The Ten Essential Renewable Energy News Stories This Week

By Nathanael Baker on May 21, 2010

News from the Gulf of Mexico this week has centered around the issue of transparency.

The U.S. government, scientists, and the media have continued their effort to pry valuable inforamtion and footage from BP pertaining to critical details about the on-going oil spill.

We may very well be witnessing one of the greatest disasters of our generation. Thankfully, the world and the cleantech universe has not stopped spinning, and there are numerous stories outlining the continued growth of clean energy.

It's Friday afternoon; so I won't hold you up any longer.

Here are the Top 10 Renewable Energy News Stories You May Have Missed:

1. BP and Coast Guard Blocking Media from Public Beaches - CBS has footage of their reporters being turned away from a public beach in Louisiana where they were filming oil washing up on shore.

2. Shocking NASA Image: Never-Seen-Before Southeast Oil Slick Arm - A startling new image released by NASA shows a massive column of oil extending out SOutheast towards the open ocean. This photo will no doubt change the estimated extent of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill disaster.

3. BREAKING: New Underwater Footage of Oil Leak with "Siphon" in Place - Two new videos have surfaced showing footage of the BP oil leak at the source, 5,000 feet down at the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico. These new videos show the oil leak after BP inserted a tube to siphon some of it to a ship waiting on the surface.

4. Situation Map Shows BP Oil Spill Now in the "Loop Current" - A new map issued by the joint government task force on the BP Gulf of Mexico OIl SPill shows the oil spill extending miles into the very powerful Gulf of Mexico "loop current."

5. Oil Spill Webcam Goes Live: So How Much Oil Is Actually Leaking? - British Petroleum (BP) has now made available a live streaming video of their broken oil pipeline that has been pouring thousands of barrel of oil into the the Gulf of Mexico.

6. How Much Oil Is Spewing From BP's Deepwater Disaster Every Day? - BP estimated two weeks ago that the rate of oil spilling into the Gulf of Mexico was 5,000 barrels per day (210,000 gallons). Since then, the company has refused to offer any more clarity or explanation for how it reached that figure.

7. Q & A With CEO of Growth Energy Tom Buis: The Myths About Ethanol - This is the first of a three-part interview with Growth Energy's CEO Tom Buis. In this segment, Buis talks about the myths surrounding ethanol, and how new policy promoting the ethanol industry is essential to securing America's future.

8. The New Eni-MIT Solar Frontiers Center: Pushing Solar Tech - The Massachusetts Institute of Technology has opened the Eni-MIT Solar Frontiers Center. The center will develop solar technologies that can compete with other energy sources without the need for government subsidies.

9. Too Hot: First Orders for Nissan Leaf Exceed Production Capacity - Who says the world is not ready for the electric car? Initial orders from the United States and Japan for the Nissan Leaf have outpaced production capacity.

10. Stormy Waters Sink Australia's Largest Wave Power Generator - Last week a deepwater wave energy power station sunk off the coast New South Wales, Australia after being ripped from its moorings by massive swells.

Well that is it, consider yourself caught up for the week. Remember the best way to stay up-to-date with the latest cleantech news is to follow EnergyBoom on Twitter and Facebook.

Nathanael Baker is the Managing Editor of EnergyBoom. He has researched and reported on the issues of renewable energy, sustainability, and climate change for over two years. He has provided research to the New York Times and The Economist, as well as being published on different media outlets including, The Energy Collective.