Hawaii Hikes Oil Tax

Gas prices, power bills and shipping costs will rise after the Hawaii Legislature voted to override a veto of a $1-per-barrel tax increase on oil products.

Hawaii already has the most expensive electricity rates and gas prices in the nation, and they're expected to become even more costly when this tax increase takes effect in July. Island drivers paid $3.58 per gallon of regular unleaded Thursday, according to AAA's Fuel Gauge Report.The petroleum tax is one of 11 measures that will become law following veto overrides by lawmakers Thursday. Others include requiring contractors to hire 80 percent Hawaii residents for public projects, taxing estates worth more than $3.5 million and preventing the closure of welfare offices. More >>>

No 10 Mw Solar for Kaua’i Hawaii

A 10-megawatt solar power project that would have boosted the amount of renewable energy on Kaua'i isn't moving ahead at this time.

The reason? The Kaua'i Island Utility Cooperative wouldn't agree to pay what the developer wanted for the electricity.

The stalled project provides a glimpse into a not-so-often discussed portion of green energy as the state drives toward adoption of sustainable power projects: Going green could translate into higher electricity prices in the short run for Hawai'i residents.

Utilities are being offered and, in some cases, agreeing to wholesale power purchase contracts that could translate into people paying slightly more for power than they do now. Proponents say it will help stabilize energy costs and lower energy bills in the long run. More >>>

Ontario Adds 2.5 Gigawatts of Renewables

ONTARIO, Canada (TheStreet) -- Ontario has awarded 184 renewable energy projects for a total of 2.5 gigawatts of alternative energy, under its feed-in tariff scheme for projects of more than 500 kilowatts in size, the most favorable FIT scheme that exists in North America.

Solar companies, including Canadian Solar(CSIQ) most prominently, have pegged the Ontario market as an important growth driver as FITs are reduced in some European countries, led by the German FIT reductions. Canadian Solar has committed to building a module assembly manufacturing plant in Ontario. More >>>

Wind Energy Investment of $65 Billion May Curb Fossil Fuel Use

March 22 (Bloomberg) -- China WindPower Group Ltd., Iberdrola SA and Duke Energy Corp. will lead development of an estimated $65 billion of wind-power plants this year that let utilities reduce their reliance on fossil fuels.

The estimate from Bloomberg New Energy Finance assumes a 9 percent increase in global installations of wind turbines this year, adding as much as 41 gigawatts of generation capacity. That’s the equivalent of 34 new nuclear power stations. More >>>

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Driving main culprit climate change and global warming

Road Transportation Emerges as Key Driver of Warming

Feb. 18, 2010

For decades, climatologists have studied the gases and particles that have potential to alter Earth's climate. They have discovered and described certain airborne chemicals that can trap incoming sunlight and warm the climate, while others cool the planet by blocking the Sun's rays.

Now a new study led by Nadine Unger of NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) in New York City offers a more intuitive way to understand what's changing the Earth's climate. Rather than analyzing impacts by chemical species, scientists have analyzed the climate impacts by different economic sectors.

Figure 1. Motor vehicles give off only minimal amounts of sulfates and nitrates, both pollutants that cool climate, though they produce significant amounts of pollutants that warm climate such as carbon dioxide, black carbon, and ozone. Credit: NASA's Langley Research Center
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Each part of the economy, such as ground transportation or agriculture, emits a unique portfolio of gases and aerosols that affect the climate in different ways and on different timescales.

"We wanted to provide the information in a way that would be more helpful for policy makers," Unger said. "This approach will make it easier to identify sectors for which emission reductions will be most beneficial for climate and those which may produce unintended consequences."

In a paper published online on Feb. 3 by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Unger and colleagues described how they used a climate model to estimate the impact of 13 sectors of the economy from 2000 to 2100. They based their calculations on real-world inventories of emissions collected by scientists around the world, and they assumed that those emissions would stay relatively constant in the future. More >>>

Virgin's Richard Branson takes on peak oil

A report out of Britain funded by Virgin Airlines owner Richard Branson and other British business leaders warns that peak oil is looming in 2015. The controversial idea that growing oil demand will soon outstrip more finds is capturing the attention of governments.

London - Long-accustomed to being dismissed as alarmists, the arguments of those warning of an impending peak oil crisis are now being bolstered by support from multi-billionaires like Richard Branson.

A major report funded by the Virgin Airlines owner and other British business leaders warned this week that the world is running out of oil and predicts shortages and price spikes as soon as 2015. A future of painful hikes in the cost of food, heating, and travel in a world unprepared for surging oil prices was forecast by the Industry Taskforce for Peak Oil and Energy Security. More >>>