Jun 30, 2008

UK: What's New from BERR, Green Blueprint, Stats, Renewables Advisory Board, Lincolnshire Biomass Station

30 June 2008: Next steps on carbon capture readiness and UK demonstration competition

The four bidders that have pre-qualified in the Government's carbon capture and storage (CCS) demonstration competition were named by Business Secretary John Hutton today. He also announced publication of a consultation on the legislative framework for CCS, including carbon capture readiness.

26 June 2008: Tenfold renewables increase to propel UK toward low carbon future

Green energy blueprint to create 160,000 jobs

A national renewable energy blueprint designed to slash carbon emissions dramatically, reduce the UK's dependency on oil and gas and claim a valuable share of global green business opportunity was set out by Business Secretary John Hutton today.

26 June 2008: Energy Statistics

Energy Trends and Quarterly Energy Prices publications are published today 26 June by the Department for Business, Enterprise & Regulatory Reform. Energy Trends covers statistics on energy production and consumption, in total and by fuel, and provides an analysis of the year on year changes. The June edition of Energy Trends also includes articles on: "Renewable energy in 2007", and "Regional and local use of road transport fuels 2006". Quarterly Energy Prices covers prices to domestic and industrial consumers, prices of oil products and comparisons of international fuel prices.

18 June 2008: RAB says UK's proposed renewable energy target is achievable

The Renewables Advisory Board has reported that the UK could generate 14% of its total energy from renewables by 2020 if a set of identified radical policy changes are put into effect quickly. Recommendations include accelerating grid studies, streamlined consenting processes, early introduction of revised support mechanisms and, most importantly, strong political leadership.

16 June: 2008: Biomass power station to be built in Lincolnshire

The Energy Minister, Malcolm Wicks, has today given the go ahead to Helius Energy plc to construct a 65 MW biomass power station near Stallingborough in North East Lincolnshire.

13 June 2008: Wind power takes off with new agreement on radar and aviation

A landmark agreement has been reached between Government and industry which aims to remove aviation and radar barriers to the major expansion of wind energy that has been outlined by Business Secretary John Hutton.

12 June 2008: Hutton tells global nuclear investors to build in Britain

The UK is a leader in a new global nuclear investment 'league table' and looks set to attract the world's leading energy companies to build its next generation of nuclear power stations, research commissioned by Business Secretary John Hutton has found.

Jun 21, 2008

America's Greenest City, Grand Rapids, MI

The Rust Belt city of Grand Rapids, Michigan, takes on a green patina -- and finds that it boosts business

By: Evan West
Leeding the Way: One of the city's newest icons is the certifiably green art museum. | photograph courtesy of Hedrich Blessing/Steve Hall

The eco-conscious ethos has spread through the region: Atop the Frauenthal arts center in nearby Muskegon is a wind turbine partly built by Grand Rapids -- based Cascade Engineering. | photograph courtesy of Cascade Engineering

On a sunny afternoon in Grand Rapids, a group of earnest, middle-age folks is gathered in a conference room, looking at slides of wind turbines and charts about wasteful energy use. A full-bearded man, who looks as if he's just back from a nature walk, talks about his plans to build a home showcasing the latest in low-impact design. At the front of the room, the speaker asks, pep-rally style, "What's the most effective source of renewable energy today? Conservation!"

But this isn't a meeting of Earth-loving Hippies Reunited. The speaker, Michael Ford, is an executive at Cascade Engineering, a plastics manufacturer that makes ducts for Ford, dashboard silencers for Chrysler, and all manner of doodads for other industries, and he's presenting at the West Michigan Sustainable Business Forum's monthly meeting. The attendees are top managers from major companies in and around Grand Rapids, the region's commercial center and Michigan's second-largest city. "We are in business to make money," Ford reminds them. They're doing it by turning eco-friendly, in the belief that reducing the environmental cost of commerce will raise their profits, boost the regional economy, and burnish Grand Rapids' increasingly credible claim to the title of greenest city in America.

