- The Guide to Limitless Clean Energy 2013, has this quote from Thomas Edison: “We are like tenant farmers chopping down the fence around our house for fuel when we should be using nature’s inexhaustible sources of energy — sun, wind and tide.” [Blue & Green Tomorrow]
Science and Technology:
- A new report from Fuel Cell Today describes how the electrolysis of water to generate hydrogen can be used in conjunction with renewable energy sources to provide a number of benefits. [Fuel Cell Today]
- Scotland focused an 18-million pound ($27 million) fund for marine energy on wave power as it seeks to get all its power from renewables by the end of the decade. [Businessweek]
- Gas-fired generation in Europe is in crisis. With the energy-only market undercut by renewables, European utilities are mothballing thermal generation capacity. [Platts]
- The European Parliament approved a non-binding resolution calling for a mandatory EU-wide share for renewables for 2030, but failed to set the target in the 40-45% range. [EurActiv]
- Europe could face power blackouts if utilities shut loss-making gas plants and aging coal facilities while governments dither over how to cope with the growing impact of renewables. [Power Engineering International]
- Australian community solar projects appear to be gathering pace, with public launches planned for the next month. Crowd-funding is one possibility being discussed. [RenewEconomy]
- The problem of high power demand in the Philippines continues to plague consumers, and the country’s Department of Energy is promoting renewable energy to improve the situation. [Solar News]
- The UK’s Department of Energy and Climate Change says more than £29 billion of private investment has gone into the renewables sector in the last three years, potentially supporting up to 30,000 jobs. [Utility Week]
- The new secretary of energy says his top priorities are responding to climate change, safely managing the nation’s nuclear stockpile and fostering scientific research. [Northwest Public Radio]
- Minnesota’s governor is expected to sign into law a bill this week that will boost the state’s solar capacity from 13 MW to more than 450 MW. [PV-Tech]
- Environmental activists among Southern Co.’s shareholders are gearing up to confront the Atlanta-based utility’s leadership with accusations of giving more lip service to renewable energy than serious commitment. [Atlanta Business Chronicle]
- The Philippines has approved three wind energy projects that will produce 208 MW of power, enough for more than 40,000 middle-class households. [EcoSeed]
- The National Energy Regulator of South Africa has granted power producer Eskom a licence for its Sere wind farm in the Western Cape, paving the way for the company to start construction of its $254.3 million, 100 MW project. [Malaysia Sun]
- Northern Power Systems, headquartered in Barre, Vermont, announced its fleet of gearless wind turbines that experience hurricane-speed winds has achieved 1 million run time hours, all without incident. [InvestorIdeas.com]
- The governor of Florida has vetoed funding of millions of dollars for Florida Gulf Coast University’s unfinished Renewable Energy Research Institute. [WGCU News]
- A Colorado bill to raise the goal for renewable energy in rural areas from 10% to 20% by 2020 has been passed, but many are calling for a veto. Opposition to the bill is being pushed by the state’s largest coal-burning energy company. [Cortez Journal]
- The Energy Alternatives Division of Cupertino Electric announced the completion of the first phase of a parking lot canopy and playground shade structure-based solar system for Clovis Unified School District spanning 21 sites and totaling 5.86 MW. [RenewablesBiz]
- Ninety-five percent of U.S. energy executives expect continued research and development investment in alternative energy projects this year, according to a new survey conducted by the KPMG Global Energy Institute. [Alternative Energy Retailer magazine]
- A hearing officer for the Vermont Public Service Board has recommended that Entergy receive a state certificate of public good for a new backup diesel generator for the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant, to provide emergency backup power. [Barre Montpelier Times Argus]
RUTLAND, Vt. – Green Mountain Power (GMP) and NRG Residential Solar Solutions, part of NRG Energy (NYSE: NRG), have signed a groundbreaking agreement to pilot a central solar lease program in Rutland, Vermont. The agreement includes the development of two 150-kilowatt solar projects by NRG in the city, adding to GMP’s Solar Capital initiative, and a new NRG office downtown.
The agreement, one of the first of its kind between a utility and solar developer, was announced today at GMP’s Energy Innovation Center. Starting this summer, customers will be able to enroll in a NRG Residential Solar leasing program with no upfront cost and become part of a solar community that supports the development of specific solar projects. Pending approval of the Vermont Public Service Board, the intent is to build one solar farm this year and the second in 2014.
“Through this partnership, customers who have no space for solar or can’t afford to build it themselves will be able to rely on solar energy and support its construction through a low-cost lease program,” GMP President and CEO Mary Powell said. “Many participants are likely to pay less for solar energy than they are paying today on their electric bills.”
