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Alternative Energy and Fuel News - ENN

• European Airlines provide early data on carbon emissions, show slight reduction
  Airlines operating in and out of European airports have complied with the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS) and handed over data despite the refusal of carriers from China and India. The airlines have provided emission information ahead of the introduction of mandatory reporting. And according to the latest information provided by Member State registries released today, emissions of greenhouse gases from all installations participating in the ETS decreased by more than 2% last year.
  
  
• Wind, Solar...Coconuts: Small Island Developing States Commit to Renewable, Sustainable Energy for All
  Typically heavily reliant on the cost of high and volatile diesel and fossil fuel imports, small island developing states are also on the front line when it comes to having to cope with climate change. Now they're realizing there's a lot in the way of cleaner, more efficient and less costly power and fuel resources right at home. They're increasingly, if belatedly, establishing ambitious renewable energy programs and setting aggressive targets to employ local renewable energy resources to reduce CO2 and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, working with a range of international development agencies, public and private sector partners domestic and foreign, in doing so.
  
  
• Forest-sourced biofuel is bad for the environment, new study warns
  A new study from the University of California, Davis, provides a deeper understanding of the complex global impacts of deforestation on greenhouse gas emissions. The study, published this week in the journal Nature Climate Change, reports that the volume of greenhouse gas released when a forest is cleared depends on how the trees will be used and in which part of the world the trees are grown.
  
  
• Bill To End Fossil Fuel Subsidies Introduced Into Congress
  The End Polluter Welfare Act would end fossil fuel subsidies, and save over $10 billion a year and more than $110 billion over 10 years. Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Rep. Keith Ellison announced they would introduce the bill to Congress during a press conference with 350.org. The bill would specifically end tax breaks for fossil fuel companies, plus eliminate special financing, end taxpayer funded R&D, and set fair royalties policies.
  
  
• US consumers willing to pay 13% more to support a clean energy standard
  The average US citizen is willing to pay 13 percent more for electricity in support of a national clean-energy standard (NCES), according to new research published by Yale and Harvard researchers. Americans, on average, are willing to pay $162 per year in higher electricity bills to support a national standard requiring that 80 percent of the energy be clean, or not derived from fossil fuels. Support was lower for a national standard among nonwhites, older individuals and Republicans.
  
  
• Solar Power and Desalinization Innovations tested in Egypt
  The Egyptian Academy of Scientific Research and Technology (ASRT) has announced the launch of a pilot Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) project to test units that can simultaneously produce electricity and desalinate water. The four-year project test project, known as "Multi-Purpose Applications by Thermodynamic Solar", or MATS, has received 22 million Euros (US$28 million) from the European Union under its Seventh Framework Programme (FP7), and will also involve European universities and companies. This will be used to build and test MATS units at a site in Burj Al Arab, a desert area near Alexandria. The units can be powered using both solar energy, and renewable energy sources such as biomass and biogas. The test facility will aim to generate one megawatt of electrical power and 250 cubic metres of desalinated water per day.
  
  
• International Standards Emerge for EV Charging Systems
  The automobile market is an international market. Cars made around the world are all sold around the world. It therefore makes sense for there to be standards, such as fuel use, so that the same cars can function properly in each country. As electric vehicles are slowly gaining in popularity, standards for electric charging stations are needed as well. Recently, eight US and German automakers have agreed to a standardized system for EV charging that will allow drivers to charge their vehicles quickly regardless of the power source.