3.6F MAX RISE IN EARTH'S TEMPERATURE IS ACCEPTABLE FOR G8

L'AQUILA, Italy, July 8 -- The world's leading industrial nations tentatively agreed Wednesday to try to prevent global temperatures from rising above a fixed level, after a more far-reaching proposal to slash production of greenhouse gases fizzled, according to U.S. and European negotiators.

Leaders meeting here for the Group of Eight summit said they would pledge to keep temperatures from rising more than 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit above average levels of more than a century ago, before large-scale industrial pollution occurred.

Temperatures have already risen by nearly half that amount, leaving little wiggle room. It was unclear what mechanisms, if any, would be adopted to enforce the target.

Some environmental groups saw the announcement as a weak nod at the obvious.

"This was such an opportunity," said Tobias Muenchmeyer, a Berlin-based activist with the group Greenpeace. "We are very disappointed that the result is so limited."

For other groups, the best that could be said of Wednesday's declaration was that, although it did not commit countries to specific cuts in greenhouse gases, it appeared to create a moral imperative to do so eventually.

"It may be symbolic now," said David Hamilton of the Sierra Club. But, he added, "if we have a commitment to a temperature goal, then you're actually going to figure out how we're going to get there."

ARTICLE CONTINUES AT THE WASHINGTON POST

WINDS CHANGE COURSE FOR T BOONE - World's Largest Wind Farm is Off

T. Boone Pickens' plan to build the world's largest wind farm is off.

Instead, Pickens said he will build five or six smaller wind farms, in the Midwest and possibly Texas, though he hasn't settled on locations.

Last year, Pickens announced that he would build a 1,000-megawatt wind farm in Pampa, Texas. The problem a lack of a transmission line to bring the juice to population centers, Pickens said in an interview last week.

"I don't think the first place we build, though, is where we thought we would because we don't have the transmission," he said.

Remember that idea he had to build his own transmission line? "It was a little more complicated than we thought," he said.

In May 2008, Pickens announced that his company, Mesa Power LP, would order 687 wind turbines, or 1,000 megawatts of capacity, from GE for about $2 billion. By 2014, he expected to expand the Panhandle wind farm to 4,000 megawatts.

ARTICLE CONTINUES AT THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS

PV DISCREET - Santa Monica wants property owners to hide solar panels

Santa Monica has held itself up as a model of innovative energy policies, but now the city may be moving to hide away some of its solar technology.

Solar equipment must be installed "in the location that is least visible from the street" on certain properties, according to a 4-1 decision by the city council on Tuesday. The measure provides exceptions for when energy production would be decreased by more than 10% or the cost would go up significantly. It passed as part of an ordinance specifying standards for solar permits.

"From my perspective, the ordinance will simplify permitting for the installation of solar panels, and it still respects reasonable aesthetic concerns," said Mayor Ken Genser in a phone interview Thursday.

But Mary Luevano, policy director for Global Green, a Santa Monica-based advocacy group, said: "It creates what we think is unnecessary bureaucratic red tape. There are cities outside the state that are looking at Santa Monica, because they have been a leader for years."

Luevano said the decision is puzzling given that Santa Monica is "a progressive, environmentally conscious city."

ARTICLE CONTINUES AT LA TIMES

CONNECTICUT FUELS SMALL SCALE SOLAR - reopens solar rebate program with new funds

The Connecticut Clean Energy Fund is once again accepting applications to its solar rebate program thanks to $3.1 million in fresh funding.

The rebate program, which provides rebates of up to 40 percent for installation of small solar photovoltaic systems, had been closed since November because all previous funding had been allocated. The new funding comes from a mix of federal stimulus funds and electricity ratepayer charges.

“We are delighted to be able to offer this program once again to Connecticut homeowners,” said Lise Dondy, president of Connecticut Clean Energy Fund in a statement. “It has been a highly popular program, enabling the purchase and installation of more than 1,000 small, solar PV systems statewide since the program was first introduced in late 2004.”

Officials estimate the funding will provide rebates to an additional 325 projects and should last until 2010.

ARTICLE CONTINUES AT MASS HIGH TECH

DEFENSE DEPT GETS SERIOUS ABOUT SOLAR - $100million for US NAVY SOLAR PROJECTS

Atlantic Contingency Constructors in Norfolk, VA received 3 task orders totaling up $100 million to install solar energy systems at U.S. Navy shore facilities in the United States. The task orders were awarded under a Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Atlantic multiple-award global contingency construction contract (N62470-06-D-6007).

