Roundup: Solar Market, Weyerhauser, Carlyle Group

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Waste industry hunts energy rewards, risks abound Reuters Renewable Energy Markets Expand By 11.4% In 2009 North American Windpower Indonesia to review forest carbon laws Reuters Weyerhauser Joins Enviro-Industry Climate Coalition NY Times EPA Launches Web Forum on How to Best Protect America’s Waters Environmental News Bits Carlyle Group and Environmental Defense Fund Launch EcoValuScreen Carlyle Worldwide Solar Photovoltaic Market Reaches Record High of [...]

WCI Sticks with Plans to Limit Use of Offsets

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The Western Climate Initiative, targeting a 15 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions below 2005 levels by 2020, is sticking with its original plan to limit the use of offset credits and allowances under its proposed cap-and-trade system to no more than 49 percent of the total emission reductions from 2012 to 2020, reports Reuters. A [...]

Saunders Hotel Group Takes Initiative in Energy Efficiency

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Ted Saunders, Director of Sustainability for the Saunders Hotel Group, discusses how the Lenox Hotel and Comfort Inn & Suites in Boston has incorporated energy efficiency and environmental efforts. “This is a great business strategy,” Saunders said. “It’s not about tree-hugging.”

Proportion of Wells Fargo Green Building Lending in Decline

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To date, banking giant Wells Fargo has made a $6 billion business in lending to and investing in environmental and renewable energy projects, but the proportion of the total going toward green building is in decline. Of that total, about $3.25 billion has been related to green buildings, with $1.85 billion in renewable energy and other [...]

Harrah’s Rincon Casino Uses Solar Energy to Power AC

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The Harrah’s Rincon Casino is using energy from a nearby solar farm to power its air-conditioning system, reports SignOnSanDiego.com. The tribally-owned casino’s 1-megawatt plant is expected to supply about 90 percent of the power required by the new AC unit. The $8-million solar project, claimed as the largest solar power system on a local Indian reservation, was part of [...]

EU Puts Stop to Reuse of CERs

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To restore confidence to the emissions trading markets in the wake of a trading scandal, the European Union has amended rules under its Emissions Trading Scheme to halt the recycling of certified emission credits (CERs). After it was revealed that the Hungarian government sold 2 million previously used CERs, markets were roiled and trading stopped [...]

CARB Offers $3.7M in Rebates for Zero-Emission, Hybrid Trucks

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The California Air Resources Board is offering up to $3.7 million in rebates for commercial medium- and heavy-duty trucks that are zero-emission or plug-in hybrid. The program means that CARB will subsidize up to $20,000 toward the purchase of such vehicles, reports TruckingInfo. The program, which is first-come, first-serve, also apples to passenger vehicles. In other California [...]

EPA Launches Hydraulic Fracturing Study

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The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has launched a $1.9-million research study into the potential impact of hydraulic fracturing — used in the extraction of natural gas — on water quality and public health. According to the EPA, the hydraulic fracturing process involves taking water from the ground, pumping fracturing fluids and sands into the wells [...]

10 Ways for the Freight Sector to Lessen its Environmental Impact

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The future of transporting goods includes solar powered ships, GPS truck-tolling systems and advanced diesel-electric engines, according to “The Good Haul” report from the Environmental Defense Fund. The freight sector represents about 25 percent of the U.S. transportation sector emissions, or about 8 percent of all U.S. emissions. Since 1990, emissions attributed to freight have climbed 60 [...]

Hanes Aims for 30% Renewable Energy Use, 15% Emissions Cut

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Aimed at saving more energy, using less materials and reducing greenhouse gas emissions, Hanes has released a set of global environmental performance goals that includes increasing its use of renewable energy to 30 percent of its total energy consumption, and reducing carbon-dioxide emissions by 15 percent, from a 2007 baseline, by 2012. The company already exceeded [...]