Renewables posts, articles, and infographics

Comparing Green Energy Suppliers

February 8, 2012 by Vicky Portwain
with 48 views

Insurance comparison websites have been around for a while and have helped consumers choose the cheapest and / or most suitable product for them without phoning a huge number of suppliers. A similar website service for household and business energy now helps people compare energy prices and features allowing them to decide which is the... [read more]

Cincinnati Explores 100% Renewable Energy Plan

February 7, 2012 by Jonathan Smith
with 235 views

Cincinnati is working on a new power aggregation deal right now that could lead to the entire city being powered from 100 percent renewable energy sources. The deal, city officials say, could be finalized within the coming months and be in place for consumers by summer 2012. Such a move would make Cincinnati the largest city in the... [read more]

Liquid Wood, Anybody?

February 6, 2012 by Stefano Ratti
with 449 views

One of the most abundant forms of renewable energy available in the United States is wood residue from forestry operations. The carbon in wood residue is bound to go back to the atmosphere, either as carbon dioxide (CO2) as a result of combustion (natural or controlled fire), or through methane (CH4), as a result of decomposition.... [read more]

Dwarfing Cape Wind with a Patriot-sized wind farm

February 6, 2012 by Rich Maltzman
with 178 views

Take a look at the two areas above. The top one represents Cape Wind, about which we’ve posted several times. Now, a new area has been set aside for a wind farm which, according to a story in today’s Boston Globe, “could produce as much as 4,000 megawatts, 10 times as much electricity as the proposed Cape Wind project, which is slated to... [read more]

Decarbonizing California requires relying more on electricity, once it's low carbon

February 4, 2012 by Karen Street
with 195 views

A 2006 California law, Assembly Bill 32, obligates the state to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to 1990 levels by 2020 (30% below business as usual), and to 80% below that level by 2050 (90% below business as usual). How is it to done? A team from UC, Berkeley, Lawrence Berkeley National Labs, and elsewhere examines this... [read more]

Raising the Efficiency of Solar Cells

February 3, 2012 by Nino Marchetti
with 413 views

There’s a cottage industry in solar research involving the manipulation of quantum dots. Solar cells using these tiny particles of semiconductors are much less expensive to produce than traditional ones, because they can be made using simple chemical reactions. And scientists for a number of years now have been drawn to their ability to... [read more]

Predicting the Top Sustainability Stories of 2012

February 3, 2012 by Gil Friend
with 467 views

Last month I offered my picks for the Top Sustainability Stories of 2011. Here are my predictions for the Top Sustainability Stories of 2012. (It's a rugged mix of bad news and good.) Climate heats up and hides out The sheer pressure of the hard-to-escape evidence -- more record-breaking temperatures, more disastrous weather events, big... [read more]

India’s Solar Power Revolution Could Have Global Effect

February 3, 2012 by Antonio Pasolini
with 637 views

Photo: Ashden Awards/FlickrIndia has a Solar Mission to install 20,000 MW of solar power by 2022. Solar electricity is already cheaper than electricity produced with diesel generators. These optimistic figures from India, the second most populated country in the world, has led the New Scientist magazine to write an in... [read more]

Cleantech Firms Paying the Price for Subsidies

February 2, 2012 by Geoffrey Styles
with 258 views

In observing the recent struggles of various segments of the global cleantech industry, including renewable energy and advanced energy technology firms, a pattern is emerging. Today's Wall St. Journal reports "Wind Power Firms on Edge," as the US wind industry hunkers down pending the renewal or expiration of a key subsidy at the end of... [read more]

Why Google invests in clean energy

February 1, 2012 by Marc Gunther
with 478 views

Last year, Google invested more than $915 million in clean energy projects–solar, wind and transmission. That’s a lot of money, even for Google, which had $38 billion in revenues in 2011. The investments don’t appear to be core to the company’s mission of organizing information, and they have attracted criticism, as well as some... [read more]

UN panel urges phase-out of fossil fuel subsidies

January 31, 2012 by Jake Schmidt
with 369 views

Why the UN recommends phasing out fossil fuel subsidies and moving to low carbon energy production. Think anyone will remember this by the time Rio+22 happens? [read more]

Renewable energy projects get green light

January 30, 2012 by Matthew Cook
with 181 views

The Executive Council recently approved a number of projects that support the UAE’s global role as an energy provider. The Shams solar power plant is scheduled to be operational by August and will contribute 100 megawatts to the Abu Dhabi power grid. Approval has also been given for the construction of the Sir Baniyas wind farm.... [read more]

GE: Like A Little Solar With Your Wind?

January 29, 2012 by Nino Marchetti
with 655 views

“Expertise in multiple technologies is the future of the renewable energy landscape,” Victor Abate, vice president of GE’s Renewable Energy business, said in a statement. “At GE, we’re uniquely able to partner on both wind and solar projects with customers like Invenergy.” [read more]

Is Warren Buffet’s Utility Betting On Clean Energy?

January 27, 2012 by Joseph Romm
with 600 views

Warren Buffet’s utility subsidiary, MidAmerican Energy Holdings, has made a number of large investments in renewable energy over the past few years. But the famed investor doesn’t exactly make environmentalists jump for joy. Buffett’s take on climate change has been schizophrenic, to put it kindly. [read more]

Solar is Ready for Prime Time in New York

January 26, 2012 by nrdc switchboard
with 151 views

What's the wait? New York needs to take the next step to invest in solar. Policies such as the New York State renewable portfolio standard (RPS) have done a lot to bring new renewables like wind and biomass into the state's clean energy economy, but they have fallen short in valuing localized economic, jobs and air quality... [read more]