Sustainable Energy News: 04/10/12

Tuesday, April 10, 2012

Report warns of urbanization swell by 2050

Report warns of urbanization swell by 2050

We hear and read a lot about our human carbon footprint but what do we know about our urban footprint? According to a new United Nations (UN) report, this urban footprint will expand by another 1.2 million square kilometres if we fail to make changes to our cities' development patterns. This huge increase is the size of France, Germany and Spain combined. The report's highlights were presented at the recent international science meeting, 'Planet Under Pressure', in London, United Kingdom.

Drilling fees pay for new national forest lands

Drilling fees pay for new national forest lands

This undated photo provided by Trust For Public Lands shows a portion of the Fleming Ranch, purchased by the U.S. Forest Service for $1.5 million for to add to the San Bernardino National Forest in Southern California. The purchase is one of 28 in 15 states financed by the Land and Water Conservation Fund, which is funded by Congress with fees paid by companies drilling for offshore oil and gas. (AP Photo/Trust for Public Lands, Maria

Radiation from Japan found in kelp off US West Coast

Radiation from Japan found in kelp off US West Coast

This file photo shows a girl dragging kelp along a beach in California. Radioactive iodine was found in kelp off the US West Coast following last year's earthquake-triggered Fukushima Daiichi nuclear meltdown, according to a new study.

Wind Power Seen Surging as Custom Barges Cut Set-up Costs

Wind Power Seen Surging as Custom Barges Cut Set-up Costs - Bloomberg

Offshore wind-power producers from Dong Energy A/S to RWE AG (RWE) are building custom ships at record rates to reduce the cost of the technology that’s three times as pricey as electricity from coal plants. As many as 20 vessels, some with movable legs that reach the seafloor, will come onto the market in the next few years, reducing chartering costs of as much as 200,000 euros ($261,000) a day, said Marc Seidel, an offshore engineer at Suzlon Energy Ltd. (SUEL), which supplies turbines to Germany’s RWE. Publish Post

Water on Fire; Not nearly as popular as "Sex On Fire"

Drillers Face Methane Concern - WSJ.com

Sherry Vargson has cooked with water from a five-gallon jug for the past year. It's inconvenient, but preferable to using tap water containing enough methane gas that she can light a match and see an orange flame flare out of the faucet. Many water supplies in northern Pennsylvania have long contained detectable levels of methane, because of poorly constructed water wells and the unusual geologic features here. But the contamination in Ms. Vargson's existing well is among the first cases that state regulators have attributed to natural-gas drilling, prompting a normally competitive group of drilling companies to work together to fix the problem.

California High-Speed Rail Spending Probed by U.S. House

California High-Speed Rail Spending Probed by U.S. House - Bloomberg

A U.S. House of Representatives committee said it will investigate reports of conflicts of interest at California’s high-speed rail authority when it received federal money to start construction. The Oversight and Government Reform Committee contacted all current and former executive leaders at the California High- Speed Rail Authority seeking information on how federal money has been spent on the planned San Francisco-to-Los Angeles connection, said Jeffrey Solsby, a spokesman for the panel. The letter also went to all current and former board members, Solsby said.

Potentially damaging trade war brewing as Emissions Trading Scheme comes under more fire

Potentially damaging trade war brewing Emissions Trading Scheme comes under more fire - eTurboNews.com

The European Union’s stubborn insistence of sticking to their hugely controversial Emissions Trading Scheme, or in short ETS, has raised opposition from literally around the world, paving the way for a potentially damaging trade war between the EU and China, India, Russia, the United States, and now with the member countries of the Arab Air Carriers Association. During the recent launch of flights to Kigali, Qatar Airways’ usually very outspoken CEO, Al Baker, answered to a question posed by this correspondent: “Qatar is a small country. We respect the right of the EU to set their own laws and regulations, but we will join our colleagues in the Gulf in what will be the best way to resolve this situation, which as met with opposition from around the world.”

Qatar Air Targets Cleaner Fuel for Flights With Stake in Byogy

Qatar Air Targets Cleaner Fuel for Flights With Stake in Byogy - Bloomberg

Qatar Airways Ltd. plans to invest in California’s Byogy Renewables Inc. to produce cleaner jet fuel from alcohol, curbing carbon output to meet emission goals. “We’re looking to underwrite an investment into Byogy of up to 10 percent, coupled with an off-take agreement,” Chris Schroeder, senior manager of corporate social responsibility, environment and fuel optimization, said by phone, declining to disclose the value of the transaction. “This will enable the company to go into the market and look for further equity investment or other partners.”

Voluntary carbon market escapes mandatory gloom

Environmental Finance | News | Voluntary carbon market escapes mandatory gloom

Sentiment is more positive in the voluntary carbon markets than in their larger, mandatory equivalents, according to the winners of Environmental Finance and Carbon Finance’s annual survey of the voluntary carbon markets. “The market is still nowhere as active as it was before the financial crisis, but it’s picked up from the depths,” says Lenny Hochschild, San Francisco-based managing director at brokerage firm Evolution Markets, which was the top placed broker in the survey.

ClimeCo America Corporation Delivers Carbon Credits to Just Energy Generated by Rentech Nitrogen

ClimeCo America Corporation Delivers Carbon Credits to Just Energy Generated by Rentech Nitrogen - MarketWatch

BOYERTOWN, Pa. and LOS ANGELES, April 10, 2012 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- ClimeCo America Corporation (ClimeCo America) and Rentech Nitrogen Partners, L.P. RNF -0.94% jointly announced today that ClimeCo America will deliver 120,000 Climate Reserve Tonnes (CRT) to Just Energy , a leading competitive North American green energy retailer. Measured as a unit of offset credits used by the Climate Action Reserve (CAR), one CRT is equal to one metric ton of greenhouse gases reduced or sequestered. The carbon credits will be delivered to Just Energy by ClimeCo over a five-year period.

EU Carbon May Rise to 7.42 Euros on Hammer

EU Carbon May Rise to 7.42 Euros on Hammer: Technical Analysis - Bloomberg

European Union carbon permits may rise to test 7.42 euros ($9.72) a metric ton after last week’s trading created a bullish hammer pattern on the weekly chart, said OTC Europe LLP. Allowances for December, the industry benchmark, may reach that level after sustained trading above 6.86 euros, Brett Genus, a technical analyst and broker at OTC in London, said today by phone.