Japan-based Mitsui & Co., Ltd (MITSY.PK), one of the largest global “sogo shoshas (general trading companies)” in the world, ...
As the US Congressional representatives head home to their respective districts, some of which defy all logic in terms of that contortionist geography called gerrymandering, it’s a perfect opportunity to attend their town hall meetings to offer advice in support of Smart Grid initiatives.
by Jay Gulledge
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released a “special report” (that’s what they call topical reports they publish in between their better known comprehensive assessments) today that is worth a close look for anyone who wants to...
For electric and hybrid vehicles, it’s all about the batteries and Fisker Automotive, maker of the high-end, $102,000 Karma sedan, just got some bad news about theirs.
Fisker’s battery supplier, A123, recently...
More legal hurdles still stand in its way, but Cape Wind, the massive wind power project planned for Nantucket Sound, scored a win today when the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court upheld the developer’s power purchase agreement (PPA) with National Grid.
Cape Wind and National Grid came to terms in May 2010 on a deal that would send half of the 130-turbine project’s power output to the big...
Stretching 50 miles from southeastern California’s Salton Sea across the border with Mexico to the Gulf of California, the Imperial Valley is an area of unique desert beauty, one that lies almost entirely below sea level. The area is also somewhat rare in its combination of geothermal and solar energy resources.
The Imperial Valley is fast turning into a hotspot for both geothermal and solar energy development. On Tuesday, the city of El Centro’s Board of Supervisors gave the go-ahead to LS Power’s 275-megawatt (MW)...
London is one of Europe’s dirtiest cities in terms of air quality. Despite the UK capital’s innovative congestion charging scheme, it remains extremely busy with vehicle traffic. A recent study by campaign group Clean Air in London found that 13 schools in the city are situated near roads that carry more than 100,000 cars a day. And, of course, that’s set to increase significantly while the city hosts the Summer Olympics and...
Americans want the U.S. to lead the world in renewable energy, but these are screwy times in our nation’s capital. Some people are trying to turn clean, renewable energy into something dirty. The fossil fuel industry and the radical right, including ...
The European Union (EU) and China are, essentially, in a competition to see who will invest the most money in clean energy (sorry, U.S. clean energy lovers, a certain section of our political ‘elite’ limit our competitiveness). Historically, the EU is in the lead, but I think we all know that China is investing tremendous amounts of money in the clean energy sector. Nonetheless, the EU is still going strong.
Finite fossil fuels powering transportation is problematic for a number of reasons, one of them being the non-renewable nature of crude oil. One of the solutions is, of course, the electric car ultimately recharged with electricity provided by wind, solar, or geothermal energy. But there’s another bottleneck – the rare earth metals used to make electric motors.
Rare earth metals, as the name suggests, are...
Sure, it’s an interesting choice of words, but Mercedes Benz insists it’s launching a “hybrid offensive” with the premiere of two new models at this year’s North American International Auto Show in Detroit next month. Both new hybrids are from the Benz workhorse E-Class lineup.
While both models are taking...
The cost of electric vehicle chargers could go down by as much as 50 percent over the next three years, according to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). The department has announced research and development funding totaling $7 million that will be spent to improve the design and function of the chargers, all while...
I see news of new charging stations going up in the U.S. every week. They, clearly, aren’t everywhere yet, but they’re getting installed pretty quickly. And, according to a new study by Bloomberg, they now outnumber flex fuel stations in the U.S. Here’s more, plus commentary, from sister site Gas2:
...
SolarChargedDriving.com recently created a list of the top 10 states in the U.S. for electric cars. It’s got a nice, long intro to the topic and a paragraph for each of the top states. Below, I’m just going to share their list and some of the key points they make about each state. Essentially, the whole analysis is based on the electricity mix of each state — how clean it is. For more, check out the full post, linked above.
...
With the amount of e-waste reaching astonishing heights, the possibility of self-healing electronics is too good to not explore. Instead of tossing the entire device because of one broken circuit, what if there was a way to fix it? With that mindset, a team of engineers at the University of Illinois published their work in Advanced Materials,...
