Ceres | Investors Achieve Record Results in 2007 in Spurring Corporate Action on Climate Change 

Investors engaging with US companies on the financial risks and opportunities from climate change had their most successful year ever during the 2007 proxy season. A record 43 climate-related shareholder ... resolutions were filed with US companies this year, of which 15 led to positive actions by businesses such as ConocoPhillips, Wells Fargo and Hartford Insurance. Shareholders withdrew their resolutions after the companies made their climate-related commitments. Remaining resolutions that went to a vote received record high average voting support of 21.6 percent, including 39.5 percent support for a resolution filed with Allegheny Energy, the highest vote ever on a global warming shareholder resolution. The ’07 proxy season also was marked by the first-ever filing of seven resolutions requesting that companies, including Exxon Mobil, set specific greenhouse gas reduction targets from their operations and products. These resolutions also received strong support, including 31.1 percent   [More...] [Less...]

DRIVING WHILE DELUDED | More Intelligent Life 

THE CHEAPEST LIQUID IN THE FILLING STATION IS STILL PETROL In this second extract from " Zoom ", their forthcoming book about the next revolution in cars and fuel, Iain Carson and Vijay Vaitheeswaran look ... at the hidden subsidies which keep American petrol prices down, and crowd out cleaner fuels... Special to MORE INTELLIGENT LIFE Americans are forever complaining about gasoline prices at the pump—especially in summer, as consumers get ready for what market analysts call the "driving season" leading up to Labor Day. But despite the perpetual moaning, gasoline is hardly over-priced. Adjust for inflation, and it turns out that Americans were paying as much or more for it a few decades ago. The 30-cents-a-gallon price that old-timers recall from the 1960s is, in today's prices, really about $2 a gallon. The $1.25-a-gallon price that more people remember from the 1980s translates in today's money to about $2.50 a gallon. In fact, gasoline is a bargain at today's prices. If you don't believ   [More...] [Less...]

PopSci's Best of What's New 2007 

Imagine a solar panel without the panel. Just a coating, thin as a layer of paint, that takes light and converts it to electricity. From there, you can picture roof shingles with solar cells built inside ... and window coatings that seem to suck power from the air. Consider solar-powered buildings stretching not just across sunny Southern California, but through China and India and Kenya as well, because even in those countries, going solar will be cheaper than burning coal. That’s the promise of thin-film solar cells: solar power that’s ubiquitous because it’s cheap. The basic technology has been around for decades, but this year, Silicon Valley–based Nanosolar created the manufacturing technology that could make that promise a reality. The company produces its PowerSheet solar cells with printing-press-style machines that set down a layer of solar-absorbing nano-ink onto metal sheets as thin as aluminum foil, so the panels can be made for about a tenth of what current panels cost and at   [More...] [Less...]

Quantum to Supply Modular Hydrogen Refueling Station to Shell Hydrogen 

IRVINE, Calif., March 31 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Quantum Fuel Systems Technologies Worldwide, Inc., (Nasdaq: QTWW ) today announced that it has been awarded a contract from Shell Hydrogen LLC for a modular ... hydrogen refueling station. The unit will be sited by Shell Hydrogen at a yet to be determined location within the United States. Quantum will supply one of its modular, portable, and transportable hydrogen refueling stations together with a hydrogen storage cascade. The system incorporates an oil-free gas compression system to deliver hydrogen at high-pressure from the storage cascade. This refueling appliance will provide both 35 MPa (5,000 psi) and 70 MPa (10,000 psi) fill capabilities. "Quantum's hydrogen refueling stations, integral elements of our alternative energy product portfolio, are cost-effective, just-in-time modular solutions to deliver hydrogen to hydrogen powered vehicles as their demand continues to grow around the world. We are pleased to support Shell Hydrogen i   [More...] [Less...]

THE GREENENERGY WEBSITE 

Did you know.? At present over 2% of electricity produced in the UK comes from a renewable source. By the year 2010 the Government's target is to exceed 10%. Various predictions suggest we will achieve ... 50% by the year 2050. Some renewable energy sources rely on the availability of natural occurring energy. These include heat or light from the sun; wind at a suitable speed produced from complex weather systems; waves from oceans, and tides based on the relative position of the sun and earth. These cannot be turned on or off according to demand for energy; they are therefore said to suffer from intermittency. Although a degree of back-up is required to cope with intermittency, a report prepared for the Carbon Trust in 2006 identified that intermittency should not be a major problem in the UK over the next 20 years. Please follow this link for more details on intermittency . To download our education factsheets on the different renewable energy, please visit our education website at ww   [More...] [Less...]

EIA Renewable Energy-€ Renewable Energy Consumption and Electricity Preliminary 2006 Statistics” 

Overview Preliminary data indicates that total renewable energy consumption increased 7 percent between 2005 and 2006 (Table 1). In contrast, total U.S. energy consumption declined 1 percent, mainly due ... to decreased consumption of fossil fuels (including decreased natural gas consumption in the residential sector and decreased coal and petroleum consumption in the electric power sector). [1] Renewable energy s market share stood at almost 7 percent in 2006, slightly greater than for 2005 (Table 1 and Figure 1). Total renewable consumption stood at 6.844 quadrillion Btu. Consistent with historical patterns, the electric power sector consumed the majority (56 percent) of renewable energy (Table 2). The industrial sector consumed 28 percent, with the transportation and commercial sectors using the remainder. Hydroelectric conventional power had the largest absolute year-to-year change at 186 trillion Btu, but this represented only a 7 percent increase, while biofuels [2] consumption inc   [More...] [Less...]

Greenprint for a renewable energy policy that works [pdf]

BT invests £250m in wind farms - Independent Online Edition > Business News 

BT upped the ante in the green-energy stakes yesterday by revealing plans to lead a £250m wind farm project to generate renewable power that will supply a quarter of its energy needs by 2016. It is the ... largest corporate wind power project to be launched outside the energy sector and puts pressure on other large UK companies with large land banks to consider similar action. BT is one of the biggest consumers of electricity within the UK with its annual consumption accounting for around 0.7 per cent of the country's energy usage. The company has already reduced its carbon emissions by 60 per cent since 1996 and expects the new wind farm project to help the company hit its new target of 80 per cent by 2016. Power generation is hardly BT's core business, but Hanif Lalani, the company's finance director, said it was important that the company leads the way on reducing its carbon footprint as its customers demand it. "Customers want us to generate products and services using green energy. No   [More...] [Less...]

World Energy Council 

Welcome to the World Energy Council. We promote the sustainable supply and use of energy for the greatest benefit of all people. We do this by identifying energy issues, advising and facilitating dialogue ... between energy decision makers and implementing action plans.   [More...] [Less...]

Renewables 2007 Global Status Report [pdf]

RENEWABLES 2007 GLOBAL STATUS REPORT www.ren21.net Renewable Energy Policy Network for the 21st Century REN21 is a global policy network in which ideas are shared and action is encouraged to promote renewable ... energy. It provides a forum for leadership and exchange in international policy processes. It bolsters appropriate policies that increase the wise use of renewable energies in developing and industrialized economies. Open to a wide variety of dedicated stakeholders, REN21 connects governments, international institutions, nongovern- mental organizations, industry associations, and other partnerships and initiatives. Linking actors from the energy, develop- ment, and environment communities, REN21 leverages their successes and strengthens their influence for the rapid expansion of renewable energy worldwide. Sultan Al Jaber Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company United Arab Emirates Richard Burrett Sustainable Development ABN AMRO Corrado Clini Ministry for the Environment and Territory   [More...] [Less...]