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The Rise of China\'s Green Mercantilism
'); document.write('published on Thu, 09 Sep 2010 11:02 GMT
'); document.write(' $\"\"$ By Teryn Norris & Daniel Goldfarb
Cross-posted from LeadEnergy.org

China is rising to dominate the clean energy industry primarily due to direct government subsidies, according to a new investigative report by the New York Times. The rise of China\'s \"green mercantilism\" marks a new stage in the global clean energy race and raises critical questions for U.S. competitiveness policy. According to the report:
The booming Chinese clean energy sector, now more than a million jobs strong, is quickly coming to dominate the production of technologies essential to slowing global warming... much of China?s clean energy success lies in aggressive government policies that help this crucial export industry in ways most other governments do not... ?Who wins this clean energy race,? Mr. Zhao of Sunzone said, ?really depends on how much support the government gives.?

China\'s clean energy industrial policy is unique in its scale and type, and some of its practices may violate World Trade Organization rules and could spark trade conflict between the United States and China:
These measures risk breaking international rules to which China and almost all other nations subscribe, according to some trade experts... Other countries also try to help their clean energy industries, too, but not to the extent that China does ? and not, so far at least, to the point of potentially running afoul of W.T.O. rules.
Many of the government subsidies consist of cheap land for export manufacturing facilities, low-interest loans from state banks, and limits on the export of raw materials:
Heavily subsidized land and loans for an exporter like Sunzone are the rule, not the exception, for clean energy businesses in Changsha and across China... Low-interest loans from government-run banks are crucial to China?s clean energy success, some experts say, because of the high cost of factory equipment.
The Obama administration is planning to address some of these clean energy trade issues with the Chinese government:
The Obama administration has begun high-level discussions on how to respond to China?s industrial policies, Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner said in an interview in Washington in July. ?We are concerned about the depth and breadth of the measures they have taken,? Mr. Geithner said, later adding, ?We will be aggressive on the trade front in terms of fighting anything that is clearly discriminatory.?
While the report may overestimate the role of unlawful industrial policies in the rise of China\'s clean energy industry (see \"Rising Tigers, Sleeping Giant,\" a Breakthrough Institute and ITIF report co-authored by Norris), the article does note that China\'s industry also benefits from high levels of engineering talent and low-cost labor, as well as inexpensive construction and speedy permitting processes for manufacturing plants.

China\'s green mercantilism raises important questions for the United States. We must ensure that China?s practices aren\'t creating an unfair playing field for U.S. companies, violating WTO rules, and raising the barriers to entry for advanced technologies by locking in mature and incumbent technologies. Not only could China\'s practices end up suppressing innovation from both domestic and foreign firms, they could also discourage other countries from deploying clean energy. As the article notes:
\"The question is whether China is building this industry in ways that are unfair to overseas competitors and make other nations overly dependent on a Chinese industry whose approach to the business may not be economically or politically sustainable... Other countries may also become less enthusiastic about subsidizing renewable energy if it means importing more goods from China instead of creating jobs at home.\"

However, the most important priority for the United States must be to pursue an aggressive clean energy competitiveness strategy of its own based on real innovation, without descending into zero-sum mercantilist practices. We must be careful about simply establishing clean energy deployment policies that would make us overly reliant on China, replacing our foreign fossil fuel dependency with foreign clean energy dependency. The U.S. must leverage its comparative advantage and focus on energy technology innovation policy, as we recently argued in \"How America Can Lead the Clean Energy Race\" in the National Journal:

The United States must quickly pursue a new growth agenda, and clean energy technology offers one of our greatest opportunities. For over a decade, the primary goal of U.S. climate and clean energy advocates has been to establish a strong carbon pollution cap. This agenda is dead for the foreseeable future, and precious time has been wasted. The United States must quickly pivot from pollution regulation to an aggressive clean energy competitiveness and innovation agenda, and we can begin with new leadership in the next Congress.

Securing our competitiveness in this sector requires a comprehensive industrial development strategy (see our report, \"The Power to Compete\"), including robust and targeted federal support for clean energy research and innovation, manufacturing, and domestic market demand, as well as infrastructure, education, and industry cluster formation. This is necessary for a range of technologies, including but not limited to onshore and offshore wind, solar PV and thermal, advanced geothermal, hybrid and electric vehicles and batteries, carbon capture and storage, nuclear, smart-grid, and high-speed rail.

