Top Stories
China drops "buy Chinese" policy for wind
turbines.—reliability high.
"China will drop its controversial "buy Chinese" policy for wind power
equipment, making it easier for foreign companies to supply turbines to
wind farm projects in the country. According to local media, commerce
minister Chen Deming announced the move late last week at the 20th
China-US Joint Commission on Commerce and Trade talks, held in the
Chinese city of Hangzhou. The policy had mandated local governments to
source more than 70 per cent of products and technologies from domestic
sources when planning wind power projects." From
Business Green. [This may partly
defuse some of the rancor over U.S.
economic stimulus funds going to buy wind turbines from China and
Europe. But the basic problem remains that U.S. manufacturers don't
have the capacity.]
A primer on climate change by Al Gore.—reliability
high.
Al Gore's new book "Our Choice: A Plan to Solve the Climate Crisis"
takes up where "An Inconvenient Truth" left off, going beyond the
evidence that we have a problem to suggest what we should do about it.
"Rather than a checklist, it's an all-of-the-above primer on everything
from renewable energy to forest conservation to building a smarter
grid. Not to mention the need to develop the political will." Future
generations will ask, "How did you find the moral courage to rise up
and solve a crisis so many said was impossible?" From
The Philadelphia Inquirer.
Companies,
Industries, Markets and Supply Chains
EcoFactor: Finally A Smart Way to Control
Thermostats.—reliability high.
Three-year-old startup EcoFactor has launched with its first customer,
Texas utility Oncor. EcoFactor's software micromanages home thermostats
to reduce energy use while maintaining comfort. See
earth2tech. [We
followed these guys as California Clean Tech Open contestants and
finalists--pretty interesting technology.]
Oil and gas firms accused of failing to
address physical climate risks.—reliability high.
A report from environmental consultancy Acclimatise assessed oil and
gas companies' responses to the Carbon Disclosure Project and found
that while more than three quarters accepted that already inevitable
levels of climate change would affect their business through increased
downtime, system failures and rising safety risks, only 19 per cent
were taking action to address those risks. From
Business Green. Press release here.
PDF of report accessible here
(registration required).
Tackling climate change one dirty nappy at a
time.—reliability high.
Knowaste, developer of the UK's first nappy recycling facility, will
partner with waste-to-energy firm Verus Energy to use a bacteria-based
process to break down the nappy and other sanitation waste collected at
the facility to generate biogases such as methane. The gases will be
captured and burned, generating energy that will help power the plant
and be sold to the grid. See
Business Green. [Ah, memories!
Your correspondent worked on problems of disposable diaper recycling 15
years ago.]
World’s Largest Landfill Gas to LNG Plant
Opens in California.—reliability high.
"Waste Management, one of the country’s largest landfill operators,
today is opening what it says it the world’s largest facility to
convert landfill gas to liquefied natural gas (LNG). Once at full
capacity, the $13.5 million facility, located at Waste Management’s
landfill site near Livermore, Calif., will purify and liquefy up to 4
million gallons per year." From
earth2tech. [Just
behind those Altamont Pass wind turbines lies a garbage gasmine.]
Water-Saving Technologies Help Abbott Save 1
Billion Gallons a Year.—reliability high.
"Introducing a slew of water-saving technologies to its facilities has
helped Abbott save roughly one billion gallons a year despite
production growth at many of its plants. The pharmaceutical giant set a
goal of cutting its water consumption to 40 percent below 2004 levels
by late 2011, relative to sales. The company announced Monday its
efforts have yielded a 37 percent normalized reduction." From
GreenBiz.
UCF Lighting Retrofit to Save $42K, Pay For
Itself in 1.2 Years.—reliability high.
"By switching to more efficient lighting, a University of Central
Florida parking garage will see savings of $42,000 a year. UCF swapped
out 500 lighting fixtures on three levels of the garage for newer, more
efficient T5 fluorescent lights, according to the UCFToday blog. The
new lights use 14,436 kilowatt hours of electricity a month, or about
33,444 fewer kilowatt hours than the old system. That’s nearly a 70
percent improvement in energy efficiency. Because the project cost only
$51,384, UCF expects to recoup its costs in a little over a year.
Eventually, the university plans to switch all garages to T5 lighting."
From
Environmental Leader.
PG&E to give $588K solar energy rebate to
Hilltop Ranch.—reliability high.
"Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) said Hilltop Ranch, Inc.
will receive a $588,000 incentive rebate through the California Solar
Initiative (CSI) program for a 574-kilowatt solar project at its
headquarters in Merced County." "According to Dave Long, co-founder and
president of Hilltop Ranch, Inc., the 574-kilowatt solar installation
will offset 70 percent of Hilltop Ranch's energy use for the year at
their Turlock Road processing facility in Ballico. It will also help
eliminate almost two million pounds of carbon emissions annually." See
Merced Sun-Star. [I like to include
a few items like this one and the last just as examples of the savings
and benefits smaller players are obtaining.]
Government and
Regulation
Want $42K Off A New Tesla Roadster? Call Your
Colorado Cousin.—reliability medium.
"It sounds too good to be true, but here it is: You can buy a 2009
Tesla Roadster, with a list price of $109,900, and pay just $67,800 for
it. At least, you can if you live in Colorado and buy it before
December 31." See
GreenCarReports.com. [The catch? Tesla
is pretty much sold out of roadsters for 2009 delivery.]
Korea Seeks 4% Cut in Carbon Emissions by
2020.—reliability high.
"The administration is seeking to reduce the country’s greenhouse gas
emissions by 4 percent by 2020 from 2005 by promoting the use of bio
and nuclear energy, and energy-efficient technologies, officials said
Wednesday." See
The Korea Times.
[Crossposted from HaraBara.com courtesy of HaraBara, Inc. Copyright © 2009 HaraBara, Inc.]
