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Loading ...Solar Power in Chile & Panama, Electric Cars in Uruguay
Thursday, September 25th, 2008It’s been awhile since I did a post pointing to worthy or interesting posts on other blogs. Not that there hasn’t been plenty of good material to point to, and I certainly have wanted to do a slew of such posts. In fact, I’ve been considering adding a regular (weekly?) post of such links. Question […]
Solar Energy & Energy Efficiency for Baja California Homes
Tuesday, September 9th, 2008This project is interesting to me for several reasons. I like that it will help home owners reduce their energy consumption, will provide photovoltaics to low- and middle-income households, and will emphasize systems “financially feasible for users” (sometimes household solar systems promoted are not appropriate to the income bracket they are supposed to serve). I […]
Promoting Renewable Energy in Costa Rica
Thursday, July 10th, 2008A bill has been introduced in Costa Rica’s national assembly by Deputy José Merino del Río that aims at promoting a faster switch to renewable energy sources by exempting from taxes the following items: Solar water heaters for all uses whose efficiency has been certified by an accredited laboratory; Storage tanks for thermosyphon solar water […]
More on Brazilian Attitudes About the Environment
Thursday, July 12th, 2007Recently Seattle-based Global Market Insite (GMI) kindly shared with me the results for Brazil of this year’s edition of their World Environment Review poll. The 2007 edition polled 14 countries (Brazil was the only Latin American nation) using GMI’s online data collection platform and global consumer panels. GMI says that the survey has a representative […]
Latest Round of REEEP Projects for LAC
Wednesday, July 11th, 2007The Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Partnership (REEEP) recently announced that in its sixth funding round it will fund 35 new clean energy projects, including several in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) (see chart of LAC-related projects below). REEEP is “an active, global public-private partnership that structures policy and regulatory initiatives for clean energy, […]
A Sustainable Energy Plan for Barbados?
Tuesday, February 27th, 2007In an earlier article, I looked at the sustainability of Brazil’s long-range energy plans. Today I examine Barbados’ recently announced 20-year plans. The government of Prime Minister Owen Arthur recently presented to Parliament a ambitious draft national energy plan that has numerous environmental elements in it. While some have applauded its stated intentions — reduction […]
Jamaica to Privatize Wigton Windfarm
Wednesday, December 27th, 2006The Petroleum Corporation of Jamaica (PCJ, or sometimes still referred to as “Petrojam”) announced yesterday that in 2007 it will privatize the windfarm it owns and manages at Wigton. Wigton currently has 23 wind turbines generating about 20.7 megawatts (Mw) for the electrical grid (the Jamaica Public Service Company is required to buy Wigton’s output). […]
Implications of the Stern Review for LAC, Part I
Tuesday, December 26th, 2006Okay, I know what you’re thinking: the Stern Review — the analysis of the economic costs/benefits of coming to grips with global climate change that was commissioned by the UK Government and coordinated by the head of the Government Economic Service (and ex-Chief Economist at the World Bank) Sir Nicholas Stern — has been out […]
A Sustainable Energy Plan for Brazil?
Tuesday, November 28th, 2006The Government’s Energy Vision Last Wednesday Brazil’s Energy Research Corporation (EPE) released the National Energy Plan 2030, the government’s blueprint for energy development for the next 24 years. The EPE is a subsidiary of the Ministry of Mines and Energy (MME), charged with energy planning. The principal theme of the plan can be found in […]
Brazilians Seek to Design the Eco-Efficient Home
Sunday, November 19th, 2006In a prior entry I introduced you to the experiments of the Federal University of Santa Catarina’s (UFSC) Construction Systems Laboratory with constructing homes using PET bottles. Today I’ll introduce you to the work of another innovative part of the UFSC, the Energy-Efficient Construction Laboratory (LabEEE). LabEEE’s main mission is research and development in improving […]