Australia has just enacted a carbon tax law that it will implement mid-2012. Is a carbon tax a better policy than a cap and trade policy? Better minds than mine disagree over the answer to that question and the primary reason for disagreement is that they are both susceptible to misuse when in place even (more…)

Are we entering a new era of energy efficiency?

That’s what economists Ahmad Faruqui and Doug Mitarotonda of The Brattle Group have told Smart Grid News as a preview of their new white paper. They predict that electricity demand in the United States will fall between 5 to 15 per cent by 2020. (more…)

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) publishes its first-ever comprehensive review of low-carbon energy sources and potential, a 900-page “Bible” on renewable energy.

Word snuck out last week that the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) (more…)

As a Boulder resident, I am loosely participating in the SmartGridCity project run by our local electric utility, Xcel Energy. I say “loosely” because the extent of my participation has been the few times I logged into my online account to see a more granular view of my energy consumption. On this website, I could see into my daily energy usage in as small as 15 minute (more…)

Austria, the country of classical music has lit the way to leading green technologies since the 1970’s and it’s cleantech sector is still growing rapidly. Currently, renewable energies provide a quarter of the energy consumed in the country and two third of the electricity demand. More than 600 international cleantech companies form a (more…)

In 2009 China became a net-importer of coal. In 2006 the New York Times reported that China was already using “more coal than the United States, the European Union and Japan combined.” Today the amount of coal demanded in China is greater than ever. The coast of China is 7,000 miles (11,265 km) from the (more…)

The new year brings some good pieces of news on the energy storage front. If the first week of 2011 is any indication of trends to come over the next 12 months, there’s much to look forward to in the area of utility-scale energy storage.

Perhaps the biggest news (not in terms of scale but in terms of significance) is that the first utility-scale battery storage system in (more…)

In many ways the Pacific Northwest United States has become a leader in fighting climate change. From progressive energy efficiency standards that were adopted before most other US states, to joining with California in implementing clean car standards that became the Obama administration’s model for national policy, Washington and Oregon have been (more…)

Florida uses a ton of electricity, which explains the strong market for energy efficiency products. According to the Energy Information Administration (EIA), Florida’s per capita residential electricity demand is one of the highest in the country… due to high air conditioning use during the hot summer months and the widespread use of electricity for home heating during the winter (more…)

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The recession has slashed U.S. output of planet warming gases and puts the country on track to reach President Barack Obama’s short-term emissions goal, but cutting the pollution further will take more effort as the economy recovers.

“Losing weight by starving is different than shedding pounds through exercise,” said Kevin Book, an analyst at ClearView Energy Partners, LLC.

He said as the economy recovers electricity demand should rise, pushing up emissions from that sector. That will require the world’s second largest emitter of greenhouse gases after China to move faster to low-carbon sources like renewable energy if Obama’s short-term goal is to be met, he said.

(more…)