The European Union has provided the initial investment to station solar plants along the desert shores of the Mediterranean in northern Africa and the Middle East. They hope to significantly reduce their carbon emissions and increase the supply of drinking water in the desert region through a desalination process linked to solar energy production.

Although this process is currently twice as expensive as coal-generated power, plans are underway to reduce costs. Technological innovation and international energy standards could advance similar projects throughout the world. A recent article in Scientific American (January 2008) titled ‘A Solar Grand Plan’ describes a large-scale solar initiative taking shape in the United States.

This picture of a parabolic trough CSP (Concentrating Solar Power) plant in the Nevada desert, along with more pictures and information on the Trans-Mediterranean Renewable Energy Cooperation (TREC), can be found at the TREC-UK website.

Quoted from ‘How Africa’s desert sun can bring Europe power’ in the Guardian (December 2, 2007): Billions of watts of power could be generated this way, enough to provide Europe with a sixth of its electricity needs and to allow it to make significant cuts in its carbon emissions. At the same time, the stations would be used as desalination plants to provide desert countries with desperately needed supplies of fresh water.

A recent report from the Worldwatch Institute projects that China will meet its ambitious renewable energy goals for 2020 through significant investments in hydro, wind, biomass, and solar power. Of particular note is the use of solar hot water by ten percent of Chinese households, which could affect global energy use as companies begin to export these inexpensive units.

However, Howard French and Li Zhen’s article in the New York Times (part of a series on pollution in China) paints a different picture of China’s renewable energy progress. Titled Far From Beijing’s Reach, Officials Bend Energy Rules, this article identifies widespread breaches of policy at the local level, making it increasingly unlikely that China will meet its energy reduction goals without meaningful intervention by the national government to assure compliance.

This highlights the importance of effective policy enforcement in creating the conditions necessary for sustainable business practices to take root.

Quoted from the Worldwatch Institute’s review of Powering China’s Development: China has become a global leader in renewable energy. It is expected to invest more than $10 billion in new renewable energy capacity in 2007, second only to Germany. Most of this is for small hydropower, solar hot water, and wind power.

The Innovate Properties building in Leeds, by Rio Architects and King Shaw Associates, has been rated the greenest office in the UK. This rating was established using BREEAM (Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method). The building is a model of innovation in energy efficiency and sustainability.

Quoted: The building that has just been awarded the highest ever BREEAM score – 87.55% – is a developer-owned speculative office in Leeds. You would probably never guess that just by looking at it, particularly as it includes such traditional office features as mechanical ventilation.

Beddington Zero Energy Development (BedZED) is a successful “eco-community” built on reclaimed land in Surrey, England. It is mentioned in a World Resources Institute article on environmentally sustainable housing developments, titled Green Acres: Communities Reduce Ecological Footprints.

Quoted: The Beddington Zero Energy Development (BedZED) is the UK’s largest carbon-neutral eco-community – the first of its kind in this country. BedZED was developed by the Peabody Trust in partnership with Bill Dunster Architects and BioRegional Development Group, environmental consultants.

An article on building pollution and strategies for reduction from July 15, 2007. It details the extent to which the built environment in New York City contributes to CO2 emissions, and profiles various strategies for reducing these emissions based on interviews with experts working in the field.

Quoted: In fact, most big New York buildings, both commercial and residential, are wasting thousands of dollars a year on energy, the city says. Energy use by buildings accounts for almost 80 percent of the city’s greenhouse gas emissions, and residential buildings for about a third of that. These gases are released in creating the energy used to heat, cool and light the buildings, as well as to run myriad household appliances and gadgets.

Quoted: Remarkably, the age of a building seems to have no correlation with how energy efficient or inefficient it is. Some of New York City’s most efficient are old brick-and-mortar buildings “that just have amazingly good maintenance staff,” said Michael Colgrove, a senior project manager at New York State Energy Research Authority, whose goal is to make multifamily buildings more efficient.

Quoted: measures that he recommended for the building would cost about $30,000 in all: replacing the old boiler with an efficient unit, replacing the old beat-up windows with new double-paned windows, insulating the roof and installing motion sensors on the lights in the basement.

Amory Lovins, Chief Scientist at Rocky Mountain Institute, gave an excellent a five-part lecture series on “Advanced Energy Efficiency: Concepts and Practice” at Stanford University in March 2007. The series was organized around the following topics: Buildings, Industry, Transportation, Implementation, and Implications. Embedded above is the first video in the series. The videos from each lecture are available on Google Video and Stanford iTunes.