Category: Energy Matters
The twentieth century way of life has been made available, largely due to the miracle of cheap energy. The price of energy has been at record lows for the past century and a half.As oil becomes increasingly scarce, it is becoming obvious to everyone, that the rapid economic and industrial growth we have enjoyed for that time is not sustainable.Now, the hunt is on. For renewable sources of energy, for alternative sources of energy, for a way of life that is less dependent on cheap energy.Â
admin /15 November, 2008
From Renewable Energy World
On November 9th the Chinese government approved a US $586 billion stimulus plan focused on large-scale investment in low-income housing, water, rural infrastructure and electricity in China. Though the primary purpose of this initiative is to spur economic growth at a time when exports are falling, as the Chinese stock market is in the doldrums and GDP growth is flagging, a secondary effect of this stimulus plan may be increased investment in renewable energy and energy efficiency in China.
This effort would include accelerating efforts to achieve the goal of reducing China’s energy consumption per unit of GDP by a cumulative 20% by 2010. One very promising approach for China to build energy conservation into its infrastructure is the construction of a “smart grid.”
admin /20 October, 2008
A worker walks at an oil rig in Havana, Cuba. Photograph: Enrique De La Osa/Reuters
Friends and foes have called Cuba many things – a progressive beacon, a quixotic underdog, an oppressive tyranny – but no one has called it lucky, until now .
Mother nature, it emerged this week, appears to have blessed the island with enough oil reserves to vault it into the ranks of energy powers. The government announced there may be more than 20bn barrels of recoverable oil in offshore fields in Cuba’s share of the Gulf of Mexico, more than twice the previous estimate.
admin /19 October, 2008
The next twenty years could see up to US $1 trillion of investment in renewable energy in rural areas. Wind and solar power will be harnessed; and non-food crops will provide the fuel for a new generation of biofuels. But will rural areas reap the benefits of this massive investment or will communities merely observe the remaking of rural economies?
Huge wind farms, large concentrating solar plants and big biorefineries drive down the cost of harnessing renewable power. Federal energy policy is premised on this hypothesis, but the evidence suggests otherwise. The benefits of building big are small; the benefits of building small, on the other hand, are quite large. The key to sustainable rural economic development and the renewable energy future of America is a series of modest sized, locally owned wind farms, solar plants and biofuel refineries.
admin /11 October, 2008
From the Australian ONE vision for the the future of motoring in a carbon challenged world has gone on display at the Australian International Motor Show in Sydney, with GM Holden revealing the Volt electric car. General Motors recently confirmed plans to sell the Volt in the United States from late 2010. It can travel Continue Reading →
admin /11 October, 2008
From The Australian
THE future of coal-fired power generation in Europe has been called into question after the European Union backed laws that would force power companies to pay for all their carbon dioxide emissions from 2013.
The decision, which could cost the power industry E30 billion ($56 billion) a year and could trigger a steep rise in electricity bills, represents a huge boost for the renewable energy industry.
Chris Davies, an MEP who supported the legislation, said the decision by the EU’s environment committee “effectively prevents the building of new coal-fired power plants from 2015 unless equipped with CCS (carbon capture and storage technology)”.
admin /11 October, 2008
In the past 10 years, one Danish island has cut its carbon footprint by a staggering 140%. Now, with a simple grid of windfarms, solar panels and sheep, it’s selling power to the mainland and taking calls from Shell – reports the Guardian
The Danish island of Samso is entirely self sufficient, these huge turbines are off the isalnds southern tip. Photograph: Nicky Bonne
