December 8, 2011

This image captures the “GTMO Tug” boat artfully decorated with festive LED lights—a heartwarming glimpse of energy‑efficient holiday spirit in the community .

Energy for Holiday Lights and Sustainable Celebrations

December 8, 2011 No Comments

By Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class (SW/AW) Justin Ailes Naval Station Guantanamo Bay, Cuba Public Affairs
GUANTANAMO BAY, Cuba (NNS) — Base officials at Naval Station (NS) Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, are reminding base residents of the importance of energy conservation throughout the month of December.
Officials with NS Guantanamo Bay’s Public Works Department emphasize being energy conscious when decorating building exteriors during the holiday season, as the installation produces all electricity used on base.
“Most people decorate their homes to show their holiday spirit, but after 9 p.m. there really aren’t many people out and about on the installation to ‘enjoy’ the lights,” said Public Works Officer Cmdr. Anthony Conley. “Any lights left on after 9 p.m. are merely consuming more energy and costing the government more money.”

Power Plants Generating Toxic Pollutants Exposed

December 8, 2011 No Comments

With EPA Poised to Take Long-Overdue Action, WV, GA, AL, MI, FL, NC, ND, MO, WY, and SC Comprise Balance of 15 States With Worst Air Releases of Key Toxic Chemicals; Power Plants in Arkansas, Iowa, Tennessee, and Puerto Rico Also Ranked Worst For Key Toxics.
The dirtiest power plants in the nation continue to generate a disproportionate amount of toxic pollutants – including arsenic, chromium, hydrochloric acid, lead, mercury, nickel, and selenium – tracked in a new analysis by the Environmental Integrity Project (EIP) released today by EIP, Earthjustice, and the Sierra Club.
According to the new EIP report, the dozen dirtiest power plants in the U.S. in terms of sheer pounds of emissions of four highly toxic heavy metals – arsenic, chromium, lead, and mercury – are: (1) Plum Point Station, AR; (2) TVA’s Paradise Plant, KY; (3) Genon’s Shawville Station, PA; (4) Basin Electric’s Laramie River Station, WY; (5) Consumers Energy’s JH Campbell Plant, MI; (6) AES Puerto Rico LP, PR; (7) Edison International’s Homer City Plant, PA; (8) Consumers Energy’s De Karn/JC Weadock Generating Plant, MI; (9) FirstEnergy’s Bruce Mansfield Power Plant, PA; (10) Southern Company’s Bowen Plant, GA; (11) Basin Electric’s Antelope Valley Station, ND; and (12) Luminant’s Monticello Power Plant, TX.

Global Nuclear Generation Capacity Falls

December 8, 2011 No Comments

New analysis indicates countries are turning to other energy sources as a result of high costs, low demand, and recent disasters.
Washington, D.C.——Due to increasing costs of production, a slowed demand for electricity, and fresh memories of disaster in Japan, production of nuclear power fell in 2011, according to the latest Vital Signs Online (VSO) report from the Worldwatch Institute (www.Worldwatch.org). Despite reaching record levels the previous year, global installed nuclear capacity——the potential power generation from all existing plants——declined to 366.5 gigawatts (GW) in 2011, from 375.5 GW at the end of 2010.
Not surprisingly, this drop in installed capacity corresponds with a decline in global consumption of nuclear energy. Nuclear’s share of world commercial primary energy usage fell to around 5 percent in 2010, having peaked at about 6 percent in 2001 and 2002. Only four countries——the Czech Republic, Romania, Slovakia, and the United Kingdom——increased their share of nuclear power by over 1 percentage point between 2009 and 2010.

Coal Power in Kosovos and the World Bank’s Role

December 8, 2011 No Comments

Durban, South Africa — Civil society organizations from around the world released a report today at the Durban climate talks that highlights the contradictions inherent in the World Bank Group’s presence here. While the Bank seeks a leading role in climate finance, it has been unable to finalize an energy strategy and continues to finance dirty energy projects.
Just a year after the World Bank Group’s heavily criticized US $3 billion loan for one of the world’s largest coal plants in South Africa, the institution is considering supporting a new coal plant in Kosovo.
The report titled, Unclear on the Concept: How Can the World Bank Group Lead on Climate Finance without an Energy Strategy? finds that “in spite of its climate-friendly rhetoric, the WBG continues to disproportionately fund dirty energy projects. In fact, nearly half of energy lending — more than US$15 billion — went to fossil fuels over the past four years.”
The report includes data from the Shift the Subsidies database, which tracks multilateral development bank energy lending. It demonstrates how the WBG is experiencing clear difficulties in synching its core lending with climate goals. Given the difficulties and contradictions, the institution should focus on cleaning up its own act before making further forays into climate finance initiatives.