SmartReads: Week of June 15
It’s been a big week for clean energy, as the stories below indicate! Share your favorite clean energy and efficiency articles with us on Twitter using the hashtag #SmartReads.
The Huffington Post: Renewable Energy Investment Set Record In 2011 – Global investment in renewable energy reached a record of $257 billion last year, with solar attracting more than half the total spending, according to a U.N. report released Monday. [June 11, 2012]
Reuters: Renewable energy grows despite financial crisis – Renewable energy sources supplied 16.7 percent of global energy consumption in 2011, but the $257 billion of investment in the sector was still 15 percent lower than into fossil power generation, two influential bodies reported on Monday. [June 11, 2012]
Reuters: U.S. solar installations jump in first quarter – Solar installations in the United States jumped 85 percent in the first quarter of 2012 from the previous year, according to an industry report that prompted a research firm and a lobbying group to raise their capacity forecasts for the year. [June 13, 2012]
The Washington Post: American homes are getting bigger, but energy use is shrinking – American houses are getting more massive. They’re becoming more plentiful. We’re cramming their outlets with an ever-expanding array of power-hungry electronics — from large flatscreen TVs to multiple smartphones to the occasional iPad. [June 8, 2012]
E & E Publishing: For energy efficiency, Chu’s law is on the way – Stand aside, Moore’s law. Here comes Chu’s law. [June 14, 2012]
The New York Times: Banks Look to Burnish Their Images by Backing Green Technology Firms – Call it the greening of Wall Street. In the wake of a $30 billion commitment to new environmental investments by Wells Fargo in April and a $40 billion promise from Goldman Sachs this month, Bank of America will announce a 10-year, $50 billion initiative of its own on Monday. [June 10, 2012]
NRDC: How to Save a Trillion Dollars – According to the latest forecast from Weather Channel meteorologists, most of the country is in for a hot summer this year. This is more than a matter of personal discomfort. It also means skyrocketing energy bills, lost work days due to air pollution, and possibly heat-related deaths. [June 11, 2012]
The Huffington Post: Team Energy Star Focuses on a New Audience to Save Energy: Kids – Using energy efficiently starts at home with simple actions like turning off the lights or computer when they’re not being used. The challenge is getting people — especially kids — to flip that switch to “off.” [June 11, 2012]
Aol Energy: Seeking a Bridge to the Renewable Energy Finance Future—T here simply couldn’t be a better time to talk about how renewable energy is financed, and how changes in financing are affecting the entirety of a market that has matured at a rapid pace. [June 11, 2012]
The Wall Street Journal: Navy Sails to Greener Future – Next month, in naval exercises off the coast of Hawaii, five U.S. warships will make history: They will be the first to use biofuels to power their huge turbines, as well as the jet planes screaming off a carrier’s deck and helicopters hovering overhead. [June 14, 2012]
Washington City Paper – Kennedy Center Looking To Build Biggest Solar Array in D.C. – The Kennedy Center has a big flat roof. Perfect for solar panels, in fact—and it may soon be put to use. [June 8, 2012]
Boston.com: Capped landfills add new shine – Several communities south of Boston have joined a growing trend to turn capped landfills from generators of environmental guilt to generators of green power by installing solar panels. A single landfill can generate millions of watts of power each year and save cities and towns hundreds of thousands on their power bills. [June 14, 2012]
ELECTRIC VEHICLES
Scientific American: A Tale of 2 Transit Systems: Battery-Powered Buses Enter the Mainstream - Better lithium ion batteries have led to an explosion in availability of plug-in passenger cars. And now, thanks to relatively cheap electricity and the simplicity of the electric drivetrain, electric vehicles have even more potential for use in the extremely cost-sensitive public transportation arena—a concept that is only just taking root. [June 11, 2012]
