The Tesla battery heralds the beginning of the end for fossil fuels

BY JOHN MATTHEWS, THE CONVERSATION

While wind and solar power have made great strides in recent years, with renewables now accounting for 22% of electric energy generated, the issue that has held them back has been their transience. The sun doesn’t shine at night and the wind doesn’t blow year-round — these are the mantras of all those opposed to the progress of renewables.

Now the renewable-power billionaire Elon Musk has just blown away that final defence. Last Thursday in California he introduced to the world his sleek new Powerwall — a wall-mounted energy-storage unit that can hold 10 kilowatt hours of electric energy, and deliver it at an average of 2 kilowatts, all for $3,500.
See more » Business Insider
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White House Says Obama Would Veto Keystone Pipeline Bill

By Coral Davenport

President Obama will veto a bill authorizing the construction of the Keystone XL oil pipeline if it passes Congress, his spokesman said on Tuesday, setting up a clash between the White House and the new Republican-led Congress.

“I would not anticipate that the president would sign this legislation,” Josh Earnest, the White House press secretary, said during a briefing. He later clarified that the president would indeed veto the bill.

The Keystone bill was the first introduced in the Senate in the new Congress, and Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the new majority leader, has vowed to make it the first measure sent to the president’s desk. The House is expected to pass the bill on Friday, while the Senate is expected to take up the measure next week.

It was widely expected that Mr. Obama would veto the measure. As written, the bill would remove the requirement that the president authorize the construction of the oil pipeline to Canada, and instead give that authority to Congress. Mr. Obama issued a veto threat to a similar bill passed by the House in 2013.

News courtesy » The New York Times »» FirstDraft
Learn more » http://www.nytimes.com/politics/first-draft/2015/01/06/?entry=7990&action=click&contentCollection=Personal%20Tech&region=Footer&module=TopNews&pgtype=article

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More » via Twitter » Sanders Statement on Tar Sands Pipeline Veto Threat
See more » http://www.sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/sanders-statement-on-tar-sands-pipeline-veto-threat

Pakistan exempts taxes on import of solar panels

By Mubarak Zeb Khan

ISLAMABAD: The government of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Tuesday exempted customs duty and general sales tax on import of solar panels for promoting alternative and renewable energy in Pakistan.

Read more » DAWN
Learn more » http://www.dawn.com/news/1149791/