The Navy said Thursday it will ramp up its use of public-private partnerships to purchase one gigawatt of renewable energy by 2020.
Navy Secretary Ray Mabus said in a statement that one gigawatt is enough to power a city the size of Orlando, Fla. — or about 250,000 homes.
The purchase will be one means for the Navy to meet its goal that half of its energy comes from renewable sources by the end of fiscal 2020.
President Obama in his State of the Union address on Tuesday singled out the Navy for "one of the largest commitments to clean energy in history."
The Navy will reach its goal by using a variety of alternative financing techniques, including:
• Energy savings performance contracts, where a company pays the upfront investment for energy-efficiency renovations and retrofits in exchange for payments from energy savings over time.
• Enhanced-use leases, where a company gets to develop government land with renewable energy or other projects in exchange for payment or in-kind services such as reduced-rate energy.
• Power purchase agreements, in which a power company constructs an energy system in exchange for fixed payments over a certain number of years.
Mabus will establish a task force that will select appropriate renewable energy projects, the Navy said.
Tom Hicks, deputy assistant Navy secretary, said at a panel discussion in July that the service expects to have 100 megawatts of solar power, six megawatts of wind power and 270 megawatts of geothermal power by the end of 2012.
By ANDY MEDICI | Last Updated:January 26, 2012
Federal Times
Read more (in new window) at: www.federaltimes.com/article/20120126/FACILITIES04/201260302/
To top of blog usaalternativeenergynow.blogspot.com
Friday, January 27, 2012
Friday, January 6, 2012
Buffett’s MidAmerican Utility Buys Three Iowa Wind Farm Projects
Buffett’s MidAmerican Utility Buys Three Iowa Wind Farm Projects
Bloomberg reports By Andrew Herndon - Jan 6, 2012 1:50 PM ET
A unit of Warren Buffett’s MidAmerican Energy Holdings Co. (329802Q) acquired three wind-energy projects in Iowa that will have a combined generating capacity of 404.8 megawatts at completion.
MidAmerican Energy Co., Iowa’s largest utility, bought from RPM Access LLC the 103.5-megawatt Vienna wind project that will be built in Marshall and Tama counties, it said today in a statement. The Des Moines, Iowa-based company also purchased two projects from Clipper Windpower Development Co., including the 200.1-megawatt Eclipse project in Guthrie and Audubon counties and the 101.2-megawatt Morning Light project in Adair County.
The projects are expected to be completed by year-end, increasing MidAmerican’s wind generation to 2,284.8 megawatts, according to the statement. The company will have invested $4 billion in Iowa wind farms once the three plants enter service, it said.
MidAmerican Energy Holdings Co. is a subsidiary of Buffett’s Omaha, Nebraska-based Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (BRK/A)
To contact the reporter on this story: Andrew Herndon in San Francisco at aherndon2@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Reed Landberg at landberg@bloomberg.net
Read more (in new window) at: www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-01-06/buffett-s-midamerican-utility-buys-three-iowa-wind-farm-projects.html/
To top of blog usaalternativeenergynow.blogspot.com
Bloomberg reports By Andrew Herndon - Jan 6, 2012 1:50 PM ET
A unit of Warren Buffett’s MidAmerican Energy Holdings Co. (329802Q) acquired three wind-energy projects in Iowa that will have a combined generating capacity of 404.8 megawatts at completion.
MidAmerican Energy Co., Iowa’s largest utility, bought from RPM Access LLC the 103.5-megawatt Vienna wind project that will be built in Marshall and Tama counties, it said today in a statement. The Des Moines, Iowa-based company also purchased two projects from Clipper Windpower Development Co., including the 200.1-megawatt Eclipse project in Guthrie and Audubon counties and the 101.2-megawatt Morning Light project in Adair County.
The projects are expected to be completed by year-end, increasing MidAmerican’s wind generation to 2,284.8 megawatts, according to the statement. The company will have invested $4 billion in Iowa wind farms once the three plants enter service, it said.
