesting interview with Miliband on his views on energy and climate change…
Biofuel Development a Big Priority for White House
Through federal mandates, government financing, stimulus-fund giveaways and the cheerleading of Energy Secretary Steven Chu, ethanol production remains a top national priority, writes Greg Burns in the Chicago Tribune. He adds “The feds are more eager than ever to promote oil-free gasohol. They especially love the stuff brewed from wood chips, corn cobs, switch grass and other forms of cellulose…
Austin Weighs Changes to GreenChoice Program
For the past decade, Austin's ambition to become the world's clean-energy capital has been best exemplified by one effort: GreenChoice, a program that sells electricity generated entirely from renewable sources such as wind. But that energy, which is available only to those who select it, costs more than the standard electricity rate. Officials are now considering spreading the cost among all utility customers. More from the Austin-American Statesman…
World’s First Fuel Cell Aircraft
The world's first piloted aircraft powered solely by fuel cells has made a successful test flight in Germany. It’s called the “Antares DLR-H2.” "We have improved the performance capabilities and efficiency of the fuel cell to such an extent that a piloted aircraft is now able to take off using it," said Johann-Dietrich Woerner from the German Aerospace Centre (DLR), which helped develop the plane, which has a range of 465 miles and can fly for five hours. There’s a video from Popsci.com, albeit in German…New Jersey Governor’s Race Tinted by Green
In the Garden State, incumbent Jon Corzine (D) and his Republican challenger Christopher Christie are trying to outdo each other in touting their “green” credentials. Christie wants 100% business-tax break for companies who manufacture windmills, solar panels, and other clean-energy products in New Jersey. Corzine, meanwhile, is tapping into Washington for federal grants to help the state expand its production of renewables. Meantime, it looks like the candidate best known for his “green tinge”, Chris Daggett, is hanging in there. More from the Philadelphia Inquirer…Friday, July 10, 2009
By Paul Brandus paul@greenenergybrief.com
Climate Bill Delayed; Boxer Says No Guarantees
As President Obama, at the G8 in Italy, warns world leaders that climate change is an urgent matter that must be dealt with yesterday – the Senate is delaying key legislation to cut greenhouse gases. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) , chairman of the Environment and Public Works Committee, says she’s pushing back work on the bill until September. She had bragged earlier that legislation would be out of committee by early August. But now, with December’s global climate conference in Copenhagen looming, Boxer says she can’t guarantee a bill will be delivered to Obama in time. More from Reuters…Should the Bill Have Tariffs?
If President Obama wants the Senate to pass a landmark energy and climate bill, he may have to swallow something he doesn’t want: tariff provisions similar to the House’s Waxman-Markey bill – that punish foreigners who don’t work to reduce carbon as much as the U.S. would. Such a provision would force whoever is President in 2020 to slap tariffs on imports of energy-intensive products (like steel and cement, for example) that are made in countries with less stringent carbon reduction laws. Opponents say the tariffs – certainly to be aimed at China, India and other fast growing economies – would simply incite retaliation from those countries. "This bill doesn't pass if it doesn't take care of manufacturing," Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, has warned. More from the National Journal…
Feds Step Up Funding for Green Energy Projects
The Treasury and the Energy Department will pay up to 30% of renewable energy projects, according to long-awaited rules rolled out Thursay. The program was authorized by Congress as part of the stimulus package in February, but many projects have been on hold as investors waited to apply for the grants. “One of the core goals we have is to get private capital off the sidelines and back into the market,’’ said Matt Rogers, a senior adviser at the Energy Department. More from the New York Times…
Wind Turbines Make Saving Money A “Breeze”
The Fort Worth Star-Telegram says thanks to generous tax breaks, home wind turbine systems are more viable than ever, and pay for themselves in just a few years. One homeowner says her meter now runs backward for months on end, enabling her to sell energy back to her electric cooperative…Green Gasoline: What’s That?
