Sites: news | india | latam | brasil | indonesia
Feeds: news | india | latam | brasil | indonesia
topic: Alternative Energy
Social media activity version | Lean version
Rocky rollout for Bangladesh’s ambitious solar-powered irrigation plans
- Nearly half of irrigation costs in Bangladesh are due to irrigation, and the diesel pumps that currently power irrigation networks are responsible for 1.6% of the country’s greenhouse gas emissions.
- To address both issues, the government is rolling out a nationwide program to gradually replace these diesel pumps with solar-powered ones, aiming to slash irrigation-related emissions by 0.8 million metric tons by 2030.
- It also says that given that irrigation use is concentrated in the non-monsoon months, the surplus energy generated by the pumps the rest of the time can be fed into the grid, providing up to 480 gigawatt-hours of clean energy a year.
- In pilot programs, however, farmers have expressed concern over the reliability of the solar pump systems, especially for water-intensive crops such as rice and corn, and have also noted that their irrigation costs remain the same.
Tribes turn to the U.N. as major wind project plans to cut through their lands in the U.S.
- Last week a United States federal judge rejected a request from Indigenous nations to stop SunZia, a $10 billion dollar wind transmission project that would cut through traditional tribal lands in southwestern Arizona.
- Indigenous leaders and advocates are turning to the U.N. to intervene and are calling for a moratorium on green energy projects for all U.N. entities “until the rights of Indigenous peoples are respected and recognized.”
- Indigenous leaders say they are not in opposition to renewable energy projects, but rather projects that don’t go through the due process and attend their free, prior and informed consent.
- According to the company, the wind transmission project is the largest clean energy infrastructure initiative in U.S. history, and will provide power to 3 million Americans, stretching from New Mexico to as far as California.
Consent and costs are key questions on extraction of ‘energy transition’ minerals
- The many environmental, social, and health impacts of extracting minerals that power renewable energy, mobile phones and electric vehicles need more debate and detailed media coverage, an Indigenous rights activist and journalist say on the podcast.
- Mongabay speaks with Galina Angarova, Indigenous executive director of the SIRGE Coalition, and environmental journalist Ian Morse about critical questions to ask about the demand for certain minerals and who benefits from their extraction.
- Research indicates as much as 54% of all transition minerals are on or near Indigenous land, however, no nation has properly implemented the protocols of Free Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC), a framework that’s key to ensuring that local communities are aware of, benefit from – and especially are not harmed by – such activities.
- The risk of global supply chain disruptions due to the concentration of minerals in relatively few countries, or the potential formation of cartels restricting their supply, adds further complexity to the situation, the two podcast guests say.
Mining industry touts green pledges to attract talent, but Gen Z isn’t buying it
- A massive increase in renewable energy capacity will require critical minerals, such as rare earth elements, lithium, cobalt and graphite, which mining companies and governments say can create jobs and generate wealth to the benefit of communities and the environment.
- However, finding the next generation of employees appears to be a growing concern: A 2023 McKinsey report found 70% of its respondents aged 15-30 said they definitely or probably wouldn’t work in mining, and Australia has seen a 63% decrease in mining graduates from 2014 to 2020.
- Mining industry insiders and representatives say that rebranding mining from its past, in part by being more responsible as well as connecting how mined minerals can be part of the solution to net zero, will be key.
- Youth activists and community members, however, remained concerned about the persistent disconnect between mining companies’ pledges and the reality of their actions, to the detriment of people and the planet.
Surprise discovery of wind farm project in Philippine reserve prompts alarm
- In late 2023, conservationists monitoring the Philippine’s Masungi Georeserve were surprised to encounter four drilling rigs operating within the ostensibly protected wildlife sanctuary.
- The construction equipment belongs to a company building a wind farm within the reserve, which claims to have received the necessary permits despite the area’s protected status.
- Masungi Georeserve Foundation, Inc. (MGFI), the nonprofit organization managing the site, has launched a petition calling for the project to be canceled, saying that renewable energy generation should not be pursued at the expense of the environment.
We need a better understanding of how crops fare under solar panels, study shows
- In agrivoltaics, farmers grow crops beneath or between solar panels.
- Proponents say the technology can help achieve clean energy goals while maintaining food production, but experts caution that careful analysis and guidelines are needed if we’re not to compromise agricultural production.
- A new synthesis of previously published studies finds that overall crop yields decline as the amount of land covered by solar panels increases.
- This ground cover ratio is a convenient, easily measured and reproducible metric that can be used to predict crop yields and better evaluate agrivoltaic systems.
Report: Rush for ‘clean energy’ minerals in Africa risks repeating harmful extractivist model
- The nonprofit Global Witness investigated lithium mining projects in Zimbabwe, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Namibia, which appear to reproduce the same model of extractivism that has impoverished African countries for centuries.
- In March, residents of the Namibian town of Uis took to the streets to protest the activities of Chinese miner Xinfeng, alleging the company was carrying out large-scale industrial mining without the proper permits or social license.
- In Zimbabwe, activist Farai Maguwu from the Centre for Natural Resource Governance described a similar experience of exclusion and exploitation at Chinese miner Sinomine’s Bikita lithium operation, calling it “typical extractivism.”
- One of the ways to prevent exploitation is to shut out companies that “socialize the costs and privatize the profits,” Maguwu said, adding he remains hopeful that encouraging competition between companies from across the world is the way to ensure better outcomes for Zimbabweans.
Marine conservation technology hub rises from old L.A. wharf (analysis)
- In 2014, the Port of Los Angeles gave a 50-year lease to an aging wharf called City Dock No. 1 to a project called AltaSea.
- AltaSea is a non-profit project founded in 2014 that in less than 10 years has become a leading ‘blue economy’ research hub focused on renewable ocean energy, sustainable aquaculture and other blue technologies.
- Hub tenants include marine renewable energy startups, sustainable aquaculture projects, a marine seed bank, a research effort aimed at decarbonizing oceanic shipping, and other projects.
- This article is an analysis. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily of Mongabay.
Indonesia pushes carbon-intensive ‘false solutions’ in its energy transition
- Indonesia’s newly revised plan for a $20 billion clean energy transition has come under criticism for offering “false solutions” that would effectively cancel out any gains it promises.
- One of its most controversial proposals is to not count emissions from off-grid coal-fired power plants that supply industrial users without feeding into the grid.
- Emissions from these so-called captive plants alone would exceed any emissions reductions projected under the rest of the Just Energy Transition Partnership.
- The plan also puts a heavy emphasis on “false” renewables solutions such as biomass cofiring and replacing diesel generators with natural gas ones.
Circular economy poised to go beyond outdated oil, gas and coal, experts say
- The exploitation of oil, gas and coal is now destabilizing all nine planetary boundaries and driving a triple crisis of climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution. The solution, experts say, is to move from a hydrocarbon-based linear economy to a diversified circular economy. This is Part 3 of a three-part miniseries.
- To step back from dangerous environmental thresholds, humanity needs to cut its use of fossil fuels, petroleum-based synthetic fertilizers and petrochemicals (especially plastics), with many analysts unequivocal about the unlikelihood of utilizing oil, gas and coal resources to implement a global circular economy.
- To achieve a circular economy, fossil fuels need to be phased out and alternative energy sources put in place. Bio-fertilizers need to be adopted and scaled up, and nitrogen fertilizers must be managed better to prevent overuse. Plastic production needs to be curbed, with a ban of single-use plastics as a start.
- Unfortunately, the world isn’t on target to achieve any of these goals soon, with surging oil and natural gas production by the U.S., Saudi Arabia and Russia expected to push the planet past the maximum 2° C (3.6° F) temperature increase agreed to in the 2015 Paris Accord — putting Earth at risk of climate catastrophe.
Colombian wind farm end-of-life raises circularity and Indigenous questions
- Jepírachi, Colombia’s first wind farm, is waiting to be dismantled after reaching its end of life, but the process itself and the project’s legacy remain uncertain.
- Across the world, first-generation wind projects are becoming obsolete, and disposing of the equipment, especially of the wind blades, is challenging circularity goals; currently, most blades are used in cement factories.
- Three Wayuu communities depend on the desalination plant created by the wind farm company for their clean water, but now the communities question the future of their water security.
Bangladesh apparel industry makes progress in ‘eco-friendly’ manufacturing
- According to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the fashion industry is responsible for 10% of carbon emissions annually. If the current pace of greenhouse gas emissions continues, it will surge by more than 50% by 2030.
- Bangladesh, the second-largest exporter in the $45 billion ready-made garment (RMG) industry with a 7.9% of the global market share and 4.4 million employees, mostly rural women, are very cautious in limiting the environmental impacts and carbon emission through its green initiatives.
- In the last 15 years, Bangladesh has set an example of green and sustainable manufacturing by establishing numerous certified green factories.
- Since 2009, Bangladeshi apparel and textile manufacturers have established 202 “eco-friendly” factories certified by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), the highest in the world.
Study: Tricky balancing act between EV scale-up and mining battery metals
- A recent study finds rapidly switching to electric vehicles could significantly cut emissions but also increase demand for critical battery metals like lithium and nickel.
- Mining metals like lithium has major environmental impacts including deforestation, high water use, and toxic waste.
- Electrifying heavy-duty vehicles requires substantially more critical metals than other EVs and could account for 62% of critical metal demand in coming decades despite making up just 4-11% of vehicles.
- The researchers recommend policies to support recycling, circular economies, alternative battery chemistries, and coordinated action to balance environmental and material needs.
In Brazil, rural communities are caught in the eye of the wind farm storm
- In Brazil’s semiarid Caatinga biome, wind power farms have brought dirt, noise and disruption to the livelihood of local communities.
- Many locals say the project developers have failed to properly consult them before building roads, infrastructure and turbines in the region.
- Wind power is considered a clean energy source in Brazil, which qualifies developers for access to easier financing and licensing, often at the expense of conflicts with local villages.
- From loss of livelihoods to damaged houses, this investigation by the Marco Zero news outlet shows how the development model that Brazil has adopted for wind power expansion has come at a high cost to rural communities.
Bangladesh ramps up use of recycled fabrics in ready-made garments
- Aligning with the European Union’s target to reduce the use of fresh cotton in the garment sector to reduce the environmental degradation, Bangladesh is increasing the use of recycled materials in its ready-made garment sector.
- The sector accounts for the country’s major share of export earnings, with a value of more than $27.9 billion in exports in the 2019-20 financial year.
- The country currently relies heavily on imported textile fiber; in 2019, almost half of RMG waste was pure cotton.
- Interestingly, many local companies are running recycling plants to meet the gradually increasing demand for recycled cotton fiber.
A just energy transition requires better governance & equity in the DRC
- The global energy transition has increased demand for critical minerals involved in the making of products such as lithium-ion batteries, solar panels and other renewable energy sources.
- In the Democratic Republic of Congo, this demand has fueled a poorly regulated mining sector that has forced Indigenous communities off their land, polluted water and air, and given little back in the way of infrastructure or development.
- The DRC has also recently opened 27 blocks of land for oil exploration under the auspices of lifting the nation out of poverty, but our guests say the handling of these other mineral revenues doesn’t bode well for an equitable oil boom.
- Joseph Itongwa Mukumo, an Indigenous community member of Walikale in the North Kivu province and director of ANAPA-DRC, and Christian-Géraud Neema Byamungu, Francophone editor at the China Global South Project, speak with Mongabay about the impacts of mining on local and Indigenous communities and what DRC residents need for a just energy transition.
Indonesian coal giant Adaro’s ‘sustainable’ smelter slammed as ‘greenwashing’
- Indonesia’s largest coal miner, Adaro, has been criticized for plans to build coal-fired power plants for a new aluminum smelter, contradicting the company’s claim of a green transition.
- Adaro is marketing the smelter project as a flagship green, renewable development for Indonesia, a move that environmentalists describe as “greenwashing.”
- Adaro is reportedly struggling to secure financing for the project due to the greenwashing allegations as more banks steer clear of fossil fuel projects.
- Adaro has denied the report, saying five banks are committed to funding the project, but hasn’t named them.
Seas of grass may be dark horse candidate to fuel the planet — or not
- Several kinds of grasses and woody shrubs, such as poplar and willow, have undergone U.S. testing for years to see if they can achieve high productivity as cellulose-based liquid biofuels for cutting greenhouse gas emissions in the global transportation sector. Some of these grasses also would have value as cover crops.
- While these experiments showed promise, the challenges for scaling up production of grass and woody shrub-derived biofuels over the next few decades remain significant. And time is short, as climate change is rapidly accelerating.
- Another roadblock to large-scale production: Millions of acres of land in the U.S. Southeast and Great Plains states would need to be earmarked for grass cultivation to make it economically and commercially viable as a biofuel.
- If many of those millions of acres required conversion of natural lands to agriculture, then deforestation and biodiversity loss due to biofuel monoculture crop expansion could be a major problem. On the plus side, grass biofuel crops likely wouldn’t directly displace food crops, unlike corn to make ethanol, or soy to make biodiesel.
Sargassum surges in Mexico: From nuisance to new green industry?
- Since 2011, sargassum has worsened as a nuisance — possibly due to an influx of synthetic fertilizers into the Atlantic Ocean — with the brown algae washing up on Caribbean beaches where it rots, stinks like rotten eggs and devastates tourism, including in Mexico where 30 million go for beach holidays annually.
- Sea currents have made the beaches of the Mexican state of Quintana Roo a leading arrival point for the annual surge. So early on, scientists, members of civil society, politicians and businesspeople worked together to find solutions and turn the huge waste problem into an opportunity for new green businesses.
- Once cleaned of heavy metals, microplastics, sand and other detritus, sargassum is finding many uses, particularly as biogas, but also biofertilizer, cellulose packaging and even artificial vegan leather. But a national law regulating sargassum remains elusive, with the issue tangled up in Mexican bureaucracy.
- Debate is ongoing as to who should pay for disposal, for expensive recollection and transport of the algae. As entrepreneurs experiment, Mexico has become a regional leader in creating a sargassum industry, with other Caribbean nations seeking to learn from Mexico’s business mistakes and copying its successes.
From palm oil waste to cellulosic ethanol: Indonesia’s opportunity (commentary)
- Many Indonesian farmers say they haven’t seen benefits from the country’s biofuel program. Cellulosic ethanol could help fix the problem, a new op-ed says.
- Tenny Kristiana of the International Council on Clean Transportation argues Indonesia could develop a domestic cellulosic ethanol industry that would use leftover plant residues such as palm trunks, empty palm fruit bunches and palm press fiber.
- Currently, Indonesia exports these leftovers to countries like Japan, but developing an industry at home could aid local farmers and create new jobs in factories, transportation and plantation work.
- This post is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily of Mongabay.
As Exxon bows out, industry takes step toward sustainable algae biofuels
- In February, ExxonMobil gave up its decade-long attempt to cultivate algae as a profitable and scalable feedstock for biofuel — a liquid alternative energy source needed to power aviation, ocean-going ships, and long-distance trucking, while also combating climate change.
- That corporate setback was offset by advances elsewhere in the industry: California-based algae biofuel company Viridos, which lost ExxonMobil as its partner, raised $25 million this year as it gained United Airlines, Chevron and Breakthrough Energy Ventures as investors to keep its algae project moving toward commercialization.
- Also, this year, the U.S. Department of Energy Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO) funded four major algae biofuel and biomass projects to chart scalable production processes and achieve low-carbon intensity efficiency.
- Several of these algae initiatives are now moving from basic R&D into pilot programs, with scaled-up commercial production possibly just a few years away, according to industry experts. Environmentalists are concerned about future land, energy and fertilizer impacts during production, though say it is too early to assess potential commercialization effects.
