http://www.enn.com/ ENN RSS News http://www.enn.com/energy/article/38694 The Institute of Electrical Engineering of the Chinese Academy of Sciences has signed a memorandum of understanding with the American National Renewable Energy Laboratory for collaboration on the technology of photovoltaic electricity generation. http://www.enn.com/business/article/38679 Dow Chemical Co has called on the incoming administration of U.S. President-elect Barack Obama and Congress to implement a comprehensive national energy policy. "I will guarantee you that I am not going to drop my voice one iota until we get an energy policy in this country that makes sense," Chief Executive Andrew Liveris told Reuters in an interview on Friday. http://www.enn.com/agriculture/article/38677 WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Surging U.S. ethanol production may force the industry to step up transport safety measures in the face of growing concern that communities are ill-prepared to deal with the volatile, flammable liquid. http://www.enn.com/energy/article/38675 Brussels, Belgium: A coherent plan to reduce energy consumption was conspicuous by its absence from the European Union&rsquo;s latest attempt to deal with the energy and climate crisis. The European Commission today released an &ldquo;Energy security and solidarity action plan&rdquo;�, which addresses some of the gaps in the present EU climate and energy policy. http://www.enn.com/energy/article/38663 Steve Schainker sometimes makes his rounds as Ames city manager in a two-seater Zenn, an electric car. The tiny vehicle, plugged in to an electrical outlet behind City Hall, tops out at 25 mph and gets 35 miles to a charge. It is one of the more visible elements of an EcoSmart program designed to save fuel and to cut carbon dioxide emissions that contribute to climate change. http://www.enn.com/energy/article/38655 LONDON (Reuters) - Coal, which produces more climate-warming carbon dioxide than oil or gas, will remain the world's main source of power until 2030 and nuclear will lose market share, the International Energy Agency said on Wednesday. Expectations of slower economic growth have led the IEA to downgrade its 2030 world electricity demand forecast to 23,141 terawatt hours (TWh), but the share of coal generated power would rise to 44 percent by 2015 from 41 percent in 2006. http://www.enn.com/energy/article/38652 CLOSE to 100 nations have concluded a review of how science can better guide policy by examining the merits of a new scientific body able to put the loss of biodiversity, ecosystems and their multi-trillion dollar services at the top of the political agenda. http://www.enn.com/energy/article/38648 Japan's carbon dioxide emissions hit a record high of 1.37 billion tons in the year to March 2008, well above the target set by the Kyoto Protocol, the environment ministry said Wednesday. The figure, which marked a 2.3 percent rise from the previous fiscal year, was mainly the result of more polluting energy production following the closure of the world's biggest nuclear power plant after it was damaged in an earthquake that struck northern Japan. http://www.enn.com/energy/article/38640 The European Commission has unveiled plans to diversify the EU's energy imports and reduce dependence on Russia, the main gas supplier. The EU will remain dependent on imported fossil fuels for many years to come, the Strategic Energy Review says. http://www.enn.com/energy/article/38635 Some energy experts asked by BBC News warn the UK could face an unacceptable risk of major blackouts in less than 10 years unless policy is improved. http://www.enn.com/energy/article/38620 Barack Obama's election has members of the alternative energy world sounding positively giddy, an enthusiasm not shared by their competitors in the oil industry. Obama's energy plans read like a wish list for the companies that make solar cells, wind turbines or alternative fuels. http://www.enn.com/business/article/38615 Greenpeace has blocked three tankers due to transport crude palm oil to China and Europe from leaving an Indonesian port in a bid to highlight deforestation caused by the cash crop, the environmental group said on Monday. http://www.enn.com/business/article/38614 Oil rose more than 5 percent on Monday, fueled by hopes that plans around the world to lift growth could avert recession and by Saudi Arabia's intention to cut crude supplies to Asia in December. China launched a huge stimulus plan on Sunday worth nearly $600 billion. Saudi Arabia told refiners in Asia it would cut December supplies by 5 percent, a sign that it is adhering to an OPEC plan to cut output. http://www.enn.com/energy/article/38605 Citizens in three US states this week cast their votes on state-level renewable energy initiatives, but only one was successfully voted through. California