Recently in the Renewable Energy Category
Jul 23 2010
Several items relating to the business and technology of clean energy and the environment caught our attention this week:
Google Energy will buy 114 megawatts of wind energy from a wind farm in Iowa for 20 years at an undisclosed fixed rate beginning on July 30. The deal is the first for the Google subsidiary after it received federal approval earlier this year to trade clean power on wholesale power markets. The company says it will sell the electricity on the regional spot market for renewable energy certificates to offset Google's carbon emissions. The Iowa wind farm is owned by NextEra Energy Resources LLC.
London is launching a $177 million program to develop bicycle "superhighways" to connect 
central London with towns outside the city. Fully developed, it would be the world's second-largest urban cycle hire system after Paris. London Mayor Boris Johnson, Barclays bank and Transport for London have opened the first two pilot routes now drawing 5,000 cycle journeys daily and aiming for 27,000 trips a day by 2013. Highly visible blue cycle lanes will have safety mirrors at junctions, stop lines at traffic lights, segregated lanes, and realignment of traffic and bus lanes to create more space for cyclists. "You have got to have a powerful and visible statement on the roads that asserts to every Londoner, whether on two wheels or four, that the capital is a cycling city," says Johnson.
Shopping for a college with a sound environmental studies program? The 2011 Fiske Guide to Colleges reports its top 10 list for undergraduate environmental degree programs: Colby College (Maine), College of the Atlantic (Maine), UC-Davis, University of Colorado, Dartmouth College (New Hampshire), Eckerd College (Florida), Evergreen State College (Washington), University of North Carolina-Asheville, Tulane University (Louisiana), and University of Washington. Some of these colleges have appeared in other green college lists, including the Princeton Review, College Sustainability Report Card and Sierra magazine's Cool Schools list.
Jun 28 2010
Clean technology is taking off worldwide—a good thing, since global warming doesn’t stop at national boundaries. The following recent news stories come from
With financing from the World Bank, Country A is moving ahead with its first commercial wind power project. The country is also considering financing options for a proposed 100-megawatt concentrated solar power project to take advantage of its favorable solar conditions. Its goal is to acquire enough renewable energy—1,200 MW of wind and 600 MW of solar—to meet 10 percent of its energy needs by 2020 in order to reduce dependence on imported fuel.
San Jose-based Cisco is working with Country B to provide advanced technology for a brand-new city that will emit almost no greenhouse gases. Building sensors and Smart Grid systems to support widespread deployment of solar panels and energy storage systems will help make this the “world’s greenest city,” proponents claim.
Country C is building what it says is the largest concentrated solar power plant in the world. It also plans to invest $23 billion in a 5,000-MW nuclear power program to begin diversifying away from its near-total reliance on fossil fuels. These moves begin to address concerns that the country has one of the worst environmental records in the world.
While the U.S. Congress continues to resist climate change legislation, Country D is creating a national carbon emissions market, scheduled to begin operating in 2014, to help curb its greenhouse gas emissions and boost incentives to invest in green technology. The national goal is to reduce the amount of CO2 emitted per unit of output by at least 40 percent in 2020 compared to 2005.
Since passing the Renewable Energy Act in 2008, Country E has approved more than 200 contracts for renewable power, with a total capacity of 4,400 MW. As many as 50 more proposals await approval by the overworked Department of Energy, including solar, wind, hydro, biomass and geothermal projects.
A leading pig farmer in Country F has installed 500 square meters of solar collectors and water heaters to place electric lamps to keep their newborn piglets warm, saving money and energy. The system was installed with help from the Energy Ministry’s Alternative Energy Development and Efficiency Department. The farm raises 25,000 pigs a month, 13 percent of all those raised in the country. It also generates 1.6 megawatts of power from biogas produced from pig manure.
Answers: A=Jordan; B=
Jun 03 2010
Next time you try to settle a bet about recent weather, try checking out the
Its daily charts on renewable energy production, including small hydro, biogas, biomass and geothermal, offer a valuable reminder of just how variable some of the state’s clean power resources are, based on the whims of Mother Nature.
Looking back a couple of weeks, I found that wind generation peaked at 38,341 megawatt-hours (MWh) on June 1, but hit a low of 9,989 MWh just three days earlier, on May 29.
