Ethanol Blend May Increase, Despite Concerns
U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack supports raising the federal blending limit on ethanol to boost the struggling industry.
Airtricity, Fluor Granted 700MW Offshore Wind Rights
The Crown Estate granted exclusive rights to develop an offshore wind farm at Bell Rock off Scotland's Angus coastline.
Western Massachusetts Electric Company Files Solar Plan
WMECO is one of the first Massachusetts power companies to propose a solar plan under the Green Communities Act.
Israeli Solar Company Plans 80MW PV System
Arava Power Company plans to build a photovoltaic power plant in Israel at a cost of $400 million.
Viva La Revolución Energética
Take the "Renewable Energy and Energy Education Tour" to Cuba from March 8 – 15, sponsored by Solar Energy International and Global Exchange. Contact Leslie Balog By Laurie Guevara-Stone What nation is the most sustainable in the world? If you guessed Sweden or Denmark, you would be wrong. Instead, the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) has declared Cuba as the only country on the planet that is approaching sustainable development. Key to this designation is the island’s Revolución Energética, an energy conservation effort launched only two years ago. The WWF’s Living Planet Report 2006 assesses sustainable development using the United Nations Development Programme’s (UNDP) Human Development Index (HDI) and the ecological footprint. The index is calculated using life expectancy, literacy and education, and per capita GDP. The UNDP considers an HDI value of more than 0.8 to be high human development. According to the ecological footprint, a measure of human demand on the biosphere, 1.8 global hectares per person or less denotes sustainability. The only country in the world that meets both of the above criteria is Cuba. From Blackouts to Efficiency Just a few years ago, Cuba’s energy situation was bleak. This communist nation of 11 million people had 11 […]
Forest Stewardship on Family Forests
One of the obstacles in certifying forests as sustainably managed has been making it affordable and accessible to small forest owners, which constitute the majority of forest lands around the world. A solution that’s catching on is to combine thousands of individual parcels into a large group, which is then certified as a whole. The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) recently announced they completed its first large-scale certification of family forests in the world – more than 2 million acres of Wisconsin’s privately owned forestlands. The Wisconsin Group Certificate brings 41,000 parcels and 31,000 landowners into the FSC system. That huge amount of acreage would never have achieved certification if each owner had to apply separately. Under the Wisconsin Managed Forest Law, the state provides tax benefits and technical assistance to participating landowners in exchange for their commitment to sustainable forest management practices. Only 2% of eligible landowners opted out FSC certification, a strong indication that they clearly understand the benefits of being certified. Forestry and forestry-related businesses account for 1 in 7 manufacturing jobs in Wisconsin and generate over $20 billion a year in revenue. "The certification of private forest lands enrolled in the Managed Forests program is significant economically […]
Weekly Investor Round Up
BrightSource contracts 1,300 MW of solar thermal power; PSE&G propses $773 million in solar projects; ITC Holdings wants to buid a $12 billion transmission project; and more.
Volkswagen, Toshiba To Partner on Electric Car
Companies signed a letter of intent to co-develop an electric-powered version of Volkswagen's Up! concept car.
TVA Could Spend $825M To Clean Up Ash Spill
TVA's quarterly income went from net $220 million to net loss of $305 million.
SF Launches First City-Wide Brown Grease Program
Public-private program will collect brown grease from city's restaurants for conversion into fuel.
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