With a cap on carbon dioxide an apparent nonstarter in the Senate these days, some clean energy and climate advocates have shifted their sights to a scaled-back but still ambitious goal: passage of a national renewable electricity standard.

Such a law would require utility companies to produce a set amount of electricity from renewable sources by a certain date, spurring the development of clean sources like wind and solar and probably lowering overall emissions nationally. Perhaps most important, some argue that with a strong push by the president, such a measure could actually clear the high bar for passage of 60 votes in the Senate this fall.

NewNet News – Greece to invest €12bn on environment and energy to boost beleaguered economy

Greece is to invest €12bn on the environment and energy projects before 2015 in an attempt to kick-start its economy.

The funds will be partly allocated to renewable energy projects and are being deployed with the hope of attracting €32bn of private investment, according to Environmental Minister Tina Birbili.

‘The ministry hopes the programme will decisively contribute to face recession and lead to dynamic economic growth, Birbilli said in a press release obtained by Reuters.

Lethbridge Herald – Canadian researchers hope to green the web, make Canada the world’s web server

TORONTO — Canadian researchers hope to stem the global IT industry’s rampant output of greenhouse gas emissions by perfecting a way to host the Internet’s content purely on green power. And if their experiment succeeds, Canada could essentially become the world’s largest Internet server — powered with almost no carbon footprint — and help reduce one of the most significant, growing sources of pollution.

The GreenStar Network is a two-year project funded by the Canadian Advanced Network and Research for Industry and Education, which aims to address the IT industry’s incessant energy consumption. It’s estimated that two to eight per cent of the world’s energy consumption is drained by computers and the IT field, and the industry’s explosive growth may propel it to a 20 per cent share in some countries by 2020.

U.S. wind energy popular, but lacks investment | Green Tech – CNET News

Despite public approval, U.S. wind energy investment is slowing down instead of growing, according to the American Wind Energy Association.

An overwhelming majority of Americans support a renewable electricity standard, and wind energy investment in particular, according to a poll of 600 likely voters conducted in March by Newhouse of Public Opinion Strategies and Bennett, Petts & Normington.

Specifically, 89 percent of Americans said increasing the amount of energy the U.S. gets from wind is a good idea. Broken down by ideology, 84 percent of Republicans, 93 percent of Democrats, and 88 percent of independents support increasing the use of wind energy in the U.S.

But that bipartisan enthusiasm for wind has not translated into real-world investment or public policy, according to a detailed report released this week by the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA).

UK Ponies Up $67M for Green Car Grants

Starting in January 2011, electric and hybrid car buyers in the United Kingdom will be able to tap a £43 million (around $67 million) grant fund to knock up to 25 percent off their purchase price, with a max grant of £5,000 (about $7,789). The grants, initially promised last year by the previous Labour government and announced on Wednesday by Transport Secretary Phillip Hammond, are set to be available through March 2012.

If all participants reap the max grant of £5,000, the funds will cover up to 8,600 vehicles next year from companies like Mitsubishi, Toyota, Renault-Nissan and Tesla Motors, which all have plug-in models on the UK market or in the pipeline for 2011.

Two dozen countries representing 80 percent of the world’s commercial energy consumption on Tuesday announced initiatives to build more efficient appliances and buildings, “smart” electric grids and electric vehicles.

“We’re taking aggressive immediate actions together to confront the energy challenge head on,’’ said Energy Secretary Steven Chu, the host of a two-day conference dubbed the Clean Energy Ministerial. “We know the energy challenge won’t wait, and we won’t wait either.’’

EERE News: DOE Helps Launch Global Initiatives at First Clean Energy Ministerial Meeting

The United States is helping launch 11 international clean energy initiatives, DOE announced on July 20. These new programs will cut energy waste, help deploy smart grid and electric vehicle technologies, support renewable energy markets, expand access to clean energy resources and jobs, and support women pursuing careers in clean energy. Announced during the first Clean Energy Ministerial, a two-day gathering in Washington, D.C., these endeavors offer partners concrete technical actions to promote economic growth while reducing greenhouse gas emissions and other pollutants. The initiatives will eliminate the need to build more than 500 mid-sized power plants worldwide over the next 20 years. Ministers from 23 governments and the United States, representing more than 80% of the world energy consumption, participated. Those same countries also account for a similar percentage of the global market for clean energy technologies and are accelerating the global transition to a clean energy and low-carbon future.

Google enters the energy market with deal to buy, sell wind power | VentureBeat

Google announced today that it will be buying wind-generated power from a company called NextEra Energy Resources to sell back to the local grid operator in exchange for Renewable Energy Certificates (basically, credits to offset its carbon emissions).

The company made the purchase via its relatively new Google Energy unit — an entity that won the rights to buy and sell energy just like a utility from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission in February.

This isn’t the first time Google has worked with NextEra. The search giant has already invested $38.8 million in two wind farms — pumping out 169.5 megawatts total — developed by NextEra in North Dakota. But starting on July 30, Google will be buying 114-megawatts of power from NextEra’s farm in Iowa at a flat, undisclosed rate.