The Obama administration has announced competitive lease sales for wind energy development off the eastern coasts of Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Virginia. This is the first time that a portion of the outer continental shelf will be leased for renewable energy development. There are several areas proposed for leasing: the Virginia coast could support more than 2,000 megawatts of wind generation; Massachusetts and …
World Energy Trilemma Report Released at Doha
According to the World Energy Council (WEC), the world is far away from achieving environmentally sustainable energy systems. According to the organization’s global ranking of country energy sustainability performance, over 90 countries assessed are still far from achieving fully sustainable energy systems. The 2012 Energy Sustainability Index, published within the WEC’s 2012 World Energy Trilemma report, “Time to get real …
EC: Save Carbon Trading System; Need Key Actions
The European Wind Energy Association (EWEA) has been busy promoting wind energy throughout the European Union (EU). Last week, the European Commission identified key actions to develop the internal energy market by 2014 that included the phasing-out of regulated electricity prices and the Commission was also critical of capacity payments. In addition, the proposal lacks further development of the internal …
More Accurate ILUC Carbon Accounting
Dr. Jesper Hedal Kløverpris and Dr. Steffen Mueller have proposed a new approach to measuring the climate impact of biofuels related land-use changes (ILUC) as opposed to other land use changes: “Baseline Time Accounting Concept” and believe it should become an integrated part of future ILUC studies. According to the researchers, this model incorporates baseline time accounting into ILUC models, leading …
Cool Planet – 3 Years, 30 Biomass Plants
Cool Planet Energy Systems has announced a breakthrough in the commercialization and affordability of biofuels from biomass. Using a mechanical process and scaling approach, the company says it can produce high octane gasoline at the cost of $1.50 per gallon without the need for subsidies and also while removing carbon from the air during the course of production. The company, backed by …
Palm Oil Production Creates High GHG Emissions
The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is currently reviewing whether to allow biofuels produced from palm oil as an allowable renewable fuel under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS2). The palm oil industry and the Indonesian and Malaysian governments are applying pressure to the EPA to reverse its finding that the greenhouse gas emissions resulting from palm oil production are …
Book Review – Climategate
For those of you who believe in climate change, you will criticize me for not only reading but reviewing “Climategate,” by Brian Sussman as the last book in my 2012 La Nina Reading List. For those of you who don’t buy in to climate change, you’ll applaud me for bringing you this review. Sussman is best known as a TV …
Book Review – Eaarth
What is happening to the “Eaarth”? A question many are asking, including author Bill McKibben, as the summer brought us the worst drought in decades along with extreme heat. Many people would blame this on global climate change while others would argue that “global warming” and “weather” are actually two separate things. Well it is time we delve back into …
NYSE Euronext Supports Wind Energy
The NYSE Euronext is a supporter of wind energy. The exchange purchased renewable energy certificates (RECs) from Green Mountain Energy Company for its 2011 electricity use. The RECs purposed were generated from 100 percent wind energy sources. “We are making commitments across the board to operate sustainably, and our decision to choose 100% wind renewable energy certificates for our electricity …
Consumers Choosing Carbon Offsets at Pump
Consumers in California have been choosing to purchase carbon offsets when they fill up at the pump. Propel Fuels has been operating a pilot program with its flagship Clean Mobility Center in Fullerton, California. When a consumer purchases carbon emissions offsets it goes through the Carbonfund.org Foundation. Since Propel launched CarbonOffset in May, nearly 1,000 customers have spent $1.00 per …