Eight women from rural Malawi travelled to India to train as solar engineers. Now they are lighting the way for their communities, in a country where just 10% of households are powered by electricity
Photographs by Peter Caton/VSO
Category Archives: Energy
Australia can meet its Paris targets – if government doesn’t hinder progress
ANU research suggests net cost of achieving Paris targets is zero because renewables are now cheaper than fossil fuels
New research finds Australia is installing renewable energy faster than any other country, a trend that will allow Australia to meet its economy-wide Paris targets five years ahead of schedule if politics doesn’t derail the trend, according to new research from the Australian National University.
While emissions have been rising across the economy since the Abbott government repealed the carbon price after winning government in 2013, they have been falling in the electricity sector because of the closure of ageing coal plants and the rapid uptake of renewables.
Continue reading...UK has biggest fossil fuel subsidies in the EU, finds commission
Subsidies for coal, oil and gas are not falling despite EU pledges to tackle climate change
The UK leads the European Union in giving subsidies to fossil fuels, according to a report from the European commission. It found €12bn (£10.5bn) a year in support for fossil fuels in the UK, significantly more than the €8.3bn spent on renewable energy.
The commission report warned that the total subsidies for coal, oil and gas across the EU remained at the same level as 2008. This is despite both the EU and G20 having long pledged to phase out the subsidies, which hamper the rapid transition to clean energy needed to fight climate change.
Continue reading...Immediate fossil fuel phaseout could arrest climate change – study
Scientists say it may still technically be possible to limit warming to 1.5C if drastic action is taken now
Climate change could be kept in check if a phaseout of all fossil fuel infrastructure were to begin immediately, according to research.
It shows that meeting the internationally agreed aspiration of keeping global warming to less than 1.5C above pre-industrial levels is still possible. The scientists say it is therefore the choices being made by global society, not physics, which is the obstacle to meeting the goal.
Continue reading...Three companies claim winning bids for Massachusetts offshore wind
The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management announced completion of the nation's eighth and highest grossing competitive lease sale for renewable energy in federal waters. The lease sale offered approximately 390,000 acres offshore Massachusetts for potential wind energy development and drew competitive winning bids from three companies totaling approximately $405 million in winning bids.
Renewable energy offers common ground for Democrats, Republicans
As the battle lines are drawn for next month's hotly contested midterm elections, some Americans may be comforted to know there is at least one area of common ground for Democrats and Republicans. Regardless of political standing, age or gender, U.S. voters are in favor of renewable energy, according to research by Christine Horne , professor of sociology at Washington State University.
FERC gives green light to tree cutting at Buckingham compressor site
The Transco Pipeline cuts through the forests of Buckingham County and crosses Route 56 in the foreground. The Atlantic Coast Pipeline will pass through Buckingham and connect to this pipeline, and a compressor station will be built at the intersection.
ExxonMobil set back climate policy by decades
A year into US President George W. Bush's reign and the fruits of ExxonMobil's labours were already being felt. Nonetheless, the administration were not feeling confident of their ground.
HART Launches a New Era of the TECO Line Streetcar System at Ribbon Cutting Event
The Hillsborough Area Regional Transit Authority hosted a ribbon cutting celebration on Friday, October 12, 2018, to commemorate a "New Era of Transit" for the TECO Line Streetcar System. "Our customers wanted a service that fits the changing regional patterns of development and population trends, and a foundation to grow ridership," said HART Interim CEO Jeff Seward.
Agreement paves way for Enbridge to permanently shut down, replace Line 5 in Straits of Mackinac
Accord between the state and company requires Enbridge to pay all costs for a multi-use tunnel beneath the Straits, compels safety improvements on other water crossings LANSING, Mich. The state of Michigan and Enbridge Energy today announced an agreement that will lead to major safety enhancements along the entire length of the Line 5 petroleum pipeline crossing the state, permanently shut down the current segment that crosses the Straits of Mackinac, and construct a multi-use utility tunnel beneath the Straits.
Floods. Wildfires. Yet Few Candidates Are Running on Climate Change.
Dan McCready is a boyish ex-Marine, a solar energy entrepreneur and a favorite candidate of national Democrats hoping to nab a Republican seat in their battle for the House. His company, Double Time Capital, says its mission is to hasten "our country's important transition to clean energy" because of climate change.
Mayor Emanuel Announces Solar Energy Developments for City-Owned Vacant Land
The City is seeking Solar Developers to design, install, own, operate and maintain ground-mounted solar panels on large parcels of underutilized City-owned vacant land. Mayor Rahm Emanuel today announced the Chicago Solar-Ground Mount initiative, a multi-site solar energy development project for city-owned vacant lands.
Court Faults FERC in its Handling of ANR Storage Company’s Six …
On September 21, 2018, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit issued a decision setting aside Federal Energy Regulatory Commission orders denying TransCanada Corporation subsidiary ANR Storage Company's request for authorization to charge market-based rates and remanding the matter to FERC for further proceedings. ANR Storage Co.
Federal Court Hands FERC Procedural Victory in Market Manipulation…
On September 24, 2018, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia denied defendants' motion to dismiss the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's complaint in FERC v. Powhatan Energy Fund, LLC , an electricity market manipulation case.
American Petroleum INSTITUTEBill Koetzle Joins Api as Vice President of Federal Affairs
API today announced the addition of a Vice President of Federal Affairs, Bill Koetzle, whose experience on legislative, regulatory and policy issues in the energy sector will deepen the bench of experience and talent the organization has added in recent months. Koetzle comes to API from the Chevron Corporation, where he served as Manager of Federal Government Affairs, leading advocacy for the company in Congress, the Administration and federal agencies on priority issues for Chevron.
Keystone XL to start construction in 2019
The developer of the Keystone XL oil pipeline plans to start construction next year, after a U.S. State Department review ordered by a federal judge concluded major environmental damage from a leak is unlikely and could quickly be mitigated, a company spokesman said Monday. TransCanada spokesman Matthew John said the company remains committed to moving ahead with the project following years of reviews from federal and state regulators.
Keystone XL developer plans to start construction in 2019
The developer of the Keystone XL oil pipeline plans to start construction next year, after a U.S. State Department review ordered by a federal judge concluded that major environmental damage from a leak is unlikely and could quickly be mitigated, a company spokesman said Monday. TransCanada spokesman Matthew John said the company remains committed to moving ahead with the project following years of reviews from federal and state regulators.
How to Grow More Food While Slowing Down Climate Change
Two new studies have confirmed that farmers can win both ways, achieving a boost in harvests and helping to slow climate change. One says that they can successfully farm with techniques that can help slow global warming and add to the store of carbon sequestered in the soils around the globe.
Pipe pressure before gas explosions was 12 times too high Source: AP
The pressure in natural gas pipelines prior to a series of explosions and fires in Massachusetts last week was 12 times higher than it should have been, according to a letter from the state's U.S. senators to executives of the utility in charge of the pipelines. Democratic U.S. Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Edward Markey sent the letter Monday seeking answers about the explosions from the heads of Columbia Gas, the company that serves the communities of Lawrence, Andover and North Andover, and NiSource, the parent company of Columbia Gas.
Lawsuit targets Massachusetts utility over deadly gas explosions
A resident of a Massachusetts city rocked by last week's deadly gas blasts that damaged dozens of homes sued utility operator NiSource Inc ( FILE PHOTO: A burnt Columbia Gas of Massachusetts envelope sits on the sidewalk outside a home burned during a series of gas explosions in Lawrence, Massachusetts, U.S., September 14, 2018.