Twenty years after the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (the first international conference on Sustainable Development), a UN Conference on Sustainable Development will be held in Rio de Janeiro (from June 4 through 6, 2012)(the so called “Rio+20” Conference). The purpose is to (more…)
The energy requirements of India may be likened to dietary needs of a growing child. For strong growth, both require progressively increased availability of sources of energy. If India is to sustain the momentum of its growth, it must bridge the gap between the demand and supply of energy which stands at 12.7%. To close this gap, the Indian federal government has projected the need for investment of over US$ 200 billion over the next seven years to generate in excess of 100,000 MW of additional energy. (more…)
The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) established a process to develop voluntary industry standards to assist the emerging nanotechnology industry, beginning in 2005. The ISO Technical Committee (ISO/TC 229) is working on global standards for nanotechnology terminology and nomenclature, measurement, and instrumentation. Included in the mix are specifications for reference materials; test methodologies; modeling and simulation; and science-based health, safety, and environmental practices. International standards can assist an industry to market and shape regulatory approaches that affect a new industry’s products and markets. (more…)
Filed under: CleanTech, Sustainability | Tags: DOE, Renewable Energy, Solar
Okay, Charles Dickens already penned that line to open A Tale of Two Cities, but it could also describe the competing outlooks – pessimists vs. optimists – for the renewable energy and clean tech economy in 2012.
On the macro level, 2012 looks to be the worst of times. (more…)
The Department of Energy SunShot program has just announced a new set of grants designed to continue to reduce the cost of solar power. This grant solicitation is unusual in that it focuses on funding innovative proposals to lower the soft (non-hardware) costs associated with solar power (more…)