For more information and resources on how the United States can compete, see these articles and reports:
- \"Winning the Clean Energy Race: A New Strategy for American Leadership\"
- \"Rising Tigers, Sleeping Giant: Asian Nations Set to Dominate Clean Energy Industry by Out-Investing the United States\"
- \"The Power to Compete: Benchmarking the Kerry-Lieberman American Power Act\"
- \"A Clean Energy Competitiveness Strategy for America\"
- \"America\'s Green Innovation Problem\"
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Arctic ice loss is far from normal: study; Sun hack calls the bad news good for Canada
'); document.write('published on Thu, 09 Sep 2010 09:35 GMT
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$\"\"$ The Arctic Ocean is expected to become seasonally ice-free by 2040 or earlier. Is this unusual? A comprehensive new study says it\'s definitely unusual and that the cause isn\'t linked to natural variations in the Earth\'s climate. ?The current reduction in Arctic ice cover started in the late 19th century, consistent with the rapidly warming climate, and became very pronounced over the last three decades,? according to the five-country study and its 14 co-authors, including two from Canada. ?This ice loss appears to be unmatched over at least the last few thousand years and unexplainable by any of the known natural variabilities.?

But it is explainable by unnatural variabilities: the burning of fossil fuels. For further analysis, check here at Climate Progress.

Most people might find this troubling ? I hope ? but those more ignorant of the impacts seem determined to celebrate it, particularly here in Canada. A prime example is a recent column by the Toronto Sun\'s Lorrie Goldstein, who cites work from a UCLA professor that suggests Canada has much to gain from a warmer climate and an ice-free Arctic. This is the basic attitude: screw the rest of the world ? we\'re okay. Let\'s look at Goldstein\'s list of benefits one by one:

1) Global warming will free up previously inaccessible deposits of oil, gas, water and other natural resources at a time when they are becoming increasingly scarce everywhere else in the world.

Yes, that\'s certainly true, but all that oil and gas got us into this pickle in the first place ? though one can only assume Goldstein doesn\'t believe humanity is contributing to climate change. The faulty logic here just amazes me. Why are we so determined to squeeze every last drop of fossil fuel out of the Earth, at the same time risking BP-style disasters, but refuse to seize the same opportunities around renewables? The argument that we won\'t be able to switch off fossil fuels overnight is a valid one, but you don\'t help things by continuing to find more expensive and hard-to-get crack to feed the addict.

2) Canada?s oil resources will be second only to Saudi Arabia?s and economically invaluable, since wind, solar and hydrogen technologies still won?t be able to meet the world?s energy needs.

Okay, this has got to be one of the most ludicrous comments I\'ve ever heard. For one, the ice in the Arctic isn\'t gone yet. We may have to wait another decade or two before the Arctic bonanza can begin. It strikes me as a lot presumptious that Goldstein, apparently being the smartest man on the planet, can say wind, solar and hydrogen technologies won\'t be able to meet the world\'s energy needs. For one, how the hell does he know what the state of energy technology will be like in 2030 or 2040? Second, solar, wind, and hydrogen aren\'t the only alternatives. There are dozens of options out there and all play a role that, together, can have a tremendous impact on fossil fuel demand and eliminate the need to destroy the Arctic so we can continue fuelling our oversized, single-passengered SUVs. We\'ll never absolutely eliminate demand for fossil fuels, but by making a decent dent in demand we can make it unnecessary (and too expensive) to take risks in the Arctic.

3) Canada?s population will increase by more than 30%, a growth rate rivalling India?s.

And this is a good thing? Holy crap, Lorrie, what are you talking about? Population growth is one of the biggest problems we have in this world. I mean, what good is all that oil if people are dying because they don\'t have water to drink and there\'s not enough food in the world to feed them, or the pollution in the air is so thick that we\'re too sick to enjoy this terrific standard of living that oil brings us. High population growth is not a good thing; it\'s a major part of the problem.

4) Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa, Calgary, Edmonton and Vancouver will significantly increase in size and global prominence.

Who cares? Is this some kind of high school peer-pressure thing? My city\'s better than your city? Besides, you can rise in global prominence without increasinging significantly in size. Toronto can\'t keep its current infrastructure in order. Congestion alone is crippling the city. The last thing we need is to get bigger. And I fail to see how an ice-free Arctic makes Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa or Vancouver more important globally?

5) Canada?s crop production will likely increase, one of the few places on Earth where this will occur.

First, assuming it could increase, many more places in the rest of the world will see a decrease. Is this a good thing? Is this a reason to cheerlead about climate change and its impact on the Arctic? Second, crop production in Canada could go in the opposite direction if forest fires and extreme flooding become more common (see Russia; see Pakistan). Then there\'s new insects that will come to our warmer climate, as well as new disease that could devastate both our new and old crops. You\'ve see the impact of the pine beetles on northern forests, right Lorrie? Do you think this kind of thing can\'t happen to food crops? Wake up!

6) The ?northern rim countries? (NORCS), including Canada, will constitute the world?s fourth-largest economy, with highly-coveted reserves of fresh water, which can be sold or transported to other regions.

So now I\'m getting a clearer picture of what you\'re talking about. You see Canada as the gatekeeper of all that keeps other nations alive. We\'ll get rich from this, right? Unfortunately, there\'s nothing stopping anyone from just taking it, particularly the United States. Are we going to become the bad guys like in the movie Road Warrior, where we, with the backing of our U.S. pimp, lock up all the resources and charge a fortune to a desperate world of have-nots? Is this the Canada you want? Is this the Canada you think Canadians want? If so, your values are in the toilet.

7) The opening of new shipping lanes in the Arctic during the summer will make the 500-year-old dream of a direct trade route between the Far East and the Atlantic a reality.

Great? I can see we\'ve been suffering these past 500 years by not having this link. Woo-hoo? crack out the champagne. It certainly makes the decline of human civilization worth it.

$\'8)\'$ Canada?s northern aboriginal communities will benefit economically.

Maybe, but at what cost to their health, environment and deep-rooted values? Hey white man, have you asked these communities what they think?

Goldstein cites the UCLA professor saying ?(T)he stresses that will be very apparent in other parts of the world by 2050 ? like coastal inundation, water scarcity, heat waves and violent cities ? will be easing or unapparent in northern places.? Again, is Goldstein agreeing that it\'s a good thing that Canada benefits while others suffer? And that we should continue dumping CO2 into the atmosphere so we can make matters worse for the rest of the world, to our own limited benefit? That\'s what he seems to be saying.

Goldstein ends with this comment: ?If the Arctic is going to become much more economically valuable due to climate change, and if that will lead to massive immigration, we had better be able to enforce our sovereignty over it and get our immigration and refugee systems under control.?

I think he underestimates the magnitude of the immigration problem. Canada under the scenario he paints will become one of the few floating lifeboats near a sinking Titantic. Many parts of the world will see extreme suffering. British scientist James Locklock forecasts as much as 80 per cent of the world\'s population is doomed by the end of the century, and you can bet to avoid this fate that millions of them will be trying to climb onto the Canadian lifeboat. This will overwhelm the lifeboat and put the rest of the people in it at considerable risk. This isn\'t just about getting our refugee and immigration systems under control. This is about a healthcare and social systems being overwhelmed by desperate people that, ultimately, we\'ll have to turn away by force.

But what\'s the point, eh? Why debate? Goldstein doesn\'t get it, nor does he want to get it. He will continue to spew this crap and no reason will convince him otherwise. His approach is one of self-interest where the values that matter most are economic and financial in nature. It\'s us versus them in his mind, and it\'s okay if our actions continue to screw ?them? even if, over the long run, it ends up screwing ?us? as well.

Unfrickin\' believable.

$\"Share/Save/Bookmark\"/$

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E-Rider: World?s First 2,000-Watt Electric Mountain Bike
'); document.write('published on Thu, 09 Sep 2010 09:18 GMT
'); document.write('Conway is a German bike-maker who has recently developed one of the most striking bikes ever seen. The electric mountain bike called ?E-Rider? has been presented at the Eurobike 2010 exhibition in Germany.

