International Energy Agency (IEA) Chief Economist Fatih Birol made no bones about his opinion on fossil fuel subsidies at the European Wind Energy Association conference this year. Birol said that “[f]ossil fuel subsidies are public enemy number one for green energy.”
In an effort to raise the awareness of just how much potential our planet has to produce renewable energy, the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) has launched the first ever online Global Atlas of renewable energy resources. Live now at www.irena.org/GlobalAtlas, the atlas is the largest ever initiative to help countries … [continued]
There are some very widespread and incorrect conceptions about renewable energy sources. I mention and discuss some of the most common ones below.
The fossil fuel industry and the politicians and pseudo-scientists it buys are fond of saying that renewable energy can’t power the world. That claim will eventually be proven ridiculous. For now, though, many may be surprised to know that renewable resources already account nearly 11% of U.S. energy production.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) recently reported that U.S. energy production from renewable energy sources such as biomass/biofuels, hydro, geothermal, solar, water, and wind energy rose to 10.92% in 2010. Nuclear energy’s share dropped a bit to 11.26%.
[social_buttons] Wave energy seems to be Scotland’s lottery number. Scotland-based energy developer Pelamis just signed a joint venture agreement with the European energy giant Vattenfall for a large, almost $100 million energy project off Scotland’s Shetland Islands. This follows the recent launch of Oyster, reportedly the largest working hydro-electric wave … [continued]
A new comprehensive study of the PV market in each US state and the US as a whole comes to some interesting and hopeful conclusions. One finding is that the US might surpass Germany as the leading PV market in the world within the next few years. The report finds … [continued]
A new comprehensive study — The Impact of Wind Power Projects on Residential Property Values in the United States: A Multi-Site Hedonic Analysis — conclusively shows that property values are not harmed by wind turbines and wind power facilities. The study, conducted by Lawrence Berkely National Laboratory shows that neither … [continued]
A new initiative by New York City, the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and the Alliance for Clean Energy New York (ACENY) is making it possible for residents of New York to buy Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) through three easy steps on a simple, new website. The website is called … [continued]
New research by leading alternative energy research firm New Energy Finance finds that solar power will cost less by about 50% at the end of 2009 compared to the end of 2008. The costs are pre-subsidy, so they could be much lower if you take better government subsidies into account. … [continued]
Candy giant MARS, parent company of M&M’S®, DOVE®, MILKY WAY®, SNICKERS®, 3 MUSKETEERS®, and TWIX®, turned on a huge new solar array (a “solar garden”) at its headquarters in New Jersey today. No matter what you think of candy food like this, it is good to see such a company … [continued]
