The energy game is rigged in favor of fossil fuels because we omit the environmental and health costs of burning coal, oil, and natural gas from their prices. Subsidies manipulate the game even further. According to conservative estimates from the Global Subsidies Initiative and the International Energy Agency (IEA), governments around the world spent more … Continue reading Fossil Fuel Subsidies Topped $620 Billion in 2011
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LED-Based Street Lighting Market to Surpass $2 Billion by 2020
Dramatically falling costs and improvements in efficiency are driving increased sales of light emitting diode (LED) lamps for street lighting. Costs have fallen as much as 50 percent over the past two years, and are expected to continue falling. According to a new report from Pike Research, a part of Navigant
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Clever Battery Completes Stretchable Electronics Package
Northwestern University’s Yonggang Huang and the University of Illinois’ John A. Rogers are the first to demonstrate a stretchable lithium-ion battery — a flexible device capable of powering their innovative stretchable electronics. No longer needing to be connected by a cord to an electrical outlet, the stretchable electronic devices now could be used anywhere, including … Continue reading Clever Battery Completes Stretchable Electronics Package
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Commercial Building Energy Storage Systems Will Expand More Than Five-Fold by 2022
The market for energy storage in commercial buildings includes one mature segment – energy storage systems for uninterruptible power supply (UPS) systems – as well as two relatively nascent segments: electrical energy storage (EES) systems and thermal energy storage (TES) systems. In certain cities and regions where local utilities and governments allow building owners to … Continue reading Commercial Building Energy Storage Systems Will Expand More Than Five-Fold by 2022
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Nuclear power revives… in Iran
The Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) announced Saturday that the Islamic republic plans to construct 16 nuclear power plants in different parts of the country, Press TV reported. “Following months of efforts, 16 new sites for nuclear power plants have been designated in coastal areas of the Caspian Sea, the Persian Gulf, the Sea … Continue reading Nuclear power revives… in Iran
Continue readingEarth Day 2013 Theme: The Face of Climate Change
The global theme for Earth Day 2013 is “The Face of Climate Change,” Earth Day Network announced today. Earth Day Network, the group founded by the organizers of the first Earth Day to coordinate the annual day of action that builds and invigorates the environmental movement, said that this theme was chosen because of the … Continue reading Earth Day 2013 Theme: The Face of Climate Change
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European Parliament takes step closer to boosting the price of CO2
The European Parliament’s Environment Committee yesterday voted in favour of a proposal that will help to fix Europe’s ailing Emissions Trading System (ETS). The proposal could see surplus “permits to pollute” withheld from the market – a move which should push the carbon price up, providing polluting industries with an incentive to move away from … Continue reading European Parliament takes step closer to boosting the price of CO2
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Scenarios for global renewable energy penetration
Currently, renewables make up 17 percent of final energy. About 9 percent of that is from “traditional biomass” and another 8 percent is from “modern” renewables like wind energy, solar power, geothermal energy, and biofuels. How much renewable energy will the world consume in the coming decades? That depends on who you ask. If you’re … Continue reading Scenarios for global renewable energy penetration
Continue readingEnergy Storage in Commercial Buildings
The commercial buildings market is currently the largest source of revenue for stationary energy storage companies, primarily thanks to a robust uninterruptible power supply (UPS) industry, which requires an energy storage component. That segment alone is estimated to generate $3.7 billion in global sales in 2013. In addition, there is a relatively healthy market for thermal … Continue reading Energy Storage in Commercial Buildings
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China to introduce a tax on carbon dioxide emissions
China will proactively introduce a set of new taxation policies designed to preserve the environment, including a tax on carbon dioxide emissions, according to a senior official with the Ministry of Finance (MOF). The government will collect the environmental protection tax instead of pollutant discharge fees, as well as levy a tax on carbon dioxide … Continue reading China to introduce a tax on carbon dioxide emissions
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Emerging Battery Technologies Will Address Issues of Energy Density, Cost, and Cycle Life