A Texas company, Terrabon, says it is closing in on a renewable fuel - it calls “green gasoline” - that is nearly identical to gas made from petroleum, but can be made from just about any kind of organic material, from sewer sludge to cornstalks. “If you can make a molecule that looks a lot more like gasoline, that’s the Holy Grail for the biofuels industry,” said Aaron Brady, an oil analyst with IHS Cambridge Energy Research Associates. But while Terrabon has had success with test batches and recently received the backing of a major oil refiner, the fuel still has not been proved on a large scale. Ethanol also has a big head start and far more political support. More from the Houston Chronicle…
Thursday, July 9, 2009
By Paul Brandus paul@greenenergybrief.com
Historic Deal on Global Warming
…lining up to fight global warming. (AP)
President Obama and other world leaders say they have reached agreement on tackling global warming – a huge step that could pave the way for a global climate treaty later this year.
For the first time, the United States and the other seven richest economies (the so-called G8) agreed to the goal of keeping the world’s average temperature from rising more than 3.6 degrees. They also agreed to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 80 per cent by 2050.
The moves were designed to put the squeeze on the world’s developing nations, most of whose leaders will join the G8 for a debate chaired by President Obama today. There were signs last night that the G13 — the eight joined by China, India, Mexico, South Africa and Brazil — would today also sign up to the 2C limit. More from Britain’s The Times…
Energy/Climate Bill: What Will the Senate Do?
For climate legislation, clearing the House last month by a slim seven-vote margin marked a major step toward passage of the first comprehensive regulation of greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S. But the fight in the Senate will be a doozy, with every stakeholder demanding to be heard and taken care of. Committee hearings are now underway, aimed at shaping key, controversial issues in the draft — including the role of agriculture in offsetting carbon emissions and producing alternative fuels, how to control emissions while competing in a global economy, and how to manage international trade. More from Reuters…
Global Warming Protest on Mount Rushmore
Kate Davison/Greenpeace/AFP/Getty Images
Activists from the environmental group Greenpeace scaled Mount Rushmore yesterday and unfurled a banner next to Lincoln's face challenging President Obama to step up the fight against global warming.
Greenpeace said the climbers, using existing rock anchors that the park service uses for occasional cleanings, went up the back of the monument, then rappelled down its face to unfurl a 65-by-35-foot (20-by-11-metre) banner reading: "America honors leaders not politicians: Stop Global Warming." Eleven people were charged with trespassing and the misdemeanour crime of climbing on Mount Rushmore National Monument, U.S. attorney Marty Jackley said. They pleaded not guilty to all charges. More from the Guardian…
Ill Winds Blow for Clean Energy
T. Boone Pickens’s decision to step back from a giant Texas wind farm is but the latest high-profile sign that despite billions in stimulus funds and a landmark energy bill moving through Congress, renewable energy still faces stiff headwinds. So where do we go from here? Details in the Wall Street Journal…
Massive Green Power Project in Doubt
The future of a massive power line project that would deliver renewable energy to much of Northern California is in doubt after the withdrawal of its biggest investor. The Sacramento Municipal Utility District last week says it will no longer support a $1.5 billion proposal to build 600 miles of high-voltage transmission lines through the state. A consortium of municipal power providers behind the project has said the power line would help meet statewide targets for renewable energy. But environmentalists and property owners across Northern California have raised concerns about possible economic, aesthetic and health impacts. More from the MercuryNews.com…
Iceland Debates the Limits of Geothermal
The New York Times
“The tiny nation of Iceland is often cited as a model for the world in its use of renewable energy,” writes Kate Galbraith in the New York Times. It’s easy to understand: essentially all of Iceland’s electricity comes from dams or geothermal power plants. But how long can it last? That’s the question some people are beginning to ask…
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
By Paul Brandus paul@greenenergybrief.com
Climate Change Goals Dropped at G8 Summit
Reuters
A setback for controlling CO2 emissions: the U.S. and Europe have failed to get emerging powers like China and India to agree on emissions goals. Draft documents being circulated at the summit in Italy show all references to cutting greenhouse gas emissions in half by 2050 have been dropped. Complicating matters: Chinese leader Hu Jintao pulled out of the summit to return home to deal with unrest in Northwest China. The People’s Republic is the world’s biggest producer of CO2 – although on a per capita basis, the U.S. is. More from Reuters…
Gore: Climate Deal Needs More Public Pressure
Gore: people aren’t aware (Reuters)
Public awareness about the "catastrophe" of climate change isn’t high enough to pressure politicians into taking action, former Vice President Al Gore is warning. Gore, who shared a Nobel Prize in 2007 for his environmental campaigning, says politicians will only do more once the people who elect them force the issue. He’s warning that this will jeopardize December’s U.N. climate talks in Denmark. "The only way we can get one (a substantive agreement) is if politicians in each country act and the only way that can happen in turn is if awareness rises to the level to make them feel it is a necessity," Gore said in a speech. More from Reuters…
White House Offensive on Cap-and-Trade
"Denial of the climate-change problem will not change our destiny; a comprehensive energy and climate bill that caps and then reduces carbon emissions will," claims Energy Secretary Steven Chu. Chu, along with Interior Secretary Ken Salazar and other administration officials, appeared before the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee to make their case for the energy and climate bill that’ll be taken up by the Senate in a few weeks. Opponents call cap-and-trade “cap-and-tax” and say it’ll hurt millions of consumers and businesses. More from the Wall Street Journal…
Updating the Incandescent Light Bulb
...another illuminating idea?
