Among those selected projects are the Cascadia Center for Sustainable Design and Construction, Seattle, Washington; the College of Architecture + Planning at the University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah; and the Shy Brothers Farm, Westport, Massachusetts. See the DOE progress alert and Web sites for DOE's Commercial Building Initiative, and Building Technology Program.
Team Drives Electric Car the Length of Americas
A team from London's Imperial College finished a 16,155-mile trip on November 16, after driving their all-electric car from Alaska to the tip of South America.
The Racing Green Endurance journey took 140 days and passed through 14 countries, using the Pan-American Highway before ending at Ushuaia, the world's most southern city.
The vehicle has a top speed of 118 mph, with a range of 242 miles before needing an eight-hour charge. Radical Sportscars provided the team with chassis and engineering support, while Thundersky supplied the 56-kWh battery pack.
The project, which runs alongside the wider Imperial Racing Green initiative, attempted to raise awareness about low-carbon vehicle technologies and about how they could help to counter the effects of climate change. The team devoted half of their journey speaking to communities, media, and students. See the Imperial College press release.
Emerging Economies Show Leadership in Clean Energy
Five countries with some of the world's largest developing economies are demonstrating leadership with their plans to cut greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, according to a World Wildlife Fund (WWF) report.
The report, which examined the GHG emissions trends and climate action plans for Brazil, China, India, Mexico, and South Africa, found that all five countries have reasonably strong renewable energy policies and plans to reduce GHG emissions. In particular, China, India, and South Africa have all implemented comprehensive policies to advance renewable energy.
While Brazil is largely focused on reducing deforestation, China has committed to draw on renewable energy for 15% of its energy needs by 2020, and in 2009, it became the largest manufacturer of renewable energy products. China has also committed to achieving a 20% reduction in energy intensity this year, relative to 2005 levels, and a 40%-45% reduction by 2020.
India is making progress on solar and wind energy development under its national action plan on climate change. India may exceed its target of drawing on renewable energy for 10% of its power needs by 2012. Mexico is integrating its climate change mitigation and adaptation plans and has committed to reducing GHG emissions by 50% by 2050, relative to 2000 levels, while South Africa is pursuing an economy-wide approach to low-carbon development, working towards achieving a 34% reduction in GHG emissions by 2020. See the WWF press release and report .
The WWF report was issued as delegates gathered in Cancun, Mexico, for the international conference on climate change. The United Nations Climate Change Conference includes the 16th conference of the parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the sixth meeting of the parties to the Kyoto Protocol. The conference runs from November 29 to December 10. For the latest news from the conference, see the UNFCCC Web site.
++++
EREE Network News is a weekly publication of the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE).
