U.S., Canada, Mexico Vow ‘Continental’ Energy Grid

A holistic, renewable electricity system would generate millions of good jobs

WASHINGTON, DC (ENS) – The leaders of the United States, Mexico, and Canada today pledged to develop “continental energy, including electricity generation and interconnection” across national borders and welcomed “increasing North American energy trade.” … Continue Reading

Far Higher Potential for Wind Energy in India Than Previously Estimated

More than 95 percent of the wind potential is concentrated in five states in southern and western India. (Credit: Image courtesy of DOE/Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory)

A new assessment of wind energy in India has found that the potential for on-shore wind energy deployment is far higher than the official estimates — about 20 times and up to 30 times greater than the current government estimate of 102 gigawatts. This landmark finding may have significant impact on India’s renewable energy strategy as it attempts to cope with a massive and chronic shortage of electricity. … Continue Reading

Why Rising Gas Prices Could Backfire on the GOP in November

A gallon of regular is 19 cents higher than it was a month ago and 40 cents more than a year ago. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

Eight months before the fall elections, Republican strategists are in a dour mood.

• The economy has begun to gain traction.
• Their leading candidate for president, Mitt Romney, is universally viewed as an uninspiring poster child for the one percent, with no core values anyone can point to except his own desire to be elected.
• Every time Romney tries to “identify” with ordinary people he says something entirely inappropriate about his wife’s “two Cadillacs,” how much he likes to fire people who provide him services, or how he is a buddy with the people who own NASCAR teams rather than the people who watch them.
• The polls show that the more people learn about Romney, the less they like him.
• The Republican primary road show doesn’t appear to be coming to a close any time soon.
• Together, Bob Kerrey’s announcement that he will get into the Senate contest in Nebraska and the news that Olympia Snowe is retiring from the Senate in Maine, massively increase Democratic odds of holding onto the control of the Senate.
• The Congress is viewed positively by fewer voters than at any time in modern history — and two-thirds think the Republicans are completely in charge.
• Worse yet, the polling in most presidential battleground states currently gives President Obama leads over Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum.

The one thing Republican political pros are cheering right now is the rapidly increasing price of gas at the pump and the underlying cost of oil.

The conventional wisdom holds that if gas prices increase, it will inevitably chip away at support for President Obama — and there is a good case to be made. After all, increased gas prices could siphon billions out of the pockets of consumers that they would otherwise spend on the goods and services that could help continue the economic recovery — which is critical to the president’s re-election.

But Republicans shouldn’t be so quick to lick their chops at the prospect of rising gas prices. … Continue Reading

Obama Says Energy Costs Show U.S. Must Go Beyond Drilling

NBA star Vince Carter of Dallas Mavericks hosts a high-end fundraiser for President Obama's election campaign in his home in prestigious Windermere, Florida

President Barack Obama said rising gasoline prices are a “painful reminder” of why the U.S. must develop alternative energy sources, and he criticized Republicans who he said were offering slogans rather than strategy.

Obama, in Miami promoting his administration’s energy and economic policies as the Republican presidential candidates have ramped up attacks on him over prices at the pump, said the U.S. must go beyond focusing on domestic gas and oil exploration. … Continue Reading

Amory Lovins Lays Out His Clean Energy Plan

For four decades, Amory Lovins has been a leading proponent of a renewable power revolution that would wean the U.S. off fossil fuels and usher in an era of energy independence. In an interview with Yale Environment 360, he talks about his latest book, which describes his vision of how the world can attain a green energy future by 2050.
Amory B. Lovins is fond of referring to the Rocky Mountain Institute, where he serves as chairman and chief scientist, as a “think and do” tank, and it’s clear that to Lovins the doing is every bit as important as the thinking. Hardly lacking in confidence or ambition, Lovins — in conjunction with his colleagues at the institute — has published Reinventing Fire, his step-by-step blueprint for how to transition to a renewable energy economy by mid-century.

Amory Lovins

Impressive in both its scope and detail — Lovins discusses everything from how to redesign heavy trucks to make them more fuel efficient to ways to change factory pipes to conserve energy — the book lays out a plan for the U.S. to achieve the following by 2050: cars completely powered by hydrogen fuel cells, electricity, and biofuels; 84 percent of trucks and airplanes running on biomass fuels; 80 percent of the nation’s electricity produced by renewable power; $5 trillion in savings; and an economy that has grown by 158 percent. … Continue Reading

Senators Take Emergency Oil Reserve Hostage to Force Keystone Approval

Senator David Vitter (R-LA)

 In a desperate attempt to force Keystone XL, three Senators are threatening access to a vital economic and natural security safeguard, the Strategic Petroleum Reserve

Republican Congressional leaders have failed to force President Obama to approve the Keystone XL pipeline. But that’s not stopping them from trying over and over again, taking hostages in the process.

First they used the payroll tax cut extension as a vehicle to force a decision on the pipeline in sixty days, even before the final route was identified. President Obama was forced to disapprove the permit because there was no time to assess its potential pollution. … Continue Reading

President’s 2013 DOE Budget Seeks $2.27 Billion for Efficiency, Renewables

The President's FY 2013 EERE budget will continue to support wind energy and other renewables. Credit: Vestas

President Obama on February 13 released his Fiscal Year 2013 DOE budget request to Congress, which proposes $27.2 billion. For the DOE’s Office Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, the President requested $2.27 billion, reaffirming the Administration’s commitment to an energy future that is cleaner, less expensive, and full of new jobs. … Continue Reading

Chu: President’s 2013 Energy Budget Makes Critical Investments in Innovation, Clean Energy, and National Security

U.S. President Barack Obama speaks about the 2013 budget at Northern Virginia Community College in Annandale, Virginia, on Feb. 13, 2012. Photographer: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Secretary of Energy Steven Chu today detailed President Barack Obama’s $27.2 billion Fiscal Year 2013 budget request for the Department of Energy, emphasizing the President’s commitment to an all-of-the-above energy strategy that includes critical investments in innovation, in the job-creating clean energy technologies, and in our national security strategy.   The budget request for the Department is part of the President’s blueprint for an American economy that is built to last based on American energy that is cleaner, cheaper, and full of new jobs.  At the same time, the FY 2013 budget request also represents tough choices aimed at focusing taxpayer resources on areas that will yield the greatest benefit over time. … Continue Reading