June 21st, 2012
When will it be possible for the US to be powered mainly by clean, renewable energy?
This simple question, which could tell us so much about our national economic and health prospects, has been treated by many vested interests as nearly unanswerable. The fossil fuel and power industries, our federal and state governments have stressed, at various times and places, that it is ever-so hard to predict when the US could achieve a fully realized clean energy future.
Their characterization of the clean energy landscape as amorphous and unknowable has a basis in reality. The energy revolution faces many obstacles. There’s the fact that the US has three electricity grids (East, West and Texas grids) that will need updating to accept renewables. Accomplish that and you still have to deal with multiple government bodies that must move slinky-like in the same direction. That would be the federal government, the 50 state governments, the dizzying array of local, county and utility boards and entities. Permitting new energy already can be a nightmare even when all parties are trying to facilitate it.
May 21st, 2012
A new report by the American Council for an Energy Efficiency Economy shows that energy efficiency is the least costly way to lower consumer electricity bills.
May 11th, 2012
Gamesa, a major producer of wind farms globally, has shelved its plan for an offshore wind farm in Virginia because a difficult financing climate and weaker “regulatory” support in the US.
The company will instead focus on building an offshore prototype off the coast of Spain.
Gamesa had built an offshore turbine at a Research and Development Center in Cape Charles, Virginia, but reported that “prospects for the U.S. offshore market and its regulatory conditions in this segment so far do not justify the next step, the installation of a prototype in
May 3rd, 2012
A solar panel topped car port in Charles Town has become largest solar array in West Virginia
The 407-kilowatt system made by Oregon-based Solar World will provide about half the power for the 100,000 square-foot financial center of American Public University System (APUS), an online education provider that serves the military and public service communities
April 20th, 2012
Wind energy will grow fastest in Asia and other parts of the developing world over the next few years, but appears headed for a drop in activity in North America starting in 2013, according to the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC).
The council released a five-year outlook report this week that predicts it is too late for the US to avoid a decline in wind energy production caused by Congress’ reluctance to renew the production tax credit that has fueled growth in the sector in recent years.
April 16th, 2012
A planned shale gas drilling project in New York state would utilize a waterless form of hydraulic fracturing, a new technique designed to reduce the potential pollution associated with the controversial natural gas drilling process. Rather than using …
April 12th, 2012
The wind is whipping down the plains, challenging the view that renewable energy can play only a small role on the electricity grid, according to figures released today by the American Wind Energy Association.
AWEA’s annual report shows that five states received more than 10 percent of their electricity from wind in 2011:
April 11th, 2012
NASA has developed a system capable of growing large amounts of algae for biofuel production within a network of floating plastic bags, an innovation its developers say could ultimately produce a new fuel source. By pumping wastewater and carbon dioxid…
March 29th, 2012
U.S. scientists have developed a fuel cell capable of converting 13 percent of the energy found in sewage into electricity, a process that its developers say could also more efficiently treat municipal wastewater. In a report released at the annual mee…
March 28th, 2012
$1 Trillion – Profits earned by the top five largest oil companies Exxon-Mobil, Chevron, ConocoPhillips and foreign-owned BP and Royal Dutch Shell came to nearly $1 trillion for the 10 years from 2001-2011.
$4 Billion – Total Annual US Subsidies to oil companies.
March 27th, 2012
The fracturing of shale rock formations associated with the drilling process known as fracking might undermine future attempts to store carbon dioxide underground, according to a new study.
March 5th, 2012
Dozens of groups appealed to President Obama today to temper his enthusiasm for natural gas drilling until EPA studies on the risks posed by gas drilling are completed.
The appeal, contained in a March 5 letter penned by Ken Cook, president of the Environmental Working Group (EWG), and signed by dozens of environmental and community groups from around the country, also asked the president to realize that industry claims that the US harbors a 100-year supply of natural gas deposits may be overstated.