All of the task orders involve installation of solar energy systems that will be tied to the electrical distribution grid. Altantic Contingency Constructors expects to complete work on the task orders by Sept. 30/10. Funds are provided by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

DID has more details on each of the task orders…

A breakdown of the individual task orders follows:
ARTICLE CONTINUES AT DEFENSE INDUSTRY DAILY

SALAZAR PAVES WAY FOR LARGE SCALE SOLAR PROJECTS IN THE WEST

Sun, wind and geothermal energy development are on a fast track for development on public lands in the West, including Nevada, federal officials announced today.

Federal agencies will work with western leaders to designate tracts of public lands in the western states to develop utility-scale solar energy generators, wind farms and geothermal sources, said Interior Secretary Ken Salazar and Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev.

Speeding reviews and identifying prime zones for such renewable energy development are part of the plans, Salazar and Reid said.

For example, Nevada has 40 applications for solar energy development, enough to generate 19,000 megawatts of electricity, second only to California with 72 applications and a potential 48,000 megawatts.

Under one initiative, 24 tracts of Bureau of Land Management sites in six western states will be known as Solar Energy Study Areas, fully evaluated for their environmental and resource suitability for large scale solar energy production.

Companies that propose projects on a grander scale in areas already approved for such solar development would be eligible for priority processing, the secretary and senator said.

In addition, Nevada will host a new Interior Department renewable energy coordination office, the first of four. The others will be in Arizona, California and Wyoming.

HISTORY MADE TODAY - THE WORLD'S FIRST SOLAR POWERED MANNED AIRCRAFT UNVEILED

After four years of design and development, Swiss adventurer Bertrand Piccard today unveils the solar-powered aircraft with which he plans to demonstrate the potential of renewable energies by circumnavigating the globe. It will be the world’s first manned solar-powered aircraft.

The Solar Impulse HB-SIA prototype has a wing span of 61m, which is comparable with a commercial airliner, but at 1,500kg the solar-powered plane weighs the same as a small family car.

Dr Piccard made history in 1999 by flying around the world non-stop in a balloon.
He plans to test the solar-powered plane by making a crossing of the Atlantic in 2012.

ARTICLE CONTINUES AT ETA

POWERING EUROPE FROM AFRICA DESERTS

By James Kanter

Desertec.org A German consortium is hoping to drum up support for the idea of harvesting solar power from the deserts of North Africa and transmitting it to Europe. (Click map for larger view.)

Germany has become a global leader in solar energy by building up a substantial industry at home. Can the country now repeat the feat in North Africa?

Munich Re, an insurance company, is leading efforts to garner support for a vast project, dubbed Desertec, to collect energy at solar farms in countries like Tunisia and then send it to Europe in the form of electricity. Munich Re wants other companies like the giant engineering group Siemens, Deutsche Bank, and utilities like RWE and E.ON to become involved.

Under the plan, energy would be gathered mostly using concentrating solar power, a technology that uses mirrors to harness rays from the sun to produce steam and drive turbines that make electricity. The power would then be delivered to Europe through high-voltage direct current (HVDC) cables.

ARTICLE CONTINUES AT THE NEW YORK TIMES

WHAT YOU CAN SEE FROM SPACE - Astronauts Spot Mysterious Ice Circles in World’s Deepest Lake

Astronauts aboard the International Space Station noticed two mysterious dark circles in the ice of Russia’s Lake Baikal in April. Though the cause is more likely aqueous than alien, some aspects of the odd blemishes defy explanation.

The two circles are the focal points for ice break-up and may be caused by upwelling of warmer water in the lake. The dark color of the circles is due to thinning of the ice, which usually hangs around into June. Upwelling wouldn’t be strange in some relatively shallow areas of the lake where hydrothermal activity has been detected, such as where the circle near the center of the lake (pictured below) is located. Circles have been seen in that area before in 1985 and 1994, though they weren’t nearly as pronounced. But the location of the circle near the southern tip of the lake (pictured above) where water is relatively deep and cold is puzzling.

The lake itself is an oddity. It is the largest by volume and the deepest (5370 feet at its deepest point), as well as one of the oldest at around 25 million years. The photo above was taken by an astronaut from the ISS. The photo below was taken by NASA’s MODIS satellite instrument.

ARTICLE CONTINUES AT WIRED.COM

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT **MAJOR NEWS** Vermont Establishes Feed-In Tariff for Renewables

Vermont is the first U.S. state to establish a full system of renewable energy feed-in tariffs.

Legislation went into effect at the end of business on May 27, 2009.

H. 446 creates tariff rates for renewable energy based on the cost of generation, plus a reasonable profit. Costs will be covered by ratepayers.

Several other U.S. states are considering similar legislation, which has proven effective in boosting solar energy in Germany and Gainesville, Florida. The legislation is similar to Ontario, Canada's Green Energy Act.

The program is capped relatively low, at 50 megawatts (MW). And individual projects are capped at 2.2 MW. But the tariff levels are generous--differentiated by technology and size.

