Alternative Clean Energy Roundup: 22 January 2013

Zimbabwe's climate change policies need an urban focus

JOHANNESBURG, 22 January 2013 (IRIN) - In spite of the political and financial turmoil that Zimbabwe faces, the country seems to be on the right track in adopting strategies to address the effects of climate change. But these strategies tend to have a strong rural bias, overlooking the fact that almost half of the country now lives in urban areas, according to a joint review of the country's climate change response by a think tank and leading NGO. read more>>>

Financing the Green Economy

BEIJING – 21 January 2013 - According to new estimates that will be presented at this year’s World Economic Forum meeting in Davos, $100 trillion is needed by 2030 to finance infrastructure needs worldwide. This investment needs to be greened – its design and use must rely on less carbon and fewer natural resources – if we are to avoid an unsustainable increase in global temperatures of four degrees Celsius or more in the coming decades.

At least in the short term, green investment costs more than business-as-usual investment – about $700 million a year worldwide, according to the G-20-inspired Green Growth Action Alliance, chaired by former Mexican President Felipe Calderón. Additional outlays of $140 billion annually are required just to green the estimated $15 trillion investment in energy generation needed by 2020. read more>>>

The green economy

January 22, 2013 - The global warming phenomenon is one of the most controversial issues in the era of globalization. It has changed the world’s agenda as scientists and other experts undertake research, make predictions and explore facts which may be inconvenient. It also has forced both developed and developing countries to encourage and support the concepts of green economy and green industry as major tools to achieve sustainable development.

In addition, the world has become more interdependent, and in order to solve common problems and remove barriers among nations, international organizations, unions and agreements must play a critical role in global issues in both developing and developed countries. Moreover, individuals must work together in groups to curb the effects of global warming and let globalization work as it should. read more>>>

Bio-CNG for Indian Telecoms, Microgrids and Beyond

January 21, 2013 - There is a clean energy revolution afoot in India. This revolution, mandated by the government, is not about increasing the reliability of the country’s faltering electrical grid -- or providing power to the millions who live without it.

Instead, the federal mandate is all about the energy source for cell-phone base stations. India, the world’s second-largest mobile market after China, has more than 400,000 base stations. By 2020, 75 percent of rural base stations and 33 percent of urban and suburban towers will need to run on renewable energy. The directive comes as diesel prices, heavily subsidized by the government, are rising and as the country looks for ways to address carbon emissions.

Solar has been the winner so far, but it’s still early days. One company, NextGen, has developed bio-compressed natural gas digesters that are gaining ground and could power not only the cell networks, but also parts of the surrounding villages in rural locations. read more>>>

Solar Microgrids & the Developing World

January 21, 2013 - Almost 400 million Indians, do not have access to a power grid. Nikhil Jaisinghani and Brian Shaad, cofounders of Mera Gao Power (MGP), want to change that. MGP’s goal is to provide 400 million rural Indians access to clean light (as opposed to kerosene-fueled lamps) and the opportunity to charge their phone without taking a trip to their town’s recharging kiosk. With the falling cost of solar panels and LEDs, the company aims to use microgrids to dispense power throughout rural India.

Microgrids offer many advantages to developing countries. Because the installation cost can be spread across a village instead of an individual basis, microgrids offer poor villages an economically feasible option for power. The microgrid system can also use more efficient, larger-scale generation and storage systems to lower operational costs. read more>>>

“Smart from the Start” — Government Establishes Arizona Solar Energy Zones

January 20, 2013 - Departing Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar on January 18 announced the designation of 192,100 acres of public land in Arizona “as potentially suitable for utility-scale solar and wind energy development.” Publication of Interior’s Record of Decision (ROD) also establishes the Agua Caliente Solar Energy Zone, “the third solar zone on public lands in Arizona and the 18th nationwide.”

Establishing the Agua Caliente Solar Energy Zone follows on as part of the Obama Administration’s federal blueprint for environmentally sensitive development of large-scale solar power projects spanning six Western states. The Solar Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS) was officially launched with a press conference in Las Vegas last October. read more>>>