While more people are choosing to build green than ever before, the fading away of federal stimulus funds and a general slowdown in the commercial building sector put a crimp on green building projects in the past year or so – a trend that’s likely to reverse in the coming year, according to Jerry Yudelson, an architect and LEED fellow based in Tucson,...
Last week we wrote the post What will 2012 have in store for energy conservation where we stated that two things needed to occur before Americans change the relationship they have with energy:
...
In just under two weeks, standard 100 Watt incandescent light bulbs will be officially banned in the US, in the first step of a ...
by Rod Adams
The Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory issued a press release on December 20, 2011 titledNew Take on Impacts of Low Dose...
Wood chips, poultry litter and hen manure could soon be the catalyst for a new clean energy system in the state of Maryland. Perdue AgriBusiness and Fibrowatt have submitted a proposal to the state to create a biomass boiler operation near Salisbury. The plant would provide 10 megawatts (MW) of electricity to the state along with 70,000 pounds...
Picture a fuel cell for a moment. If you can, chances are you’re imagining a hydrogen-powered fuel cell, most noted for their potential to power vehicles emitting only harmless water. Professor Eric Wachsman, director of the University of Maryland Energy Research Center, is spreading news of the hydrogen fuel cell’s lesser known cousin – the solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC)...
US Foods recently announced it will save an additional 2 million kilowatt hours (kWh) by retrofitting lighting throughout the organization. Since 2007, the company has decreased overall energy use by approximately 8% (34 million kWh) through lighting retrofits alone.
...“We’re exploring many more opportunities for energy savings throughout the company,” Jepsen said. “Projects already slated for 2012 are expected to reduce our energy use by another 3 million kilowatt hours and further reduce our environmental footprint.”
Whether or not all international airlines can legally be charged for its carbon emissions when flying in and out of the EU has been a hot topic for awhile. The US (in particular, the Air Transport Association of America, American Airlines, and United Continental) contested this EU legislation and brought it to court, but the news today is that the EU’s highest court has given unreserved backing to the law.
I think I first wrote about this law in August, 2009, when the...
The FY2012 Omnibus Appropriations bill, passed through the House and Senate conference...
In the Washington Post the folks at the Breakthrough Institute ...
Hydrovolts is a Seattle, Washington-based start-up with an innovative micro-hydro turbine technology. Instead of relying on natural water resources, the Hydrovolts turbine is designed specifically for use in man-made waterways, such as irrigation canals, water diversion channels, discharge channels for wastewater, cooling water discharges from thermal power plants and large hydropower projects.
The company was a global finalist in the 2009 CleanTech Open, and winner of that...
We’ve covered a few promising hybrid solar photovoltaic/solar thermal heating systems in the past, but Chromasun’s new installation in San Jose, California, is the first hybrid solar electricity/solar thermal cooling system we’ve seen. It is, in fact —...
Since the early days of the internet, people have used search engines to find stuff on the web. And ever since those early searches, SEOs, SEMs, strategists, researchers and other quantoids have aggregated that data to track social trends. This decidedly new source of social data gives new and virtually...
Renewable energy critics are convinced that Germany is going to see skyrocketing electricity prices due to it dropping both coal and nuclear. Well, anyone who looks at the long-term economics of all these options knows that clean, renewable energy is a winner (don’t be a hater, it’s just how it is). Now, natural gas is the newly adored fossil fuel, due to its relatively cheap prices right now (many claim it’s the cheapest electricity option these days), and it’s less-several environmental costs (compared to coal). But something I’ve been writing for quite...
This is, clearly, not a definitive analysis showing that renewable energy such as wind and solar lower electricity rates (or make them increase more slowly), but it is a pretty darn good argument in their favor! And it is also a great piece to share with anyone who thinks renewable energy raises the cost of electricity. Add in the health benefits, job creation benefits, grid security benefits, and environmental benefits and my hunch is that any analysis on the matter would tell us, “Hey, it’s about time we put the Big money into renewable energy!” (More on...
