renewable energy
Cows and Climate – Putting All of That Waste To Work
In many situations, public policies supporting greenhouse gas reduction also support other environmental goals. But sometimes, different environmental policies bump up against each other. It is left for enlightened public officials to sort it all out. Here is a link to comments recently filed with the California Energy Commission by the Center for Law, Energy, …
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CONTINUE READINGAmerica’s Energy Future: A New Report
The National Research Council has released a new report (available for purchase here) on America’s energy future. Here are some key take away points: Use of existing energy-efficiency technologies is the nearest-term and lowest-cost option for moderating our nation’s demand for energy, especially over the next decade. The potential energy savings available from theaccelerated deployment …
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CONTINUE READINGIs India Going Green?
According to a story in today’s NY Times, India is making a major push toward renewable energy: “We need to get our act together,” said Gauri Singh, joint secretary in India’s Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, which was set up 26 years ago, “because India is growing faster than anyone can imagine. Renewable energy …
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CONTINUE READINGSolar Energy on the Fast Track
Yesterday, U.S. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar and Nevada Senator Harry Reid announced a series of initiatives to create a “fast track” for the development of utility scale solar energy facilities on Western public lands. This will include designating certain tracts of land as especially promising based on solar potential and land use compatibility, funding environmental …
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CONTINUE READINGMove Over, Summer of Love. It’s Time for Power Flower
We tend to think of renewable power as coming in two sizes: single home-sized photovoltaic arrays, or big, remotely-located power plants. Thus, we pour incentive dollars on solar homes, and place a tremendous emphasis on building large new transmission lines. Perhaps it is time to review this approach, and consider what we can do to …
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CONTINUE READINGOn Renewable Energy, Is the Senate Bill Worse Than Nothing?
The energy bill passed Wednesday by the Senate Energy and Natural Resource Committee has renewable energy provisions so weak that a dozen environmental groups teamed up to condemn it. Marchant Wentworth of the Union of Concerned Scientists called the renewable standards in the bill “pitiful”, and added that the legislation could actually lead to less …
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CONTINUE READINGThe Nuclear Option
In the 1960s, when legendary environmentalist David Brower expressed his opposition to nuclear power, he exposed a rift among his Sierra Club colleagues, many of whom saw “too cheap to meter” nuclear power as the solution to air pollution problems. Brower and others focused on the danger of nuclear accidents, security issues, and the difficulty …
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CONTINUE READINGWhere Have You Gone, Jimmy Carter?
When Paul Simon famously asked his nostalgic question about the whereabouts of Joe DiMaggio, it was only 16 years after Joltin’ Joe had retired from baseball. It’s 28 years since President Jimmy Carter left office. Is it time to become a little nostalgic about his energy policy? The question is prompted by Carter’s testimony, this …
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CONTINUE READINGWaxman-Markey Bill’s Tentative Compromise on Renewable Energy Offers a Weak Standard
When Representatives Waxman and Markey introduced their energy bill concept, they included a requirement that utilities deliver 25% renewable-derived power by 2025. According to the New York Times, a tentative agreement with Democrats unenthusiastic with the orginial proposal would reduce the target to 15% by 2020. And the 15% gets watered down even further. States …
CONTINUE READINGSharing the Burden of New Transmission Lines to The Sun and the Wind
The sense of urgency for building new electric transmission lines to transport large quantities of solar and wind power has spurred a national debate about the proper role for the federal government and the states in siting those lines. Although land use decisions such as these usually reside in the states, many worry that states …
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