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The document examines how regulations and standards can be used to foster a green economy by either mandating transitions or removing regulatory barriers. It highlights Vancouver's "Green Tape Review" as a successful example of removing obstacles to green technologies, such as green roofs and urban agriculture, through zoning bylaw amendments. The text suggests that a similar proactive review in Manitoba could identify and remove sustainability barriers with minimal opposition compared to imposing higher mandatory standards.

The report argues that replacing coal with natural gas is insufficient to meet U.S. climate goals due to continued CO2 emissions and methane leakage. It highlights risks including water contamination from fracking, price volatility, and the potential to crowd out renewables. The authors advocate for a transition to a system where renewables and efficiency provide 80% of electricity by 2050.

Ohio is transitioning from coal to natural gas for electricity generation, but this shift maintains significant risks. The report advocates for a more diverse energy mix, highlighting the success of the Alternative Energy Portfolio Standard in reducing costs and creating jobs through wind, solar, and energy efficiency.

King Island, Tasmania, is implementing the King Island Renewable Energy Integration Project (KIREIP) to transition from diesel-heavy power to a high-renewables system. By integrating wind, solar, energy storage, and smart grid technologies, the project aims to reduce annual diesel consumption from 4.5 million liters to 1.6 million liters, targeting a 65 percent renewable energy share. Key innovations include the use of diesel-powered rotary uninterruptible power supply (D-UPS) generators to enable periods of 100-percent-renewable penetration and the installation of Australia's largest battery system at the time. Additionally, the proposed TasWind project seeks to export large-scale wind energy to mainland Australia, though it faces local opposition regarding tourism and land use.

The document examines various energy storage technologies, ranging from established systems like pumped hydro and compressed air energy storage (CAES) to emerging solutions like flow batteries and flywheels. It highlights the critical role of U.S. federal initiatives, specifically Department of Energy (DOE) grants and Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) orders, in reducing financial risks and reforming market access to encourage utility-scale implementation. The brief also details specific U.S. projects and proposed legislation, such as the STORAGE Act, aimed at incentivizing storage to support grid stability and the integration of variable renewable energy.

The report analyzes the energy landscape of Central America, noting a contradictory trend where the region leads in geothermal and hydroelectric power but faces increasing dependence on imported fossil fuels. It argues that while the region has the potential to meet 100% of its electricity needs through renewables, significant gaps in data, administrative inefficiency, and fossil fuel subsidies hinder progress. The document recommends integrating technical resource assessments with socio-economic analysis (LCOE+), simplifying bureaucratic processes through 'single-window' permitting, and strengthening regional interconnection via SIEPAC to manage variability in wind and solar power.

The document examines various energy storage technologies, from established methods like pumped hydro to emerging battery and flywheel systems, highlighting their role in integrating renewable energy and stabilizing the grid. It details the impact of FERC Orders 1000 and 755 and DOE initiatives, such as the Joint Center for Energy Storage Research (JCESR), in reducing technical and economic hurdles. Additionally, it profiles several large-scale U.S. projects and discusses proposed legislation, including the STORAGE Act, aimed at incentivizing storage deployment through tax credits.

The text highlights the ecological and social costs of coal mining in Central India, specifically the loss of biodiversity and displacement of forest communities. It notes that despite doubling coal production capacity since 2007, 400 million Indians still lack electricity. The document criticizes the failure of 22 out of 29 Indian states to meet Renewable Purchase Obligation (RPO) targets in 2012 and argues that the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) acts as a fossil fuel subsidy by providing credits to coal plants that do not achieve real emission reductions.

The report examines the vulnerability of the U.S. power sector to water constraints and climate change, comparing a 'business as usual' pathway with low-carbon alternatives. It finds that a combination of renewable energy and energy efficiency can drastically reduce water withdrawals and consumption while lowering consumer costs and mitigating climate impacts.

The document compiles job data from various government and industry sources to estimate employment in the U.S. clean energy economy. It highlights that as of 2011, there were 3.4 million green jobs in the U.S., and that the 'clean economy' employed 2.7 million people in 2010, surpassing the 2.4 million employed in the fossil fuel industry. The report details specific employment figures for sectors such as biofuels, hydropower, solar, and wind, while projecting significant future job growth in energy efficiency through 2050.

