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Investment in renewable energy has hit a lull as private-sector money is drying up, but the bulk of government funding has yet to arrive. There was $13.3 billion in new investments in clean energy -- the term used to describe alternative energy such as wind farms, solar power and biofuels facilities -- in the first three months of 2009, down 53%, from a year earlier, according to a report Thursday from research firm New Energy Finance Ltd. The drop came mostly in bank-based financing for building new projects, the report says, as the credit crunch has caught up with this once high-flying sector.

Inhabitat is doing a "Energy 101" series to explain why smart grids are necessary - Energy 101: Where Does Our Power Come From ?. Today we're excited to announce the launch of our new Energy 101 series,. in which we'll be exploring the future-forward technologies that stand to upgrade our grids, reduce our energy footprint, and slow the speed of global warming. Unless you have been living in a cave for the past few years, you've probably heard terms like "energy conservation", "off-grid energy", and "smart grid" tossed around. But before getting into the nitty-gritty of transitioning to renewable energy, we should stop and examine where exactly our power comes from now. Unless you derive all your power from on-site renewable energy sources like solar panels or wind turbines, chances are that you're connected to the power grid, a vast network that delivers electricity from suppliers to consumers. Right now, most energy on the grid comes from generating plants. These plants still usually get power from traditional sources like coal, nuclear, and hydroelectric dams. But as concerns over carbon emissions, safety, and long term sustainability of these sources grow, electrical utilities have begun to switch over to renewable energy sources.

Hot on the heels of the release of the NRDC's renewable energy map, we have another piece of first-rate energy geek eye candy: NPR: Power Hungry: Visualizing The U.S. Electric Grid. This map will let you check different sources (with separate maps for wind and solar, in addition to traditional sources), and toggle transmission lines and other features on and off. My only gripe is that you can't zoom the maps, which in some cases makes it a challenge to click on the circle for a particular power plant.

Twenty-nine of the 50 U.S. states have established a required minimum amount of electricity generation that must come from renewable sources like wind and solar power, called a Renewable Portfolio Standard or RPS. Another five states have "renewable goals" which are considered voluntary and do not penalize utilities for not meeting the goals. The District of Columbia also has an RPS. California's utility regulator, the Public Utilities Commission, issued a report on Friday that showed that requiring a third of the power delivered in the state be made from renewable sources of energy will increase electricity retail costs by 7 percent more than having a 20 percent RPS goal. [ID:nN1275374]

A smart grid allows for resources which are renewable but not unlimited to be used more efficiently. The common misconception that people have about wind, water, and solar energy is that because they come from nature the supply is never ending.

Many families are investigating ways to reduce their soaring home energy costs. Of the alternative energy sources, two are most viable: solar and wind, but both have drawbacks. Relying on a hybrid of the two is a better option in the long run.

The smart power grid takes advantage of not one, but several energy sources which are linked together for optimal efficiency. For instance, a wind, solar, and coal combination limits the amount of coal that is used, relying on it only as a last resort.

The ocean harbors abundant energy in the form of wind, waves and sun. All of these could be sampled on something called an Energy Island: a floating rig that drills for renewables instead of petroleum.

The best ways to improve energy security, mitigate global warming and reduce the number of deaths caused by air pollution are blowing in the wind and rippling in the water, not growing on prairies or glowing inside nuclear power plants, says Mark Z. Jacobson, a professor of civil and environmental engineering at Stanford. And "clean coal," which involves capturing carbon emissions and sequestering them in the earth, is not clean at all, he asserts.

KINGSTON, Ontario, Jun 25 (IPS) - North America's abject failure to meet the challenge of climate change has been "un-American", environmentalist and scientist David Suzuki told delegates Tuesday at the World Wind Energy Conference, the first ever in the region. "We're facing an ecological crisis, a crisis far, far worse than Pearl Harbour," Suzuki said. Twenty years ago this week, one of the United States' leading scientists warned Congress of the imminent danger of climate change and said that waiting decades to take action was too risky. Now James E. Hansen of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration has published new research indicating that greenhouse gas concentrations have pushed the climate near a dangerous tipping point that will unleash far-reaching changes in the atmosphere and oceans that could take millennia to reverse.

In Latin America, the dynamic trend in energy consumption observed in 2010 (+5.1%) stopped in 2011 (+0.8%), following the sharp slowdown in Brazilian energy consumption (+1.4%, from +10% in 2010). Primary energy increased by 2% (+20 Mtoe, of which +16 Mtoe in Colombia, where crude oil production grew by 18%). In 2011, the energy intensity of the GDP dropped by 3.7% (30% below the world average).

Electric Generating Sets - Western European Markets Package"package offers a perspective on the actual market situation, trends and future outlook for electric generating sets in different Western European countries.

US demand for electric transmission and distribution (T&D) equipment is forecast to climb 4.8 percent annually to $30.4 billion in 2017, accelerating from the 2007-2012 period, when product sales in every major market for these products slowed.

Gasification is a centuries-old thermochemical energy conversion technology that has slowly achieved modernity over the decades. The technology is undergoing its third evolutionary surge. Fuel shortages in WWII spurred widespread adoption for vehicle fuels. The oil crisis 1973 spurred a re-evaluation and renewed development. Rising oil prices, globally increasing fuel demand, and overwhelming scientific evidence of climate change have spurred this last leg to full industrialization.

Steinel German quality 230v 50Hz PIR occupancy sensor and presence detector for office cabins and rooms

Come and discuss/learn/share what you know about energy. We also have a website, please check it out, sign up and pass it along.

Feed-in Tariffs in 70 words or less: Government and power utility offers premium, long-term contracts to residential, commercial, and industrial citizens to generate power on-site. Rates are based on the cost of buying and installing various renewable energy systems, but only paid on actual power produced. Citizens purchase back grid power, as per usual, from utility at regular prices. Increase in cost is paid for with a small surcharge to all electricity ratepayers.