Clean Energy Transition

Under Brussels' plan, if a country does not fulfil its quotas - i.e. produce enough renewable energy - then they would buy it elsewhere. Berlin fears that this market situation this will lead to a rise in prices for bio-energy, above the current fixed price in Germany.

What was remarkable in the press conference was the caution of Günther Verheugen saying openly that he was not sure that hydrogen would be the future of cars and stating in response to one of my own questions that he sees a lot of potential for electric cars.

These references point out that such solar assist systems significantly raise the heating COP. So, the answer to the question is YES, it's possible to direct solar-heated air to the condenser of a heat pump and raise the heating COP.

All newly built homes to produce more energy than they consume by 2020. Renovate all existing buildings to save energy. Ban incandescent light bulbs by 2010. Reduce greenhouse-gas emission by 20% by 2020. Increase renewable energy from 9% to 20-25% of total energy consumption by 2020. Bring transport emissions back to 1990 levels. Reduce vehicle speed limits by 10 kilometres per hour. Taxes and incentives to favour clean cars. Shift half of haulage by road to rail and water within 15 years. Develop rail and public transport. Reduce air pollutants quantitatively. Create a national network of "green" corridors and nature reserves. Increase organic farming from 2% to 6% of total acreage production by 2010 and to 20% by 2020. Ecological groups to be stakeholders, like trade unions, in government negotiations. Create a body to review planting of genetically modified crops on a case-by-case basis.

Aptera has listed the full electric at $26,900 and the diesel hybrid at $29,900. As noted, the diesel hybrid will be a series plug-in, just like the impending Chevy Volt. This means that the car will run 100% on electric power, but a diesel engine will charge the batteries when they get low.

Financing for green building projects may be easier to get from smaller banks who are competing with other smaller banks

The Weza is a fully sustainable  green source of power. It can however, be plugged in to recharge its 12V, 7Ah lead acid battery. This product is capable of starting vehicle engines ,(jumper cables included), and powering many other devices. It is portable, easy to carry, great for boats, motor homes  and campers.

In effort to move along the environmental message, British Liberal Democrats announced plans to abolish both gasoline and diesel powered vehicles by 2040.

Wind power is great...but it sure would be greater if it were constant. Indeed...the wind doesn't blow all day every day. And so, it seems, we might be stuck with some of the less renewable (but more constant) forms of generating power. That is, unless we can find high-capacity, high-efficiency means to store the power when there's plenty of it, and use it when it's needed.

Demand for renewable energy is outstripping supply, pushing up prices and raising the specter that some states may not meet clean-energy mandates. Behind the shortage is the growing number of states requiring utilities to include clean energy in their power mix, as well as surging demand from big businesses.

But perhaps the ultimate eco-friendly server farm is a small 100 percent solar-powered data center in the Southern California desert called AISO.net.

The Solar Bikini is designed to power up an iPod or cell phone and made for those who like to get sun but don’t want to get wet at the beach.

Okay, maybe the idea of having plug-in hybrids and electric cars that interact with the grid is far off in the future. But we all have to admit that it's an attractive future. It means as the grid gets cleaner, so do vehicle emissions. It means millions of cars collectively act as a huge battery storage system, drawing power when it's cheap and selling it back to the grid at a premium.

The purpose of the seminar was to bring together a range of academics to give a critique of the Energy White Paper – and they certainly were critical! So, without further ado, here are the key points form the speakers, with comments from me in italics where appropriate.

The “Chinadependence” report shows that a big part of greenhouse gases attributed to China are the result of products that are made for our Western consumers market. So, in fact, these CO2 emissions should be included in our own greenhouse stats.

SOME of North Yorkshire's finest views are to become even more picturesque, as work begins to bury unsightly electricity lines underground. Three areas of the North York Moors National Park have been selected for the burial scheme, with a further four lined up if funding allows. NEDL, the company responsible for maintaining the power network in our region, received a £5.5 million grant from electricity regulator Ofgem last year to carry out undergrounding work in seven protected areas.

The two reports on the impacts of EE/RE on Texas -- Role of Energy Efficiency and Onsite Renewables in Meeting Energy and Environmental Needs in the Dallas/Fort Worth and Houston/Galveston Metro Areas and The Economic Benefits of an Energy Efficiency and Onsite Renewable Energy Strategy to Meet Growing Electricity Needs in Texas -- were released today by the American Council for an Energy-Efficiency Economy (ACEEE). These studies build upon an ACEEE report released last March that examined the statewide impacts of a suite of EE/RE policies that showed Texas could meet most of its projected needs for electricity while also addressing concerns about peak demand.

In October 2006, Google announced a commitment to solar energy production and launched the largest solar panel installation to date on a corporate campus in the United States. Google has installed over 90% of the 9,212 solar panels that comprise the 1,600 kilowatt project. Panels cover the rooftops of eight buildings and two newly constructed solar carports at the Googleplex (check out this fly-over video).

But the NDP leader was forced to drop his message of the day by Nick Annejohn, a 17-year-old high school student. The Guelph resident said it was “a terrible contradiction” that the NDP want to both cut electricity rates and promote energy conservation...