American history buffs and foodies know the story of the three sisters of agriculture, a brilliant combinatorial planting technique practiced by Native Americans. This uniquely American agricultural invention elegantly illustrates the concept of synergy....
Recently it was announced that Range Fuels has gone into foreclosure, thus marking the official end of their story. For all practical purposes, the company has been finished since early 2011, but the foreclosure puts an end to the notion that they will yet rise...
As news trickled out of Capitol Hill on Sunday that House Republicans would likely reject a Senate bill extending the payroll tax cut and unemployment benefits for two months—a plan that included a provision requiring President Obama to rule on the Keystone XL pipeline within 60 days—many Washington insiders began to publicly speculate that the move could actually spell the end for the controversial oil pipeline.
Just as some critics immediately began jumping on Obama for again caving to the demands of...
For the past few years, the global market for solar photovoltaic (PV) modules has been concentrated in Europe. Germany, Czech Republic, Italy and Spain have accounted for nearly 80 percent of worldwide solar panel sales over the past two years. But analysts say that the market is changing rapidly. Recent changes in policies, prices, subsidies and government targets have shifted future growth opportunities from Europe to Asia – particularly,...
As development of smart grid technology moves ahead, the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) released a report of test procedures to help make sure electric vehicles and hybrids are designed to plug in with maximum efficacy.
A key principle of smart grid technology is allowing bidirectional power flow to accommodate...
This post originally appeared on Energy Self-Reliant States, a resource of the Institute for Local Self-Reliance’s New Rules Project.
Americans seem unable to resist big things, and solar power plants are no exception. There may be no reasoning with an affinity for all things “super sized,” but the economics of large scale solar...
Google has been a clean energy leader for a long time (see my post on 7 of Google’s top clean energy...
Discomfort continues in the industry this week as news of the NHTSA investigation into the Chevy Volt fire continues in the media. Conversations around the water cooler center on how bad this really is and whether the problem is a passing piece of bad news or an existential threat to...
Energy storage systems are considered a crucial component of the future energy system, enabling the widespread adoption of everything from renewable energy, smart grid technologies and backup power, to electric vehicles (EVs) and portable devices. New analysis...
As more and more wind energy is brought online, the variable nature of wind can make it difficult for grid operators to maintain a crucial balance between generation and load. Most utilities’ wind generation forecasts rely on computer simulations, based on data collected from monitoring stations. However, not all data is created equal. The ability for data to forecast extreme events, such as a sharp increase or decrease in the wind speed over a short period of time, depends largely on where the data is collected,...
Graphic credit The Washington Post
Manufacturing solar photovoltaic (PV) cells and modules in China has been a tremendous success, at least if you’re willing to put off profitability for job creation to help assure...
Photo courtesy UTC Power
Our posting of UTC Power’s February 2011 inforgraphic comparing the energy conversion and...
Editor’s Note: EarthTechling, always looking to forward the cleantech revolution discussion, is proud to bring you this story via a cross post from partner Midwest Energy...
RGGI (pronounced “Reggie”), the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, has capped carbon dioxide emissions in ten northeastern U.S. states. Well, it isn’t much of a cap, given how loose it really is. Still, the latest analysis that tries to ...
In the excitement of saving the environment with clean energy, we seem to have forgotten the wildlife that also have a stake in a thriving habitat. Scientists at the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) reviewed existing scientific papers and found that there is a lack of study on the effects of large-scale solar energy developments and operations on wildlife.
USGS scientist Jeffrey Lovich and Maryville College (Tenn.) scientist...
Wind farms in California’s Tehachapi Wind Resource Area, situated at the southern end of the San Joaquin Valley, produce more power than any other wind development in the United States, and are responsible for over 40 percent of California’s wind energy generation. The area is slated for over 4,000 megawatts (MW) of new wind power capacity over the next five to ten years. With such a large amount of wind power being generated in a relatively small area, the state’s grid...