Wind power also fluctuates minute by minute, as gusts give way to doldrums. Check out the jagged graph of today’s wind generation here.
Solar generation reached a high of 4,010 MWh on May 29 after slumping to a miserable low of 698 MWh on May 17. That’s nearly a sixfold difference. No wonder utilities have to keep on their toes to accommodate the varying amounts of generation available to them.
The good news is that solar tends to peak when the wind take a a siesta, so the combination is a lot more even than either one on its own.
To compound the challenges facing utility operators, demand varies a lot from hour to hour and day to day as well. It ranged from a low of 550 gigawatt hours (GWh) on May 16 to a high of 642 GWh on June 2, no doubt reflecting an increase in air conditioning with the onset of warm weather.
Depending on the weather and demand, the share of renewable energy in the overall electric pie fluctuated from a low of 10.1 percent on May 15 to a robust 14.1 percent on June 1. The state’s investor-owned utilities, including PG&E, are working toward a goal of 20 percent renewable power in the 2010-2013 period.
If your appetite has just been whetted, the CAISO website is also a great place to learn about Congestion Revenue Rights, Small Generator Interconnection Procedures, Convergence Bidding and Real Time Imbalance Energy Offsets.
Check it out. You’ll be the life of the party once you do. Or maybe not.
May 21 2010
Several stories on the science and politics of global warming caught our attention this week:
Reports released by the National Research Council warn the longer we wait to begin making a drastic reduction in carbon emissions, the harder and more expensive it will be. Congress commissioned the report as part of a series focused on global warming. The authors claim a carbon pricing system is the most cost effective way to drive change. They also state we need to start a measurable budget for greenhouse gas emissions - adding that to really make an impact, we must depart from “business as usual emissions trends, which in the U.S. have been rising at the rate of one percent per year for the last three decades.”
Glacial melting in Greenland is being linked to coastal rising. A recent study completed by University of Miami scientists claims some coastal areas are rising by nearly one inch per year. If current trends continue, scientists fear that figure could increase to two inches per year by 2025. "Greenland's ice melt is very important because it has a big impact on global sea level rise," one of the study’s co-authors said. "We hope that our work reaches the general public and that this information is considered by policy makers."
The Obama administration submitted its revised plan for running the hydroelectric dams on the Snake and Columbia rivers while minimizing the impact on wild salmon runs. The plan covers 10 years of hydropower operations. It will help to combat global warming as hydropower is a source of carbon-free electricity generation. In addition, fish and wildlife experts at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration say the plan will not put critical fish habitat in jeopardy. The plan is supported by a majority of Northwest tribes and states. Its opponents include the state of Oregon, the Nez Perce Tribe and a coalition of fishing and conservation groups, who argue it favors power production and shipping interests rather than threatened and endangered fish.
Pacific island nations are asking the UN Security Council to break the stalemate in negotiations over a global warming treaty, comparing global warming to an invading army. In a letter to the UN, the 11 nations that make up the Pacific Small Island Developing States asserted the threat they face due to a warming world is comparable to damage inflicted on a nation resulting from armed conflict. The group said global warming is contributing to severe food and water shortages in the Pacific and already making refugees of people in Vanuatu, Micronesia, Papua New Guinea, Tuvalu and the Solomon Islands.
May 21 2010
Several items relating to the business and technology of clean energy and the environment caught our attention this week:
A poem about sewage treatment plants? Sixth grader Jeffrey Weiner was one of the winners in New York City's Water Resources and Poetry Contest, sponsored for 24 years by the city's Department of Environmental Protection. The contest for children in fourth, fifth and sixth grades raises awareness about the importance of the quality of the city's drinking water and its water supply and treatment systems. Here's Jeffrey's poem:
Treatment at wastewater plants must be quite quick,
To remove the pollutants so you don't get sick.
In a mere seven hours, the job is complete,
Compared to weeks in nature to perform the same feat!
Concord, Mass., has outlawed the sale of bottled water, the first U.S. municipality to adopt the ban. The city says the bottles are not reusable, contribute too much waste and use too much energy to manufacture. The International Bottled Water Association is threatening legal action to reverse the measure. The industry group says that based on figures from the Environmental Protection Agency, plastic water bottles are recycled at a rate of 31 percent, making them the single most recycled product. The Concord ban is to go into effect next January 1.