Floating solar project on Philippines natural lake brings hope — and questions
- Laguna Lake in the Philippines is home to a pilot project for a floating solar photovoltaic (FPV) installation that could provide energy to surrounding communities as the country faces pressure to transition away from fossil fuels.
- “Floatovoltaic” installations already exist in other parts of Asia, but none are currently on natural lakes like Laguna; researchers say further research is needed to determine the long-term effects on the environment and local communities.
- In Laguna, local fishing communities hope their voices are heard as the project develops, especially since their livelihoods could be affected by the FPV installations; however, the project could also bring new jobs to the area.
Jatropha: The biofuel that bombed seeks a path to redemption
- Earlier this century, jatropha was hailed as a “miracle” biofuel. An unassuming shrubby tree native to Central America, it was wildly promoted as a high-yielding, drought-tolerant biofuel feedstock that could grow on degraded lands across Latin America, Africa and Asia.
- A jatropha rush ensued, with more than 900,000 hectares (2.2 million acres) planted by 2008. But the bubble burst. Low yields led to plantation failures nearly everywhere. The aftermath of the jatropha crash was tainted by accusations of land grabbing, mismanagement, and overblown carbon reduction claims.
- Today, some researchers continue pursuing the evasive promise of high-yielding jatropha. A comeback, they say, is dependent on cracking the yield problem and addressing the harmful land-use issues intertwined with its original failure.
- The sole remaining large jatropha plantation is in Ghana. The plantation owner claims high-yield domesticated varieties have been achieved and a new boom is at hand. But even if this comeback falters, the world’s experience of jatropha holds important lessons for any promising up-and-coming biofuel.
A liquid biofuels primer: Carbon-cutting hopes vs. real-world impacts
- Liquid biofuels are routinely included in national policy pathways to cut carbon emissions and transition to “net-zero.” Biofuels are particularly tasked with reducing emissions from “hard-to-decarbonize” sectors, such as aviation.
- Three generations of biofuel sources — corn, soy, palm oil, organic waste, grasses and other perennial cellulose crops, algae, and more — have been funded, researched and tested as avenues to viable low-carbon liquid fuels. But technological and upscaling challenges have repeatedly frustrated their widespread use.
- Producing biofuels can do major environmental harm, including deforestation and biodiversity loss due to needed cropland expansion, with biofuel crops sometimes displacing important food crops, say critics. In some instances, land use change for biofuels can add to carbon emissions rather than curbing them.
- Some experts suggest that the holy grail of an efficient biofuel is still obtainable, with much to be learned from past experiments. Others say we would be better off abandoning this techno fix, investing instead in electrifying the transportation grid to save energy, and rewilding former biofuel croplands to store more carbon.
Indonesia aims to use gas in foreign-funded energy transition; critics cry foul
- Indonesia plans to convert its diesel fuel-fired power plants to gas-fired power plants starting this year as a part of its energy transition program.
- The Indonesian government hopes the gas conversion project could be funded by a US$20 billion energy transition deal with developed countries called the Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP).
- The plan has been lambasted by activists, who see the gas conversion project as a false solution to climate change due to methane emissions that come from leakage during the transportation of gas.
- Activists also point out that gas is more costly than renewable energy and the development of gas could take away funding and resources from renewable development.
Electricity day and night: Solar power is changing isolated Amazon communities
- The Amazon region produces more than a quarter of the energy in Brazil. Still, hundreds of thousands of families are off the grid and rely on expensive diesel generators to produce electricity.
- Solar panels and other renewable energies can greatly improve the lives of people in these regions and help create jobs.
- NGOs and governments have implemented renewable energy plans in different communities in the Amazon with positive results.
- Experts agree that public policies to provide electricity in the region should also be designed to help generate new sources of income for these communities.
As waste-to-energy incinerators spread in Southeast Asia, so do concerns
- Widely in use in countries including Japan, South Korea and northern Europe, waste-to-energy technology is making inroads in Southeast Asia, where it’s presented as a tried-and-tested green energy solution.
- Thailand plans to build 79 waste-to-energy plants in upcoming years, and there are at least 17 proposed for Indonesia.
- Concerns about environmental and public health impacts have already led to protests and project delays.
- In Europe, the technology’s climate-friendly credentials are being called into question, with several countries imposing or considering carbon taxes on waste-to-energy facilities.
Bangladeshi industries explore renewables as power crisis looms
- Although Bangladesh achieved 100% access to electricity for all people in March 2022, dwindling gas reserves, alongside a jump in global prices of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG), have forced the Bangladesh government to resort to power load-shedding.
- Since July 2021, the production of natural gases has drastically fallen. Against a demand of 2,252 million cubic feet of gas for power generation, only 1,035 million cubic feet of gas has been supplied to the power plants in recent months.
- Ready-made garment factories (RMGs) are not convinced the government will be able to ensure uninterrupted power supply to their establishments if the crisis prolongs.
- Some factories are trying to set up their own solar plants to avoid dependence on fossil fuel-based power. Solar installations require both heavy investment and space and thus only large factories can afford to do it at present.
Emissions and deforestation set to spike under Indonesia’s biomass transition
- Indonesia’s cofiring program — reducing the amount of coal used in power generation by cutting it with wood pellets — will result in massive deforestation and a net emissions surge, an energy policy think tank warns.
- Under the government’s 10% biomass cofiring plan, up to 1.05 million hectares (2.59 million acres) of forest could be cleared for acacia and eucalyptus plantations to provide wood pellets.
- This would result in up to 489 million metric tons of emissions — a vastly greater amount than the 1 million tons in reduced emissions that cofiring is expected to achieve.
- The analysis, by Trend Asia, also shows that, if anything, Indonesia’s coal consumption has only increased with higher biomass cofiring, and that this trend is expected to continue through 2030 as more new coal plants are built.
Switzerland set to burn more trees to reach its climate and energy goals (commentary)
- Switzerland has pledged to reach carbon neutrality by 2050, with forest-derived biomass slated to play a growing role in the country’s energy mix, following a motion submitted to parliament in 2019 to fully “exploit the potential of energy wood.”
- That decision came despite warnings from the Federal Office for the Environment noting: “strategies that only increase the use of wood as biofuel are not efficient from a CO2 balance perspective.”
- Wood chips and pellets burned to make energy are one of the few profitable forestry products in an industry that has been losing money since the 1990s to the tune of 40 million francs ($41 million) annually for the past three years alone. Government subsidies also incentivize biomass logging and the downgrading of timber to “waste” wood.
- The autonomy granted to the 26 Swiss cantons means logging rates and practices vary widely across the nation, as do energy policies promoted and adopted. The canton of Bern, where all photos were taken, produces the lion’s share, around one-fifth of all Swiss wood. This post is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily of Mongabay.
Sluggish growth of renewables threatens Bangladesh’s clean-energy goals
- The development of renewable energy in Bangladesh continues to be outpaced by non-renewables such as coal, gas and nuclear.
- This threatens the country’s ability to meet both its commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions under the Paris Agreement, and its goal under the U.N. SDGs of ensuring that at least 10% of energy consumption by 2030 comes from renewable sources.
- Renewables today account for just 2% of the power flowing into the grid, or 3.49% of total consumption if off-grid sources are included.
- While the country is embarking on a spate of renewable energy projects, including one solar and four wind farms, these are overshadowed by the seven coal plants, 13 gas plants, and one — possibly two — nuclear plants in the works.
‘A huge mistake’: Concerns rise as deep-sea mining negotiations progress
- The International Seabed Authority (ISA), the U.N.-affiliated organization tasked with managing deep-sea mining activities, recently held a series of meetings to continue negotiating the development of mining regulations.
- Deep-sea mining may start as early as 2023 after Nauru triggered a two-year rule embedded in the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea that could essentially allow its sponsored company to start mining with whatever regulations are currently in place.
- Many states are eager to finalize a set of regulations over the next 15 months that would determine how mining can proceed in the deep sea.
- But other states and delegates have noted the lack of scientific knowledge around deep-sea mining, the absence of a financial compensation plan in the event of environmental damage, and ongoing transparency issues in the ISA — and the unlikelihood of finalizing regulatory measures in a short period of time.
Dams on Brazil’s Jamanxim River: The advancing assault on the environment and Indigenous peoples in the Tapajós basin (commentary)
- Brazil’s electrical authorities have given the go-ahead for studies to prepare for building three large Amazonian dams that would flood Indigenous lands and protected areas for biodiversity.
- The decision shows that Brazil’s presidential administration is confident that the National Congress will approve the bill submitted by President Bolsonaro to open Indigenous lands to hydroelectric dams, and probably also allow dams to continue to be built without consulting impacted Indigenous peoples.
- The decision also shows that Brazil’s electrical authorities continue to ignore inconvenient information on climate change, the financial viability of Amazonian dams and their many social and environmental impacts, as well as the country’s better energy options.
- This text is translated and expanded from the author’s column on the Amazônia Real website. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily of Mongabay.
Analysis: Elite power struggle sees Vietnam abandon coal, but leaves collateral damage
- Vietnam’s energy establishment attempted last year to flout top-level instructions to undo the nation’s growing dependence on coal and other fossil fuels.
- However, after more than a decade of failures by bureaucrats and managers to deliver clean energy and clean air, there is broad sentiment for maximal exploitation of Vietnam’s plentiful endowment of wind and sunshine.
- At COP26, the prime minister left no doubt which way the nation is headed: Vietnam, he pledged, will be carbon neutral by 2050.
- But the recent developments have also seen a leading advocate for the clean energy transition jailed after publishing a letter warning of the risks of clinging to coal.
Climate-positive, high-tech metals are polluting Earth, but solutions await
- Green energy technology growth (especially wind, solar and hydropower, along with electric vehicles) is crucial if the world is to meet Paris climate agreement goals. But these green solutions rely on technology-critical elements (TCEs), whose production and disposal can be environmentally harmful.
- Mining and processing of TCEs requires huge amounts of energy. Mines use gigantic quantities of fresh water; can drive large-scale land-use change; and pollute air, soil and water — threatening biodiversity. TCEs may also become pollutants themselves when they are disposed of as waste.
- We know relatively little about what happens to TCEs after manufacture and disposal, but trace levels of many critical elements have been detected in urban air pollution, waterways and ice cores. Also of concern: Rare-earth elements have been detected in the urine of mine workers in China.
- Green mining technologies and new recycling methods may reduce the impacts of TCE production. Plant- and microbe-based remediation can extract TCEs from waste and contaminated soil. But experts say a circular economy and changes at the product design stage could be key solutions.
Indonesia’s clean energy transition must start with clean rivers (commentary)
- Indonesian President Joko Widodo has touted hydropower as key to the country’s transition away from coal, which currently dominates the national energy mix.
- But while Indonesia has a wealth of major rivers with the potential to high power-generating capacity, more than half are degraded and polluted.
- With Indonesia set to showcase its clean energy transition when it hosts the G20 summit later this year, this is the time to start cleaning up the country’s rivers, writes Warief Djajanto Basorie.
- This post is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily Mongabay.
In the Brazilian Amazon, solar energy brings light — and new opportunities
- A village on the banks of Brazil’s Negro River is running 132 solar panels as part of a pilot project aimed at bringing clean energy and economic opportunity to remote communities in the Amazon.
- The scheme promises to bring reliable energy to the community of Santa Helena do Inglês, in northern Amazonas state, addressing frequent power cuts that have long plagued the remote village and thwarted efforts to develop sustainable income streams.
- The solar energy supply is helping the community — a former logging hub that now lies within a protected reserve — generate income from fishing and ecotourism, without encroaching on the forest.
In round 2 of Philippine geothermal project, tribes dig in for a greater say
- Mount Apo National Park on the southern Philippine island of Mindanao is home to the country’s highest peak and is also a sacred area for the Manobo Indigenous people.
- Plans in the 1980s to establish a geothermal power plant there faced fierce resistance at first.
- But a royalty agreement with Manobo landowners and a long list of environmental and economic commitments by the plant developer has since seen the project become a model of success.
- Now, tribal leaders say the developer is looking to expand the project onto more ancestral lands, for which the tribes want a greater say in steering governance and development initiatives.
Cooking with the sun: Entrepreneurs help launch Mexico’s solar revolution
- Much of Mexico gets 300 days of sunshine out of the year which is helping make the country a solar energy pioneer. With the current government showing little interest in the clean sustainable technology, a range of entrepreneurs is leading the way, especially in the food industry.
- In the southern state of Oaxaca, Victoria Aguilera studied sustainable energy at the regional university and founded Sazón del Sol, a grassroots project that includes a solar farm, solar restaurant, and solar food processing workplace. She designed and now sells a solar kitchen for use in homes and restaurants.
- In central Mexico’s Hidalgo state, Gregor Schäpers’ company, Trinysol, achieved initial success with solar-powered water heaters. Now he’s experimenting with solar cooking using Scheffler modules — solar dish reflectors to run kitchens in restaurants, hotels, mezcal distilleries and tortilla bakeries.
- In the state of Jalisco, Angel Mejía and Aldo Agraz co-founded Inventive Power in 2010, specializing in thermal solar systems. Local food factories and dairies were their first clients. Since then, Mexican and international companies Nestlé, Barcel, Unilever, and tequila producer José Cuervo have all commissioned projects.
From a nuisance to a benefit, ‘world’s worst weed’ finds new use as biofuel
- A startup in western Kenya has developed a process of making bioethanol from water hyacinths, addressing both the need for a clean fuel alternative to charcoal and fuelwood, and the spread of the invasive hyacinths.
- Proponents say a key advantage of this “second-generation” bioethanol over traditional feedstocks such as sugarcane and corn is that it avoids competition for limited agricultural land.
- But although this new bioethanol relies on a plentiful feedstock and is cheaper to produce than charcoal, it’s still more expensive for end users because of limited distribution and the need to buy a compatible stove.
- Proponents say they’re determined to scale up production and distribution, pointing out that they’re “turning something harmful into something beneficial.”
Planned dam in Philippine national park catches flak from activists, officials
- A subsidiary of the San Miguel Corporation, one of the largest companies in the Philippines, has proposed a $500 million hydroelectric project that will overlap with a national park on Panay Island.
- Northwest Panay Peninsula Natural Park holds some of the central Philippines’ last stands of intact lowland rainforest, is home to endangered species including hornbills and the Visayan warty pig, and is a vital watershed for Panay and neighboring islands.
- The project is still not approved, and a growing coalition of activists and local governments opposes the plan.
Turning Kenya’s problematic invasive plants into useful bioenergy
- The shores of Lake Victoria are clogged with water hyacinth, a South American invasive plant that is hurting Kenya’s freshwater fishery, economy and people’s health. While manual removal is effective, it is labor intensive and can’t keep up with the spreading plant.
- Kenyans are innovating to find ways to reduce water hyacinth by finding practical uses for the invader. In 2018, a program was launched to turn the exotic species into biogas which is then offered to economically vulnerable households to use as a biofuel for cooking.
- One proposal being considered: a scaled up industrial biogas plant that would use water hyacinth as a primary source of raw material. Efforts are also underway to convert another invasive plant, prickly pear into biogas used for cooking. A biocontrol insect is also proving effective, though slow, in dealing with prickly pear.
- These economically viable and sustainable homegrown solutions are chipping away at Kenya’s invasive species problem, though to be truly effective, these various projects would need to be upscaled.
