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Author |
Published |
Section |
Deja vu ... all over again
Senate again rejects legislation to extend tax credits for renewables |
Kate Sheppard |
17 Jun 2008 |
Gristmill |
| The Senate failed to invoke cloture on the Renewable Energy and Job Creation Act of 2008 this afternoon. The vote was 52-44, well short of the 60 needed to move the legislation forward. This legislation would have extended the investment tax credits (ITC) for solar energy and the production tax credits (PTC) for wind, biomass, geothermal, hydropower, landfill gas, and solid waste. The vote fell primarily along party lines, though Republicans Norm Coleman (Minn.), ... |
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| Topics: Congress, legislation, Muckraker, news, politics, renewable energy (all these topics) |
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RPS distribution
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David Roberts |
16 Jun 2008 |
Gristmill |
| Check out this map (click for a larger version). It shows states with renewable portfolio standards in orange. A swath of white goes from the southeast to the upper midwest. Tells you quite a bit about the political playing field on clean energy and how it maps to party. Taken from Senate EPW cmte. testimony from Dan Kammen, Director of the Renewable and Appropriate Energy Laboratory, 25 Sep. 2007 |
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| Topics: energy, renewable energy, politics, state politics (all these topics) |
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Transmission: Impracticable
Huge Calif. solar plant would run transmission lines through state park |
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16 Jun 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 8:11 AM on 16 Jun 2008 A proposed solar power plant in Southern California is facing heavy opposition from some environmentalists as the plan also calls for high-voltage transmission lines to run through a popular state park. To move the power generated by 12,000 solar-thermal dishes near El Centro, Calif., to customers in San Diego, power company San Diego Gas & Electric wants to b ... |
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| Topics: California, energy, news, renewable energy, solar thermal power (all these topics) |
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Google plugs in
Notes from a plug-in hybrid conference |
Michael Moynihan |
15 Jun 2008 |
Gristmill |
| Silicon Valley came to Washington this week to talk about plug-in hybrids at a great conference organized by Google.org with Brookings. The combination of tech visionaries, electric cars on display, Washington heavy hitters such as John Dingell, Chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee and even a couple of film stars, Peter Horton and Anne Sexton of Who Killed the Electric Car?, made for a great meeting. Here are my notes from the standing room o ... |
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| Topics: cars, climate, electric vehicles, hybrids, placemaking, renewable energy (all these topics) |
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GHG policy thoughts, economics edition
The goal of climate policy is not high GHG prices |
Sean Casten |
15 Jun 2008 |
Gristmill |
| There's an implicit assumption in much of the climate policy debate that to meaningfully lower greenhouse-gas emissions, we need a high price on carbon. The assumption is wrong. Economics 101 In a market setting, price is a function of supply and demand. For a given commodity, prices will be high when demand outpaces supply and low when supply outpaces demand. Thus oil, for instance, is expensive. And autographed copies of my pen and ink cartoons are cheap ( ... |
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| Topics: carbon trading, climate, economy, energy, greenhouse-gas emissions, renewable energy (all these topics) |
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Cool idea of the day
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David Roberts |
12 Jun 2008 |
Gristmill |
| Floating wind turbines that can be placed farther out at sea (and in heavier wind) than typical anchored offshore turbines. Next: high-altitude wind! |
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| Topics: energy, wind power, innovation, renewable energy (all these topics) |
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Too Bad You Can't Make Energy From Fog
San Francisco approves giant solar incentive program |
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11 Jun 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 5:22 PM on 11 Jun 2008 San Francisco has become the proud owner of the largest municipal solar program in the United States. The Solar Energy Incentive Program, approved by the city board of supervisors on Tuesday, will provide rebates to home- and business owners who install solar panels on their buildings. Individuals can receive up to $6,000; businesses can be granted $10,000. Supervisors al ... |
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| Topics: energy, news, placemaking, renewable energy, San Francisco, solar voltaic power (all these topics) |
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Renewed anxiety
Renewables industry fears for future if Senate doesn't extend tax credits |
Kate Sheppard |
10 Jun 2008 |
Gristmill |
| The Senate once again failed to pass tax-credit extensions for renewable energy on Tuesday, and folks in the industry are starting to get worried. Companies working in wind, solar, and other renewables rely on the tax credits, which are set to expire at the end of the year. Trade organizations that represent renewable-energy firms on the Hill say they're already seeing a slowing of growth in the sector because companies are hesitant to start new projects without the ... |
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| Topics: Muckraker, news, energy, renewable energy, politics, legislation, US Senate (all these topics) |
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Entreprenews you can use: eSolar
First deal inked for maker of modular, utility-scale solar thermal power plants |
David Roberts |
10 Jun 2008 |
Gristmill |
| In the transition to a clean, green economy, one milestone promises to be the most symbolically powerful. It's the one adopted as an official target by Google: renewable energy cheaper than coal, or RE<C. When it announced its campaign, Google also announced the recipients of its initial investments. One was eSolar, a Pasadena, Calif.-based company spun off from business incubator Idealab. "Our view of what it takes to make solar power viable and a widespread ... |
