British firm develops colourful, transparent solar cells that will add just 10% to glass buildings' cost
12 February 2013 - A solar power company capable of "printing" colourful glass that can generate electricity from the sun's energy announced a £2m funding boost on Tuesday.
Oxford Photovoltaics, a spin-off from the University of Oxford, said the investment from clean-tech investors MTI Partners will help its solar glass, which can be dyed almost any colour, take a step closer to the commercial market.
"What we say here is rather than attach [solar] photovoltaics to the building, why not make the building the photovoltaics?" Kevin Arthur, the company's founder and CEO, told the Guardian. "If you decide to build a building out of glass, then you've already decided to pay for the glass. If you add this, you're adding a very small extra cost. [The solar cell treatment] costs no more than 10% of the cost of the facade." read more>>>
Feb 13 2013 - WASHINGTON, DC (February 12, 2013) – Yesterday, BlueGreen Alliance leaders laid out six priorities that America must make to respond to climate change, prepare America’s infrastructure, and create good jobs for the American people. Following President Barack Obama’s State of the Union address, the BlueGreen Alliance released this statement from Executive Director David Foster:
“Tonight, President Obama asked Americans to join him to respond to climate change, to rebuild our nation’s infrastructure, and to invest in the promise of clean energy manufacturing to create good jobs for the American people. read more>>>
February 14, 2013 - Cimate change poses risks to the environment and the economy and presents a significiant financial risk to the federal government, says the Government Accountability Office, which added federal exposure to climate change to its bienially-updated list of high-risk areas.
The federal government is "not well positioned to address this fiscal exposure, partly because of the complex, cross-cutting nature of the issue," the GAO says in the 2013 edition of the high-risk report (.pdf). read more>>>
13 February 2013 - More than 40 environmentalists and community leaders from across the country were arrested outside the White House this morning as they staged a protest to urge President Barack Obama to deny the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline and act decisively against climate change.
Among those participating in the protest were Michael Brune, executive director of the Sierra Club; Bill McKibben, Founder of 350.org; Julian Bond, former president of the NAACP; Danny Kennedy, CEO of Sungevity; Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Connor Kennedy, and Daryl Hannah, the American actress.
After blocking Pennsylvania Avenue, near the East Gate of the White House, and refusing to move when asked by police, the activists were arrested and transported to Anacostia Park for processing by the US Park Police Department. read more>>>
Feb. 13, 2013 - President Obama made it abundantly clear during the State of the Union address last night that he will direct his Administration to take on climate change. The president reiterated the urgency for action, citing climate impacts we’re already seeing like record high temperatures, heat waves, drought, wildfires, and floods. “We can choose to believe that Superstorm Sandy, and the most severe drought in decades, and the worst wildfires some states have ever seen were all just a freak coincidence,” he said. “Or we can choose to believe in the overwhelming judgment of science–and act before it’s too late.”
The president urged Congress to rise to the challenge by pursuing a “bipartisan, market-based solution,” but he also noted that the Administration will take action—with or without Congress. “I will direct my Cabinet to come up with executive actions we can take, now and in the future, to reduce pollution, prepare our communities for the consequences of climate change, and speed the transition to more sustainable sources of energy,” the president said. read more>>>
A relative slowdown in new wind turbine construction in China was offset by increases in the US, Germany, India and the UK
11 February 2013 - Wind power expanded by almost 20% in 2012 around the world to reach a new peak of 282 gigawatts (GW) of total installed capacity, while solar power reached more than 100GW, having more than doubled in two years.
More than 45GW of new wind turbines arrived in 2012, with China and the US leading the way with 13GW each, while Germany, India and the UK were next with about 2GW apiece.
"While China paused for breath, both the US and European markets had exceptionally strong years," said Steve Sawyer, secretary general of the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC), which produced the statistics. "Asia still led global markets, but with North America a close second, and Europe not far behind." read more>>>
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