Clean energy investments in India increased to $7.9 billion last year and are expected to surpass $10 billion in 2015.

The Brazilian bank Itau Unibanco Holding SA raised 1.05 billion reais ($408 million) to finance renewable energy and water treatment projects.

Germany’s utilities, battered by the country’s shift to wind turbines and solar panels, would be glad to sell you a power plant on the cheap. They’ll even pack it up and ship it to another country.

The Obama administration is proposing a $4 billion fund to reward states that exceed cuts in greenhouse-gas emissions, and wants Congress to back steeper royalty rates for oil, gas and coal extraction from public land.

California’s bet on green energy is paying off, with clean technology companies creating more jobs and investing more money than competitors in any other state.

Enel SpA is putting the final touches on a yieldco that would hold its U.S. renewable energy assets, making it the latest power-plant owner to opt for a structure that frees up capital.

India said cheaper credit along with foreign investment will help the world’s third-largest polluter fund an ambitious renewable energy program that would build green power plants faster than China.

Policies favoring clean energy and increased competition would normally dim prospects for existing producers. Not in Chile, where foreign investors are driving a renewable boom at a time of surging returns by local utilities.

Global emissions were unchanged last year, the first time that’s happened amid economic growth in four decades, according to the International Energy Agency.

Sweden and Norway agreed to boost their target for renewable energy production amid concerns the additional capacity will exacerbate a power glut and strain the region’s electricity grid.

President Barack Obama ordered the federal government to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 40 percent from 2008 levels over the next 10 years by shifting to renewable energy sources such as solar power.

Beijing, where pollution averaged more than twice China’s national standard last year, will close the last of its four major coal-fired power plants next year.

U.K. electricity from low-carbon sources accounted for almost a quarter of the country’s generation in the fourth quarter as Drax Group Plc converted a second coal-power plant to burn wood.

Investors have spent more than $2 trillion on clean-energy plants in the past decade and last year added more renewable capacity than ever before.

Jim Keffer is Republican state lawmaker in Texas with a permit to carry a concealed weapon and doubts about whether human activity is causing global warming.

Political deadlock over Australia’s clean energy future is prompting companies such as Vestas Wind Systems A/S and Acciona SA to increasingly turn to rival markets for growth.

Brazil will increase the use of renewable energy, target zero net deforestation and push for low-carbon agriculture as part of its climate proposal, Environment Minister Izabella Teixeira said in an interview.

Australia’s largest electricity producer committed to close its coal-fired power plants within 35 years as part of an effort to cut the nation’s dependence on the fossil fuel.

European Union negotiators are endorsing an accelerated overhaul of the bloc’s carbon market after the price of emission rights fell to levels that fail to deter polluters.

Scientists and economists including BP Plc’s former chief executive officer, John Browne, are inviting governments to join a $150 billion program that aims to make clean energy cheaper than coal.

Sweden and Norway will probably exceed a joint target for renewable energy production by the end of the decade, industry consultant Nena AS said.

Bonds backing clean energy and other sustainable initiatives are booming. Investors are snapping up green bonds at the fastest pace on record, as big banks like Morgan Stanley and Bank of America Corp. pile in with new issuance to feed the growing appetite for socially responsible investments.

The European Commission raised concern that the U.K. and France may not meet their 2020 renewable energy targets, saying the two countries should examine whether they’re doing enough to reach the goals.

Uruguay hopes to generate as much as 38 percent of its power from wind by the end of 2017, up from about 13 percent now, cementing Uruguay’s position as South America’s top wind-energy user, according to Gonzalo Casaravilla, chairman of the state- owned electric utility UTE.

RWE AG, the German utility whose coal-fired plants make it Europe’s largest carbon emitter, officially started the company’s largest renewables project on Thursday: a wind farm in Liverpool Bay off Britain’s coast.

Trillions of dollars will be invested in renewable energy over the next 25 years, driving some of the most profound changes yet in how humans get their electricity. That's according to a new forecast by Bloomberg New Energy Finance that plots out global power markets to 2040. 

Renewable energy will draw almost two-thirds of the spending on new power plants over the next 25 years, dwarfing spending on fossil fuels, as plunging costs make solar the first choice for consumers and the poorest nations.

Long-frustrated wind and solar developers in Australia can now get to work on more than A$14 billion ($11 billion) in projects after a new renewable energy target passed parliament.

Stocks of clean-energy companies are proving to be better investments than those of companies that produce most of the Western Hemisphere's power, and are outperforming the rest of the stock market as well.

The evidence is found in the New York Stock Exchange Bloomberg Americas Clean Energy Index. Its 141 companies, all based in North and South America, returned 32.62 percent in the past two years. In contrast, the 40 conventional-energy companies in the Standard and Poor's 500 Energy Index returned 1.02 percent over the same period, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Clean energy also is beating the rest of the stock market. The Clean Energy Index is up 6.02 percent so far this year. Lagging behind are both the S&P 500 and the Russell 3000 Index, which gained 3.12 percent and 3.86 percent respectively in 2015.

Publicly, the United Nations climate-change talks look mired in disputes over everything from money to the length of the proposed agreement.

India's Union Cabinet has approved cost revisions for its intergovernmental agreement with the Royal Government of Bhutan to implement the 1,200-MW Punatsangchhu-1 hydroelectric project on Bhutan's Punatsangchhu River.

Executives from 13 major U.S. corporations are announcing at least $140 billion in new investments to decrease their carbon footprints as part of a White House initiative to recruit private commitments ahead of a United Nations climate-change summit later this year in Paris.

Companies including Apple Inc., Berkshire Hathaway Energy Co., and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. will join Secretary of State John Kerry and top administration officials at the White House for the announcement. In addition to pledges to cut emissions, provide financing to environmentally-focused companies, and reduce water consumption, the companies have said they will procure at least 1,600 MW of new, renewable energy. The White House said in a statement that it expects to announce a second round of similar pledges later this fall from additional companies.