The following is a guest editorial by Robert D. Hansen, president and CEO of Dow Corning, and Stephanie A. Burns, Dow Corning chairman.
The trade case brought against Chinese solar manufacturers by U.S. solar-panel producer SolarWorld and six other domestic equipment makers could undermine the solar industry’s significant progress at the very moment it is poised for success.
With a largely jobless recovery here at home and a Chinese economy that is “cooling down,” a trade war over solar module production threatens both nations’ economies...
Image courtesy Greenpeace-Facebook
Greenpeace International’s nearly 1 million-strong Facebook community have brought about a fundamental shift in business operations and strategy at...
by Simon Mui
Trend would be shifted with California’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard
NRDC has long supported efforts by companies to invest in cleaner...
by Jim Pierobon
Just as more brands of hybrid and electric vehicles are gaining real momentum in the U.S., questions raised by the Chevy Volt’s ignitable batter pack pose serious challenges to General Motors and perhaps the entire auto sector.
What to make of it?
...
As much as green technology drives the engine behind much of what we cover, sometimes it is the non-tech ideas that are more efficient and cost effective. An example of this came in the form of a venture which started shortly after one Sam Pardue was presented a $40,000 estimate to have his 1906 craftsman-style home’s windows replaced that he started noodling ways to design a more affordable and attractive energy-efficient window.
“Every year around this time I would get...
Progressives have never been very good about admitting – let alone claiming – victory. Ask your average progressive what he thinks of President Obama’s law expanding access to good health insurance in the United States and he’ll sigh and list the ways it falls short. Forget about finding silver linings on cloudy days; progressives habitually locate the clouds in what you thought was a peerless blue sky.
But please, people, don’t blow it with the military and its deeply green direction. Don...
Capturing CO2 and re-injecting it into offshore geologic formations gets a look as 8 year count-down to carbon price begins.
With all 190 nations now agreeing to binding greenhouse gas reductions in a treaty of some sort to be in...
The African desert is hot. It gets a lot of sun. These are facts that we all know, even if we have no personal experience (and for those of you who haven’t been there, let me assure you, it’s true). It seems intuitive that the...
It’s being billed as the nation’s...
Intermittent renewables, energy storage, and management and analytics software applications are a triad of synergistic technologies. Synergy happens when two or more things combined produce more than their separate efforts could produce. The...
by Dan Bodansky
Was the Durban climate conference a success or failure? As always, the answer depends on one’s frame of reference.
As compared to the expectations going in, the...
Ohio? No disrespect toward the Buckeye State intended, but when it comes to a compiling of green school in the nation – schools with LEED registered and certified projects – you’d have to guess California to be the likely winner, based on sheer size alone. But no, according to the just released Best Green Schools list from the U.S. Green Building Council...
The Navy is seriously busy on the biofuels front. Within weeks of its biggest biofuel test ever – and just days after announcing it would purchase 450,000 gallons of biofuels to use in key military exercises next summer – comes word that the service is working with Maersk in testing...
After hearing more than 11 hours of testimony in a meeting last week, Colorado regulators Tuesday approved tough new rules governing chemicals used in the controversial process of hydraulic fracturing. Also known as "fracking," hydraulic fracturing is a process whereby a slurry of water, sand and chemicals are pumped into a well at very high pressure to force natural gas out of shale rock formations. The new rules require companies to publicly disclose the chemicals—and their concentrations—found in the fracking fluid.
Meeting all day on Tuesday with...
“On-bill financing, an innovative tool that allows customers to pay for energy efficiency investments though their utility bills, is becoming more widely available across the country and extending opportunities to historically underserved markets, according to a new study,” the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE) notes. (Yes, it was an ACEEE study.) “The study, On-Bill Financing for Energy...
A just released update for the plans for the new Apple headquarters in Silicon Valley shows a modification to include solar panels covering the entire roof. ARUP North America and local engineering firm Kier & Wright will collaborate on the Foster + Partners plans to convert the new headquarters to a solar powerhouse.