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Community Solar - A New Model for Local Ownership?
'); document.write('published on Thu, 09 Sep 2010 09:11 GMT
'); document.write('A new report by the Institute for Local Self-Reliance (ILSR), Community Solar Power: Obstacles and Opportunities, examines nine community solar projects, the policies that made them possible, and the (substantial) barriers that remain. Successful community solar power projects in Colorado, Maryland, and North Carolina are knocking down the price of residential-scale solar photovoltaics (PV) by 25% and giving opportunities to renters and people with shady roofs a chance to go solar.
read more

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Trading Update on Water Stocks; (WSCE) (NLC) (PNR) (ITT)
'); document.write('published on Thu, 09 Sep 2010 07:00 GMT
'); document.write('September 9, 2010 www.Water-Stocks.com, an investor and industry portal for the water sector within Investorideas.com, presents a sector close-up on water stocks on water and climate change, following comments from World Water Week in Stockholm.

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Senior Energy Executive Karl W. Miller Endorses Clean and Sustainable Renewable Energy Development Efforts
'); document.write('published on Thu, 09 Sep 2010 07:00 GMT
'); document.write('WILMINGTON, N.C. and NEW YORK - September 09, 2010 (Investorideas.com energy newswire) - Leading Independent and Senior Energy Executive Karl W. Miller, through his advisors VBCC, endorsed the movement for sustainable and economic renewable energy development in the United States today.

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Philadelphia To Recover Subway Trains? Brake Forces In Huge Battery For Reuse/Resale
'); document.write('published on Thu, 09 Sep 2010 05:39 GMT
'); document.write('Having a battery could someday be compared to having gold mine. Take Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority, for example. They\' going to use a huge battery and charge it from the subway\'s braking trains. The energy recovered thus will either be sold back to the grid or reused for acceleration.

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Some brief thoughts from the European Energy Venture Fair
'); document.write('published on Thu, 09 Sep 2010 01:25 GMT
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I am in Zurich this week attending the 2010 European Energy Venture Fair. It\'s a good \"one stop shop\" event for meeting most VCs and investors involved in clean energy in Europe. It\'s very heavily geographically focused -- there are not many investors from North America who aren\'t cross-Atlantic shops, and I haven\'t found many Asian investors, etc. And so I assume it makes it a nice cross-section of where European cleantech investing is right now.

So some quick thoughts in no particular order:

1. In going around the room (~200 or so participants), the first thing that strikes you is how many smallish funds there are in this community. <$200M in size, even for growth-stage focused investors, seems to be the norm. Often <$100M. It\'s unclear to me whether that\'s reflective of difficulties in fundraising in comparison to North America, where venture capital is more established within the LP community, or whether it\'s reflective of smaller deals here on average. I think the two are related. Smaller funds mean smaller deals mean more conservative growth paths (ie: lower cash burn) at the startups means smaller funds. And yet these smaller funds still most often have fairly large teams. I\'m not sure how those economics work for GPs...

2. The other thing that strikes you is how many of these funds are actively fundraising. There may be a selection bias (GPs tend to go to conferences when they\'re fundraising), but still it\'s at a striking level. Some proof that the dynamic I\'m seeing in North America -- that GP fundraising fell behind in 2009, making for a very crowded marketplace in 2010 -- is also true here.

3. Anecdotally seems like a lot of these investors really sat on their cash last year. But that Q4 is gearing up to be a relatively up quarter in terms of deal count.

4. Taking a 6pm redeye flight to Europe is a bad idea unless you have a 9am meeting the next morning that you absolutely have to make. A takeoff at that time is guaranteed to make sure that by the time you\'re finally starting to fall asleep, you\'re landing. Makes subsequent lengthy afternoon presentations on the pros and cons of various battery chemistries somewhat deadly...