“Our goal is to use this pilot to create a solar community between 50 and 100 customers, whose enrollment will support the two projects we will initially build in Rutland,” said Scott Fisher, director of alternative energy at NRG. “We see this as a test case for new ways to bring the benefits of solar to more people.”
“As the country’s largest solar developer, we recognize the importance of making solar work for local communities. We appreciate that GMP is actively exploring ways to make solar a vibrant energy source for the company and its customers. As we looked around the country for the optimal partner to create this pilot, the innovative spirit of GMP and the City of Rutland made them the perfect partner for this pilot program,” Fisher said.
NRG, with corporate headquarters in Princeton, N.J., has already opened a Rutland office in the Service Building on Merchants Row, and has hired Allison Gillette, a recent Emerson College graduate who lives in Rutland, as Vermont solar project coordinator.
“This agreement will produce benefits for participating customers, complements the solar capital and state renewable energy goals, and adds to the growing momentum in downtown Rutland and the city in general,” said Steve Costello, GMP’s vice president for generation and energy innovation.
NRG Residential Solar Solutions has already joined the Rutland Regional Chamber of Commerce, and will participate in Rutland Blooms, the initiative to plant millions of flowers across Rutland. “We are new to Rutland, but expect to become an active member of the community,” Fisher said. “The spirit and excitement we’ve witnessed over the past few months has been inspiring.”
- “We can let fission fizzle out in a renewable world” Given the possibilities of solar, wind, and hydro, nuclear power no longer makes sense. [New Scientist]
Science and Technology:
- Cellulosic ethanol, a rapidly developing sector of the renewable fuel industry, is beginning to be seen as a potential challenge for traditional fossil fuels. The process makes renewable fuel out of agriculture waste that would normally be discarded. [OANDA Forex]
- BT has become one of the largest companies in the world to switch to 100 per cent renewable power, after signing a landmark deal with npower. BT is one of the UK’s largest users of electricity, using 2.3 GWh of power last year. [Business Green]
- Wall Street giant Goldman Sachs plans to invest in Japanese solar, wind and other renewable energy projects worth up to ¥300 billion ($2.9 billion) over the next five years. [Recharge]
- One week after the NOAA records 400 ppm of CO2 in the atmosphere for the first time, the Canadian federal government is continuing pushing fossil fuels and Prime Minister Stephen Harper takes the case for Keystone to New York City. [Hill Times]
- A bill to repeal North Carolina’s Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Standard has finally been halted as it failed to win the support of some key members of the Republican Party. [solarserver.com]
- Missouri’s legislative year ended with the state’s renewable energy standard intact. [Natural Resources Defense Council]
- A new report released by the United Nations Environment Program, “Green economy and trade-trends, challenges and opportunities,” highlights the advantages of sustainable standards in developing countries. [Business Recorder]
- Morocco hopes to cover 42 percent of its energy needs with renewable sources by 2020, and has launched a plan to produce 4,000 megawatts, half from solar and half from wind. They hope to open Africa’s largest wind farm in 2014. [Middle East Online]
- Iranian President Ahmadinejad showed off five examples of Iranian technological developments in the field of renewable energy. [Press TV]
- The US House Agriculture Committee approved a Farm Bill this week. Vermont Rep. Welch says the bill is good for Vermont agriculture, but will do serious harm in its current form to those who rely on federal nutrition programs.
- A 576 MW offshore wind farm costing €2 billion, called Gwynt y Môr, is now under construction off North Wales by RWE npower renewables, with the first of 160 turbines in place. Each turbine takes about 24 hours to install, and has a capacity of 3.6 MW. [reNews]
- E.ON SE has made its first significant move in Germany’s decentralized power market by agreeing to build four combined heat and power units for retailer Metro AG. [Wall Street Journal]
- Germany will provide €1 billion of assistance to India to develop green corridors to link power generated from renewable sources like wind and solar energy into the national grid. [Hindustan Times]
- General Motors is the first automaker to join a growing group of businesses calling for a US policy action on climate change. [ceres.org]
- The Electric Reliability Council of Texas reports that electric generation from solar and wind is continuing to grow there. Wind power continues to provide over 95% of renewable power, but solar is had a 265% increase from 2011 to 2012. [North American Windpower]
- A federal court judge has set a hearing date for early June in Entergy Vermont Yankee’s latest legal challenge against Vermont. Entergy sued, claiming state regulators have delayed approval of a backup emergency diesel generator. [Rutland Herald]
Peter Rothberg and StudentNation, May 16, 2013 – 3:38 PM ET
Students at Green Mountain College. (Courtesy of Divest Green Mountain.)