Sustainable architects Foster + Partners are no strangers to visionary design concepts; their work includes the first ever port for commercial space travel. On the Apple building almost all of the 750,000 square foot building, as well as...
CleanTechnica readers are no stranger to energy-saving apps for smartphones; not only have we talked about them in the past, but there are a wide variety available with just a...
by Dan Yurman
Four commissioners write to the House Oversight Committee blaming Chairman Gregory Jaczko about a toxic atmosphere
...
Climate talks rarely yield major turning points. The process is incremental. But some are more successful, in getting us where we need to go, than others. And the talks that just ended at Durban are historic. For the first time, all countries agreed to be bound in a new treaty to come into force by 2020, and cover all nations, not just developed ones, in the process also staving off the end of Kyoto, extending it for its 40 members in a new commitment period in its current form until 2015.
Many writers are concerned...
The number of patents granted for innovations surrounding renewable energy technologies are on the rise, according to the Clean Energy Patent Growth Index (CEPGI). The index is published quarterly by The Cleantech Group at Heslin Rotherberg Farley & Mesiti P.C. The latest figures show a record number of patents being handed out in the third quarter of 2011....
In Minnesota, where I live, Xcel Energy offers a really good deal on home energy audits for its customers. For as little as $30, inspectors will check your home’s insulation, windows, doors and heating/cooling system and make recommendations for...
Only time will tell whether the Durban climate talks produced an historic breakthrough. It’s possible. What’s clear for now is that the Durban deal keeps the global climate effort intact and moving – however incrementally – in the...
(...
Next time you check the weather on your desktop icon or mobile phone app, will you be ale to get an update on the carbon dioxide and methane concentrations in the air, as well? That’s not clear yet, but Earth Networks, which operates WeatherBug, a real-time weather app for mobile devices and desktops, has just announced a collaboration to create greenhouse gas...
Wastewater treatment plants are becoming a popular site for governments to install solar energy systems. Most recently, the city of Dinuba, Calif., in partnership with Chevron Energy Solutions and Tioga Energy, built a 1.15-megawatt (MW) photovoltaic (PV) system at its ...
This week, Statoil has an application for a pilot demonstration of their Hywind floating wind turbine 12 miles off the coast of Maine before the new Bureau of Ocean Energy Management for approval. The demo would be the fruition of a project begun in 2009, and funded by the Department of Energy.
Then Maine Governor John Baldacci had visited Norway to inspect Statoil’s Hywind floating turbine project with state and university officials and business leaders ...
The Morley Company of Jackson Hole is proposing the construction of a 300-MW (300,000-kW) wind farm on Belvoir Ranch, which is 6 miles west of the city of Cheyenne, Wyoming. It would consist of 120 wind turbines.
Morley Company CEO Bruce Morley said that Cheyenne won’t be required to invest any money into the project, and that the...
This year the lanyards given out by the environmental groups have a famous Nelson Mandela quote that is quite fitting for the current state of play in the final days of the global warming negotiations in South Africa. ...
...
US petroleum product exports have been in the news, along with the welcome discovery that we are apparently on track to...
by Mark Green
Some eye-opening energy numbers from the Institute for Energy Research's new North...
It’s the progressive take on the energy future, in a nutshell: When companies invest in controlling their carbon emissions, it creates jobs and does wonders for economy. Conservative intellectuals might have a different view, but those are precisely the...
They don’t call it the Sunbelt for nothing, and Ikea plans to take full advantage of the salubrious solar situation down South. The Swedish home furnishings retailer has announced that it will install solar panels on nine of its stores and one of its distribution centers in the U.S. South.
...
Paris is the latest city to offer pay-as-you-go electric car rentals – a number of all-electric Autolib’...
Renewable energy investments are surpassing investments in new fossil fuel power for the first time ever, according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance as reported by Joe Romm on ThinkProgress. Adding to the encouraging news, Bloomberg New Energy Finance reported that the trillionth dollar has been invested in renewable energy, energy efficiency and smart energy technologies.
