Green Options

I’ve been happy with all the recent efforts by European auto manufacturers to bring fuel-efficient diesels back to the States. From Volkswagen to Mercedes, diesels seem to be the new attempt at pleasing the US “green” crowd with classy, low-emissions fuel-sippers.

Reading that last sentence over, it seems funny to call them a “new attempt” because these high mileage diesels have been available to Europeans for a LONG time — but that’s another story.

So, while it’s debatable whether a gasoline-powered Prius at 40 mpg is more “green” than a diesel-powered Jetta at 40 mpg — it all has to do with how much of each type of fuel comes out of one barrel of oil — It’s a fact that having these new clean diesels as an option is certainly something the US has been lacking for a long time. And I appreciate having that option, I really do.

Peer-reviewed study finds Americans falling behind across all income levels.

Think of the Czech Republic and you’re more likely to think of beer, castles or Kafka than solar power. But the Eastern European country is one of the world’s fastest-growing markets, says Jenny Chase, a senior associate with London-based research firm New Energy Finance.

The country installed 50.8 megawatts of solar power last year, up dramatically from only 3 megawatts in 2007, she says. The bulk of that capacity — 31.5 megawatts — got installed in December, which represented more than fivefold growth from the 5.81 megawatts installed in November.

Ambitious Indian car company Tata has revealed that it may launch its Indica Vista EV all-electric car in Europe by the end of the year, making it the first ‘mainstream’ company to bid for a slice of the continent’s potentially lucrative zero-emission vehicles market.

The move is likely to ruffle a few feathers amongst GM executives, who had grand plans that the Opel Ampera (the Chevy Volt’s European cousin) would become the first major player in the region, following its launch in 2011.

European Union officials are studying plans for an international wind power grid in the North Sea that could provide energy generated from renewable sources to 70 million European homes. The proposed offshore grid would be more than 3850 miles long, and connect more than 100 wind farms, containing a total of 10,000 turbines to seven countries.