News Roundup
‘LONDON Reuters – The cleantech industry is poised to grow this year although 2009 could be a “bloodbath” for the solar sector due to falling module prices and limited credit, the managers of a new megatrends fund launched this month said.’
via New megatrends fund sees 2009 solar bloodbath | Green Business | Reuters.
‘Meeting energy needs while being efficient and using environmentally responsible technologies is probably the single greatest change that needs to happen to alter the effects of climate change now. In the United States and the European Union, governments are backing smart grid and renewable energy programs. Undoubtedly, the two technologies go hand-in-hand, but where should we put our efforts and dollars/euros first?’
via Smart Grid vs. Renewable Energy: Where Should We Invest? | Green Business | Reuters.
‘HONG KONG Reuters – Beijing's bid to boost the solar energy sector could draw more than $10 billion in private funding for projects and put China on track to become a leading market for solar equipment in the next three years.’
via Incentives add shine to China solar drive | Green Business | Reuters.
‘A group of 20 German firms is forming a consortium this July to begin raising $555 billion for the much-discussed Afro-European solar research project known as Desertec, the German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung revealed this week.’
via Holy Solar Funding: Project Desertec to Get $500 Billion Cash Infusion? | SolveClimate.com.
‘PARIS Reuters – Biofuels could be used to replace jet fuel in less than five years following recent tests by plane-maker Boeing, while the industry says it is putting billions of dollars into improving its environmental impact.’
via Biofuels to the fore in fight to reduce emissions | Green Business | Reuters.
The Copenhagen Climate Congress Synthesis Report from the meetings this year in Denmark March 10-12 has now been published. It was launched at a press conference in Bruxelles, Belgium, on June 18, 2009, where it was handed over to the host of COP-15, the Danish Prime Minister Rasmussen. Download the Synthesis Report here (pdf).
‘TORONTO Reuters – A global shift toward nuclear power is prompting countries to rush to lock in long-term access to tight supplies of uranium, and China and India look to be the next players to get in on the action.’
via Nuclear nations rush to lock in uranium deals | Green Business | Reuters.
‘WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A U.S. Senate committee on Wednesday approved a comprehensive energy package that would require utilities to generate 15 percent of electricity from renewable sources such as solar and wind power.’
via U.S. Senate panel approves comprehensive energy bill | Green Business | Reuters.
This literally high tech approach is expensive and potentially politically dangerous. There is plenty of solar energy available for lower cost capture on the ground – is it reasonable to burn a lot of fossil fuels to get solar collectors into orbit so that we can beam additional energy down into an already overheated terrestrial system? Might this accelerate the development of space based military technology?
‘Space-based solar power is back in vogue these days, three decades after the U.S. government started toying with the idea as a way to get steady—if not cheap—power to remote battlefield locations. California utility PG&E just signed a deal with Solaren, another space-solar firm, to provide 200 megawatts of space-based solar power in 2016.’
via Spaced Out: Is Solar Power From Satellites Achievable? – Environmental Capital – WSJ.
/WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Climate change has already caused “visible impacts” in the United States and poses particular risks to the U.S. agriculture and energy industries, a new government report said on Tuesday.’
via U.S. climate report details energy, agriculture harm | Green Business | Reuters.