The French government announced a huge investment package for renewable energy last week, totaling €1.35 billion ($173 billion). The money is to be invested over the next 4 years.
THIN FILM SOLAR PANELS
Thin Film Solar Panels Are Here
France Launches €1.35 Billion Clean Energy Program
Posted in August 19th, 2010
by Zachary Shahan in Biofuels, biofuel, carbon capture and storage, clean energy, energy, energy industry, france, geothermal energy, marine energy, nuclear, nuclear energy, nuclear power, policy, renewable energy, smart grid, solar energy, transport, wave energy
The French government announced a huge investment package for renewable energy last week, totaling €1.35 billion ($1.73 billion). The money is to be invested over the next 4 years.
Nuclear Projects Looking for a Savior
Posted in August 1st, 2010
by Zachary Shahan in DOE, Texas, congress, department of energy, nuclear, nuclear energy, nuclear power, policy, politics
It was just a few hours ago when I wrote that I thought I’d be delving into the topic of nuclear energy a little more soon. Well, soon is now.
This post is about two nuclear reactors that are an urgent matter to some (in the nuclear industry and politics) and also, potentially, the source of a very big bill for U.S. taxpayers.
Historic Report: Solar Energy Costs Now Lower than Nuclear Energy
Posted in August 1st, 2010
by Zachary Shahan in business, clean energy, energy, nuclear, nuclear energy, nuclear power, renewable energy, solar, solar energy, solar power
For ages, people have been saying: “Solar is a great, clean, renewable energy source, but it is just too expensive. Other energy sources, like nuclear, may have some (or serious) environmental risks, but they are cheaper.”
Now, a new report out of Duke University says that solar energy and nuclear energy have passed a “historic crossover,” where decreasing solar energy costs and increasing nuclear energy costs have met, and then parted. Solar energy is now cheaper than nuclear energy and is getting increasingly cheaper every day.
Did the Nuclear Industry and Politicians Learn Anything from the BP Oil Spill?
Posted in June 24th, 2010
by Zachary Shahan in clean energy, congress, nuclear, nuclear energy, nuclear power, policy, politics
A major factor causing the BP oil spill to be the disaster that it is turning out to be is deregulation of the oil industry. You would think that if people, especially politicians, learned one thing from this disaster, it would be that we need strong government oversight of risky technologies.
It seems right now that some in the nuclear industry and Congress have missed that completely or just haven’t heard the news about the BP oil spill at all.
American Power Act = More Jobs
Posted in May 27th, 2010
by Zachary Shahan in Biofuels, Climate Change, US, clean coal, clean energy, coal, fossil fuels, green jobs, greenhouse gases, nuclear, oil, renewable energy
Republicans opposed to clean energy in the US (who knows why?) have repeatedly put forward the idea (and claimed it was absolutely true) that a climate change and clean energy bill would cost the US jobs.
A new non-partisan report out by the Peterson Institute for International Economics finds that the American Power Act would actually result in an increase in jobs, hundreds of thousands of them per year (on average) from 2011 to 2020.
Renewable Energy Now Growing Faster than Coal in China
Posted in April 10th, 2010
by Zachary Shahan in China, US, clean energy, coal, electricity, fossil fuels, hydro, nuclear, power, renewable energy
New official stats from China show that renewable energy capacity is growing faster than coal now.
By the end of 2010, hydro, nuclear and wind power should account for 26% of the country’s electricity generation, providing about 250 GW of capacity. “Thermal power”, largely coal-fired power stations, accounts for about 700 GW of capacity. However, 96 GW of the China’s 178 GW of new power capacity will be from renewables in 2010, compared to 80 GW from thermal power. So, the tide may be changing.
China’s Multi-Billion Dollar Renewable Energy Program Set for Launch Soon
Posted in March 7th, 2010
by Zachary Shahan in China, IBM, Wind, clean energy, energy, grid, nuclear, policy, power, renewable energy, smart grid, solar
China is reportedly planning to produce 15% of its electricity from low-carbon technology by 2020, and to reduce it’s carbon intensity by 40-45% from the 2005 level.
Zhang Guobao, head of the National Energy Administration, told the government-owned newspaper China Daily this last week that a national program consisting of billions of dollars of investment in wind, solar and nuclear power would be launched sometime soon.