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Are you tired of pro Fossil Fuel or Nuke Puke Propaganda? (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-241013183046.jpeg&hash=51c9c4f17e747698c76c65c7c1814eff4f32c400)ME TOO! Get the FACTS to shut down the lies, duplicity and obfuscation! Be Armed with IRON CLAD TRUTH the prevaricating liars CANNOT DENY. Save this, the most recent data available, provided by a network of more than 500 contributors and researchers from around the world, all of which is brought together by a multi-disciplinary authoring team. When the liars open their YAP, (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.u.arizona.edu%2F%7Epatricia%2Fcute-collection%2Fsmileys%2Flying-smiley.gif&hash=a34c2f7344d5f54f7009a4e684bb6c7310cdda03) Make FOOLS (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2F245.gif&hash=67462ab647fbd65cb336e77c93c2601e477da0a9) of them with the TRUTH (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2F301.gif&hash=0291ed4abf2d80e420d1aa00d4eb3c5dd6bbfb53) and send them crawling back to their Koch Masters.(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2Fcowboypistol.gif&hash=2dc97f743dffca22404e6e4e0822765e60b33f38)
18 Fun Renewable Energy Charts From NREL Director Dan Arvizu & Ren21′s Renewables 2013 Global Status Report (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2F8.gif&hash=c1d98e606d7f558df4040f88e7997b3e11e9448c)
I had the good fortune of seeing NREL’s director, Dan Arvizu, give an optimistic renewable energy and cleantech presentation in Abu Dhabi in January. He certainly knows how to pack a presentation full of interesting charts. More recently, Dan gave a presentation in Colorado that I didn’t attend but have the slides for. (Actually, the slides are online [PDF].) Below are a few of my favorite slides from the new presentation, followed by several fun charts and tables from the key findings of Ren21’s Renewables 2013 Global Status Report. (Thanks to a reader for tipping me off to both presentations!)
Renewable Energy Charts & Facts
This first chart is on annual capacity growth rates for renewable energy technologies:
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Here’s a look at the world leaders for specific clean energy technologies (at the end of 2012):
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Naturally, the pure capacity leaders are not necessarily the per capita or per GDP leaders — normally they aren’t (a gripe I have with these types of ratings). For the latest on those for wind and solar, see:
Top Solar Power Countries (link at "Read more)
Top Wind Power Countries Per Capita (link at "Read more)
Top Wind Power Countries Per GDP (link at "Read more)
The next chart, moving away from renewables to energy use on the consumer level, is a super fun one in my opinion. Ever wonder where homes & businesses are using their energy? This chart has the details:
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There’s much more in Dan’s presentation, including many slides on NREL’s extremely high-tech, energy-efficient, LEED-platinum campus. Check it all out for more fun. (link at "Read more)
Below are now charts from Ren21’s Renewables 2013 Global Status Report. As always, I recommend checking out the full report. However, I’ve also gone ahead and pulled out several of my favorite charts to share below. Enjoy! (If you’ve already checked out Dan Arvizu’s presentation, you’ll notice that some of the charts from the Ren21 report were used in that.)
Global Renewable Energy Charts & Facts
Here’s an estimate of renewable energy’s share of electricity production at the end of 2012:
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Non-hydro renewable being at 5.2% can be seen in a positive or a negative way. It’s much higher than it was just a few years ago, but it’s still a relatively small percentage. However you look at it, though, definitely realize that it is growing fast and will for years to come. We’re just getting started!
Here’s an even closer look at global renewable energy capacity, showing the totals by country at the end of the past 3 years:
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Here’s a look at the world’s non-hydro renewable energy capacity leaders (again, in terms of total not relative capacity):
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Here’s a great summary of global renewable energy jobs totals, and totals for some leading economies:
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Here’s a look at how many and which countries have renewable energy policies (early 2013 compared to 2005):
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Solar Energy Charts & Facts
Getting into solar energy specifics more, here’s a look at global solar PV capacity growth:
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That’s a nice curve if I’ve ever seen one!
