German Chancellor Angela Merkel warned on Thursday time was of the essence if Germany was to realise a shift to renewable energy, while her environment minister vowed to make energy-intensive companies contribute more to the transition. Merkel's ambitious switch to green energy from nuclear, known as the 'Energiewende', is seen as the most significant domestic … Continue reading Time of the essence for Germany’s energy switch-Merkel | Reuters
Category: Policy
Wind industry installs almost 5,300 MW of capacity in December
Approximately 40% of the total 2012 wind capacity additions (12,620 MW) came online in December, just before the scheduled expiration of the wind production tax credit (PTC). During December 2012, 59 new wind projects totaling 5,253 MW began commercial operation, the largest-ever single-month capacity increase for U.S. wind energy. About 50% of the total December … Continue reading Wind industry installs almost 5,300 MW of capacity in December
Hobbled on Energy, India Ponders a Multitude of Dams
As we noted here last week, over 600 million people lost power in India last summer, setting a modern record for the number of people affected by a blackout. Well before that, though, India’s government was grappling with growing pressure to increase the dependability of its electricity service — for the growing numbers who have … Continue reading Hobbled on Energy, India Ponders a Multitude of Dams
Fighting the ‘Resource Curse’
About a year ago, in the aftermath of the revolution that drove Muammar el-Qaddafi from power in Libya, journalists crowded into a press conference called by the transitional government’s Oil Ministry. Among the reporters was a small contingent of Libyan journalists. Yet it was only the foreigners who peppered a government minister with questions about … Continue reading Fighting the ‘Resource Curse’
Policy Shifts Signal Growth Ahead for Advanced Biofuels
This has been a tough year for the U.S. biofuels industry: drought curtailed corn starch ethanol production and investment in the industry shrank to its lowest level in nearly a decade. Headed into 2013, though, industry momentum appears to be regaining steam. Led by advanced biofuels, the potential for expanding biofuels production has improved dramatically … Continue reading Policy Shifts Signal Growth Ahead for Advanced Biofuels
Obama Signs Energy Efficiency Legislation
President Obama signed the American Energy Manufacturing Technical Corrections Act (H.R. 6582) on Wednesday after the bill received bipartisan support in Congress. The law is a modification of the Enabling Energy Savings Innovations Act (H.R. 4850) and includes elements of the Shaheen-Portman Senate bill. Energy efficiency enthusiasts hailed the move, but also cautioned that there … Continue reading Obama Signs Energy Efficiency Legislation
Uprates can increase U.S. nuclear capacity substantially without building new reactors
Currently (as of July 2012), there are 104 commercial nuclear reactors in the United States. In 2011, these plants provided 786 billion kilowatthours of electricity, or nearly one-fifth of total generation. The electrical output of the nuclear power plant fleet can be increased either by constructing new plants or by 'uprating' operating plants. Uprating generally … Continue reading Uprates can increase U.S. nuclear capacity substantially without building new reactors
Perverse Economics of the Electric Grid: As Generation Gets Cheaper, Transmission Costs Soar
Electrons are cheap – at least electrons are cheap to create. Until recently, it was also cheap to deliver electrons from power plants to customers. That is no longer the case. The electric grid may once have been an engine of economic efficiency, but these days it looks more like an albatross hanging like a … Continue reading Perverse Economics of the Electric Grid: As Generation Gets Cheaper, Transmission Costs Soar
New Study: Concentrating Solar With Storage Can Benefit the Grid : Greentech Media
The evidence is piling up that when the real value of energy is considered, electricity generated from concentrating solar power (CSP) plants with storage capability outperforms solar photovoltaic (PV) and wind power. Rigorous research studies cited throughout The Economic and Reliability Benefits of CSP With Thermal Energy Storage: Recent Studies and Research Needs, a report … Continue reading New Study: Concentrating Solar With Storage Can Benefit the Grid : Greentech Media
Cost of combating climate change surges as world delays – study
An agreement by almost 200 nations to curb rising greenhouse gas emissions from 2020 will be far more costly than taking action now to tackle climate change, according to research published on Wednesday. Quick measures to cut emissions would give a far better chance of keeping global warming within an agreed U.N. limit of 2 … Continue reading Cost of combating climate change surges as world delays – study
