http://www.earth-stream.com/Earth/Clean-Energy/Hydroelectric/Earth_Clean-Energy_Hydroelectric_18_151_1325.html Press Review of the Earth from the most relevant websites. Keep in touch with the Earth and your future ! fr-FR http://www.earth-stream.com/logo-stream-Earth.png http://www.earth-stream.com Thu, 29 Jul 2010 17:55:04 GMT http://www.earth-stream.com/Earth/Clean-Energy/Hydroelectric/First-Amazon-bridge-to-open-world-s-greatest-rainforest-to-development_18_151_1325_257135.html A new bridge has come to symbolise Brazil's most challenging and urgent issue: balancing the demands of economic development with environmental protectionIn the shadow of a giant bridge under construction, waiting in her dented Fiat for a ferry, Jandira Costa has no qualms about development in the Amazon. "We can't wait for it to open," she says of the 3.5km-long road over the Amazon's major tributary, the Rio Negro. Without a bridge, it takes Costa and her family at least half an hour to queue up and cross to the other side. Worse, crossing the river costs up to 100 real (around £37). When the bridge is completed in November, it be quicker, more convenient, and - most importantly for Costa - free.The bridge - the first on the world's greatest river system symbolises the surging development at the heart of the world's largest rainforest and will bring much-needed economic opportunities for those living on the far bank. But environmentalists fear that the bridge, combined with new gas pipelines, roads and rising populations, could open up the rainforest to further destruction.Manaus is the steamy and sprawling industrial capital of the vast Amazonas state, manufacturing the latest flatscreen TVs and mobile phones for the whole of Brazil. It has been an island of wealth for 200 years, but it is now opening up in all directions.The bridge runs from north to south, to the undeveloped towns of Iranduba, Manacapuru and Novo Airão and towards the untouched jungle. To the west, a 600km gas pipeline will next month begin powering a huge new electricity power station by bringing energy from a pristine part of the forest at Urucu into the city.To the south, the planned re-paving of an impassable 900km-long highway could break Manaus's isolation from the rich and populous south, and to the east, a new electricity line will connect the city to the national grid, giving an outlet for the fossil fuel and hydroelectric riches of the Amazon, such as the recently approved ... Wed, 28 Jul 2010 12:26:03 GMT http://www.earth-stream.com/Earth/Clean-Energy/Hydroelectric/China-s-Three-Gorges-dam-close-to-limit-as-heavy-rains-persist_18_151_1325_256660.html Flooding across the country has left 1,200 dead or missingRecord high water levels are putting the capacity of China's massive Three Gorges dam to the test after heavy rains across the country, compounding flooding problems that have left more than 1,200 people dead or missing.The dam's water flow reached 56,000 cubic metres per second (1.96 million cubic feet), the biggest peak flow this year, with the water height reaching 158 metres (518 feet), the official Xinhua news agency reported. This is about 10% less than the dam's maximum capacity.Chinese officials for years have boasted the dam could withstand floods so severe they come only once every 10,000 years. The dam is the world's largest hydroelectric project.Floods this year have killed at least 823 people, with 437 missing, and have caused damage worth tens of billions of dollars, according to the state flood control agency. More heavy rains are expected for the south-east, south-west and north-east parts of the country.Thousands of workers sandbagged riverbanks and checked reservoirs in Wuhan city in central Hubei province in preparation for potential floods expected to flow from the swollen Yangtze and Han rivers, an official with the Yangtze water resources commission said. "Right now the Han river in Hubei province is on the verge of breaching warning levels," said the official, who gave his name as Zhang.The Han is expected to rise this week to its highest level in two decades, Xinhua has reported.Though China experiences heavy rain every summer, flooding this year is the worst in more than a decade, as the flood-prone Yangtze basin has seen 15% more rain than in an average year, Duan Yihong, director of the National Meteorological