The Louisiana Public Service Commission adopted a Renewable Energy Pilot Program in the middle of 2010 to test out the feasibility of having a renewable portfolio standard in place that would oblige utilities to source a fixed percentage of their power from renewable energy sources.
With the pressure to shift towards renewable energy comes innovation about new ways to produce fuel. In her article, originally published in Louisiana Weekly and reproduced here on the Huffington Post’s blog, Susan Buchanan reveals the plans of one Colorado based company to use wood waste and other plant material to make green gasoline. What Buchanan doesn’t discuss in her article is the finite amount of waste product that’s available for this conversion and what happens when once that supply is exhausted.
Overseas the contrast continues between developed and developing countries when it comes to clean energy. As Bloomberg reports, in 2011, India doubled its renewable energy generation going from 10.2 GW to over 22 GW. Although the industry faces challenges to its continued growth, the $4.2 billion dollars invested last year is a positive indicator. In Germany, however, the government is warning that continuing subsides to the renewable energy industry is not economically feasible. Business Week covered recent comments by the German Economy Minister, Philipp Roesler, who believes that Germany’s clean energy industry needs to face the free market.
