By Carey L. Biron, IPS, Procession 15, 2013
WASHINGTON- Precede Barack Obama on Friday unveiled a fulfilled new proposal to present up U.S. research in vogue renewable energy technologies, exclusively in transportation, which is stanch for going on for 70 percent of the Collective States' oil use.The nerve, which the chief is ability the Vibrancy Safeguard Dash, would major going on for two billion dollars polished the bordering decade, funded and spoils from oil-and-gas drilling in U.S. coastal waters.The Collective States is playing catch-up to countries like Japan, Germany and Korea on fuel cells, batteries and fuel economy enhanced more often than not.
"The just way to for practical purposes getting away from this cycle of spiking gas prices for good is to move our cars and trucks absolutely off oil," Precede Obama assumed Friday, vocalizations at a universally laboratory.He assumed the observe for the Vibrancy Safeguard Dash is based on a proposal put send by "a non-partisan alliance that includes retired generals, admirals and leading CEOs... [to] take quite a lot of of our oil and gas revenues from population lands and put it towards research that choice benefit the population."
The proposal what's more includes a school of new universally goals, outlined in a Ashy Residential home concise liberated Friday. These partake of a doubling of renewable electricity generation by 2020, a halving of oil imports by the end of the decade, a halving of energy elude by 2030, and a school of new incentives hypothetical at ramping up energy neatness.It what's more includes sharpness on strengthened use of natural gas, fresh oil-and-gas drilling on population lands, and bigger advance for U.S. nuclear exports.
Yet the proposal appears to be a eloquently scaled-down version of Precede Obama's ahead of icon for renewables-related research and phase-in. Previously the chief came in vogue twig in the regulate effect of the 2008 money-spinning fork, for holder, he was able to break up quite a lot of 90 billion dollars to renewables research as local office of a profound motion collect.That dough is now in essence misplaced, at rest, quiet as taking sides rancour has bigger on the issue. At the same time as quite a lot of of the motion approve of went in vogue a few projects that resulted in attractive failures - boondoggles that now succeed key native tongue points for directly critics - Washington is immediately confused in a sticky rationale polished sorrow and focus ingestion.
"It's good to see the chief focusing on the significance of budding aloof energy, but two billion dollars is easy target rework compared to the probable 110 billion dollars in subsidies that choice go to the fossil fuel industry polished the bordering decade," Jamie Henn, communications patronizing with 350.org, an advocacy organisation, told IPS."The native way to forwards our transition to renewable energy would be to put a hurtle on carbon and deal with approve of in vogue a new, aloof energy economy."
nutty INCENTIVE'Others are warning that, no comfort the part of dough complicated, stuck between approve of for renewable energy with petroleum drilling is wrongheaded."This line of attack doesn't create any fresh value for using fossil fuels, for that reason creating no persuade for firms to interest resources in vogue safer, cleaner and enhanced renewable sources of energy," Tyson Slocum, patronizing of the Vibrancy Program at Majestic Area, a Washington take care of turn, assumed Friday in a crash.
"Too, stuck between bashful investments in energy alternatives to oil and gas production creates a nutty persuade for enhanced oil and gas drilling - a bad observe ready junior deteriorating reform set of laws and exposure caps on offshore drilling."
Strictly, one of the ceiling immense flashpoints polished the Vibrancy Safeguard Dash choice be whether this dough comes hostile to the let of new offshore drilling opportunities, as is individuality short of by many Republicans and quite a lot of Democrats in the U.S. Building.In legitimacy, an nerve completely blockade to the Vibrancy Safeguard Dash was included in a comprehensively discussed universally energy plan put together truthful by Lisa Murkowski, a Legislature Republican. Yet her plan explicitly requires an adorn in drilling to pay for new research, something the chief has been in doubt about.
But, the Ashy Residential home appears to be bright to chance thought. "This is something that we'll devour to make a statement about with Building," Teaser Crucial, a substitute harass secretary, told prosecute Friday, "and if current are different beliefs that people insolvency to lengthen up, we'll undoubtedly devour a address with them about that," that would lace many as a present backwards.
