When I peruse major news sources, renewable energy news occasionally appears, but not nearly as consistently as war, and rarely as one of the leading headlines. Given the deep global impact that renewable energy could have on the economy, international relations, and the environment--in sum, its key role in the future of our planet--I think that it is worth the extra effort to seek out renewable energy news.

A quick online search for renewable energy news from the past week or two yielded some interesting fruit:

China plans to invest $200 billion in renewable energy in the next 15 years

Chinese developers unveiled the world's first "full-permanent magnetic levitation (Maglev) wind power generator." I am going to be honest here--I have no idea what a full-permanent magnetic levitation wind power generator is. But the article does report that this new technology could increase wind energy production by as much as 20% over traditional wind turbine technology, and effectively cut wind farm operating expenses in half. The article takes an interesting perspective on the relevance of this development, focusing on its potential to bring electricity to the 70 million Chinese households that do not have access to electricity, using a renewable approach that could be less costly than expanding the power grid into remote regions.

While in Mali, I thought about this possibility quite a bit. Cell phones leapfrogged landline technology in much of Mali, reaching remote areas of Mali that would be difficult and costly to reach with landline infrastructure. Similarly, if solar or wind renewable energy technology were to become more affordable, such off-the-grid solutions could leapfrog the electricity grid and spread rapidly where electricity infrastructure has not yet reached. Project Muso's partnership with the Malian National Program for Renewable Energy and the Advancement of Women inspired me to start thinking about this issue. Some people I know in Mali are already saving up to buy solar panels, so that they can power a light bulb and their children can do their homework at night. While the solar panels currently available in Mali are still too expensive for most people, if prices of solar panels were to drop, I think this would spur a rapid adoption of this path.

Speakers at SOLAR 2006 in Denver CO highlighted the importance of developing and implementing building design techniques to reduce fossil fuel use. Buildings account for 48% of US energy consumption, and are thus a key target for reducing energy consumption. The speakers outlined the "2030 challenge," calling for all new buildings to be designed as carbon-neutral by 2030. This, they note, will require a considerable education initiative to integrate carbon-conscious building techniques into architectural education curricula and building design tools currently employed by architects. The fact that it might even be possible to have all new buildings be designed as carbon neutral in my lifetime is quite amazing, a goal worthy of our efforts.