Playing the long game: ExxonMobil gambles on algae biofuel
- Algae biofuel initially looked promising, but a few key problems have thwarted major research efforts, including development of a strain of algae able to produce plentiful cheap fuel, and scaling up to meet global energy demand.
- Other alternative energy solutions, including wind and solar power, are outpacing algae biofuel advances.
- Much more investment in money and time is needed for algae biofuel to become viable, even on an extended timeline out to mid-century. While big players like Shell and Chevron have abandoned the effort, ExxonMobil continues work.
- In 2017, ExxonMobil, with Synthetic Genomics, announced they had used CRISPR gene-editing technology to make an algal strain that could pave the way to a low-carbon fuel and a sustainable future. But many environmentalists met the claim with skepticism, suspecting greenwashing.
Biofuel in Mexico: Uphill battle against bureaucracy, organized crime
- Biofuels based on pressed plant oils, and made especially from used cooking oil, could help Mexico’s public transport sector transition to a cleaner and climate-friendly energy era, according to researchers and industry entrepreneurs.
- But there is a lack of government regulatory support, while the nation’s new president is betting on fossil fuels and neglecting biodiesel options and nature-based climate solutions.
- As a result, small biodiesel producers have to operate in a legal gray zone, while industry entrepreneurs are held back in the development of the technology and the market.
- Mexico isn’t alone: Many nations large and small are struggling with hurdles imposed by fossil fuel-friendly governments and a lack of supportive regulations to create a level playing field for the rapid development and deployment of biodiesel and other climate-friendly alternative energy solutions.
Converting biowaste to biogas could power cleaner, sustainable Earth future
- Biogas made from organic materials — including food and agricultural waste, and animal or human manure — is a renewable, sustainable, affordable and inclusive energy alternative becoming increasingly available to households, farms, municipalities and nations.
- Converting biowaste into biogas, via anaerobic digestion technology, is a strategy that could contribute to multiple U.N. Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris climate agreement. Biodigesters are already in use to meet a range of energy needs around the world.
- Current limiting factors to the sector’s growth include technical and adaptive challenges, lack of awareness in many regions, and unsupportive policy instruments that can discourage biogas adoption.
- Ahead of COP26, the critically important U.N. climate meeting coming this November, the World Biogas Association is urging governments to integrate biogas into their Nationally Determined Contributions — their voluntary emissions reduction targets, as agreed to under the Paris Agreement.
Indonesia says no new coal plants from 2023 (after the next 100 or so)
- Indonesia plans to stop building new coal-fired plants after 2023, with additional electrical capacity to be generated only from new and renewable sources.
- Development experts and the private sector have welcomed the plan, but some say it’s not ambitious enough since it still entails construction of new coal plants that have already been signed.
- Once these plants are built, they will operate for decades to come, and their emissions will spell disaster for climate change.
- There’s also controversy over what the government considers “new and renewable” energy, in which it lumps solar and wind alongside biomass, nuclear, and gasified coal.
‘We’re at a tipping point with coal’: Q&A with Bloomberg’s Antha Williams
- Former New York mayor Michael Bloomberg was key in marshaling city and state governments across the U.S. to ramp up their climate action after the Trump administration pulled the country out of the Paris Agreement.
- With the climate-focused Biden administration now in office, Bloomberg Philanthropies is going “all-in toward climate solutions,” says Antha N. Williams, head of the foundation’s environment program.
- Among its main initiatives is the Beyond Coal campaign, which seeks to get OECD countries to transition away from coal by 2030 and the rest of the world by 2040.
- In this post-Trump follow-up interview with Mongabay founder Rhett A. Butler, Williams discusses a just energy transition, the role of finance in driving change, and the importance of ocean protection.
Indonesia’s net-zero emissions goal not ambitious enough, activists say
- Indonesia, one of the world’s biggest greenhouse gas emitters, has put forward a plan to achieve net-zero emissions by 2070.
- The government says it’s the most ambitious and realistic target for Indonesia, but activists and experts say the government can do much more, much sooner, given that China, the top emitter, has a net-zero deadline of 2060.
- They also criticized the government’s plan for its continued reliance on coal as a primary component of the national energy mix over the coming decades, despite universal recognition of coal’s role in climate change.
- The plan also lumps coal gasification, which the government is incentivizing, into its basket of renewable energies; it may also include hydrogen (which uses fossil fuels in its production) and nuclear energy in this same category.
New age of sail looks to slash massive maritime carbon emissions
- If ocean shipping were a country, it would be the sixth-largest carbon emitter, releasing more CO2 annually than Germany. International shipping accounts for about 2.2% of all global greenhouse gas emissions, according to the U.N. International Maritime Organization.
- But change is on the way. Wind, solar electric, and hydrogen-powered ships offer innovative low- or no-carbon alternatives to fossil fuel-powered cargo vessels, with wind about to make a huge comeback in shipping, say experts. New experimental sail designs include hard sails, rotating vertical cylinders, and even kites.
- Today, startup companies like Fair Transport (with its retrofitted wooden vessels Tres Hombres and Nordlys); modest sized proof-of-concept firms, with purpose-built vessels like Grain de Sail; and large cargo ship retrofits and purpose-built vessels like Neoline’s new large cargo vessels, are starting to address CO2 emissions.
- Through the late 1940s, huge steel sailing ships carried cargos on some ocean routes. By 2030 — less than 100 years since the end of the last great era of sail — fossil fuel-powered cargo vessels may give way to high- and (s)low-tech sailing ships thanks to a revolution in energy technology, that reduces shipping costs with less emissions.
Brazil’s Amazon dam plans: Ominous warnings of future destruction (commentary)
- Brazil’s current 10-year Energy Expansion Plan calls for three more large dams in Amazonia by 2029, and Brazil’s 2050 National Energy Plan lists many more.
- Both plans contain ominous passages explaining that the list of dams could expand if “uncertainty” is resolved regarding current regulations protecting Indigenous peoples and protected areas for biodiversity.
- Brazil’s National Congress is considering bills to eliminate environmental licensing; a bill submitted by President Jair Bolsonaro would allow dams on Indigenous lands. Brazil’s dam-building plans to satisfy 2050 energy demand extend to neighboring Amazonian nations, including Peru and Bolivia.
- The 2050 plan essentially admits that dams on Indigenous lands and within other protected areas are not necessary because the electricity could be generated by offshore wind power. This post is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily Mongabay.
Indian embassy in Madagascar becomes first to go fully solar
- A solar power plant was inaugurated at the Indian embassy in Antananarivo, Madagascar, to mark the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi on October 2.
- It became the first Indian embassy in the world to be run entirely on solar power from the 8 KW plant.
- Madagascar has huge potential to develop solar energy, with almost all regions receiving 2800 hours of sunshine in a year.
- The environment minister acknowledged that with less than 15% of people having access to grid electricity embracing solar power was a way for Madagascar to develop and meet its climate goals.
Madagascar introduces stoves that burn rice husks instead of forests
- Madagascar’s dependence on fuelwood is contributing significantly to the island’s deforestation.
- To meet demand, charcoal suppliers even take wood from protected areas and dig up tree stumps.
- A program aimed at changing wood consumption habits to alleviate pressure on both forests and household budgets is distributing new stoves that burn rice husks instead of charcoal.
- One million tons of rice husks go to waste in Madagascar each year. The program aims to turn this surplus into a biofuel that is cheaper and more sustainable than wood.
Burning down the house? Enviva’s giant U.S. wood pellet plants gear up
- An outdated Kyoto Climate Agreement policy, grandfathered into the 2015 Paris Agreement, counts electrical energy produced by burning biomass — wood pellets — as carbon neutral. However, new science demonstrates that burning forests for energy is dirtier than coal and not carbon neutral in the short-term.
- But with the carbon accounting loophole still on the books, European Union nations and other countries are rushing to convert coal plants to burn wood pellets, and to count giant biomass energy facilities as carbon neutral — valid on paper even as they add new carbon emissions to the atmosphere. The forest industry argues otherwise.
- It too is capitalizing on the loophole, building large new wood pellet factories and logging operations in places like the U.S. Southeast — cutting down forests, pelletizing trees, and exporting biomass. A case in point are the two giant plants now being built by the Enviva Corporation in Lucedale, Mississippi and Epes, Alabama.
- Enviva and other firms can only make biomass profitable by relying on government subsidies. In the end, forests are lost, carbon neutrality takes decades to achieve, and while communities may see a short-term boost in jobs, they suffer air pollution and the risk of sudden economic collapse if and when the carbon loophole is closed.
South Korea subsidizing biomass so heavily that wind and solar are being crowded out of the market
- The government of South Korea is subsidizing the development of biomass power so heavily that it’s hindering the adoption of renewable energy technologies like solar and wind, new research finds.
- According to a report issued by Seoul-based NGO Solutions For Our Climate (SFOC), forest biomass is considered a carbon-neutral alternative to fossil fuels under Korean law, and the country’s government has so aggressively supported the growth of biomass-fueled energy production that it has become one of the most subsidized renewable energy sources in South Korea.
- Soojin Kim, a senior researcher at SFOC and an author of the report, told Mongabay that biomass projects have been so overcompensated by the government that it is causing serious disruption and uncertainties in the Korean renewable energy market, including steep declines in the price of Renewable Energy Credits (RECs). These uncertainties, in turn, are discouraging utilities from investing in renewables such as solar and wind, she said.
Decade after BP Deepwater Horizon spill, oil drilling is as dangerous as ever
- Ten years ago, the BP Deepwater Horizon exploratory rig exploded, killing 11 people and initiating the largest oil spill in the history of the United States.
- Nearly 5 million barrels of oil spilled into the Gulf of Mexico, causing catastrophic damage to the ecosystem and economy of the region.
- A newly published report by the nonprofit Oceana looks back at how this spill happened, the resulting ecological and economic impacts, and if this catastrophe has changed government or oil industry approaches to offshore drilling.
- Poor government oversight and inadequate safety culture paved the way for the BP Deepwater Horizon explosion. Now, a decade later, it appears these conditions, the prerequisites for disaster, have not improved.
Wireless grids and towers of power: Engineering our way out of dirty energy
- Engineers have explored harnessing gravity, tapping the unique structures of smelly fruit, and shrinking a planetary idea down to household size.
- Meeting current energy demands with renewable energies is vital to meet climate goals and prevent ecological collapse, but energy technologies rely on hundreds of years of fossil fuel innovation.
- Mongabay explored some intriguing new approaches and talked with innovators who are helping to think our way out of the climate crisis.
COP25: EU officials say biomass burning policy to come under critical review
- At a COP25 climate summit press conference on Thursday, December 12, Frans Timmermans, executive vice president of the EU and a Dutch politician answered a Mongabay question concerning the UN biomass carbon accounting loophole.
- When asked if the EU would close the loophole, he said: “The issue of biofuels needs to be looked at very carefully. We have to make sure that what we do with biofuels is sustainable and does not do more harm than that it does good.” A second EU official expressed a similar view. The issue won’t likely be reviewed until after 2020.
- This is perhaps the first acknowledgement by a top developed world official that the biomass loophole is a potential problem. The loophole encourages power plants that burn coal (whose carbon emissions are counted) to be converted to biomass — the burning of wood pellets (whose carbon emissions are counted as carbon neutral).
- Recent science shows that burning wood pellets is worse than burning coal, since more pellets must be burned to produce equivalent energy levels to coal. Also replacing plantation forests to achieve carbon neutrality takes many decades, time not available to a world that needs to quickly cut emissions over the next 20 years.
COP25: Wood pellet CEO claims biomass carbon neutrality, despite science
- Research has conclusively shown that burning biomass for energy is not carbon neutral. However, a biomass carbon accounting loophole currently enforced by the UN and the Paris Agreement says that burning trees in the form of wood pellets produces zero emissions, and so is classified with solar and wind power.
- Mongabay gained an exclusive interview with Will Gardiner, CEO of Drax, the United Kingdom’s largest biomass energy plant. He dismisses the science and asserts that his firm and $7.6 billion industry are meeting “a responsibility to our community, our shareholders and our colleagues to be a part of the escalating climate crisis.”
- Bill Moomaw — an international researcher on biomass-for-energy, and author of forest reports for the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change — counters Gardiner’s arguments: “It’s all about the money. The wood pellet industry is a monster out of control,” he said when interviewed at COP25.
- Despite repeated pleas from scientists, COP25 climate summit negotiators in Madrid failed to address the biomass carbon accounting loophole, as they did at COP24 — a lapse that, if allowed to persist, could help push emissions above a 2 degree Celsius planetwide average increase that the UN says could bring climate catastrophe.
UN and policymakers, wake up! Burning trees for energy is not carbon neutral (commentary)
- On September 23, the signatories of the Paris Climate Agreement will gather at the United Nations for a Climate Action Summit to step up their carbon reduction pledges in order to prevent catastrophic climate change, while also kicking off Climate Week events in New York City.
- However, the policymakers, financiers, and big green groups organizing these events will almost certainly turn a blind eye toward renewable energy policies that subsidize forest wood burned for energy as if it is a zero emissions technology like wind or solar.
- Scientists have repeatedly warned that burning forests is not in fact carbon neutral, and that doing so puts the world at risk of overshooting the Paris Agreement’s 1.5°C target.
- But that message has fallen on deaf ears, as lucrative renewable energy subsidies have driven exponential growth in use of forest wood as fuel. The world’s nations must stop subsidizing burning forest biomass now to protect forests, the climate, and our future. This post is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author.
New UN report takes stock of renewable energy’s decade-long growth spurt
- 2018 was the ninth year in a row in which renewable energy capacity investments exceeded $200 billion and the fifth year in a row in which they exceeded $250 billion, according to a report released by the UN ahead of the Climate Action Summit to be held in New York City later this month.
- That means that, by the time it’s over, the current decade — 2010 to 2019 — will have seen a total of $2.6 trillion in renewable energy investments and a four-fold increase in global renewable energy capacity (excluding large hydroelectric dams, i.e. those with electricity generation capacity of 50 megawatts or more).
- Of all the major generating technologies, including those that burn fossil fuels, solar accounts for 638 GW of new power capacity installed since 2010, the largest single share claimed by any technology. Coal-fired power comes in second at 529 GW, wind in third at 487 GW, and gas in fourth at 438 GW.
Indonesian court cancels dam project in last stronghold of tigers, rhinos
- A court in Indonesia’s Aceh province has ordered an end to a planned hydroelectric project in Sumatra’s unique Leuser Ecosystem.
- Environmental groups filed a lawsuit against the Aceh government and the dam’s developer earlier this year over potential environmental destruction and violation of zoning laws.
- The area is the last place on Earth that’s home to wild tigers, rhinos, orangutans and elephants — all critically endangered species whose habitat would be flooded and fragmented by the dam and its roads and power lines.
- Villagers in the region were also widely opposed to the project, which they say would have dammed up the river on which they depend and forced them to relocate to make way for the reservoir.
Carbon to burn: UK net-zero emissions pledge undermined by biomass energy
- The United Kingdom and the European Union are setting goals to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. But that declaration is deeply flawed, analysts say, due to a long-standing United Nations carbon accounting loophole that turns a blind eye toward the conversion of coal burning power plants to burning wood pellets.
- While the cutting of trees to convert them to wood pellets to produce energy is ultimately carbon neutral — if an equal number of new trees are planted — the regrowth process requires 50 to 100 years. That means wood pellets burned today, and in coming decades, will be adding a massive carbon load to the atmosphere.
- That carbon will add significantly to global warming — bringing more sea level rise, extreme weather, and perhaps, climate catastrophe — even as official carbon counting by the UN provides a false sense of security that we are effectively reducing emissions to curb climate change.