Wind, solar,...
It’s December again (how did that happen!?) and our annual time for reflection here at Kachan & Co. So as we close out 2011, let’s look towards what the new year may have in store for cleantech.
There are eggshells across the sector for 2012. Global economic...
Don’t tell the Republican presidential candidates, but the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has a friend in the U.S. Army. Seriously. The agency that GOP candidates love to pummel and the Army have partnered in the quest for net zero.
Under a new agreement, the EPA and the Army committed to...
In his opening address to the U.N. climate conference in Durban, South African President Jacob Zuma introduced the country’s Green Economy Accord, an initiative to create 300,000 new jobs in fields such as renewable energy generation, low-carbon product manufacturing, biofuel feedstock farming, soil and environmental management...
Last year, I wrote here about the ever-increasing amount of electronic waste, or e-waste, produced in our country, and the recycling programs that have been created through public-private partnerships to safely process that waste. As the holiday season approaches – and more cell phones, tablets, computers and televisions are upgraded and replaced – it’s a good moment to evaluate our progress in e-waste recycling, and to highlight research during the past year that has emphasized the...
A new EWEA report tallying all existing offshore wind power projects in the 17 European Union states, based on a survey of built, consented and planned capacity and wind farm projects already undergoing construction, finds that Europe has a pipeline of a staggering 141,000 megawatts of offshore wind due on the grid over the next twenty years. With 4 GW installed by the end of 2011, Europe has 99% of offshore wind globally already.
Speaking...
Sometimes there can be good news, as in this case, thanks to researchers at the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute who have released figures stating that average fuel economy of all new vehicles sold in the US is up for the second straight month.
According to the figures, the average fuel...
Canada's wind industry has had a ...
by Jim Pierobon
With the unanimous 6-0 decision by the U.S. International Trade Commission December 2 enabling a thorough probe of claims that Chinese solar panel manufacturers are ‘dumping’ their products in the U.S. market at below the cost of making and marketing them, an all-out trade war looms. Without long-term, innovative thinking...
The U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) used 5 billion gallons of fuel last year, at a cost of about $13 billion. And a big chunk of that change went to delivering water to troops on the front lines, which can cost as much as $60 per gallon of H2O. One project that could help control these costs and improve energy self-sufficiency – critical aspects of the DOD’s ...
This comes as no surprise to those of us following the market, but it may come as a big one to ...
This post originally appeared on Energy Self-Reliant States, a resource of the Institute for Local Self-Reliance’s New Rules Project.
Back for a second round, the Open Neighborhoods organization in Los Angeles has organized another group purchase of residential and commercial solar PV, bringing the lifetime cost of solar well under the cost of grid electricity even for individual homeowners.
...
It is Monday of the second week at the global warming negotiations. For anyone that has followed these negotiations you know that the second week is when the final action occurs. Some hints emerged last week on “where we are headed”, but clear signs will have to emerge this week as the U.S., China, India, Brazil, small island states, African countries, and the E.U. play a key role. Will they agree or will they block? That is the key question going into the...
The news in the industry this week continues to be dominated by reports of the Volt battery fire and resulting NHTSA investigation. Electric drive skeptics have predictably taken the opportunity to question the efficacy of electric vehicles, calling them 21st Century versions...
The U.S. government has thrown billions of dollars in support behind the biofuels industry, in the form of mandates and loan guarantees (and, again, here), in the hopes of weaning the country off foreign oil and cutting greenhouse gas emissions. But a...
What’s the forecast for cleantech investing in 2012? Cloudy with a chance of decline, according a new set of predictions from Kachan & Co., a cleantech analysis and consulting firm, though predictions for the coming year do include some bright spots as well, particularly in the realms of wave power and industrial wastewater.
First...
The commercial aviation industry could go from being one of the dirtiest to being one of the cleanest in ten years, according to one of the industry's best-known figures.
Richard Branson says the world's 7,000 airlines could switch to low-carbon jet fuels much faster than other forms of transportation because airplanes have very few "filling stations."