The legislation also creates a specific tariff for small wind turbines of less than 15 kW capacity. That tariff mandates payments of $0.20/kWh to owners of grid-connected small wind turbines.

Other tariff levels include:

• $0.14/kWh for wind tubines larger than 15 kW
• $0.12/kWh for landfill and biogas
• $0.30/kWh for solar

Republican Governor James Douglas allowed the bill to become law without his signature, as is allowable by Vermont law.

ARTICLE CONTINUES AT SUSTAINABLEBUSINESS.COM

VIDEO: San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom talks solar with CURRENT TV

San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom is interviewed by Current Green's Leah Lamb on his run for Governor and his take on solar energy. The question was submitted by sbove, topics covered included: solar incentive programs, solar map, solar installation, urban wind task force, solar portfolio, green renewable energy.



ARTICLE AT CURRENT.COM

HOW HUMANS SHOULD GATHER - 100% SOLAR STADIUM OPENS IN TAIWAN - STADIUM ENVY

Taiwan recently finished construction on a solar-powered stadium that will generate 100% of its electricity from photovoltaic technology. Designed by Toyo Ito, the 50,000-seat arena will officially open later this year to welcome the 2009 World Games, which features many sports not included in the Olympics, such as parachuting, tenpin bowling and rugby sevens

ARTICLE CONTINUES AT GUARDIAN UK

BOY DOES WHAT SCIENTISTS HAVEN'T - Discovers Microbe That Eats Plastic

It's not your average science fair when the 16-year-old winner manages to solve a global waste crisis. But such was the case at last month's May's Canadian Science Fair in Waterloo, Ontario, where Daniel Burd, a high school student at Waterloo Collegiate Institute, presented his research on microorganisms that can rapidly biodegrade plastic.

NOTE: a bit of confusion... there are TWO high school students who discovered plastic-consuming microorganisms. The first was Daniel Burd (last year). The second was Tseng I-Ching (last month), a high school student in Tawain.

Daniel had a thought it seems even the most esteemed PhDs hadn't considered. Plastic, one of the most indestructible of manufactured materials, does in fact eventually decompose. It takes 1,000 years but decompose it does, which means there must be microorganisms out there to do the decomposing.

Could those microorganisms be bred to do the job faster?
ARTICLE CONTINUES AT MOTHER NATURE NETWORK

THE FUTURE IS NOW - Smart Grid: 5 Cities Leading The Way

The nation's electricity industry is in for an overhaul. Power lines spread across the country are finally moving into the digital age with smart grids that provide instant information on energy consumption.

The hope is that people can finally deal with the impending climate crisis by using less energy. So smart grid leaders are creating thermostats that cut off depending on the price of power -- and plug-in hybrid cars to charge at night or even put power back into the grid. Barack Obama's stimulus package contains about $4.5 billion in grants for smart-grid investments.

Here are five ongoing Smart Grid projects:

Boulder, CO: Boulder is aiming to become the world's first smart grid city by the end of 2009. The city has partnered with Xcel Energy on the $100 million effort and customers can use the Internet to lower their thermostats or home or change the temperature on their furnace.

Worcester, MA: National Grid will be building a smart grid pilot in Worcester. The pilot, believed to be the largest in New England, will work towards creating a highly reliable modern grid that can provide customers with energy use information, automation, and the ability to control how they use energy.

ARTICLE CONTINUES AT THE HUFFINGTON POST

GLOBAL CLEAN ENERGY NOW GETS MORE NEW INVESTMENT THAN OIL

In 2008 investors pumped $155 billion into clean energy companies and projects worldwide--not including large hydro--according to a United Nations report released last week.

Extremely difficult financial market conditions prevailed during 2008 as a result of the global economic crisis. Nevertheless investment in clean energy topped 2007's record investments by 5% in large part as a result of China, Brazil and other emerging economies.

Of the $155 billion, $105 billion was spent directly developing 40 gigawatts (GW) of power generating capacity from wind, solar, small-hydro, biomass and geothermal sources.

A further $35 billion was spent on developing 25 GW of large hydropower, according to the report.

This $140 billion investment in 65 GW of low carbon electricity generation compares with the estimated $250 billion spent globally in 2008 constructing 157GW of new power generating capacity from all sources.

It means that renewables currently account for the majority of investment and over 40% of actual power generation capacity additions last year.

ARTICLE CONTINUES HERE AT SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS

AUSTIN MANDATES ENERGY AUDITS TO PREVENT BUILDING POWER PLANT

By Shonda Novak
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Come Monday, many Austin home sellers will have one more chore, along with touching up the paint and sprucing up the yard, before putting their house on the market.