- Unless the biomass loophole is dealt with, the risk is very real that the world could easily overshoot its Paris Agreement targets, and see temperatures rise well above the 1.5 degrees Celsius safe limit. At present, there is no official move to address the biomass loophole.
Shift to renewable energy could have biodiversity cost, researchers caution
- Climate change has widely reported negative consequences, and innovations in renewable energy technologies are central to achieving the Paris climate treaty goals to mitigate these effects.
- A new report cautions that mining of metals used in manufacturing renewable technologies like wind turbines, solar power, and electric vehicles has costs, including for biodiversity.
- Negative effects from the mining of metals like aluminum, cobalt and rare earths could impact a range of creatures from flamingoes to gorillas, plants, and even deep sea creatures.
- Until widespread recycling and reuse of these materials becomes a feasible alternative to mining, these activities should be monitored and verified via certification schemes such as the Initiative for Responsible Mining Assurance, researchers say.
No need to dam free-flowing rivers to meet world’s climate and energy targets
- In a comment article published in the Nature last month, scientists argue that an “energy future in which both people and rivers thrive” is possible with better planning.
- The hydropower development projects now underway threaten the world’s last free-flowing rivers, posing severe threats to local human communities and the species that call rivers home. A recent study found that just one-third of the world’s 242 largest rivers remain free-flowing.
- The benefits of better planning to meet increasing energy demands could be huge: A report released by WWF and The Nature Conservancy ahead of the World Hydropower Congress, held in Paris last month, finds that accelerating the deployment of non-hydropower renewable energy could prevent the fragmentation of nearly 165,000 kilometers (more than 102,500 miles) of river channels.
Indonesia electricity chief charged with bribery over coal-fired power plant
- Indonesian anti-graft investigators have charged the head of state-owned power utility PLN, Sofyan Basir, with bribery in connection to a coal-fired plant on the island of Sumatra.
- Sofyan was responsible for awarding contracts for the $900 million Riau-1 plant, whose construction has been suspended following a raft of corruption allegations and arrests.
- Among those already tried and convicted in the case are a government minister, a member of parliament, and a shareholder in one of the companies awarded the Riau-1 contract; Sofyan himself faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted.
- Environmental activists have praised the anti-graft commission for pursuing the case, which they say should spur the government to move away from coal and shift toward renewable energy.
Conceived in a dream, new solar canoe will serve Amazon tribes
- A solar-powered canoe, just the second of its kind, is scheduled for launch around April 20 in the village of Sharamentsa on the Pastaza River in the Ecuadorean Amazon.
- The canoe is part of a project that aims to connect nine remote indigenous communities through an alternative transportation system powered by the sun and channeled by Amazon rivers.
- The launch coincides with the comeback of the first canoe, which has been grounded by technical problems, and the opening of a solar community center in Sharamentsa that will function as a canoe-recharging station and will eventually provide power to the village.
- Project leaders intend to build similar solar centers in other villages that, along with the canoes, will ultimately form a large energy and transportation network powered by sunlight.
Sarawak can invest in or give away its future (commentary)
- In October, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change released a report outlining strategies the world can pursue to keep global warming below 1.5 degrees Celsius and maintain healthy economies and ecosystems. But unless we are smart about how we implement that blueprint, it could cause irreparable damage to the world’s great rivers.
- This may sound like a luxury for the richest nations, but it is key to building a prosperous Sarawak. The panel’s report urges a rapid transition to low-carbon, renewable sources of electricity. That call to action could trigger expanded investment in hydropower, but if development follows the pattern of earlier dam-building, it could accelerate an alarming loss of rivers and their resources.
- There’s no need to continue accepting tragic trade-offs between healthy rivers and low-cost, reliable, and renewable electricity. The renewable revolution provides an opportunity to have both. Governments, funders, developers, and scientists should seize it.
- This post is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily Mongabay.
EU sued to stop burning trees for energy; it’s not carbon neutral: plaintiffs
- Plaintiffs in five European nations and the U.S. filed suit Monday, 4 March, in the European General Court in Luxembourg against the European Union. At issue is the EU’s rapid conversion of coal-burning powerplants to burn wood pellets and chips, a process known as bioenergy. Activists see the EUs bioenergy policies as reckless and endangering the climate.
- Bioenergy was classified as carbon neutral under the Kyoto Protocol, meaning that nations don’t need to count wood burning for energy among their Paris Agreement carbon emissions. However, studies over the last 20 years have found that bioenergy, while technically carbon neutral, is not neutral within the urgent timeframe in which the world must cut emissions.
- In essence, it takes many decades for new tree growth to re-absorb the amount of carbon released from burning mature trees in a single day. But the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate change last October said that the world has just 12 years – not decades – to drastically cut emissions or face likely disastrous temperature rise and climate impacts.
- The activists filing suit face a difficult fight. Only EU member states and EU institutions are generally given standing to challenge legislative acts. To gain standing, they will have to prove that they are being impacted by the EU’s bioenergy policies. The activists say that ending bioenergy coal plant conversions is vital if the world is to avoid catastrophic climate change.
Financiers to discuss hydropower as climate-change mitigation, but dams are not ‘clean energy’ (commentary)
- Nature, the world’s highest-impact scientific journal, published a comment on February 20 by an advisor to the Climate Bonds initiative, who claimed that dams are good for the climate and should be given priority for subsidies when a group of 500 global financiers who participate in the initiative meets in London on March 5.
- The Nature comment is highly misleading, especially for dams in tropical areas where much of the future hydroelectric development is expected to occur. In addition to having a substantial impact on global warming during the narrow time window we have to contain climate change, virtually all planned dams would be built anyway for reasons unrelated to climate mitigation. Granting subsidies with “green” money drains funds away from alternatives with real climate benefits.
- Tropical dams have social and environmental impacts that dwarf those of other energy alternatives. Global financiers should better inform themselves about these impacts and the perverse effects of hydropower as climate-change mitigation.
- This post is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily Mongabay.
Will Malaysia become Southeast Asia’s clean energy leader? (commentary)
- Malaysia sits at a unique crossroads. Last year’s election was a wake-up call for the powers that be, with more than 60 years of entrenched power coming to an unexpected and abrupt end. While much of our region, Australia included, slips further into the pockets of fossil fuel interests, Malaysia has the opportunity to position itself as Southeast Asia’s clean energy and renewable industries leader.
- Australia now has the highest proportion of households with PV systems on their roof of any country in the world, in spite of the current Government’s hopeless commitment to fossil fuels. The Australian legislation of 2012 is a template for other countries intent on responding to the climate crisis.
- Malaysia can be a champion for our region. Where it chooses to sit on this spectrum between leader and follower in the new geopolitical relationships evolving from the transition to renewable energy is yet to be seen, but the opportunity to lead in the transformation in South-East Asia is wide open.
- This post is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily Mongabay.
For Indonesian presidential hopefuls, burning coal is business as usual
- Indonesia relies for more than half of its electricity on coal-fired power plants, and has plans to build dozens more in the coming years, bucking a worldwide shift away from fossil fuels and toward renewable sources of energy.
- Activists have called on President Joko Widodo and his challenger, Prabowo Subianto, to address the issue at their presidential debate on Feb. 17.
- Neither camp, however, has made any meaningful policy gestures on environmental issues, with a Widodo campaign spokesman even disputing the science on coal’s central role in climate change as merely “an opinion.”
- Instead, the incumbent, who enjoys a solid lead on his challenger, looks set to deepen Indonesia’s reliance on coal as the primary energy source.
Jammin’ at wind farms may help save bats
- Hundreds of thousands of bats are killed by wind turbines each year in North America.
- New technology that uses an ultrasonic acoustic field to jam bat echolocation was found to reduce bat fatalities by 54 percent at a wind energy facility in Texas.
- The Bat Deterrent System will be released commercially in North America this year.
- Tests are ongoing to maximize the system’s effectiveness for various bat species.
COP24: Summit a step forward, but fails to address climate urgency
- COP24 ran into overtime over the weekend as delegates rushed to approve the Paris rulebook to set up a detailed mechanism for accomplishing and gauging the carbon reduction pledges made by the world’s nations in Paris at the end of 2015.
- But considering the urgency of action needed – with just 12 years left to act decisively to significantly cut emissions, according to an October IPCC science report – the COP24 summit proved to be less successful than many participants had hoped.
- On the negative side: the U.S., Russia and Saudi Arabia tried to undermine the gravity of the IPCC science report. Brazil successfully scuttled plans for an international carbon market. And COP24 failed to address the bioenergy carbon counting loophole, which incentivizes the harvesting and burning of trees to make energy by calling the process carbon neutral.
- On the positive side, “1,000 tiny steps” were made, including an improved transparency framework for reporting emissions; regular assessments called Global Stocktake to gauge emissions-reduction effectiveness at national levels starting in 2023; and an agreement to set new finance goals in 2020 to help vulnerable nations adapt to a warming world.
COP24: Nations complicit in ignoring bioenergy climate bomb, experts say
- Twenty years ago science told policymakers that bioenergy – the burning of woody biomass – was a sustainable form of energy that was carbon neutral. The current United Nations carbon accounting system follows that guidance. However, new science has found the hypothesis to be wrong: bioenergy has been found to add significantly to carbon emissions.
- However, national delegations at the UN climate summit in Poland, COP24, as they wordsmith the Paris Rulebook, are stonewalling on the matter, doing nothing to close the bioenergy carbon accounting loophole. But nature can’t be fooled, which means that the undercounting of emissions could push the world past a climate catastrophe tipping point.
- Still, with the problem unaddressed, developed nations in the European Union and elsewhere continue burning woody biomass as energy, with the U.S., Canada and other nations happy to profit from the accounting error. Tropical nations like Brazil and Peru are eager to jump on the bioenergy bandwagon, a potential disaster for rainforests and biodiversity.
- Meanwhile, NGOs and scientists at COP24 have sought earnestly to alert the media and COP delegations to the bioenergy climate bomb and its looming risks, even going so far as to write language closing the loophole that could be inserted into the Paris Rulebook now being negotiated, but to no avail.
‘Drifters of opportunity’: Seabirds track energy in tidal currents
- A recent study used location data from GPS-tagged seabirds called razorbills to track currents in the Irish Sea.
- When a team of biologists compared the movements of resting birds on the surface of the water with a mathematical model that lays out the currents, they found that the birds provided solid information on the speed and direction of the flow of water.
- The researchers suggest that similar research using data from resting seabirds could help identify areas for the harvest of renewable tidal energy.
Activists urge end to South Korean funding of Indonesia coal plants
- Activists in Indonesia have called on three South Korean financial institutions to withdraw their funding for new coal-fired power plants to be built in Java.
- The plants will be part of a complex that is already the biggest polluter in Southeast Asia, whose proximity to the metropolis of Jakarta could put the health of 30 million people at risk.
- The funding bucks a rising trend worldwide by governments and financial institutions to divest from coal projects and put their money in renewables instead.
- Building the new plants also makes little economic sense in light of dire warnings that the world must completely end coal-fired power generation by 2050 to avoid a global temperature rise of more than 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit).
Study warns of dire ecological, social fallout from Sumatran dam
- A new study warns that the environmental impact of a planned hydroelectric plant in Sumatra’s unique Leuser Ecosystem will be much greater than initially thought.
- The area is the last place on Earth that’s home to wild tigers, rhinos, orangutans and elephants — all critically endangered species whose habitat would be flooded and fragmented by the dam and its roads and power lines, activists say.
- They also warn of the dam exacerbating disaster risks to local communities, in a region already prone to flooding, landslides and earthquakes.
- Activists are mulling a lawsuit to void the project permit, but the developer says it has done everything by the book and that the new study is based on an outdated environmental impact analysis.
As biomass energy gains traction, southern US forests feel the burn
- An estimated 50 to 80 percent of southern wetland forest is now gone, and that which remains provides ecosystem services totaling $500 billion as well as important wildlife habitat. Logging is considered one of the biggest threats to the 35 million acres of remaining wetland forest in the southern U.S., and conservation organizations are saying this threat is coming largely from the wood pellet biomass industry.
- Touted as a renewable energy source, research shows wood pellets release more carbon dioxide than coal per megawatt of electricity produced and industry critics worry that incentivizing this energy source could actually be accelerating climate change.
- Experts argue that biomass energy effectively acts as a loophole for countries to under-report their carbon emissions and give a false impression of meeting Paris Agreement objectives. Research indicates pellet production plants also have a negative impact on air and water quality.
- But industry proponents say biomass energy is an important component of mitigating climate change and that regulations will ensure its sustainability.
UN forest accounting loophole allows CO2 underreporting by EU, UK, US
- Emissions accounting helps determine whether or not nations are on target to achieve their voluntary Paris Agreement reduction goals. Ideally, the global community’s CO2 pledges, adjusted downward over time, would, taken together, help keep the world from heating up by 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) by 2100 from a 1900 baseline.
- But scientists are raising the alarm that this goal may already be beyond reach. One reason: a carbon accounting loophole within UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) guidelines accepting the burning of wood pellets (biomass) as a carbon neutral replacement for coal — with wood now used in many European Union and United Kingdom power plants.
- Scientists warn, however, that their research shows that replacing coal with wood pellets in power plants is not carbon neutral. That’s partly because burning wood, which is celebrated by governments as a renewable and sustainable energy resource, is less efficient than coal burning, so it actually produces more CO2 emissions than coal.
- Also, while wood burning and tree replanting over hundreds of years will end up carbon neutral, that doesn’t help right now. Over a short timeframe, at a historical moment when we require aggressive greenhouse gas reductions, wood burning is adding to global emissions. Analysts say that this loophole needs to be closed, and soon, to avoid further climate chaos.
Understanding bird behavior key to developing risk reduction technologies
- Billions of birds collide with man-made structures and aircraft every year, which devastates bird populations and harms companies that must pay the cost of damages.
- John Swaddle, professor of biology at the College of William & Mary, and his team have developed two technologies to help reduce the risk of collision, the Sonic Net and the Acoustic Lighthouse.
- The team applied an understanding of birds’ communication and migration behaviors to develop strategies that successfully reduce collision risk.
Red Cloud’s Revolution: Oglalla Sioux freeing themselves from fossil fuel
- Henry Red Cloud, like so many Oglalla Sioux young men, left the reservation to work in construction. When he returned home in 2002, he needed a job, and also wanted to make a difference. He attended a solar energy workshop and saw the future.
- Today, Red Cloud runs Lakota Solar and the Red Cloud Renewable Energy Center, which have become catalysts for an innovative new economic network – one that employs locals and connects tribes, while building greater energy independence among First Nations.
- The company is building and installing alternative energy systems, and training others to do the same, throughout remote areas of U.S. reservations, thus allowing the Sioux and others to leap past outdated fossil fuel technology altogether.
- Henry Red Cloud’s company has another more radical purpose: it helps provide energy to remote Water Protector camps, like the one at Standing Rock protesting the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL). Solar power and other alternative energy sources are vital at such remote sites, as they power up cellphones, connecting resistors to the media and outside world.
A tale of two policies: climate change, Trump, and the U.S. military
- The U.S. military is preparing for a changing climate, but not in order to protect the Earth’s environment. The Pentagon’s first and foremost concern is to respond to global warming only in so far as that response enhances the military’s “operational effectiveness” – its ability to fight.
- Jim Mattis, President Trump’s own Secretary of Defense, has spoken out about the dangers of climate change, running contrary to the commander-in-chief whose recently announced National Security Strategy omitted it as a threat. Analysts expect the military to continue with its climate change adaptation and preparedness programs, despite the President’s denialism.
