Energy and Environment News Roundup – 10.8.13
A daily roundup of the most important energy, environment, and climate news from around the world.
EMISSIONS
How to slice a global carbon pie? (via New York Times)
US Supreme Court scheduled to consider climate change cases (via Reuters)
Divestment campaign against fossil fuels growing, says study (via The Guardian)
California highlights emissions reduction progress (via CleanTechnica)
New Jersey sets hearing on rejoining RGGI carbon trading program (via Bloomberg)
Microsoft achieves carbon neutrality, says NRDC (via Environmental Leader)
COAL
Beijing to close main coal plants by 2015 in smog crackdown (via BusinessGreen)
King Coal’s last stand (via Vice)
RENEWABLES
China set to lead 2014 solar energy boom (via RTCC)
Floating offshore wind power taking hold (via Renewable Energy World)
New British solar energy fund has chance to shine (via Daily Mail)
UK tests new method to balance renewables on the grid (via Greentech Media)
Nighttime solar power arriving in United States (via EarthTechling)
Will a new guide for regulators settle the debate over rooftop solar’s value? (via Greentech Media)
Oakland’s bid to become a solar power hub (via National Journal)
TRANSPORTATION
Cumulative Nissan Leaf sales in Japan pass 30,000 mark (via Green Car Congress)
Honda plots US hybrid resurgence starting with Accord (via Bloomberg)
EV sales for 2013 up over 440% from one year ago (via Climate Progress)
Palo Alto requires homes to be pre-wired for electric cars (via EarthTechling)
Is there any business model for public electric car charging? (via Green Car Reports)
OIL
Texas on track to be among world’s largest oil producers (via Houston Chronicle)
California Gov. Brown supports hydraulic fracturing (via Houston Chronicle)
BP spars with US government over size of Gulf of Mexico spill (via Reuters)
GRID
PJM board approves $1.2 billion in transmission improvements (via Renew Grid)
Why the hot money is chasing energy storage (via Renew Economy)
ENERGY POLICY
Proposed LNG exports spark controversy in British Columbia (via ClimateWire)
Quebec’s Keystone conundrum (via Politico)
Electricity utilities could lose half their market to solar and storage (via Renew Economy)
Grid Edge: How will utilities, vendors, and energy service providers adapt? (via Greentech Media)
ESCO market to reach $8.3 billion in 2020 (via Energy Manager Today)
California law to change energy rates, aid renewable power (via San Francisco Chronicle)
NUCLEAR
Japanese prime minister seeks foreign help containing Fukushima water leak (via United Press International)
ENERGY EFFICIENCY
How Denmark turned an efficiency obligation into opportunity (via Midwest Energy News)
Building energy benchmarking and window retrofits (via Energy Manager Today)
An illustrated guide to the enormous power of energy efficiency (via Greentech Media)
Energy management saves Office Depot $2.2 million annually (via Energy Manager Today)
Cincinnati launches energy benchmarking toolkit (via Energy Manager Today)
POLITICS
Obama’s top climate and energy adviser to leave White House (via Washington Post)
Front-runner for FERC may be clean slate Obama’s looking for (via Greenwire)
The battle for FERC and the future of energy security (via Energy Trends Insider)
OPINION
Solar power, in small doses (via The Economist)
Who created the global warming “pause”? (via Mother Jones)
The future of the electricity system is called Grid Edge (via Greentech Media)
Burning question: Are Europe’s biomass imports sustainable? (via Renewable Energy World)
America’s net metering war (via CleanTechnica)
Can we fly more and still meet carbon targets? (via The Guardian)
We might blow our carbon budget sooner than we think (via Renew Economy)