Environmental Issues: Energy

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All Documents in Energy Tagged renewable energy

Our Forests Aren't Fuel
Overview

Forests are for wild animals, fresh air, clean water, and hiking with our kids. But now industry wants to burn our forests for biomass electricity, polluting the air we breathe and stealing from future generations.

State Renewable Portfolio Standards Create Jobs and Promote Clean Energy
Renewable Portfolio Standards attract new industries, create jobs, and keep state businesses competitive, while encouraging development of renewable power like wind, solar, and biomass.
Issue Paper

Renewable Portfolio Standards (RPS) move states toward clean, renewable energy by requiring that a percentage of a state’s electricity sold or generated must come from renewable sources within a certain time period. These statutes have enjoyed strong bipartisan support because of their proven ability to attract new industries, create jobs, and keep state businesses competitive, while encouraging development of renewable power like wind, solar, and biomass.

Aviation Biofuel Sustainability Survey
Issue Brief

To assess the current state of aviation biofuel sustainability certification, and to support the use of certification in the aviation fuel supply chain, NRDC has generated its inaugural Aviation Biofuel Sustainability Survey.

American Wind Farms
Breaking Down the Benefits from Planning to Production
Issue Paper

Across America, the U.S. wind industry is exceeding expectations. This report offers a snapshot of this emerging trend, and points the way forward for a clean energy future. We must continue this momentum by promoting strong energy policies, beginning with an extension of the Production Tax Credit for wind energy, a crucial step towards building a strong, sustainable, market leading U.S. wind industry.

At Wind Speed
How the U.S. Wind Industry is Rapidly Growing Our Local Economies
Issue Brief

Over the last two decades, the U.S. wind industry has grown dramatically. Across the country, more than 50,000 megawatts of wind power are installed, and American companies dominate the global wind turbine industry. This report shows how wind power is creating much-needed jobs, reducing pollution that harms our children's health, and cutting our dependence on dirty and limited fossil fuels.

Saving Energy in Server Rooms and Closets
Issue Paper

Energy waste in U.S. server rooms and closets represents the equivalent output of seven medium-size coal-fired power plants, costing U.S. businesses over $2 billion per year in unnecessary electricity.

A Proactive Planning Tool for Renewable Energy Development
A partnership between NRDC and the US Department of Defense
Overview

Working with US Department of Defense, NRDC developed a first-of-its-kind mapping and analytic tool called the Renewable Energy And Defense Geospatial Database, or READ-Database. The online tool allows renewable energy developers identify sites for renewable projects that are unlikely to interfere with military activities and training, or that have the fewest environmental conflicts.

Let the VEETC Expire: Moving Beyond Corn Ethanol Means Less Waste, Less Pollution and More Jobs
Fact Sheet

Transitioning to low-carbon fuels is crucial to breaking America's dependence on oil and curbing global warming. But while some biofuels reduce pollution, others pollute more than the oil they replace. Unfortunately, the biggest government incentive program for biofuels -- the Volumetric Ethanol Excise Tax Credit (VEETC) -- fails to differentiate between biofuels, and has wasted $20 billion taxpayer dollars subsidizing a polluting corn ethanol industry. By subsidizing any type of ethanol, the VEETC comes at the expense of supporting clean energy technologies like wind, solar, and advanced biofuels -- made from sustainable crops like willow -- that create more green jobs and far less pollution. Congress is considering a 5-year extension of the VEETC that would cost taxpayers $31 billion. NRDC urges Congress to let the VEETC expire and replace it with a smarter, cheaper, and greener biofuels tax credit that rewards real environmental performance. Get document in pdf.

A Clean Energy Economy for Montana
Building Rural Communities Through Renewable Resources Development
Issue Paper

Rich in natural resources and fertile land, Montana has a historically stable and increasingly diverse economy. But the global economic downturn is impacting communities throughout the state, with unemployment climbing by 69 percent since the start of 2008. Montana can use its bountiful renewable resources to build a strong long-term economy and secure a prosperous future as a national leader in producing clean energy. 

A Clean Energy Economy for North Dakota
Analysis of the Rural Economic Development Potential of Renewable Resources
Issue Paper

North Dakota has a strong and diverse economy based on agriculture, energy, minerals, and tourism. Arguably the state with the greatest clean energy potential, North Dakota is in a prime position to become a key supplier of renewable energy and the tools to produce it -- provided that national policies are enacted to put America on the path to a clean energy future.

