Green Tech

The Oil Drum | IEA: Japan Will Need 85 MPG Cars to Survive

One of the conclusions which can be drawn from deconstructing the 2009 WEO, the IEA's forecast of energy supply and demand out 20 years to 2030, is that the IEA estimates that the average new vehicle sold in Japan in 2030 will have to attain on average 85 miles per gallon. The WEO2009 report contains projections of oil usage based on 4.6 barrels per capita consumption, and assuming population growth at current rates.

Ed Markey, chairman, House Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming - - POLITICO.com

“It is vitally important that we show we are no longer turning a blind eye to the problem of climate change,” Markey told POLITICO. “The Obama administration will be able to say to the world, ‘We are no longer going to preach temperance from a bar stool; we are now ready to begin to make a commitment.’” Still it is possible Markey and dozens of other House members would be no-shows, if their presence was needed on Capitol Hill to vote on the health care bill.

EnerDel Scores Power Regulation Deal, Gets Toe-hold in SmartGrid Conversion - All Cars Electric

Indianapolis-based battery maker EnerDel is tied closely to the Th!nk electric car company and to other automakers moving into the EV and PHEV field such as Nissan. But it seems that the company is now expanding it's activities beyond automotive power units and into the area of the larger electrical infrastructure. EnerDel has announced a new partnership with Smart Grid Leader and the U.S. Department of Energy to use EnerDel batteries in five separate one-megawatt power systems near Portland, Oregon that can supply energy to up to 400 homes for an hour during peak load times.

Utilities Poised to Brighten U.S. Solar Market

Utilities are poised to drive the U.S. solar market in coming years, based on a new report from Emerging Energy Research that predicts utilities will add 21.5 GW of photovoltaic capacity by 2020, up from only 77 MW of utility-driven PV projects in operation today. U.S. utilities already have announced more than 4.8 GW of large PV projects in the works, according to the Emerging Energy Research report. The firm forecasts that utilities will play a key role in shaping the changing landscape of solar power and estimates the U.S.

Will New GM CEO Ed Whitacre Shift Marketing Away From the Volt?

Whitacre forced out the previous CEO and seized the CEO spot for himself. Some are questioning whether he will gut the Volt project. Supposedly the dealers are concerned about the focus on the Volt and how it's distracting away from the cars in the showrooms right now.

DOE - Fossil Energy Techline: Secretary Chu Announces $3 Billion Investment for Carbon Capture and Sequestration

DoE announced three new projects with a value of $3.18 billion to accelerate the development of advanced coal technologies with carbon capture and storage at commercial-scale. These projects will help to enable commercial deployment to ensure the United States has clean, reliable, and affordable electricity and power. "By harnessing the power of science and technology, we can reduce carbon emissions and create new clean energy jobs.

Gordon Brown attacks 'flat-earth' climate change sceptics | Environment | The Guardian

Sceptics in the UK and the US have moved to capitalise on a series of hacked emails (aka climategate) from climate change scientists at the University of East Anglia, claiming they show attempts to hide information that does not support the case for human activity causing rising temperatures. But tonight the UK prime minister, Gordon Brown, his environment secretary, Ed Miliband, and Ed Markey, the man who co-authored the US climate change bill, joined forces to condemn the sceptics.

Sen. Byrd stunner: “Coal Must Embrace The Future: The truth is that some form of climate legislation will likely become public policy because most American voters want a healthier environment.” « Climate Progress

"For more than 100 years, coal has been the backbone of the Appalachian economy." a.k.a. "Coal, Kentucky's Ace in the Hole". Change is undeniably happening in the coal industry. "Mountaintop removal mining" despite being a horrendous disaster, also requires fewer employees than traditional mining. Meanwhile the Central Appalachian coal seams that remain to be mined are becoming thinner and more costly to mine. (BTW an early indicator of "Peak Coal") "Let’s speak the truth. The most important factor in maintaining coal-related jobs is demand for coal.

Renewable Energy in Texas - Wind, Solar & Biofuels in Texas - Popular Mechanics

Sweetwater TX may appear to be a down-and-out dying town, but they're going through another wildcat phase. West Texas has a long history of energy company development, being the original location of gusher oil fields. The oil industry is rather dying itself but Texas is now focusing on wind power. If Texas were a country—and Texans love to remind you that it once was a sovereign republic—it would rank seventh in carbon-dioxide emissions: Its economy accounts for more than a quarter of total U.S.

How to create 1.7 million clean energy jobs « Climate Progress

The challenges facing President Obama and the U.S. Congress have not gone away.

Africa's largest wind farm set to emerge from Kenyan desert - washingtonpost.com

Kenya's Chalbi Desert is a bleak, forbidding stretch of coarse sand and ash-gray ridges broken by clusters of tiny huts. It is also one of the windiest places on Earth, experts say, and it soon will be the site of Africa's largest wind farm. Construction on the $760 million project began in Jan 2009, which envisions more than 350 wind turbines towering over desert expanses near Lake Turkana in northern Kenya. When completed in 2012, the wind farm is expected to boost the power supply in this nation by almost 30 percent.

Factfile on UNFCCC, Kyoto Protocol, Copenhagen talks - Environment - The Independent

The December 7-18 UN climate conference in Copenhagen is tasked with framing a new deal for tackling global warming and its impacts beyond 2012. The Independent (of London) published a factfile on the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the Kyoto Protocol and the talks. The offshoot of the 1992 Rio Earth Summit, the UNFCCC provides a planetary arena for tackling climate change.

Refinancing A Mortgage With Bad Credit Is Not Impossible

Looking for bad credit home refinance? Worried which bank will lend you one? Don’t be. Though the banks have got stricter rules now for mortgage refinance, it is still very much possible to get refinance on your home with that so no so perfect credit score.

Obama Government Plans to Address the Second Mortgages

Obama administration had issued new guidelines for the foreclosure prevention program, which addresses the issue on how to deal with borrowers with second mortgages and equity loans. Reports from Credit Suisse Group show that more than 50% of those borrowers have opted for a second mortgage. Obama administration’s $75 billion program was severely criticized by mortgage investors. These investors were mainly from securities and they did not like it because second mortgages were neglected in the program.

Google to Move Into Clean Energy Project Investing

Execs at Google have been very vocal about how they want to speed up the pace of innovation in the greentech industry — they’ve developed their own energy tools, invested in greentech startups and even engineered their own solar hardware. Google will soon make a step into clean energy project investing. Google wants to become more active in helping clean power projects cross the so-called “valley of death,” where promising technologies can easily flounder from lack of funding between the research and development stage and the commercialization stage.

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