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Scotland’s renewable energy revolution

On-farm energy gets major boost in Scotland  Farmers Guardian, August 5, 2011 | By David Boderke, RENEWABLE projects in Scotland’s agriculture sector have been given a major boost with the announcement of a new Agri-Renewables Strategy.Announcing the strategy at the Black Isle Show, Rural Affairs Secretary Richard Lochhead said it will ‘ensure land managers can benefit from the renewables revolution and unlock the green energy potential of their land’.

Welcoming the announcement, NFU Scotland’s president, Nigel Miller said the Scottish Government’s commitment to develop the strategy and, in particular, to simplify the planning process, were ‘spot on’.Mr Lochhead said: “Scotland is currently experiencing a renewables revolution and I want to see farmers, crofters and land managers working with local communities to ensure they grasp the benefits for their businesses and the nation…..
He said the strategy, which he hoped would be in place by summer 2012 ‘at the latest’, will be developed in co-operation with industry representatives and will build on the Scottish Government’s existing renewables activity in the agricultural sector.
On-farm energy gets major boost in Scotland | News | Farmers Guardian

August 5, 2011 Posted by | renewable, UK | Leave a comment

Renewable energy development – the rational German example

Oh, the beauty of a system that is easy to understand and predictable……

Germany Shows How Renewable Energy Should Be Done, Daily Finance, ByTravis Hoium, The Motley Fool 08/01/11   Germany is doubling its efforts to be a renewable-energy power over the next 50 years, and it’s expanding beyond just solar power. After the country put thekibosh on exploding solar installationsby cutting feed-in tariffs (FIT), it has increased the FIT for biomass, geothermal, and offshore wind while simplifying solar rates. The wet blanketcurrently covering the German nuclear industrymeant the country needed to find a way to push renewable-energy installations to meet national renewable-energy goals before plants began closing. Continue reading →

August 2, 2011 Posted by | Germany, renewable | Leave a comment

Connecting nuclear and renewable energy – not a good idea?

Nuclear permit, renewables issues connected, Columbia Daily Tribune, By RUDI KELLER,  August 1, 2011  A forced marriage between nuclear power issues and rules for renewable energy standards seems likely if Missouri lawmakers are to consider — in a special session — whether utility customers will be required to pay for the first step toward building a new nuclear reactor.

Reversal of ruling may affect agenda. On Friday, Cole County Circuit Judge Daniel Green reversed his ruling from late June that had seemingly allowed the two issues to remain separate. That ruling, nuclear power advocates and representatives of industrial ratepayers had said, settled many of the issues that remained from a 2008 initiative setting standards for renewable energy…..

PSC Chairman Kevin Gunn said he sees no reason why the two issues are joined other than as a legislative convenience. “The renewable energy should probably not be married to the early site permit,” he said…..http://www.columbiatribune.com/news/2011/aug/01/nuclear-permit-renewables-issues-connected/

August 2, 2011 Posted by | ENERGY, USA | Leave a comment

Germany’s strategic approach to renewable energy and energy efficiency

This package of proposals forms the basis for Germany’s confidence that it can phase out one source of energy and phase in renewable energy and energy efficiency. The combination of a mix of policies (emissions trading, standards, regulations, incentives) with planning and investments in the longer-term infrastructure is the pathway Germany has chosen.

How Germany plans to succeed in a nuclear free, low-carbon economy, | guardian.co.uk, 29 July 11, Germany plans to meet ambitious greenhouse gas reduction targets while it phases out nuclear power  Germany has taken some fundamental energy decisions in recent months, ones that are interesting for other countries to study and learn from. The most “famous” decision recently has been to phase out nuclear power in the next ten years. This move builds on years of debate and a societal decision after Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear accident to move away from nuclear energy.

There has been much less focus, however, on the phasing in of other sources of energy. Nor has there been much focus on how Germany can remain the economic powerhouse of Europe, and the world’s second largest exporting country, while removing a significant source of energy from its grid.

This phase-in story is vital to understand, especially taking into account that Germany plans to meet ambitious greenhouse gas reduction targets while it phases out nuclear power. So, how will this work?……. Continue reading →

July 30, 2011 Posted by | Germany, renewable | Leave a comment

Germany’s electric bicycles, powered by renewable energy

Germans get on their e-bikes – ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation),29 July 11, Electric bikes may be the bicycle industry’s next big thing if German users are anything to go by.Demand in Germany, one of Europe’s largest markets for electronic bicycles along with the Netherlands, tripled in 2010 and is set to grow by 50 per cent to 300,000 this year, according to bicycle industry association ZIV.This attitude reflects a broader trend in Germany, where the Greens party is gaining popularity, for people to buy a range of “green”, environmentally friendly products…..Germans get on their e-bikes – ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

July 30, 2011 Posted by | Germany, renewable | 1 Comment

Jobs and savings, in renewable energy for Wisconsin

The report found the state could see $2.7 billion in investment from renewable energy projects, while aggressive move to deploy energy efficiency could save Wisconsin residents $5.9 billion on their electric and natural gas bills..