A Clean Energy Economy for Indiana
Analysis of the Rural Economic Development Potential of Renewable Resources
Report

Indiana's advanced network of rail lines, interstate highways, and waterways has made it "the Crossroads of America." But the global economic downturn has hit Indiana hard, causing the loss of almost 200,000 jobs since the beginning of 2008. Facing an unprecedented set of economic challenges, Indiana is poised for healthy growth if it can take advantage of the enormous potential for development of its renewable resources.

Stop Dirty Fuels
Overview

As cheap, plentiful conventional oil becomes a luxury of the past, we now face a choice: to set a course for a more sustainable energy future of clean, renewable fuels, or to develop ever-dirtier sources of transportation fuel derived from fossil fuels -- at an even greater cost to our health and environment. Looking for fuel in all the wrong places puts wildlands, air, water and climate at risk.

A Clean Energy Economy for Arkansas
Analysis of the Rural Economic Development Potential of Renewable Resources
Issue Paper

To secure its economic future, Arkansas has the opportunity to build a strong long-term economy on the solid foundation of its bountiful renewable resources. The state's vast areas of productive farmland, ample water, windy heights and favorable climate combine to give Arkansas the potential to become a national leader in producing the clean energy that America needs.

A Clean Energy Economy for Missouri
Analysis of the Rural Economic Development Potential of Renewable Resources
Issue Paper

Within Missouri's borders, dispersed across the state, are vast resources of wind, land, and water—all the ingredients needed for Missouri to become a national leader in new energy development, creating tens of thousands of good jobs and substantial new sources of income for farmers. This June 2009 issue paper examines the potential for renewable energy resource development in Missouri and its benefits to rural communities.

Homegrown Energy from Biofuels
Fuel and electricity produced from grass, wood and other biomass have the potential to help repower America if carefully developed
Overview

Fuel and electricity produced from grass, wood and other biomass have the potential to help repower America, but only if carefully developed to minimize global warming pollution and the potential harm to forests, grasslands and wildlife.

Picking a Clean Energy Plan
NRDC's Plug-In Alternative is More Efficient than the Pickens Plan
Fact Sheet

From oil price volatility to global warming and national security concerns, it is clear that our current reliance on oil is unsustainable. Even oil industry veteran T. Boone Pickens has proposed a plan (the “Pickens Plan”) to rapidly reduce oil dependency by increasing wind power and using natural gas to power vehicles. NRDC agrees with the urgency behind the Pickens Plan and supports the broad expansion of clean, renewable electricity. But the Pickens Plan does not contemplate the full range of options. We believe that pursuing the best outcome rather than preselected technologies will reveal more effective ways to put our natural gas resources to work. As one example, we examine here an alternative proposal, “The Plug-in Alternative,” that would get the most mileage out of our renewable and clean-burning energy sources while sharply reducing our dependence on dirtier sources like oil and coal. Get document in pdf.

The Billion Gallon Challenge
How America Can Produce One Billion Gallons of the Best Biofuels By 2014
Fact Sheet

To avoid the worst impacts of global warming, we need to make low-carbon biofuels work. But the best biofuels have yet to make the jump from the lab to the pump. As a first step, policy makers should stop spending tax dollars on the dirty biofuels of yesterday and start paying for performance, while maintaining our existing safeguards and standards. But that’s not enough. We need to jumpstart the best biofuels and make them work for our economy and our environment. We need a Billion Gallon Challenge. Get document in pdf.

Herseth Sandlin Bill (H.R. 1190) Turns Biofuels into Dirty Fuels
Legislative Analysis

Herseth Sandlin Bill (H.R. 1190) Turns Biofuels into Dirty Fuels Current law ensures the Renewable Fuel Standard's five-fold increase in biofuels results in better fuels, not just different dirty fuels. The Herseth Sandlin bill would strike critical safeguards established by the Energy Independence and Security Act (EISA) and turn an important step forward into a counterproductive leap backward. Get document in pdf.

Renewable Energy for America
Harvesting the Benefits of Clean, Local, Renewable Energy
Guide

This guide for farmers and agricultural communities on the economic benefits of investment in renewable energy includes maps showing both existing renewable energy facilities and potential for development of renewable resources.

