Alternative Energy / Renewable Energy

• Australia's New $10 Billion Clean Energy Finance Corp. - Benefit or Boondoggle?

  On 7 March the government of Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard said that Sydney would house the country’s new Clean Energy Finance Corp., announced in 2011 as part of the country’s carbon pricing package. In choosing Sydney Gillard said, ''This is a city that can offer the benefit of financial and professional networks. Our Treasury tells us we will see $100 billion of new investment into renewable energy between now and 2050. So the Clean Energy Finance Corporation is going to be a part of making sure that we realise the clean energy future, that we use our abundant sunshine,…

• Mozambique Goes Green, Blindsides International Mining Interests

  It’s hard not to be downcast when reading much of the news from Africa, ravaged as it is by wars, hunger, poverty, famine and rapacious Western companies intent on exploiting the governments’ desperation for foreign revenue. But, just occasionally, an uplifting story breaks through the gloom and pessimism.One such tale comes from Mozambique, where the country’s Ministry for Coordination of Environmental Affairs (MICOA), has canceled 146 investment projects in various economic activities because they failed to meet the requirements of the country’s environmental laws.The canceled proposals include the activities of some major Western firms, including Australian company Riversdale Mining Ltd,…

• Europe Maps Africa's Renewable Energy Potential

  While foreign investors drool over Africa’s hydrocarbon reserves, the Dark Continent also has vast reserves of largely untapped renewable energy, from the Magreb’s immense solar potential to Africa’s mighty rivers. Now at last, African governments can begin to evaluate their countries’ potential, courtesy of the European Commission Joint Research Center, which last month published its remarkable 62-page “Renewable energies in Africa” report. The report is divided into four sections – solar, wind and biomass energy and “Pico and mini-hydro resource based energy potential.” All make for fascinating reading and provide an element frequently lacking in most writing about Africa – optimism. Dozens…

• Scottish Politician Casts Skeptical Eye on Renewable Energy

  While most Western politicians remain enthralled by events unfolding in the Middle East during the Arab spring that unexpectedly blossomed a year ago, an equally dramatic political tectonic shift is happening in Europe, where rising Scottish nationalism is putting the fear of God into Westminster’s politicians. The Scottish National Party, founded in 1934, is suddenly rising in power and visibility. Four years ago in the Scottish Parliamentary election, the SNP became the largest political party in the Scottish Parliament for the first time, governing as a minority administration, with party leader Alex Salmond as First Minister of Scotland. During last…

• Renewable Energy Investors Should Consider - Romania

  The European Union has been hammered by the global recession that began in 2008. The recession has bit particularly hard into the EU’s newest members, the Central and Eastern European nations that were either under soviet hegemony or worse, part of the Evil Empire (Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.) So, where are investors to make a euro in such uncertainty? Well, for astute investors looking at renewable energy in the EU, one of the hottest bets right now is – Romania. Yes, THAT Romania, beloved of Hollywood for Dracula films, more recently for being the film site for “Borat.” On 28…

• Which Alternative Energies will Lead us into the Future?

  When I first approached the topic of societal energy in 2004, I became aware for the first time that our energy future was not in the bag, and proceeded to explore alternative after alternative to judge the viability and potential pitfalls of various options. I have retraced my steps in Do the Math posts, exposing the scales at which different energy sources might contribute, and the practical complexities involved. My spooky campfire version of the story, a la Tolkien: The Way is Shut. Alright, I’m overstating things a bit. The good news is that there do exist energy flows and…

• Germany's Rising Cost of Going Green

  On 30 May 2011, in the aftermath of Japan’s Fukushima nuclear disaster two months earlier, German Chancellor Angela Merkel announced an "energy revolution" and that Germany would close all of its 19 nuclear power plants (NPPs) between 2015 and 2022, which produce about 28 percent of the country's electricity. The shortfall was to be made up with an increased emphasis on renewable energy sources. In the wake of Germany’s decision, Switzerland, Belgium, Japan, Italy, and many other nations declared, in one way or another, their intent to pursue a safer alternative. As of January 2012, besides Germany’s 19 NPPs, 138 civilian…

• Green Energy is About Green Backs

  While most major economies agree that some form of alternative and renewable resources are needed as part of the emerging energy mix, embracing frontier areas like wave arrays might be more about changing the way decision-makers think about energy than simply about the saving the environment. That's how Richard Yemm, founder of Scottish company Pelamis Wave Power, sees it anyhow. He says efforts underway in Europe aren't just about protecting the environment, they're about new ways to provide energy that make economic sense. He's not, after all, just talking about climate change when he talks about going green. "The second industrial…

• Life After Oil - A Look at the Latest Clean Technology Developments

  Gasoline prices in the U.S. are off on another tear. The national average just went by $3.57 for regular and due to a little problem of several major refineries that serve the U.S.'s East Coast shutting down, here in Northern Virginia we are running 20 to 25 cents a gallon higher than normal. The wisest of the prognosticators say we should seeing circa $4+ a gallon by late spring so the Washington area will likely be seeing circa $4.50. In case you missed it, they are already getting $5 for regular down by the Kennedy Centre. Somebody in Congress is…

• DOE no Longer Able to Fund Clean Technology Ventures after Budget Cuts

  The US Department of Energy's (DOE) days as a financier of clean technologies are over thanks to the Solyndra backlash, but budget cuts would have prevented the department from functioning in that role anyway, according to NRG Energy's chief executive. "It was the headline for a good part of the year in 2011," David Crane, president and CEO of power generator NRG Energy, said of the Solyndra situation at the Jefferies 2012 Global Clean Technology Conference in New York on Wednesday. "In all likelihood it will be a headline into a good part of the year in 2012. "While I…