Hewlett-Packard researchers see opportunities to power data centers with biogas extracted from livestock waste for companies like Google and Microsoft. "Information technology and manure have a symbiotic relationship," says HP scientist Chandrakant Patel, adding data centers in rural areas will give dairy farmers new opportunities, the New York Times reports. HP doesn't have immediate plans for a biogas-powered data center.
Apr 01 2010
Everywhere you go these days, retail stores are advertising discounts and sales. But one thing no one is offering bargain-basement prices on is renewable energy. The sun and wind may be free, but the electric power generated from them commands a premium, especially now that so many utilities around the world are clamoring for cleaner energy.
Replacing fossil fuels with renewables to combat climate change will thus be a costly, if necessary, proposition. For example,
Now a recent study by energy experts at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory estimates that if other Western states aim to achieve the same goal by 2029, the required new capital investment in renewable generation and regional transmission lines could run as much as $350 billion.
According to co-author Andrew Mills, the average delivered cost of electricity would jump by about a third, from 10.3 cents per kilowatt-hour to 13.3 cents by 2029 to hit the goal of 33 percent renewables. Investing in the regional transmission grid and allowing free trade in renewable energy credits lowers the overall cost by about half a cent per kWh, by allowing the region to take advantage of the lowest cost resources, such as wind in the Rockies and northwest, and solar in the southwest.
Their analysis suggests that throughout the Western region, wind would account for roughly half of the renewables mix (38-65%), while solar would make up about a quarter to a third (14-41%). Biomass, geothermal and hydropower would make up the rest.
Their study is part of a multi-year analysis sponsored by the Western Governors’ Association and U.S. Department of Energy called the Western Renewable Energy Zones Initiative. Its goal is to bring together a wide variety of stakeholders—government agencies, environmental organizations, energy developers, tribal interests, utilities and others—to promote the construction of utility-scale renewable energy facilities and the transmission lines needed to bring their power to the people who need it.
Mar 26 2010
Several stories on the science and politics of global warming caught our attention this week:
Many climate skeptics have been pointing to polling data that suggests public support for global warming solutions is fading. But one poll asserts the opposite may be true. A recently released Pew Research study claims Americans’ support for clean energy is gaining ground. The poll data reveals 78 percent of Americans favor increased government spending on wind, solar and hydrogen energy sources. 52 percent of people surveyed supported a cap-and-trade approach to limiting carbon emissions.
A new study claims global warming could make the world a more violent place. Called the “heat hypothesis,” the study links average temperature rise with increased aggression and violence in human beings. It also claims that global warming’s detrimental effects on the world’s food availability could potentially have a direct link to increased poverty, crime, ecomigration, civil unrest, war and genocide. In reaching their conclusions, the researchers analyzed existing research - including an update on a study done in 1997 - on the effects of rising temperature on aggression and risk factors for delinquency and criminal behavior.
Global leaders are underestimating the potential dangerous impacts of man-made climate change, suggests a recent study published in the scientific journal Oceanography. The research claims that even if all man-made greenhouse gas emissions were stopped tomorrow, by the end of this century the global average temperature would increase by about 4.3 degrees Fahrenheit, which is “significantly above the level which scientists and policymakers agree is a threshold for dangerous climate change," according to the authors. The study also suggests that society as a whole should expand research into geoengineering solutions that remove and sequester greenhouse gases already in the atmosphere.
Mar 19 2010
Several items relating to the business and technology of clean energy and the environment caught our attention this week:
Transmission companies are eying high-voltage underwater cables to carry more renewable power over long distances without having to erect unsightly towers and carve out wide corridors. Toronto-based Transmission Developers proposes to run a 370-mile cable from north of the Canadian border along the bottom of Lake Champlain and down the Hudson River to supply hydroelectricity to New York City. A 53-mile power cable has been placed under San Francisco Bay and an underwater line linking New Jersey to Long Island now carries 22 percent of Long Island's electricity. There are other plans to deliver wind energy from the Hawaiian islands of Molokai and Lanai to Oahu and from Maine along the Atlantic coast to Boston.
