Green Investing News

REG focuses on UK wind, waste oil for growth - 2009-11-19
Britain's Renewable Energy Generation is planning to significantly increase its wind power assets next year, while bringing its profitable waste cooking oil business to commercialization. Chief Executive Officer Andrew Whalley said the company planned to invest 100 million pounds ($166.6 million) over the next three years, mostly in expanding its operating wind assets.

UK Government Soliciting Bids for £30M for Charging Points; New Office for Low Emission Vehicles - 2009-11-19
The UK Government is soliciting bids for £30 million (US$50 million) in funding to support the installation of plug-in vehicle charging points on streets, car parks and in commercial, retail and leisure facilities.

Volvo Upgrades Hybrid System in Prototype Refuse Truck; Small-Scale Series Production Pushed Back to 2012 at the Earliest - 2009-11-19
After a year and a half of initial field testing, Volvo Trucks is releasing an upgraded hybrid refuse truck with new components and software. The new refuse truck will be tested by Veolia Environmental Services in central London.

POET Reduces Cellulosic Ethanol Production Cost from $4.13 to $2.35/Gallon in First Year of Pilot Operation; <$2.00/Gallon Target for Commercial Start - 2009-11-19
Over the first year of operations of its pilot-scale cellulosic ethanol plant in South Dakota (earlier post), POET has reduced its per gallon production cost from $4.13 to $2.35, exceeding its expectations. Cost reduction came via reductions in energy usage, enzyme costs, raw material requirements and capital expenses. The pilot plant uses corn cobs for feedstock.

AU Optronics Helps Create a Frisbee-Shaped Solar Roof at Taipei Playground - 2009-11-19
AU Optronics Corp., Taiwan's largest manufacturer of thin film transistor liquid crystal display panels, has helped craft a “Solar Frisbee Roof” to canopy playground equipment at a Taipei schoolyard.

India's cabinet approves solar power programme - 2009-11-19
India's cabinet on Thursday approved its first solar power plan, pledging to boost output from near zero to 20 gigawatts (GW) by 2020 as part of its plan to fight global warming.

Phoenix Solar eyes partner in China - 2009-11-19
Phoenix Solar AG, one of Europe's largest solar power developers, is in talks to partner with a Chinese firm to push its business in China, said a company executive.

Volt and Its Battery Pack Converging on Product and Process Validation in February 2010; Fine-Tuning in Preparation for Start of Regular Production in Nov 2010 - 2009-11-18
Both the Chevy Volt extended range electric vehicle and its battery pack are converging on the beginning of the product and process validation (PPV) stage of GM’s development and manufacturing process, scheduled to start in February 2010, according to an online status update given by Andrew Farrah, Volt Vehicle Chief Engineer and Bill Wallace, Engineering Group Manager, Voltec Battery Systems.

What They Really Believe - 2009-11-18
If you follow the debate around the energy/climate bills working through Congress you will notice that the drill-baby-drill opponents of this legislation are now making two claims. One is that the globe has been cooling lately, not warming, and the other is that America simply can’t afford any kind of cap-and-trade/carbon tax.

Israel water tech thrives in weakened economy - 2009-11-18
Israel's water technology sector has prospered despite the global financial crisis, largely due to global stimulus packages and penetration in developing countries, officials said on Wednesday.

Nuclear power: less effective than energy efficiency and renewable energy? - 2009-11-18
If the U.S. wants to help stop global warming, nuclear power is not the way to go, according to a new report released today.

U.S. Climate Bill Could Boost Economy by $111B, Study Says - 2009-11-18
As Republican senators in the U.S. attempt to delay proposed climate change legislation on the grounds that it could harm the country's economy, a major study from three influential universities suggests that a robust climate bill would have the exact opposite effect and would boost GDP by $111 billion by 2020.

When Behavioral Economics Meets Climate Change, Guess What's Coming for Dinner? - 2009-11-18
Might there be broad-based ways to promote a vegetarian diet, while giving people the freedom to choose what they want? How can smart-grid technology be designed to encourage people to conserve energy? Which green marketing messages work, and which don’t? Can the insights of behavioral economics help fight climate change?

EPA Proposes Stronger Air Quality Standards for SO2; First Proposed Increase Since 1971 - 2009-11-18
For the first time in nearly 40 years, EPA is proposing to strengthen the nation’s sulfur dioxide (SO2) primary air quality standard to protect public health.

Dell Protects Laptops With Bamboo Packaging - 2009-11-18
Dell will start shipping two of its products padded with bamboo cushioning, a part of the company's broad plan to reduce its packaging while using more recyclable material.

Tidal Power Turbines Producing More Energy Than Expected - 2009-11-18
The twin generators typically produce an average of 5MWh of electricity during the 6.25 hours of each ebb and each flood tide, enough energy to meet the average electricity needs for 1500 UK homes.

US and China Presidents Announce US-China Electric Vehicles Initiative, Six Other Measures to Strengthen Cooperation Between the Countries on Energy Issues - 2009-11-18
In Beijing, US President Barack Obama and China President Hu Jintao announced a package of seven measures to strengthen cooperation between the United States and China on clean energy.

Forecast: Cumulative Hybrid and Plug-in Hybrid Fleet Sales to Reach Nearly 4 Million Units By 2015 - 2009-11-18
Cumulative sales of hybrid vehicles in the fleet sector will total nearly 4 million worldwide between 2009 and 2015, according to a recent report from Pike Research. The cleantech market intelligence firm forecasts that hybrid fleet sales will increase from 300,000 in 2009 to more than 830,000 in 2015, with the largest growth categories in medium- and heavy-duty trucks and buses.

German Government to Award up to €9M to Support Development of Battery-Electric Mercedes-Benz Vans - 2009-11-17
The Federal German Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Reactor Safety (BMU) will award Mercedes-Benz Vans a grant of up to €9 million (US$13.4 million) for the research and development, testing and trial of battery-electric vans.

UL Environment to Develop Standards for a Range of Green Building Materials - 2009-11-17
UL Environment plans to develop sustainability standards for stone, ceramic, clay and glass building materials, as well as glazing materials, windows and their associated hardware and accessories.

Hyflux partners with JBIC for big water deals - 2009-11-17
Singapore's Hyflux Ltd said on Tuesday it would partner with the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) to target water treatment projects worth over S$1 billion ($723 million) in China and elsewhere.

Siemens confident on green technologies sales goa - 2009-11-17
German industrial conglomerate Siemens' goal of generating 25 billion euros ($37.40 billion) of sales from its environment-friendly technologies in 2011 is a "conservative" estimate, board member Barbara Kux said on Monday.

Dutch Cabinet Approves Mileage Tax; In Effect in 2012 if Approved by Parliament - 2009-11-16
The Dutch Cabinet on Friday approved a new road tax bill that would eliminate the current motor vehicle tax and purchase tax and replace them with a charge per kilometer driven, starting in 2012 and increasing through 2018. The measure needs to be approved by the Dutch Parliament before becoming law.

Airbus says wingtip change to save fuel - 2009-11-16
European planemaker Airbus said Sunday its planned large wingtip devices on the A320 aircraft will reduce fuel burn by 3.5 percent and save about $220,000 a year per plane.

World leaders back delay to final climate deal - 2009-11-16
U.S. President Barack Obama and other world leaders on Sunday supported delaying a legally binding climate pact until 2010 or even later, but European negotiators said the move did not imply weaker action.