Centre, said in a transcript of an interview posted on the Xinhua website."Rains should begin to slow down in August but it is hard to predict now what exactly will happen," said Duan. "We have to be vigilant and closely monitor the weather – do a better job of for ... Mon, 26 Jul 2010 05:21:47 GMT http://www.earth-stream.com/Earth/Clean-Energy/Hydroelectric/Brazilian-Indians-take-hostages-at-Amazon-dam-site_18_151_1325_256007.html Reuters: Brazilian native Indians on Sunday took 100 workers hostage at the construction site of a hydroelectric plant in the southern Amazon region, local media reported. As many as 400 Indians from several different tribes occupied a power plant they say was built on an ancient burial site. "They didn't take into account the situation of the Indians. The company used dynamite to blow up part of an archeological site," Antonio Carlos Ferreira de Aquino, a local administrator with the ... Sun, 25 Jul 2010 19:43:23 GMT http://www.earth-stream.com/Earth/Clean-Energy/Hydroelectric/BAE-to-assist-green-energy-project_18_151_1325_255984.html Britain's biggest arms manufacturer will contribute its marine engineering expertise to a wave-power project off OrkneyMarine engineering for an innovative wave-power project off Orkney is to be provided by Britain's biggest arms manufacturer, BAE Systems. The defence firm, which builds Type 45 destroyers and Astute nuclear submarines, is to develop the hi-tech remote ballasting and problem-solving systems in co-operation with Aquamarine Power, which owns the device, known as the Oyster wave energy converter.The converter uses a floating himged flap to pump water through a hydro-electric turbine, generating electricity for the National Grid.BAE and Aquamarine have received a £450,000 grant from the government's technology strategy board to support a 30-month research and development scheme to try to make Oyster cost-effective. "This is a great opportunity for us to apply skills developed in naval design and the management of large, complex maritime engineering programmes to support the emerging marine energy industry," said Kevin McLeod, engineering director at BAE's surface ships division.Aquamarine, which has already installed and tested its Oyster 1 demonstration device at the European Marine Energy Centre, in Orkney, said the firms shared "a belief in the global potential of wave energy".EnergyBAE SystemsEnergy industryEnergyEnergyScotlandTerry Macalisterguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds Thu, 22 Jul 2010 23:39:36 GMT http://www.earth-stream.com/Earth/Clean-Energy/Hydroelectric/HighDro-Power-Toilets-Harvest-Energy-From-Falling-Waste-Water_18_151_1325_255529.html Leicester De Montfort University industrial design graduate Tom Broadbent has created an ingenious device that can harvest energy from falling waste water found in the pipes of high-rise buildings. Broadbent’s “HighDro Power” makes this conversion possible by utilizing the same principles as a hydroelectric dam — only smaller. Fitting nicely inside any bathrooms, the HighDro [...] Wed, 21 Jul 2010 15:46:20 GMT http://www.earth-stream.com/Earth/Clean-Energy/Hydroelectric/Video-Explosion-at-Russian-power-plant_18_151_1325_255030.html Attack by insurgents at Russian plant owned by RusHydro, the world's second largest hydroelectric power producer, leaves two dead and two injured Mon, 12 Jul 2010 18:20:50 GMT http://www.earth-stream.com/Earth/Clean-Energy/Hydroelectric/Egypt-unveils-plans-for-100MW-solar-power-plant_18_151_1325_252801.html Business Green: The Egyptian electricity ministry has unveiled plans to build a new $700m 100MW solar power plant between 2012 and 2017 that should further establish the country as one of the leading developers of utility-scale solar plants. According to reports in the local Al-Ahram newspaper, the solar power project at Kom Ombo, near the Aswan High Dam hydroelectric plant, will be financed by a number of international institutions, including the African Development Fund and the World Bank. ... Mon, 12 Jul 2010 12:00:29 GMT http://www.earth-stream.com/Earth/Clean-Energy/Hydroelectric/Egypt-plans-100MW-solar-power-plant_18_151_1325_252664.html Second major solar plant announced as country edges towards target of generating 20 per cent of energy from renewables by 2020The Egyptian Electricity Ministry has unveiled plans to build a new $700m 100MW solar power plant between 2012 and 2017 that should further establish the country as one of the leading developers of utility-scale solar plants.According to reports in the local Al-Ahram newspaper, the solar power project at Kom Ombo, near the Aswan High Dam hydro-electric plant, will be financed by a number of international institutions, including the African Development Fund and the World Bank. Additional finance is also expected to be provided through the UN's Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) carbon offsetting scheme.The project is part of a five-year plan running from 2012-2017 designed to establish the Egypt as one of the top generators of solar energy in North Africa, electricity ministry undersecretary Aktham Abou el-Ella told news agency Reuters.The project will be the nation's second large scale solar power project following the country's first solar plant at El-Koraymat, south of Cairo, which is expected to be finished later this year and will produce 20MW of solar power alongside 120MW of conventional natural gas power.The vast majority of Egypt's power is currently provided by natural gas-fired power stations, with a small percentage coming from large scale hydroelectric plants on the Nile delta.However, the country's government has pledged to generate 20 per cent of its power from renewable sources by 2020, which it hopes to achieve largely through wind and solar expansion. It is also eyeing the potential to export solar energy to southern Europe as part of the high profile Desertec initiative.Northern Africa has been touted as a potential hub for solar energy generation given its low levels of rain and year-round sun, but uptake of the technology has been slow, largely because of high capital costs.Egypt will need to dramatically accelerate t ... Wed, 07 Jul 2010 17:57:32 GMT http://www.earth-stream.com/Earth/Clean-Energy/Hydroelectric/The-Power-of-Mexican-Wind-in-Isolated-Communities-+-Video-_18_151_1325_251699.html Global Post has produced a new Energy Entrepreneurs series, which features video profiles of entrepreneurs around the world who are working to reinvent the global energy industry. Some of the topics the series covers include solar power, wind power, hydroelectric power and thermal energy. The video below shows the use of a hybrid generator system in some of Mexico's poorest communities. The generator utilizes both wind and solar power to generate electricity in a small battery.  These wind towers are made from simple, accessible materials and workshops are run to teach people how to assemble and maintain their tower ... Wed, 07 Jul 2010 15:12:13 GMT http://www.earth-stream.com/Earth/Clean-Energy/Hydroelectric/Science-Fair-Project-Challenge-Conjure-Up-Sustainable-Inventions_18_151_1325_251598.html Are you a science geek or wannabe inventor? Then don’t shy away from your true talents…the world needs more eco-friendly inventions! With the need and availability of alternative energies such as solar and hydropower, there are a plethora of roads you can travel down. Remember, how fun the science fairs were in grade school? Then [...] Related Articles The Fair Trade Organic Cotton Project Solar Panels Everywhere $5 Billion Hydro Electric Project in Quebec, Canada Tue, 06 Jul 2010 11:56:53 GMT http://www.earth-stream.com/Earth/Clean-Energy/Hydroelectric/Today-s-Climate-July-6-2010_18_151_1325_251218.html Tar Balls From Gulf Oil Spill Turn Up in Texas (AP) A top Texas official said Monday that tar balls from the Gulf oil spill have been found on state beaches, marking the first known evidence that crude from the Deepwater Horizon well has now reached all the Gulf states. Obama Decried, Then Used, Some Bush Drilling Policies (Wall Street Journal) Less than four months after Pres. Obama took office, a federal appeals court in Washington, D.C. found that the government was unprepared for a major spill at sea, relying on an "irrational" environmental analysis of the risks of offshore drilling. Federal Wildlife Agency Saw Low Risk in Oil Spills (AFP) Documents show federal regulators concluded offshore oil drilling posed a low risk to endangered wildlife. The conclusion is at odds with scenes of pelicans fighting to survive the massive Gulf oil spill. U.S. Climate Scientists Receive Hate Mail Barrage in Wake of UEA Scandal (Guardian) Climate scientists in