5. I\'m seeing a distinct rise in the number of cleantech-focused family offices being launched and staffed with former institutional VCs. I think it\'s indicative of a two things: a) cleantech venture returns have been disappointing to these families as passive LPs to date; and b) there\'s increasing interest in developing investment models in cleantech that aren\'t necessarily the pre-established models of traditional private equity asset categories. It also shows that there continues to be strong buy-in for the long-term cleantech investment thesis. I\'m also already seeing many of these family offices, and more generalist family offices with strong interest in cleantech, teaming up for deal syndicates and diligence/dealflow resource sharing. In other venture categories there\'s currently a (pretty useless) debate about angels versus VCs... but in cleantech there\'s a much less talked about rise of the \"large, flexible investor\". True not just in Europe but also in North America. Interesting to see. Doesn\'t bode well for those cleantech VCs who\'ve raised their funds from family office LPs, however, since those LPs may be trending toward doing their own direct investments instead...

6. European markets for cleantech products and services are strong. And yet the venture capital community seems small by comparison. It\'s not like the market is dominated by outside (ie: Sand Hill Road) investors either. I think there are cultural and institutional reasons why the entrepreneurs in this region might not turn to VCs nearly so often as they do in the U.S. Plus, the large corporates have more of a tradition of doing their own technology development here, not essentially outsourcing their R&D to startups like large corporates in the U.S. more often do. And I think much of the investment activity is to be found in project finance and not technology development.

7. Not only has this been a strong event, it\'s also been a phenomenally beautiful location. Well done by the organizers.

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Enbridge Enters Geothermal Power Business with $23.8 Million Investment in Oregon Project
'); document.write('published on Thu, 09 Sep 2010 01:00 GMT
'); document.write('09/09/2010 - Enbridge Inc...

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Chinese Offshore Development Blows Past U.S.
'); document.write('published on Thu, 09 Sep 2010 01:00 GMT
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Solaria Raises $65 Million in Series D Funding Round
'); document.write('published on Thu, 09 Sep 2010 01:00 GMT
'); document.write('09/09/2010 - Solaria Corporation, a global manufacturer of solar photovoltaic modules, recently announced that it raised more than anticipated in its just closed Series D financing round...

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Newsletter: Siting council, Cashton wind, Seventh Gen, and more
'); document.write('published on Thu, 09 Sep 2010 00:53 GMT
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RENEW Wisconisn\'s summer newsletter includes these articles:

Council Backs Compromise on Siting Standards
After four months of intensive review and debate, the 15-member Wind Siting Council presented to the Public Service Commission (PSC) its final recommendations on the statewide permitting rule under development. The Council?s report comes at a critical juncture; the PSC will issue a fi nal rule on this proceeding before the end of August.

Community Wind on Move in Cashton
What may become Wisconsin?s first example of a Community Wind project cleared a significant hurdle in June when the Village of Cashton in Monroe County issued a permit to allow the construction of two Vestas V90 turbines, totaling 3.6 megawatts (MW), inside its business park.

Seventh Generation Pioneers Wind
Unusual from its start as a not-for- profit in the business of renewable energy, Seventh Generation Energy Systems (commonly called Seventh Gen) continues to pioneer organizationally and technically with the addition of Jim Yockey, executive director, and Ry Thompson, project manager. Alicia Leinberger, one of the founders of Seventh Gen, oversees marketing and business development for the eight-year-old organization.

Making Sense of the Gulf Disaster
About 100 people gathered in downtown Madison in early July to take part in ?Hands Across the hands,? an internationally organized protest against continued oil drilling in and along the world?s coastal waters. Against the backdrop of the weed-choked waters of Lake Monona, they joined hands for 15 minutes to express their fervent desire to see a cleaner, less destructive energy future emerge from the liquid melanoma spreading across the Gulf of Mexico.

No doubt the protestors would like to do more, much more, than simply engage in a ritualized protest in front of a few camera crews. But we live in a society that is organized around the expectation of a limitless supply of nonrenewable hydrocarbons feeding concentrated energy into our economic bloodstream. Most of us have not bothered to comprehend the yawning gulf that lies between our best intentions and our abject dependence on the wealth-producing properties of petroleum.

Turbines Power Cascade Wastewater
With the start-up of two 100-kilowatt (kW) wind turbines, the Village of Cascade became the first Wisconsin community to power its municipal wastewater treatment plant with 100 percent locally produced wind energy.

