Energy and Climate Change


Grant to Provide Electricity for 1,500 Homes in Latin America, Caribbean

A solar project in Brazil’s sundrenched northeast, supported by the Inter-American Development Bank, is providing a roadmap on how to spark private sector investment in solar energy.

The Potential of Landfill Gas

Research suggests that landfill gas-recovery projects should be implemented quickly if the maximum amount of methane gas is to be retrieved from organic waste in as short as time as possible.

EPA, DOT Unveil Revamped Fuel-Efficiency Labels for New Cars

Spurred by a desire to increase sales of fuel-efficient cars, The Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Transportation announced an overhaul of the fuel-efficiency labels affixed to windows of new cars starting in 2013.

Study: North American Utilities Most Concerned about Regulation, Infrastructure, Workforce, Pricing

According to a survey of more than 100 senior executives in the U.S. and Canadian electric and natural gas industries, the five most critical challenges facing the North American energy industry, in order of importance, are: environmental regulation, aging infrastructure, non-environmental regulation, an aging industry workforce, and the need for new pricing mechanisms.

Voraxial Named Finalist in X PRIZE Competition to Engineer Oil Spill Cleanup Technology

Enviro Voraxial Technology Inc. announced that its company team, Team Voraxial, will move forward to the final phase of the $1.4 million Wendy Schmidt Oil Cleanup X CHALLENGE, which was launched in the wake of the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

Groundbreaking Study Details Viable Pathway to Develop Sustainable Aviation Biofuels Industry in Northwest (With Video)

Creating an aviation biofuels industry will depend upon securing early government policy support to prioritize the aviation industry in U.S. biofuel development.

Report: U.S. Can Curb Carbon Emissions While Boosting Domestic Oil Production

A report from MIT and The University of Texas at Austin urges the United States to accelerate efforts to pursue carbon capture and storage in combination with enhanced oil recovery, a practice that could increase domestic oil production while significantly curbing emissions of carbon dioxide.

European Commission Funds Large-Scale Bioproducts-from-Algae Project

Nine partners from seven countries have joined in a project to show that ethanol, biodiesel and bioproducts can be produced from algae on a large scale.



Professor Comes Up With Way to Neutralize Radioactive Iodine – In the Microwave

A University of Sheffield professor has found a way of locking up iodine radioisotopes in a durable, solid material suitable for ultimate disposal, such as lead iodovanadinite(Pb5(VO4)3I).

Santa Clara University Partners with Ayllu to Create Map of Off-Grid Energy Solutions

The map provides detailed graphs and analysis of 40 social enterprises in 16 countries that are overcoming vast hurdles in their respective markets to bring electricity or alternative fuel to 500 to 500,000 people apiece.

SUNY Researchers Evaluate Biobutanol as a Vehicle Fuel

Researchers in the college’s department of paper and bioprocess engineering are experimenting with different strains of bacteria that can ferment sugars extracted from wood into biobutanol that can be pumped into automobile gas tanks. They believe that biobutanol — more efficient than ethanol in producing energy and easier to add to the existing gasoline distribution infrastructure — could be the emerging biofuel of the future.

GE Secures 630 MW of Commitments For its New Wind Turbine

GE unveiled its latest wind turbine technology, the 1.6-100, at the American Wind Energy Association’s (AWEA) Windpower 2011 Conference & Exhibition. The company has already secured nearly 630 megawatts of commitments for the evolutionary 1.6-100, which has been designed for increased performance in areas with lower wind resources

One of U.S.’s Largest Public Utilities Adopts energyOrbit Cloud Computing Solution

energyOrbit, a cloud-computing company in the Demand Side Management sector, announced the successful Implementation and roll out of energyOrbit at Santee Cooper, one of the country’s largest public utilities.

World Bank to Loan Ukraine $200M for Energy-Efficiency Project

The World Bank’s board of directors has approved a $200 million loan to finance investments in energy-saving programs in industrial companies, municipalities and municipal-owned companies, as well as energy service companies in Ukraine, reports the World Bank on its website.

Fukushima Affect on Ocean Bigger than That of Chernobyl

Radionuclides in seawater have been reported from the Fukushima plant's discharge canals, from coastal waters five to 10 kilometers south of the plant, and from 30 kilometers offshore, that are at least an order of magnitude higher than the highest levels in 1986 in the Baltic and Black Seas, the two ocean water bodies closest to Chernobyl.

Study Predicts Cellulosic Ethanol Won't Contribute to Renewable Fuel Targets by 2022

The study details 12 technologies and 36 projects that convert wood to fuels including ethanol, butanol, diesel, gasoline, and jet fuel.

Biofuel Industry Urges Congress to Leave Biofuels Provision in Energy Law

Advocates of the biofuels industry sent Congress a letter urging lawmakers "to stand firm in the face of calls to waive or repeal the groundbreaking biofuels provisions included in the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (EISA), including the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS)."

Radiation Protection Expert Criticizes Comparison of Fukushima to Chernobyl

Taking a close look at information disclosed by Japanese government ministries, the World Health Organization, the International Atomic Energy Agency and others, Professor Wakeford details events at the six different reactors, and the consequent releases of radioactivity.

G-OIL Makes its NASCAR Debut With Kenny Wallace at Dover International Speedway

Green Earth Technologies Inc. has entered a multi-race partnership with RAB Racing with Brack Maggard, promoting G-OIL motor oil at Dover International Speedway. RAB Racing will showcase G-OIL on the No. 09 Toyota Camry driven by Kenny Wallace for four NASCAR Nationwide Series events in 2011.

Pa. DEP Levies Biggest Gas Drilling Fine Ever on Chesapeake Energy

Chesapeake Energy agreed to pay the penalty for using faulty well casings that allowed natural gas to seep into the water supply and for improper handling of a wet gas that resulted in a fire.