nuclear-news

The News That Matters about the Nuclear Industry Fukushima Chernobyl Mayak Three Mile Island Atomic Testing Radiation Isotope

Growth of Wind Energy in USA

Wind Energy: Yet Another Reason for Industrial Policy Daily Kos by Meteor Blades –   Apr 08, 2010 TA decade ago, the federal Energy Information Administration predicted that the installed capacity of wind turbines in the United States would, at best, reach 20,000 megawatts by 2020. It was one of the EIA’s patented underestimates of renewable energy sources. This morning, the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) released its annual report [pdf]. Installed U.S. wind capacity as of December 2009: 35,000 megawatts. Of that, 10,000 megawatts were installed in 2009, the most in U.S. history, and 39% of the total new electricity-generating capacity installed last year, second behind natural gas. Some 3000 megawatts are currently under construction.

Daily Kos: Wind Energy: Yet Another Reason for Industrial Policy

April 9, 2010 Posted by | renewable, USA | , , , , | Leave a comment

Desert solar farm to boost economy in San Joaqiun Valley

Large-scale solar power represents a way out of those economic troubles for Westlands.

Finally! One Big Solar Project Environment and Business Can Agree On, The Energy Collective, by Taylen Peterson 04/06/2010 “….The plan involves the reuse of “dead” farmland in the San Joaquin Valley. Years of intense farming has left a huge amount of acreage overly salty and fallow. And unlike other proposed solar sites in California, especially the Mojave Desert, this land is not habitat to endangered species.

So without much other use for the land, local residents, environmentalists and industry are pleased with the solar prospect. Continue reading →

April 8, 2010 Posted by | renewable, USA | , , , , | Leave a comment

Successful flight of solar-power plane

Solar-Powered Plane Makes First Test Flight in Switzerland The Solar Impulse Flew Successfully Without Fuel or Emissions on Wednesday By Hilary Stingley  , April 7th, 2010 On Wednesday, a solar-powered airplane designed to fly day and night without fuel or emissions, successfully made its first test flight above the Swiss countryside. The plane, known as the Solar Impulse, has 12,000 solar cells built into its wings and is a prototype for an aircraft intended to fly around the world without fuel in 2012…..The first around the world flight of the Solar Impulse is scheduled to take place in 2012 with an updated version of the plane.

Solar-Powered Plane Makes First Test Flight in Switzerland

April 8, 2010 Posted by | EUROPE, renewable | , , , , | Leave a comment

Bulgaria’s renewable energy racing ahead in a responsible manner

there is no doubt that the renewable energy industry is soaring there.

Keeping Bulgaria Renewable Energy Responsible Green Chip Stocks,  By Jeff Siegel , April 7th, 2010“……Since government incentives kicked in over there, new wind, solar and biomass projects have totalled more than 11,000 megawatts. This is huge!Well today, the Bulgarian government announced that it is proposing a ban on building solar and wind farms on quality arable land. Definitely a smart decision on the part of Bulgaria.Certainly the expansion of renewable energy operations is integral to the long-term economic growth of the Balkan country. Continue reading →

April 8, 2010 Posted by | Bulgaria, renewable | , , , , | Leave a comment

Australia could become world renewable energy leader

A “Desertec” Solar Farm Could Help Power Australia,  Renewable Energy News by Energy Matters , 4 April 2010, Siemens Ltd last month announced a technology blueprint for energy and water sustainability in Australia by 2030. The research, titled “Picture the Future: Australia – Energy and Water (PTF)”, was performed by numerous Siemens researchers and validation processes involved the assistance of 22 of Australia’s leading industry bodies; including the CSIRO, ABARE, the Bureau of Meteorology and The Clean Energy Council. Continue reading →

April 7, 2010 Posted by | AUSTRALIA, renewable | , , , , , | 1 Comment

Indian Point Nuclear Reactor – A Dead End For Future Energy Needs

Indian Point (and Nuclear Power) Take a Hit | Climate Change, By Bill Hewitt April 4 10″…….Indian Point, if you don’t know, is one of the oldest nuclear power facilities in the US. Unit 1 opened in 1962 and ran until 1974, but Units 2 and 3, opened in the mid-1970s and are still running. Indian Point, by the way, is just downriver from Storm King Mountain over which one of the first big victories of the environmental movement was won…… “‘That power is replaceable,’ said Alex Matthiessen, president of environmental group Riverkeeper. ‘The evidence for why the plant doesn’t meet state water-quality standards is overwhelming,’ he said, adding Indian Point accounts for the deaths of about a billion fish a year and that the group estimates cooling towers could be constructed for $200 million to $300 million.”Beyond Indian Point, Matthiessen’s assertion about nuclear power being replaceable is completely correct.  We really ought not to be going further down this dead end road when there is already so much proven potential in renewables, energy efficiency, and all the other clean tech approaches that are coming so rapidly into play.