the U.S. say police inaction has left them defenseless in the face of a torrent of death threats and hate mail, leaving them fearing for their lives and one to contemplate arming himself with a handgun. China Needs to Increase Renewable Energy Capacity (Bloomberg) China, the world's biggest polluter, needs to increase its capacity to produce electricity from renewable energy sources by 50% to meet the country’s 2020 targets, a government official said. Doubt Lingers on Indonesia’s Emission Target (Jakarta Post) Nine months after Indonesia declared its ambitious pledge to cut emissions with its own money, doubts remain over whether the government can meet its own target, with no clear supporting regulations made. Study Claims Hydroelectric Dams Hurt Climate More than Oil (Wired) A study from Brazil's National Institute for Research in the Amazon claims that hydroelectric power could be considerably more damaging to the atmosphere than generating the same amount of energy from oil. ... Tue, 06 Jul 2010 03:00:22 GMT http://www.earth-stream.com/Earth/Clean-Energy/Hydroelectric/Hydro-electric-power-capacity-to-treble-by-2020_18_151_1325_250652.html Britain's hydro-power plant capacity may treble by 2020 as electricity producers make use of government incentives for renewable energy, the Environment Agency said yesterday. Tue, 06 Jul 2010 03:00:21 GMT http://www.earth-stream.com/Earth/Clean-Energy/Hydroelectric/Stop-using-toasters-islanders-are-told_18_151_1325_250646.html Residents of a Scottish island that claims to be the world's greenest have been told to cut their power use because a shortage of rain is starving its hydro-electric generators. Wed, 26 May 2010 17:42:22 GMT http://www.earth-stream.com/Earth/Clean-Energy/Hydroelectric/Indigenous-Amazonians-Prepare-For-War-to-Stop-Massive-Hydroelectric-Dam-on-Xingu-River_18_151_1325_250284.html image: GDS Digital via EU Infrastructure, scroll down for full infographic. Brazil's planned 11 gigawatt Belo Monte Dam on the Xingu River (a tributary of the Amazon) has raised a lot of protest in the past few months--and some comparisons of Thu, 29 Apr 2010 01:25:15 GMT http://www.earth-stream.com/Earth/Clean-Energy/Hydroelectric/Canada-British-Columbia-sets-out-new-clean-energy-plan_18_151_1325_242993.html Reuters: British Columbia unveiled a new clean energy plan on Wednesday that calls for increased efficiency and reduces the ability of rate regulators to spurn potentially costlier renewable energy projects. Canada's westernmost province, which already generates most of its electricity from hydroelectric dams, has decreed that 93 percent of its electricity must come from clean or renewable sources, up from 90 percent. The British Columbia Utility Commission, which sparred with the ... Mon, 26 Apr 2010 22:46:45 GMT http://www.earth-stream.com/Earth/Clean-Energy/Hydroelectric/James-Cameron-on-Why-Earth-Day-Matters-and-What-We-Can-Learn-From-the-Amazon-Video-_18_151_1325_242127.html Image credit: Nancy Wilson Deep in the Amazon, Writer and Director James Cameron has found what many have taken to calling a "real life Avatar." The Belo Monte hydroelectric project will dam 60 kilometers of the Xingu river. The Brazilian government says that the project is essential for securing energy and jobs—and that the social and environmenta...Read the full story on TreeHugger Mon, 26 Apr 2010 09:45:03 GMT http://www.earth-stream.com/Earth/Clean-Energy/Hydroelectric/Amazon-dam-contract-awarded-as-court-injunction-dismissed_18_151_1325_241922.html A consortium of nine firms has won the right to build an 11GW hydroelectric dam on a tributary of the Amazon in Brazil – despite protests from environmental, indigenous and social groups, and a last minute injunction. Wed, 21 Apr 2010 18:05:48 GMT http://www.earth-stream.com/Earth/Clean-Energy/Hydroelectric/Awarding-of-Brazilian-dam-contract-prompts-warning-of-bloodshed_18_151_1325_240892.html Indigenous leader says men are preparing their bows and arrows to prevent construction of the Belo Monte damIndigenous leaders in Brazil are warning of imminent violence after a successful tender for the rights to construct a giant hydro-electric plant in the Brazilian Amazon which opponents claim will wreak havoc on the rainforest and its inhabitants.The tender for the Belo Monte dam, on the Xingu river in the state of Pará, was won by a consortium