The report analyzes the energy landscape of Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Panama, noting a growing dependence on imported fossil fuels despite significant renewable potential. It highlights that while the region leads in hydropower and geothermal energy, resources like wind and solar remain underutilized. The document identifies critical gaps in resource data, socioeconomic assessments, and administrative efficiency, while recommending a 'long, loud, and legal' policy approach to attract investment and achieve a 100 percent renewable electricity grid.

The document details employment figures for the U.S. green economy, noting that the Bureau of Labor Statistics estimated 3.4 million green jobs in late 2011. It provides a granular breakdown of jobs in energy efficiency, which totaled 823,105 direct jobs according to a Brookings-Battelle study, and renewable energy, where total estimates range from 903,536 to 1,055,536 jobs across various technologies including biofuels, hydropower, solar, and wind.

Thailand has achieved rapid growth in renewable energy, particularly solar power, through a combination of incentive policies, simplified regulations, and civil society engagement. Key mechanisms include the Small Power Producer (SPP) and Very Small Power Producer (VSPP) programmes, and the 'Adder' feed-in premium. While these policies attracted significant private investment and increased capacity, the government is now transitioning toward a more sophisticated feed-in tariff to manage costs and balance the energy portfolio, as solar growth has significantly outpaced other renewable sources.

The report details a collaborative effort to accelerate the transition of Fort Collins, Colorado, toward a clean energy future. It assesses the current state of Fort Collins Utilities, proposes an accelerated timeline for meeting carbon and renewable goals, and suggests specific enablers such as a new 'FortZED tariff' and enhanced community engagement strategies to drive technology adoption while maintaining utility viability.

The report argues that state renewable electricity standards (RES) are effective market-based tools that have driven significant growth in wind and solar capacity across the U.S. with minimal cost impacts on consumers. It highlights that these policies stimulate local economies through job creation in installation and manufacturing, provide new revenue streams for rural landowners, and stabilize electricity rates by removing reliance on volatile fossil fuel markets. While noting strong compliance rates, the document identifies transmission infrastructure, market oversupplies, and political opposition as primary challenges to further expansion.

The US experienced a nearly four-fold increase in electricity from wind and solar between 2007 and 2012, with nine states already generating 10 percent or more of their power from these sources. The document asserts that current grid tools can handle higher percentages of variable renewable energy and that a combination of wind, solar, geothermal, biomass, and hydropower could supply 80 percent of US electricity by 2050, with wind and solar alone contributing 50 percent.

The report examines Kenya's efforts to mainstream climate change resilience into its development planning, highlighting the role of the National Climate Change Response Strategy (NCCRS) and the National Climate Change Action Plan (NCCAP). It details the institutional arrangements, such as the National Climate Change Council, and the use of the 'Threshold 21' model to forecast climate impacts on sectors like agriculture and energy. While political will is evident, the report notes a heavy reliance on unpredictable external donor funding and a need for a stronger legislative backbone to support policy frameworks.

The report examines the growth of wind and solar power in the U.S. and globally, asserting that the technical challenges of variable energy sources are manageable. It highlights successful integration by utilities like Xcel Energy and countries like Denmark and Germany. The document details various tools for maintaining reliability—including geographic dispersion, improved forecasting, transmission upgrades, and energy storage—and cites studies suggesting that renewables could provide 80% of U.S. electricity by 2050.

The 'Energy 101' Model Curriculum is a one-semester interdisciplinary framework developed by the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU) in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). It aims to foster 'energy literate decision making' by combining the science of energy with economic, ethical, societal, and international factors. The curriculum is structured into five units: Introduction to Energy, Energy Basics, Energy Sources, Energy Technology and Practice, and Energy Policy and Decision-Making. It utilizes the National Training & Education Resource (NTER), an open-source cloud-based platform, to provide instructional materials and interactive graphics. The framework is currently being tested at the University of Maryland, with further implementations planned at Harford Community College and Cecil Community College.

The document examines the environmental footprint of wind power, noting that while it is a clean energy source, it has specific impacts on land use, wildlife, and local communities. It highlights that land-based facilities in the US use between 30 and 141 acres per megawatt, though permanent disturbance is less than 1 acre per megawatt. Wildlife impacts, particularly bird and bat collisions, are described as relatively low and manageable through better siting and operational adjustments. Public health concerns regarding sound and vibration have not been found to have adverse effects in studies from Canada and Australia. Finally, the document notes that wind power's life-cycle global warming emissions (0.02 to 0.04 pounds of CO2e/kWh) are significantly lower than those of natural gas or coal.