Top Stories
"Brazil to Invest $5.5 Billion in Renewable
Energy Sources by 2013"—reliability medium.
Antonio Pasolini at EnergyRefuge.com posts: "The Brazilian government
earlier this month held a wind, hydroelectric and biomass auction ...
which contracted power from 89 wind farms, small hydroelectric plants
and biomass plants, [and] will add an installed capacity of 2,892.2 MW
to the national energy matrix." The auction "is expected to prompt US$
5.52 billion in investments in renewable energies ... primarily from
private enterprise." More on the auction process. See CleanTechies
blog. [Why
doesn't India try the same approach? An objection might be that if
foreign investors build the assets they will own them and profit from
them. The question is: do you want the electricity or not?]
"Report: China's auto population will exceed
200M by 2020; causing 'serious environmental issues'"—reliability
medium.
Post by Eric Loveday quotes remarks by Wang Fuchang, director of
China's Department of Equipment Industry that appeared in English
People's Daily Online: "It is estimated that automobile ownership in
China will exceed 200 million in 2020, causing serious energy security
and environmental issues. Striving to promote the energy efficiency of
traditional automobiles and the industrialization of alternative-energy
automobiles has become an urgent issue that the Chinese auto industry
must address." More on his remarks at Autoblog
Green.
Companies,
Industries, Markets and Supply Chains
"Applebee’s Plans Lighting Retrofits at all
NY Locations"—reliability high.
Report on energy savings at Applebees restaurants and other eateries.
"LED lighting retrofit projects at two Applebee’s locations in
New York City, on 42nd Street and Broadway, yielded an average kWh
light load reduction of more 80 percent per location." Falling LED
prices and rebates resulted in "strong return on investment." See Environmental
Leader.
"Nissan, Sumitomo in JV to re-use, recycle
batteries"—reliability high.
Nissan and Sumitomo have formed a joint venture, 4R Energy Corp, to
manage used batteries from electric vehicles. The goal is to "lower the
high cost of electric vehicles by eventually giving their expensive
batteries a second life through re-use, resale, refabrication and
recycling." From Reuters.
"Expert: Expect More Than 100 Hybrid and EV
Models in U.S. by 2015"—reliability high.
According to this story Alan Baum, a Michigan-based auto industry
analyst, "is tracking a whopping 108 electric-drive vehicles by model
year 2015. ... Nearly half of them will be conventional hybrids, but
there will also be 18 plug-in hybrids, 32 EVs, and 6 fuel-cell electric
cars. Many of these models have been announced, but just as many have
not yet been unveiled." At Reuters
from Matter Network.
Government and
Regulation
"Ecuador passes the hat for Amazon protection
plan"—reliability high.
Reuters reports: "In exchange for not drilling for crude in a
200,000-hectare area of Yasuni national park, the government is asking
rich nations, foundations and individuals to give it $3.6 billion."
More about the campaign. From Reuters.
[Article mentions
that Ecuador calculates significant carbon emission savings from the
initiative. But are they promising not to suck out the oil under the
tract through wells outside the protected ITT section? Just one of many
questions about this plan.]
Science and
Economics
"World pays high price for overfishing,
studies say"—reliability high.
Reuters reports on recent research that says overfishing has cost the
food industry billions and deprived undernourished millions of valuable
food supplies. "Fisheries contribute $225 billion to $240 billion to
the world economy annually, but if fishing practices were more
sustainable, that amount would be up to $36 billion higher, according
to the four papers published in the Journal of Bioeconomics. ...
"Maintaining healthy fisheries makes good economic sense, while
overfishing is clearly bad business," said Rashid Sumaila, an economist
at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, who led the
research." More on the findings. From Reuters.
"Is It Worth It to Save Oceanfront
Development? Economists Wonder"—reliability high.
Article discusses recent research modeling the economic impact of sea
level rise and flooding at 15 miles of California beaches, including
Ocean Beach in San Francisco and Venice Beach in Los Angeles. "Assuming
a low-end estimate of 1 meter sea-level rise, a 100-year flood at San
Francisco's Ocean Beach would cause $285 million in property damage,
compared to $107 million in 2000." The results offer a better method of
estimating the economic exposure to sea level rise according to the
researchers. See New
York Times from ClimateWire.