of Brazilian companies on Tuesday, taking the government one step closer towards the construction of the £7bn dam, which would reputedly be the third biggest of its kind, with the capacity to produce some 11,000MW of power.One Brazilian minister told reporters that the president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, was pleased with the result. But environmentalists, indigenous leaders and their supporters, including Avatar's director, James Cameron, who has made two recent visits to the region, have vowed to fight to prevent construction.The Kayapó leader Raoni Metuktire, who gained international exposure in the 1980s and 1990s touring the world with Sting, said indigenous men from the Xingu were preparing their bows and arrows in order to fight off the dam."I think that today the war is about to start once more and the Indians will be forced to kill the white men again so they leave our lands alone," he said. "I think the white man wants too much, our water, our land. There will be a war so the white man cannot interfere in our lands again."Luis Xipaya, another of the region's indigenous leaders, told Reuters: "There will be bloodshed and the government will be responsible for that."Plans to build a towering hydro-electric dam on the Xingu were conceived in the 1970s but have repeatedly stalled, partly as a result of international pressure. However, renewed attempts to push ahead with the dam, part of a massive government drive to boost economic growth, have revived fears for thousands of indigenous people who live ... Wed, 21 Apr 2010 17:50:46 GMT http://www.earth-stream.com/Earth/Clean-Energy/Hydroelectric/Brazil-awards-dam-tender-despite-environmental-protests_18_151_1325_240887.html Agence France-Presse: Brazil on Tuesday speedily awarded the tender for a controversial hydro-electric dam projected to be the world's third-largest, despite fierce opposition from environmentalists. The government pushed ahead with the bidding process to begin construction of the giant Belo Monte dam after beating back a last-minute suspension order with a rushed appeal. The tender was awarded to Norte Energia, a consortium led by a subsidiary of the state electricity company Electrobras, after a ... Wed, 21 Apr 2010 06:50:52 GMT http://www.earth-stream.com/Earth/Clean-Energy/Hydroelectric/Mining-Protests-Overshadow-World-People-s-Summit-on-Climate-Change_18_151_1325_240754.html Reporting from Cochabamba, Bolivia Bolivian President Evo Morales launched the World People’s Conference on Climate Change and the Rights of Mother Earth on Tuesday, welcoming over 10,000 people from 135 countries and dozens of social organizations to what he declared to be an alternative to the United Nations climate talks. In a moving multicultural ceremony in a stadium outside Cochabamba, amautas — indigenous cultural leaders — performed an official ceremony opening offering a gift to mother earth "Pachamama". A written goal of the conference is “to save the planet,” and Morales, who opposed the U.S.-backed Copenhagen Accord during the last international climate conference, was clear about where he'd like to start. "We can not have equilibrium in this world with the current inequality and destruction of Mother Earth," Morales told the crowd. "Capitalism is what is causing this problem and it needs to end." For three days, Cochabamba, a city of fewer than a million people, will hold 17 conference workshops where topics such as structural causes of climate change, harmony with nature, adapting to climate change, indigenous peoples, the dangers of the carbon market and others will be discussed. The participants, many from environmental and social groups, hope the summit’s conclusions will be taken into account at the next UN talks in Mexico in December, though its unclear whether world leaders will even acknowledge the proposals. The Rebel Workshop Off the official summit campus, visitors can find Workshop No. 18 and another set of concerns. Workshop No. 18 is a self-declared rebel workshop. Morales’ government doesn't want to hear the demands of the social organizations there because they are exposing environmental problems caused by extractive activities like mining, new projects hydroelectric dams and water legislation within Bolivia, participants said. Such mining is likely to expand and cross paths with the global push ...