voters strongly rejected ballot proposals that would have set renewable energy mandates for utilities and provided R&D funding for renewables while Colorado voters declined to repeal an oil and gas industry tax credit to fund renewable energy and other projects. http://www.enn.com/business/article/38603 If California expands its renewable power generation to be a third of electricity delivered in the state by 2020, it may cost $60 billion, the state's utility regulator said in a report issued on Thursday. It is more costly to make electricity with renewable power -- solar, wind, geothermal and other sources that emit no or low amounts of global-warming greenhouse gases -- than with natural gas, nuclear and coal power plants. http://www.enn.com/energy/article/38595 Al Gore's Alliance for Climate Protection has some environmental advice for the incoming Obama administration: focus on energy efficiency and renewable resources, and create a unified U.S. power grid. http://www.enn.com/energy/article/38582 It didn&rsquo;t start that way: His land was once a low hill in a rugged hardwood forest &mdash; cherry, oak, hickory &mdash; skipping from ridge to ridge across one of the poorest, most rural areas of the Lower 48. Then came the mining companies with their dynamite and their trucks. They clear-cut the forest, blew the tops off the ridges and scraped the rocks into the hollows, pushing hundreds of feet of mountains into the valleys below. http://www.enn.com/energy/article/38579 Under President-elect Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., the fossil fuels industry may face "dark days ahead," while alternative energy sectors are likely to flourish. Although it will take years to engineer and implement, an Obama administration energy and environment policy marks a tectonic shift for the nation. He would move the U.S. away from petroleum as its primary energy source and towards renewable energy, advanced biofuels, efficiency and low greenhouse-gas-emitting technologies. http://www.enn.com/energy/article/38578 The agency, known as IRENA, will serve as a global cheerleader for clean energy. It plans to offer technical, financial, and policy advice for governments worldwide, according to a joint announcement from Germany, Spain, and Denmark-the project's leaders. http://www.enn.com/ecosystems/article/38577 Western Democrats and environmentalists will have more influence on federal land decisions in Idaho and the West under President Barack Obama. Decision-makers will defer more to scientists on resource issues and spending priorities will shift toward protecting land, fish and wildlife, Democrats said Tuesday night. http://www.enn.com/energy/article/38573 Americans have heard the Presidential and Congressional candidates talk about renewable energy for the last 24 months. Now it's up to Democrats to live up to the talk. With a Democrat in the White House and a significant Democratic majority in Congress, industry leaders are hopeful that renewable energies will become a higher national priority. http://www.enn.com/energy/article/38570 The McCain campaign is trying to sway coal state voters by selectively quoting from a 10-month-old interview to allege that Obama plans to "bankrupt the coal industry" with his plan to limit greenhouse gas emissions. Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin kicked off the last-minute attack Sunday during an appearance in Marietta, Ohio. At about the same time, clips of select portions of Obama's January comments to the San Francisco Chronicle surfaced on conservative blogs and Web sites. http://www.enn.com/energy/article/38566 Many of the world's solar energy companies could fail or fall into the arms of stronger rivals as the financial crisis raises borrowing costs and as solar module prices fall. Any such shake-out would in turn precipitate consolidation in the industry, which has for years been attracting heavy investment and government subsidies that have driven supply ahead of demand. http://www.enn.com/pollution/article/38561 Back on September 9, John Podesta'sCenter for American Progress released a study called Green Recovery <>, which promised two million new jobs from a $100 billion investment over two years. That day was also my birthday, so my attention was elsewhere. But nearly two months later in the wake of the financial meltdown, taking a second look at the report seems worthwhile, since now more than ever, a road to recovery for the United States and the world could very well be paved with green bricks. http://www.enn.com/business/article/38555 The credit crunch is not just hurting the banks and the real estate market. Even the billionaire and wind energy enthusiast, T. Boone Pickens is having trouble financing his high profile 4000 MW wind farm. The price tag on this Texas wind farm is a hefty $10 and $12 billion.