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Steady growth in renewable energy in USA

Energy Use Down, Renewables Up | RenewablesBiz, Wind grew by one-third in 2009 Bill Opalka | Apr 12, 2011, Renewable energy is growing steadily even while the overall economy slumps and energy use from other sources is falling.That’s the gist of a new report from the federal Energy Information Administration, which tracks energy use and projects future supplies. It just released a report that showed that overall use declined for consecutive years, in 2008 and 2009, for reasons outside of the energy sector, for the first time in decades.

U.S. energy consumption declined for the second year in a row in 2009, falling 4.8 percent between 2008 and 2009 to 94.6 quadrillion Btus. This follows a 2.1-percent decline between 2007 and 2008. As a result, total energy consumption in 2009 dropped to its lowest level since 1996…….

the overall shift to renewables from 2005 to 2009 is impressive. Wind has come from a relatively minor renewable energy source to accounting for nearly 10 percent of total renewable energy consumption. Energy Use Down, Renewables Up | RenewablesBiz

 

April 12, 2011 Posted by | renewable, USA | Leave a comment

Tonga leads Pacific push for renewable energy

AUDIO Tonga steps up its renewable energy push Radio Australia:Pacific Beat: April 11, 2011 There is a growing push towards renewable energy in the Pacific with both Cook Islands and Tuvalu setting ambitious targets to achieve 100 percent renewable energy networks.Tonga too is moving down the same road, having just been admitted as the Pacific’s sole representative on the council of IRENA, the International Renewable Energy Agency.And tomorrow the country’s first sustainable energy expo will open.It’s been organised by TERM – the Tonga Energy Road Map.
Radio Australia:Pacific Beat:Story:Tonga steps up its renewable energy push

April 12, 2011 Posted by | OCEANIA, renewable, Resources -audiovicual | Leave a comment

California moving to 33 percent renewable energy

California to set 33 percent renewable energy goal for 2020 Govenor to sign bill  The Desert Sun |, Apr. 12, 2011 Gov. Jerry Brown is expected to sign a new law Tuesday committing California’s private utilities to producing 33 percent of their energy from renewable sources by 2020.

The signing is scheduled for around 11:15 a.m. when the governor attends the dedication of SunPower’s new solar panel manufacturing facility in Milpitas…..California to set 33 percent renewable energy goal for 2020 | The Desert Sun | MyDesert.com

 

April 12, 2011 Posted by | renewable, USA | Leave a comment

Tonga to represnt Pacific islands on International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA)

Tonga appointed to global energy agency,  Australia Network News:, 11 April 11, Lano Fonua from the Tonga Energy Road Map says the small islands of the Pacific will now have a platform to rub shoulders with decision makers.   Tonga has been appointed as the Pacific’s sole representative on the International Renewable Energy Agency’s council (IRENA).A renewable energy organisation in Tonga says the Pacific will receive more global recognition concerning climate change now it has been appointed to an international energy agency…..
Australia Network News:Stories:Tonga appointed to global energy agency

April 11, 2011 Posted by | OCEANIA, renewable | Leave a comment

In USA renewable energy climbing, nuclear going down

Surging Renewable Sector Pulls Even With Nuclear Power in U.S. OnEarth Magazine By Douglas Fischer April 6, 2011 Declining nuclear power and a strengthening renewable fuels sector have left the two energy sources neck-and-neck for their share of U.S. energy production, according to the most recent figures from the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

The percent of domestic energy production obtained from renewable fuels — biomass, geothermal, solar, wind and water — rose to 10.9 percent last year, up from 10.6 percent in 2009. Meanwhile nuclear energy dipped from 11.5 percent in 2009 to 11.3 percent in 2010……The data were compiled before the 9.0 temblor and subsequent tsunami devastated Japan’s Fukushima nuclear power plant and cast doubts on nuclear power worldwide….

April 7, 2011 Posted by | renewable, USA | Leave a comment

Kenyan Adnan Z. Ameen first Director General of IRENA

Irena elects Kenyan as first director general, gulfnews , 4 April 11, Adnan Z. Ameen won two thirds of the votes in an election at a meeting Dubai: Adnan Z. Ameen will become the first permanent director-general of International Renewable Energy Agency (Irena),Ihas learnt.
Ameen, a Kenyan national, won two thirds of the votes in an election at a meeting held on Sunday night in the capital, the diplomats who attended the meeting told Gulf News….. gulfnews : Irena elects Kenyan as first director general

April 4, 2011 Posted by | 2 WORLD, renewable | Leave a comment

China: solar power on the rise, nuclear power stalled

China to Cut Nuclear & Increase Solar Power Goals after Japan Crisis – CleanTechnica: 1 April 11, China hasn’t taken long to learn a lesson from the Japan nuclear crisis (perhaps). It is cutting its 2020 target for nuclear power and is filling in with increased solar power targets, according to an official from the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC).
China recently passed up the U.S. as the world’s leading energy consumer. What it does on this front is critical to the long-term livability of our planet (for humans, at least). It is great to see that it is not only cutting back on nuclear expansion (which is a very risky option until someone learns how to deal with nuclear waste that lasts several times longer than humans have existed for), but that it is also increasing its solar power goals to account for this…….China to Cut Nuclear & Increase Solar Power Goals after Japan Crisis – CleanTechnica: Cleantech innovation news and views

April 2, 2011 Posted by | China, renewable | Leave a comment

Investors see renewable energy looking good, nuclear energy looking crap

Renewable energy prospects rise with nuclear unease | EurActiv: 01 April 2011 Public unease about nuclear power after the Fukushima disaster is prompting renewed scrutiny of renewable power options by governments across the world. Following temporary moratoriums on the nuclear industry imposed in Germany and Switzerland, Japan is planning a review of energy options such as solar power.

