Energy and Environment News Roundup – 5.31.12

Marcacci Communications publishes a daily roundup of energy and climate news and opinion. Inclusion of articles does not mean endorsement. Client relationships are disclosed where applicable. 

US-CHINA TARIFFS

Obama administration hits Chinese wind tower exports with new tariffs (via The Hill)

Chinese solar companies suspend US panel shipments (via Sustainable Business)

NATURAL GAS/FRACKING

US natural gas export permits delayed until late summer (via Bloomberg)

Power plant gas use rose 40% in March from 2011, says US EIA (via Bloomberg)

What Chesapeake Energy’s financial scandals mean for the rest of us (via DeSmog Blog)

EMISSIONS

Atmospheric CO2 levels hit 400 ppm in Arctic, ‘troubling milestone’ (via The Guardian/AP)

Public power systems cut CO2 emissions 2.4% in 10 years (via Environmental Leader)

New materials could cut parasitic energy costs for CO2 capture by up to 40% (via Green Car Congress)

RENEWABLES

Report: global… Continue reading >

Energy and Environment News Roundup – 5.30.12

Marcacci Communications publishes a daily roundup of energy and climate news and opinion. Inclusion of articles does not mean endorsement. Client relationships are disclosed where applicable. 

EMISSIONS/ENVIRONMENT

EU greenhouse gas emissions rise despite climate change policies (via BusinessGreen)

UK energy policy may fail to meet carbon goals, IEA says (via Bloomberg)

Cascading species shift looms in fire-starved Eastern woods (via Greenwire)

OIL

Enbridge restarted ruptured oil pipeline twice during 2010 Michigan oil spill (via InsideClimate News)

RENEWABLES

Report: US-China tariff’s impacts on solar project costs will be small (via Renewable Energy World)

Spain ejects clean-power industry with subsidy cuts (via Bloomberg)

Technology improving geothermal energy economics (via AOL Energy)

Cheap natural gas prompts Energy Department to soften its line on fuel cells (via New York Times)

NATURAL GAS/FRACKING

IEA: global best practices needed in shale gas boom (via Houston Chronicle)

Continue reading >

California and New Jersey Utilities Top Annual List of 2011 Installed Solar Power

Note: This post was originally published on Earth & Industry

By Silvio Marcacci

Utilities in California and New Jersey dominated the top-ten list of new solar power interconnected by American electric utilities in 2011, according to the fifth-annual report from the Solar Electric Power Association (SEPA). The rankings covered more than 240 of the most active utilities installing solar power, and represent more than 99 percent of the U.S. solar electric power marketplace.

California’s Pacific Gas & Electric (PGE) installed 288 megawatts (MW) of new solar in 2011, leading by a wide margin of more than 100 megawatts (MW) over the second-ranked utility, New Jersey’s Public Service Electric & Gas (PSE&G). California utilities Southern California Edison (SCE) and Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) ranked fourth and seventh, while New Jersey utilities Atlantic City Electric and Jersey Central Power & Light (JCPL) placed fifth and sixth, respectively.

Energy and Environment News Roundup – 5.29.12

Marcacci Communications publishes a daily roundup of energy and climate news and opinion. Inclusion of articles does not mean endorsement. Client relationships are disclosed where applicable. 

ENVIRONMENT/CLIMATE/EMISSIONS

Supercomputer will help researchers map climate change down to local level (via Washington Post)

MIT report finds China’s actions on climate change crucial; argues for global economy-wide greenhouse gas tax (via Green Car Congress)

Kenya’s bid to become first African nation to set up climate authority (via The Guardian)

Amazon in danger as Brazil moves forward with bill, critics say (via Los Angeles Times)

NATURAL GAS/FRACKING

Natural gas “golden age” threatened by pollution, IEA says (via Bloomberg)

LNG exporters sail by US manufacturers (via Forbes)

Drilling boom spurring clean up push (via Houston Chronicle)

55 investor groups challenge shale gas industry, will compare environmental performance of companies (via Facts of the Day)

RENEWABLES

China… Continue reading >

Energy and Environment News Roundup – 5.28.12

Marcacci Communications publishes a daily roundup of energy and climate news and opinion. Inclusion of articles does not mean endorsement. Client relationships are disclosed where applicable. 

