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Switzerland: thousands rally against nuclear power

Swiss anti-nuclear protest gathers 4,000 Solothurn, Switzerland (GenevaLunch), 26 May 2010, – More than 4,000 people gathered in Goesgen, canton Solothurn, in northern Switzerland Monday, for a peaceful protest against the continuing development of nuclear energy in the country. The protest had participants from 83 groups in Switzerland, France, Germany and Austria. One of their key points was that switzerland’s nuclear power plans are preventing the rapid development of alternative energy programmes. GenevaLunch » Swiss anti-nuclear protest gathers 4,000

May 26, 2010 Posted by | EUROPE, politics | , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Tony Blair joins nuclear promoting, supposedly “green” firm

Khosla Ventures is an investment group that says it specialises in environmentally-friendly technologies, including solar, wind and – ahem – nuclear energy start-ups..

Blair goes from “greenwash” to landing green job New Statesman, by Jason Stamper – 25 May 2010 Former PM lands green energy advisory role. The decision by Silicon Valley-based Khosla Ventures to hire Tony Blair as strategy adviser on green energy will surprise some environmental campaigners. Continue reading

May 26, 2010 Posted by | general | , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

U.S. Western electric grid can harness wind and solar power

Should these utilities succeed in coordinating their efforts and realize even 27 percent wind and solar power, they would cut carbon emissions by 25 to 45 percent. It would also lessen fuel and emissions costs by 40 percent, depending on the future prices of natural gas.

Western States Could Reach 35% Renewable Power by 2017, The Energy Collective, by Taylen Peterson on 05/24/2010 , The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) says the western US electric grid could harness up to 35 percent of its energy from wind and solar power within seven years — and without any major upgrades to the existing electric network.  Continue reading

May 25, 2010 Posted by | renewable, USA | , , , , | Leave a comment

UK govt closes scheme to fund small scale reneweble energy

Cameron axes renewable energy grant,  FT.com, May 24, 2010  by Jim Pickard David Cameron, in his original incarnation as Tory leader, was an advocate of the green agenda; cycling everywhere, visiting the Arctic (albeit by plane) and fixing a wind turbine to the roof of his west London home. (No matter that he was forced to take it down due to complex planning issues).Yet the new prime minister has just axed a major scheme (the “Low Carbon Buildings Programme”) that gave grants for households and companies to put solar panels or wind turbines on their premises. So far it has helped 20,000……………The Renewable Energy Association says:”The announcement has increased the sense of uncertainty faced by the UK’s infant renewable heat industry.” Cameron axes renewable energy grant | Westminster Blog | FT.com

May 25, 2010 Posted by | politics, UK | , , , , | Leave a comment

South of UK shows the way to truly clean energy living

An ambitious and comprehensive plan that relies on greatly increased renewable energy usage and a 50% reduction in primary energy demand in the town, it concentrates on community engagement and showing how attractive life in 2030 could be without fossil fuels.

A Swell Day for Renewable Energy in the South West – Better Generation (UK) 18 May 2010, The South-West Regional Development Agency (SWRDA) have released an update informing the renewable energy world that “Wave Hub,” the world’s largest offshore wave energy testing facility, is on course to be deployed this summer with fabrication of sub-sea cables and the hub itself nearing completion. The site will create a “grid-connected socket on the seabed… To which wave power devices can be connected and their performance evaluated.”………. Continue reading

May 20, 2010 Posted by | renewable, UK | , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Texas: renewable energy goals reached 15 years ahead of schedule

Wind power boom ensures Texas hits renewable energy goals 15 years ahead of schedule Industrial Fuels and Power May 19th, 2010 The state of Texas has reached its goal of 10,000MW of installed renewable energy capacity this year, 15 years earlier than scheduled, thanks to the explosive growth of wind farms. Continue reading

May 20, 2010 Posted by | renewable, USA | , , , , , | Leave a comment

UK’s renewable energy incentives with Feed In Tariffs

How feed in tariffs could ‘democratise’ renewable energy generation,  Engineer Live, 18 May 2010, Suddenly, the rewards for generating electricity from low carbon sources are within the reach of far more people than ever before. Continue reading

May 19, 2010 Posted by | renewable, UK | , , , , , | Leave a comment

It could be the water problem that finishes off the nuclear industry

“The best alternatives from a water perspective are wind and photovoltaics, that require effectively no water.”

Water Adds New Constraints to Power,  NYTimes.com By ERICA GIES  May 17, 2010 “……In the United States, thermoelectric power generation — mainly coal, nuclear and natural gas — accounted for 41 percent of U.S. freshwater withdrawals in 2005, U.S. Geological Society data show………..

