Energy & Climate | Renewable Energy | GreenBiz.com

U.K. Low Carbon Transition Plan Puts Government In Charge of Renewables

James Murray — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 10:16:00 -0700

The U.K.'s Low Carbon Transition Plan released Wednesday secures wide-ranging praise as the government outlines how it plans to deliver deep emission cuts of 34 percent below 1990 levels by 2020.

Discarded Food Finds New Life as Electricity

Tilde Herrera — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 14:17:00 -0700

Unwanted, thrown away food in the San Francisco Bay Area soon find new life as electricity. The East Bay Municipal District plans to dramatically boost the amount of food scraps it converts to energy via anaerobic digestion from 90 tons per week to 1,000 tons, or 200 tons per weekday.

Climate Follies: Bankrolling Dirty Power in Developing Countries

Mindy S. Lubber — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 11:22:00 -0700

While the industrialized world is struggling to cut its emissions, and is gearing up to negotiate a new international climate treaty in Copenhagen this December, it is simultaneously bankrolling the construction of thousands upon thousands of megawatts of new coal-fired power in developing countries.

Solar Incentives in S.F. Show How Smart Green Investments Pay Off

Gavin Newsom — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 11:17:00 -0700

Since San Francisco's solar energy incentive program GoSolarSF launched last year, the city has seen a 450 percent increase in applications over the previous year; putting the city in third place over much larger and sunnier California cities, and providing environmental and economic boosts despite a sluggish economy.

Path to $3B in Stimulus Funds Revealed to Renewable Energy Developers

Tilde Herrera — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 12:01:00 -0700

The Energy and Treasury departments released eagerly awaited guidance Thursday to help renewable energy project developers apply for roughly $3 billion in stimulus funds, which experts say will open the market to many technologies that weren't economically feasible before.

Efficiency, Renewables and Trees Vital to Global Climate Goals

ClimateBiz Staff — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 15:49:00 -0700

A new Climate Group report predicts that scaling up energy efficiency, renewable energy and deforestation prevention can deliver 70 percent of the global greenhouse gas emissions cuts needed by 2020.

Green-Collar Graduations Show the Promise of Stimulus Funds

Sarah Terry-Cobo — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 04:44:00 -0700

Funding from states and the federal government to spur the growth of green jobs is starting to pay off, and community colleges are graduating the first class of new green-collar workers. Plus: a national map of where job-training programs have begun.

Coca Cola to Put Fuel Cells to Work at N.Y. Bottling Plant

GreenBiz Staff — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 12:06:00 -0700

Coca Cola signed a 10-year contract with UTC Power that will bring two fuel cells to a southern New York bottling plant, where they will produce enough heat and energy to satisfy nearly a third of the facility's needs. The state of New York also provided $2 million for the project.

Green Technology Will Make Up 40 Percent of Stimulus Orders From Siemens

GreenBiz Staff — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 14:32:00 -0700

Siemens estimates that it will receive $21 billion in new orders as a result of stimulus programs from countries around the world, and expects about 40 percent of those orders to come from wind turbines, building efficiency systems and other green technology.

Six Flags, in the Red, Goes for the Green

Matthew Wheeland — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 13:56:00 -0700

The theme park company's enterprise-wide green initiative, announced the same week as it filed for Chapter 11 protection, brings large-scale recycling, LED lights and vegetable oil-powered vehicles -- and hopefully cost savings -- to all Six Flags theme parks.

Sainsbury's Rolls Out Kinetic Energy Generator

James Murray — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 11:49:00 -0700

New kinetic road plates have been installed at the supermarket giant's new store in Gloucester, U.K. It will harness enough energy from vehicles driving in and out of the store's parking lot to power all check outs.

What Does a Very Low Carbon Utility Look Like?

Josh Traube — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 11:00:00 -0700

Most utilities today are rightly concerned about how they're going to reduce carbon dioxide emissions to comply with new energy and climate legislation, while still reliably meeting growing demands for electricity.

Electric Vehicles May Fail to Achieve Mass Adoption Without Support

Matt Mattila and Jenn Wilson — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 19:00:00 -0700

Automakers are increasingly looking to achieve efficiency gains by developing plug-in electric vehicles. But despite significant support from the Obama administration, electric vehicles are unlikely to grow beyond a minuscule portion of the country's fleets unless city and regional leaders get on board as well.

Clean Energy Creates Jobs, Improves Economic Growth

Sarah Terry-Cobo — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 14:55:00 -0700

"Green collar jobs" has been the buzz term in business and policy circles as the solution to rising unemployment and greenhouse gas emissions. Two new reports show that the U.S. and states such as California can improve economic growth by employing clean energy strategies. And one of the reports says "business as usual" could make California's economy worse in the long run.

Of Kites, Coal and the Waxman-Markey Climate Bill

Marc Gunther — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 13:13:00 -0700

Although the U.S. Congress's new climate change bill may yet result in the kind of emissions cuts we need to stem the tide of severe global warming, its lack of market-based policies could hinder what would otherwise be much-needed progress and innovation.