News: Archive for July, 2009
‘The United States has experienced a surge in investment in wind power over the past four years, more than tripling its ability to turn wind into electricity. But construction has been entirely on land and largely in America’s rural midsection — leaving open the costly challenge of how to transmit power to the densely populated coasts where it is most needed.’
via Offshore wind could be next wave for U.S. | Green Business | Reuters.
‘BEIJING (Reuters) – Rich nations must agree to large, measurable cuts in their greenhouse gas emissions, if the world is to set a framework to tackle global warming at U.N.-led talks in December, a senior Chinese official said on Wednesday.’
via China says rich nation CO2 cuts key to Copenhagen | Green Business | Reuters.
‘NEW DELHI (Reuters) – India will unveil its first solar power target as soon as September, pledging to boost output from near zero to 20 gigawatts (GW) by 2020 as it firms up its national plan to fight global warming, draft documents show.’
via India to unveil 20GW solar target under climate plan | Green Business | Reuters.
‘Reporting from Washington — Less than 24 hours before the House approved its landmark energy and climate bill last month, Rep. Ed Perlmutter (D-Colo.) got several paragraphs added to the 1,200-page measure — additions expected to be worth millions of dollars to companies that install solar panels.’
The article mentions several of these amendments, which were added to consolidate crucial support for the bill:
“…There were about 300 pages of last-minute amendments, many designed to make money for industries and constituencies important to fence-sitting lawmakers.”
via House climate bill was flooded with last-minute changes – Los Angeles Times.
‘Expanding hydropower is fraught with controversy, much of it stemming from the industry’s history of turning wild rivers into industrialized reservoirs struggling to support their remaining fish. The emerging boom in hydroelectric power pits two competing ecological perils against each other: widespread fish extinctions and a warming planet.’
via Boom in hydropower pits fish against climate – Los Angeles Times.
July 27, 2009
Obama opened a two day U.S. / China meeting with a statement addressing several important issues, including the need for cooperation on climate change:
“The United States and China are the two largest consumers of energy in the world. We are also the two largest emitters of greenhouse gases in the world. Let’s be frank: Neither of us profits from a growing dependence on foreign oil, nor can we spare our people from the ravages of climate change unless we cooperate. Common sense calls upon us to act in concert.
Both of our countries are taking steps to transform our energy economies. Together we can chart a low carbon recovery; we can expand joint efforts at research and development to promote the clean and efficient use of energy; and we can work together to forge a global response at the Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen and beyond. And the best way to foster the innovation that can increase our security and prosperity is to keep our markets open to new ideas, new exchanges, and new sources of energy.”
See Obama’s complete statement via whitehouse.gov briefing
‘The once-booming European solar sector is suffering from a massive oversupply of cells and modules that has driven down average selling prices ASPs for solar systems, and Asian companies are grabbing market share by slashing costs.’
via Europe solar groups look to rising Asia for answers | Green Business | Reuters.
‘A new method for capturing significantly more heat from low-temperature geothermal resources holds promise for generating virtually pollution-free electrical energy. 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.’
via Innovation Taps Low Geothermal Heat | Green Business | Reuters.
‘Workers weary of crammed public transport or pedaling long distances to jobs are upgrading to battery-powered bikes and scooters. Even some who can afford cars are ditching them for electric two-wheelers to avoid traffic jams and expensive gasoline.’
via E-China: The bicycle kingdom is going electric – Yahoo! News.
‘LOS ANGELES Reuters – The shares of solar companies surged on Friday after U.S. panel maker SunPower Corp posted better-than-expected earnings and China’s LDK Solar Co raised its sales forecast.’
via SunPower, LDK lead solar stock rally | Green Business | Reuters.