Top Stories
"Offshore Wind Power Will Create More Jobs
and Produce Cheaper, Cleaner Energy off the U.S. Atlantic Coast than
Offshore Oil & Gas"—reliability high.
A new report by conservation group Oceana finds "offshore wind
potential is so high off the U.S. Atlantic coast that investments in
offshore wind power in Atlantic waters could generate about 30 percent
more electricity than economically recoverable offshore oil and gas in
the same region combined. In fact, Oceana found that a modest
investment in offshore wind could easily supply nearly half of the
current electricity generation of East Coast states." It says,
"Delaware, Massachusetts and North Carolina could generate enough
electricity from offshore wind to equal current electricity generation,
entirely eliminating the need for fossil fuel- based electric
generation." More highlights of report. See Oceana
press release. Access the report here.
"Denmark eyes up fossil fuel-free future"—reliability
high.
Denmark could develop a fossil-fuel-free energy network by 2050,
according to a new report by the government climate commission. The
government will consider the report's recommendations as it develops
its energy policy due in November. From BusinessGreen.
Access the report here.
"Northern Ireland targets 40 per cent
renewable electricity by 2020"—reliability high.
"Northern Ireland's Assembly government yesterday approved an
ambitious target of sourcing 40 per cent of its electricity from
renewable sources by 2020 – at a potential cost of £1bn," reports
BusinessGreen. A parallel suggestion that the country could get 10% of
its heat from renewables by 2020 was also published earlier. These
ideas have to be worked into a concrete energy strategy that is under
development. See BusinessGreen.
[These three
stories, and the similar one about Scotland yesterday, suggest a major
change in where electricity comes from over the coming decades.]
Companies,
Industries, Markets and Supply Chains
"Mr. Cleantech doubles down on green future"—reliability
high.
Reuters article about Alan Salzman of venture capital firm
VantagePoint and his emphasis on cleantech investments. Vantage Point
has $1.25 billion targeted to cleantech, half of which is already
invested. The company is seeing growing interest from big industrial
companies in buying out its startups, he says. From Reuters.
Government and
Regulation
"Health advocates urge EPA regulation of
greenhouse gases"—reliability medium.
Mike Lillis posts that more than 100 leading health advocates called
on policy makers to allow the Environmental Protection Agency to
regulate greenhouse gas emissions. They said, "In order to prepare for
changes already under way, it is essential to strengthen our public
health system so it is able to protect our communities from the health
effects of heat waves, wildfires, floods, droughts, infectious
diseases, and other events. But we must also address the root of the
problem, which means reducing the emissions that contribute to climate
change." The signers included 18 national public health organizations,
66 state-based groups and dozens of individual medical experts. See The
Hill's energy & environment blog.
"California is leading, but not going it
alone, on clean energy policies"—reliability medium.
Kristin Eberhard posts that "the Cleantech Group released a report
analyzing state energy policies and their impact on high growth
cleantech markets. The conclusion, in short, is that California is
leading but certainly not alone in pursuing clean energy; in fact,
every state in the U.S. is trying to encourage clean energy by
instituting policies from encouraging energy efficiency to requiring
renewable energy, and 22 states have 11 or more policies in place."
From the NRDC
staff blogs. PDF of the report here.
"Climate change requires new kind of
politics, says Miliband"—reliability high.
Ed Miliband, the new leader of Britain's opposition Labour Party, says
"taking the difficult steps to protect our planet for future
generations is the greatest challenge our generation faces," and "When
I think about my son, I think what he will be asking me in 20 years
time is whether I was part of the last generation not to get climate
change or the first generation to get it." See GreenWise.
Also see opinion piece in The
Guardian. [Ed
Miliband may be green, but before he can do anything about it he has to
get back in power. So far (his first few days as opposition leader) he
is not emphasizing green issues.]
And from a
sister blog:
"Green Blogs List"—reliability
medium.
A thoughtful list of 40 blogs treating green business issues. Not news
feeds or lifestyle hints, but real blogs. See Doc's
Green Blog.