Kudos to Green Mountain College for its announcement this week that it is committing to divest its $3.1 million endowment from companies profiting from fossil fuels. GMC is the fifth college nationwide and the second in Vermont to commit to divestment as part of a nationwide campaign that has spread to over 300 colleges and universities and more than 100 cities and states across the country.
The GMC Board of Trustees voted on Friday, May 10 to immediately divest from fossil fuels and establish a process for aligning future investments with social, environmental and governance goals. GMC has a $3.1 million endowment, only 1 percent of which is currently invested in the 200 fossil fuel companies that own the vast majority of the world’s coal, oil and gas reserves. So it’s a symbolic victory, yes, but one that demonstrates the increasing traction of the divestment movement.
“We’re pleased with the conversation that has occurred this semester between students and administration, resulting in the divestment from the list of the most destructive 200 fossil fuel companies,” said a statement issued by Divest GMC, the student group on campus who led the divestment campaign. “As students of an environmental liberal arts college we look forward to continuing the dialogue of authentic sustainability, both environmentally and socially. In this way we are strengthening student voice in all aspects of institutional education.”
Read more at The Nation: Green Mountain College to Divest From Fossil Fuels.
At Ceres Conference, seven more businesses, including GM, sign BICEP’s ‘Climate Declaration,’ asserting that policy action on climate change presents an American economic opportunity.
SAN FRANCISCO, CA May 01, 2013
Seven more U.S. businesses, including iconic U.S. automaker General Motors, have signed the Climate Declaration, a statement from Ceres and its BICEP (Business for Innovative Climate & Energy Policy) coalition that urges federal policymakers to take action on climate change, asserting that a bold response to the climate challenge is “one of America’s greatest economic opportunities of the 21st century.”
The new signatories of the Climate Declaration were announced today during the annual Ceres Conference in San Francisco and include Autodesk Inc., Burton Snowboards, Eastern Bank,General Motors Co., LUSH, Method Products, Inc. and Novelis. Originally endorsed by 33 businesses and launched in April 2013, the Climate Declaration has now been signed by a total 40 leading businesses that collectively provide approximately 550,000 U.S. jobs and generate a combined annual revenue of approximately $611 billion.
Continue reading General Motors is First Automaker to Join Growing Group of Businesses Calling for U.S. Policy Action on Climate Change
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Economics and Finance:
- Growing signs of climate change may be the reason that more clients of some advisors are interested in portfolios without shares of fossil-fuel companies. [Financial Advisor Magazine]
Science and Technology:
- Progress is being made on an “artificial leaf,” a photoelectrochemical cell, that can use solar power to generate hydrogen. The hydrogen can then be used as needed to generate power. [CleanTechnica]
- Community and cooperative renewable power may be the next big thing in Canadian renewable energy. [Huffington Post Canada]
- Some are working toward 100% renewable power. Some have achieved it. Greensburg, Kansas, with 781 people is 100% already. Rhein-Hunsruck, a German district of 100,000, is nearly there, and plans to go to 236% in 2014. [Forbes]
- Globeleq, the emerging markets power company, has inaugurated its 44 MW Eolo de Nicaragua S.A. wind farm in Nicaragua. The wind farm is located on the shores of Lake Nicaragua, about 123 km south of Managua. [NEWS.GNOM.ES]
- Renewable energy companies based in the greater China region have heavy debt burdens. Analysts and investors are increasingly concerned about the risk of default among leading players in the solar power sector. [DesignBuild Source]
- Some political and business groups that deny the science of climate change are petitioning the Supreme Court to review its 2007 decision, Massachusetts v. EPA, which said the EPA is required to regulate carbon pollution as pollution. [ThinkProgress]
- General Electric has signed an agreement with Green Waste Energy, a US-based developer of advanced recycling and energy conversion plants, to supply Jenbacher J620 gas engines to generate clean electricity from waste. [NASDAQ]
- SolarCity, a solar-energy developer has won financing from Goldman Sachs for more than $500 million in rooftop solar systems that the company will complete this year. [Businessweek]
- The Green Mountain College Board of Trustees has voted to divest from fossil fuels immediately and establish a process for aligning future investments with social, environmental and governance goals. [The Nation]
- The US Senate has unanimously confirmed Ernest Moniz, a scientist and professor at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, to be secretary of energy Thursday. [Washington Post]