"Unlike cars where there are millions of filling stations, there are only about 1,700 aviation stations in the world. So if you can get the right fuel, like mass-produced algae, then getting it to 1...
The Department of Defense has just awarded the California-based solar company...
I-GO Car Sharing, a nonprofit car sharing organization in Chicago that I keep a close eye on (due to its leadership in the field), has now launched a $2.5-million electric vehicle (EV) project that will be the national leader in solar power for EVs (for now, at least). It’s adding 36 all-electric vehicles to its fleet, and it’s adding 18 solar-powered charging stations to power those cars. This will be the largest electric vehicle fleet in the Midwest, and, as indicated above, it will use more solar power to charge EVs than...
We know that, on a personal level, efficiency saves money. It also reduces our impact on our strained environment, which is becoming a bigger concern with each passing year. There are many average people who are changing their habits and the way they interact with their environments so as to embrace ...
The first offshore wind turbine to be installed without the use of lift vessels – and the first floating wind turbine platform in the open waters of the Atlantic Ocean – has been successfully deployed. Energias de Portugal (EDP) and Principle Power said the 2-megawatt (MW) deep-water turbine called WindFloat was towed out to sea and put in place about 215 miles off the coast of Agucadoura,...
Researchers from Northwestern University say they’re working on developing a super-battery that can keep a cellphone charged for a week and be recharged in just 15 minutes – but making small electronics a little more convenient is only the beginning of their ambition. They think the technology also might make for far more efficient and smaller electric car batteries.
...
As delegates start negotiations in Durban, the major issues of the Kyoto Protocol and a “Roadmap to 2020” are dominating the news wires. The big picture story is very important, but in the meantime nations need to use this meeting to make real progress in a number of smaller but important areas. Despite the rhetoric, an alternative global framework is slowly emerging from the process, albeit one that won’t immediately deliver the sharp reductions that we know are needed,...
by Rod Adams
I received a link from the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) to a fascinating video about their recent efforts to develop CoSecTM, a new resin technology that is more effective at capturing cobalt-60. Most of the radiation doses that...
by...
Four days into the global warming negotiations in Durban, South Africa countries are beginning to draw clear lines in the sand. The European Union has signaled that they are unwilling to back down from their position that Durban needs to adopt a clear mandate to negotiate a new legally binding agreement that covers all major players. The Guardian states:
The Michigan City Generating Station on the shore of Lake Michigan in Indiana.
By Kari Lydersen
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by Jim Pierobon
As the next round of international negotiations about a possible climate change treaty — the 17th to be exact since the Kyoto Treaty was signed in 1992 — get up to speed in Durban, South Africa, it’s becoming increasingly clear that...
The EV Project has huge goals for the electric vehicle (EV) infrastructure of the United States. The project, supported by the U.S. Department of Energy through the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, is looking to install approximately 14,000 Level 2 chargers and 400 DC fast chargers across 18 major cities in six states and the District Columbia. Now, the project which is being...
Price’s Pit Landfill, outside Atlantic City, N.J., has an ugly history. In the 1970s, septic tank and sewage waste, greases, oils and industrial chemicals were dumped there, sometimes directly, sometimes in 55-gallon drums that were destined to leak. In all, some 9 million gallons of chemical wastes found a home at the old sand and gravel quarry, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
So is this any place to build a solar power plant? The...
A startup company called Simbol Materials believes it can increase the domestic (U.S) production of lithium by capturing it, in addition to zinc and manganese, from the brine used by geothermal power plants.
The brine mentioned is actually a...
Last Wednesday was a big milestone for people who care about public health and a livable climate. Two utilities announced the planned closure of nine coal plants.
Read more ...
Today, in the UK, the world's oldest nuclear power plant shut down.
Read more ...
The U.S. led the world in clean energy investment in 2011, but China retained the top spot in the latest Renewable Energy Country Attractiveness Index from Ernst & Young.
Read more ...
Today's morning news roundup - all the energy and climate coverage you need to read.
Read more ...