- However, even as the U.S. military takes steps to make itself more fuel and energy efficient, the Department of Defense remains the world’s largest institutional fossil fuel guzzler.
- Critics say the greening of the military is positive, but not if its growth comes at the expense of U.S. climate programs at EPA and the State Department. Big increases in the military’s size, pushed by Trump and Congress, are only going to make the Pentagon’s and the world’s carbon emissions worse – which could ultimately impact national security and “operational effectiveness.”
Fighting climate change with bioenergy may do ‘more harm than good’
- A new study finds land-use like grazing and managing forests for resource extraction may have released more carbon than previously thought. Its results indicate the world’s terrestrial vegetation is currently sequestering less than half its full carbon-storage potential.
- Of that missing half, the researchers discovered 42 to 47 percent is attributed to land uses that don’t technically change the vegetation cover type. The researchers say that climate change mitigation strategies often focus on reducing intensive land-use like deforestation, with less-intensive uses that don’t change cover type largely overlooked and under-researched.
- One of these less-intensive uses is managing forests for biomass energy production. Many countries are trying to replace fossil fuels with biomass energy in-line with international climate agreements like the Paris Accord.
- The researchers warn that strategies developed under the assumption that producing biomass energy doesn’t come at a carbon cost could harm efforts to fight climate change. They urge that in addition to stopping deforestation, the protection of forest functions, like carbon stocks, should be moved more into focus when it comes to land-use and climate change planning.
COP23: Trump team leads ‘surreal’ coal-gas-nuke climate summit panel
- The only U.S. presentation to be offered at the COP23 climate summit was led by Trump administration energy advisors, along with coal, natural gas and nuclear industry representatives.
- The panel argued that fossil fuel production at high, subsidized levels is vital to “energy security and economic development.” Panel members made only infrequent references to climate change, and they made no mention of the dire impacts from burning fossil fuels.
- The presentation was likely one of the most uproarious in the history of COP. Two U.S. state governors burst in at the start to give impromptu speeches, attacking Trump’s climate denialist policies.
- A memorable highlight occurred when a chorus of young people arose en masse during the panel’s opening remarks, and to the tune of Lee Greenwood’s patriotic hit “God Bless the USA” sang: “So you claim to be an American. But we see right through your greed.” Their song lasted seven minutes, after which they peacefully departed the hall.
Cross currents: Mega-dams and micro-hydro offer two different futures for rural Borneo
- Rural villages along the Papar River in Sabah, Malaysia are getting electrical infrastructure for the first time by building micro-hydropower systems.
- The proposed Kaiduan Dam would flood the Ulu Papar Valley, displacing villagers in order to provide a water source to the state capital, Kota Kinabalu, and its environs.
- Villages share what they have learned about managing their new hydropower systems, and work together to try to block plans for the dam.
Protest against hydropower plant in Sumatra ends with injuries
- On Aug. 24, indigenous people in North Sumatra staged a protest against the development of a planned 510-megawatt hydroelectric dam which threatens to evict them from their ancestral land.
- The protest turned sour after a woman was knocked over during a scuffle between protestors and people claiming to be representatives of the project’s developer, PT North Sumatra Hydro Energy.
- The project also threatens to damage the ecosystem of the Batang Toru forest, home to Critically Endangered Sumatran tigers and orangutans.
Renewable energy to power 139 countries? Scientists say it’s possible
- The research looked at the impacts of a 100-percent switch to renewable energy in 139 countries by 2050 on the climate, as well as air pollution and the economy.
- They calculated that the transition to wind, solar and hydropower will generate around 24 million net jobs.
- Switching to renewable sources of energy that don’t emit carbon into the atmosphere will also save trillions of dollars in the costs we would otherwise incur due to air pollution and the changing climate.
Protests over geothermal development heat up in Central Java
- The people of Karangtengah Village in Central Java learned in January one of their key sources of freshwater had been contaminated by debris from the development of a planned $1 billion geothermal energy plant at a nearby volcano.
- Indonesia, which is estimated to have the largest geothermal capacity in the world, is eager to tap into the renewable energy source.
- The government says work will continue despite mounting demands from locals to stop the project over claims it has contaminated rivers, cleared forests and damaged the local tourism industry.
As Indonesia’s Leuser Ecosystem faces multiple threats, local resistance grows
- Sumatra’s Leuser Ecosystem covers 2.6 million hectares and is home to some 105 mammal and 382 bird species, many found nowhere else on earth.
- The ecosystem is part of a World Heritage Site that has been listed as “In Danger” since 2011 — a designation that was renewed earlier this month.
- The local government’s plans for the ecosystem include large hydroelectric dams. Deforestation and encroachment for palm oil and pulp and paper production are also major problems for the Leuser.
- Local NGOs and community groups are speaking out against large-scale projects in the ecosystem, citing threats to the area’s human residents as well as to wildlife.
People of all faiths face climate change with hope, action, urgency
- Pope Francis gave Trump a copy of his encyclical on global environmental protection during the president’s visit to Europe in May. A week later Trump pulled out of the Paris Climate Agreement.
- While the majority of U.S. Catholics voted for Trump, and polled less favorably toward the pope after publication of Laudato Si, his bold plea to save the earth continues to energize leaders of all faiths.
- Examples abound: in May, 55 “emerging faith leaders” from 17 countries met in Brazil to identify realistic renewable energy and sustainability projects for their nations. Also in May, nine large Catholic organizations from around the globe announced divestment from coal, oil and gas stocks.
- Hindu spiritual leaders are urging the jettisoning of coal for alternative energy, and reducing pollution around temples. Morocco committed to converting 15,000 mosques to renewable energy by 2019. Jordan spiritual leaders have committed to going solar. Change could be faster, many agree, but it is ongoing.
A rising chorus of voices condemns Laos’ planned Pak Beng dam
- The Pak Beng Dam is the third mainstream dam planned for the lower Mekong River in Laos, where the government says hydropower development will help address poverty in the country.
- Analysts have raised concerns over the dam’s potential impacts on fisheries and other social and environmental impacts both locally and throughout the Mekong River Basin.
- Recent criticism has come from a report commissioned by International Rivers, a regional coalition of NGOs, and technical reviews discussed at a recent meeting of the Mekong River Commission in Vietnam.
Vietnam makes a big push for coal, while pledging to curb emissions
- Vietnam’s current energy plan calls for more than half of electricity production to come from coal by 2030, compared to around a third as of 2015.
- In the same time period, Vietnam has also pledged to reduce emissions by 25 percent compared to business-as-usual.
- Any reforms will require substantial changes to the country’s electricity sector, a tall order for a state-run industry that is notoriously slow to evolve.
Papua New Guinea moves to launch new coal mining industry
- Two years ago, the Papua New Guinea government allocated $3 million for research into the viability of coal extraction.
- An Australian company plans to build three mixed coal power generation plants in the country.
- Proponents argue affordable and reliable electricity is needed to boost economic growth, while opponents cite environmental risks including the threat of climate change and rising sea levels.
- Analysts also question how much urban-based power plants will raise electrification rates, since most un-electrified households are in rural areas that cannot easily be connected to electrical grids.
These Indonesian villages are powered by locally sourced sustainable energy
- An estimated 1.6 million poor households in Indonesia are not connected to the electricity grid.
- Indonesia’s national energy plan, which targets 35,000 megawatts of new generating capacity, relies primarily on coal and other fossil fuels.
- In rural, off-grid areas, the government has shown more support for renewable energy generation, but progress remains slow.
- In the meantime, villages like Reno on Flores Island have built their own small-scale renewable energy sources.
U.S. president energizes pipeline projects
- Conservation groups argue that the pipelines would move oil harvested through ‘dirty’ extraction methods from oil sands and shale formations.
- The Obama Administration opposed both projects, saying that they represented a step backward in ending our dependence on carbon-based energy.
- President Trump told reporters during the signing at the White House that the Keystone XL pipeline would create 28,000 jobs.
Southeast Asia’s coal boom could cause 70,000 deaths per year by 2030, report says
- A Harvard University-led research study analyzed the health impacts of existing and planned coal-fired power plants in Southeast Asia, South Korea, Japan and Taiwan.
- The researchers found that air pollution from coal-fired power plants in the area of study currently causes around 20,000 premature deaths per year.
- If all planned coal projects are constructed, that figure could rise to 70,000 deaths per year by 2030.
- Indonesia, Vietnam, China and Myanmar would be most affected.
Stone, Sand, Water: the key ingredients changing the Salween landscape
- A construction boom in Myanmar is fueling a demand for raw materials like limestone and sand. Extracting these resources threatens ecosystems and communities along the Salween River.
- This push for economic and industrial development is also driving plans to build megadams on the Salween River.
- Activists call for an alternative vision for development, based on sustainable technologies and small-scale, decentralized projects.
Fire on the Salween: Dams in conflict zones could threaten Myanmar’s fragile peace process
- Ethnic armed groups in Myanmar’s border states have been in conflict with the central government for more than half a century.
- Civil society groups, ethnic political groups and ethnic armed groups already blame the Salween dams for either exacerbating existing conflict or prompting new military incursions.
- The UNHCR estimates that as of December 2015, Myanmar already has some 400,000 internally displaced persons, entire communities who have had to flee from war, natural disasters or development projects. Many fear the dams could create thousands more.
Trump vows Paris Agreement pull out; world unites behind green economy
- Climate delegates and NGOs meeting in Marrakesh, Morocco, responded to threats this week by Donald Trump to quickly renege on the US commitment to uphold the Paris Climate Agreement. While the US under Pres. Obama led the way to the accord, COP22 summit attendees say that China is now likely to fill the leadership vacuum created by Trump.
- COP22 participants also say that the world’s nations are now united in moving toward decarbonizing their economies with 21st century technologies to slow the rate of global warming, while creating millions of new green-energy jobs. Meanwhile, a US under Trump is on the path to re-embracing coal, a 19th century technology in rapid decline.
- Summit attendees have discussed repercussions for a US withdrawal from the accord reached in December 2015 by nearly 200 nations. Beyond the loss of US standing on the world stage, backlash could come in the form of faltering trade agreements, failed military cooperation, economic sanctions, or a carbon tax levied on the US for failing its carbon-reduction pledges.
- “Even though we are in a time of uncertainty because of the US election, there is no way to turn away from what [climate] scientists have shown us. Failure to act now will lead to catastrophic consequences,” said Peru’s Manuel Pulgar-Vidal, a key organizer of the Lima and Paris climate summits.
Program targets food security concerns among Panama’s indigenous women
- Malnutrition rates of indigenous children in Panama’s rural areas can be three to five times higher than that of non-indigenous children in the cities.
- Poor access to employment and health care, a lack of participation in politics, land conflicts over resource development projects, and farming problems related to volatile climactic conditions all contribute to food insecurity among Panama’s indigenous groups.
- Now, a 10-month program for indigenous women headed by the International Indigenous Women’s Forum aims to tackle food security among indigenous groups in Panama, as well as in Paraguay and El Salvador.
PHOTOS: Panama begins “test-flooding” dam over indigenous protests
- Panama’s Ngäbe and Buglé indigenous groups have long opposed the nearly complete Barro Blanco dam near their territory, alleging that the dam’s owner failed to consult them or conduct proper environmental and social impact assessments.
- The dam has spurred countless demonstrations, prompted outcry from national and international NGOs, and caused violent clashes between protestors and national security forces, including one in late August.
- The Panamanian government has allowed “test-flooding” of the nearly complete dam’s reservoir to proceed, despite the fact that an agreement between it and the indigenous authorities allowing the dam to go forward has yet to be finalized.
Dam opponents claim criminalization by Ecuadorian government
- Hidrotambo dam opponent Manuel Trujillo was recently exonerated from terrorism charges for allegedly destroying dam company property, but still faces more than two-dozen other legal cases related to his opposition to the dam.
- Human-rights groups claim the Ecuadorean government has criminalized Trujillo and other local leaders for organizing against the dam as part of a larger pattern in which the administration of Rafael Correa has gone after over 100 community leaders and activists for protesting development projects across the country.
- Activists have taken their case against the Hidrotambo dam to international courts.
PHOTOS: Panama revives stalled dam over strong indigenous opposition
- The 28-megawatt Barro Blanco dam in western Panama is nearly complete, but construction has been stalled since February due to opposition by local indigenous communities.
- A ceremony on Monday meant to mark a deal to complete the project between the Panamanian government and leaders of the indigenous Ngäbe community was disrupted by Ngäbe protesters, highlighting a strong division within the indigenous community.
- In a demonstration that erupted into violence, Ngäbe protesters temporarily shut down the ceremony.
- However, the dam will move forward under the signed agreement, which details new economic and oversight concessions for the communities and the ouster of the dam’s controversial owner.
These countries are growing their economies and lowering emissions at the same time
- The International Energy Agency (IEA) recently reported that global GDP has grown the past two years even as greenhouse gas emissions have fallen.
- Researchers at the World Resources Institute (WRI) found that 21 countries have managed to decouple GDP growth from energy production-related CO2 emissions for some period of time between 2000 and 2014.
- “The United States is the largest country to experience multiple consecutive years in which economic growth has been ‘decoupled’ from growth in carbon dioxide emissions,” WRI’s Nate Aden wrote in a blog post.
Can a virtual fence help protect birds from human structures?
- A cost-effective technology warns conservationists and wind farm operators via text message when a tagged bird flies past a virtual fence toward a turbine so that they can slow or shut down the machine to minimize fatalities.
- As wind farms proliferate, this system answers an urgent need to reduce fatalities among threatened or endangered large bird species from strikes against turbines, though further research is needed on the effectiveness of both the system and slowing or stopping turbines.
- Future iterations could include quicker alerts, weight reductions for deploying on smaller species, automated turbine shutdown, automated deterrents, and customizations based on species and field settings.
Powered by the land: The Sumatran village that conserves forest for electricity
- Residents of Kinangkung rely on water from the surrounding forest to power their homes.
- The microgrid is the consequence of years of a focused drive by a community to protect its ecological wealth.
- Kinangkung is just one sign that microgeneration is beginning to concentrate minds in the archipelago’s outlying areas.