Don’t write off the humble incandescent bulb just yet. Researchers across the country say they’ve found ways of bringing the 19th century invention of Thomas Edison – into the 21st century. New versions are said to be 30% more efficient – though the cost can be $5, compared with as little as 25 cents for a “regular” bulb. But proponents say the bulbs pay for themselves over time. More from the New York Times…
China’s Massive Bet on Wind
One Chinese advantage: no zoning issues. (AP)
We told you earlier this week that Texas tycoon T. Boone Pickens was stepping back from plans to build what was described as a massive wind farm: 4 gigawatts of power. But that’s nothing compared to what China IS pushing ahead with: a wind farm that will debut next year with 5 gigawatts, quadrupling to 20 gigs by 2020. The People’s Republic could pass the United States as the biggest installer of wind capacity this year – a title the U.S. won only a year ago. China also claims because its turbines cost less to produce than American or European turbines that power will be cheaper too – but skeptics aren’t so sure. More from the New York Times…
Japan’s Wind Power Stalls; Focus Shifts to Solar
Japan's wind power industry installed 183 megawatts (MW) of capacity in the year ended in March, a government report says. That’s down 1.3% from a year ago. Tighter regulations on wind turbines have restricted construction in the past two years and the world's fifth largest greenhouse gas producer has focused more on solar panels to help to fight global warming. The World Wind Energy Association says Japan accounts for just 1.6% of the world's wind power market. More from Reuters…
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
By Paul Brandus paul@greenenergybrief.com
Pickens Scales Back Wind Project
Photo by Paul Brandus / Green Energy Brief
The tycoon’s plan to build the world's largest wind farm is off. Instead, he plans to build five or six smaller wind farms, in the Midwest and possibly Texas, though he hasn't settled on locations. Last year, Pickens vowed to build a 1,000-megawatt wind farm in Pampa, Texas. Why the change of plans? The problem a lack of a transmission line to bring the juice to population centers. "It was a little more complicated than we thought," he said. More from the Dallas News…
Happy (Energy) Independence Day from eSolar
eSolar claims it can deliver electricity cheaper than natural gas (courtesy eSolar)
The California solar thermal company turned this heliostat farm (24,000 panels) into a July 4th tableau of the American flag and Statue of Liberty to show how it can control and position its mirrors to maximize the sun’s rays. The company – backed by Google – is building solar farms for several utilities and claims it can deliver electricity cheaper than natural gas by using sophisticated algorithms to control inexpensive and lightweight mirrors called heliostats More from the New York Times…
Los Angeles Says No To Coal (after 2020)
At a time when Congress is concentrating on cap and trade as the way to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, the City of Los Angeles has decreed that its municipal utility, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, will not buy any coal-generated power after 2020. The city now gets 40% of its electricity from coal-fired plants outside the state--there are no coal burning plants within LA. The city also says LADWP will meet its goal of getting 20 % of its power from renewables by 2010. More from Reuters…
Chu, Salazar to Hill Today
Energy Secretary Steven Chu, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar will appear before the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee this morning – which holds hearings on clean energy incentives and “green jobs.” Also appearing: Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and Environmental Protection Agency administrator Lisa Jackson…
Weatherization Programs Speeding Up
The White House has given $288 million to seven states – Arkansas, Iowa, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Michigan and New Hampshire – to create jobs and weatherization programs. The Energy Department says the funds will help those weatherize more than 91,000 homes, lower energy costs for low-income families that need it, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and create green jobs.