MidAmerican Energy Holdings Co. is a subsidiary of Buffett’s Omaha, Nebraska-based Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (BRK/A)
To contact the reporter on this story: Andrew Herndon in San Francisco at aherndon2@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Reed Landberg at landberg@bloomberg.net
Read more (in new window) at: www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-01-06/buffett-s-midamerican-utility-buys-three-iowa-wind-farm-projects.html/
To top of blog usaalternativeenergynow.blogspot.com
Thursday, January 5, 2012
Solar Panels Compete With Cheap Natural Gas
Renewable energy is growing rapidly in the U.S., with wind and solar industries enjoying double-digit growth each year. Part of that growth comes from more homeowners choosing to install solar panels.
With government subsidies, some people can even make a financial argument for installing the panels. But in recent years, the price of one fossil fuel — natural gas — has declined so much that solar panels are having difficulty competing.
The reason natural gas prices have fallen is because production is way up, thanks to hydraulic fracturing. Fracking, as it's called, is a controversial drilling technology that some say harms the environment. But the process has also made it possible to extract oil and gas once thought to be trapped in rock too deep underground for drillers to reach.
Due in large part to a combination of fracking and horizontal drilling, there's been a nearly 30 percent increase in the amount of natural gas produced in the U.S. since 2005.
"We've got a classic situation of supply and demand," says Kathryn Klaber, president of the Marcellus Shale Coalition, an industry group based outside Pittsburgh.
Natural gas demand has not gone up as quickly as supply, and Klaber says the price has dropped.
"A handful of years ago, natural gas could have been in the order of 12, 13, 14 dollars per million BTU," she says. "We're now down to three to four [dollars]."
This has allowed utilities that burn natural gas to produce electricity to hold the line on rates. For most of us, that's a good thing, but for those who've installed solar panels, it makes that investment less of a bargain.
Barbara Scott had 21 solar panels installed last March on her house in Media, Pa. Scott's family was the first in the community, and she was prepared to evangelize, "We can have open houses and write newsletter articles and promote the idea of solar," she said. But that was before the economics changed.
With government rebates and tax incentives, Scott says, her family spent $21,000 to install the system. She figured it would take eight years to recoup that investment.
........
http://www.npr.org/2012/01/05/144526652/solar-panels-compete-with-cheap-natural-gas
Read more (in new window) at: www.npr.org/2012/01/05/144526652/solar-panels-compete-with-cheap-natural-gas
To top of blog usaalternativeenergynow.blogspot.com
With government subsidies, some people can even make a financial argument for installing the panels. But in recent years, the price of one fossil fuel — natural gas — has declined so much that solar panels are having difficulty competing.
The reason natural gas prices have fallen is because production is way up, thanks to hydraulic fracturing. Fracking, as it's called, is a controversial drilling technology that some say harms the environment. But the process has also made it possible to extract oil and gas once thought to be trapped in rock too deep underground for drillers to reach.
Due in large part to a combination of fracking and horizontal drilling, there's been a nearly 30 percent increase in the amount of natural gas produced in the U.S. since 2005.
"We've got a classic situation of supply and demand," says Kathryn Klaber, president of the Marcellus Shale Coalition, an industry group based outside Pittsburgh.
Natural gas demand has not gone up as quickly as supply, and Klaber says the price has dropped.
"A handful of years ago, natural gas could have been in the order of 12, 13, 14 dollars per million BTU," she says. "We're now down to three to four [dollars]."
This has allowed utilities that burn natural gas to produce electricity to hold the line on rates. For most of us, that's a good thing, but for those who've installed solar panels, it makes that investment less of a bargain.
Barbara Scott had 21 solar panels installed last March on her house in Media, Pa. Scott's family was the first in the community, and she was prepared to evangelize, "We can have open houses and write newsletter articles and promote the idea of solar," she said. But that was before the economics changed.
With government rebates and tax incentives, Scott says, her family spent $21,000 to install the system. She figured it would take eight years to recoup that investment.
........
http://www.npr.org/2012/01/05/144526652/solar-panels-compete-with-cheap-natural-gas
Read more (in new window) at: www.npr.org/2012/01/05/144526652/solar-panels-compete-with-cheap-natural-gas
To top of blog usaalternativeenergynow.blogspot.com
Surge in hybrid owners on horizon
Published on Thursday 5 January 2012 12:42
Eco-warriors will be delighted with the news that hybrid cars are soon to undergo a surge in popularity, according to a new study from oil company Exxon Mobil.
The company released its annual energy report recently, which revealed that by 2040, low emission cars will make up half of all vehicles on the roads.