Offshore wind farms could blunt hurricane damage
Massive offshore wind turbine arrays would reduce hurricane wind speeds and storm surge, reports a study published this week in Nature Climate Change. And while the size (tens of thousands of turbines) and cost (hundreds of billions of dollars) is difficult to imagine, the reduction in storm damage and value of electricity produced would effectively […]
Coal’s future carbon costs may make it more expensive than wind energy
At first glance, a recent report from the U.S. White House on the social cost of carbon reads like a daunting economics exam. A small chart poses the first question about the price tag policymakers attach to future greenhouse gas emissions: Does each metric ton of carbon that billows into the air cost $11, $33 […]
‘Carbon bubble’ could cause next global financial crisis
The world could be heading for a major economic crisis as stock markets inflate an investment bubble in fossil fuels to the tune of trillions of dollars, according to leading economists. “The financial crisis has shown what happens when risks accumulate unnoticed,” said Lord (Nicholas) Stern, a professor at the London School of Economics. He […]
New wind power cheaper than coal or gas in Australia
Electricity supplied from a new wind farm is cheaper than that from a new gas or coal-fired power plant in Australia, reports a new analysis published by Bloomberg New Energy Finance. According to the study, wind-generated electricity costs AU$80 ($83) per megawatt hour compared with compared to AU$143/MWh ($148) from a new coal plant or […]
Paradigm shift needed to avert global environmental collapse, according to author of new book The Blueprint: Averting Global Collapse
Scientists and experts are increasingly concerned that we are entering an age of ecological collapse with untold impacts for future generations. In Daniel Rirdan’s new book, The Blueprint, he outlines how to avoid this fate. Author, global strategist, and speaker Daniel Rirdan set out to create a plan addressing the future of our planet. His […]
Google invests $200m in west Texas wind farm
Google has made another big renewable energy investment, putting $200 million into a Texas wind farm, said the Internet search giant in a post on its official blog. The 161 megawatt project — called the Spinning Spur Wind Project — is located in Oldham County about 35 miles from Amarillo. It generates enough electricity to […]
Scientists: if we don’t act now we’re screwed
Aerial view of the infamous Río Huaypetue gold mine in the Peruvian Amazon. This remote but massive gold mine is known for the destruction of primary rainforest, widespread mercury pollution, and child and slave labor. Photo by: Rhett A. Butler. Scientists warn that the Earth may be reaching a planetary tipping point due to a […]
Consumption, population, and declining Earth: wake-up call for Rio+20
Suburban sprawl in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The average American’s ecological footprint is the fifth highest in the world. Photo by: Jeremy Hance. Human society is consuming natural resources as if there were one-and-a-half Earths, and not just a single blue planet, according to the most recent Living Planet Report released today. If governments and societies […]
For Earth Day, 17 celebrated scientists on how to make a better world
Observations of planet Earth from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on July 11, 2005. Photo by: NASA. Seventeen top scientists and four acclaimed conservation organizations have called for radical action to create a better world for this and future generations. Compiled by 21 past winners of the prestigious Blue Planet Prize, a new paper […]
Brazilian mining company connected to Belo Monte dam voted worst corporation
The world’s second largest mining company, Vale, has been given the dubious honor of being voted the world’s most awful corporation in terms of human rights abuses and environmental destruction by the Public Eye Awards. Vale received over 25,000 votes online, likely prompted in part by its stake in the hugely controversial Brazilian mega-dam, Belo […]
EU’s biofuel push based on ‘flawed’ science
Europe’s biofuel push could exacerbate climate change unless policies are in place to accounts for emissions from indirect land use change, warns a letter signed by more than 100 scientists and economists. The letter, addressed to the European Commission, says the E.U. is deceiving itself and the public by asserting that biofuels are carbon neutral. […]
Could palm oil help save the Amazon? (2011)
This article is a longer version of story that appeared at Yale e360: In Brazil, Palm Oil Plantations Could Help Preserve Amazon. For years now, environmentalists have become accustomed to associating palm oil with large-scale destruction of rainforests across Malaysia and Indonesia. Campaigners have linked palm oil-containing products like Girl Scout cookies and soap products […]
Could palm oil help save the Amazon?
- For years now, environmentalists have become accustomed to associating palm oil with large-scale destruction of rainforests across Malaysia and Indonesia.
- Campaigners have linked palm oil-containing products like Girl Scout cookies and soap products to smoldering peatlands and dead orangutans.
- Now with Brazil announcing plans to dramatically scale-up palm oil production in the Amazon, could the same fate befall Earth’s largest rainforest? With this potential there is a frenzy of activity in the Brazilian palm oil sector.
- Yet there is a conspicuous lack of hand wringing by environmentalists in the Amazon. The reason: done right, oil palm could emerge as a key component in the effort to save the Amazon rainforest. Responsible production there could even force changes in other parts of the world.
Sugar cane cools climate when it replaces cattle pasture
Converting cattle pasture and cropland in Brazil to sugar cane helps cool local climate reports research published in Nature Climate Change. Scientists with the Carnegie Institutions’s Department of Global Ecology at Stanford University and the University of Montana analyzed temperature, reflectivity, and evapotranspiration from satellite data across 733,000 square miles—an area larger than the state […]
Indigenous leaders take fight over Amazon dams to Europe
Three indigenous Amazonian leaders spent this week touring Europe to raise awareness about the threat that a number of proposed monster dams pose to their people and the Amazon forest. Culminating in a press conference and protests in London, the international trip hopes to build pressure to stop three current hydroelectric projects, one in Peru, […]
Photo gallery: Borneo paradise saved from beachside coal plant
The beachside site of the now canceled coal-fired power plant in Kampung Sinakut, Lahad Datu, Sabah. Photo courtesy of Green SURF. Note: many of these photos were published in a previous post on the coal plant. Last week the Malaysian government announced it had canceled a plan to build a coal-fired plant in the state […]
Environmentalists and locals win fight against coal plant in Borneo
Environmentalists, scientists, and locals have won the battle against a controversial coal plant in the Malaysian state of Sabah in northern Borneo. The State and Federal government announced today that they would “pursue other alternative sources of energy, namely gas, to meet Sabah’s power supply needs.” Proposed for an undeveloped beach on the north-eastern coast […]
Is Obama’s clean energy revolution possible?
Recent studies point to the feasibility of a global clean energy revolution. Last night US President Barack Obama called for a massive green energy make-over of the world’s largest economy. Describing the challenge as ‘this generation’s Sputnik moment’ the US president set a goal of producing 80 percent of America’s energy by clean sources by […]
Prairie grass-based biofuels could meet half current fuel demand without affecting forests, food
Biofuels could meet up to half the world’s current fuel consumption without affecting food production or forests, argues a study published last month in the journal Environmental Science and Technology. Analyzing the extent of marginal grasslands, including abandoned and degraded grassland, using data on soil, topography, climate and current land use, Ximing Cai of the […]
Indonesia to open protected forests to geothermal power
The Indonesian government will soon issue a decree allowing geothermal mining in protected forests, reports The Jakarta Post. Mining of any kind is currently prohibited in protected forest areas, but because the government says geothermal mining is “environmentally friendly” it would be allowed. Geothermal would enable Indonesia to reduce its dependence on oil, reserves of […]
Majority of Americans confused on climate change basics
Most Americans don’t understand the basics of climate change, according to a new poll by researchers with Yale. The poll found that over half of Americans deserve an ‘F’ on basic understanding of climate science and climate change, while only 1% would receive an ‘A’. While 63% of Americans say that the globe is warming, […]
Humanity consuming the Earth: by 2030 we’ll need two planets
Too many people consuming too much is depleting the world’s natural resources faster than they are replenished, imperiling not only the world’s species but risking the well-being of human societies, according to a new massive study by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), entitled the Living Planet Report. The report finds that humanity is currently consuming […]
Farms in the sky, an interview with Dickson Despommier
To solve today’s environmental crises—climate change, deforestation, mass extinction, and marine degradation—while feeding a growing population (on its way to 9 billion) will require not only thinking outside the box, but a “new box altogether” according to Dr. Dickson Despommier, author of the new book, The Vertical Farm. Exciting policy-makers and environmentalists, Despommier’s bold idea […]
Citizens of 188 countries challenge leaders on climate change
As world leaders continue to fumble a coherent, rapid, and comprehensive response to climate change, citizens from around the world yesterday sent a message to inert politicians by participating in over 7,300 events against climate change, according to 350.org, the head organizer of the day dubbed the ‘Global Work Party’. “The fossil fuel industry may […]
EU’s biofuels target driving land grabs in Africa, says group
The European Union’s renewable fuels target is driving land grabs in Africa that threaten the environment and local communities, claims a new report from Friends of the Earth (FOE). Africa: up for grabs – The scale and impact of land grabbing for agrofuels [PDF] reviews a series of land deals signed across more than a […]
Environmental assessment for Borneo coal plant riddled with errors
The Detailed Environmental Impact Assessment (DEIA) for a proposed coal plant in Sabah is full of holes, according to activists with the organization Green SURF (Sabah Unite to Re-Power the Future), which opposes the plant. The official environmental report from Lahad Datu Energy lists species not endemic to Borneo, mistakes the nearest ecosystem to the […]
Visiting the Gulf: how wildlife and people are faring in America’s worst environmental disaster, an interview with Jennifer Jacquet
“President Obama called it ‘the worst environmental disaster America has ever faced.’ So I thought I should face it and head to the Gulf”—these are the opening words on the popular blog Guilty Planet as the author, marine biologist Jennifer Jacquet, embarked on a ten day trip to Louisiana. As a scientist, Jacquet was, of […]
U.S. approves first offshore wind farm
The Obama Administration has approved the nation’s first offshore wind farm after more than eight years of legal challenges, reports the Associated Press. Speaking Wednesday in Boston, U.S. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said the $2 billion Cape Wind project marks “a new direction in our nation’s energy future.” The 130-turbine, 420-megawatt wind farm will generate […]
What happened to China?: the nation’s environmental woes and its future
China has long been an example of what not to do to achieve environmentally sustainability. Ranking 133rd out of 146 countries in 2005 for environmental performance, China faces major environmental problems including severe air and water pollution, deforestation, water-issues, desertification, extinction, and overpopulation. A new article in Science discusses the complex issues that have led […]
Analysis shows Borneo can say ‘no’ to coal power
Plans for a coal power plant in the Malaysian state of Sabah in northern Borneo have run into stiff opposition. Environmentalists say the coal plant could damage extensive coral reef systems, pollute water supplies, open rainforests to mining, and contribute to global climate change, undercutting Sabah’s image as a ‘green’ destination. The federal government contends […]
Could special bonds fund the green revolution and stabilize the climate?
There is no question that governments around the world are moving slowly and sluggishly to combat climate change, especially when placed against the measures recommended by climate scientists. Only a handful of nations have actually cut overall greenhouse gas emissions, and the past couple decades have seen emissions rise rapidly worldwide as nations like India […]
UK failing to meet biofuel sustainability standard
Only 4 percent of biofuel imported for use in the UK — and 20 percent of biofuel used overall — meets the environmental sustainability standard set by the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (RFTO), reports a new assessment from the Renewable Fuels Agency. The report found Britain exceeded its overall biofuel target of 2.5 percent of […]
Could space technology save our planet?
A new book, Paradise Regained: the Regreening of Earth argues that the solutions to the world’s current environmental crises—including climate change—could be lying far beyond our planet. “As a scientist and an advocate for space development, I believe that those that are in the environmental movement and space advocates should be working together to help […]
James Hansen says Copenhagen approach “fundamentally wrong” would be better to “reassess”
James Hansen, one of the world’s foremost climatologists, told the Guardian today that he believes the Copenhagen talks are flawed to the point where failure of the talks may be the best way forward. “The approach that is being talked about is so fundamentally wrong that it would be better to reassess,” Hansen said. Hansen […]
Blackout in Brazil: Hydropower and Our Climate Conundrum
Would a climate change tribunal offer justice to those affected by global warming? It’s everyone’s worst nightmare: being caught in an underground subway in the midst of a power outage. Yet, that is exactly what happened recently when Brazilian commuters in the city of São Paulo were trapped inside trains and literally had to be […]
Fossil fuel subsidies “bringing us closer to irreversible climate change”
The Green Economy Coalition is urging G20 finance ministers to rapidly put an end to fossil fuel subsidies. In a letter to the ministers, the coalition argues that these subsidies are contributing directly to climate change and making it difficult for the world to transition to a greener economy. “These subsidies are a massive diversion […]
The Yangtze River may have lost another inhabitant: the Chinese paddlefish
- In December of 2006 it was announced that the Yangtze River dolphin, commonly known as the baiji, had succumbed to extinction.
- The dolphin had survived on earth for 20 million years, but the species couldn’t survive the combined onslaught of pollution, habitat loss, boat traffic, entanglement in fishing hooks, death from illegal electric fishing, and the construction of several massive dams.
- Now, another flagship species of the Yangtze River appears to have vanished.
US subsidies of oil and coal more than double the subsidies of renewable energy
During the fiscal years of 2002-2008 the United States handed out subsidies to fossil fuel industries to a tune of 72 billion dollars, while renewable energy subsidies, during the same period, reached 29 billion dollars. Conducted by the Environmental Law Institute (ELI) in partnership with the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, the research shows […]
Power, profit, and pollution: dams and the uncertain future of Sarawak
Solar powered conservation
Environmental disappointments under Obama
Little hydroelectric dams become all the rage, but do they harm the environment?
Will hydrocarbon biofuels replace gasoline and ethanol?
In a Perspectives piece in Science, John R. Regalbuto argues that the world will soon see a revolution in biofuels, but not those made from corn. Instead Regalbuto, program director of Catalysis and Biocatalysis at the National Science Foundation, says that the future of biofuels is in substances that can be converted into liquid hydrocarbons, […]
Wind could power the entire world
Wind power may be the key to a clean energy revolution: a new study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science finds that wind power could provide for the entire world’s current and future energy needs. To estimate the earth’s capacity for wind power, the researchers first sectioned the globe into areas of […]
Bioelectricity bests ethanol on two fronts: land use and global warming
Yesterday the Obama Administration established a Biofuels Interagency Working Group to oversee implementation of new rules and research regarding biofuels. On the group’s first day they would do well to look at a new study in Science Magazine comparing the efficacy of ethanol versus bioelectricity. Researchers compared ethanol and bioelectricity in terms of miles per […]
Clean energy investment moving too slowly to avoid irreversible climate change
Cellulosic ethanol healthier, better for the environment, than corn ethanol
Prairie grass ethanol will kill fewer people and foul the environment less than corn ethanol
Wind energy jobs now exceed coal mining jobs
Africa eyes geothermal power
Africa eyes geothermal power Africa eyes geothermal power mongabay.com December 12, 2008
Corn expansion is hurting ladybugs
Corn expansion is hurting ladybugs Corn expansion is hurting ladybugs mongabay.com December 15, 2008
Living up to the Pope’s words: the Vatican turns to solar power
Living up to the Pope’s words: the Vatican turns to solar power Living up to the Pope’s words: the Vatican turns to solar power Jeremy Hance, mongabay.com November 28, 2008
Limiting global warming to 2-degree rise will require $180/t carbon price says energy think tank
Developing countries must limit emissions to prevent global warming, says energy agency Developing countries must limit emissions to prevent global warming, says energy agency mongabay.com November 13, 2008 Limiting global warming to 2-degree rise will require $180/t carbon price says energy think tank
Biodiversity of rainforests should not be compared with oil palm plantations says palm oil council chief
Scientists should not compare biodiversity of rainforests with oil palm plantations says palm oil council chief Biodiversity of rainforests should not be compared with oil palm plantations says palm oil council chief mongabay.com November 11, 2008 Dr. Yusof Basiron, the controversial CEO of the Malaysian Palm Oil Council (MPOC), blogs about the sustainability of palm […]
First RSPO-certified (“eco-friendly”) palm oil shipment to arrive in Europe
First RSPO-certified (“eco-friendly”) palm oil shipment to arrive in Europe First RSPO-certified (“eco-friendly”) palm oil shipment to arrive in Europe mongabay.com November 10, 2008
EU’s sustainable biofuels push angers Malaysia, Brazil
EU’s sustainable biofuels push angers Malaysia, Brazil EU’s sustainable biofuels push angers Malaysia, Brazil mongabay.com November 7, 2008
Rainforest fungus generates biodiesel, may drive energy of the future
Rainforest fungus generates biodiesel, may drive energy of the future Rainforest fungus generates biodiesel, may drive energy of the future Jeremy Hance, mongabay.com November 4, 2008
Green New Deal will spark global economy, create jobs
Green New Deal will spark global economy on long-term basis Green New Deal will spark global economy, create jobs mongabay.com October 22, 2008
Financial crisis could pave way for greener economy inspired by nature
Financial crisis could pave way for greener economy inspired by nature Financial crisis could pave way for greener economy inspired by nature mongabay.com October 20, 2008 can be used as a 3.8-billion-year-old R&D lab for technology development is gaining momentum. Benyus, author of
Challenges of starting a green business
Challenges of starting a green business Challenges facing green business start-ups mongabay.com October 20, 2008
U.S. needs environmental standards for biofuels
U.S. needs environmental standards for biofuels U.S. needs environmental standards for biofuels mongabay.com October 2, 2008
U.S. Congress passes legislation to boost solar, wind, and geothermal energy
U.S. Congress passes legislation to boost solar, wind, and geothermal energy U.S. Congress passes legislation to boost solar, wind, and geothermal energy mongabay.com September 24, 2008 Tuesday the U.S. Senate passed a bill that will extend tax credits on solar power installations through 2016. The House approved the measure Wednesday. The $17 billion package will […]
Europe cuts biofuel targets to 4% in 2015, 6% in 2020
Europe cuts biofuel targets to 4% in 2015, 6% in 2020 Europe cuts biofuel targets to 4% in 2015, 6% in 2020 mongabay.com September 12, 2008 The European Union significantly reduces targets for biofuels produced from food sources, while boosting goals for other renewables The E.U. voted to relax biofuels targets following widespread criticism of […]
Biofuels 200 times more expensive than forest conservation for global warming mitigation
Biofuels up to 200 times more expensive than forest conservation for global warming mitigation Biofuels 200 times more expensive than forest conservation for global warming mitigation mongabay.com August 27, 2008 The British government should end subsidies for biofuels and instead use the funds to slow destruction of rainforests and tropical peatlands argues a new report […]
How do wind turbines kill bats?