But there is a growing awareness in California and throughout the United States that the use of water for energy generation may be reaching its limits.

California has extensive experience with water shortages, resulting in its adoption of a policy, included in the energy commission’s 2003 Integrated Energy Policy Report, that discourages freshwater use for power plant cooling…….“If you want to build a big central power plant, whether it’s oil, gas or nuclear, you can’t take the water for granted.” Continue reading

May 18, 2010 Posted by | 2 WORLD, water | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Renewable energy bounding ahead in China

China’s Push for Renewable Energy, donga.com[English donga] 18 May 2010, The popularity of renewable energy sources including wind, photovoltaic and biomass is growing dramatically in China. Beijing designated renewable energy as a strategic industry last year, and invested 34.6 billion U.S. dollars, twice as much as the U.S.Despite the global financial crisis, the renewable energy industry knows no recession. Continue reading

May 18, 2010 Posted by | China, renewable | , , , , | Leave a comment

Switch from uranium mining to wind farming in New Mexico

VIDEO       NM uranium capital turns to wind energy

NM uranium capital turns to wind energy | Mount Taylor, N.M. | KRQE News 13

KRQE News 13, 16 May 2010, MOUNT TAYLOR, N.M. (KRQE) – A part of New Mexico that was once one of the world’s major sources of uranium is about to become a major supplier of wind energy……The Cibola County Commission officially endorsed the project this week. Continue reading

May 16, 2010 Posted by | renewable, USA | , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

UK’s opportunity for alternatives to nuclear power

In fact more nonnuclear generation is already under construction and will come on-line by 2015 than is scheduled to go off-line.

Another blow to nuclear plans, Ruscombe Green, 17 May 2010, Alternatives to nukes Last month a PricewaterhouseCoopers study showed that Europe could meet all its electricity needs from renewable sources by 2050 by using a “super-smart” grid powered by solar farms in North Africa, wind farms in northern Europe and the North Sea, hydro-electric from Scandinavia and the Alps and a complement of biomass and marine energy Continue reading

May 16, 2010 Posted by | renewable, UK | , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Uninhabitable planet if Climate Change is not checked

urge instead the use of carbon tax revenue to develop technologies that can supply clean energy to everyone and provide ‘human dignity’.

Climate change could make half the world uninhabitable Climate change could make half of the world uninhabitable for humans as a rise in temperature makes it too hot to survive, scientists have warned. Telegraph UK,  By Louise Gray, Environment Correspondent
12 May 2010

Researchers from the University of New South Wales in Australia and Purdue University in the US said global warming will not stop after 2100, the point where most previous projections have ended.In fact temperatures may rise by up to 12C (21.6F) within just three centuries making many countries into deserts. Continue reading

May 13, 2010 Posted by | 2 WORLD, climate change | , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Mother’s Day trekkers learn about dangers of uranium mining

Lila Watson, Australian aboriginal leader, said: “If you have come here to help me, you are wasting your time. But if you have come here because your liberation is bound up with mine, then let us work together.”………

A Mother’s Day Call to Protect the Earth, Care 2, 9 May 2010, Our team of eight dynamic women – legal, policy, and business experts -convened in Elko, Nevada, to begin our journey……….. Finally, we traveled to the magnificent Grand Canyon, where Havasupai leader Carletta Tilousi explained the grave threat of uranium mining Continue reading

May 10, 2010 Posted by | 2 WORLD, indigenous issues | , , , , | Leave a comment

Boost for wind energy in Israel

Multimatrix Invests Millions In Israel’s Small Wind Market, Green Prophet by Maurice Picow on May 8, 2010 “…..now, according to an article published in Reuters, the idea of using wind energy is about to get a big boost in a deal involving an Israeli company Multimatrix, which is in the process of buying half of Mei Golan (a subsidiary of the Mei Eden water company), the company operating the wind turbines. Continue reading

May 10, 2010 Posted by | Israel, renewable | , | Leave a comment

Renewable energy can be used to build more renewable energy

Renewable Breeders (environmentalresearchweb blog), 10 May, 2010, “……………….we will have to replace the existing fossil plants anyway in the years ahead, as they get old and are retired. Moreover, the energy (and carbon) debt from replacing the existing system with renewables should be less that either building more fossil plants, or even than going nuclear e.g. the embedded energy content of wind turbines is low- typically you get around 80 times more energy out over their lifetimes operation than is needed for their construction.

By comparison, according a 2002 Hydro Quebec study, the output from nuclear plants over their lifetime is only around 16 times the energy needed for their construction and for the (energy intensive) production/processing of their fuel…….. Continue reading

May 10, 2010 Posted by | 2 WORLD, renewable | , , , , | Leave a comment