The initiative Bio Base Europe is making progress in the development of sustainable biofuels, after recently harvested its first crop of genetically-modified poplars from the Flemish Institute for Biotechnology. The trees will be used to produce bioethanol in a Flemish-Dutch pilot installation.

Bio Base Europe, a joint initiative of Biopark Terneuzen and Ghent Bio-Energy Valley, is a successful collaboration between The Netherlands and Flanders (Belgium) within the framework of a European Interreg project, which is taking the lead in the development of a sustainable bio-based economy in Europe.

The €21 million Bio Base Europe initiative involves a pilot plant in Ghent for bio-based products and processes on the one hand, and a training centre for bio-process operators in Terneuzen on the other hand.

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By: Sue Sturgis

One of the fastest-growing states in the nation has the potential to save its residents billions of dollars over the next decade and a half and create thousands of new jobs to boot.

How? By adopting several common-sense policies to save energy and investing more in clean-energy research.

So concludes a new report focused on North Carolina by the Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy. “North Carolina’s Energy Future: Electricity, Water, and Transportation Efficiency” offers a set of policies that could meet nearly a quarter of the state’s energy demand while boosting its economy with 38,000 new jobs by 2025.

“Adoption of the energy efficiency policies suggested in this report would put the state on the path to greater economic, energy, and environmental sustainability,” says Maggie Eldridge, ACEEE’s lead researcher for the report.

As the report notes, North Carolina — with a population that’s expected to grow from 9.4 million to 12 million by 2025 — stands at a turning point in its energy future. Currently ranking 26th out of the 50 states in ACEEE’s “The 2009 State Energy Efficiency Scorecard,” North Carolina also remains heavily dependent on dirty energy sources, with coal-fired plants providing 62% and nuclear plants 31% of the state’s electricity. It ranks ninth among states in terms of electricity produced from burning coal.

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By: Andre Amado

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently granted sugarcane ethanol the status of “advanced biofuel” after recognizing — based on scientific studies — that it reduces the emission of greenhouse gases by 61% when compared to gasoline.

The world’s top economy is justifiably concerned about climate change, which increasingly threatens the quality of life on our planet. We all know that without energy, there can be no development, but the production and use of energy and industrial activity are large carbon emitters. The greatest challenge of our times is precisely to try to reverse the current trend of environmental degradation without disrupting economic growth in its role of generating employment, particularly in developing countries where the most shameful pollution is poverty.

Brazil has much to say in this debate. In the 1970s, the response we gave to the sudden increase in oil prices, when the country imported about 80% of our fuel, came in the form of the Pro-Alcohol Program. With ups and downs, government, businesses and research centers engaged in developing a competitive fuel — sugarcane ethanol — which quickly proved to be the product with higher agricultural productivity, higher energy efficiency, and more opportunity for socially-inclusive development, as wages paid in the sugar-alcohol industry are the highest in farming.

At the same time, the adoption of flex-fuel technologies ignited the process that enabled Brazil not only to develop the world’s cleanest energy matrix — with a 46% share of renewable energy against a world average of 13% and just 6% in industrialized countries — but also to prevent releasing carbon emissions to the tune of 850 million tons since the Pro-Alcohol program was enacted. It is worth stressing that Brazil is now the only country in the world where gasoline — not ethanol — is the alternative fuel.

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By: Teryn Norris

In the aftermath of the Great Recession, the United States faces serious questions about the future of its economy and jobs market. Where will the good jobs of the future come from, how do we prepare the American workforce, and what is our strategy to maintain economic leadership in an increasingly competitive world?

A growing consensus suggests that clean tech will be one of our generation’s largest growth sectors. The global clean-tech market is expected to surpass $1 trillion in value within the next few years, and a perfect storm of factors – from the inevitability of a carbon-constrained world, to skyrocketing global energy demand, to long-term oil price hikes – will drive global demand for clean-energy technologies.

That is why the national debate about global clean-tech competitiveness is so important, sparked by the rapid entry of China and other nations. My colleagues and I recently contributed to the discussion with “Rising Tigers, Sleeping Giant,” a large report providing the first comprehensive analysis of competitive positions among the U.S. and key Asian challengers. In order to compete, we found, “U.S. energy policy must include large, direct and coordinated investments in clean-technology R&D, manufacturing, deployment, and infrastructure.”

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By Ryan Dunlap

DENVER ,CO (March 10, 2010) —Dunlap Plumbing Heating and Air Conditioning, Denver’s #1 Heating and Air Conditioning Contractor, is proud to announce that, starting this summer, they will be offering their Colorado Customers the latest innovation in Solar Power-a of Solar Powered Air Conditioner and Heat Pump Home Energy System.

Unveiled at the Las Vegas Builder Show, the new Home Energy System uses solar power as an energy source for central heating and cooling and beyond. State-of-the-Art SunSource™ Home Energy System provides simplest way for homeowners to bring solar power into the home and save on utility bills. Lennox Industries, a leading provider of customized home heating, cooling and indoor air quality products, today introduced the patent pending SunSource™ Home Energy System a new solar-powered central heating and cooling system that reduces overall household electricity consumption without the costs associated with traditional solar installations at the International Builder’s Show in Las Vegas.The new SunSourceHome Energy System not only harnesses solar energy from the sun to reduce the electricity consumed by a residential heat pump or air conditioner, but also is able to use that solar power to operate other devices in the home that consume electricity, such as lighting and appliances, when the heating and cooling system is not running. In addition, if the SunSourcesystem generates more power than is used by the home, that power will be sent back to the utility company, which may entitle the homeowner to a credit on their utility bill.According to the U.S. Department of Energy, the typical U.S. household pays $2,200 a year on utility bills, and the bulk of those energy costs—between 50 and 60 percent—comes from heating and cooling the home.”With the new SunSourceHome Energy System, homeowners can reduce the energy consumption associated with heating and air conditioning, while also significantly cutting their overall utility bills,” said John Hurst, vice president, product management at Lennox International. “Lennox is the first heating and air conditioning manufacturer to harness solar energy for central heating and cooling and beyond, and the new SunSourcesystem is really a gateway to the future of innovation in the HVAC industry.“