Few developments, notions, or facts relating to green technology surprise us anymore. Alternative energy continues to expand while oil consumption slowly drops (perhaps too slowly for most). The alternative energy industry seems to be heading in the right direction (other than some notable failures recently). It’s for this reason that the huge acceptance of solar power in Germany blindsided us a bit.

It’s common knowledge that they lead the world in solar, but the extent of their domination is mind boggling. The infographic below by 1bog looks at the top 10 countries from a solar perspective. Combined, they account for 91% of the overall solar installations in the world. Notably absent from the list: Russia, Brazil, and Australia, all of which have the land mass and resources to be bigger solar countries.

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You may have heard the dismal news over the weekend that the global carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions are back on the rise, following a temporary dip during the recession.

CO2 emissions from burning fossil fuels and producing cement grew 5.9 percent in 2010, largely driven by surging emissions in developing countries, as well as a return to the old upward trajectory in the developed nations.

In short, worldwide emissions topped 10 billion tonnes of CO2 for the first time in 2010, which could be the largest annual jump since the Industrial Revolution.

The release of the study from the Global Carbon Project, published in the journal Nature Climate Change and based on data from the U.S., U.N. and British Petroleum Company, comes as negotiators from around the world are meeting in Durban, South Africa over the fate of the Kyoto Protocol. The agreement, which commits developed countries — except the U.S. — to emissions cuts that average 5 percent below 1990 levels, expires in 2012.

But as the Global Carbon Project figures reveal, global CO2 emissions have risen 49 percent since then.

News reports were abuzz over the weekend that China was perhaps softening its stance on a binding post-Kyoto agreement. The country is now the world’s largest emitter but has steadfastly opposed emissions reduction goals for itself that may hinder its economic growth.

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Tim Padden

citizenre

By Joe Romm on Dec 3, 2011 at 7:10 pm

Global temperatures in 2011 are currently the tenth highest on record and are higher than any previous year with a La Niña event, which has a relative cooling influence. The 13 warmest years have all occurred in the 15 years since 1997. The extent of Arctic sea ice in 2011 was the second lowest on record, and its volume was the lowest.

“Our role is to provide the scientific knowledge to inform action by decision makers,” said [World Meteorological Organization] Secretary-General Michel Jarraud. “Our science is solid and it proves unequivocally that the world is warming and that this warming is due to human activities,” he said.

“Concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere have reached new highs. They are very rapidly approaching levels consistent with a 2-2.4 degree Centigrade rise in average global temperatures which scientists believe could trigger far reaching and irreversible changes in our Earth, biosphere and oceans,” he said.

That’s from the WMO news release highlighting the “provisional annual World Meteorological Organization Statement on the Status of the Global Climate, which gives a global temperature assessment and a snapshot of weather and climate events around the world in 2011.”

Here’s more:

Tim Padden
Citizenre Solar

Nov. 17 (Bloomberg) — Solar power may already be cheaper than electricity produced from coal or natural gas in some U.S. markets, and as panel prices continue to fall it may become cost-effective for at least 10 percent of the country.

The installed cost of residential solar power may fall as low as $3.00 a watt by 2016, said Richard Keiser, a former Sanford Bernstein analyst who’s now president of Keiser Analytics. At that price it will be competitive with utility- scale power plants that deliver more than 400 billion kilowatt- hours of electricity.

Solar energy doesn’t need to compete on price with electricity generated by large, fossil fuel-powered plants, the most common comparison, Keiser said. It just has to be less expensive than the electricity consumers buy off the grid, a point that’s quickly coming into reach. When it’s cheaper to install solar panels than to buy power from utilities, installations will surge.

“Demand for solar will rise exponentially,” Keiser said. “Just as Google was a disruptive technology in the advertising sector, solar will be for energy

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Tim Padden
National Sales Director
Citizenre

www.citizenre.com

For the fourth consecutive year, the survey found that about nine out of 10 Americans (89%) think it is important for the United States to develop and use solar energy. Support for solar is strong across the political spectrum with 80% of Republicans, 90% of Independents and 94% of Democrats agreeing that it is important for the United States to develop and use solar.

The survey also found that Americans want federal incentives for solar. More than eight out of 10 Americans (82%) support federal tax credits and grants for the solar industry similar to those that traditional sources of energy like oil, natural gas and coal have received for decades. 71% of Republicans agree, as well as 82% of Independents and 87% of Democrats
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www.citizenre.com

Employment figures for the US solar industry is soaring despite a lagging economy, according to the Solar Foundation’s National Solar Job Census 2011: A Review of the US Solar Workforce.

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