That's when a new city ordinance kicks in that requires sellers of homes older than 10 years to get an energy audit and disclose the results to prospective buyers.

City leaders who approved the audits last year said it was one more way to reduce Austin's energy consumption and make Austin greener, although sellers are not required to make any improvements as a result of the audit. The idea is to encourage sellers or buyers to make their houses more energy-efficient.

But with the requirement taking effect in a slower housing market, some real estate agents say it could delay or torpedo sales and will add costs for sellers.

"There's never a good time to add fees to a transaction," said City Council Member Mike Martinez, "but I think this requirement is a good thing. It allows the consumer to fully understand the purchase they're about to make. If you spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on an investment, you would want to know how efficient that investment is going to be for you."

ARTICLE CONTINUES AT THE AUSTIN AMERICAN STATESMAN

IS THIS THE WAY TO SOLVE OVERPOPULATION? - Drift around the world on a high-tech lily-pad city

IT COULD be the solution to rising sea levels - a floating city for 50,000 people in the shape of a lily pad. "Lilypad" is the brainchild of Belgian architect Vincent Callebaut.

"Lilypad is what a completely self-sufficient floating city for 50,000 people could look like," he said. "The design of the city is inspired by the shape of the great Amazonia Victoria Regia lily pad.

"Some countries spend billions of pounds working on making their beaches and dams bigger and stronger but the Lilypad project is actually a long-term solution to the problem of the water rising.

Mr Callebaut's computer-generated design is of an amphibious city without any roads or any cars. "The whole city is covered by plants housed in suspended gardens," he said. "The goal is to create a harmonious co-existence of humans and nature."

Sea levels are predicted to rise by about 50centimetres by 2100, leaving low-lying Pacific islands such as Tuvalu and Kiribati largely submerged and their populations homeless. In Australia, councils along the NSW coast are already dealing with dramatic coastal erosion.

ARTICLE CONTINUES AT THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD

THIS BATTERY TECHNOLOGY MAY IMPROVE EV'S RANGE BY 3-10X - Lithium-Sulfur Batteries

Sulfur power: This prototype lithium-sulfur battery was developed by Sion Power. In cooperation with BASF, the company intends to improve the battery design for use in electric vehicles.
Credit: Sion Power

Lithium-sulfur batteries, which can potentially store several times more energy than lithium-ion batteries, have historically been too costly, unsafe, and unreliable to make commercially. But they're getting a fresh look now, due to some recent advances. Improvements to the design of these batteries have led the chemical giant BASF of Ludwigshafen, Germany, to team up with Sion Power, a company in Tucson, AZ, that has already developed prototype lithium-sulfur battery cells.

"Compared to existing technologies used in electric vehicles, the plan is to increase driving distance at least 5 to 10 times," for a given-size battery, says Thomas Weber, CEO of a subsidiary of BASF called BASF Future Business. Other experts say that a threefold improvement is a more reasonable estimate, but that would still be an impressive jump in performance. Weber says that BASF's expertise in materials will help Sion Power further improve its technology and bring it to market faster. He declined to provide details of the arrangement, however, including how much money is involved and how the companies will share any profits.

ARTICLE CONTINUES AT MIT'S TECHNOLOGY REVIEW

WHAT HAPPENS IN VEGAS SHOULDN'T STAY IN VEGAS - President tours Vegas solar power facility, discusses stimulus efforts

LAS VEGAS - President Barack Obama on Wednesday hailed solar energy as a cost saver for a major Air Force base, one stop on a Western trip devoted to raising political money and promoting his economic policies.

Obama's aides had mocked reporters for making a fuss over his first 100 days in office, but the president was eager to assess the first 100 days of his $787 billion economic stimulus package.

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

HYDROGEN CAR DESTINY - Entrepreneur Dreams of ’Hydrogen-Hybrid’ Car Network

By Steven Cole Smith / The Orlando Sentinel
ORLANDO, Fla. — Malcolm Bricklin, a legendary automotive entrepreneur, says he has spent the last year spending time and money developing "something everybody said was a scam."

His plan could revolutionize the auto industry, keep open at least two factories and offer a product that rejected Chrysler and General Motors dealers could sell, the former Orlando resident says.

In a nutshell, Bricklin is proposing his company, Visionary Vehicles, buy up to 300,000 new vehicles a year from GM and Chrysler, upgrade the interiors "from standard to luxury," and install "hydrogen hybrid" engine technology he says could double fuel mileage.

"I know I have a product that I can put on cars that will make them get 100 percent better mileage," he said in a recent interview.

In a three-page proposal, his company would market these vehicles as Visionary Vehicles/Chrysler or Visionary Vehicles/GM.

ARTICLE CONTINUES AT THE BOSTON HERALD