World’s largest wind farm breaks ground in Mojave Desert; Chinese pipeline bursts in Yellow Sea; Gulf oil & pollution issue before the spill; Long Endurance Multi-Intelligence Vehicles purchased for US surveillance; Iran increases R&D on nuclear fusion as alternative energy source; Greenpeace warnings over China oil spill

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Greenpeace warnings over China oil spill

Policy: legislation + advocacy

• President Obama announced almost $2B in guaranteed loans to two solar companies: Abengoa Solar (Spanish company) & Abound Solar (Colorado-based).
• Spanish government (world leader in renewable energy production) to cut wind energy subsidies by 35% in 2013, and the government has frozen electricity prices to help its citizens deal with the economic crisis.
• According to Greenpeace, the EU could rely on 92% renewable energy by 2050 and reduce its carbon emissions by 95% compared with 1990.
• Carbon accounting rules and clear definitions for “waste wood” used in biomass may limit biomass power in the United States.
• Puerto Rico’s Governor signed legislation to set specific renewable energy goals and economic investments; 15% renewables by 2020.
• California sues the federal government due to the government blocking homeowners paying for energy-efficient improvements through increased property taxes.
• Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization says they are increasing research on nuclear fusion for alternative energy.
• India is moving ahead to reach 10% renewable energy generation by 2015; wind power is the leader in their installed capacity.
• Indonesia has huge geothermal power potential; only 65% of Indonesia’s 240 million people (156M) have access to electricity.
• St. Lucia, a Caribbean Island, plans to use geothermal power in sulfur springs and mud pools for alternative energy.
• Senate unveils narrower energy bill without carbon cap-and-trade limitations; focus on Gulf oil spill, home efficiency, conservation and natural gas powered vehicles.
• France looks to increase renewable energy production with offshore wind farms; the country currently has no offshore wind parks.
• Texas Governor Perry announces $8.4M renewable energy grant to Texas Tech and the National Institute for Renewable Energy from the Texas Emerging Technology Fund.
• Canadian renewable energy firm, TransCanada objects to Deepwater and Cape Wind; they claim that they could produce the energy for less money and the bidding favored in-state firms, which in unconstitutional.
• House approves bill to increase safety standards for offshore drilling & remove liability cap for oil spills, but Senate will likely delay legislation.

Transportation: vehicles + infrastructure

• Center for Biological Diversity sues the BLM to stop construction of a $3B gas pipeline from Wyoming to Oregon, saying pipeline will cross pristine land and harm endangered fish.
• Alyeska Pipeline Service, operator of 800-mile trans-Alaska pipeline, said power failure and lack of awareness contributed to a contained oil spill in May.
• Long Endurance Multi-Intelligence Vehicles, helium airships, commissioned by US military for surveillance from 20,000 feet up.

Environment: climate, pollution, wildlife

• Before the Gulf Spill, the 4,000 offshore oil and gas platforms and tens of thousands of miles of pipeline had already spilled at least a half million barrels of oil and drilling fluids, along with runoff from cornfields, sewage plants, golf course and oil on pavement; Gulf’s floor is filled with bombs, chemical weapons and other ordinance dumped there over the last century, even the coastline is an environmental disaster.
• Arizona targets illegal immigrants with traffic violation sweeps arresting 1,000 persons; 60% were illegal immigrants to be deported.
• When state unemployment rates rise, Google searches for “global warming” decreases according to the state’s ideology.
• Washington couple funds wedding by recycling 400,000 aluminum cans for a payoff of $3,800.
• US Forest Service suspended logging an experimental timber sale on the Willamette National Forest after finding a pair of northern spotted owls.

Mineral Fuels: crude oil, natural gas + coal

• BP has approached several sovereign wealth funds for cash to fend off takeover bids while it deals with the Gulf Spill.
• Chevron’s second-quarter earnings tripled due to higher oil and natural gas prices and better refining margins.
• Sierra Club and Hoosier Environmental Council oppose Purdue University’s plans for a new coal-fired power unit.
• John Wright, 56 years old, BP’s lead engineer behind the relief well in the Gulf has a 3-1/2 inch margin of error to stop the torrent of oil.
• ExxonMobil, Chevron, Shell and ConocoPhillips pledged $1B to deploy a rapid response system to capture and contain oil during a future underwater well blowout.
• Due to a government moratorium, oil producers are implementing new drilling standards and resuming operations in the Gulf.
• Increased oil prices and predicted higher prices may push up inflation in the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council including Kuwait, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, United Arab Emirates and Oman.
• New Mexico Gas retrofitting natural-gas meters to read them remotely with laptop computers in vehicles that read and record gas usage.
• Tropical storm leaves debris in relief well that will be used to plug the Gulf Spill leak for good; work set back 1-day.
• BP will attempt a “static kill” operation, pump mud and cement into the well, next Tuesday to plug the blown-out Gulf deep-sea well; the relief well is set to pump from underneath the well to seal it permanently.
• Two pipelines exploded into the Yellow Sea of China on July 16th, Chinese authorities have declared the oil spill contained.
• BP’s oil spill spurs controversy over BP’s $500M funding of the University of California, Berkeley’s Energy Biosciences Institute.
• Farmington, NM business leaders review issues with proposed emissions caps for power plants and oil and natural gas operations.

Renewable Energy: solar, wind, electric + nuclear

• Federal government finishes construction of zero-energy 222,000 sqft research support facility on the National Renewable Energy Laboratory campus in Golden, CO.
• Investor-owned utilities in California have less than 6-months to comply with 20% renewable power mandate; experts predict requirement won’t be met due to lagging new construction projects and electricity delivery.
• Clean Energy Collective in Carbondale, CO looking for investors to buy pieces of large solar energy facilities for as little as $725 – to produce mare than $7,000 in energy credits over 50 years. The for-profit company handles all the tax paperwork, maintenance and upkeep. The local utility company allows anyone to buy into the collective’s systems. Local government is skeptical about a for-profit company and the idea of a large solar-energy facility at the landfill.
• Chinese solar-panel manufacturer supplied Rutgers University with 7,600 panels, equivalent to a $200,000 energy savings for the university.
• World’s largest wind project breaks ground in Mojave Desert, California; Alta Wind Energy Center initial plan for 600 turbines and 1,550 megawatts of electricity.
• NV Energy of Las Vegas, NV issued a Request for Offers for renewable energy portfolio credits; contractual term 5 to 25 years.
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  Colorado requires 30% renewable power by 2020; one of the country’s strictest mandates; US Secretary of Commerce says nation should follow Colorado’s plan.