Monday, July 6, 2009
By Paul Brandus paul@greenenergybrief.com
President Tells Green Energy Brief Solar Panels, Wind Turbine Being Considered for White House
Solar panels on the West Wing…30 years ago. Paul Brandus/Green Energy Brief
At a Rose Garden event, Green Energy Brief’s Paul Brandus asked Obama when the White House would have solar panels and a wind turbine. Listen for their exchange in the final :30 of the Politico link. The President appeared with Energy Secretary Steven Chu and a handful of energy executives…
Editorial: Cap-and-Trade Looks Great – On Paper
“Cap-and-trade will slow down economic growth and put some Americans out of work,” admits Thomas Donlan in Barron’s. “But a properly designed system should be less painful than an energy tax, and far less painful than a regulatory mandate for equal reductions by all emitters…”
China’s Great Leap Into Green Power
As the U.S. debates energy and climate legislation, China is racing ahead with huge renewable energy projects, writes Keith Bradsher in the New York Times. The People’s Republic already has a national renewable energy standard, for example, and is poised to overtake the U.S. as the world’s biggest wind energy market – a title America claimed just last year…
Where to Live? Check the “Happy Planet Index”
A London think tank is out with a list of places where people are both satisfied with their lives – while producing a tiny carbon footprint. The best place to live, it claims: Costa Rica. Out of 143 nations surveyed, it says the United States is way down on the list – although the U.S. is said to be “greener and happier” than it was a decade ago. More from Reuters…Thursday, July 2, 2009
By Paul Brandus paul@greenenergybrief.com
Portugal Building Electric Car Recharging Network
The European country will install about 1,300 recharging sites for electric vehicles over the next two years, part of an effort to create a mass market for them. The first phase will include recharging sites in 21 cities and rural districts chosen for their high population density and traffic volume. Sites will include gas stations, shopping malls and wired parking spots.Portugal has no oil or coal resources and is on a major drive to reduce carbon emissions; the government claims renewable sources can already meet 43 percent of the country's electricity needs. More from the Associated Press…
California’s Solar Sector Rebounding
The bad economy slowed the growth of California's solar-power sector in the first half of the year, but the industry appears to be rebounding, according to a report by the state’s Public Utilities Commission. An analyst tells the Sacramento Bee that big projects that had been stymied by financing problems should eventually get off the ground. "By October, we'll be getting back to our normal growth rate," says Ron Kenedi, vice president of Southern California panel maker Sharp Solar. New solar-power capacity nearly doubled in the Golden State last year, with 156 megawatts installed…
Where are the Green Jobs?
Last week we reported on a major new study by the Pew Charitable Trusts that showed green jobs growing 2 ½ times faster than the U.S. economy between 1998 and 2007. Now, with the help of government and private capital, that growth is expected to accelerate. How can you get a green job? A good q-and-a from the Associated Press…Wind Can “Revolutionize Britain’s Power” – Study
The BBC’s environment analyst reports on a study claiming that Britain can massively expand wind power by 2030 without suffering power cuts or a melt-down of its electric grid. The cost of electricity would then be determined not by consumer demand, but by how hard the wind is blowing. When it is windy power will be so cheap that other forms of generation will be unable to compete, the report says. But others are more skeptical…
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
By Paul Brandus paul@greenenergybrief.com
Waxman Hospitalized – But “Better Now”
A spokeswoman for the powerful chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee says Waxman was admitted to a Los Angeles hospital after feeling “unwell,” but is “much better now.” The spokesperson said Waxman, 69, was being tested for symptoms that she wouldn’t disclose. Waxman is the co-author of the Waxman-Markey Climate/Energy bill that passed the house on Friday by a narrow margin…Green Going More Mainstream: Survey
A new global survey shows nearly six in 10 people would choose an environment-friendly car over a petrol-powered one, even if they had all the money in the world.
