Texas adds largest amount of new wind energy; Where did the Pickens Plan go wrong?; Forget the planet & humanity; China moves toward 10% new energy vehicles; Obama says renewable energy is huge engine; SuperFreakonomics

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SuperFreakonomics, Levitt & Dubner: radical, thought-provoking exploration of day-to-day decisions.

Policy: legislation + advocacy

• Greece’s new socialist government will unveil new law to increase renewable energy and move forward with stalled projects.
• German government to cut renewable energy subsidies, including solar, due to the recession and tight government budgets.
• Nigerians are using solar and wind energy, but bringing electricity projects to every village is difficult given the endemic dishonesty and indifference in the country.
• Colorado’s Gov. Ritter pushes renewable energy agenda at a peak oil conference in Denver.
• Schwarzenegger signs two energy bills: 1) requires utilities to buy power from smaller solar generators for above-market prices and 2) requires utilities to pay homeowners for excess wind and solar energy.
• Obama says that renewable energy has the potential to become a huge engine for economic growth.
• Connecticut to receive over $20M for waterways and fuel cell, bio-energy and other alternative energy research.
• Germany considers removing a law that says all 17 of the country’s nuclear reactors must be shut down by 2022.
• AZ House Rep Giffords introduces Solar Technology Roadmap Act to designate the Dept of Energy as the leader of solar energy research and allocate $2.25B for solar research.
• Power supplies in Germany may become decentralized in the future as developments in the smart grid and smart technology merge and change the relationship between consumers and producers.
• Missouri’s Gov. Nixon unveils new landfill gas-to-electricity project that was highlighted at White House meeting with Tim Geithner and Steven Chu.
• Utah is on track to meet goal of 20% renewable energy by 2025.
• Tribal leaders ask for energy reforms, and applicable benefits to drilling on their lands. Tax credits are not effective because the tribes are tax-exempt.

Transportation: vehicles + infrastructure

• China is rushing to produce more energy efficient vehicles moving towards 10% new energy vehicles by 2012. China’s vehicle output to exceed 10 million cars in 2009.
• Hawaii to receive $5.3M in federal funds for smart grid technology.
• Navajo Nation to receive $4.9M in stimulus funds to develop smart grid; US Dept of Energy announced $3.4B in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds for smart grids throughout the nation.
• Western states say they’ll work cooperatively on a short-term regional energy strategy, including the smart grid.

Environment: climate, pollution, wildlife

• Grist reports: Why Branson and SuperFreakonomics are wrong, in pictures http://www.grist.org/article
• October 24th, International Day of Climate Action: See the global photos.
• Tim DeChristopher defends his bogus bidding on oil & gas leases because he saw no other means to stop a federal auction that would cause lasting harm to the environment; his plea calls for the courtroom to debate global warming. DeChristopher faces up to 10 years in prison and $750,000 in fines for his act of civil disobedience.
• It is still not clear if the U.S. will go to the international climate talks in December with a climate and energy bill; if not an international treaty is unlikely.
• Western states are divided on cap and trade; energy exporting states complain that high population states are driving the debate.
• Dozens of U.S. representatives sent a letter to the Interagency Ocean Policy Task Force with concerns that ocean policy will block offshore energy development and cost American jobs.
• Multnomah County, Oregon and the city of Portland plan to reduce carbon emissions 80% from 1990 levels by 2050.
• Eco-rate rates environmental and economic costs for consumer products. http://www.ecorate.com/
• Opponents to climate change legislation claim it will impose taxes and cost millions of Americans their jobs… forget the planet & humanity.
• A million wild dromedary camels, brought to Australia in the mid-19th century, now have become pests and the largest herd of feral camels in the world.
• According to a new US Geological Survey report, the U.S. used less water in 2005 than in 1975 despite a 30% population increase.
• Scientists debate if genetically modified food can save the bottom billion from world hunger.

Mineral Fuels: crude oil, natural gas + coal

• The small town of Sidney, Montana with oil shale reserves on the Bakken Formation revels in their oil boom.
• Where did the Picken’s Plan go wrong? Oil got cheap fast, which took pressure off Congress to build new transmission lines, and the economy crashed, so a national wind corridor seemed trivial.
• University of Houston professor criticizes renewable energy efforts; he says, “There is no alternative to hydrocarbon energy in the near future.”
• Desert Rock power plant to be built on Navajo land in New Mexico is to be a ultra low emissions facility that will provide millions in tribal income.
• Permian Basin oil & gas producers oppose Midland, TX drilling ordinance’s subdivision extraterritorial jurisdiction and spacing requirements.
• Panelists at the International Gas & Electricity Summit in Paris say natural gas is complementary to renewables and investment must continue despite low prices; otherwise, the global market could tighten in 2015 with no new LNG developments since 2005.
• BLM offers oil & gas leases next to the McInnis Canyons National Conservation Area in western Colorado.

Renewable Energy: solar, wind, electric + nuclear

• BP, Shell, Exxon and other big oil players are investing in biofuels; Exxon will invest $600M in algae biofuel start-up.
• Proposed New Mexican electric grid project will link three massive power grids, removing huge barriers for American alternative energy.
• US military is building a 500-MW solar facility at Fort Irwin’s desert complex in California.
• World’s largest wind farm begins operations in Texas, and the state has three times the wind as the second-ranked wind producing state, Iowa. California’s regulations have stifled wind production while Texas’ limited regulations have accelerated wind power development.
• Nevada loses renewable energy momentum; it’s the 41st state to receive federal approval for its energy plan and they are still working on tax incentive rules.
• Texas adds largest amount of new wind energy, and keeps lead as biggest wind producing state according to the American Wind Energy Association.
• International Renewable Energy Agency to lead renewable energy development and technology dispersal between developed and developing nations.
• Wave energy is being tested for efficiency with 30 projects slated to start within next three years.
• UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business to offer green tech business program.
• Renewable and Sustainable Energy Institute announced inaugural fellows from the University of Colorado at Boulder and the US Dept of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden.
• Tennessee Valley Authority to buy 450 megawatts of wind power from Great Plains.
• Utah to receive $2.5M in federal funding for biomass energy project turning wood wast, coal to liquid fuel.