The impetus behind Cascade?s embrace of wind power was the avoided utility expenditures associated with operating a wastewater treatment plant. In the first year of operation, Cascade
stands to save $30,000.

Calendar
Sept. 29 ? Solar Decade Conference, Milwaukee, WI. A comprehensive solar energy educational opportunity for your home, business, and career. Sponsored by Focus on Energy, We Energies, and others. For details see www.solardecade.com.

Sept. 30 ? Oct. 1 ? 2010Solar Thermal ?10, Milwaukee, WI. A national solar heating and cooling conference and expo for solar thermal professionals. For details see www.the-mrea.org.

October 2, 2010 ? Solar Tour of Homes and Businesses. All across Wisconsin. Owners open their doors to let people see how renewable energy is practical, reliable, and affordable in today?s economy. The homes and businesses often include other energy effi ciency and renewable technologies. For details see www.the-mrea.org.

October 13, 2010 ? Wisconsin Wind Energy Supply Chain Workshop, Milwaukee, WI. Learn how to join the wind energy supply chain from fi rst tier and aftermarket manufacturers. For details see www.thenewnorth.com.

Mar. 9 ? 12, 2011 ? Green Energy Summit: The Green Frontier, Milwaukee, WI. An acclaimed professional/academic conference featuring keynote speakers, workshops, demonstrations, and exhibits. Sponsored by the Wisconsin Technical College System Foundation and others. For details see www.greenenergysummit.us.

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Peugeot iOn Electric Car to be Launched by the End of This Year
'); document.write('published on Thu, 09 Sep 2010 00:32 GMT
'); document.write('Peugeot is planning to launch a new electric car, called iOn, by the end of this year, more precisely at Christmas. The electric vehicle\'s battery pack (produced by Lithium Energy from Japan), needs only six hours to be fully recharged from a 220v socket.

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Siloxane Blocking Development of Biogas Industry: Graphite Filters Solve The Problem
'); document.write('published on Thu, 09 Sep 2010 00:25 GMT
'); document.write('Siloxane is a carbon-silicon compound found inside various chemical products on the market and then released into the air when methane is produced. Its existence threatens the biogas machinery, being able to cause serious damage.

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What\'s the point of increasing a product\'s price if it will not increase revenues?
'); document.write('published on Wed, 08 Sep 2010 13:13 GMT
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Summary of direct testimony submitted by RENEW Wisconsin witness Michael Vickerman in Madison Gas & Electric?s pending rate case (3270-UR-117), in which MGE asks authorization to increase the killowatt-per-hour price of electricity in the company\'s Green Power Tomorrow program:

? Madison Gas & Electric (MGE) operates an award-winning renewable energy subscription program called Green Power Tomorrow. It has achieved one of the highest customer participation rates of any voluntary program in the country. Green Power Tomorrow has nearly doubled the supply of renewable energy serving MGE. In 2009 the volume of renewable energy purchased by Green Power Tomorrow subscribers displaced the production of more than 95,000 tons of carbon dioxide from fossil energy plants.

? MGE and all of its customers benefit from this reduction in CO2 production.

? MGE proposes to increase the program?s premium from 1.25 cents/kWh to 2.00 cents/kWh, effective January 1, 2011. This would constitute a 60% increase. MGE?s premium had been 1.00 cents/kWh until January this year.

? The proposed increase is not driven by rising renewable energy costs. MGE?s renewable energy costs have remained constant. The proposed increase accounts for the decrease in the wholesale price of fossil energy this year. The ongoing slump in fossil energy costs is expected to last through the 2011-2012 rate cycle.

? Green Bay-based Wisconsin Public Service (WPS) is also seeking approval from the Public Service Commission to increase its renewable energy premium, from 1.25 cents/kWh to 1.50 cents/kWh. The cost of wholesale power is essentially the same for both utilities. This raises the question, why is MGE?s request so much larger than WPS?s request?

? MGE is also seeking a 10% increase in general rates, for reasons that have absolutely nothing to do with its renewable energy supplies.

