As we gather this week for the 2015 Asian Clean Energy Forum, the context for our meeting has changed greatly from that of last year. We have seen a dramatic drop in the price of oil, which has sent shockwaves through the entire energy sector. Volatility is the new normal, and, for a sector known for its conservative outlook, this drives those at the forefront of the energy challenge to re-evaluate traditional norms.
Tesla’s announcement last week about creating a new line of batteries for use by businesses, consumers, and the electrical grid at large is a game-changer for the industry. Currently, when individuals or companies need back-up power, they usually rely on generators. Effective battery storage for large amounts of energy would be a game changer in that it would enable a separation of generation and use of energy produced through clean fuels like solar and wind power.
As consumers, we pay for electricity twice: once through our monthly electricity bill and a second time through taxes that finance massive subsidies for inefficient wind and other energy producers.
Most cost estimates for wind power disregard the heavy burden of these subsidies on US taxpayers. But if Americans realized the full cost of generating energy from wind power, they would be less willing to foot the bill – because it’s more than most people think.
Four years after the earthquake and tsunami of March 2011, Japan’s leaders and citizens still face many complex challenges. Among these, none is more complicated than the issue of nuclear power.
As China shifts its focus to curbing carbon emissions, hydropower is becoming central to its alternative energy plan. But while the potential for renewable power generation cannot be ignored, the potential for costly environmental degradation is also high.
According to recent data, the solar industry in the United States added jobs at a rate that was almost twenty times faster than last year’s average. A report published by the Solar Foundation discovered the creation of over 31,000 jobs in the 12 months beginning November 2013.
According to that same report, about 85% of those are brand new positions. Today, 173,807 people in the US have jobs related to the solar power industry. This number increased 87% over the last five years.
Many Asian countries have set ambitious targets for climate change mitigation. Governments all over the region are devising green growth strategies, aiming to reconcile economic growth with low carbon emissions as well as trying to limit other forms of environmental degradation such as soil, water, and air pollution. What is needed is no less than a “green transformation” to put green growth at the heart of development (OECD 2013).
The recent and sharp fall in fossil fuel prices, thanks to new extractive techniques, will not last forever. It is high time to think about its threats and the opportunities.
The concept of “green growth” has been connected to the “green economy for sustainable development and poverty reduction,” which is the first theme of the Rio+20 United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD). In addition, making cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable is becoming one of the 17 sustainable development goals proposed by the Open Working Group on Sustainable Development Goals targeted to replace the United Nations Millennium Development Goals which will expire in 2015.
Biofuels derived from corn were once considered a sustainable energy alternative: Clean, green and renewable. But is this just another marketing myth?
Corn was first subsidised in the late ‘70s as a fossil fuel alternative but it has turned out to be an inefficient source of fuel. For starters, corn ethanol consumes 6 times more energy than it produces and emits greenhouse gases at a higher rate than gasoline. Yet, the US pays $10 to $30 billion dollars each year in farm subsidies to produce even more of it, despite not having any clear benefit to consumers.