RENEWABLES

Germany sets new solar power record – 22GW electricity per hour (via Reuters)

Grid problems steer China’s huge wind power industry into financial doldrums (via ClimateWire)

BLM nearing approval of California solar power project, would be world’s largest (via Greenwire)

Wind farms considering detection systems to prevent bird deaths (via Los Angeles Times)

Middle of Lake Michigan an untapped reservoir of wind energy (via CleanTechnica)

HyperSolar envisions solar-powered hydrogen “farms” (via CleanTechnica)

OIL

Center of gravity in oil world shifts to Americas (via Washington Post)

The $4 billion lobbying blitz that bought Shell the Arctic (via Treehugger)

Abu Dhabi may inject CO2 into offshore oil fields to boost output (via Bloomberg)

Two years… Continue reading >

Texas Renewables Jump 13 Percent in 2011

Note: This post was originally published on CleanTechnica

By Silvio Marcacci

The saying goes “everything’s bigger in Texas,” and a new report from the state’s grid operator proves the axiom continues to hold true for the renewable energy industry.

Texas saw a 13 percent increase in the amount of energy generated by renewable sources in 2011, according to a new report by the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), the grid operator for about 85 percent of the state. 31.7 million megawatt-hours (MWh) of renewable energy were recorded by the state’s renewable energy credit program, up from 28 million MWh in 2010.

Energy and Environment News Roundup – 5.25.12

Marcacci Communications publishes a daily roundup of energy and climate news and opinion. Inclusion of articles does not mean endorsement. Client relationships are disclosed where applicable. 

CLIMATE/EMISSIONS

Rich, poor nations at odds in UN climate talks (via Time/AP)

China to spend $27 billion on emission cuts, renewables (via Reuters)

Early season heat wave for Memorial Day weekend (via Climate Central)

RENEWABLES

Trade war seen looming as China rebukes US support for solar (via Bloomberg)

Germany stalled on the expressway to a green future (via Der Spiegel)

Nearly 50% cut in 2020 UK solar target – from 22 GW to 11.9 GW (via CleanTechnica)

California expands solar net metering program (via Earth2Tech)

Huge wind for California solar: CPUC keeps net energy metering alive (via Greentech Media)

Goldman Sachs to pump$40bn into clean energy (via Environmental Leader)

The promise and peril of… Continue reading >

Energy and Environment News Roundup – 5.24.12

Marcacci Communications publishes a daily roundup of energy and climate news and opinion. Inclusion of articles does not mean endorsement. Client relationships are disclosed where applicable. 

CLIMATE/EMISSIONS

Global CO2 emissions hit record in 2011 – IEA (via Reuters)

Greenhouse gas gap grows as climate pledges fall short (via Bloomberg)

Climate change will more than triple annual US heat-death toll (via Mother Jones)

More than 150,000 methane seeps appear as Arctic ice retreats (via Scientific American)

Kyoto Protocol emissions cuts review could boost climate ambitions, EU director claims (via Huffington Post/Reuters)

Germany puts deeper carbon cut back on EU agenda (via Reuters)

NATURAL GAS/FRACKING

European fracking bans open market for US gas exports (via Bloomberg Businessweek)

Shale boom has led to lower US carbon dioxide emissions (Houston Business Journal)

PJM says it is handling “massive” shift from coal to gas (via Facts… Continue reading >

Energy and Environment News Roundup – 5.23.12

Marcacci Communications publishes a daily roundup of energy and climate news and opinion. Inclusion of articles does not mean endorsement. Client relationships are disclosed where applicable. 

CLIMATE/ENVIRONMENT

Trees absorb less carbon in warming world than experts have assumed (via InsideClimate News)

Seagrass holds more carbon per square kilometer than forests (via Yale e360)

Bioenergy from cleared forests a climate killer (via Earth Techling)

Rivers are largest source of mercury in Arctic Ocean, study finds (via Yale e360)

Sea-level rise poses expensive questions for New York City (via ClimateWire)

TRANSPORTATION

EU appeals to China to help reach global emissions agreement to end airline dispute (via Washington Post/AP)

Survey says fuel economy is #1 factor when buying a car (via Autoblog Green)

Midwest cities planning for electric vehicles (via Midwest Energy News)

RENEWABLES

Foreign dominance of US clean energy market spells trouble for… Continue reading >

Energy and Environment News Roundup – 5.22.12

Marcacci Communications publishes a daily roundup of energy and climate news and opinion. Inclusion of articles does not mean endorsement. Client relationships are disclosed where applicable. 

ENVIRONMENT/EMISSIONS

France floats carbon tariff plan for EU imports (via BusinessGreen)

Methane sources found bubbling up from melting ice caps (via Yale e360)

Canada axes green business advisory board (via The Guardian)

Bristol Bay mining would harm Alaska salmon habitat, EPA analysis says (via Washington Post)

ENERGY EFFICIENCY

Businesses reducing energy use by 25 percent as recession lingers (via Houston Chronicle)

Gas industry aims to block 2030 zero-carbon building goal (via InsideClimate News)

RENEWABLES

Which countries produce the most wind energy? (via Greenbang)

India plans to add almost 30GW of renewable capacity by 2017 (via Recharge)

Have wind, CSP, and PV turned against each other? (via Greentech Media)