China may double its target for photovoltaic activity, while Taiwan is also considering axing nuclear output. Investors are betting on an energy shake up, carrying world benchmark indexes to their highest in 14 months.

The global FTSE Cleantech index has spiked more than 8% since Japan’s earthquake struck on 11 March.The WilderHill New Energy Global Innovation index of alternative energy stocks has gained around 12%…….Whatever their exact outcome, the Fukushima events are likely to shift the energy policy balance toward renewables,” Pricewaterhouse Coopers (PwC) said in a report on 28 March.

Robin Batchelor, a fund manager at BlackRock in charge of $8.2 billion in energy-related funds, said that Fukushima might have brought renewables into focus for fund managers….Renewable energy prospects rise with nuclear unease | EurActiv

April 2, 2011 Posted by | 2 WORLD, renewable | Leave a comment

China to boost solar power, scale down nuclear?

China mulls to switch over to solar photovoltaics to scale down N-power  The Times of India | Mar 30, 2011, BEIJING: China is seriously considering to down size its massive expansion plan of nuclear plants in view of radiation crisis created by ruptured Japanese nuclear reactors and weighed option to double the target capacity of solar photovoltaics (PV) to meet future power requirements. Continue reading →

March 31, 2011 Posted by | China, renewable | 1 Comment

Renewable energy feed in tariffs for Botswana

Botswana sees renewable feed-in tariffs for 2012 Mar 30, 2011 JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – Botswana will introduce renewable energy feed-in tariffs for electricity generation by March next year, a senior government official said on Wednesday.

Under such a scheme, renewable energy suppliers are paid for generating electricity to the country’s national grid….Botswana sees renewable feed-in tariffs for 2012 | Reuters

 

March 31, 2011 Posted by | AFRICA, renewable | 1 Comment

Private investment moving to renewables, rejects nuclear

The private sector is clearly moving rapidly in the renewable direction. Clean Edge, a research and advisory group, asserts that the clean energy market grew 35 percent in 2010, and global installation of photovoltaics doubled.

Renewing Support for Renewables, NYTimes.com By NANCY FOLBRE March 28, 2011, Nancy Folbre is an economics professor at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.

The biggest positive result of the accident at Fukushima Daiichi could be renewed public support for the development of renewable energy technologies. Many influential policy makers, including President Obama, continue to insist that we must expand nuclear power to help meet our energy needs. But plenty of experts disagree… Continue reading →

March 29, 2011 Posted by | renewable, USA | Leave a comment

Distributed energy makes more sense than nuclear, or any centralised system

there are also massive losses of energy as we step it down from the plant to the grid to our homes and buildings. Instead, why not build a far more distributed energy system (or at least invest only in distributed energy going forward)?

Does nuclear power make sense?, Huffington Post, 22 march 11 Who really knows what the outcome might be from the frightening breakdown of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Plant ( the radioactive releases could go on for months)? But the speculation about what this means for a much-touted nuclear “renaissance” in the U.S. began in earnest last week. As the New York Times reported, “U.S. Nuclear Industry Faces New Uncertainty.”…. Continue reading →

March 22, 2011 Posted by | 2 WORLD, decentralised | Leave a comment

All Japan’s wind farms survived the earthquake and tsunami

Some of Japans nuclear capacity has, in effect, phased itself out- very painfully. It will be interesting to see if a new direction is now taken in Japan, and indeed elsewhere.

Phasing out nuclear in Japan, environmentalresearchweb, 21 march 11, All Japans wind farms evidently survived the recent disastrous quake and tsunami – even a semi-offshore one. With nuclear power’s reputation besmirched, following the spectacular failures at Fukushima, is that the way ahead for Japan? Continue reading →

March 22, 2011 Posted by | Japan, renewable | Leave a comment

Renewable energy can replace Germany’s nuclear power

German Green Industries Say Can Fill Nuclear Gaps Planet Ark 17-Mar-11 GERMANY Vera Eckert German renewable industry lobby BEE said on Wednesday it would be able to supply 47 percent of German power requirements by 2020, joining a debate on how to replace nuclear generation capacity. Continue reading →

March 18, 2011 Posted by | Germany, renewable | 1 Comment

Wind power more economic than nuclear

Generating energy from wind turbines at sea would be cheaper than building new atomic power plants, Europe’s climate chief has said, in the latest challenge to the crisis-stricken nuclear industry.

Wind power cheaper than nuclear, says EU climate chief , Connie Hedegaard says declining cost of offshore wind energy makes it genuine alternative to crisis-hit nuclear industry Fiona Harvey in Brussels and Terry Macalister * guardian.co.uk,  17 March 2011 Continue reading →

March 18, 2011 Posted by | EUROPE, renewable | Leave a comment

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