An environmentalist-sponsored report claims that by 2050, the United States could sever ties with coal and nuclear power, draw nearly all its electricity from renewable sources and cut its greenhouse gas emissions by more than 80% -- all with existing technology and with a net gain of 14 million jobs to the domestic economy.
The report, commissioned by Greenpeace and the European Renewable Energy Council and conducted by Germany's equivalent of NASA, was released this morning at a press briefing in Washington. It is heavy on charts and supporting data and transparent on some key assumptions. And its sponsors call its findings "conservative."
At its core, the report envisions a steep drop in the United States' energy use, both in absolute terms and compared with International Energy Agency predictions -- driven by strict efficiency standards. It also projects dramatic changes in the nation's electricity mix, with wind and solar power mushrooming to replace coal, oil and nuclear sources that would gradually go offline.
Next100 has a post on "demand response" - managing customer demand in peak periods to reduce the need for costly, rarely used generation capacity and to allow greater penetration of renewable energy sources - The Invisible Energy Resource.
The media rush to highlight every major new renewable power project, but another clean energy resource gets far less attention, even though it's flexible, abundant, relatively inexpensive and valued overall at billions of dollars.
According to a recent report by the North American Electric Reliability Council (NERC), this unheralded resource is equal to 29,000 megawatts of capacity during periods of peak summer demand--as much as all U.S. wind, solar, geothermal, and biomass power combined.
New Study: 10 billion tonne saving in CO2 possible with wind energy by 2020:
Wind power is key technology to prevent dangerous climate change.
Wind power could produce 12% of the world's energy needs and save 10 billion tones of CO2 within 12 years, according to a new report published today.
The 'Global Wind Energy Outlook 2008', published by the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC) and Greenpeace International, looks at the global potential of wind power up to 2050 and found that it could play a key part in achieving a decline in emissions by 2020, which the IPCC indicates is necessary to avoid the worst consequences of climate change.7By 2020, wind power could save as much as 1.5 billion tonnes of CO2 every year, which would add up to over 10 billion tonnes in this timeframe. The report also explains how wind energy can provide up to 30% of the world's electricity by the middle of the century.
Have you ever sat by the ocean and wondered at the power of waves? They continually come-one after another-never stopping their onslaught. The energy it takes to propel these waves is to put it simply, incredible. Now, consider what this means for energy production. The World Energy Council has estimated that
approximately 2 terawatts (2 million megawatts), about double current world electricity production, could be produced from the oceans via wave power.
The City Council on Wednesday became the first in Ohio with a plan to channel grants and loans to residents and businesses to replace tar and shingles with vegetation.
Supporters of the idea want to see Cincinnati become a leader in green roofs, a European-born movement that has spread to only a few U.S. cities, including Chicago, Milwaukee and Seattle.
WorldChanging has a post on a Rocky Mountain Institute backed initiative to pave the way fro smart grids and electric vehicles - Project Get Ready Aims to Create Electric Vehicle Revolution.
Creating a well functioning smart grid - cyclically connected to smart vehicles and buildings and houses, as well as personal and public renewable energy systems - will be no small infrastructure feat. Utility providers, technology innovators, neighborhood councils and local governments will need to come together to provide needed support -- both monetarily and ideologically.
Although U.S. President Obama and the recently passed stimulus plan are pushing the renewable, electric energy revolution forward, residents across the nation might need more motivation to make the leap from fossil fuel users to plug-in pioneers.
A new project, headed by "think-and-do" tank the Rocky Mountain Institute, is offering to help city leaders provide community members with that extra inspiration. The initiative, Project Get Ready, supplies a menu of strategies that are meant to help cities prepare for the "plug-in" transition. According to RMI, problems related to individual hesitancy toward purchasing electric vehicles and investing in the infrastructure itself, can "be overcome if cities/regions become ecosystems that welcome electric vehicles."
As the utilities industry enters a new era, gender diversity will be key to providing new perspectives and ideas. So why are women still so under-represented? Key female industry figures, including the first female chair of the World Energy Council, discuss the problem of gender diversity in utilities.
As the utilities industry enters a new era, gender diversity will be key to providing new perspectives and ideas. So why are women still so under-represented? Key female industry figures, including the first female chair of the World Energy Council, discuss the problem of gender diversity in utilities.
Responsibility of Asian team's security takes By Rajeev Shukla.He asked Asian nation Cricket Board (PCB) to inform the rationale of not causation their team to The Asian nation for International Cricket Council (ICC) Twenty20.
Amateur and professional developers, ready your Objective-C and Binary. Health 2.0 and sponsors including Roanoke Blacksburg Technology Council and Intel are hosting the Hokie Health Code-a-thon this Friday and Saturday to make the health industry more efficient and less costly through the innovative creations of development teams. The top project will win $2,500, and the next five runner-ups will receive $500 each.