Branstad Signs Biofuels Bill into Iowa Law

Gov. Terry Branstad traveled to the POET Bio-refining facility in Coon Rapids Wednesday to sign legislation into law that promotes the development of bio-butanol and bio-butanol blended gasoline.

Senate File 2344 also modifies the rate of the E-15 promotion tax credit and extends provisions for the biodiesel production refund. Backers say the bill will strengthen and diversify Iowa’s leadership position in the area of biofuels.

“Iowa is a biofuels leader in this country and having states step to the plate with legislation supporting America’s Advanced Biofuel, biodiesel, is a win for our industry,” said Steven J. Levy, chairman of the National Biodiesel Board. “Our champions in Iowa have shown that hard work to grow this still-young industry pays off.”

US House spending bill would cut DOE renewables, boost nuclear

The US House Appropriations Committee on Wednesday passed on to the full chamber a Department of Energy spending bill that would cut $345 million from the agency's fiscal 2013 budget, providing it with $26.1 billion, and would shift emphasis from renewable energy and energy efficiency to fossil fuels and nuclear power.

"While the decisions involved were difficult ... I am proud that this committee will be the tip of the spear in helping to restore sustainability to the agency budgets within this bill," said Representative Hal Rogers, the committee chairman and a Kentucky Republican.

California bill seeks social justice through renewable energy

In recent years, California has been at the forefront of embracing clean tech and implementing legislation focused on sustainability. The state has pursued an aggressive agenda when it comes to going “green”. Most notably the passage of both California’s Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006, which aims to drastically reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and a more recent 2011 state law that sets a 33 percent renewable portfolio standard for utility companies by 2020.

U.S. Army: Draft solicitation for renewable and alternative energy power production

The U.S. Army Engineering and Support Center, Huntsville, has issued a draft Request for Proposal (RFP) for $7 billion in shared capacity contracts to procure reliable, locally generated, renewable and alternative energy through power purchase agreements or other contractual equivalents. The $7 billion capacity would be expended for the purchase of energy over a period of 30 years or less from renewable energy plants that are constructed and operated by contractors using private sector financing. 

Renewable energy can augment dwindling resources

What will we do when petroleum fuel gets even more ridiculously expensive and hard to find?

That scenario may be more likely than you think.

“If we are lucky, and there are no sizeable collapses or wars, we probably have 10-12 years of a fairly broad peak in petroleum production in which to get our act together to start looking at the next plan down the road,” said Charles Woodward, who owns Natural Resource Co., Victor, ID.

Woodward spoke at an energy efficiency workshop at the Driggs City Center, sponsored by the Snake River Alliance.

Santa Monica grants residents green power via sustainability bill of rights

If you're feeling enslaved to the third smoggiest metropolitan area in the country, perhaps you should pack up and move to Santa Monica, a city promising green rights to its residents.

Santa Monica City Council voted in favor of a Sustainability Bill of Rights last month, which will be incorporated into the existing Sustainable City Plan in the late summer or early fall of 2012. The Bill of Rights grants individuals green liberties, including the following:

Canada: Improving property tax system for green energy

McGuinty Government's Changes Encourage Renewable Energy Installations

Ontario is supporting property owners who install renewable energy technologies by improving property tax assessment policies for them.

The changes will provide greater clarity by creating additional categories for property tax assessment based on the size and location of energy generation. The move will encourage property owners to continue to install and use renewable energy technologies.

Japanese Energy Policy After Fukushima

On December 16, 2011, the government announced that the crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant finally achieved a state of "cold shutdown" following the world's worst nuclear accident since Chernobyl. It marked the latest in a series of energy-related developments since the "Great East Japan Earthquake" shook northeastern Japan on March 11, leaving in its wake thousands dead, vast property destruction, and a destabilized nuclear power plant owned and operated by Tokyo Electric Power Corp.

IEA: Renewables fastest growing energy sector

Renewable energy is now firmly entrenched as the world's fastest growing energy sector, according to a major new report from the International Energy Agency released this week.

The book, entitled Deploying Renewables 2011: Best and Future Policy Practice, analyses current trends in renewable energy and sets out a series of proposals designed to help governments develop effective renewable energy policy.

Pakistan: Alternative energy policy to attract investment

The Federal Minister for Water and Power Syed Naveed Qamar has said that the new Alternative and Renewable Energy policy (ARE 2011) will supplement government’s open door initiatives for attracting investors in this sector, a statement said on Friday.

“The government is targeting fast track development of renewable energy projects through private investment,” Qamar said, while presiding over the 21st board meeting of Alternative Energy Development Board (AEDB) the statement said.

Boston networks solutions: driving demand for clean energy policy

Boston is nationally renowned as a leading “green” city, recently ranked the 5th most sustainable city in the U.S. by the Economist Intelligence Unit. Under Mayor Menino’s leadership, Boston has solidified its position as a hub of innovation in energy policy and program development, from our comprehensive climate action strategy to the 1st in the nation green building zoning, as well as new cutting edge clean energy programs emanating from City Hall.

From the beginning of the mayor’s push to green Boston, he has focused his administration on connecting our environmental and energy policy strategies with job creation and economic growth.

Large onshore wind power project confirmed

A reader of the annual report of Siemens, the German engineering giant, could easily get the idea that the company was investing in wind energy because management wants to save the planet.

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“All our actions and decisions are informed by the principle of sustainability,” Siemens said in the introduction to its 2010 report, a few pages after the obligatory photograph of the chief executive, Peter Löscher, and the rest of the management board.