Ten years ago, one could find almost all the Nike shoes labeled as “made-in-China”, but today the word “China” is replaced by “Vietnam”. China is going through immense transitions. Its competitive advantage of cheap labor is gone. Its investment is slowing down to the extent that the export sector hit a record low in the… Keep reading →
President Barack Obama’s assertion last month that climate change will bring more asthma and worse allergies drew a skeptical response in some quarters, but it turns out the president’s signature climate solution – the Clean Power Plan – could come with significant health “co-benefits.” That’s the conclusion of a new study in the journal Nature… Keep reading →
The state of Hawaii: remote, tropical and a haven for tourists. But for locals the remoteness of the islands poses a problem. Since the state producers no hydrocarbon resources of its own, it has to import all of its energy needs, resulting in electricity prices as much as three to five times the national average.… Keep reading →
MidAmerican Energy this week has announced $1.5 billion in planned new wind power investment, including $900 million to build 552 megawatts of new capacity in Iowa. And that state’s Republican governor, Terry Branstad, couldn’t be more pleased. “Iowa derives a greater percentage of its electricity from wind than any other state, and we’re second in the… Keep reading →
Republicans have been pummeling President Barack Obama for waging what they call a “war on coal,” but you’ve got to wonder how politically useful that tactic is when one of the nation’s biggest corporations is suggesting that it wants nothing to do with comparatively dirty fuel. General Motors this week put out a press release boasting… Keep reading →
While solar and wind energy often dominate the renewable energy headlines, their less well known bed fellow – biomass – recently garnered attention. New figures released by the U.S International Trade Commission have shown a 40 percent upsurge in demand for exports of American wood pellets, fueled by the increase in uptake of biomass technologies, particularly in… Keep reading →
It’s microscopic compared to the massive offshore wind farms that have been going up in European waters over the past decade, but Deepwater Wind’s Block Island project, 18 miles from mainland Rhode Island, is under construction. In the United States, that’s a first, and Jeffrey Grybowski believes the importance can’t be overstated. “This is what offshore… Keep reading →
Solar power is on the brink of becoming profitable in Japan and when it does, the technology will have achieved “commercial viability” in all of the G7 countries, Reuters is reporting. “Solar has come of age in Japan and from now on will be replacing imported uranium and fossil fuels,” said Tomas Kåberger, executive board chairman of Japan… Keep reading →
When SolarCity management had its most recent earnings call, in February, there was a lot of disappointment about deployments in the commercial sector. The company built just 28 megawatts in the final quarter of 2014, less than it had in the same quarter in 2013. On an annual basis, commercial went from 75 out of… Keep reading →
Renewables+1: Why the President Should Support All Carbon-Free Energy Production
By Stephen AntonyPresident Obama recently announced his support of nuclear power plants smaller than 300 megawatts in size (known as small modular reactors or “SMR”s), as a clean energy source by way of an executive order. This was a good start. However, it is my view that the President’s endorsement for nuclear energy didn’t go nearly far… Keep reading →