Seven winners of the People, Prosperity and Planet (P3) competition were announced as part of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) 10th annual National Sustainable Design Expo recently held in Washington, D.C. The phase II awards are for innovative and sustainable designs created to help solve today’s environmental problems. “As we mark the 10th year of the National Sustainable Design …
UK Announces 8 Major Renewable Energy Projects
The UK government has announced support for eight major renewable electricity projects giving a big boost to green energy and green jobs. By 2020, the projects will provide up to £12 billion of private sector investment, supporting 8,500 jobs, and they could add a further 4.5GW of low-carbon electricity to Britain’s energy mix (or around 4% of capacity), generating enough …
Renewable Electricity Could Reach 16% In Five Years
According to an early release review of the Annual Energy Outlook 2014 (the final report is slated for release on April 30th) published by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), renewable energy could hit 16 percent of the net U.S. electrical generation by the year 2040. This includes biomass, geothermal, hydropower, solar and wind. But the SUN DAY Campaign challenges …
CSR Looks to Convert Used Railroad Ties to Biofuels
The Coalition for Sustainable Rail (CSR) has announced a new initiative to review the feasibility of “upcycling” used railroad ties into advanced biofuels. The research project is funded by a grant from the Indiana Rail Road (INRD). Working with the Natural Resources Research Institute (NRRI) of the University of Minnesota – Duluth, CSR aims to determine the viability of converting …
Cogeneration Explained
The country is beginning to hear a lot about cogeneration, or cogen, but what it is exactly? How is it different, then say, a traditional electricity plant? To get the low-down on cogen I spoke with Chad Wasilenkoff, CEO of Fortress Paper whose company has been working with cogeneration and recently put its first cogen project online. Q: Can you …
National Grid Salutes Veterans
Today is Veterans Day in the United States where the country comes together to thank those Americans who have risked or given their lives to keep the country safe. In recognition of this day, National Grid is highlighting its programs to attract and retain veteran employees including it participation in Troops to Energy Jobs. The program is an initiative in …
Sustainable Roadmap for Jamaica Released
The Worldwatch Institute has released the report, “Jamaica Sustainable Energy Roadmap: Pathways to an Affordable, Reliable, Low-Emission Electricity System,” that looks at the measures that the Jamaican government can take to transition its electricity sector to one that is socially, environmentally and financially sustainable. The report also analyzes the potential for energy efficiency and renewable energy deployment in Jamaica and …
Study Aims to Debunk Indirect Land Use Change
A new paper, “Wood Bioenergy and Land Use,” authored by Roger A. Sedjo, Brent L. Sohngen, Anne Riddle on behalf of Resources for the Future attempts to debunk indirect land use change theory (ILUC). The paper looks at how the use of biomass energy will affect the forests. Back in 2008, Timothy Searchinger examined the issue related to corn ethanol …
World’s Largest Advanced Biofuels Plant Opens
Today marked the official opening of what is believed to be the world’s largest operational, commercial scale advanced biofuels facility. Situated in the fields outside the city of Crescentino, Italy, Beta Renewables, part of the Mossi Ghisolfi Group, along with Novozymes celebrated the first plant to be designed and built to produce bioethanol from agricultural residues and energy crops as …
Haiti To Build BioEnergy Zones
Haiti-based Sonamar, S.A. and Bangalore-based VayuGrid have entered into a partnership to develop BioEnergy Zones across Haiti. These bioenergy pockets will produce renewable energy through elite biofuel trees developed by VayuGrid. The two companies believe the project will deliver social, environmental and economic benefit to the country. The zones will be developed in non-arable land across Haiti to supply biodiesel, …