The global renewable energy industry gained ground in 2009 despite the recession and a revenue drop in the solar business, according to an annual report from research firm Clean Edge Inc. The overall industry spent $63.5 billion on wind farms and turbines, a 23.5 percent gain from 2008 helped by government stimulus money. The global biofuel business rose 29 percent to $44.9 billion. Solar power manufacturers fell by 20.3 percent to $30.7 billion due to a drop in the price of solar panels.
Solazyme Inc., a South San Francisco-based renewable oil and bioproducts company and a leader in algal biotechnology, was selected No. 1 in sustainable biofuels technology at the 2nd Annual Sustainable Biofuels Market conference in Amsterdam. Solazyme is working on improving the efficiency and sustainability of biofuels production. Since the company's start in 2003, Solazyme says it has produced the world's first algae-based renewable diesel, the first 100 percent algae-based jet fuel and road-tested the first algae-derived biodiesel.
Snack food giant Frito-Lay is going green with what it's calling the first compostable chips bag for its SunChips brand. The bags are made from corn and will break down within 14 weeks, the company says. "In a hot, active compost bin it will definitely compost within that time period," said Brad Rogers, Frito-Lay's North American manager of sustainable packaging. However, there's some doubt that many bags will reach a compost bin. "Few Americans compost in their backyards, and curbside pickup is typically limited to Western metropolises like the Bay Area and Seattle," says Green Inc.
Mar 05 2010
Several stories on the science and politics of global warming caught our attention this week:
Climate scientists have long declared that global warming could potentially release methane previously frozen in to the Arctic permafrost, setting off significant increases in warming trends. Now researchers at the University of Alaska, Fairbanks, and elsewhere say this change is underway in a little-studied area under the sea, the East Siberian Arctic Shelf, west of the Bering Strait. Scientists contend that while carbon dioxide is far more abundant and persistent in the atmosphere, ton for ton, atmospheric methane traps at least 25 times as much heat.
Nearly 570 concerned scientists have signed a letter urging Congress to “oppose an imminent attack on the Clean Air Act.” The scientists' plea comes as several coalitions of lawmakers attempt to overturn the endangerment finding using the Congressional Review Act, which establishes special procedures for disapproving regulations from federal agencies. The lawmakers claim the “Clean Air Act was never intended to regulate something like carbon dioxide.”
Is your cup of Joe on the outs? Coffee producers are creating a buzz with claims that global warming is adding risk to the long term sustainability of the industry. Many growers at the World Coffee Conference held in Guatemala this week predicted that if temperatures continue to rise, supplies of the world famous bean will decline. They contend higher temperatures are forcing their industry peers to seek higher, more costly land, driving costs up from the farm to your cup.
Feb 25 2010
Skiers know Alpine County as home to Kirkwood and Bear Valley. But along with its Sierra beauty, the thinly populated county is also home to a contaminated Superfund site, the abandoned Leviathan Mine. The open pit sulfur mine leaches acidic water, arsenic and dissolved metals, devastating local streams near the California-Nevada border.
Cleaning up the toxic site will take years and a great deal of energy. Given the remoteness of the site, Atlantic Richfield--which inherited the property from Anaconda Copper--may have to haul in huge amounts of dirty diesel fuel to power its operations.
But EPA and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory are investigating the possibility of siting wind, solar or other forms of clean energy on the site. The old Leviathan Mine is one of 12 contaminated sites under review nationwide for renewable energy production, under a program called Re-Powering America's Land. In all, there may be about 4,000 such sites across America.
In addition, they are looking at the feasibility of siting solar generators--and infrastructure to support alternative fuel vehicles--at some of the tens of thousands of abandoned gas stations around the country. (EPA estimates there may be more than 200,000 "petroleum brownfield" sites nationwide.)
"We think of recycling materials all the time, so why not take a look at recycling land," said Brigid Lowery, acting director of EPA's center for program analysis. "It just makes sense to take a look at these sites before we turn to using greenfields."
It especially makes sense given how many large renewable energy projects are tied up in permit disputes over their local environmental impact.
Environment and Energy Daily reporter Scott Streater notes that there are many precedents for recycling brownfield sites into renewable energy projects--including the fact that "the largest operating solar power plant in North America sits atop a long-abandoned landfill at Nellis Air Force Base, northeast of