Grand Rapids leads the nation in the number of LEED-certified buildings per capita. In 2005, Mayor George Heartwell pledged that more than 20% of the city's power would come from renewable sources by 2008; it hit that target a year early, and Heartwell upped the target to 100% by 2020. The municipal government's energy use has been cut by more than 10%. The public-transit fleet features hybrid buses. And here, in the heart of the Rust Belt, manufacturers are leading the greenification charge. Office-furniture heavyweights Herman Miller and Steelcase both have LEED-certified buildings in the area, as do industrial firms such as Cascade Engineering.

Peter Wege, Steelcase's retired chairman, is the father of green Grand Rapids. "In 1937, when I started working in the desk plant of my father's metal-office-furniture company, I learned that we recycled steel to cut costs," Wege recalls. "Seven years later, flying an Army plane into Pittsburgh on a sunny day, I became an environmentalist when I had to ask for tower lights because I couldn't see the airport through the black smog. Those two experiences helped make me an economicologist -- a word I coined to define the balance we need between economy and ecology."

Over the years, Wege ordered various eco-friendly moves, introducing the reprocessing of toxic solvents and investing in a baler for recycling packing materials -- a purchase he cites as a proof of economicology because "once the baler was paid for, Steelcase began saving $20,000 a year." Last year, Wege gave $20 million for the construction of the Grand Rapids Art Museum, the world's first LEED-certified art museum.

Jun 1, 2008

Policy Options for Reducing Oil Consumption and Greenhouse-Gas Emissions from the U.S. Transportation Secto

Policy Options for Reducing Oil Consumption and Greenhouse-Gas Emissions from the U.S. Transportation Sector

ETIP Discussion Paper

Discussion Paper, Energy Technology Innovation Policy research group, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs

Summer 2007

Authors: Kelly Sims Gallagher, Director, Energy Technology Innovation Policy, Gustavo Collantes, Former Research Fellow, Energy Technology Innovation Policy Research Group/Enviroment and Natural Resources Program, 2007-2008, John P. Holdren, Director and Faculty Chair, Science, Technology and Public Policy Program, Henry Lee, Director, Environment and Natural Resources Program, Robert Frosch, Senior Associate, Science, Technology, and Public Policy Program

Belfer Center Programs or ProjectsEnergy Technology Innovation PolicyEnvironment and Natural ResourcesScience, Technology, and Public Policy

 

OVERVIEW

The goal of this discussion paper is to contribute to the current policy debate about how to effectively limit or reduce oil consumption and greenhouse-gas emissions from the U.S. transportation sector.  The paper explains what is wrong with the status quo and therefore why new policies are needed.  It examines special policy challenges in this domain, and analyzes the pros and cons of individual policy measures.  Finally, the paper explores the probable overall effects of several illustrative policy packages. 

Policies outlined include:

  • Fuel-economy standards
  • Greenhouse gas performance standards for vehicles and for fuels
  • Volumetric requirements for biofuels
  • Carbon tax on transportation fuels
  • Economy-wide greenhouse gas cap-and-trade program
  • Transportation sector cap-and-trade program
  • Transportation fuels cap-and-trade program
  • Feebates
  • Tariffs on imported fuels and vehicles
  • Research, development, and demonstration in advanced transportation technologies
  • Tax incentives and government purchasing

A white paper will be issued in early fall 2007 that will provide a new proposal for addressing oil security and climate change in the U.S. transportation sector, taking into account comments received on the content of this discussion paper.  

This paper is one product of ETIP's Innovation in Transportation project.

Silicon Valley Energy Initiatives

  1. Environmental/Energy Initiative - Silicon Valley Commons

    Hey there, going to organize this research in two ways. First I'll list opportunities that I've found in the environment/energy conservation realm.
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  2. Google Invests in Green with Renewable Energy Initiative ...

