Alternative Energy

• Rwanda Seeks $1 Billion Geothermal Energy Investment

  Among African nations, foreign observers can only cheer on Rwanda’s progress as it recovers from Africa’s most brutal civil conflict after the Democratic Republic of Congo (DROC). A vicious civil war erupted in 1990, led by the Tutsi Rwandan Patriotic front (RPF), which led in turn to a murderous genocidal 1994 conflict, in which Hutu extremists killed an estimated 500,000 to one million Tutsi and moderate Hutus before the RPF ended the killings with a military victory. Now, time to recover, and one of the population’s pressing needs is reliable energy. And there seems to be good news on the…

• German Solar Power Covers Energy Deficit of France's Nuclear Sector

  Remember last year when Germany decided to speed up its phasing out of nuclear power and switch to clean energy and everyone (not in the clean energy industry) got freaked out about how German electricity prices would rise and the country would just start importing electricity from France’s nuclear power plants? Well, as I just wrote, it seems pretty clear that solar photovoltaics are bringing down the cost of electricity in Germany. Additionally, German electricity exports to France have been increasing!“Because France has so much nuclear power, the country has an inordinate number of electric heating systems. And because France…

• The Future of Aviation Biofuels

  In New York, Bloomberg New Energy Finance said that jatropha-based fuels were the near-term candidate as sustainable aviation fuels available at prices competitive with conventional jet fuel. The BNEF research unit said that it expected jatropha-based jet fuel to be available at $0.86-a-litre ($3.25 per gallon) by 2018. The Bloomberg report Following the emergence of jatropha-based fuels, BNEF said that aviation fuel made from pyrolysis of woody biomass represented the next most affordable category of aviation biofuels, projecting that jet fuel from this source could be available at $0.90 per litre ($3.40 per gallon) by 2018. BNEF projected that aviation biofuels…

• Why Algal Biofuels May Never Hold the Key to the Future

  The depletion of world rock phosphate reserves will restrict the amount of food that can be grown, a situation that can only be compounded by the production of biofuels, including the potential large-scale generation of diesel from algae. The world population has risen to its present number of 7 billion in consequence of cheap fertilizers, pesticides and energy sources, particularly oil. Almost all modern farming has been engineered to depend on phosphate fertilizers, and those made from natural gas, e.g. ammonium nitrate, and on oil to run tractors etc. and to distribute the final produce. A peak in worldwide production…

• Biomass: Just Because it's Green Doesn't Mean it's Clean

  Florida residents last year filed a legal challenge against a company that was planning to build a biomass incinerator in the Florida Panhandle. They complained the incinerator project was a "toxic nightmare" for the coastal area. Now, a new study conducted on behalf of the National Wildlife Federation finds that it might be awhile before burning wood instead of fossil fuels pays off for the environment. This suggests that maybe things aren't always as green as they seem. A study examining more than half of the 22 proposed biomass facilities in seven southern U.S. states found that burning wood in favor…

• Independent Analysis Proves the Effectiveness of Federal Loan Guarantees

  Take a deep breath, because what I’m about to tell you may be shocking: Federal loan guarantees for energy projects have been successful, cost-effective investments—contrary to what some conservatives insist is the case. Don’t take my word for it. That’s the message from Herb Allison, former national finance chairman for Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), who led a team of accountants and auditors in conducting an independent analysis of the Department of Energy’s Loan Guarantee Program. Allison and his team found that, despite the hysteria around the now-bankrupt solar-panel maker Solyndra LLC, this program will cost $2 billion less than initially…

• How the U.S. Can Produce 36 Billion Gallons of Biofuels Annually

  Jim Lane at Biofuelsdigest.com has written an article worthy of serious consideration to answer the U.S. challenge in law to produce 36 billion gallons of biofuel annually. Ethanol from corn, now well past the E-10 or 10% blend share and looking to get to 15% and much more E-85 (85%) sales plus various ratios in between, is closing in on a third of the legal requirement.  So far the legal requirement is being waived, as the technology isn’t fully there for cellulosic ethanol production.  The special interests are resisting and the consumers aren’t on board.  It’s tough going from farmers…

• French Nuclear Anxieties Soar After Fukushima

  France began developing a massive nuclear energy program with minimal public debate after the first oil crisis in 1974 and continued to support nuclear power even after the 1986 Soviet Chernobyl disaster. French nuclear energy giant Areva SA, majority owned by the French state, operates the country’s 59 nuclear reactors, which generate 78.8 percent of France’s electricity, the highest percentage in the world. Until Fukushima the French public felt largely secure in the safety of their country’s nuclear facilities. No more. In a report certain to spur political and public debate, France’s Institut de Radioprotection et de Surete Nucleaire (Institute for Radioprotection and Nuclear…

• Wind Industry Starts to Panic as Tax Credits Come to an End

  If you haven’t heard from the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA), you probably will. Ominous, scary ads are running nationwide warning of the crushing blow to American jobs if Congress fails to extend the Production Tax Credit (‘PTC’), the 20-year ‘temporary’ subsidy most credited for market growth in the wind sector. The PTC is due to expire at the end of this year. Most of the ads target particular House members who, so far, have resisted the industry’s demands for their PTC earmark. The pressure is particularly heated right now as Congress negotiates the payroll tax holiday bill, which is…

• Solar Insanity: Why is Obama Obsessed with Solar Energy?

  The U.S. Energy Department is throwing a lot of money at solar power recently, with California seemingly getting the bulk of the federal money. President Obama last year set some pretty ambitious renewable energy targets, by American standards, and this year called for an "all-of-the above" strategy for domestic energy. But why put so much political energy into solar? Should there be a bulk renewable energy initiative? Energy Secretary Chu last week said he was putting $12 million behind a so-called incubator program that would fund start-up and pilot solar initiatives. This falls under his department's SunShot initiative, which aims to…