Support Renewable Energy Grants Program In House Economic Recovery Bill
Legislative Analysis

For almost two decades, production and investment tax credits have been the primary tool used by the federal government to encourage extensive deployment of clean energy technologies such as wind, solar, and geothermal, and the production of high efficiency appliances. Unfortunately, the current economic climate is drastically reducing profits and thus tax liabilities, which is limiting the effectiveness of these tax credits. Without smart federal action, the construction of new renewable power projects and the manufacture and purchase of new, super-efficient appliances will plummet. Get document in pdf.

Testimony of Nathanael Greene, Director of Renewable Energy Policy, on Biofuels and the Renewable Fuel Standard
Testimony

In this testimony presented before the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, Subcommittee on Clean Air and Nuclear Safety, Nathanael makes the case for protecting key environmental safeguards in the RFS and proactively addressing the food vs fuel debate through reforming the biofuels tax credits and import tariffs by making them performance based and technology neutral.

Buying Carbon Offsets: What You Need to Know
When combined with other energy-saving efforts, carbon offsets can help you green your home, office and travel.
Guide

When combined with other personal energy-saving efforts, carbon offsets can help you green your home, office and travel. But the key is to shrink your own carbon output first.

Statement on the Amended Renewable Fuel Standard
Testimony

Testimony by Nathanael Greene before the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Energy and Commerce, Subcommittee on Energy and Air Quality on the importance of the minimum lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions standards and land and wildlife safeguards in the recently amended renewable fuel standard.

Putting Biofuels on the Right Track
Renewable Fuels Standard Safeguards Protect Wildlife and the Environment
Fact Sheet

RFS safeguards can ensure that biofuels are done right, and don't just become another dirty fuel. Get document in pdf.

Testimony on Implementation of the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS)
Testimony

Testimony by NRDC Senior Policy Analyst, Nathanael Greene, before the House Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming, October 24, 2007. This testimony address the environmental promises and challenges of biofuels, the general policies needed to get biofuels right and the changes to the proposed expanded renewable fuels standard needed to drive the market for the best biofuels technologies.

Coal Is Hazardous to Your Health
Coal-fired power plants threaten the environment and your health.
Index

Burning coal releases enormous amounts of harmful pollutants into the air and water, with serious health consequences. Waste generated by coal-fired power plants contains hazardous pollutants that can contaminate our drinking water and cause cancer, birth defects and reproductive problems. This index of fact sheets describes the health hazards of our continued reliance on coal.

Getting Biofuels Right
Eight steps for reaping real environmental benefits from biofuels
Fact Sheet

America's transportation sector is the key link between our ever-growing dependence on oil and global warming pollution. The oil that powers our cars and trucks accounts for two-thirds of our total oil use and generates one-third of the U.S. carbon dioxide emissions that cause global warming. Energy efficiency is the cleanest, cheapest, and fastest way to cut oil demand, but it is only a part of the package. NRDC research shows that liquid motor vehicle fuels made from plant matter, such as ethanol, butanol, and biodiesel, can be a large and important tool for ending our dependence on oil and stopping global warming -- but only if we get them right. Get document in pdf.

Reducing Hawaii’s Petroleum Dependence
A new biodiesel policy for Hawaiian Electric could jumpstart sustainable agricultural energy in Hawaii.
Opinion

A new biodiesel policy for Hawaiian Electric could jumpstart sustainable agricultural energy in Hawaii.

Driving It Home: Choosing the Right Path for Fueling North America's Transportation Future
Choosing the Right Path for Fueling North America's Transportation Future
Report

North America faces an energy crossroads. With the world fast approaching the end of cheap, plentiful conventional oil, we must choose between developing ever-dirtier sources of fossil fuels -- at great cost to our health and environment -- or setting a course for a more sustainable energy future of clean, renewable fuels.

Biofuels: The Growing Solution to Energy Dependence and Global Warming
The Growing Solution to Energy Dependence and Global Warming
Index

In the fight to stop global warming and break our addiction to oil America needs to employ all our ingenuity. We need more efficient vehicles and we need a clean and renewable alternative to oil. Biofuels produced and used responsibly can be a component of a strategy to beat back global warming. This index collects NRDC studies, analyses and other policy materials that answer some of the most pressing questions about these fuels.

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