? MGE admits that a substantially higher premium would depress subscription volumes. In fact, MGE?s 2011 forecast for Green Power Tomorrow assumes no increase in program revenues. In other words, MGE is expecting the fall-off in purchases to cancel out the price increase.

? Some business customers have already cut back on their purchases, while others are planning to drop out of Green Power Tomorrow in anticipation of a hike in the premium.

? Here is the $64,000 question: what is the point of increasing one?s product price if doing so will not increase revenues?

? These wild swings in premium valuations can be avoided by changing the way the premiums are calculated. Instead of benchmarking the cost of the purchased renewable energy against wholesale fossil energy prices, utilities should adopt a different benchmark, which RENEW believes should be the cost to utilities of acquiring renewable energy to meet the state?s Renewable Energy Standard.

? MGE is subject to the state?s Renewable Energy Standard. Between now and 2018, the utility will need to add more renewable energy into its supply mix anyway to comply with the state law. Utilities are under no compulsion to add fossil energy to their energy mix. Therefore, it is illogical to base utility renewable energy premiums on fossil energy prices in states that require utilities to expand their renewable energy supplies.

? To boil the methodology down to its essence, the premium should represent the difference in cost between required renewable energy and optional renewable energy. All Wisconsin utilities should adopt this methodology going forward in setting their voluntary premiums.

? The difference in price between MGE?s required renewable energy and its optional renewable energy is attributable to MGE?s solar program (Clean Power Partners), which is supported entirely by Green Power Tomorrow subscribers. Clean Power Partners was launched in 2008, when the premium was 1.00 cent/kWh. There have been no significant changes to the program?s energy mix since then. Therefore, the appropriate premium size should be 1.00 cent/kWh using RENEW?s preferred methodology.

? RENEW?s testimony is supported by the City of Madison.

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Europe?s Largest Onshore Wind Farm Grows With Another 75 Turbines
'); document.write('published on Wed, 08 Sep 2010 13:05 GMT
'); document.write('Europe\'s biggest onshore wind farm is located in East Renfrewshire and now it is about to have a massive expansion. The company called ScottishPower Renewables plans to add another 75 turbines to Whitelee wind farm on Eaglesham Moor until 2012.

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Cow Rumen Bacteria Provide Groundbreaking Knowledge For Biofuel Industry
'); document.write('published on Wed, 08 Sep 2010 09:24 GMT
'); document.write('They make use of the rumen bacterium as a model, as \"it\'s one of the most efficient machines to deconstruct plant matter,\" said Isaac Cann, associate professor in the U of I Department of Animal Sciences and member of the Energy Biosciences Institute (EBI).

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Aesthetically Pleasing Solar Powered Slates Offered by UK Company
'); document.write('published on Wed, 08 Sep 2010 08:33 GMT
'); document.write('Today\'s practical solar panels are also aesthetically unpleasant, because they are usually bulky and usually ruin a home\'s looks (unless you really want it to look geeky). Heritage Solar Slate, a UK-based company, proposes solar cells that are identical to classic roofing slates, fully weather proof and aesthetically pleasing.

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The Death Defeating Solar Panel | Groundbreaking Nanotechnology
'); document.write('published on Wed, 08 Sep 2010 08:21 GMT
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$\"\"$ Life: once you\'re past your early twenties it becomes a war of attrition.

Nagging little things start to plague your existence .. a sprained ankle one year, a stiff calf every morning the next. A few too many beers and slowly a spare type starts to inflate uncontrollably around your middle. Suddenly you\'re forty and will never be able to run as fast as you could half a lifetime ago. Eek!

Wouldn\'t it be nice to be a solar panel instead? Not only could you laze around in the sun all day but once in a while a chap will come along and clean you. If you\'re very lucky, you may be one of the snazzy self-healing solar panels MIT have invented .. that would really be cool! (more?)

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Parisian Metro Passengers Will Provide Heat to Nearby Public Housing Project
'); document.write('published on Wed, 08 Sep 2010 08:08 GMT
'); document.write('A project started in Paris aims to harvest the heat generated by the people passing in the metro to help heat a public housing project in the city center. The building is located in the famous rue Beaubourg, close to the Pompidou museum, and is currently undergoing an environmentally-friendly renovating project.

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