[Top News] from [REUTERS]
[Green Business]
Ayesha Rascoe
WASHINGTON
Wed Jan 13, 2010 6:06pm EST
U.S. to make decision on Cape Wind by April
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Interior Department said on Wednesday it will issue a final decision by the end of April on a proposal to build the first major U.S. offshore wind farm.
The announcement followed three meetings in which key stakeholders could not reach an agreement to settle their nine-year regulatory struggle over the proposed $1 billion Cape Wind power project off the coast of Massachusetts.
The wind farm would provide electricity to about 400,000 homes, with its tall turbines arranged in a grid pattern in 25 square miles of Nantucket Sound, just offshore of Cape Cod, Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket Island.
Opponents of the plan range from wealthy residents of shoreline communities to native tribes who say their religious ceremonies and cultural traditions depend on a seascape unmarred by wind turbines.
Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said the department will weigh both the renewable energy implications and historical preservation issues related to siting of the project.
A defeat for Cape Wind could be a blow to the Obama administration's push to develop a clean energy economy.
Still, Salazar said he has not yet made a decision on whether to ultimately approve the wind farm application.
"I don't believe that Cape Wind as a stand-alone project will ultimately define the future of wind energy on the Outer Continental Shelf in the Atlantic," Salazar told reporters at a press conference.
Salazar reiterated that the groups still have the option of reaching agreement by March 1 on how to proceed with the project, ending the historical review process.
"I'm not sure that can be accomplished," Salazar said. "There is a tremendous amount of passion around this issue."
If no deal can be reached, Salazar said he will end the review process without an agreement. Ultimately, under either scenario Interior will still have to make the final decision.
"We are very encouraged Secretary Salazar has expressed the need to bring this review to a rapid conclusion and we're confident that when he has the complete record in front of him the public benefits...will far outweigh any negative impacts," said Cape Wind spokesman Mark Rodgers.
Rodgers said an approval for Cape Wind will boost the outlook for the U.S. offshore wind industry.
The department will continue to collect public comments on the project until February 12.
Local native tribes have opposed the construction of the wind farm, arguing the area is significant to their customs and it should be designated a "traditional cultural property."
Various business leaders and politicians have also opposed the power project that would be within view of popular Cape Cod resorts and homes. The late Senator Edward Kennedy, whose family compound is on the Cape, was one noted opponent.
Last week, the National Park Service determined the Nantucket Sound, where the wind farm would be located, is eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places. The decision requires the Interior Department to consider any related significant archeological, historic and cultural values when reviewing the permit for Cape Wind.
The meetings held Wednesday were attended by Cape Wind developers, several local tribes, the Massachusetts historic preservation office and other interested parties.
The Cape Wind project in 2001 became the country's first major proposed offshore wind farm. Its developers, Cape Wind Associates LLC, aim to construct 130 towers, which will tower 440 feet above the surface of the Nantucket Sound.
(Reporting by Ayesha Rascoe; Editing by David Gregorio)
[Green Business]
ABU DHABI
Wed Jan 13, 2010 1:53pm EST
Green energy agency set to gain members
ABU DHABI (Reuters) - The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) expects new members to join at its next meeting while China and world top oil exporter Saudi Arabia are to attend as observers, its head said on Wednesday.
IRENA was established last year to promote the development of the renewable energy industry worldwide. To date, 139 nations have joined the global organization which is headquartered in Abu Dhabi, capital of the United Arab Emirates.
"Several non-member nations are coming for the ... meeting next week, including Mexico, Belgium, Kyrgyzstan who may be future signatories," Helene Pelosse, IRENA's interim director-general, told reporters.
China and Saudi Arabia would attend as observers, she added.
The United States joined IRENA last year as part of efforts by the administration of President Barack Obama to develop a new energy policy.
China's top envoy to the Copenhagen climate talks said earlier this month that Chinese negotiators had achieved their goal at the summit in ensuring financial aid for developing nations was not linked to external reviews of China's environmental plans.
Britain, Sweden and other countries have accused China of obstructing the climate summit, which ended last month with a non-binding accord that set a target of limiting global warming to a maximum 2 degrees Celsius but was scant on details.
IRENA, which seeks about a three-fold increase in consumption of green energy by 2050, has launched its first renewable energy project in the Pacific island nation of Tonga, Pelosse said.
(Reporting by Stanley Carvalho; editing by Firouz Sedarat)
[Green Business]
WASHINGTON
Wed Jan 13, 2010 1:20pm EST
U.S. government ditches transportation funding limits
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Obama administration is broadening the standards for how the U.S. government funds public transportation projects in order to disburse money quickly and improve the environment.