The survey of 13,500 city dwellers in 18 countries, by market research firm Synovate, also showed that over a third of respondents said they would either use public transport, walk, or cycle more often this year, partly to save on fuel costs but also for the sake of the environment.
"Cars are freedom, and people value freedom. If they continue to enjoy guilt-free freedom, the car will stay a large part of daily lives for many people," he said in a statement. More from Reuters…
Exelon Claims Progress In Slashing Carbon Footprint
Power generator Exelon Corp. says it is more than a third of the way toward its goal of eliminating the equivalent of its 2001 carbon footprint by 2020 by slashing its greenhouse gas emissions and those of its customers. So far it has cut emissions by more than 6 million metric tons. The goal, announced a year ago, is to reduce, offset or displace more than 15 million tons of emissions by 2020. Exelon has said it still will emit greenhouse gases in 2020, but at much lower levels. More from Forbes…Is the Cost of Reviving Nuclear Power Worth It?
For U.S. utilities gearing up to build new nuclear-power plants, the rewards could be great, but the risks of cost overruns, delays and regulatory battles persist. Expanding the nation's use of nuclear power is seen by many as a key component of any strategy to fight climate change, and utilities are lining up to provide it. The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission has received applications from 14 companies to build and operate new nuclear power plants. Energy Secretary Steven Chu last week told utility executives that nuclear power, along with renewable energy and conservation, will be an important way to meet growing U.S. energy demand while cutting emissions of greenhouse gases. More from Dow Jones…
Enough of the “______ is the Saudi Arabia of ______”
During a conference call Monday, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said of his home state: “Nevada is the Saudi Arabia of solar energy.” But lots of places have been called that. Australia. Africa. Forbes magazine recently called Saudi Arabia the Saudi Arabia of solar power. Then there’s wind power, with the Great Plains and Texas, among others, being dubbed the “Saudi Arabia of wind.”
The New York Times says: enough. It’s holding a contest o find a new metaphor, particularly when referring to renewable energy. Send yours to: info@greenenergybrief.com...
First Manned Solar Plane Unveiled in Switzerland
It weighs less than a car and seats just one person, but the first aircraft designed to run exclusively on solar power has been unveiled, showing that air travel is not off limits when it comes to cleantech innovation. Record-setting hot air ballooner Bertrand Piccard plans to take the plane, dubbed the Solar Impulse, on several test flights by the end of the year.
The craft, made out of lightweight carbon fiber and shaped like a wasp with the wingspan of a Boeing 747 jumbo jet (207 feet), was built so that it can continue flying at night, even in the absence of the sun. If the Solar Impulse makes the first trek in the anticipated two days and one night without incident, the technology will be adapted for a second, slightly different solar plane to be completed and flown around the world in 2012. More from VentureBeat…
100,000 MW of Solar from Plants on Public Land
That’s how much electricity federal officials plan to generate from 13 commercial-scale solar plants that will be built on public land in six western states. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said federal agencies will work with the states – Nevada, Arizona, California, Colorado, New Mexico and Utah – to fast track the projects, which have drawn complaints from environmental groups about the threat they pose to fragile eco-systems. More details from Red, Green and Blue, including a map detailing where the plants will go.…“Secret” to Energy/Climate Bill: Something for Everyone
The energy bill that passed in the House was loaded with hundreds of special-interest favors, as environmentalists complained that its aims had been diminished. John Broder, writing in the New York Times, says right up until the final minutes before Friday’s vote, the deal-making continued, fattening the bill “with compromises, carve-outs, concessions and out-and-out gifts intended to win the votes of wavering lawmakers and the support of powerful industries…”
Irony: Oil Refinery Saves Energy by Switching to Wind Power
The American Wind Energy Association is taking a pot shot at big oil. First the back story: The Wall Street Journal reported this week that Valero Energy Co., the largest U.S. oil refiner in terms of production capacity, recently erected 33 wind turbines to power its Texas refinery. Why would an oil refinery use wind power? On its wind blog, the AWEA says Valero did so “for sound business reasons, not out of soft-hearted environmentalism.” The refinery has a monthly electric bill of about $1.4 million, and it's not going down. By erecting a wind farm, which cost $115 million, the refiner locks in electricity costs of about 4.5 cents a kilowatt-hour,about 1.5 cents cheaper than its current utility company rate. That means the wind turbines will pay for themselves in savings in 10 years…
