Green Energy News Items - 6/29/2008
Cap and Trade Plan Called For In Western US and Canada
California has proposed a cap and trade program involving the 7 western US and three western Canadian Provinces that make up the Western Climate Initiative. The California Air Resources Board plan would cap CO2 emissions at 305 million metric tons with 85% of the state’s businesses participating.
A market for trading would be developed by the western states and Canadian provinces to buy and sell emissions credits. More …
US Government Freezes Solar Projects On Public Land
Citing the need for evaluation of impact before more construction, the Bureau of Land Management has ordered a moratorium on new solar projects on public land. Understandably, this has alarmed solar industry companies, who feel that time is of the essence for alternative energy to slow global warming.
Millions of acres in Western states are involved where solar power companies propose to lease land where they’ll build installations and sell the power to businesses and homes. More …
Volcanoes Could Power US
Energy industry experts say that volcanoes and hot springs could provide as much as a quarter of the energy the US needs, if exploration proves that it’s feasible to extract it. Right now, the government is inviting companies to purchase leases so that they can explore a volcano near Anchorage, Alaska.
The state is home to many volcanoes and hot springs, thus making it a natural first-choice for exploration. The Pacific Northwest and Hawaii are also possible sites for geothermal energy extraction from volcanoes. More …
Grid Upgrades Needed To Use Wind Power in US
The US is far behind other industrialized nations in the amount of renewable energy sources it uses. That makes it all the more urgent that the transmission grid is upgraded to handle the energy wind and alternative power sources would generate.
According to Don Furman, President-elect of the AWEA, we need to “mobilize our leaders into action” for several reasons including economics, ecology, reliability and community. More …
Can Kudzu Save the Biofuel Industry?
One of the world’s most invasive plants may soon be powering cars and power plants. Known to many as “the plant that ate the south” in the US, Kudzu has many advantages over corn or other food crops. It requires no fertilizer, no irrigation and no pesticides and can grow up to six and a half feet in a week.
If growers can figure out how to harvest it without destroying the long taproot that makes it so hardy, it might help solve the biofuel vs food debate. And while it wouldn’t totally solve the energy crisis or stop global warming on its own, it would add to other efforts.
More …