"We want to base our decisions on how much transit helps the environment, how much it improves development opportunities and how it makes our communities better places to live," Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said in announcing the change on Wednesday.
The Bush administration began using a formula in 2005 to approve projects that chiefly relied on commute times and costs, according to LaHood's agency.
In a speech to the Transportation Research Board, LaHood promoted the idea of "livability," or combining transportation options with urban development plans to make it easier for people to move through their towns while lessening the impact on the environment.
LaHood said the budgeting change will give the green light to popular streetcar projects and will strengthen relationships among the Transportation and Housing departments and the Environmental Protection Agency.
As part of the livability approach, the federal government will soon award $1.5 billion in economic stimulus funds to "innovative" projects across the country, LaHood said.
He said the government will also award $8 billion in grants soon to lay the groundwork for high-speed passenger rail.
"More than 30 rail industry manufacturers and suppliers have promised to establish or expand their base of operations in the United States if they're chosen by the states to build America's new high-speed rail lines," he said.
He pressed Congress to finish work on a job creation bill that includes major investments in transportation. Also known as the second stimulus, the bill passed by the House of Representatives in December would provide additional money for states to cover the costs of improving roads and bridges.
The Senate has yet to take up the legislation.
(Reporting by Lisa Lambert; Editing by James Dalgleish)
[Green Business]
OSLO
Wed Jan 13, 2010 7:07pm EST
"Spectacled flowerpecker" bird found in Borneo
OSLO (Reuters) - Scientists have found a new species of bird in Borneo, the "spectacled flowerpecker", and expressed the hope on Thursday that the discovery would help spur conservation of the island's threatened forests.
The small bird, grey with white stripes, was spotted in June 2009 on flowering mistletoe in the Malaysian part of Borneo by a group including biologist David Edwards of Leeds University in England.
"We hope the announcement of our discovery will lead to our ultimate goal: conservation of the new species and large tracts of its habitat, which is under threat from clearance for oil palm agriculture," he said in a statement.
"This discovery shows once more how little is known about the diversity of life on our planet," said Jean-Christophe Vie, Deputy Director of the Species Program of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
This year is the U.N.'s International Year of Biodiversity, trying to protect animals and plants from threats such as loss of habitats to expanding cities, road building, climate change and introductions of alien species.
(Writing by Alister Doyle, editing by Tim Pearce)
[Green Business]
Ayesha Rascoe
WASHINGTON
Wed Jan 13, 2010 6:06pm EST
U.S. to make decision on Cape Wind by April
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Interior Department said on Wednesday it will issue a final decision by the end of April on a proposal to build the first major U.S. offshore wind farm.
The announcement followed three meetings in which key stakeholders could not reach an agreement to settle their nine-year regulatory struggle over the proposed $1 billion Cape Wind power project off the coast of Massachusetts.
The wind farm would provide electricity to about 400,000 homes, with its tall turbines arranged in a grid pattern in 25 square miles of Nantucket Sound, just offshore of Cape Cod, Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket Island.
Opponents of the plan range from wealthy residents of shoreline communities to native tribes who say their religious ceremonies and cultural traditions depend on a seascape unmarred by wind turbines.
Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said the department will weigh both the renewable energy implications and historical preservation issues related to siting of the project.
A defeat for Cape Wind could be a blow to the Obama administration's push to develop a clean energy economy.
Still, Salazar said he has not yet made a decision on whether to ultimately approve the wind farm application.
"I don't believe that Cape Wind as a stand-alone project will ultimately define the future of wind energy on the Outer Continental Shelf in the Atlantic," Salazar told reporters at a press conference.
Salazar reiterated that the groups still have the option of reaching agreement by March 1 on how to proceed with the project, ending the historical review process.
"I'm not sure that can be accomplished," Salazar said. "There is a tremendous amount of passion around this issue."
If no deal can be reached, Salazar said he will end the review process without an agreement. Ultimately, under either scenario Interior will still have to make the final decision.
"We are very encouraged Secretary Salazar has expressed the need to bring this review to a rapid conclusion and we're confident that when he has the complete record in front of him the public benefits...will far outweigh any negative impacts," said Cape Wind spokesman Mark Rodgers.
Rodgers said an approval for Cape Wind will boost the outlook for the U.S. offshore wind industry.
The department will continue to collect public comments on the project until February 12.
Local native tribes have opposed the construction of the wind farm, arguing the area is significant to their customs and it should be designated a "traditional cultural property."
Various business leaders and politicians have also opposed the power project that would be within view of popular Cape Cod resorts and homes. The late Senator Edward Kennedy, whose family compound is on the Cape, was one noted opponent.