Researchers discover why wind turbines are hazardous to bats How do wind turbines kill bats? Jeremy Hance, mongabay.com August 25, 2008 Drop in air pressure, not collisions, devastate bat populations that fly by wind turbines Numerous studies have shown that migratory bats are undergoing large fatalities due to wind turbines. Far more bats die due […]
Google, Australia give big boost to geothermal power production
Google, Australia give big boost to geothermal power production Google, Australia give big boost to geothermal energy mongabay.com August 20, 2008 Geothermal energy got a big boost this week with Google and the Australian government announcing multi-million initiatives that make use of Earth’s heat as a clean and renewable source of power. Tuesday Google.org, the […]
Algae could yield 30 times more biofuel than soybeans, while cleaning the environment
Algae could yield 30 times more biofuel than soybeans, while cleaning the environment Algae could yield 30 times more biofuel than soybeans, while cleaning the environment mongabay.com August 15, 2008 Algae could be used as a biofuel while simultaneously cleaning up the environment, report researchers at the University of Virginia. By feeding algae extra carbon […]
PG&E will build the world’s largest solar power plant
PG&E will build the world’s largest solar power plant PG&E will build the world’s largest solar power plant mongabay.com August 15, 2008 California electricity producer PG&E Thursday announced a plan to build two giant solar photovoltaic power plants that will cover 12.5 square miles and have a peak generating capacity of 800 megawatts. The plants […]
Facing criticism, biofuels industry forms new lobby group to influence lawmakers
Facing criticism, biofuels industry forms new lobby group to influence lawmakers Facing criticism, biofuels industry forms new lobby group to influence lawmakers mongabay.com July 25, 2008 Under attack by politicians, aid groups, and environmentalists for driving up food prices and fueling destruction of ecologically sensitive habitats, some of the world’s largest agroindustrial firms have formed […]
Biofuels can reduce emissions, but not when grown in place of rainforests
Biofuels can reduce emissions, but not when grown in place of rainforests Biofuels can reduce emissions, but not when grown in place of rainforests mongabay.com July 22, 2008 Biofuels meant to help alleviate greenhouse gas emissions may be in fact contributing to climate change when grown on converted tropical forest lands, warns a comprehensive study […]
Gore launches second campaign… for Earth
Gore launches second campaign… for Earth Gore launches second campaign mongabay.com July 17, 2008 In a speech Thursday, Al Gore challenged the U.S. to generate 100 percent of its electricity from zero carbon emission sources within 10 years. Speaking at Washington’s Constitution Hall, Gore said America’s security, environmental and economic crises are all related, and […]
Breakthrough in solar energy: ten times more effective solar power may be available in three years
Breakthrough in solar energy: ten times more effective solar power may be available in three years Breakthrough in solar energy: ten times more effective solar power may be available in three years Jeremy Hance, mongabay.com July 10, 2008 The breakthrough scientists have been waiting for to make solar power cheaper, more efficient–and therefore a more […]
Oceans hold vast potential for wind power
Oceans hold vast potential for wind power Oceans hold vast potential for wind power mongabay.com July 9, 2008 The North Pacific, Tasmania, New Zealand, Tierra del Fuego in South America, and the mid-latitudes of the Atlantic and Pacific oceans are potential locations for wind power generation, according to new satellite data from NASA. NASA’s QuikSCAT […]
Britain urges ‘cautious approach’ on biofuels
Britain urges ‘cautious approach’ on biofuels Britain urges ‘cautious approach’ on biofuels mongabay.com July 7, 2008 Britain and the E.U. should exercise caution in pushing for wider use of biofuels, warns a new study commissioned by the U.K. government. The report — dubbed the “Gallagher review” [PDF] for Ed Gallagher, the chair of the government’s […]
Whale biomimicry inspires better wind turbines
Whale biomimicry inspires better wind turbines Whale biomimicry inspires better wind turbines mongabay.com July 7, 2008 By studying and mimicking the characteristics of the flippers, fins and tails of whales and dolphins, engineers have devised more a efficient way to generate wind power, reports a researcher presenting at the Society for Experimental Biology’s Annual Meeting […]
Clean energy gold rush in 2007
Clean energy investments rose 60% to $148 billion in 2007 Clean energy gold rush in 2007 mongabay.com July 1, 2008 New investment in renewables and energy efficiency surpassed $148 billion in 2007, rising 60 percent rise from 2006, according to an analysis issued Tuesday July 1 by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP). High oil prices […]
Louisiana signs non-corn ethanol law to produce a better biofuel
Louisiana signs non-corn ethanol law to produce a better biofuel Louisiana signs non-corn ethanol law for to produce a better biofuel mongabay.com July 1, 2008 Louisiana has signed into law legislation to develop an advanced biofuel industry that excludes corn as a feedstock, reports Biopact. The Advanced Biofuel Industry Development Initiative will promote high yielding […]
Brazil signs sustainable ethanol deal with Sweden
Brazil signs sustainable ethanol deal with Sweden Brazil signs sustainable ethanol deal with Sweden mongabay.com June 27, 2008 A group of Brazilian ethanol producers has signed the first deal to export certified sustainable ethanol, reports Reuters. Four firms — Cosan, Guarani, NovAmerica and Alcoeste — will sell 115 million liters of anhydrous ethanol certified to […]
94% of Americans support solar energy development
94% of Americans support solar energy development 94% of Americans support solar energy development mongabay.com June 11, 2008 94 percent of Americans say it’s important for the U.S. to develop and use solar energy, according to a new poll that found support for solar power runs across the political spectrum. The SCHOTT Solar BarometerTM survey, […]
Cellulosic biofuels may be viable alternative to gas within 5 years
Cellulosic biofuels may be viable alternative to gas within 5 years High fuel prices to make cellulosic biofuels increasingly competitive with gas Madolyn Rogers, special to mongabay.com June 2, 2008 A new institute in the San Francisco Bay Area is seeking to make cellulosic biofuel an economically viable alternative to corn ethanol and gasoline within […]
Next gen biofuels could decimate rainforests
Next gen biofuels could decimate rainforests Next gen biofuels could decimate rainforests mongabay.com May 27, 2008 Next generation biofuels could decimate tropical forests says a leading ecologist from the University of Minnesota. Speaking at Stanford University on May 15, Dr. David Tilman said cellulosic ethanol technologies that convert biomass directly into biofuels could put new […]
Will earthquake slow dam-building spree in China?
Will earthquake slow dam-building spree in China? Will earthquake slow enthusiasm for dam-building in China? mongabay.com May 14, 2008 Monday’s 7.9 magnitude earthquake in Sichuan province left more than 15,000 dead, 26,000 missing, and 64,000 injured, according to state media. The quake also “seriously damaged” two hydroelectric stations in Maoxian county, leading authorities to warn […]
46% of Brazil’s energy comes from renewable sources
46% of Brazil’s energy comes from renewable sources 46% of Brazil’s energy comes from renewable sources mongabay.com May 13, 2008 Preliminary data from Brazil’s energy ministry shows that bioenergy derived from sugar cane surpassed hydroelectric power as Brazil’s secondary largest source of energy in 2007, reports Biopact. The annual National Energy Balance report produced by […]
China aims for 100 gigawatts of wind power by 2020
China aims for 100 gigawatts of wind power by 2020 China aims for 100 gigawatts of wind power by 2020 mongabay.com April 29, 2008 China aims to expand its wind power generating capacity to 100,000 megawatts by 2020, more than doubling the current world’s installed capacity, according to the Shanghai Daily and The Wall Street […]
Arizona seeks to become the ‘Persian Gulf’ of solar energy
Arizona seeks to become the ‘Persian Gulf’ of solar energy Arizona seeks to become the ‘Persian Gulf’ of solar energy mongabay.com February 22, 2008 With a Spanish company’s plans to dramatically expand solar capacity in the desert southwest of Phoenix, Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano said Arizona could become the “Persian Gulf of solar energy,” according […]
Private sector pumping hundreds of billions into cleantech
Private sector pumping hundreds of billions into cleantech Private sector pumping hundreds of billions into cleantech mongabay.com February 21, 2008 The private sector is “pumping hundreds of billions of dollars” into cleaner and renewable energies, says a new publication released yesterday by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). The report, The UNEP Year Book 2008, […]
Biofuels are worsening global warming
Biofuels are worsening global warming Biofuels are worsening global warming Rhett Butler, mongabay.com February 7, 2008 Converting native ecosystems for production of biofuel feed stocks is worsening the greenhouse gas emissions they are intended to mitigate, reports a pair of studies published in the journal Science. The studies follow a series of reports that have […]
Carbon tax would make China greener and reduce warming risks
Carbon tax would make China greener and reduce warming risks Carbon tax would make China greener and reduce warming risks Rhett Butler, mongabay.com February 7, 2008 Driven by booming economic growth and rapid urbanization, China’s carbon dioxide emissions are surging. At the same time, forecasts suggest climate change will have an immense impact on the […]
Sustainability mandated for biofuels used in the EU
Sustainability mandated for biofuels used in the EU Sustainability mandated for biofuels used in the EU mongabay.com January 24, 2008 Biofuels used in the European Union will have meet strict environmental requirements said the head of the E.U.’s energy program on Wednesday. At a news conference in Brussels, European Energy Commissioner Andris Piebalgs said the […]
E.U. may ban palm oil biodiesel
E.U. may restrict palm oil biodiesel due to environmental concerns E.U. may ban palm oil biodiesel Rhett A. Butler, mongabay.com January 15, 2008 The E.U. may ban imports of certain biofuel feedstocks that damage the environment, reports The New York Times. While Europe aims to supply 10 percent of all vehicle fuel from biofuels by […]
Indonesia seeks to cut fuel subsidies via biofuels
Indonesia seeks to cut fuel subsidies via biofuels Indonesia seeks to cut fuel subsidies via biofuels Rhett A. Butler, mongabay.com January 15, 2008 Biofuels will make up 10 percent of Indonesia’s fuel transport consumption by 2010 under a plan announced Monday by a senior government official, according to Reuters. The initiative could ease the economic […]
Switchgrass a better biofuel source than corn
Switchgrass a better biofuel source than corn Switchgrass a better biofuel source than corn Rhett A. Butler, mongabay.com January 7, 2008 Switchgrass yields more than 540 percent more energy than the energy needed to produce and convert it to ethanol, making the grassy weed a far superior source for biofuels than corn ethanol, reports a […]
New process turns chicken fat into biodiesel
New process turns chicken fat into biodiesel New process turns chicken fat into biodiesel mongabay.com December 20, 2007 Chemical engineers at the University of Arkansas have devised a way to convert chicken fat into biodiesel fuel. The process advances efforts to “develop commercially viable fuel out of plentiful, accessible and low-cost feedstocks and other agricultural […]
Google aims to make renewable energy sources cheaper than coal
Google aims to make renewable energy sources cheaper than coal Google aims to make renewable energy cheaper than coal mongabay.com November 28, 2007 Tuesday Google announced an initiative to develop electricity from renewable energy sources that will be cheaper than electricity produced from coal. The initiative, dubbed RE<C, will initially focus on solar, wind, and […]
Termites may produce cleaner biofuels
? Termites may produce cleaner biofuels Termites may produce cleaner biofuels mongabay.com November 23, 2007 Termites may be the key to greener, more effective biofuels, report scientists writing in the November 22 edition of the journal Nature. Termites harbor stomach microbes that produce enzymes which may be useful in converting wood or waste biomass to […]
Wind could supply baseline electrical power
? Wind could supply baseline electrical power Wind could supply baseline electrical power American Meteorological Society November 22, 2007 Wind power, long considered to be as fickle as wind itself, can be groomed to become a steady, dependable source of electricity and delivered at a lower cost than at present, according to scientists at Stanford […]
Carbon-negative bioenergy to cut global warming could drive deforestation
Carbon-negative bioenergy to cut global warming could drive deforestation Carbon-negative bioenergy to cut global warming could drive deforestation: An interview on BECS with Biopact’s Laurens Rademakers mongabay.com November 6, 2007 A proposed mechanism for generating carbon-negative bioenergy — an energy source that reduces atmospheric carbon dioxide levels — could drive large-scale deforestation in the tropics […]
Clean energy will improve health of the world’s poor
Clean energy will improve health of the world’s poor Clean energy will improve health of the world’s poor mongabay.com September 12, 2007 Clean energy will help people live longer and healthier lives reports a study published in The Lancet. The research recommends a switch from fossil fuels towards renewable energy and improved access to electricity […]
Wind power takes a toll on migratory bats
Wind power takes a toll on migratory bats Wind power takes a toll on migratory bats But learning bat migration patterns may save them from wind turbines Jeremy Hance mongabay.com September 12, 2007 The danger of wind turbines to birds has long been known and well documented. Most recently several studies and articles have attempted […]
Guidelines to ensure biofuels production won’t hurt the environment
Guidelines to ensure biofuels production won’t hurt the environment Guidelines to ensure biofuels production won’t hurt the environment mongabay.com August 30, 2007 Environmentalists have long seen biofuels as a means to improve the sustainability of transportation and energy use since they are a renewable source of energy that can be replenished on an ongoing basis. […]
With Corn ethanol more costly than oil, is Jatropha a better biofuel?
