Guardian: Boris Johnson was today accused of undermining his commitment to turn London into a city of cyclists by "slashing" bike route funding in the capital. The London Cycle Campaign (LCC) attacked the mayor's decision to allocate little more than a quarter of the funding boroughs said they needed to deliver new routes and improvements for cyclists, which were due to be put in place by 2010. Johnson announced the funding as part of a £163.8m package to help London boroughs deliver ...

Reuters: U.S. Rep. Henry Waxman, a California liberal, won the chairmanship of a key congressional energy committee on Thursday and promised to work closely with President-elect Barack Obama to promote alternative energy, ease global warming and expand healthcare. Skip related content Waxman wrested control of the U.S. House of Representatives Energy and Commerce Committee from Rep. John Dingell of Michigan, a longtime friend of the now-ailing U.S. auto industry. The action was taken on ...

Issued August 2008 - NOAA's Commerce and Transportation Goal

Issued May 2008 - NOAA's Weather and Water Program Goal

Issued February 2008 - Observing Earth from Space

Next year, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will require most U.S. refiners, importers, and blenders of gasoline will need to displace 10.21% of their gasoline with renewable fuels such as ethanol. The percentage increased significantly because of the expected drop in gasoline demand.

California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has signed an executive order that will expedite the approval of renewable energy projects in the state. The governor also put the wheels in motion to require utilities to draw on renewable energy for 33% of their electricity supply by 2020.

Wind power capacity in the United States is expected to increase several-fold over the next decade, and the North American Electric Reliability Corporation is concerned that utilities won't build transmission lines fast enough to meet the growing energy supply.

Under the rules set up by states participating in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), voluntary renewable energy purchases may count towards the emission reduction aims of the program. The first mandatory carbon dioxide (CO2) cap-and-trade program to be implemented in the U.S. and scheduled to commence in January 2009, RGGI covers the electric power generation sector in 10 states in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions of the U.S. Under the program, CO2 emissions from power plants in the ten-state region will be capped and then reduced to 10% below 2009 levels, by 2018.

Each participating state has a proportional share of the regional emissions cap. Based on its CO2 emissions budget, each state will issue CO2 allowances to emitting power plants. Each CO2 allowance represents a permit to emit one ton of CO2. The states will sell all or a portion of their CO2 allowances via periodic auctions, beginning with pre-compliance auctions in September and December of 2008. Proceeds from the sale of allowances will fund state programs that promote energy efficiency and projects for renewable energy.

Renewable energy generation sources typically do not emit CO2 (or emit significantly less than fossil fuel generation sources). Without an emissions cap, renewable energy generation displaces fossil generation on the margin, resulting in a reduction of carbon emissions. However, where CO2 emissions are capped and the number of allowances is fixed and distributed only to emitting sources, renewable energy purchasers cannot claim CO2 emissions reductions, because their purchases do not reduce the number of allowances in circulation. Instead, their purchases simply free up more allowances that emitters can trade. Only the retirement of allowances, or a reduction in the number issued, reduces overall CO2 emissions levels. Purchasers’ inability to make claims ...

Computer manufacturer Dell Inc. has announced a series of programs to offset the company’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by the end of 2008, including a significant increase in its renewable energy purchase and energy efficiency initiatives. Dell’s U.S. renewable energy purchase, from wind, solar, and biogas sources, is about 554 million kWh per year, or about 158% of the company’s U.S. electricity use. The 2008 increase in the size of Dell’s renewable energy purchase, from about 12 million kWh in 2004 and about 116 million kWh as recently as July, 2008, represents the largest such increase in the U.S. for the year to date, by a wide margin. The purchase was made under agreements with several regional and national REC marketers and renewable energy programs throughout the U.S.

Dell is now the fourth largest renewable energy purchaser in the U.S. and the only new entrant among the top ten, according to the Environmental Protection Agency’s Green Power Partnership program. Among its other sustainability initiatives, Dell offers an energy efficient "hybrid" desktop computer, partners with Conservation International and other environmental groups on habitat, forest preservation, and tree-planting initiatives, and requires its primary suppliers to report CO2 emissions data during quarterly business reviews, as part of the Carbon Disclosure Project’s Supply Chain Leadership Coalition.

News Release -

Impacts of potential federal legislation were among the themes discussed at the National Renewable Energy Marketing Conference, which took place October 27-29, 2008 in Denver, Colorado. The annual conference brings together representatives from renewable energy marketing companies, utilities, renewable energy end users, and government agencies for discussions on market trends and challenges. This year’s conference, with more than 400 industry leaders in attendance, featured sessions on the treatment of renewable energy in climate change policies — both regional policies that are in the process of being implemented, as well as potential federal legislation. The main sponsors for the conference are the Center for Resource Soutions, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and the U.S. Department of Energy.

Other notable session topics at the conference included an update on the state of the voluntary renewable energy market and its role in supporting U.S. renewable energy project development. The voluntary market tripled in size from 2004 to 2007, to 18.1 billion kWh, fully three-quarters of which was attributable to businesses and other large institutional buyers. There were also discussions about the termination of Florida Power & Light’s Sunshine Energy green pricing program and its potential implications for the public perception of the industry. The conference also featured discussions about mechanisms to support increased U.S. energy efficiency and distributed energy generation strategies. Finally, the conference was also an occasion to celebrate industry success ...