Blog Contributors
- Alan Bickerstaff
- David L. Concannon
- Roger D. Feldman
- J. Matthew Lyons
- Bonnie Rubey McMurtry
- Siddharth "Sid" Sethy
- Daniel J. Swendsen
- Mark J. Thurber
- Sean S. Wooden
Subscribe To RSS
India: National Clean Energy Fund
The Finance Bill 2010-11 created the National Clean Energy Fund (“Fund”) to invest in entrepreneurial ventures and research in the field of clean energy technologies. The Fund will be financed through a carbon tax on the coal industry at the rate of Rs. 50.00 (US$ 1.0881)1 for each metric ton of coal used in India, whether mined in or imported into the country. According to Emergent Ventures, a climate change consulting company, this new tax could help raise about Rs. 25,000,000,000 (US$ 544,069,640.91)2.
1. At 1 US$ = 45.9500 Indian Rupees
2. At 1 US$ = 45.9500 Indian Rupees
Clean Energy Ministerial Kick Off
The world's first meeting of the Clean Energy Ministerial recently concluded in Washington, DC. The Clean Energy Ministerial is a high-level group of energy ministers from several countries that was launched by the Major Economies Forum in 2009. Its main goal is to help countries reduce carbon dioxide emissions and tap into an emerging clean energy economy.
Indian Union Budget: Increase for Renewable Energy Sector
India continued its initiative for ecologically sustainable growth by increasing the renewable energy budget by 61% in the Union Budget 2010-2011 presented earlier this year. The budget was increased to Rs 1,000 crore (US$ 225,098,480)1 from Rs 620 crore (US$ 139,561,057)1 signaling the government’s continued commitment to popularizing the use of alternate sources of energy in the country.
Reauthorization of ARPA-E
The Advanced Projects Research Agency – Energy (ARPA-E) was established within the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) in 2007 under the America COMPETES Act. ARPA-E is modeled after the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), the agency responsible for technological innovations such as the Internet and the stealth technology used in modern fighter aircrafts. ARPA-E’s mission is to identify and to fund transformational technologies that reduce the U.S.’s dependence on foreign energy imports, reduce U.S. energy related emissions (including greenhouse gases) and improve energy efficiency. Though ARPA-E was authorized without an initial budget, ARPA-E received $400 million in funding in April 2009 through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA).
