Top Stories
General Motors may build its own low-cost EV
for India.—reliability medium.
"Now that General Motors has abandoned its plan to build a low-cost
electric vehicle for the Indian market with Reva, it may move forward
with an internally developed vehicle. Mahindra and Mahindra recently
purchased a majority stake in Reva and that triggered GM's change of
plans. GM India president Karl Slym revealed that the automaker would
pursue its own electric car, one that is smaller than the Beat
concept." See Autoblog
Green.
Energy Efficiency Investments Remain Strong
Despite Global Recession.—reliability high.
"Despite a global recession, investment levels in energy efficiency
have remained strong according to the Energy Efficiency Indicator (EEI)
released today by Johnson Controls (NYSE: JCI), the global leader in
delivering products, services and solutions that increase energy
efficiency in buildings. The survey of more than 2,800 executives and
managers responsible for making investments and managing energy in
commercial buildings worldwide found that 56 percent of respondents say
they have invested the same or more in energy efficiency over the last
12 months. A regional comparison indicates that respondents have
invested the same or more in energy efficiency in China (60 percent),
followed by the United States (59 percent), Europe (55 percent) and
India (45 percent)." See Johnson
Controls site. Access report here.
Companies,
Industries, Markets and Supply Chains
Energy Star Label for Data Centers Open for
Business.—reliability high.
"The EPA today unveiled its new and long-awaited Energy Star
certification for buildings that house data centers and stand-alone
facilities, marking a big step forward for energy efficiency in
high-tech environments. The new certification relies on PUE, or power
usage effectiveness, to gauge the efficiency of a computing facility.
PUE is a metric developed by the Green Grid consortium, and measures
how much of total energy going into a data center is used for computing
compared to lighting and cooling." Story at Greener
World Media.
The wait of justice--Bhopal.—reliability
medium.
"Over a quarter of a century after a deadly methyl isocyanate gas leak
from the Union Carbide plant in Bhopal killed thousands of people,
eight men (one of whom is now dead) have been convicted of causing
'death by negligence'. The district court in Bhopal sentenced them to
two years in prison and imposed fines. The accused were immediately
released on Rs 25,000 ($530) personal bail bonds. They include Keshub
Mahindra (current chairman of India's big tractor maker Mahindra &
Mahindra), who was formerly chairman of Union Carbide’s Indian
subsidiary." Laments the slow pace of justice and the levity of the
sentences. The
Economist blog. Straight news story from BBC News here.
In drastic green energy proposal, U.S. pays
most.—reliability high.
"The world could generate 95 percent of electricity from renewable
energies by 2050 in a drastic shift from fossil fuels, with the United
States paying about a third of a giant bill, green lobby groups said on
Monday. The report, by Greenpeace and the European Renewable Energy
Council (EREC), representing Europe's main renewable energy companies,
is one of the most detailed to work out the nuts and bolts of a
near-total shift to green energy such as wind or solar power. The
report said that global investments in energy would need to total $18
trillion by 2030 ... to set the world on a path to generating about 95
percent of electricity from non-polluting renewables by mid-century.
... The report said the shift would mean there were about 12 million
jobs, including 8.5 million in the renewables sector, by 2030. 'Under
business as usual, global renewable power jobs would be only 2.4
million of the global power sector's 8.7 million jobs,' it said." More
highlights of report. See Reuters
story. Access report at Greenpeace.
Suntech to add 1GW of solar manufacturing
capacity in Shanghai.—reliability high.
"Global solar panel producer Suntech has announced plans to expand its
crystalline silicon manufacturing technology capacity in Shanghai by
1GW within the next three years due to rising demand in the region. It
will spend around $393bn [sic; million?] (RMB2.68bn) on the expansion,
according to a Reuters report." See NewNet.
Carbon markets not likely to keep global
warming in check.—reliability high.
"A gloomy picture for the US$125bn global carbon markets has emerged
from the annual greenhouse gas (GHG) market sentiment survey conducted
for the International Emissions Trading Association (IETA) by
PricewaterhouseCoopers, showing growing market frustration with the
slow pace of a new climate deal, and low carbon investment. ... More
than two thirds believe that the carbon price will need to be more than
EUR40 to limit warming to 2oC, but only one in ten respondents see any
real prospect of this emerging in the medium-term." See Environmental
Expert. PDF of IETA press release here.
Government and
Regulation
Bulgaria takes first steps to adopting green
building rules.—reliability high.
"The Bulgarian Government has signed an agreement creating the first
steps towards launching a green building code in the former
Soviet-controlled country. Consultants BRE Global and Greenworks have
signed a memorandum of understanding for the development of BREEAM in
Bulgaria." Story at edie.net.
[Crossposted from HaraBara.com courtesy of HaraBara, Inc. Copyright © 2010 HaraBara, Inc.]
