In green technology news this week, the EU’s highest court refused to block an emissions trading scheme that would levy a charge on carbon-belching airlines going to and from the continent; the U.S. EPA issued Mercury and Air Toxic Standards that would prevent coal-burning power plants from spewing pollutants into the air; U.S. Congressional Republicans and Tea Party activists cut off enforcement funding for the phase-out of the conventional 100-watt incandescent light bulb, global consumption of natural gas hit a new record—and much more.
The United States, Canada, and China are opposing a judgment released on Dec. 21 by the European Court of Justice (ECJ). The tribunal ruled in favor of a directive under which, beginning Jan. 1, nearly 4,000 airlines and other aircraft operators flying to and from European Union airports will have to buy permits, if they exceed their carbon allowances under the EU's emissions trading scheme (ETS).
Even before the verdict came down, the U.S. took the offensive: Earlier in the week, the U.S. Department of Transportation issued an order against nine European carriers, requiring them to submit traffic and carbon allowance data to it by specified dates. The order does not specify why DOT requires such details and what they will be used for—but the inference is that they will help inform potential retaliatory financial measures on EU airlines flying to the United States.
The Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS)—the first to protect American families from power plant emissions of mercury and pollutants such as arsenic, acid gas, nickel, selenium, chromium, and cyanide—were announced On Dec. 21 by U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lisa P. Jackson. The EPA executive described 2011 as “an historic year for environmental protection,” based on the establishment of the MATS and the final Cross-State Air Pollution Rule. She said that the standards would slash hazardous emissions by relying on widely available, proven pollution controls that already are in use at more than half of the nation’s 1,100 coal-fired power plants.
Hopes have dimmed—but only slightly—for compliance with the U.S. Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (EISA), which would phase out the conventional 100-watt incandescent light bulb, starting Jan. 1. Claiming that the EISA 2007 “limited the freedom of average Americans” to buy whatever type of bulb they want, this week, U.S. Republicans and Tea Party activists added a rider to a trillion-dollar spending bill needed to avoid a federal government shutdown. The rider would block funding to the Environmental Protection Agency to enforce the EISA for most of 2012.
Global consumption of natural gas hit a record 111.9 trillion cubic feet in 2010, and, today, this form of fossil fuel accounts for about 23.8 percent of total energy usage, according to a report from Vital Signs Online. Natural gas has become a more attractive energy alternative since Japan’s Fukushima nuclear plant disaster. Natural gas producers have responded to the revived demand with a 7.3 percent boost in production. The United States maintained its position as the leading source of natural gas, accounting for just under one-fifth of the world’s total production in 2010.
In Russia, which holds nearly a quarter of the world’s proved natural gas reserves, production jumped 11.6 percent. In the Middle East, growth in production of natural gas far outstripped that of consumption, rising by a full 13.2 percent. Last year, Qatar and Iran alone accounted for 29.4 percent of global proved reserves. Given the report, world’s largest incremental increase in natural gas use occurred in the United States, where low prices triggered a 1.3 trillion-cubic-feet increase to 24.1 trillion cubic feet, just over one-fifth of global natural gas consumption.
Researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) have found a way to generate more photocurrent from a solar cell than it absorbs in radiant energy (such as sunlight). The external quantum efficiency of this newly developed, Third- or Next-Generation Solar Cell is reportedly as high as 114 percent—representing a major breakthrough in the creation of both solar electricity and solar fuels that will be competitive with, or even less costly than, energy from fossil or nuclear fuels.
The Six Degrees Group has received recognition for "Improved Data Center Energy Efficiency" at the Data Center Leaders Awards. Hosted by Datacenter Dynamics, the event saw over 50 entrants across the spectrum of the EMEA. Besides winning this award, the Six Degrees Group also found itself among the finalists in the "Innovation in the Medium Data Center" category. The company won based on retrofit improvements to its data center floors.
Google Inc., the mother of all Internet search engines, is joining global investment firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. (KKR) and solar developer Recurrent Energy Inc. in “begetting” four California solar farms that will provide enough clean power for about 13,000 U.S. homes. The price tag for Google (News 
- Alert), alone, will be $94 million. Construction on three of the Sacramento-area projects will be completed by Recurrent Energy —a U.S.-based unit of Japan’s Sharp (News - Alert) Corp.— early in 2012, with the fourth coming online later in the year. This is the first investment in utility scale, grid-connected photovoltaic solar power by Google. It also is the first U.S. cleantech investment for KKR, which has formed SunTap Energy RE LLC solely for the purpose of investing in North America-based solar projects.
At the Eco-Products 2011 exhibition held last week in Tokyo, Sony offered “shreds of evidence” that paper can be used to fuel environmentally friendly bio-batteries. If the bio-batteries are commercialized, the innovation could enable consumers to recharge their mobile devices using pieces of waste paper. The prototype generates electricity by turning shredded paper into sugar, which in turn is converted into fuel.
Finally, Causes.com and AT&T have launched an online community, Connect For Good that will enable millions of people to impact relevant issues such as the dangers of texting and driving, and the importance of recycling cell phones. Now, members of the Causes.com community can use the Connect For Good platform to trigger contributions by AT&T (News - Alert) to non-profit organizations, which, collectively, will receive up to $200,000annually.
Cheryl Kaften is an accomplished communicator who has written for consumer and corporate audiences. She has worked extensively for MasterCard (News - Alert) Worldwide, Philip Morris USA (Altria), and KPMG, and has consulted for Estee Lauder and the Philadelphia Inquirer Newspapers. To read more of her articles, please visit her columnist page.