Here’s a look at solar PV’s global capacity split at the end of 2012:
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Here’s a look at the top solar PV module manufacturers at the end of 2012:
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Here’s a look at the growth of solar water heating around the world:
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Here are the leading solar water heating countries in terms of 2011 additions:
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Wow. Go, China! (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fus.123rf.com%2F400wm%2F400%2F400%2Fyayayoy%2Fyayayoy1106%2Fyayayoy110600019%2F9735563-smiling-sun-showing-thumb-up.jpg&hash=09b45642ec6d7943d30b5b87548676e3ee7dbe3d)
And this last solar chart shows global solar thermal capacity growth:
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Wowza! And expect 2013′s total to be much bigger. :o
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Wind Power Charts & Facts
Wind power has grown at a similarly impressive rate. Check out these three charts for more on that as well as on the leading wind power countries and companies:
(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi0.wp.com%2Fcleantechnica.com%2Ffiles%2F2013%2F11%2Fwind-power-global-capacity-growth.png&hash=90a1113fb2bd9b6a0a775b3210a4fddcf2d35702)
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If you might want more, check out this brief summary of the Renewables 2013 Global Status Report and then get your butt over to the report’s key findings(link at "Read more") (or just jump straight over to the full report)(link at "Read more"):
Renewable energy markets, industries, and policy frameworks have evolved rapidly in recent years. The Renewables Global Status Report provides a comprehensive and timely overview of renewable energy market, industry, investment, and policy developments worldwide. It relies on the most recent data available, provided by a network of more than 500 contributors and researchers from around the world, all of which is brought together by a multi-disciplinary authoring team. The report covers recent developments, current status, and key trends; by design, it does not provide analysis or forecasts.[/b]
Also see:
About Solar Power (link at "Read more")
About Wind Power (link at "Read more")
World Wind Power In 2012 Advances Nearly 20% (link at "Read more")
Read more at http://cleantechnica.com/2013/11/07/renewable-energy-charts-renewable-energy-facts/#qV3O2UoIJW5lIGmO.99
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South Africa: Where Clean Energy is Growing the Fastest
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SustainableBusiness.com News
South Africa has concluded the third of five bidding rounds in its Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Program (REIPPPP).
17 renewable energy projects, valued at $3.3 billion, received the go-ahead out of 93 bids. In total, 1.5 gigawatts (GW) of projects are approved: seven wind, six solar PV, two concentrating solar, one landfill gas and one biomass.
China Longyuan Power Group will develop 244 megawatts (MW) across two wind farms. :o
Close behind it is a 100 MW solar concentrating plant to be built by Abengoa, which recently went public on Nasdaq (ABGB). Xina Solar One will have 5-hour energy storage and combined with its 100 MW KaXu Solar One, which is under construction, will be the biggest solar complex in Africa.
It makes use of parabolic trough technology:
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A consortium led by Mainstream Renewable Power will build three wind projects totaling 360 MW, and will come online next year. That's in addition to 238 MW awarded in the first round of bids.
With a development pipeline of 19 GW, Mainstream recently closed a €100 million equity investment with Japanese Trading House Marubeni Corporation.
US-based SolarReserve won a bid in the previous round.
The consortium behind these projects now hold a 20% share in South Africa's solar market.
Earlier this year, Johannesburg-based Standard Bank Group and the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China agreed to jointly finance projects that win bids in the program.
The program is intended to quickly boost renewable energy in the country while weaning it off coal, which supplies 85% of its electricity. 3.7 GW of renewables will be added by the end of 2016 after the five bidding rounds are completed.
Last year, investors poured $5.7 billion into South Africa renewable energy projects, which have 20 year power-purchase agreements with the utility, Eskom, reports Bloomberg New Energy Finance.
Because of this program, South Africa is showing the most rapid clean energy growth in the world. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fus.123rf.com%2F400wm%2F400%2F400%2Fyayayoy%2Fyayayoy1106%2Fyayayoy110600019%2F9735563-smiling-sun-showing-thumb-up.jpg&hash=09b45642ec6d7943d30b5b87548676e3ee7dbe3d)
http://www.sustainablebusiness.com/index.cfm/go/news.display/id/25342?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+SBGeneralNews+%28SustainableBusiness.com+General+News%29
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It Doesn't Have To Be So Hard: Making Renewable Energy Siting Easier (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-081113015033.png&hash=0f79b1ec7dc5cae96263c4dd0ab149330bc642f5)
America's Power Plan
November 12, 2013
There is a deep irony at work in the intersection of energy and the environment. The biggest threat to our planet is climate change, caused in large part by our profligate use of energy. And one of the biggest solutions is to de-carbonize our electricity system by building renewable energy projects, linked to cities and large urban centers with new transmission lines.
