Warren Buffett is apparently not an unadorned green but instead falls in the category of self-interested capitalist. Shocker, right? The billionaire is under scrutiny because one arm of his vast Berkshire Hathaway conglomerate – the Nevada utility NV Energy – is trying to keep a 3 percent ceiling on net-metered solar in the state. Meanwhile, other arms of Berkshire… Keep reading →
Honestly, we don’t enjoy debunking renewable energy innovation. And it’s actually not the technologies as much as it’s the media coverage that gets us going. In a connected world where one credulous story can set off a chain reaction of hype and misunderstanding, a little scrutiny can’t be a bad thing, can it? The latest instigator: the Guardian. The technology:… Keep reading →
What’s going on with coal in China? Already the world’s largest consumer of the stuff, China has been expected to continue on an upward trajectory in coal use. But last year the trend line turned down – and it appears to be continuing in that direction. The figures suggest the decline in China’s coal use… Keep reading →
A staggering C$1.149 billion ($958 million) – that’s how much money developers had offered the Lax Kw’alaams Band, a First Nation community of 3,600 on British Columbia’s northwest coast, for clearance to build a liquefied natural gas terminal in their territory. They said no. “Hopefully, the public will recognize that unanimous consensus in communities (and… Keep reading →
He’s hardly the first right-of-center energy thinker to come out in favor of a carbon tax, but Jerry Taylor’s story puts a more provocative spin on things: He was a longtime Cato Institute fellow who for years rejected the idea that climate change represented a well-understood, urgent threat, or that it was clear what impact man… Keep reading →
It was just three years ago that Greenpeace was rallying the troops to put pressure on Apple to stop “powering their growing 21st-century clouds with dirty, 19th-century coal energy.” Whether it was the pressure that did it or not, Apple stands as a shining star in Greenpeace’s new update on the clean energy efforts of Internet-related… Keep reading →
Watts Bar 2 is nearing completion, and the Tennessee Valley Authority says that when the nuclear reactor in Rhea County, Tennessee, is completed, “it will produce the nation’s first new nuclear generation of the 21st century.” A 21st century plant but with deep roots in the 20th century – construction on the Westinghouse-designed pressurized water… Keep reading →
European objections helped derail the South Stream pipeline project that Moscow was hoping to use to move Russian gas to southeastern Europe via Bulgaria – and now the United States is telling Greece to say no to Turkish Stream, a project that Gazprom and Turkey reached agreement on this week. Turkish Stream would pipe Russian gas through Turkey… Keep reading →
Supporters of the Keystone XL pipeline have been frustrated if not furious at what they see as unnecessary delays by President Barack Obama in deciding the fate of the Keystone XL pipeline. And by now, it appears, opponents of the pipeline are getting antsy too. As Bloomberg News reports, this is a bit of a… Keep reading →
SolaRoad Performs Better Than Expected, Remains Pointless
By Pete DankoHere we go again. Last week it was a wind turbine without a turbine that won the Internet. This week, a solar bike path in the Netherlands – a fun extravagance that has no hope of making a meaningful difference in anyone’s energy future – is drawing massive attention. What will it be next week? I predict… Keep reading →