With Corn ethanol more expensive than oil, is Jatropha the solution? With Corn ethanol more costly than oil, is Jatropha a better biofuel? mongabay.com August 24, 2007 Jatropha may be a more economic biofuel than corn-based ethanol, reported the The Wall Street Journal on Friday, citing research from Goldman Sachs. Analysis of the bioenergy market […]
100 years ago: oil shortages spur need for alternative fuels
100 years ago: oil shortages spur need for alternative fuels 100 years ago: oil shortages spur need for alternative fuels mongabay.com August 8, 2007 Today’s issue of the journal Nature took an look back at a dire warning that while issued 100 years ago, could have just as well been issued last week. 100 Years […]
Economics of next generation biofuels
Economics of next generation biofuels Economics of next generation biofuels John Wiley & Sons August 8, 2007 Production costs of advanced biofuels is similar to grain-ethanol Second generation’ biorefineries — those making biofuel from lignocellulosic feedstocks like straw, grasses and wood — have long been touted as the successor to today’s grain ethanol plants, but […]
Miscanthus bests switchgrass as biofuel source
Miscanthus bests switchgrass as biofuel source Miscanthus bests switchgrass as biofuel source mongabay.com July 11, 2007 In a side-by-side comparison, miscanthus (Miscanthus x giganteus) grass has been shown to be a more productive bioenergy source than switchgrass (Panicum virgatum), according to research presented at the annual meeting of the American Society of Plant Biologists in […]
Inflatable concentrators may cut cost of solar below conventional power plants
Inflatable concentrators may cut cost of solar below conventional power plants Inflatable concentrators may cut cost of solarbelow conventional power plants Rhett A. Butler, mongabay.com July 8, 2007 Cool Earth Solar, a Livermore, California-based company developing an innovative way for capturing solar energy, has merged with Radiant Energy, a developer and owner of renewable and […]
Google to be carbon neutral by year end
Google to be carbon neutral by year end Google to be carbon neutral by year end mongabay.com June 20, 2007 Google Inc. aims to be carbon neutral by the end of 2007, according to a statement posted on the Official Google Blog. The search giant plans to fight global warming by investing in and using […]
$100 billion invested in renewable energy in 2006
$100 billion invested in renewable energy in 2006 $100 billion invested in renewable energy in 2006 mongabay.com June 20, 2007 $100 billion poured into renewable energy and energy efficiency in 2006, a 25 percent jump from 2005, reports a new analysis by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP). UNEP anticipates the trend will slow to $85 […]
Google will put $10M towards plug-in hybrid cars
Google will put $10M towards plug-in hybrid cars Google will put $10M towards plug-in hybrid cars Rhett A. Butler, mongabay.com June 19, 2007 Google.org, Google Inc.’s philanthropic arm, unveiled an initiative to convert hybrid cars to plug-in hybrid vehicles (PHEVs), a move that will cut carbon dioxide emissions, reduce oil use, and help stabilize the […]
Largest Solar Thermal Power Plant Built in 16 Years Goes Online
Largest Solar Thermal Power Plant Built in 16 Years Goes Online Largest Solar Thermal Power Plant Built in 16 Years Goes Online SCHOTT North America press release June 8, 2007 SCHOTT today announced that with the connection of the Nevada Solar One power plant to the grid, its solar receivers officially began collecting solar radiation […]
Nobel prize winner debates future of nuclear power
Nobel prize winner debates future of nuclear power Nobel prize winner debates future of nuclear power Rhett A. Butler, mongabay.com June 7, 2007 Two renowned energy experts sparred in a debate over nuclear energy Wednesday afternoon at Stanford University. Amory Lovins, Chairman and Chief Scientist of the Rocky Mountain Institute, an energy think tank, argued […]
First U.S. offshore wind farm wins preliminary approval
First U.S. offshore wind farm wins preliminary approval First U.S. offshore wind farm wins preliminary approval mongabay.com May 23, 2007 The first offshore wind farm in the United States won preliminary approval Tuesday from a panel of Delaware state officials. According to published reports, four Delaware state agencies ordered Delmarva Power, an electric utility, to […]
Sugar could power hydrogen fuel cars says VTU researcher
Sugar could power hydrogen fuel cars says VTU researcher Sugar could power hydrogen fuel cars says VTU researcher mongabay.com May 22, 2007 Sugary carbohydrates could be used to produce low-cost hydrogen to power fuel cells report researchers writing in the May 23 issue of PLoS ONE, the online, open-access journal from the Public Library of […]
U.S. ethanol may drive Amazon deforestation
U.S. ethanol may drive Amazon deforestation U.S. ethanol may drive Amazon deforestation mongabay.com May 17, 2007 Ethanol production in the United States may be contributing to deforestation in the Brazilian rainforest said a leading expert on the Amazon. Dr. Daniel Nepstad of the Woods Hole Research Center said the growing demand for corn ethanol means […]
Ancient Amazonian technology could save the world
Ancient Amazonian technology could save the world Ancient Amazonian technology could save the world mongabay.com May 17, 2007 Terra preta, the ancient charcoal-based soil used by ancient Amazonians to create permanently fertile agricultural lands in the rainforest, is getting serious consideration as a means to fight global warming and meet domestic energy demand, reports an […]
Wind energy has promise, but brings concerns, reports study
Wind energy has promise, but brings concerns, reports study Wind energy has promise, but carries risks, reports study mongabay.com May 3, 2007 While wind-generated energy has the potential to produce clean electricity without carbon dioxide emissions, more research is needed to understand its impact on wildlife says a new report from the National Research Council, […]
Cleantech investment booms, but energy tech bubble looms
Cleantech investment booms, but energy tech bubble looms Cleantech investment booms, but energy tech bubble looms mongabay.com April 30, 2007 Investors are pouring money into clean technology, with spending on R&D rising to $48 billion in 2006, up 9 percent from 2005, reports a new study by Lux Research, an emerging technology research and advisory […]
Dutch plan restricts biofuels that damage environment
Dutch plan restricts biofuels that damage environment Dutch plan restricts biofuels that damage environment mongabay.com April 29, 2007 The Netherlands has proposed a system to reduce the environmental impact of biofuels production. The country becomes the first in the world to establish such guidelines. Environmentalists have expressed increasing concern for the establishment of energy crops […]
Dutch will demand rainforest-friendly palm oil
Dutch will demand rainforest-friendly palm oil Dutch will demand rainforest-friendly palm oil mongabay.com April 27, 2007 In a report scheduled to be released today, the Dutch government will outline criteria for growing biofuels in a more sustainable manner. The guidelines will be closely watched by the rest of Europe, which is currently struggling with the […]
Biodiesel may worsen global warming relative to petroleum diesel
Biodiesel may worsen global warming relative to petroleum diesel Biodiesel may worsen global warming relative to petroleum diesel mongabay.com April 23, 2007 Biodiesel and petroleum diesel have similar environmental impact Biodiesel made from rapeseed could increase rather than reduce greenhouse emissions compared to conventional diesel fuels, reports a new study published in the journal Chemistry […]
Ethanol may be greener but have higher health cost
Ethanol may be greener but have higher health cost Ethanol may be greener but have higher health cost Rhett A. Butler, mongabay.com April 18, 2007 Widespread burning of ethanol as fuel may increase the number of respiratory-related deaths and hospitalizations relative to gasoline, according to a new study by Stanford University atmospheric scientist Mark Z. […]
TXU hopes to build nuclear reactors instead of coal-fired power plants
TXU hopes to build nuclear reactors instead of coal-fired power plants TXU hopes to build nuclear reactors instead of coal-fired power plants Rhett A. Butler, mongabay.com April 10, 2007 Texas energy company TXU will abandon plans to build coal-fired power planets and will instead focus on building the largest nuclear power plants in the United […]
Concentrating solar power better option than nuclear
Concentrating solar power better option than nuclear Concentrating solar power better option than nuclear Comment from Dr Gerry Wolff April 10, 2007 Comment regarding Nuclear power plants are financially risky given high costs: Nuclear power plants are risky investments given rapidly rising costs of construction of nuclear fuel, reports a new study by researchers from […]
Nuclear power plants are financially risky given high costs
Nuclear power plants are financially risky given high costs Nuclear power plants are financially risky given high costs mongabay.com April 4, 2007 Nuclear power plants are risky investments given rapidly rising costs of construction of nuclear fuel, reports a new study by researchers from Georgetown University, Stanford University and UC Berkeley. The paper, published in […]
Palm oil doesn’t have to be bad for the environment
Palm oil doesn’t have to be bad for the environment Palm oil doesn’t have to be bad for the environment Rhett A. Butler, mongabay.com April 4, 2007 [part 1 | part 2] As traditionally practiced in Southeast Asia, oil-palm cultivation is responsible for widespread deforestation that reduces biodiversity, degrades important ecological services, worsens climate change, […]
Eco-friendly palm oil could help alleviate poverty in Indonesia
Eco-friendly palm oil could help poverty alleviation in Indonesia Eco-friendly palm oil could help alleviate poverty in Indonesia Palm oil is not a failure as a biofuel Rhett A. Butler mongabay.com editorial [part 1 | part 2] April 4, 2007 The Associated Press (AP) recently quoted Marcel Silvius, a renowned climate expert at Wetlands International […]
U.S. can cut oil imports to zero by 2040, use to zero by 2050
U.S. can cut oil imports to zero by 2040, use to zero by 2050 U.S. can cut oil imports to zero by 2040, oil use to zero by 2050 mongabay.com March 29, 2007 The United States could dramatically cut oil usage over the next 20-30 years at low to no net cost, said Amory B. […]
Biofuel Cell Produces Electricity from Hydrogen in Plain Air
Biofuel Cell Produces Electricity from Hydrogen in Plain Airo Biofuel Cell Produces Electricity from Hydrogen in Plain Air American Chemical Society (ACS) March 27, 2007 A pioneering “biofuel cell” that produces electricity from ordinary air spiked with small amounts of hydrogen offers significant potential as an inexpensive and renewable alternative to the costly platinum-based fuel […]
Biofuels demand will increase, not decrease, world food supplies
Biofuels demand will increase, not decrease, world food supplies argues scientist Biofuels demand will increase, not decrease, world food supplies mongabay.com March 27, 2007 As concerns mount over fuel-versus-food competition for crops, a Michigan State University ethanol expert says that cellulosic ethanol could render the debate moot. Bruce Dale, an MSU chemical engineering and materials […]
Cell phone batteries could be powered by OJ
Cell phone batteries could be powered by OJ Cell phone batteries could be powered by OJ mongabay.com March 26, 2007 Researchers at Saint Louis University in Missouri have developed a fuel cell battery that can run on virtually any sugar source — from orange juice to tree sap — and may last three to four […]
Bush, U.S. automakers look for easy way out of fuel standards
Bush, U.S. automakers look for easy way out of fuel standards Bush, U.S. automakers look for easy way out of fuel standards mongabay.com March 27, 2007 President Bush praised U.S. automakers on their efforts to build more “flexible fuel” vehicles capable of running on blends of gasoline and biofuels like ethanol and biodiesel. Environments retorted […]
New green biofuels process could meet all U.S. transportation needs
New green biofuels process could meet all U.S. transportation needs New green biofuels process could meet all U.S. transportation needs New biofuels process promises to meet all U.S. transportation needs By Emil Venere, Purdue University March 14, 2007 Purdue University chemical engineers have proposed a new environmentally friendly process for producing liquid fuels from plant […]
Bush administration cuts funding for geothermal energy
Bush administration cuts funding for geothermal energy Bush administration cuts funding for geothermal energy mongabay.com March 13, 2007 The Bush Administration is seeking to eliminate federal funding for geothermal energy research according to a report from Reuters. Oddly, the move comes as the White House has made a push for renewable energy to reduce dependence […]
Wind energy speculation jumps in Texas, but Exxon on sidelines
Wind energy speculation jumps in Texas, but Exxon on sidelines Wind energy speculation jumps in Texas, but Exxon on sidelines mongabay.com March 12, 2007 While speculative energy ventures are nothing new in Texas, today companies are taking risky gambles in wind power argues an article that appears in today’s issue of The Wall Street Journal […]
Plug-in cars could help fuel Austin power grid
Plug-in cars could help fuel Austin power grid Plug-in cars could help fuel Austin power grid mongabay.com March 26, 2007 The city of Austin, Texas hopes to launch an ambitious plan using plug-in electric cars to reduce pollution and improve power grid management, reports an article in today’s Wall Street Journal. Under the initiative put […]
Government pledges $385M for cellulosic ethanol
Government pledges $385M for cellulosic ethanol Government pledges $385M for cellulosic ethanol mongabay.com March 8, 2007 The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced it will invest up to $385 million over the next four years for six biorefinery projects capable of producing more than 130 million gallons of cellulosic ethanol annually. “These biorefineries will play […]
Termites can make ethanol
Termites can make ethanol Termites can make ethanol mongabay.com March 6, 2007 Achim Steiner, Executive Director of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), says that termites can be used to make eco-friendly ethanol. He cites U.S. government backed research showing that “microbes living in the guts of termites have potent enzymes able to efficiently and cost […]
Geothermal energy could cut U.S. oil demand
Geothermal energy could cut U.S. oil demand Geothermal energy could cut U.S. oil demand mongabay.com January 22, 2007 Geothermal energy could eventually power some 25 million homes across the United States at a cost of $40 million per year according to a Department of Energy sponsored study released Monday. Lead by Jefferson Tester, a professor […]
Air pollution may reduce wind power, rainfall
Air pollution may reduce wind power, rainfall Air pollution may reduce wind power, rainfall mongabay.com January 22, 2007 Aerosolized particles and other pollution produced from vehicle exhaust may reduce wind speeds near Earth’s surface, resulting in less wind for power generation as well as reduced precipitation, according to a study published in the December 27th […]
China invests in $5.5B biofuels project in Borneo, New Guinea
China invests in $5.5B biofuels project in Borneo, New Guinea China invests in $5.5B biofuels project in Borneo, New Guinea Rhett A. Butler, mongabay.com January 18, 2007 China has agreed to invest in a $5.5 billion biofuels project on the islands of New Guinea and Borneo. The plan promises to be controversial among environmentalists who […]
Are biofuels good or bad for the environment?
Are biofuels good or bad for the environment? Are biofuels good or bad for the environment? mongabay.com December 14, 2006 Sometimes hailed as a savior from global warming and foreign oil dependence, biofuels are as often criticized for deforestation and pollution. So, are biofuels good or bad for the environment? Grist, an independent online environmental […]
China to build world’s largest solar power plant
China to build world’s largest solar power plant China to build world’s largest solar power plant mongabay.com November 21, 2006 China plans to build the world’s largest solar power station in the northwestern province of Gansu according to a report from Xinhua, China’s state news agency. Construction of the 100 megawatt facility will take five […]
Renewable sources could power 25% of U.S. energy needs by 2025
Renewable sources could power 25% of U.S. energy needs by 2025 Renewable sources could power 25% of U.S. energy needs by 2025 mongabay.com November 13, 2006 Renewable energy sources could supply one quarter of America’s electricity and motor vehicle fuel needs by 2025 according to a new study from RAND, a nonprofit research organization. Currently […]
Solar Energy Powers Mainland China’s Richest Man
Solar Powers Makes Mainland China’s Richest Man Solar Energy Powers Mainland China’s Richest Man mongabay.com October 12, 2006 The largest private fortune in mainland China may belong to Shi Zhengrong, the founder of the China’s largest producer of photovoltaic equipment used to convert sunlight into electricity, according to an article in today’s edition of The […]
High oil prices fuel bioenergy push
High oil prices fuel bioenergy push High oil prices fuel bioenergy push Rhett A. Butler, mongabay.com May 9, 2006 High oil prices and growing concerns over climate change are driving investment and innovation in the biofuels sector as countries and industry increasingly look towards renewable bioenergy to replace fossil fuels. Bill Gates, the world’s richest […]
Wind turbines could power China says expert
Wind turbines could power China says expert Wind turbines could power China says expert Rhett Butler, mongabay.com March 9, 2006 Wind could become China’s second-largest source of electricity according to a Chinese energy expert. Wang Weicheng, an energy professor at Tsinghua University in Beijing, told reporters that China has the potential to install up to […]
Feeds: news | india | latam | brasil | indonesia