These renewable energy systems can require large amounts of land. But with careful planning, we can preserve conservation values while significantly reducing our carbon footprint.
A second challenge is that most renewable energy and transmission development will take place on private lands, especially farms and ranches. While farmers and ranchers are eager to see the economic benefits of hosting wind farms and supplying biomass for energy, the track record with transmission development in America gives many of them pause. But again, new policies and practices can help make new infrastructure welcome in the American countryside.
At the request of the Energy Foundation, we have developed some ideas for improved siting policies and practices, as part of America’s Power Plan. The Plan is a comprehensive response to the rapid changes in the power sector coming from new technologies, consumer demand, and policy. Siting new renewables and the associated infrastructure will be a key part of that transition.
How much land will be needed to move to a high-renewables future? The National Renewable Energy Lab (NREL) calculates that getting 80 percent of our power from renewables would use about 200,000 square kilometers, less than 3 percent of the U.S. land base.
Most of this would come from biomass production, such as growing prairie grasses and other fast growing species specifically for energy production. Wind power, though it needs open spaces, only takes a small amount of land away from farming and ranching. In one scenario, NREL estimates wind would need 87,000 square kilometers of space, but only use up 4,200 square kilometers.
In a core scenario, NREL estimated the need for about 120 million “megawatt-miles” of new transmission, an investment of $6.5 billion per year between now and 2050 to reach 80 percent renewables. While this seems like a lot of lines—our current system has 150-200 million megawatt-miles—most of this would be built in the sparsely-populated wind belt (see the accompanying map). NREL also created a “constrained transmission” scenario, which limited new grid construction and forced more renewable generation closer to load. That scenario required only 25 million megawatt-miles additional, but had higher overall costs and more congestion. With thoughtful and integrated planning, we believe we can maximize the use of current lines and minimize the need for new.
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Source: NREL, Renewable Electricity Futures.
While the Beltway conventional wisdom is that building transmission lines is “simply not feasible,” lines are in fact being built. Transmission investment is rising from a mid-1990s trough, with much new development intentionally benefiting renewables. In fact, new lines are starting to fill in the NREL map already. The three power systems stretching from Texas to Minnesota, called ERCOT, the Southwest Power Pool and MISO, have approved $20 billion of new lines to bring wind power to market.
Rural communities, landowners, and policymakers in these areas are willing to live with transmission partly because they see the economic and environmental benefits of renewable energy, and understand the need for infrastructure. As the saying goes, “If you love renewables, you’ve got to at least like transmission.”
It is also helps that developers are becoming more sensitive to the concerns of communities and regulators. One developer, Clean Line Energy Partners, has had 600 public meetings in the process of siting a line from Iowa to Illinois.
And the federal government has become proactive in addressing siting issues on public lands early and openly, through programs launched by former Interior Secretary Ken Salazar.
The Bureau of Land Management has set aside 1,000 square miles of land in 24 solar-energy study areas and is evaluating them for appropriate development. These areas have the technical potential to generate nearly 100,000 megawatts of electricity or enough to power 29 million homes. Interior is working to encourage development of all renewables, especially offshore wind on the East Coast.
As part of America’s Power Plan, we have developed a set of recommendations for smart reforms of policies and business practices. With the right changes, we can see continued success in siting new generation and transmission.
First, of course, we must maximize the efficiency and use of the existing grid. “Non-wires” alternatives like targeted efficiency improvements, demand response, and distributed generation can help us wring more out of our existing transmission system.
But the current grid was built for fossil and nuclear generators. A system for renewables will need to increase access to new regions, like the Midwestern wind belt and the sunny Southwest. It will also need to be more interconnected, to minimize the impacts of variable generation, like wind and solar.