The commitments are being announced as President Barack Obama is looking to build momentum toward a legacy-defining global climate accord in Paris. In addition to company-specific commitments, the corporate leaders on Monday will signal their support for a strong climate agreement out of the United Nations talks. They administration is using the pledges to set an example for companies to find ways to eliminate their carbon emissions.

Climate Talks

“As the world looks toward global climate negotiations in Paris this December, American leadership at all levels will be essential,” the White House said in a fact sheet detailing the announcement.

The administration’s actions are pushing the issue into the 2016 presidential debate. Hillary Clinton, the front-runner for the Democratic nomination, released an energy strategy saying she would both defend and go beyond Obama’s efforts. Republican candidates have criticized the administration’s initiatives as costly to the economy and unnecessary.

Among the pledges, aluminum manufacturer Alcoa Inc. has agreed to reduce emissions by 50 percent from its 2005 levels, while agricultural giant Cargill Inc. says 18 percent of its total energy use will come from renewable sources.

Coca-Cola Co. said it would drive down the carbon footprint of its beverage production by 25 percent over the next five years, while Google says it plans to triple its purchases of renewable energy over the next decade. Berkshire Hathaway says it plans to invest up to an additional $15 billion in the construction and operation of renewable energy generators, while Bank of America Corp says it will increase its environmental business initiative by $75 billion over the next decade, according to the White House

Other participating firms include Wal-Mart, United Parcel Service Inc., PepsiCo Inc., Microsoft Corp., General Motors Inc.

The corporate commitments won’t be the administration’s only major climate announcement in the next few weeks. The Environmental Protection Agency is set to present final regulations that aim to reduce carbon emissions from power plants by 30 percent from 2005 levels by 2030 later this week.

While visiting Kenya over the weekend, Obama repeatedly praised the country for its efforts to address climate change, saying its efforts tor educe emissions “has put it in the position of being a leader on the continent.” And next month, the president will travel to Alaska for an international summit on Arctic climate issues.

©2015 Bloomberg News

For more, see Big Companies, Big Renewable Investments.

Endesa Chile has unveiled a plan to develop 36 projects, amounting to 6300 MW of power in Brazil, Chile, Peru and Colombia. The board of directors are looking at hydroelectric power in particular for the bulk of the new capacity.

The Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) is funding the Ireland division of U.S.-based Ocean Renewable Power Co. (ORPC) to identify feasible tidal energy sites in the coastal waters of County Donegal. 

Changes to the United Kingdom's Feed-In Tariff program could have a negative impact on a number of generation sectors -- including small hydroelectric power -- according to a number of industry groups.

JSW Energy Ltd., based in Mumbai, India, is refinancing about US$1.1 billion via a 5:25 financial structure for its hydropower-related debt following the purchase of two hydroelectric projects in November 2014 from Jaiprakash Power Ventures Ltd.  

JSW Energy Ltd., based in Mumbai, India, is refinancing about US$1.1 billion via a 5:25 financial structure for its hydropower-related debt following the purchase of two hydroelectric projects in November 2014 from Jaiprakash Power Ventures Ltd.  

According to the Fish Passage Center website, adult fall chinook counted at Bonneville Dam were 212,618 as of Sept. 3, the second highest on record since counting began in 1938.

According to the Federal Register, potential power is presently unutilized at the 800-kW East powerhouse and proposed 700-kW West powerhouse for the Potsdam hydroelectric project on the Raquette River in Lancaster County, New York. The proposed West powerhouse received a Federal Energy Regulatory Commission exemption from licensing in 1981.  

When I was sports editor for the college newspaper, I wrote a column that was, I'm sure now a decade removed, far less clever than I thought it was at the time. But since I am 1) pressed for time and 2) devoid of original thought at the moment, I present to you, dear reader, a special reprisal of the Michael Harris Daily Weekly Monthly Occasional Grab Bag of Sports Hydropower Stuff.

A recent announcement published by Bulawayo 24 indicates several hydro projects are moving forward in Zambia.

Lignum Vitae North America LLC will donate bearings to any of the 20 teams advancing to the next phase in the Wave Energy Prize Challenge sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Water Power Program.  

A meeting of Group of Twenty energy ministers in Istanbul earlier this month affirmed a collective belief in renewable energy -- including hydroelectric power -- amongst the major economies that constitute the international forum.

Hearings on a pair of bills held by the U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee this week could potentially lead to an expansion of hydroelectric power in Alaska.

At more than 10,800 ft above sea level, the 510-MW Zangmu Hydropower Station -- the largest in Tibet and one of the highest elevation hydroelectric facilities in the world -- is fully operational. Constructed at a cost of US$1.5 billion, the facility is located in Gyaca County, Shannan Prefecture on the Yarlung Zangbo River (Brahmaputra River), that flows through Tibet downstream into India and Bangladesh.

Knight Construction & Supply Co. has won a $3.7 million contract from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to rehabilitate spillway gates at the Blue River Dam in Oregon.

Japan, the third-largest global bond player, is now becoming involved in using green bonds to have an affect on renewable energy that will likely include hydroelectric projects.  

Japan, the third-largest global bond player, is now becoming involved in using green bonds to have an affect on renewable energy that will likely include hydroelectric projects.  

The European Commission's Climate Change Committee has approved a transfer of US$19.3 million in funding for tidal energy developer Atlantis Resources from the Kyle Rhea project to its 398-MW MeyGen project.

Schottel Hydro subsidiary, Black Rock Tidal Power (BRTP), has raised C$15 million (US$11.5 million) for investment in its 2.5-MW TRITON floating marine hydrokinetic energy platform.