This Week in News: August 14th
Government
The New Zealand government announced a proposed National Policy Statement for Renewable Electricity Generation yesterday. This proposal would help achieve the government’s goal of 90% of the country’s total energy usage from renewable energy sources. Environment Minister Trevor Mallard said about the policy:
We’ve always said that our 90 percent renewable target does not require damming every river and putting wind turbines on every ridge line
Currently, the Resource Management Act (RMA) does not take into account the environmental damages caused by setting up the infrastructure for renewable energy sources. This plan will force local officials to take these types of long-term damages into account before setting up any alternative energy sources. Eliminating forest or hurting local animals should not be compromised for get clean energy. What I like most about the goals of the New Zealand government is that they are staying away from any sources that are not renewable or dangerous like nuclear power.
Green Building
In local news, the Washington Pollution Control Hearings Board announced that the Ecology department must rewrite storm water control policies. The regulations will enforce that new buildings must use low-impact development or LID techniques. Environmentalist are praising these regulations because they are one of the few places in the country to enforce storm water runoff policies. The idea behind LID is it filters much of the pollution out of rainwater runoff through the soil.
Solar Energy
The state of Gujarat in western India announced that is is planning on building one of the world’s largest solar power arrays. The project is projected to produce a total of 5 GW of solar energy that is expected to cost around $5 billion. A U.S. company Clinton Foundation has been in talks to provide the major pieces to produce this large project. State officials are quotes as to saying that this could greatly reduce the cost of energy.
