QUICK NEWS, August 15: GORE SPEAKS OUT AGAINST DENIERS; NEW ENERGY BEATS NUCLEAR; WIND WINS IOWA STRAW POLL; GE INVESTS IN SOLAR POWER TOWER

GORE SPEAKS OUT AGAINST DENIERS
Al Gore and the rant heard round the Web
Deborah Netburn, August 9, 2011 (LA Times)

"…[F]ormer vice president and onetime presidential candidate [Al Gore] is still passionate about politics and climate change. Last week, he let loose with an expletive-laden rant that he didn't know was being recorded…Gore's anger was directed at the big money used by some corporations to manipulate the media…[H]e said the same people who worked on the tobacco campaign are working to confuse the climate change issue…"


From TheZenoEffect via YouTube

"...Gore made the remarks at the Aspen Institute in Colorado…[He] spoke for about an hour and…among the topics were the history of communications, research in neurobiology and citizen participation in government…Normally these meetings are private and not for attribution. However, this one was being streamed not to his knowledge…The participants at the meeting were generally impressed by his range of knowledge and willingness to answer questions…"


NEW ENERGY BEATS NUCLEAR
Ranking of renewable energy and nuclear energy use varies by sector
August 1, 2011 (U.S. Energy Information Administration)

"Consumption of primary energy derived from renewables recently exceeded current and historical consumption levels for nuclear energy. In the short term, nuclear outages coincided with the start of the high-water season for hydropower generation in March 2011, pushing renewable energy consumption past that of nuclear. The multi-year upward trend in renewable consumption is driven by increasing consumption of biofuels and wind capacity additions…"

click to enlarge

"Renewable energy consumption encompasses more than just electric power generation from hydro, wind, solar, and geothermal sources. Other major sources of renewable energy include biofuels for transportation (such as ethanol and biodiesel) and biomass (such as wood and wood wastes) for space heating and industrial steam production as well as for electric power generation…"


WIND WINS IOWA STRAW POLL
Candidates at straw poll sign names to giant wind blade; Six GOP presidential hopefuls join leading Iowa Republicans in endorsing wind energy
August 13, 2011 (American Wind Energy Association)

"GOP presidential candidates Mitt Romney, Tim Pawlenty, Ron Paul, Newt Gingrich, Herman Cain, and Thaddeus McCotter joined Iowa’s leading Republicans and hundreds of straw poll voters in covering a 130-foot wind turbine blade with signatures at the entrance to the Iowa straw poll…

"Gingrich called wind a piece of his American energy program, and said he favors a 10-year extension of the PTC [production tax credit], to avoid the ‘up-and-down effect’ on renewable energy development when the policy changes…"

Governor Romney signs the blade.(from AWEA - click to enlarge)

[Gingrich] “If you’re going to have tax credits that are designed to create investment, they have to have a long enough time horizon that people who invest believe that they’ll be there...”

"U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), a leader in getting the Production Tax Credit for renewable energy extended from 2003 through 2012, also signed the blade. He said that considering the U.S. currently spends $830 million a day on foreign oil, we need an ‘all of the above’ energy strategy that includes wind…"


GE INVESTS IN SOLAR POWER TOWER
GE Makes Additional Investment In Concentrating Solar Power Company eSolar
9 August 2011 (Solar Industry)

"eSolar, a developer of modular concentrating solar power technology, says that in addition to its licensing agreement with GE Energy, GE has closed a new strategic investment in the company.

"As part of the deal, Paul Browning, president and CEO of thermal products for GE Energy, will join the eSolar board of directors."

An eSolar installation with a GE turbine (click to enlarge)

"…GE was granted exclusive worldwide rights to eSolar's modular technology for integrated solar combined-cycle plants, excluding China and India. Together the two companies are targeting Europe, Africa, the Middle East and the U.S., and are working on a 530 MW project in Turkey…

"This project will feature 50 MW of eSolar concentrated solar power tower technology integrated with GE's new FlexEfficiency 50 Combined Cycle Power Plant."