Report: Greener energy policies will create more Midwest jobs, Journal Sentinel, By Thomas Content, 19 July 11, One week after a report found Wisconsin ranked 13th in the nation in green jobs, a new report projects the state would add another 11,500 jobs if it adopted more aggressive policies supporting renewable energy and energy efficiency. Continue reading →

July 21, 2011 Posted by | renewable, USA | Leave a comment

USA govt backs big solar and wind projects

Big Solar, Wind Projects Backed By U.S.  Earth Techling, by Pete Danko, July 18th, 2011 @…All told, the projects will provide 550 megawatts (MW) of new electrical generation capacity, enough juice to power 185,000 to 380,000 homes, DOI said. The deparment also promoted the job-creating benefits the projects will yield: more than 1,300 construction jobs.

Continuing the Obama administration’s push for big renewable energy development, U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) Secretary Ken Salazar has approved a batch of projects on public lands –  two utility-scale solar power plants in California, a wind energy plant in Oregon, and a transmission line in Southern California that’s needed to tie nine planned solar plants to the grid…..http://www.earthtechling.com/2011/07/big-solar-wind-projects-backed-by-u-s/

 


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July 19, 2011 Posted by | renewable, USA | Leave a comment

Prospects improving for renewable energy in USA

Renewable Energy Funds Boosted as House Passes Energy Funding Bill, Science Insider, by Eli Kintisch ,  16 July 11, An amendment to bring proposed 2012 funding for ARPA-E, the blue-sky research arm of the Department of Energy, up to the current year level of $180 million passed the House today by a vote of 214-213. That level is far lower than the $550 million that the Obama Administration requested. But it does suggest that the likely worst-case scenario for the agency is a flat budget next year, as the Democratic-controlled Senate, which takes up the legislation next, generally supports increases for energy research. The amendment added $80 million to the $100 million approved by the House appropriations panel.

Meanwhile, a number of amendments in the House of Representatives sought to cut the renewable energy and energy efficiency research program at the Department of Energy, but they all failed. So, too, did a number of proposals to boost research into renewables or fossil fuel energy. An amendment to add $10 million to the solar energy research program passed, however, by a close vote of 212-210. ..http://news.sciencemag.org/scienceinsider/2011/07/renewable-energy-funds-boosted-a.html

July 16, 2011 Posted by | renewable, USA | Leave a comment

US Defense Dept supportive of renewable energy projects

Pentagon clears Kansas wind projects,  July 15, 2011, BLOOMBERG, TOPEKA, KAN., The Defense Department says a half-dozen wind energy projects planned in Kansas would have little or no effect on military missions.

The Pentagon issued a report Thursday on its review of 249 renewable energy projects in 35 states and Puerto Rico. The department found no problems with 229 of the projects.The report cleared all six of the Kansas wind projects reviewed. They’re located in Cimarron, El Dorado, Ensign, Lakin, Pratt and Ulysses.

Defense officials also said in the report that renewable projects will help the U.S. maintain its energy security.http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D9OG64T00.htm

July 16, 2011 Posted by | renewable, USA | Leave a comment

Offshore wind energy for France

France says ‘oui’ to offshore wind energy, Smart Planet, By Melissa Mahony | July 13, 2011, Nuclear plants often spring to mind when thinking of the French electric power regime. But the country is dipping its toes into the Atlantic and English Channel for some of its energy needs, joining a few of its neighbors in the offshore wind business. Across Europe, offshore wind farms have a total capacity of almost 3,000 megawatts, according to the EWEA. By 2020, France hopes to add 6,000 megawatts to it.

 

On Monday, the French government began asking for project proposals for 5 zones off the northern and western coasts near Saint-Nazaire and Le Tréport, respectively. The $14 billion call did not go unanswered. Six companies (Dong Energy, EDF Energies Nouvelles, Alstom,Nass&Wind Offshore, Poweo ENR, and wpd offshore) have been gearing up to go to sea. They announced a consortium yesterday to help get the country’s first offshore turbines built, up and whirring….

