While coal, oil, and gas are an integral part of everyday life around the world, 2013 brought a stark reminder of the inherent risk that comes with a fossil-fuel dependent world, with numerous pipeline spills, explosions, derailments, landslides, and the death of 20 coal miners in the U.S. alone. Despite all this, our addiction to … Continue reading What A Year: 45 Fossil Fuel Disasters The Industry Doesn
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Obama calls on federal government to move to 20% renewables by 2020
On December 5th, 2013 U.S. President Barack Obama signed a memorandum directing the nation’s federal government to meet 20% of its electricity demand with renewable energy sources by 2020, more than double the current level. romeo and juliet essay As a first step, agencies are required to source 10% of their electricity from renewables by … Continue reading Obama calls on federal government to move to 20% renewables by 2020
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Climate Change Driving Weather off the Charts
Meteorologists are calling the typhoon that slammed into the Philippines with 195-mile-an-hour winds on November 8, 2013, the most powerful tropical storm to make landfall on record. Super Typhoon Haiyan had gusts reaching 235 miles per hour and a storm surge swelling as high as 20 feet, so the destruction it left behind matched that … Continue reading Climate Change Driving Weather off the Charts
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EU Commission: fossil fuel and nuclear subsidies distort market
Subsidies for nuclear and fossil fuels distort competition between different energy sources and increase the overall cost to society of electricity generation, the European Commission states today in a series of non-binding documents on state intervention in energy markets. “EU taxpayers gave over EUR26 billion to fossil fuels in 2011, the documents show. It is … Continue reading EU Commission: fossil fuel and nuclear subsidies distort market
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Fossil fuels dominate energy consumption
Coal, natural gas, and oil accounted for 87 percent of global primary energy consumption in 2012. The International Energy Agency predicts that by 2017 coal will replace oil as the dominant primary energy source worldwide. Global natural gas production grew by 1.9 percent in 2012, dominated by the United States (with 20.4 percent of the … Continue reading Fossil fuels dominate energy consumption
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Nuclear Power
Worldwatch Institute analysis examines the state of the global nuclear energy industry. The levelized capital cost of nuclear energy is 6-81 percent higher than the capital cost of other sources of energy. Since 1987, expansion of the world’s nuclear power generating capacity has slowed considerably. Just 75 GW were added over the last 25 years, … Continue reading Nuclear Power
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How Big an Impact Will Electric Vehicles Have on the Grid?
Doug Staker, the VP of Business Development at Demand Energy, would like to own a Tesla Model S. Unfortunately, he has two children in college and at least one responsible adult household member (his wife) with little desire for the car. (Demand Energy builds integrated energy storage systems for behind-the-meter energy optimization and emergency backup … Continue reading How Big an Impact Will Electric Vehicles Have on the Grid?
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Climate Change as a Threat Multiplier in Syria
Among the factors that have driven the Syrian people to rise up against the Assad regime was a climate-change-related drought that caused a famine, according to ex-U.S. State Department advisor William Polk. “Syria is and has always been a complex society,” Polk wrote recently in describing the conflict’s context for The Atlantic. But it “has … Continue reading Climate Change as a Threat Multiplier in Syria
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Train or Pipeline, the Answer is the Same
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Radiation in Fukushima hit new high
Radiation readings around tanks holding contaminated water at the crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant have spiked by more than a fifth to their highest levels, Japan’s nuclear regulator said, heightening concerns about the clean-up of the worst atomic disaster in three decades. Radiation hotspots have spread to three holding areas for hundreds of hastily built … Continue reading Radiation in Fukushima hit new high
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House members take up bipartisan effort to support renewable energy
House Republicans and Democrats joined together last week to co-sign a letter to the House Committee on Ways and Means recommending that renewable energy development receive continued support in any forthcoming comprehensive tax reform debate. The effort was led by Representatives Paul Ruiz (D-CA), Jon Runyan (R-NJ), and Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), and was signed by … Continue reading House members take up bipartisan effort to support renewable energy
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Energy Storage
Government investments in energy storage and related areas, such as the smart grid, continue to bear fruit, particularly in the North American and Asian markets. Both the global energy storage project pipeline and the number of deployed projects have grown. Meanwhile, the R&D and government funding strategies within each region are converging. While Asian economies … Continue reading Energy Storage
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New energy policy from European Investment Bank welcomed
After a meeting last week in Luxembourg, the board of the European Investment Bank (EIB) changed its energy lending policy. The EU’s main lending arm said it would stop financing most coal-fired power stations to help reduce pollution and meet climate targets, and devote 90% of its lending to clean energy. In a press release, … Continue reading New energy policy from European Investment Bank welcomed
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Chrysler, NextEnergy to test vehicle-to-grid (V2G) technology in US
Chrysler has collaborated with Detroit-based NextEnergy to examine the vehicle-to-grid (V2G) electric vehicle (EV) technology. The test will be conducted with four battery-powered all-electric minivans featuring a charging module that is capable of simulating any electrical grid in the world. Both the companies expect that if ample number of EVs are connected together, their combined … Continue reading Chrysler, NextEnergy to test vehicle-to-grid (V2G) technology in US
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French President Francois Hollande vows no fracking while he is president
French President Francois Hollande on Sunday refused any exploration of the shale gas in France during his five-year-mandate. “As long as I am president, there will be no exploration for shale gas,” the president said in a National Day interview on local TV. “On shale gas, there is a debate that has lasted too long,” … Continue reading French President Francois Hollande vows no fracking while he is president
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Peak Water: What Happens When the Wells Go Dry?
Peak oil has generated headlines in recent years, but the real threat to our future is peak water. There are substitutes for oil, but not for water. We can produce food without oil, but not without water. We drink on average four liters of water per day, in one form or another, but the food … Continue reading Peak Water: What Happens When the Wells Go Dry?
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Vestas applauds President Obama
In a speech given Tuesday at Georgetown University, President Obama calls for the nation to double its use of renewable energy. President Obama’s plan would cut carbon emissions that cause climate change and endangers public health. His goal is to double the amount of renewable energy permits approved on public lands which would power more than … Continue reading Vestas applauds President Obama
Continue readingWind energy poised to help deliver on national climate commitment
AWEA welcomes the President’s initiative to proceed with climate actions focused at this time on executive agencies. AWEA supports policies to achieve science-based greenhouse gas reduction targets. U.S. President Barack Obama will unveil his second-term climate change agenda with a view to limiting carbon emissions from the country’s power plants. In a speech at Georgetown … Continue reading Wind energy poised to help deliver on national climate commitment
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Policy issues plague hydropower as wind energy backup
Theoretically, hydropower can step in when wind turbines go still, but barriers to this non-polluting resource serving as a backup are largely policy- and regulation-based, according to Penn State researchers. “We have a very clear realization that we need to make energy systems more sustainable,” said Seth A. Blumsack, assistant professor of energy policy. “We … Continue reading Policy issues plague hydropower as wind energy backup
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Unclear Progress Towards the EU 2020 Renewable Energy Targets
While renewable energy targets now exist in 118 countries worldwide, few regional commitments to renewable energy deployment exist, though this trend is beginning to change. The European Union (EU) has undoubtedly been one of the global leaders in spurring the advanced development and deployment of renewable energies worldwide. The vision set forth by the Renewable … Continue reading Unclear Progress Towards the EU 2020 Renewable Energy Targets
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