The news is likely to be particularly welcomed by environmental groups, many of whom have repeatedly expressed worries over the impact of the environment our over reliance on oil and petrol has. The idea that many car owners will switch to a hybrid, coupled with the increasingly advanced science behind fuel alternatives, means that it is expected that developed countries will be able to stabilise their energy demand over the coming 30 years, with countries such as the US expected to undergo no significant rises in oil consumption.
Aside from the impact on the environment, this news will also be received well by economists and financial experts the world over. Increased energy efficiency and lower fuel consumption is thought to be linked to financial growth and the economy. The report suggested that while worldwide-GDP would grow by a rate of 2.9 per cent a year until 2040, energy demand would only grow by a comparatively smaller 0.9 per cent.
However, there is some bad news. Exxon Mobil predicts that developing countries will not be able to stabilise their energy demand in the same way as more developed ones, due to the expense of funding research into fuel efficiency and in switching to a more sustainable method. Indeed, developing countries are expected to increase energy demand by 60 per cent between now and 2040, unless switches to a more sustainable method can be made quickly, easily and inexpensively.
Read more (in new window) at: www.northumberlandgazette.co.uk/community/surge_in_hybrid_owners_on_horizon_1_4115514/
To top of blog usaalternativeenergynow.blogspot.com
Eco-warriors will be delighted with the news that hybrid cars are soon to undergo a surge in popularity, according to a new study from oil company Exxon Mobil.
The company released its annual energy report recently, which revealed that by 2040, low emission cars will make up half of all vehicles on the roads.
The news is likely to be particularly welcomed by environmental groups, many of whom have repeatedly expressed worries over the impact of the environment our over reliance on oil and petrol has. The idea that many car owners will switch to a hybrid, coupled with the increasingly advanced science behind fuel alternatives, means that it is expected that developed countries will be able to stabilise their energy demand over the coming 30 years, with countries such as the US expected to undergo no significant rises in oil consumption.
Aside from the impact on the environment, this news will also be received well by economists and financial experts the world over. Increased energy efficiency and lower fuel consumption is thought to be linked to financial growth and the economy. The report suggested that while worldwide-GDP would grow by a rate of 2.9 per cent a year until 2040, energy demand would only grow by a comparatively smaller 0.9 per cent.
However, there is some bad news. Exxon Mobil predicts that developing countries will not be able to stabilise their energy demand in the same way as more developed ones, due to the expense of funding research into fuel efficiency and in switching to a more sustainable method. Indeed, developing countries are expected to increase energy demand by 60 per cent between now and 2040, unless switches to a more sustainable method can be made quickly, easily and inexpensively.
Read more (in new window) at: www.northumberlandgazette.co.uk/community/surge_in_hybrid_owners_on_horizon_1_4115514/
To top of blog usaalternativeenergynow.blogspot.com
Friday, December 23, 2011
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year To All
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year To All
Have a safe and warm holiday.
Please use alternative energy while traveling this holiday season. Use LED lights for your Christmas tree and house decorations.
From USAALTERNATIVEENERGYNOW.BLOGSPOT.COM
Top of blog:
Have a safe and warm holiday.
Please use alternative energy while traveling this holiday season. Use LED lights for your Christmas tree and house decorations.
From USAALTERNATIVEENERGYNOW.BLOGSPOT.COM
Top of blog:
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYONE
Happy Thanksgiving to all.
We have much to be thankful for. Living in a wonderful country (USA), our health, friends and family, the people that make our quality of life better (you know who you are), etc. Thanks!
When traveling this holiday, I hope you will use alternative energy whenever possible.
We, at USA ALTERNATIVE ENERGY NOW . BLOGSPOT . COM will be traveling by hybrid vehicle and electric train and maybe bicycle.
We pardoned our turkey (like the prez does), so he can live a long life. We will be eating TOFURKY, a meatless meal.
Top of blog:
We have much to be thankful for. Living in a wonderful country (USA), our health, friends and family, the people that make our quality of life better (you know who you are), etc. Thanks!
When traveling this holiday, I hope you will use alternative energy whenever possible.
We, at USA ALTERNATIVE ENERGY NOW . BLOGSPOT . COM will be traveling by hybrid vehicle and electric train and maybe bicycle.
We pardoned our turkey (like the prez does), so he can live a long life. We will be eating TOFURKY, a meatless meal.
Top of blog:
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
