Paris (AFP) Jan 16, 2008 - A French court on Wednesday found Total guilty of negligence and ordered the oil giant and three other parties to pay nearly 200 million euros in damages for the 1999 Erika oil spill, one of France's worst environmental disasters.
Stillwater OK (SPX) Jan 16, 2008 - The Oklahoma State University Biofuels Team's ability to think small - microscopic, actually - stands to provide great dividends for consumers, a renewable energy company and one of the nation's foremost automakers. Biology based renewable energy company Coskata and automotive giant General Motors announced their cooperative plans to reduce fossil fuel consumption this past weekend, thanks in part to Coskata's next generation ethanol process based on research and technology developed by the OSU Biofuels Team and licensed exclusively to Coskata.
Bozeman MT (SPX) Jan 16, 2008 - The same brown algae that cover rocks and cause anglers to slip while fly fishing contain oil that can be turned into diesel fuel, says a Montana State University microbiologist. Drivers can't pump algal fuel into their gas tanks yet, but Keith Cooksey said the idea holds promise. He felt that way 20 years ago. He feels that way today.
Beijing (AFP) Jan 16, 2008 - Southern China has been hit by the worst energy crunch in five years, with large parts of the area's power-generating capacity left idle due to a coal shortage, state press reported Wednesday.
Paris (AFP) Jan 16, 2008 - A French court Wednesday handed down a ruling in a landmark case against oil giant Total and other parties, accused of responsibility for one of France's worst environmental disasters.
New York NY (SPX) Jan 16, 2008 - Xethanol has announced that its latest laboratory research results show significant increases in the rate of cellulosic ethanol production. Researchers working at the Forest Products Laboratory of the US Department of Agriculture in Madison, Wisconsin are developing technology to reduce the net cost of renewable fuel made from wood and agricultural residue. Dr. Thomas Jeffries leads that effort.
The Dalles, Ore. (UPI) Jan 15, 2008 - A major energy bill signed last month by President Bush could decrease domestic oil consumption by increasing biofuels, but opposition to the new law has come hard and fast from an unusual source: environmentalists.
The Dalles, Ore. (UPI) Jan 14, 2008 - Proponents of a major piece of energy legislation signed by President Bush last month say the new law will lead to huge energy savings and increased national security, but not everyone's convinced it will pan out as promised.
Roseville CA (SPX) Jan 14, 2008 - The City of Palo Alto recently celebrated its ranking as the number one renewable energy program in the U.S., according to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). PaloAltoGreen, a voluntary green energy purchasing program, now boasts a membership of one in five ratepayers. While the national average for enrollment in similar programs is less than two percent, PaloAltoGreen saw a five percent membership increase in 2007.
Brussels (AFP) Jan 14, 2008 - EU members are bracing for proposed greenhouse gas emission targets due next week as they fret over how much of the burden they will have to bear in the fight against climate change.
Brussels (AFP) Jan 14, 2008 - The European Commission said Monday it would propose tighter restrictions on biofuels next week amid mounting concerns that the energy source can cause unintended environmental and social problems.
Snyder TX (SPX) Jan 14, 2008 - Enel SpA, through its subsidiary Enel North America, announced the completion of a wind farm in Texas with the tallest utility-scale wind turbines in the United States as well as investments by an affiliate of GE Energy Financial Services, the energy investing unit of GE. The Snyder Wind project in Scurry County, Texas, between Abilene and Lubbock, comprises 21 Vestas V90 3.0 megawatt wind turbines mounted on towers measuring a record-breaking 345 feet. Construction was completed in December 2007.
Nordenham, Germany (SPX) Jan 14, 2008 - General Cable reported that its subsidiary, Norddeutsche Seekablewerke GmbH (NSW), has been awarded its first submarine power contract by BARD Engineering GmbH, for more than $30 million related to the construction of BARD Offshore 1. BARD Offshore 1 is a 400 megawatt wind farm consisting of 80 wind turbines that will be located north-west of the Isle of Borkum in the North Sea.
Murrieta CA (SPX) Jan 14, 2008 - 2008 gets underway with key influencers shaping the solar and renewable energy landscape. Residential, commercial and public sector decision makers need to take these factors into consideration to fast track plans for energy efficiency and sustainable energy systems in the New Year.
Montreal, Canada (SPX) Jan 14, 2008 - An international research team has discovered that a magnetic field can interact with the electrons in a superconductor in ways never before observed. Andrea D. Bianchi, the lead researcher from the Universite de Montreal, explains in the January 11 edition of Science magazine what he discovered in an exceptional compound of metals - a combination of cobalt, indium and a rare earth - that loses its resistance when cooled to just a couple of degrees above absolute zero.
Detroit, Michigan (AFP) Jan 13, 2008 - General Motors Corp. is planning on making biofuel with garbage at a cost of less than a dollar a gallon, the company's chief has said.