"Such as we need to be do its stuff is investing in using under oil - being paid enhanced oil won't make sure of the interest of monumental gas prices, mire and other impacts from drilling," David Friedman, substitute patronizing of clean vehicles at the Directive of Loving Scientists, a take care of turn, told IPS.
"For us, enhanced drilling would perhaps be a nonstarter. Such as we for practical purposes must be do its stuff is being paid rid of subsidies to the oil and gas industry, and using those to assistance get consumers new options to resurrect on fuel."
Give to unimportantly enhanced directly numbers than 350.org's Henn, Friedman says the oil industry is immediately being paid where from four to 10 billion dollars a appointment in subsidies. Yet quiet at the low end, that would add up to quite a lot of 40 billion dollars polished the move of a decade - particularly substantial than Precede Obama's new research family proposal.He continues: "Somewhat, that dough choice exactly go to pad the pay packet of quite a lot of of the ceiling monetary corporations in the world."
Waning LEADERYet Friedman cautions on lettering off the Vibrancy Safeguard Dash proposal for its moderately small family.
The up to date U.S. national family for research and development in transportation is just going on for eight billion dollars a appointment, he comments, so a elate of an fresh district would be "not a pursue changer but a stir up in the choice command - but just if this is strictly new dough." In today's healthy follower feelings of sorrow here in Washington, that buttress pepper is not yet clear.
The Ashy Residential home says the Vibrancy Safeguard Dash would "assistance solidify America's position as a world outstanding in aloof transportation technology." But Friedman says the country's position on renewables research more often than not has been promptly flagging.
"Space energy research and development has been underfunded in the U.S. for decades - immediately, the Collective States is playing catch-up to countries like Japan, Germany and Korea on fuel cells, batteries and fuel economy enhanced more often than not," he says.
"But we've got mind-boggling engineers in this official, and with the new standards in rest, I hypothesize we'll secure up and quiet stir up to the lope. Of move, that's if the oil industry doesn't try to nearby provoke and subside these policies."
According to Diana Taremwa, of Africa Institute for Motion Authority, wind note calm by the country's meteorology separation from first to last that wind energy is to play with and cheap for power generation optional extra in the south western part districts of Kabaale, Ntungamo, Kisoro and around Mt Elgon,Karamoja areas taking into consideration the middle wind haste at 4m/s(meters per flash).
Turn energy nation-state can subsequently be harnessed as an alternative power source and for diversification of Uganda's power segment.Uganda is set to depletion sh1,711.7b in the monetary meeting 2014/15 to at a fast pace extend the legislature of the 600mw Karuma and 188mw Isimba hydro power plants, as the faculty steps up pains to enhance power wait and redeem its cruelly power segment. However, habit on hydro-power, which provides 80% of the faculty 870 mw installed shred part has plunged Uganda popular years of prolonged power shortages, heap coming off and low levels of power good judgment, optional extra in the country areas.Luggage of become rough digression, as in detail as unripe shame around the L. Victoria abide persistently destabilized the hydrology on onslaught Nile, decimating the power generation part of plants knock back the onslaught, a status that has brought participation power wait shortages in the faculty. Uganda, which has one of the peak nation boil collect in the world, sooner than cannot salt away charge taking into consideration its energy difficulty by relying on a soundtrack power source. It's that's why clear that an stretched and diversified make of renewable power sources is horrific in solving the choice harms.One promising Ugandan pioneer, Samuel Ogutu job-related under the Uganda Veterans Turn Hang on Feeling has sooner than prepared wonders taking into consideration a steer wind energy project in his native Koome islands, Mukono zone. Using internally sourced riches, wood and horizontal sheets, Mr. Ogutu is making blades, generating sufficient electricity to wait something else homes, on this islet that is not basic to the shred. Next to backing, the Uganda Veterans Turn Hang on Feeling would in the main go a covet way in delivering power to Ugandans, optional extra those in country areas weakness gate.In side Kenya Turn energy has achieved absolutely immense levels of good judgment taking into consideration installed part to the shred 5.45mw. The current legislature of a 380 turbine wind farm in the northern zone of Turkana, Kenya's all over the country power wait is set to upper than understudy. Turn energy is a clean energy source, unripe exposed and that's why promotes Tabloid 39 of Uganda's makeup the correct to a clean and good enviroment.Turn turbines don't cause atmospheric emissions that confer rustic shop gasses full-grown for intercontinental warming perform, various burning of wood fuel that characterizes furthermost country households.Ceremony continues to rebuke its own policies and applicable needs to diversify energy sources and attend its breed taking into consideration clean, absolutely and not expensive power.Step to such power has that's why remained a desire to assorted Ugandans. Assembly have got to subsequently add details to its gaffe bigger the Ministry of Motion and Pit Upsurge and lay mass on wear and tear of alternative clean energy sources, optional extra wind to enhance electricity generation part and spend clean energy sources.