    The new initiative, dubbed Renewable Energy Cheaper than Coal, ... In Silicon Valleyalone, investment in clean technology shot up from $34 million in the ...
    blog.wired.com/business/2007/11/google-gets-gre.html - 95k - Cached - Similar pages
  3. Google Press Center: Press Release

    Nov 27, 2007 ... Google's renewable energy initiative call begins today at 9:00 AM (PT) / 12:00 PM ... Google is headquartered in Silicon Valley with offices ...
    www.google.com/intl/en/press/pressrel/20071127_green.html - 15k - Cached - Similar pages
  4. j. - Clinging to clean tech: Israeli energy initiatives drawing ...

    Aug 8, 2008 ... Clinging to clean tech: Israeli energy initiatives drawing venture capital ... theSilicon Valley company working to make Israel a testing ...
    www.jewishsf.com/content/2-0-/module/displaystory/story_id/35803/format/html/displaystory.html - 23k - Cached - Similar pages
  5. California Energy Blog: Silicon Valley man bankrolls Energy Initiative

    Silicon Valley man bankrolls Energy Initiative. Since the Legislature is slow to adopy cleanenergy measures, a Silicon Valley man is taking the matter into ...
    calenergy.blogspot.com/2006/04/silicon-valley-man-bankrolls-energy.html - 14k -Cached - Similar pages
  6. Sustainable Silicon Valley

    Sustainable Silicon Valley Upcoming Initiatives ... SSV project: Helping Small and Medium Businesses in Silicon Valley Get Started on Cost-Effective Energy ...
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  7. Green VC: Hawaii Clean Energy Initiative Launched

    Feb 1, 2008 ... This agreement created the Hawaii Clean Energy Initiative... of Strategic Alliance Professionals (ASAP) – Silicon Valley Chapter · Astia ...
    www.greenvc.org/2008/02/hawaii-clean-en.html - 56k - Cached - Similar pages
  8. Get the Facts & Get Involved: Support Pennsylvania Governor ...

    The governor's energy initiatives are ambitious: he says he wants the commonweatlh to become the 'Silicon Valley' of alternative energy...
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California Energy Initiatives

  1. California Energy Commission Home Page

    Welcome to the Homepage of the California Energy Commission. Our website facilitates access to ... California Solar Initiative · Emerging Renewables Program ...
    www.energy.ca.gov/ - 69k - Cached - Similar pages
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  2. California Green Building Initiative

    Green Building Initiative State of California Executive Order S-20-04 ... It established the State of California's priority for energy and ...
    www.energy.ca.gov/greenbuilding/ - 59k - Cached - Similar pages
  3. UC San Diego Enacts Green Energy Initiatives

    Jul 21, 2008 ... UC San Diego Enacts Green Energy Initiatives. by Jim Gogek. California, United States [RenewableEnergyWorld.com]. University of California ...
    www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/story?id=53092 - 40k - Cached - Similar pages
  4. USC Research - Initiatives - Future Fuels and Energy

    Future Fuels and Energy Initiative 2006-07 Research Grant Recipients: ... University of Southern California Los Angeles CA 90089-4019 Phone (213) 740-6709 ...
    www.usc.edu/research/initiatives/future_fuels/ - 22k - Cached - Similar pages
  5. Recent Energy Initiatives in California

    Recent Energy Initiatives in California. lagreen The LA Times has several recent stories on the latest Los Angeles green energy initiatives and contention ...
    www.scienceprogress.org/2008/02/recent-energy-initiatives-in-california/ - 18k -Cached - Similar pages
  6. States with Aggressive Solar Energy Initiatives « Cooler Planet

    In 2006, California was the first state to set an aggressive initiative to place ... filed underCaliforniaenergy policy, renewable energy, solar energy...
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  7. California Proposition 7 (2008) - Ballotpedia

    (Redirected from California Solar and Clean Energy Initiative (2008)) ... The California Energy Commission will be required to identify solar and clean ...
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  8. Think Progress » Big Oil Misleads on California Renewable Energy ...

    Aug 9, 2006 ... Specifically, the initiative creates an alternative energy fund by making oil companies pay extraction fees for drilling in California...
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