Alternative Energy / Renewable Energy

• US Chamber of Commerce Dismayed at Breakaway Clean Energy Group

  More than two dozen local chambers of commerce in the US will join forces to advocate for market-based mechanisms to price carbon, much to the dismay of the national US Chamber of Commerce. The Chambers for Innovation & Clean Energy (CICE), led by the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce, is being organised under five core principles, including that businesses must be part of the solution to reduce greenhouse gases (GHG) and that market-based solutions produce the best results. The group’s main objective is to work with federal legislators to shape a carbon reduction programme that sends clear signals to the…

• Carbon Trading Bill Dropped From US Senate

  The failure of the US Senate to enact comprehensive energy and climate legislation prior to the August recess likely dooms its prospects for 2010, despite vows by its most ardent supporters to press forward. Instead of a sweeping bill, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nevada) is bringing narrow legislation to the Senate floor that will focus on the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, promotion of natural gas vehicles, home energy renovations and financing for the Land and Water Conservation Fund. But it’s not clear that Reid has the votes to proceed with even this limited bill because he may have…

• GM’s New Electric Vehicle Generates Enthusiasm Despite High Price Tag

  General Motors’ announcement that its new electric car, the Chevrolet Volt, would have a price tag of $41,000 created some sticker shock, and critics quickly charged that no one would buy it. They might be right, but GM is also offering a terrific lease deal that will enable many consumers to acquire it without paying that price. The lease will cost $350 a month with $2,500 due at lease signing – bringing the new car into a much more affordable range. Chevy dealers don’t seem to have any doubts about the car’s marketability. Some 600 dealerships, about 90% of the…

• What Renewable Projects Would you Purchase Electricity From if you Were a Power Utility

  Renewables (and particularly geothermal) are becoming a more popular talking point amongst utilities and governments these days. Just this week, America's Geothermal Energy Association said it will tell utilities at an upcoming conference that geothermal power could create $22.5 billion in economic output in the state of Nevada alone. Others in the southwest U.S. are taking notice of this trend. The Western Governors' Association (WGA) has been working for some time on its "Renewable Energy Transmission Roadmap". A study report aimed at helping renewable project developers in the western U.S. permit their power stations, and get them hooked up and…

• US Renewables Financing Set to Collapse Without Grant Extension

  Renewable energy financing will decline precipitously next year if the US Congress fails to extend the cash grant programme, financing experts have warned. Combining funds from the Section 1603 Treasury grant programme and available tax equity, the renewable energy sector will likely receive $6.7 billion in financing in 2010, surpassing the recent peak of $6.1 billion in 2007, which was all tax equity, according to a new study by the US Partnership for Renewable Energy Finance, a non-profit coalition of renewable financing experts. But that financing will decline between 50% and 80% if the 1603 programme is allowed to expire…

• Clean Energy Infrastructure a Good Match for Pension Funds

  Investments in European renewable energy infrastructure are a good choice for pension funds and insurance companies because they provide a good match with their liability profiles, said Joost Bergsma, CEO of BNP Paribas Clean Energy Partners. Speaking at Environmental Finance’s Investing in Renewable Energy Infrastructure conference in London on 9 July, he noted that the EU’s goal of generating 20% of its energy from renewable sources by 2020 provides a background of strong demand. Furthermore, in many member states, progress towards this goal is being driven by policies that are attractive to long-term investors. These include: feed-in tariffs that guarantee…

• Batteries Are the Shocking Truth about Electric Cars

  Can white elephants come in green? President Barack Obama flew to Holland, Mich., on Thursday to attend groundbreaking ceremonies for a new lithium-ion battery plant, which the White House advertised as an example of federal stimulus grants at work and a gateway to a clean-energy future. Great stuff — if you don’t look too hard. Indeed, the Holland plant, effusively hailed by Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm as creating 300 jobs, and 62,000 “green” jobs down the road, will produce batteries in America. But Compact Power Inc., which received $151 million from a federal stimulus program to open the $303 million…

• Chinese Green Sector Surges as Europe Suffers in Q2

  Mixed fortunes have dogged the clean-tech and clean energy sectors in the second quarter of 2010, according to latest figures from Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF) and VB/Research. Global investment in clean energy slipped in the second quarter to $33.9 billion, according to researchers at BNEF. This is down 1.5% on the first quarter, and 3% down year-on-year, but BNEF described the figures as steady considering the macro-economic situation. Investment levels were bolstered by the massive build-out of renewable energy capacity in China – the country saw asset financing levels reach $11.5 billion in the second quarter, up 9.6% on the…

• GE, VC Firms Launch $200 Million Contest for Smart Grid Innovation

  General Electric and four venture capital funds launched a $200 million contest for innovations in smart grid technology, pledging to use the money to fund development of the winning entries. Called “Ecomagination Challenge,” the contest invites businesses, entrepreneurs, innovators and students to submit projects with will help renewable energies penetrate the electricity grid, make the grid itself more efficient, or help make energy use in homes more efficient. “We want to jump-start new ideas and deploy them on a scale that will modernize the electrical grid around the world,” GE chief executive Jeffrey Immelt said in announcing the contest. The…

• Can Renewable Energy Really Satisfy Our Energy Needs

  With the tragic Gulf of Mexico oil spill now focussing President Obama's and the American people's minds on where their energy comes from, and what some of the collateral costs might be, its an opportune moment to look at how renewable energy may help supply our future energy needs. Somewhat ironically, it is BP that provides the energy world with a priceless service through their annual review of world energy that was published last week (with little fanfare) which this year, for the first time, includes data on renewable energy. Exponential growth in wind energy over the past 15 years…