Savings from LED Lights: as Much as 88%
The Lexus of Albuquerque (N.M.) car dealership is going green and not just by selling hybrids. The dealership recently switched their facility’s lights from fossil fuel power to solar power. The energy savings, as Reuters reports, are quite dramatic…
E.P.A. Allows California Emissions Rules
The Environmental Protection Agency has granted California’s long-sought request to tighten tailpipe emission regulations, a key step in the Obama administration’s plan to make cars across the nation more fuel-efficient. Tuesday’s announcement hardly came as a surprise, since President Obama announced last month that he would craft tough new rules for automobile emissions, and would do so by adopting the strict standards that California has wanted. “This decision puts the law and science first,” says E.P.A. administrator Lisa Jackson. Since 2005, California has been seeking a waiver from the E.P.A. to impose stricter tailpipe emissions standards than those in effect nationally. The Bush administration denied the waiver request in December 2007. More from the New York Times…
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
By Paul Brandus paul@greenenergybrief.com
Seeking Alpha: Capital Pouring Into Green Energy
…lots and lots of Benjamins are going into renewable energy
“A large amount of capital is racing to the clean energy sector as investors see a new wave of innovation and the possibility of explosive growth,” opines Seeking Alpha. “The path to a sustainable energy strategy is likely transformational to the world economy.” How much capital? 75% of institutional investors (with more than $1 trillion in assets under management) see greater investments in green energy over the next three years…
For Sale: Wind Turbines. Cheap.
Global prices for turbines have fallen 18% since the recession began. That’s according to Ethan Zindler, head of North American research at New Energy Finance, who cites declines in materials like steel. But prices appear to be leveling off, he says. "There is a belief that demand will pick back up and that that will result in prices going back up." More from the Associated Press…Europe to U.S.: We Are Not Impressed
President Obama calls the House approval of the landmark energy/climate bill a “historic” event, particularly the cap-and-trade provision that aims to curb carbon emissions. But across the pond, says the New York Times, it’s a very different view. “We expect more, we demand more” from the United States, says Sweden’s environment minister. Some analysts have noted that nearly all of the proposed emissions cuts by the U.S. could be in the form “offsets” from overseas…
Wells Fargo, SunPower Team Up On Solar Projects
Wells Fargo will finance the solar systems, which will be designed, built and run by SunPower. Customers will buy power from Sun at prices that are “competitive with retail rates, providing them with a long-term hedge against rising power prices. Marketwatch ran the press release…
Next Generation Biofuels by 2010?
Biomass, the unused portions of logged trees such a branches and the tree tops, pile up at a fiber mill in Old Town, Maine. (Reuters photo)
Biomass, the unused portions of logged trees such a branches and the tree tops, sit at t The first biofuels produced using new generations of biomass raw materials could be available in commercial volumes as early as next year – at least in Europe. That’s according to a top German environmental official. Germany is among the first European countries building test plants to produce commercial volumes of second generation biofuels from a wide range of materials like wood chips, straw, hay, vegetable waste and low grade crops. More from Reuters…
Monday, June 29, 2009
By Paul Brandus paul@greenenergybrief.com
Utilities Can Handle Plug-In Vehicles – at Night
We can barely make it through the summer now without brownouts. What happens if, a few years from now, millions of people start recharging their electric cars? Nothing, claims the head of New York’s Independent System Operator, if they recharge at night. In a report issued today, Stephen Whitley said fully electric cars and plug-in hybrid vehicles (PHEVs) would up demand on New York’s grid by some 2% by 2030. "However, if deployed with technology and incentives to encourage favorable charging patterns, PHEVs can offer valuable new ways to store electricity produced in off-peak periods," Whitley said of his staff's report. "That energy storage potential could enhance the grid's use of wind power."
PHEVs are expected to be rolled out to consumers in significant numbers in the next few years. President Barack Obama has called for a million plug-in hybrids on U.S. roads by 2015. Reuters has more...