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Offshore Wind Energy - Ocean Energy Council - What is offshore wind energy? Wind energy is an indirect form of solar energy. It is estimated that 1-2% of the solar radiation that reaches the earth is converted to Articles on Wind Energy - Global Energy Network Institute - Articles on Wind Energy - Renewable Energy Resources - Library - GENI conducts research and education on: renewable energy resources interconnections globally,... Global Wind Energy Council - ABOUT - GWEC - This site provides a global forum for the wind energy sector uniting the wind energy industry and its representative wind energy associations. The U.S. is the leading producer of wind energy worldwide thanks in part to the productivity of our turbines. The Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC) was established in 2005 to provide a credible and representative forum for the entire wind energy sector at an international... The United States Energy Information Administration regularly publishes a report on world consumption for most types of primary energy resources. Wind Energy Latest News Google and MidAmerican Energy Company Announce Renewable Energy Agreement in Iowa 4/22/2014 For more information, contact: Tri Global Energy, LLC, is a clean energy company headquartered in Dallas, Texas that helps make communities stronger through the development of affordable wind China, US vie for market leader position at just over 13 GW of new capacity each. Brussels, 12 February 2013. The Global Wind Energy Council released its 2012... A comprehensive guide to how international institutions, governments, and NGOs around the world are attempting to combat climate change. This is part of the Global Global Energy Network Institute focuses on linking renewable energy resources around the world using cooperative international electricity transmission grids. GENI RenewableUK is the UK's leading not for profit renewable energy trade association. Welcome to Global Wind Energy : Since 2002, Global Wind Energy is an international consulting company based in Paris specialized in Wind 2 GLOBAL WIND ENERGY OUTLOOK 2014 1 Momentum for Change? 4 2 The Global Wind Energy The European Wind Energy Association (EWEA) is a non profit, non governmental association. with a membership consisting mainly of national affiliated societies The post The Global Wind Energy Council appeared first on Green Energy Efficiency.
"From an Associated Press article by Ryan J. Foley, pubished in The Capital Times:"
Uncertainty about the availability and cost of biomass fuels makes Gov. Jim Doyle's 251 million plan to overhaul a University of Wisconsin-Madison power plant somewhat risky, according to a report released Tuesday.
Doyle has proposed converting the coal-fired Charter Street plant, long a major polluter in the area, to run on cleaner-burning biomass fuels such as wood chips and paper pellets. His administration says it would be one of the nation's largest biomass projects and the plan has delighted environmentalists.
A report from consultants hired by the state recommended Tuesday running the plant on a mix of natural gas and biomass and installing a more expensive boiler that can burn any type of biofuel. But the report also warned the state's biomass market must be expanded for the project to be successful.
The report said the state should get its money back over 25 years from building the more expensive boiler as long as enough biomass fuel supplies are developed and they cost less than natural gas over time....
The report said there was "a significant risk" that not enough biomass supply would be available for the boiler when it is expected to begin running.
Wood products would likely be the main source of fuel for the plant in the beginning while others are developed, the report said. Paper pellets are another cost-effective biomass source, but they are currently in short supply. Switchgrass and agricultural waste currently cost more than natural gas.
How sustainable is natural gas? That was the mistrust on everyone's maw at the continue European Biomass The social order Caucus. This was seeing as biomass is personality intentional as a defend for region heating and natural gas. In addition to the sustainability of biogas, other concerns raised about this alternative energy source was that of rations warranty and biodiversity. Experts at the conference hypothetical that if managed on a sustainable track down, biomass may possibly be reaped as a crop that is recurrently replenished. This process would spiteful child maintenance of closed carbon spate. Legislative body of the European Job acknowledged that 2020 targets can out of action be achieved short the work out of reflex criteria for gas and specific biomass. Caucus meeting in the same way hypothetical that if biomass poses any impulsive risks, it may possibly be managed and minimized. Other issues that may possibly dispatch as a go along with of a biomass bio-economy have carbon stock change, acidification, land characterize issues and intricacy converting grasslands to swamp.
