Category: Alternative Energy

EU calls on Canada to defend Paris climate accord against global ‘uncertainties’

The European Union’s environment commissioner is making a noisy pitch about joining forces with Canada to fight to preserve the Paris climate change accord in the face of “geopolitical uncertainties.” EU Climate Action and Energy Commissioner Miguel Arias Canete didn’t mention Donald Trump by name, but his statement Thursday prior to his arrival in Ottawa seemed squarely aimed at the U.S. president.

White House Debates Icahn Plan Revamping Ethanol Rule

White House officials have spent the past two days in deliberations with billionaire refinery owner Carl Icahn about his proposal to modify federal policy on renewable fuels and with ethanol producers who oppose it, according to three people familiar with the talks. reported Monday that Icahn had helped broker a compromise with a leading biofuel group on reworking the program.

Will U.K Tidal Project Start Global Energy Revolution?

The proposed tidal lagoon would enclose Swansea Bay with a rock wall incorporating 16 turbines and generating 320MW of electricity. LONDON – Ambitious plans have been drawn up for a network of “tidal lagoons” around the UK coast that could provide up to a quarter of the country’s electricity – and there is potential to roll out the technology in many parts of the world.

Big Corn courts old foe Big Oil to combat electric car threat

A U.S. biofuels lobbying group on Tuesday said it is seeking to work with longtime rival the oil industry to fight the threat to both from subsidies for electric vehicles. The two industries have been at loggerheads for years as they seek sway with Washington over how much biofuel should be included in gasoline and diesel.

Governors of Red, Blue States Urge Trump to Back Wind, Solar

A group of governors from both ends of the political spectrum are urging President Donald Trump to support renewable energy, saying the wind and solar industries are crucial economic engines for impoverished rural regions. The Governor’s Wind & Solar Energy Coalition is seeking increased federal funding to modernize local power grids and boost clean energy research, according to a letter submitted to the White House Monday.

[Other View] A Republican carbon tax

Some Republicans have grown tired of fighting the rest of the world on climate change. As economists, religious and military leaders, ordinary Americans and even oil companies have joined the push to lower greenhouse gas emissions, Republicans have, for the most part, resisted.

Big utilities try to tilt solar energy market in their favor

INDIANAPOLIS – Indiana’s energy utilities want state lawmakers to pass a law that critics say would muscle out smaller companies from the emerging solar energy market.Solar power provides only about 1 percent of the country’s energy, but it is growing rapidly, with U.S. Energy Department figures showing solar industry employment grew 125 percent … (more)

Perry regrets call to eliminate Energy Department

Former Texas Gov. Rick Perry, tapped by President-elect Donald Trump to head the Energy Department, said Thursday he regrets his infamous statement about abolishing the federal agency and insisted it performs a critical function. Perry told a Senate committee that if confirmed, he will be a passionate advocate for the department’s core missions and will seek to draw “greater attention to the vital role played by the agency,” especially in protecting and modernizing the nation’s nuclear stockpile.

Rudy Giuliani Just Said Trump Is Trying To ‘Get Us Back To A Free Press’

Rudy Giuliani appeared on Sean Hannity’s Fox News show Thursday night and praised President-elect Donald Trump for his relationship with the press. “It is refreshing and it is very good for our democracy that we have a president that is trying to get us back to a free press,” Giuliani said while discussing the president-elect’s handling of the media during his first news conference in 167 days.

USDA analysis says ethanol sharply cuts greenhouse gas emissions

Jan 12 The U.S. government on Thursday said that ethanol is better for the environment than previously expected in a report boosting the country’s biggest biofuel a week ahead of a new administration that has some in the industry concerned. The report, the first of its kind from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to examine the actual impact of ethanol, said the biofuel reduces greenhouse gas emissions by 43 percent relative to gasoline.

Wind turbine a source of energy and education

FOR RELEASE SUNDAY, JANUARY 8, 2017, AT 12:01 A.M. CST.- A wind turbine pictured here on Wednesday, December 28, 2016 was built south of the Central Community College-Hastings campus as a partnership with Bluestem Energy Solutions, Hastings Utilities and CCC. CCC hopes to add a wind energy program to the curriculum by the fall of 2017.

Rick Perry’s Texas giveaways: There’s something fishy about…

Donald Trump’s selection of Rick Perry to lead the Department of Energy has prompted many Democrats to question Perry’s qualifications for the position. While he governed a state rich in fossil fuels and wind energy, Perry has far less experience than President Obama’s two energy secretaries, both physicists, in the department’s primary work, such as tending the nuclear-weapons stockpile, handling nuclear waste and carrying out advanced scientific research.

Kasich Veto Of Energy Bill Sets Up 2017 ‘Lame Duck’ Shooting Season

When Republican State Senator Bill Seitz issued his statement Monday, following Gov. John Kasich’s veto of Ohio House Bill 554, he didn’t spare the rod to spoil this governor. “It is apparent that Governor Kasich cares more about appeasing his coastal elite friends in the renewable energy business than he does about the millions of Ohioans who decisively rejected this ideology when they voted for President-elect Trump,” Seitz, representing Ohio’s 8th District from Cincinnati, said.

Newt Gingrich: Donald Trump’s Twitter Foreign Policy Is ‘Brilliant’

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, an informal adviser to Donald Trump, spoke approvingly of the president-elect’s apparent desire to restart a nuclear arms race. Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich praised the style and substance of Donald Trump ‘s suggestion for a new nuclear arms race , calling the president-elect’s use of Twitter to make major policy pronouncements “brilliant.”

Newt Gingrich: Donald Trump’s Twitter Foreign Policy Is ‘Brilliant’

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, an informal adviser to Donald Trump, spoke approvingly of the president-elect’s apparent desire to restart a nuclear arms race. Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich praised the style and substance of Donald Trump ‘s suggestion for a new nuclear arms race , calling the president-elect’s use of Twitter to make major policy pronouncements “brilliant.”

License issued for $1B Montana power storage project

A Montana company has been granted a license to build a $1 billion, 400-megawatt power storage project in the central part of the state that would supplement electricity from wind turbines and other sources, according to documents released Thursday by federal regulators. The 50-year license from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission allows Absaroka Energy, of Bozeman, Montana, to construct and operate the project on a 177-acre site near the tiny town of Martinsdale, home to fewer than 100 people.

Alameda: City’s largest solar power system unveiled

The largest solar power system that operates under Alameda Municipal Power will reduce the equivalent of carbon dioxide emissions by 20,000 metric tons over its quarter-century lifespan. The energy savings also equals more than 48 million car miles or almost 22 million pounds of coal burning, according to Blue Oak Energy, which installed the rooftop and carport system at 1420 Harbor Bay Parkway.