Last week, the National Park Service determined the Nantucket Sound, where the wind farm would be located, is eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places. The decision requires the Interior Department to consider any related significant archeological, historic and cultural values when reviewing the permit for Cape Wind.
The meetings held Wednesday were attended by Cape Wind developers, several local tribes, the Massachusetts historic preservation office and other interested parties.
The Cape Wind project in 2001 became the country's first major proposed offshore wind farm. Its developers, Cape Wind Associates LLC, aim to construct 130 towers, which will tower 440 feet above the surface of the Nantucket Sound.
(Reporting by Ayesha Rascoe; Editing by David Gregorio)
[Green Business]
ABU DHABI
Wed Jan 13, 2010 1:53pm EST
Green energy agency set to gain members
ABU DHABI (Reuters) - The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) expects new members to join at its next meeting while China and world top oil exporter Saudi Arabia are to attend as observers, its head said on Wednesday.
IRENA was established last year to promote the development of the renewable energy industry worldwide. To date, 139 nations have joined the global organization which is headquartered in Abu Dhabi, capital of the United Arab Emirates.
"Several non-member nations are coming for the ... meeting next week, including Mexico, Belgium, Kyrgyzstan who may be future signatories," Helene Pelosse, IRENA's interim director-general, told reporters.
China and Saudi Arabia would attend as observers, she added.
The United States joined IRENA last year as part of efforts by the administration of President Barack Obama to develop a new energy policy.
China's top envoy to the Copenhagen climate talks said earlier this month that Chinese negotiators had achieved their goal at the summit in ensuring financial aid for developing nations was not linked to external reviews of China's environmental plans.
Britain, Sweden and other countries have accused China of obstructing the climate summit, which ended last month with a non-binding accord that set a target of limiting global warming to a maximum 2 degrees Celsius but was scant on details.
IRENA, which seeks about a three-fold increase in consumption of green energy by 2050, has launched its first renewable energy project in the Pacific island nation of Tonga, Pelosse said.
(Reporting by Stanley Carvalho; editing by Firouz Sedarat)
[Green Business]
WASHINGTON
Wed Jan 13, 2010 1:20pm EST
U.S. government ditches transportation funding limits
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Obama administration is broadening the standards for how the U.S. government funds public transportation projects in order to disburse money quickly and improve the environment.
"We want to base our decisions on how much transit helps the environment, how much it improves development opportunities and how it makes our communities better places to live," Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said in announcing the change on Wednesday.
The Bush administration began using a formula in 2005 to approve projects that chiefly relied on commute times and costs, according to LaHood's agency.
In a speech to the Transportation Research Board, LaHood promoted the idea of "livability," or combining transportation options with urban development plans to make it easier for people to move through their towns while lessening the impact on the environment.
LaHood said the budgeting change will give the green light to popular streetcar projects and will strengthen relationships among the Transportation and Housing departments and the Environmental Protection Agency.
As part of the livability approach, the federal government will soon award $1.5 billion in economic stimulus funds to "innovative" projects across the country, LaHood said.
He said the government will also award $8 billion in grants soon to lay the groundwork for high-speed passenger rail.
"More than 30 rail industry manufacturers and suppliers have promised to establish or expand their base of operations in the United States if they're chosen by the states to build America's new high-speed rail lines," he said.
He pressed Congress to finish work on a job creation bill that includes major investments in transportation. Also known as the second stimulus, the bill passed by the House of Representatives in December would provide additional money for states to cover the costs of improving roads and bridges.
The Senate has yet to take up the legislation.
(Reporting by Lisa Lambert; Editing by James Dalgleish)
[Green Business]
OSLO
Wed Jan 13, 2010 7:07pm EST
"Spectacled flowerpecker" bird found in Borneo
OSLO (Reuters) - Scientists have found a new species of bird in Borneo, the "spectacled flowerpecker", and expressed the hope on Thursday that the discovery would help spur conservation of the island's threatened forests.
The small bird, grey with white stripes, was spotted in June 2009 on flowering mistletoe in the Malaysian part of Borneo by a group including biologist David Edwards of Leeds University in England.
"We hope the announcement of our discovery will lead to our ultimate goal: conservation of the new species and large tracts of its habitat, which is under threat from clearance for oil palm agriculture," he said in a statement.
"This discovery shows once more how little is known about the diversity of life on our planet," said Jean-Christophe Vie, Deputy Director of the Species Program of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
This year is the U.N.'s International Year of Biodiversity, trying to protect animals and plants from threats such as loss of habitats to expanding cities, road building, climate change and introductions of alien species.
(Writing by Alister Doyle, editing by Tim Pearce)
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