By Robert Sanders, Media Relations | February 9, 2015 BERKELEY —Generating electricity from biomass, such as urban waste and sustainably-sourced forest and crop residues, is one strategy for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, because it is carbon-neutral: it produces as much carbon as the plants suck out of the atmosphere. A carbon dioxide injection well in Australia. (Photo courtesy of CO2CRC) …

SHALE-RELATED CONSTRUCTION BOOM IN 2014 MEANS GREENHOUSE GAS EQUIVALENT OF 12 NEW #143744271 / gettyimages.com Because of cheaper fuel prices driven by the shale drilling boom, U.S. companies in 2014 received draft or final permits to build at least 46 new or expanded petrochemical facilities across the U.S. that will produce 55 million tons of greenhouse gases a year, according …

When policymakers tally clean energy’s real worth, they consider jobs and environment. But other work achieved by clean energy goes forgotten. Two new papers shed light on some of this work – from saving the lives of US troops to influencing broad economic health. First, the American Council On Renewable Energy (ACORE) argues that the U.S. military needs to assign …

Station on O’Hare property will offer compressed natural gas (CNG), biodiesel and fast-charge charging stations for electric vehicles. CHICAGO – As part of the ongoing sustainability efforts at Chicago’s airports, the Chicago Department of Aviation (CDA) announced it has contracted with a private company to develop a 4,000-square-foot fueling station and travel center featuring a range of alternative fuels and …

Energy efficiency advocates have argued for years that energy efficiency should be a first fuel – considered before others in portfolio planning.  Today, they appear victorious with the release of the US’ first-ever carbon dioxide restrictions for existing power plants. The draft rule places energy efficiency in good position to be a top choice as states set strateagies to meet …

For many states struggling to reduce their carbon emissions, solar can be a real game-changer. With the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) set to announce new air quality standards for coal and natural gas-fired power plants on Monday, June 2, the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) today released a comprehensive report, “Cutting Carbon Emissions Under §111(d): The case for expanding solar …

-On Geothermal Day, GEA calls for GEA Honors 2014 entries- Washington, D.C. (May 2, 2014) – On Monday, May 5, the geothermal industry will recognize Geothermal Awareness Day in California (#GeothermalDay2014) with a slate of activities in Sacramento and beyond, including a call for entries for GEA Honors, the Geothermal Energy Association’s annual awards program. “There is a growing need …

More than a decade ago, Ruihong Zhang, a professor of biological and agricultural engineering at the University of California, Davis, started working on a problem: How to turn as much organic waste as possible into as much renewable energy as possible. Today, on Earth Day, the university and Sacramento-based technology partner CleanWorld are officially unveiling the UC Davis Renewable Energy …

Though the first official assessment that climate change was caused by human activity came in 1988, with NASA scientist James Hansen’s famous testimony to the U.S. Congress, the “carbon neutral” concept, which refers to achieving net zero carbon emissions, is a relatively new one. The non-profit Climate Neutral Network, which developed the Climate Neutral Certification, was incorporated in 1999; the …

WELTEC Optimises Wastewater Plants In the future, the anaerobic fermentation and utilisation of sludge from wastewater plants will play an increasingly important role. To ensure an economically and ecologically sustainable solution, more and more municipalities decide to optimise the energy potential of their sewage plants. For a plant dimension of 20,000 to 30,000 PE (population equivalent), biogas plant manufacturer WELTEC …

Charge Across Town Invites Public to Get Behind the Wheel of an EV Charge Across Town is driving forward the adoption of electric vehicles in the Bay Area with “EV Week 2013: San Francisco to Silicon Valley” – a three-city, five-day series of events and activities designed to engage, educate and excite Bay Area drivers about the benefits, ease and …

Low-cost solar power could supply more than a third of all energy needs in the Western U.S., if the nation can hit its targets for reducing the cost of solar energy, according to a new study by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley.   The UC Berkeley scientists used a detailed computer model they developed of the West’s electric …

Responding to a challenge by California Gov. Jerry Brown, more than 500 of the world’s top global change scientists have outlined the main environmental issues – from climate change to pollution and population growth – that policy makers must address immediately to avoid an approaching global tipping point. Gov. Jerry Brown discussing Earth’s tipping point with UC Berkeley professor Tony …

WWF has launched a new report – Putting the EU on Track for 100% Renewable Energy    – which shows where Europe needs to be by 2030 in order to reach a fully renewable energy system by 2050. It comes just as the European Commission is beginning to consider post-2020 climate and energy plans. By 2030, the EU could be …

‘The challenge of our generation’ – why the Australian government is finally taking climate change seriously Historically Australia has not been particularly proactive when it comes to tackling human-influenced climate change. The country didn’t have a price on carbon pollution or fixed targets for greenhouse gas reduction and the government bowed to increasing pressure from the oil, gas and coal …

The Ina Levine Jewish Community Campus in Scottsdale, Arizona Now 90% Powered by Solar ~ Centrosolar America and Green Choice Solar Join Forces to Complete 1.3 Megawatt Photovoltaic Solar Power Array~ Today, Centrosolar America, the U.S. subsidiary of CENTROSOLAR Group AG, in Munich, and Green Choice Solar, LLC, Arizona’s leading commercial solar integrator, announce the completion of a 1.3 Megawatt …

Even if the motive isn’t actually green in the environmental sense, efforts to improve data center energy efficiency will help drive a greenhouse gas emissions reduction of approximately 13 percent compared with a “business as usual” approach. The reductions are being driven by heightened attention to electricity costs and enabled by investments in virtualization, cloud computing, advanced cooling technologies and …

According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, 47 percent of all greenhouse gas emissions are from existing buildings. From a global perspective, reducing energy consumption in buildings is imperative for a sustainable future. So when property owners and managers transform an existing facility into one that’s a high-performance building, what does that mean? Essentially, it means doing more with less. …

Committed to sustainability and preserving the environment, The Cliff House Resort & Spa has installed one of Maine’s largest solar thermal systems. The installation uses 2,100 tubes on 70 collectors. That’s 10 times the size of an average solar project. The solar installation will save an estimated 11,000 gallons of propane annually and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by more than …

Study is shedding new light on an unexpected source of energy for heating homes and producing electricity-the sun. The sun-directly or indirectly-is the major source for most types of energy found on Earth. Solar energy is clean, abundant and renewable. Though we think of solar energy as a new discovery, ancient civilizations located innovative approaches to work with solar energy. …