Yearly Archives: 2014

Amory Lovins of Rocky Mountain Institute RMI’s vision is a world thriving, verdant, and secure, for all, for ever. Our mission is to drive the efficient and restorative use of resources. See the Myth of Electricity Storage Breakthrough Necessity Here:   http://www.rmi.org/solar_power_myth_of_storage_breakthroughs_amory_lovins Application in the Real World RMI’s approach is to focus on unlocking market-based solutions that can be replicated and implemented now. We don’t do it alone. With philanthropic support, we convene and collaborate with diverse partners—business, government, academic, nonprofit, philanthropic, and military—to accelerate and scale solutions that tackle the toughest long-term problems. We create Abundance by Design® and apply the framework of natural capitalism. Bold Goals, Measurable Impacts. Transforming global energy use to create a clean, prosperous, and secure energy future is an ambitious, vital undertaking—and our sole focus. To succeed, we need to rapidly scale our impact—to “reinvent fire”—making the shift from fossil fuels to energy efficiency and renewables by 2050, if not sooner.That’s why we’ve established bold goals to achieve by 2025—accomplishments that put us on track to achieve the full energy system transformation.From the U.S. to China to the rest of the world, we’ll drastically cut carbon emissions to tackle climate change, unlock enormous economic opportunity, and make our energy systems clean, prosperous, and secure. This is our promise to ourselves, to you, and to the world. We welcome you on this journey with us. Following is where we need to be by 2025 and, in part, how we’ll do it. 1. Source U.S. electricity renewably By 2025, our programs will help shift the electricity system one-third of the way toward our vision and create the dynamics and momentum to carry us through to 2050. They will cut U.S. electricity [...]

New Biogas Rules in the RFS By Edward Dodge on August 01, 2014 at 12:00 PM The EPA recently announced changes to the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS2) that improves opportunities for biogas to be utilized as a vehicular fuel by qualifying it as an advanced cellulosic biofuel. Biogas-derived Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) and Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) produced from landfills, municipal waste-water treatment facility digesters, agricultural digesters, and separated MSW digesters all now qualify under the RFS. Additionally, electricity used to power electric vehicles produced from the same sources also qualifies as advanced cellulosic biofuel. These pathways have the potential to provide notable volumes of cellulosic biofuel eligible for the RFS program and should be a factor in recent discussions to lower RFS fuel volume mandates. Significant volumes of advanced biofuels are already being generated from biogas, and in many cases this same fuel will now qualify for cellulosic RINs. As of 2014 the volumes of starch based (corn) ethanol RINs are capped under the RFS and expanding volumes of fuels are all prescribed to be cellulosic in origin, and can now be met with biomethane. Credit: DOE, Alternative Fuels Data Center Under the RFS, the EPA uses RINs, Renewable Identification Numbers, to track renewable transportation fuels. Each RIN is attached to a physical gallon of renewable fuel as it is transferred to a fuel blender. After blending with fossil fuels, RIN’s are used by obligated parties as proof that they sold renewable fuels and met their mandates. Obligated parties may buy and sell RINs to one another and RIN prices are determined by market factors similar to any other commodity. When the RFS was first established the goal was to promote corn ethanol, biodiesel [...]

Amory Lovins of Rocky Mountain Institute RMI’s vision is a world thriving, verdant, and secure, for all, for ever. Our mission is to drive the efficient and restorative use of resources. See the best of Amory Lovins here:  www.rmi.org/ABL_Verge_Video Application in the Real World RMI’s approach is to focus on unlocking market-based solutions that can be replicated and implemented now. We don’t do it alone. With philanthropic support, we convene and collaborate with diverse partners—business, government, academic, nonprofit, philanthropic, and military—to accelerate and scale solutions that tackle the toughest long-term problems. We create Abundance by Design® and apply the framework of natural capitalism. Bold Goals, Measurable Impacts. Transforming global energy use to create a clean, prosperous, and secure energy future is an ambitious, vital undertaking—and our sole focus. To succeed, we need to rapidly scale our impact—to “reinvent fire”—making the shift from fossil fuels to energy efficiency and renewables by 2050, if not sooner.That’s why we’ve established bold goals to achieve by 2025—accomplishments that put us on track to achieve the full energy system transformation. From the U.S. to China to the rest of the world, we’ll drastically cut carbon emissions to tackle climate change, unlock enormous economic opportunity, and make our energy systems clean, prosperous, and secure. This is our promise to ourselves, to you, and to the world. We welcome you on this journey with us. Following is where we need to be by 2025 and, in part, how we’ll do it. 1. Source U.S. electricity renewably By 2025, our programs will help shift the electricity system one-third of the way toward our vision and create the dynamics and momentum to carry us through to 2050. They will cut U.S. electricity use by [...]