U.S. Clean Energy Policies Risk Losing Lead Over China

Alex Morales, Bloomberg News  – The U.S. government is creating a “boom and bust” in renewable energy investment that threatens to undermine its lead over China, the Pew Charitable Trusts said in a report.

U.S. investment reached $48.1 billion in 2011, largely in wind and solar power, the Washington-based research group said last night in a report based on Bloomberg New Energy Finance data. Those funds trumped the $45.5 billion China allocated to renewables, for lead for the U.S. since 2008. … Continue Reading

Most Energy Efficient Place on Earth?

A biodiesel tractor on Samso

Denmark’s Samso Island is a sort of paradise for renewable energy enthusiasts. The residents have created, in just over a decade, a 100 percent carbon neutral, self-sufficient community.The local Samso Energy Academy is an example for other areas around the globe who might want to create an economic environment that is good for the ecological environment. … Continue Reading

Renewables future left blowing in the wind

Ireland has the potential to produce three times the country’s energy needs using renewable resources.

Ambitious plans to capitalise on renewable opportunities in Ireland appear to have stalled and it remains to be seen if the Government can get things back on track, writes JOHN REYNOLDS

THE GOVERNMENT’S jobs action plan talks of building upon our Emerald Isle image and capitalising on opportunities, particularly in renewable energy, to “green” the economy. But has the dream faded? … Continue Reading

Biden slams Republicans for blocking programs for renewable energy

More investment in “green” technology is shaping up to be a cornerstone of President Obama’s re-election effort, and the administration’s No. 2 man on Sunday accused Republicans of standing in the way of wind, solar and other renewable sources of energy. … Continue Reading

EBay And GOP Lawmaker Score Clean Energy Win In Utah

Ebay's Utah data center

by Mindy Lubber, reposted from Forbes

When eBay, the world’s largest online marketplace, built its first-ever data center in South Jordan, Utah, it wanted to not only design and build the site to LEED Gold standards, it wanted to use clean energy to power much of the sprawling facility. This wasn’t simply part of eBay’s company-wide commitment to sustainable operations, it was a bottom-line business decision: sourcing renewable energy would stabilize and reduce long-term energy costs and minimize environmental impacts in a state that gets 94 percent of its electricity from coal. … Continue Reading

Denmark aims to get 50% of all electricity from wind power

Denmark could obtain an unprecedented 50% of its electricity from wind energy by 2025

The Danish government has stepped up its green energy and carbon reduction targets for 2020, hailing the plan as the “broadest, greenest, and most long-term energy agreement” it has ever reached.

Danish minister for climate, energy and building, Martin Lidegaard, confirmed on Friday that parliament had agreed a new set of goals designed to wean the country off oil and gas. … 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

Winds of change blow through China as spending on renewable energy soars

China's Gobi Desert is becoming a home for its massive renewable energy transformation.

Jonathan Watts (guardian.co.uk) in Jiuquan – World’s biggest polluter spends £4bn a year on wind and solar power generation in single region as it aims to cut fossil fuel use

The remote, wind-blasted desert of northwestern Gansu could be the most unloved, environmentally abused corner of China. It is home to the country’s first oilfield and several of the coalmines and steel factories that have contributed to China’s notoriety as the planet’s biggest polluter and carbon dioxide emitter.

But in the past few years, the landscape has started to undergo a transformation as Gansu has moved to the frontline of government efforts to reinvent China’s economy with a massive investment in renewable energy. … Continue Reading