It is just one more step in the process of getting the Waxman-Markey climate-energy bill passed, but it is an important step.

You might think that getting a sufficient number of liberals to agree on legislation to brig into being a price for carbon emissions would not be hard, but the behind the scenes effort to get enough votes has been tough.

Sticking points have been Democrats that have recently taken seats from Republicans in more conservative parts of the US, and Democrats representing farming constituencies who stand to have their environmental impacts brought into the carbon count fully for the first time.

Nancy Pelosi is credited with having organized the strong arming.

If the agreement sticks, a vote on Friday should see the bill pass in the House of Representatives.

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Negotiations between the US and China on a new regime to combat climate change are sticking on the question of technology transfer.

Developing countries have had a relatively small role historically in producing carbon emissions as their industrial revolution was relatively recent (and continuing), but it is feared they will soon make up for lost time.

The general dynamic of talks  between developed and developing countries is expected to be that developing countries will agree to emissions constraints only in return for the transfer of clean technologies to support sustainable high economic growth.

The US, however, is balking at aggravating already poor balance of trade with China.

According to AFP:

"The US House of Representatives this month unanimously voted to make it US policy to prevent the Copenhagen treaty from "weakening" US intellectual property rights on a wind, solar and other eco-friendly technologies."

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It would be the biggest Concentrating Solar Power on earth, built in the North African desert to supply Europe with power.

And did I mention hugely expensive? (at least $400 billion)

Visionary? Euro-imperialism? A costly alternative to rooftop solar panels across Europe? You decide.

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If you've developed space travel vehicles, you know about solar energy and the robust management of electricity grid feed-ins.

And if you have worked on the country's nuclear deterrent capabilities, you know something about nuclear power.

So here is a piece about how Lockheed Martin and BAe are getting into the renewable energy business.

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Faced with energy shortages, the climate might be right for budding wind energy entrepreneurs.

Feed-in tariffs and a sense of urgency among energy-intensive businesses and the World Cup organisers could produce the momentum needed to get renewable energy off the ground in South Africa.

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A Greenpeace report found that the UK was Europe's renewables laggard as of 2005, with 1.3% of needs sourced from clean energy.

Ten years ago the UK's renewables figure was 1%. Not exactly progress.

Sweden, by contrast, got 35.7% of its energy from renewables in 2005.

Yesterday, however, members of the UK Parliament took the step of supporting a parliamentary motion supporting a drive to increase installations of solar power by means of "feed-in tariffs" that pay a higher than market rate for electrivity fed into the national grid when it comes from particular sources.

Feed-in tariffs have proved effective elsewhere in increasing use of renewable energy.

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Cool. 

From Shanghai Daily:  "Samsung South West Asia headquarters President and CEO J.S. Shin and Indian Minister for New and Renewable Energy Farooq Abdullah pose at the global launch of Samsung's first solar powered mobile phone, the Solar Guru 1107, priced at 2,799 rupees (US$59) in Noida, India, yesterday."

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According to Human Rights Everywhere, there is widespread evidence of "forced displacement, assassinations, property invasion" as Colombia grows its palm-based biofuels industry.  Paramilitary forces are alleged to be taking land forcibly from subsistence-farming communities in order to turn it over to biodiesel producers, who convert it the land to palm plantations.  The UN has suspended its investment in Colombian biofuels, but so far Colombia has escaped the kind of international scrutiny that Brazil's ethanol production has undergone recently.

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Over $140bn (£85bn) was invested in solar, wind and other clean energy solutions, compared with $110bn for gas and coal electricity generation.

China,India and other developing nations claimed the prize for the biggest growth in renewables investment, according to the United Nations figures.

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Good news from Dell: worldwide, 26% of their power comes from renewable sources, a 20% improvement over last year, including 9 facilities that are 100% powered by renewables. 

From Greenbiz: 'The firm's use of renewables is part of a larger initiative to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions of its facilities by 40 percent by 2015.

Dell's three-pronged strategy to drive down emissions involves energy efficiency in business operations, use of renewables where possible and purchase of third-party verified renewable energy credits to offset the company's remaining carbon impact."

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