Rooftops and parking loads at airports are specified of the services that are not multi-purpose, but at Kuala Lumpur Worldwide Workstation these inefficient sitting room surround been changed popular a clean energy generation machinery - namely solar power.
That's exuberance in the function of it demonstrates the firm sector's cope with towards the Government's chauffeur in introducing renewable energy and in the process cut back carbon pursue.
"Malaysia Workstation pilfer concord amongst SunEdison. Photo: Planetary Worldwide"
The original fork is that Malaysia Workstation did not surround to dig popular its own endure to finance the project. They rent population inefficient sitting room out to anyone who is satisfying to invest - to SunEdison. The sophisticated merrymaking must've seen the older outlook in renting the airport's rooftops and parking loads for them to run off with the brave cranium to invest RM200 million (give or take a few US60 million) acquaint with.
KLIA INSTALLED MALAYSIA'S First Workstation Planetary Unite Means
Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB) and SunEdison surround communally launched Malaysia's maximum mortal solar power system at the Kuala Lumpur Worldwide Workstation amongst a cumulative support of RM200 million.
According to MAHB advance lively sanctioned Datuk Abdul Hamid Mohd Ali, the solar power system is accepted to liberate the mortal give or take a few RM2.1 million annually based on its scuttle energy payments.
The 19 MW control scuttle (DC) system was the prevalent in Malaysia anywhere it connected and fantastic ground-mount (5MW), parking sunshade (10MW) and roof-top (4MW) systems.
"We don't incur any price for this project in the function of we trade in the under-utilised good point, since SunEdison is essential to pay pilfer let and royal family to us. In recompense, we buy the electricity at a a great deal cheaper hurry," designed Abdul Hamid.
MAHB is looking to spread out this system at its other airports rarely at the muted impress and landing ports (STOL Ports) sited in formal areas.
"Planetary energy is one of the areas that we are disapprovingly looking popular. We may consideration amongst SunEdison moreover on the system for the other airports rarely in Sabah and Sarawak," he designed.
Planetary technology businesswoman and provider of solar energy armed forces, SunEdison is the Feed-in-Tariff (FiT) improve situation, decided by SEDA Malaysia.
The merrymaking is officially recognized to deal in power generated from renewable energy sources to Tenaga Nasional Bhd for a fixed era of point.
"Introduce is an fabulous Feed-in-Tariff programme in Malaysia and we are looking pushy to further more airports in Malaysia and involvement the world," designed SunEdison person in command for Asia, Require East, South Africa and Australia, Pashupathy Gopalan.
"Source: Bernama"
THEGREENMECHANICS:
This sounds adore a negotiated allowance. If strictly Malaysia Workstation can get other airports in this country installed amongst solar PV decided by SEDA, and get through the scuttle FiT hurry, it is a pronounce act of scanty others in the stretch wish system.
First-come-first-served, right?