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| Topics: solar thermal power, energy, renewable energy, greenish companies, business (all these topics) |
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End the stalemate
Last, best hope for clean energy tax incentives |
Adam Browning |
09 Jun 2008 |
Gristmill |
| For the past six months, Congress has been squabbling over how to pay for a package of expiring clean energy tax incentives. These incentives, which will phase out in December, are bringing down the cost of manufacturing, building, and installing renewable energy systems and energy-efficient products. A multitude of bills have been introduced by both parties, in both chambers, and all have failed. The last, best hope for this year is H.R. 6049. This bill passed the ... |
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| Topics: energy, grassroots activism, legislation, politics, renewable energy (all these topics) |
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Bright lights, big energy
Hybrid solar lighting: a solar retrofit for hot climates |
Gar Lipow |
03 Jun 2008 |
Gristmill |
| A fascinating commercial application for solar energy in clear (or semi-clear) hot climates seems to not be getting the attention it deserves: hybrid solar lighting. You take a parabolic concentrator and focus some sunlight, optically split with plastic fiber into visible light and heat. Pipe the visible light through diffusers throughout the building. It saves lighting electricity, of course, but unlike skylights or conventional T8s, it adds almost no heat to the buil ... |
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| Topics: renewable energy, green building, energy, solar thermal power (all these topics) |
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Rebuklear
The latest sorties in the war over nuclear power |
David Roberts |
01 Jun 2008 |
Gristmill |
| There have been several good entries in the never-ending nuclear debate lately. I'm pulling several together into one post, so all the vicious arguing can center in one comment thread. Fun! In a long, detailed, and devastating cover story in The Nation, Christian Parenti asks, 'What Nuclear Renaissance?' Peeling away the hype and PR, he discovers that there's much less than meets the eye: This much seems clear: a handful of firms might soak up huge federal subsidi ... |
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| Topics: energy, energy efficiency, lying liars, nuclear power, renewable energy (all these topics) |
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The cowardly lion
McCain to skip another crucial climate vote |
David Roberts |
29 May 2008 |
Gristmill |
| Unbelievable. Sen. John McCain -- who just weeks ago said of the Climate Security Act, "I hope it will pass, and I hope the entire Congress will join in supporting it and the President of the United States would sign it" -- now says he won't show up to vote on it. He won't vote against it, mind you. Won't go on record. Won't take a stand. He just won't show. 'I have not been there for a number of votes. The same thing happened in the campaign of ... |
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| Topics: climate, coal, energy, jackassery, legislation, nuclear power, politics, renewable energy (all these topics) |
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Interview with solar champion Hermann Scheer
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David Roberts |
29 May 2008 |
Gristmill |
| NewScientist has a great interview with German Social Democrat MP Hermann Scheer, who chairs the World Council for Renewable Energy and has done as much as anyone alive to spread the word on solar power. Unfortunately, it's behind a subscription wall, so you can't read it. But have no fear! I'll post a big chunk of it below the fold: What did you do about it? Ten years ago, I called for a programme to install solar panels on 100,000 roofs in Germany, so that ... |
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| Topics: energy, Germany, interview, legislation, politics, renewable energy, solar voltaic power (all these topics) |
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Spam I Am
Junk emails go green |
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28 May 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 4:02 PM on 28 May 2008 You know the spam: the Nigerian oil minister has an outrageous sum of money and desperately needs a foreigner's help to take it off his hands. But the times are changing -- junk email has gone green! A New York Times blogger reports receiving an email asking for investment in a Renewable Energy Technology System. "Everyday, every month, every years, and infinite, every climate change and this RETS is always a stable energy,&qu ... |
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| Topics: energy, funnies, news, renewable energy, tech (all these topics) |
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Call to service
Obama calls for clean energy activists in commencement speech |
David Roberts |
27 May 2008 |
Gristmill |
| From Barack Obama's commencement speech at Wesleyan University, 25 May 2008 (he was standing in for Ted Kennedy): At a time when our ice caps are melting and our oceans are rising, we need you to help lead a green revolution. We still have time to avoid the catastrophic consequences of climate change if we get serious about investing in renewable sources of energy, and if we get a generation of volunteers to work on renewable energy projects, and teach folks about ... |
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| Topics: Barack Obama, climate, climate change mitigation, education, politics, renewable energy (all these topics) |
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Somebody forgot to tell Rockport that coal is cheap
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David Roberts |
26 May 2008 |
Gristmill |
| How much would your town pay to stabilize the electric bills of every home and business in it for the next 25 years? |
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| Topics: energy, energy at home, Missouri, renewable energy, wind power (all these topics) |
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What is it good for?