France has been looking to expand its renewable portfolio, even toying with the idea of abandoning its notable nuclear program. In 2010….its first wind turbines could hit the water as early as 2015. Alstom says it hopes to design, manufacture, and assemble the turbines all in France using French technology…..http://www.smartplanet.com/blog/intelligent-energy/france-says-8216oui-to-offshore-wind-energy/7604

July 14, 2011 Posted by | France, renewable | Leave a comment

New report recommends renewable energy promotion to combat climate change

Embrace renewable energy: Suzuki, Go-slow approach to fracking; Switching from coal, oil to natural gas won’t meet G8 targets, says report, If Canada wants to combat climate change, it should promote the use of renewable energies like wind and solar power instead of natural gas, a new report says, Montreal Gazette, By MONIQUE BEAUDIN, The Gazette July 14, 2011 

While switching from coal and oil to natural gas would cut greenhouse gas emissions in the short term, it wouldn’t be enough to meet the G8 target of cutting emissions by 80 per cent by 2050, says the report by the David Suzuki Foundation and Pembina Institute.

And extracting natural gas – especially controversial shale gas – will likely have other environmental impacts such as water contamination, increased air pollution and increased water consumption, the report says. Canada is the third-largest producer of natural gas in the world…..    You can download Is Natural Gas a Climate Change Solution for Canada atdavidsuzuki.org/publica tions/reports/2011 or pembina.org/pubs

Read more: http://www.montrealgazette.com/technology/Embrace+renewable+energy+Suzuki/5099687/story.html#ixzz1S60Zukxu

July 14, 2011 Posted by | Canada, renewable | Leave a comment

Renewable energy supplied almost 20% of world’s electricity jn 2010

The sector also delivered close to 20 per cent of the world’s electricity production,…“More and more of the world’s people are gaining access to energy services through renewables, not only to meet their basic needs, but also to enable them to develop economically,”

UN-backed report shows strong performance by renewable energy sector, UN News Centre, 13 July 2011 –  The renewable energy sector has continued to perform well despite the global economic slowdown, cuts in incentives, and low natural-gas prices, according to a United Nations-backed report unveiled today, which shows that the sector supplied an estimated 16 per cent of global energy last year. Continue reading →

July 13, 2011 Posted by | 2 WORLD, renewable | Leave a comment

Wave and Tidal Power for UK Cost Competitive with Nuclear

Marine energy ‘could compete with nuclear on cost‘, Low Carbon Economy.com 13 juil. 2011 Marine energy could supply almost 20 percent of the UK’s energy needs and be cost competitive with onshore wind and nuclear sources.  This is according to a new report from the Carbon Trust, which sets out a three-year research and development programme for the marine energy sector.

The document claims the best marine energy sites in the UK could produce energy at a comparable cost to that generated from onshore wind and nuclear sources, once cost reductions following the first gigawatt of installation come into force.

Wave energy could provide 50TWh of power and tidal power could provide 20.6TWh, equating to 13 percent and five percent of the UK’s energy needs ……http://www.lowcarboneconomy.com/profile/the_low_carbon_economy_ltd/_low_carbon_blog/marine_energy_’could_compete_with_nuclear_on_cost’/14825

July 13, 2011 Posted by | renewable, UK | Leave a comment

Japanese billionaire takes the lead in promoting renewable energy

His goal is to encourage local governments to shift to renewable energy sources and to provide land for mega-solar panels, wind turbines, geothermal, small hydropower generators, and other renewable energy forms.

Investment would come from Son’s fund as well as other public and private sources…..

As it takes a minimum of 10 years to build a nuclear plant, and given that the cost of solar power in other countries like the United States continues to fall thanks to ever more efficient solar panels, Son is betting that, by 2020, renewable energy technology will have developed to the point where it is extremely cost-competitive on a per kilowatt hour basis compared with nuclear power. And renewable energy would not have the social and environmental problems of nuclear power..

SON’S CLEAN ENERGY INITIATIVE, Son’s quest for sun, wind has nuclear interests wary, Japan Times, 12 July 11, By ERIC JOHNSTON, In late March, while engaging in volunteer work and making efforts to restore telecommunications networks in the quake-stricken Tohoku region, Softbank Corp. founder and Chairman Masayoshi Son met with evacuees from the area surrounding the troubled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant.

Days later, he returned to Tokyo and declared pursuit of a new energy policy, one emphasizing renewable sources, such as solar, wind and thermal energy, was needed. Continue reading →

July 12, 2011 Posted by | Japan, renewable | Leave a comment

France moving towards renewable energy, despite AREVA and other nuclear lobbies

Critics have accused France’s nuclear lobby – made up of the industry’s powerful unions and its state-controlled companies EDF and Areva – of impeding renewable investment.

France aims to rebalance its energy mix, FT.com By Peggy Hollinger, 10 July 11, France will on Monday begin a big push on renewable energy that could signal a weakening in the traditional hold of nuclear power over a country that has long led the field in atomic energy.

“Our objective is to rebalance the energy mix in favour of renewables,” said Nathalie Kosciusko-Morizet, ecology minister, in an interview with the Financial Times as she prepared to launch a €10bn ($14.2bn) tender for five new offshore windpower farms. Continue reading →

July 10, 2011 Posted by | France, renewable | Leave a comment

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