Angelika Pullen

By Angelika Pullen, WindMade

This, I have to admit, is a real coup for WindMade: Bloomberg US is the first news organisation in the word to receive the WindMade certification label.

This is also good news for the environment: as much as 58% of the power consumption of Bloomberg’s US operations are covered by wind power, and a further 25% by biomass energy. These shares are much higher than the 25% entry level WindMade requires!

Bloomberg believes that this move will give them a competitive edge, and they might well be right – consumers love renewable energy. Once again, this year’s edition of the Global Consumer Wind Study[i] comes to this conclusion, showing that 79% of respondents would prefer to have their electricity generated by renewables, compared to 5% for fossil fuels and 7% for nuclear. And, what’s more, 74% of consumers answered that they would have a more positive perception of brands that use wind power as their main energy source.

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Dr. Reinhold Mitterlehner, Austrian Economy Minister

Austria leads Europe when it comes to sourcing the highest percentage of electricity from renewable sources, and by 2020 an impressive 71% of its electricity is expected to be powered by renewable energy from hydropower to wind power.

Next year Austria will host EWEA’s Annual Event and from February 4-7 visitors to the conference and exhibition in Vienna will also get the chance to sign up for trips to visit the country’s renewable energy fleet.

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US Presidential candidate Mitt Romney

While there is no doubt that the US is the number one economy in the world and its international influence — from popular culture to military power — is second to none, trying to understand the nation’s domestic political scene is far from an easy task.

Take for example recent stories regarding climate change denial, a wind power-related lawsuit, and a new poll showing the majority of Americans favour wind energy.

Last week, at the first of three scheduled Presidential TV debates, a number of newspapers and websites have reported that neither Democrat candidate Barack Obama nor Republican Mitt Romney are even speaking about climate change.

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UK Chancellor George Osborne

This week international firms and energy companies including Mitsubishi Power Systems and Siemens have threatened to slash planned investments in the UK unless George Osborne, the UK Chancellor, shows real commitment to developing a low carbon economy and delivering green growth. The Times reported that if these firms carry out their threats, hundreds of UK jobs are at risk.

In the same week a separate call came from more than 50 businesses including household brands like Microsoft, Asda, EDF and Sky for the UK government to put in place a 2030 target on decarbonising the power sector, saying that this would stimulate investment and revamp the UK’s ageing energy infrastructure.

In response to these messages, Osborne did say investing in renewables is important, but he immediately undermined this by announcing a new generous tax regime for shale gas extraction. Osborne also supports a new “dash for gas” which would involve building around 20 new gas-fired power stations, raising carbon emissions and diverting investments in renewable energy.

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That’s not a title you have been expecting is it? But this week, as models graced the catwalk at the Paris fashion week, wind turbines did exactly that.

Karl Lagerfeld sent out model’s clad in Chanel’s spring-summer collection on a solar-panelled catwalk dotted with a dozen towering, white, swishing wind turbines. Not only that but throughout the collection there were hints of renewable energy: a disc-shaped hat with a giant transparent rim that recalls a spinning turbine, a mini-dress embroidered in a blue solar panel-like pattern and a t-shirt festooned with sketches of turbines.

Asked about the inspiration for his latest wear, Lagerfeld talked about “volume” and “lightness” and reportedly called turbines “beautiful”. “If I had to build a house, I would put them in the garden,” he said according to France 24. Click here to see the renewable energy catwalk.

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