Currently available advanced battery technologies for cleantech applications fall short of market needs. While lithium ion batteries have emerged as an early leader in cleantech applications such as energy storage and electrified vehicles, after nearly 20 years of commercialization efforts, the competitive field remains open. According to a new research brief from Pike Research, a … Continue reading Emerging Battery Technologies Will Address Issues of Energy Density, Cost, and Cycle Life
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California Sets 50M W Target for Grid Energy Storage
That’s how much energy storage capacity the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) is asking Southern California Edison to procure over the next eight years, according to a final decision issued. It’s not a lot, compared to the total of 1,400 to 1,800 megawatts CPUC is asking the massive Southern California utility to procure between now … Continue reading California Sets 50M W Target for Grid Energy Storage
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New strides in Hybrid Energy Systems
Not content with creating the first hybrid power plant in the world, Enel Green Power is also moving ahead of the pack in new hybrid systems, like combining thermodynamic solar power and geothermal energy. Enel Green Power is conducting research into hybrid renewable energy systems (HRES) as a way to push the renewable energy sector … Continue reading New strides in Hybrid Energy Systems
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EU Energy Commissioner promises post-2020 policy next year » By Tom Rowe
At a special press briefing organized by The International Press Association in Brussels last night, EU Energy Commissioner Günther Oettinger confirmed that he will be bringing forward proposals for post-2020 policy, before the current term of the Commission ends, which is 31 October 2014. He said that the Council would talk about binding targets in … Continue reading EU Energy Commissioner promises post-2020 policy next year » By Tom Rowe
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Advanced Batteries for Military Applications
The U.S. military is the largest consumer of natural resources in the world, a fact that provides significant impetus for research and development (R&D) activities toward discovering better means of storing energy. The potential exists to dramatically reduce the fuel consumption of military operations, and advanced batteries represent a crucial innovation to these ends. However, … Continue reading Advanced Batteries for Military Applications
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Lithium Ion Batteries for Electric Vehicles Will Reach $22 Billion in Annual Market Value by 2020
In recent years, the lithium ion (Li-ion) battery industry has taken a number of steps forward. The technology continues to improve, leading battery cell manufacturers have built new factories that incorporate advanced production techniques, and automakers have greatly increased their research and development (R&D) efforts on plug-in electric vehicles (EVs). According to a new report … Continue reading Lithium Ion Batteries for Electric Vehicles Will Reach $22 Billion in Annual Market Value by 2020
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License will lead to faster-charging batteries for electric vehicles
An enhanced battery technology that can potentially reduce the time it takes to charge cell phones, electric vehicles and other battery-powered devices from hours to minutes is the subject of a commercial license agreement between Battelle and Vorbeck Materials Corp. of Jessup, Md. Battelle operates the Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in Richland, … Continue reading License will lead to faster-charging batteries for electric vehicles
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China burns half of coal consumption worldwide
China overtook the US as the world’s biggest carbon emitter in 2007 and became world’s largest energy consumer in 2010. Coal consumption in China grew more than 9% in 2011, continuing its upward trend for the 12th consecutive year, according to newly released international data. China’s coal use grew by 325 million tons in 2011, … Continue reading China burns half of coal consumption worldwide
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Consumers Remain Unfamiliar With Smart Grid Concepts
Smart grid rollouts are building momentum as utilities across the United States continue to invest in this new infrastructure in an effort to transform their power grids. However, even as utilities invest in these new technologies, they struggle to effectively communicate both the benefits of smart grids and the possibilities they make available to the … Continue reading Consumers Remain Unfamiliar With Smart Grid Concepts
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2012 Sustained Long-Term Climate Warming Trend
NASA scientists say 2012 was the ninth warmest of any year since 1880, continuing a long-term trend of rising global temperatures. With the exception of 1988, the nine warmest years in the 132-year record all have occurred since 2000, with 2010 and 2005 ranking as the hottest years on record. NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space … Continue reading 2012 Sustained Long-Term Climate Warming Trend
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