Indian Point (and Nuclear Power) Take a Hit | Climate Change

April 5, 2010 Posted by | ENERGY, USA | Leave a comment

US taxpayers can save with energy efficiency and renewables

Tax Incentives Promote Energy Efficiency, Renewable Power A Look at Ways Savvy Homeowners Can Save Money Now and in the Future, SolveClimate.com, by Renee Cho – Apr 4th, 2010
With taxes on the mind this month, some homeowners are discovering just how much investing in energy efficiency and renewable energy can pay off. Continue reading →

April 5, 2010 Posted by | ENERGY, USA | , , | Leave a comment

Energy companies stifling renewable energy at the local level

Think Locally, Pollute Globally: Dirty Energy Sector Wages a State-by-State War on Solar and Wind Technology BUZZFLASH NEWS ANALYSIS, by Meg White 2 April 2010 President Obama frames his decision to allow increased offshore drilling, new nuclear power plants and the pursuit of “clean” coal technology as a type of a stopgap measure to fill American demands for cheap energy while renewable sources of energy are developed. But is this a case of sleeping with the enemy? Continue reading →

April 3, 2010 Posted by | renewable, USA | , , , , | 2 Comments

Florida call for truly clean, renewable, energy jobs

Florida Mayor Calls for State to Foster Renewable Energy Jobs, Clean Energy Footprints, 1 April 2010, Tom Larson, Renewable energy expansion can drive Florida jobs growth–we just need to post our “Open for Business” sign. Orange County, Florida (home of Orlando), is inviting cleantech investments, in engineering, manufacturing and development of innovators by entrepreneurs and at our centers of higher education. This is the Sunshine State: Continue reading →

April 2, 2010 Posted by | renewable, USA | , , , , | Leave a comment

China leads, USA way behind, in renewable energy policy

China Leads G-20 Nations In Renewable Energy Finance And Investment Solar Industry:25 March 2010 For the first time, China led the U.S. and other G-20 members in 2009 clean energy investments and finance, according to a new study by The Pew Charitable Trusts. Last year, China invested $34.6 billion in the clean energy economy – nearly double the U.S.’ total of $18.6 billion.

Over the last five years, the U.S. also trailed five G-20 members (Turkey, Brazil, China, the U.K. and Italy) in the rate of clean energy investment growth. Continue reading →

March 26, 2010 Posted by | China, climate change, renewable | , , , | Leave a comment

China leaping ahead in renewable energy

China – A Powerhouse in Renewable Energy, Renewable Energy World, March 21, 2010, “China missed the first industrial revolution, missed the computer revolution, and the biology revolution – they want to be a leader in the green revolution.” And indeed, China is now the third largest producer in the wind power market and one of the fastest-growing in domestic wind installations. For the fourth consecutive year, China has more than doubled its wind installations.

And offshore wind, a technology with a great deal of sex appeal, is yet another story. While China installed its first major offshore wind farm near Shanghai and is 9th in the world as far as total offshore capacity, the U.S. is not even on the list.

China is also the world leader in PV manufacturing and production –

March 22, 2010 Posted by | China, climate change, renewable | , , , | Leave a comment

Colorado becoming a leader in renewable energy jobs

Colorado is the new energy frontier, Michael Bowman, THE HUFFINGTON POST, 12 March 2010, Colorado is emerging as an international player in the next great technological and industrial revolution. The impending state renewables bill is aggressive, job-creating, and could result in as many as 100,000 homes being equipped with solar panels, small wind turbines, or other clean energy sources…. Continue reading →

March 13, 2010 Posted by | renewable, USA | , , , | Leave a comment

Don’t try to mix renewable energy and nuclear power

.New nuclear projects will take massive amounts of capital and years to ramp up, and only a few will get built. Renewable projects are relatively smaller and cheaper to build and can be constructed quickly, which means jobs can be created more quickly.

You got your uranium in my biomass! Why renewable policies and nuclear don’t mix, Renewable Energy World, Jennifer Zajac, 12 March 2010“…….There was a series of commercials in the 1980s for Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups in which one actor would exclaim, “Hey, you got chocolate in my peanut butter!” and the other actor would respond, “You got peanut butter on my chocolate!” Then an announcer would say, “Two great tastes that taste great together!”Today, lawmakers at the state and federal level are mixing renewable energy policies with nuclear energy. They shouldn’t, because unlike chocolate and peanut butter, biomass and uranium do not go great together….. Continue reading →

March 13, 2010 Posted by | 2 WORLD, renewable | , , , | Leave a comment

Renewable energy – both practicable and popular


The study was released just days after a new poll from Elon University in Elon, N.C. found overwhelming public support in North Carolina for developing the state’s renewable energy capacity. Nearly 80% of the poll’s respondents said they favor new wind energy facilities in the mountains or on the coast, while more than 83% favor construction of solar facilities.

Challenging conventional wisdom on renewable energy’s limits, FACING SOUTH, 9 March 2010, “……groundbreaking study out of North Carolina … suggests that backup generation requirements would be modest for a system based largely on solar and wind power, combined with efficiency, hydroelectric power, and other renewable sources like landfill gas. Continue reading →

March 9, 2010 Posted by | renewable, USA | , , , | Leave a comment

Solar energy set to race ahead in Colorado

Clear Skies Ahead For Colorado Clean Energy Get Solar, by Margaret Collins in Sunday, March 7th 2010 Colorado’s commitment to clean energy may soon be second only to California’s. Late on Friday, the Colorado Senate passed a bill that would increase the state’s renewable portfolio standard (RPS) to 30 percent by 2020– Continue reading →

March 8, 2010 Posted by | renewable, USA | , , , | Leave a comment