IF YOU WONDER WHY AMERICA'S UTILITIES ARE RATTLED BY THE EXPLOSIVE GROWTH IN ROOFTOP SOLAR -- AND ARE PUSHING BACK -- WILLIAM WALKER HAS A STORY FOR YOU. Ewa Beach Oahu. A flip-flop wearing Walker stands in his driveway pointing to a ubiquitous neighborhood feature - solar panels on the roofs of five of six houses nearby. He lives in Ewa Beach, a development on the sultry leeward coast of the Hawaiian island of Oahu built on land cleared of sugar cane fields. Shade is scarce and residents here call their homes "hot boxes," requiring almost round-the-clock air conditioning. Hawaii, which imports pricey oil to power its electricity grid, has the highest utility rates in the nation -- at 37 cents a kilowatt-hour, they're more than double California and triple the national average. With bills for 1,600 square foot houses like these running as high as 400 a month, solar is seen as less a green statement than an economic no-brainer given state and federal tax credits for as much as 65 percent of installation costs. Almost every day since Walker and his wife Mi Chong moved in last April, solar installers came rapping on the door, hawking a rooftop system. They finally bought one: an 18-panel, 35,000 installation producing 5.9 kilowatts of power financed for 305 a month. It would be connected to the grid under a system known as net metering that essentially lets residents deduct the value of their solar-produced electricity from their power bill and even be paid for electricity in excess of that. PAYING FOR ITSELF Walker estimates his bill would have dropped most months to an 18 service charge -- offsetting that 305 loan payment. Anticipating his power bills would continue to rise, he figured the system could pay for itself in as little as five years; his electricity after that would be free. That is until his utility, a subsidiary of Honolulu-based Hawaiian Electric Industries Inc., told the Walkers they couldn't connect their system to the grid. They aren't alone. Solar installers here estimate that hundreds if not thousands of the state's residents are being put in solar limbo by a virtual moratorium on new connections in many parts of the company's service area. AMERICA'S POWER MACHINE The reason, according to the Hawaiian Electric Co.: so many Hawaiians are stampeding to solar that circuits may become oversaturated, causing voltage spikes, damaging appliances, electronics and even the utility's equipment. The company needs more time to study the matter. The Walkers, who say they got no advance notice of the shutdown, are now paying both their power bill and their monthly rooftop loan. HECO, as the utility is known, recently told them they will eventually be allowed to join the grid without having to pay for expensive equipment upgrades. It still can't say when. 'PROFIT MOTIVATION' "Everyone is on board with getting solar and HECO has now put up a wall," Walker said. "The only thing we can see is profit motivation." Spurred by a drop in panel prices, robust government subsidies and a technology that no longer appears experimental to mainstream America, rooftop photovoltaic solar is bursting out everywhere. About 200,000 U.S. homes and businesses added rooftop solar in the past two years alone - about 3 gigawatts of power and enough to replace four or five conventionally-sized coal plants. The U.S. set a single-quarter record with 31,000 residential rooftop installations in the three months through Sept. 30. Solar represented 72 percent of all power added in the U.S. in October. CONNECTION SLOWDOWN Utilities, seeing a threat to about 360 billion a year in power sales and a challenge to the hegemony of the conventional grid, are feeling the heat and fighting back. HECO, despite criticism from Hawaii's solar industry, denies the moratorium is anything more than an honest effort to address the technical challenges of integrating the solar flooding onto its grid. The slowdown comes in a state where 9 percent of the utility's residential customers on Oahu are already generating most of their power from the sun and where connections have doubled yearly since 2008. In California, where solar already powers the equivalent of 626,000 homes, utilities continue to aggressively push for grid fees that would add about 120 a year to rooftop users' bills and, solar advocates say, slow down solar adoptions. Similar skirmishes have broken out in as many as a dozen of the 43 states that have adopted net-metering policies as part of their push to promote renewable energy. In Colorado, Xcel Energy Inc. has proposed cutting the payments it makes for excess power generated by customers by about half, because it says higher payouts result in an unfair subsidy to solar users. ARIZONA PROTESTERS It faces a fight from solar advocates who are circulating a petition that has attracted 30,000 signers. In Arizona, 1,000 protesters last month swarmed the state capital while local and national solar advocates lobbied against an effort by utility Arizona Public Service to impose a 50 monthly fee on new solar adopters. Solar advocates said the charge would have crippled the state's 10,000-worker solar industry and thwarted the desire of residents to have a choice in the power consumption. State regulators, after two days of often contentious debate, voted to allow the state's largest utility to charge customers about 4.90 a month for solar connections after Dec. 31 -- less than 10 percent of what it was asking for. FALLING SHORT Don Brandt, chief executive officer of APS and its parent company Pinnacle West Capital Corp., panned the deal, saying that while it nods to the impact that net metering is having on utility operations and revenues, it "falls well short of protecting the interests of the 1 million residential customers who do not have solar panels." Lyndon Rive, CEO of SolarCity Corp., said it was "crazy for a utility to charge for services they didn't deliver. 'Why not tax energy efficient homes, or small homes that consume less than average?' said Rive, whose company is the nation's second-largest rooftop solar installer. 'APS just doesn't want to lose control." More
