Under pressure from greens, Amazon Web Services – the online retail giant’s market-leading cloud business – is moving to clean up its carbon act. AWS on Tuesday announced it would buy power under a 13-year contract from a wind farm that Pattern Energy will build in Indiana. The way some companies pay to get stadiums… Keep reading →
Germany’s Munich Re, one of the world’s largest and leading reinsurers, released on January 7 its review of natural catastrophes in 2014 – measuring the economic impact of natural catastrophes on its reinsurance business bottom line. Attributing the much lower 2014 financial losses vis-à-vis previous years to the “absence of very severe catastrophes and a… Keep reading →
The renewable energy future for the U.S. might not be what you expect. Will there be more solar? Sure, but solar heating and cooling systems as much as photovoltaic panels will be important contributors. And the number of giant wind turbines envisioned whirring across the land – and over coastal waters – is kind of… Keep reading →
Led by solar power, global investment in renewable energy increased 16% in 2014 year-on-year. Solar and wind led the charge, but biofuels investment fell back a bit. “China was the clear national leader, with investment rising 32% to $90bn, with the US second, up 8% to $52bn, and Japan up 12% to $41bn. Canada, Brazil… Keep reading →
Cold weather has returned to much of the United States, and the wind energy industry is pivoting off the big chill to tout their turbines’ ability to provide cheap electricity when fuel prices for other sources skyrocket. The American Wind Energy Association said Wednesday that new research shows during last year’s dramatic January icy spell,… Keep reading →
Energy sources and related commodities have driven national security issues ever since the modern nation-state was born with the Peace of Westphalia. Oak made Spain and England’s stout sailing ships. Water energy and wind drove mills and moved water. Wood and coal moved steamships. Then came the almost magical commodity of oil, packed with energy. World War II… Keep reading →
The renewable energy sector is dynamic, with advancing technology and evolving policy. As 2015 beckons, here are some of the key questions that Portland, Oregon-based contributor Pete Danko will be asking as about U.S. renewables. 1) Is The PTC Winding Down or Dead? The wind industry won a small victory just before Congress went home,… Keep reading →
Randy Knowles figures he’s moving in the right direction. “They used to call me crazy,” he said with a self-effacing chuckle. “Now they’re calling me audacious.” For well over a decade, the Klickitat (Washington) Public Utility District commissioner has promoted building a big pumped storage project off-stream from the Columbia River at the John… Keep reading →
Who wants to plunge deep into the dreary details of tax law, especially when doing so might get in the way of slapping a scarlet “B” for bailout on a renewable energy project? So it was that in the wake of our reporting on lower-than-expected production levels at the Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System in… Keep reading →
Environmentalists are Wrong about Port Ambrose LNG
By Edward DodgeThe proposed Port Ambrose deepwater LNG terminal near New York City has been denounced by environmentalists as a dirty and dangerous export terminal in disguise. The reality is that LNG is the safest and cleanest fuel available and natural gas is critical in efforts to eliminate air pollution and save lives in New York City.… Keep reading →