Militarization and progressive change are not compatible |
Gar Lipow |
25 May 2008 |
Gristmill |
| The U.S. military push for coal-based synthetic fuels reminds us that in the long run, solving climate chaos is incompatible with an aggressive military policy. Solutions will ultimately have to draw on traditional American virtues of thrift and cleverness, not the domination and power expressed in the new U.S. Air Force motto: Air Force Above All, which probably sounded more impressive in the original German. Militarization has a long history of pushing us down less ... |
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| Topics: energy, national security, politics, renewable energy (all these topics) |
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Hot rocks rockin'
Geothermal power: a core climate solution |
Joseph Romm |
24 May 2008 |
Gristmill |
| While wind and solar get the media attention of a sexy starlet, good old geothermal power is treated like an aging character actor. But geothermal energy is, in fact, sizzling hot these days. Big-time investors from Warren Buffet to Goldman Sachs to Morgan Stanley to Google have begun investing: In 2007, private equity firms invested more than $400 million in geothermal energy, which is derived from hot water under the Earth's surface and can be used for sp ... |
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| Topics: energy, geothermal power, investing, renewable energy (all these topics) |
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Full text drops
Full text of the substitute amendment to Lieberman-Warner now available |
Kate Sheppard |
21 May 2008 |
Gristmill |
| The full-text of the amendment [PDF] to the Lieberman-Warner Climate Security Act is now available, which answers some of the outstanding questions stemming from the outline Sen. Boxer has been circulating. A few important areas to look at in the new version: Cost containment: This is the mechanism, also called an 'emergency off-ramp,' that will automatically release additional emission allowances onto the market to lower the price of carbon credits, should prices r ... |
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| Topics: Barbara Boxer, climate, legislation, Muckraker, news, politics, renewable energy (all these topics) |
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Town meeting fun
Small-town politics meets big-time energy crisis |
Katharine Wroth |
21 May 2008 |
Gristmill |
| Last night I went to the town meeting where I live, which -- well, if you've never lived anywhere podunk enough to have a town meeting, you're missing out. This one was just as I remember them from my childhood, though PowerPoint has replaced mimeographed pages: ambition, exhaustion, confusion, and the one crusty, bearded guy who has to argue every point. After a presentation by the head of the municipally owned utility, a tall, thin audience member in a tan suit an ... |
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| Topics: climate, energy, energy at home, green living, oil, politics, renewable energy (all these topics) |
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Deloitte survey of consumers and utility regulators
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David Roberts |
20 May 2008 |
Gristmill |
| On Monday, consultant firm Deloitte released two new surveys, one of consumers and one of utility regulators. There's some fairly interesting stuff in there. First off, some 87 percent of utility regulators expect the cost of producing electricity to rise next year. Why? Here's what they attribute it to: Fuel prices (35 percent). Environmental compliance (23 percent). Capital costs (21 percent). Inflation (11 percent). Asked to rate options by thei ... |
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| Topics: climate, coal, energy, energy at home, greenhouse-gas emissions, renewable energy (all these topics) |
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The renewable energy beneath our wings
Bush DOE says wind can be 20 percent of U.S. power by 2030 -- with no breakthroughs |
Joseph Romm |
13 May 2008 |
Gristmill |
| The Bush administration has signed off on a stunning new report [PDF], '20 Percent Wind Energy by 2030: Increasing Wind Energy's Contribution to U.S. Electricity Supply.' I am working on a big wind article for midweek, but here are the key conclusions of what is easily the most comprehensive and credible report released on wind power in a decade: Annual installations need to increase by only a factor of three from current levels by 2018. Costs of integrating intermitt ... |
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| Topics: Department of Energy, energy, renewable energy, wind power (all these topics) |
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Puff Piece
U.S. could get 20 percent of energy from wind by 2030, says DOE |
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13 May 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 10:52 AM on 13 May 2008 Wind power could meet 20 percent of U.S. energy demand by 2030, according to Energy Department calculations, even though currents currently provide a mere 1 percent of U.S. electricity. Making the leap would be "ambitious" but "feasible," says the report: it wouldn't require technological breakthroughs, but would necessitate the construction of 75,000 new and improved ... |
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| Topics: Department of Energy, energy, news, renewable energy, wind power (all these topics) |
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Life after coal
We can't wait for new nukes, so what do we do now? |
Joseph Romm |
09 May 2008 |
Gristmill |
| Suppose the leaders of this country were wise enough to put a moratorium on traditional coal (the most urgent climate policy needed, as discussed here)? How will we meet our steadily growing demand for carbon-free power over the next decade? And to get on the 450 ppm path, we don't just need to stop U.S. emissions from rising -- we should return to 1990 levels (or lower) by 2020. Nuclear Nuclear is an obvious possibility, beloved of conservative Francophiles like McC ... |
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| Topics: wind power, energy efficiency, nuclear power, renewable energy, energy, coal (all these topics) |
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