Obama Unveils Energy Efficiency Program: “Light Bulbs May Not Seem Sexy”
The latest target of the White House’s campaign to change the way we use energy? Buildings, appliances and light bulbs. The President said he is speeding up the delivery of $346 million in stimulus finds to improve efficiency in buildings – which use an estimated 40% of all energy in the U.S. – and also wants appliances and lamps to be more miserly. He estimated energy savings would mean $4 billion more in Americans’ pockets. More from the Associated Press…What Happens When the Stimulus Money Runs Out?
Since the economic crisis began, the once red-hot activity by wind and solar developers has slowed sharply. The federal government’s stimulus package is supposed to help - although much of the money targeted for renewable energy hasn’t been distributed yet. What happens when it runs out in a year or two?
“One of my big fears is that we will fall off a cliff,” the director of climate change and energy initiatives at Google, Dan W. Reicher, said in an interview with the New York Times. Lowell Ungar, the policy director for the Alliance to Save Energy, an efficiency advocacy group, echoed the sentiment. “The concern is that you spend billions of dollars building up this industry, training people and creating new jobs and new companies, and it all disappears…”
Feds Fast Track Solar Development in Southwest
The Interior Dept. is designating a huge tract of and – 670,000 acres – of federal land in six states as study areas for utility-scale solar projects. The development of renewable energy on public lands is controversial with many environmentalists, who fear the impact development will have on fragile ecosystems in once-pristine areas. More from the AP…
Harnessing the Power of Solar Stocks
“As long as crude oil prices remain relatively high and the government pushes for cleaner energy alternatives, forms of renewable energy will continue to remain attractive,” writes Kevin Greaal of SmartStops.net. “What makes solar energy so attractive is the massive push in investment in utility-scale solar projects, the amount of aid President Obama has allocated to solar energy and its use around the globe.“ Grewal goes on to say that analysts are anticipating a twelvefold increase in the amount of solar energy in the U.S. over the next three years...
Analysis of House Vote on Energy/Climate Bill
The National Journal’s Ronald Brownstein breaks down Friday’s historic vote and it shows the looming Senate battle is likely to be a doozy. Brownstein points out that 44 House Democrats voted against the bill, while only 8 Republicans broke ranks to support it. The study is also broken down by whether each district went for McCain or Obama in November and whether each state relies on coal for at least 40% of its electric power (30 states fall into this category…Interview: Obama Dislikes Key Provision in Bill
Over the weekend, the President, Energy Secretary Steven Chu and Carol Browner, assistant to the president on energy and climate change, sat down for a roundtable interview – the President’s first detailed comments in the wake of Friday’s House vote.
Obama said he has a problem with one part of the bill – slipped in by Democratic leaders – that would impose tariffs on goods imported from countries that don’t match U.S. reductions of carbon. “I think we have to be very careful about sending any protectionist signals,” he said. The transcript – provided by the White House – was published in the Wall Street Journal.
Preview: Senate Fight on Energy/Climate
Some early predictions and more details on what’s next for the bill from the Wall Street Journal:
Editorial: Carbon Tax Beats Cap-and-Trade"The bill coming out of the House is going nowhere in the Senate” – Sen. Lindsay Graham (R-S.C.) on NBC’s “Meet the Press” “It was a struggle to get (the bill) through the House and theres’ no reasn to think it will be any different in the Senate” – Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), chairwoman of one panel that has jurisdiction over the bill. "You're going to find signs on manufacturing doors, if this bill passes, that say, 'Moved, gone to China,'" said Sen. Charles Grassley (R., Iowa) on ABC's "This Week."
Todd Darling of the Los Angeles Times says while White House views on global warming “finally are in line with scientific data, (it) doesn’t mean that politics still can’t trump science.” He argues that the European style cap-and-trade provisions on carbon emissions will “only fuel failure and should be replaced by a carbon tax.”
Dow Chemical: Turning CO2 Into Fuel
The chemical giant (which supported the Waxman-Markey energy/climate bill) and startup Algenol Biofuels will announce today that they’re building a demonstration plant that would use algae to turn carbon dioxide into ethanol. The ethanol would be used as a vehicle fuel or an ingredient in plastics. Algae is a wonder plant – it absorbs CO2 and can also be used as a food source. More from the New York Times…
Algenol grows algae in troughs that becomes saturated with carbon dioxode. Photo by Algenol Biofuels.
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