Top Stories
Budget 2010: Chancellor announces green
investment bank.—reliability high.
"The chancellor, Alistair Darling, today announced the creation of a
£2bn green investment bank and measures to support offshore wind energy
in his budget, which he billed as crucial to guiding the country out of
recession." Other green and not-green highlights from the proposed
budget. Story at The
Guardian. Interesting related stories: Experts comment (The
Guardian) and VCs support (BusinessGreen).
China Leads G-20 Members in Clean Energy
Finance and Investment.—reliability high.
"For the first time, China led the United States and other G-20
members in 2009 clean energy investments and finance, according to data
released today by The Pew Charitable Trusts. Last year, China invested
$34.6 billion in the clean energy economy – nearly double the United
States' total of $18.6 billion. Over the last five years, the United
States also trailed five G-20 members (Turkey, Brazil, China, the
United Kingdom, and Italy) in the rate of clean energy investment
growth." From The Pew
Charitable Trusts site. PDF of report here.
Companies,
Industries, Markets and Supply Chains
Smart Water Meters Take Hold in California.—reliability
high.
"More than half of the state’s water utilities have some smart meters
in their service areas, according to the report, 'Smart Meters and
California Water Agencies: Overview and Status.' Lon W. House, the
report’s author, said in an interview that the number was likely to be
'significantly' higher now because the report’s data was now over a
year old. ... Still, some cities in perpetually water-strapped
California are only just getting around to putting in home water meters
in the first place. These include Sacramento — where according to a
recent newspaper report, only a quarter of residents have meters — as
well as Fresno." See New
York Times Green Inc. blog. [The other smart
meter.]
Lootah Technical Centre signs MoU with
India-based Eko Vehicles.—reliability high.
"Lootah Technical Centre (LTC), a competency based education and
training centre and part of the S.S. Lootah Group, signed a Memorandum
of Understanding (MoU) with India-based Eko Vehicles to explore
opportunities in commercially viable sustainable transport. ... Anil
Ananthakrishna, Chairman & CEO of Eko Vehicles commented, 'There is
a huge potential for sustainable transport in the Gulf region. With our
highly effective technology, successful products and services combined
with Lootah Technical Centre's strong local network and ground
knowledge, we hope to work together and contribute to this sector in a
major way.'" From AMEinfo.
Smart Appliances Market to Hit $15B by 2015.—reliability
high.
"The global household smart appliance market is projected to grow from
$3.06 billion to $15.12 billion, from 2011 to 2015, according to a new
market report." See Sustainable
Business.com. PDF of Zpryme report here.
Oil Sands Operator Aims for 25% Emissions
Cut.—reliability high.
"Statoil, which has oil sands operations in Alberta, Canada, plans to
cut its emissions there by 25 percent by 2020 and 40 percent by 2025.
The company plans to use technology and chemicals to help soften the
bitumen – the source of oil in the sands – and bring it to the surface
with less steam than has been typically required, according to the
Winnipeg Free Press. Statoil, which is based in Norway, received
funding from the Alberta government to devise the technology, which
relies on injecting solvents into the ground." Story from Environmental
Leader. ["Injecting
solvents into the ground"--what a clever way to reduce pollution.]
Government and
Regulation
California says climate change law won't
hurt economy.—reliability high.
"The report from the state Air Resources Board, the chief regulator of
the law, forecast higher energy costs but said these would be offset by
greater overall energy efficiency. The report also concluded that the
measure will yield modest job gains statewide, will have a negligible
effect on the state's overall economy and could benefit some sectors
such as alternative energy businesses. 'These policies can shift the
driver of economic growth from polluting energy sources to clean energy
and efficient technologies, with little or no economic penalty,' the
report said." Story at Reuters.
CARB press release here. PDF
of report here.
When Negawatts Equal Megawatts, Demand
Response Blooms.—reliability medium.
"Is a negawatt worth the same amount of money as a megawatt? The
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has said yes, at least
tentatively, and this could spell big new opportunities in the demand
response industry. At the same time, it could give technologies that
enable turning down energy use new and interesting ways to pay for
themselves." More about opportunities in demand response and companies
involved. See earth2tech.
[Crossposted from HaraBara.com courtesy of HaraBara, Inc. Copyright © 2010 HaraBara, Inc.]