A package of reforms and best practices can reduce conflict and streamline the process of siting new projects, making it faster, cheaper, and less controversial.
New approaches include engaging stakeholders early, accelerating innovative policy and business models, and employing “smart from the start” strategies to avoid the risk of environmental and cultural-resource conflicts. Institutional reforms may be the most critical, such as greater coordination among regulatory bodies and improved grid planning and operations. Developers and regulators should work with landowners to develop new options for private lands, including innovative compensation measures.
A number of these improvements are being deployed already, such as in the Western Governors’ Association Regional Transmission Expansion Planning Project and the Interior Department’s pro-active work to site America’s first offshore wind farm.
Modernizing the grid and transitioning to clean power sources need not cause harm to landowners, cultural sites or wildlife. On the contrary, taking action today will provide long lasting benefits.
By Carl Zichella, Johnathan Hladik and Bentham Paulos
Zichella and Hladik are speaking at the Renewable Energy World Conference & Expo in Orlando, Florida on November 13 in session 19B - "Seizing Opportunities in Wind Development and Planning."
Carl Zichella is Director of the Western Transmission, Land & Wildlife Program for the Natural Resources Defense Council. Johnathan Hladik is an attorney and energy policy advocate for the Center for Rural Affairs. Bentham Paulos is the manager of America’s Power Plan.
http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/blog/post/2013/11/it-doesnt-have-to-be-so-hard-making-renewable-energy-siting-easier#comment-127783
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Hi everybody. My first posting, found this article moments ago by one of my favorites Chris Nelder. Hope you find it of interest.
Agelbert I had a problem deciding if this belonged here or general discussion. Feel free to move it if it is in the wrong spot. Still feeling my way around your very well thought out site.
Financial Innovation is the Next Big Thing in Clean Energy and Efficiency
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A new wave of innovation is sweeping the energy transition sector, promising to accelerate deployment and cut the costs of energy-efficiency measures, as well as wind and solar generation.
It isn’t a technological improvement, like cutting hardware and labor costs. It isn’t a policy mechanism like feed-in tariffs. It isn’t even a new business model, like selling storage services.
It’s financial innovation.
If the very words make you clutch your wallet and roll your eyes, I understand. After all, it was the innovation of mortgage-backed securities, credit default swaps and collateralized debt obligations that opened the door to an unprecedented level of financial recklessness and nearly brought down the global economy five years ago.
However, at the risk of incurring the wrath of the market gods: This time it’s different.
The problem: The capital gap
Financial innovation in the cleantech sector is needed for a simple reason: Wind and solar systems (even large, utility-scale ones) and energy-efficiency upgrades are hard to finance. They typically require a homeowner or business owner or renewable project developer to come up with a significant chunk of capital up front, then receive the benefits of the investment over a long time horizon — typically, 20 years or more. They’re all a little different, making it hard to evaluate risk. Even if an investment offers an excellent return over time, coming up with the initial capital can be too high a hurdle. And when a developer manages to raise the money to build a project, it usually needs to sell the project to a long-term investor so it can free up its capital to build the next solar park or wind farm.
The natural long-term holders of assets like these are pension funds, infrastructure funds, sovereign wealth funds, insurance funds, and the like. They are accustomed to investing tens or hundreds of millions of dollars at once and then receiving modest, single-digit returns over a period of decades. This is the so-called fixed-income market, where the investments are usually come in the form of very low-risk assets like Treasury bills, equity positions in historically stable sectors like utilities, or long-term, high-grade corporate debt.
The problem in the cleantech sector has been matching assets to their natural investors.
Over the past year, I’ve heard the same story over and over again. Globally, fixed-income investment entities have trillions of dollars of available capital that they would love to put into renewable energy and efficiency projects. Enough to build a huge chunk of the new infrastructure needed to transition the world from fossil fuels to renewable energy. But the available projects are too small. Whether the investment is $50,000 or $500 million, it still requires about the same level of due diligence effort to evaluate: many billable hours paid to high-priced lawyers, accountants, researchers, and fund managers. That cost can be a killer if the investment is less than (roughly) $5 million dollars; there just isn’t enough margin to justify it.
So the trick has been to find a way to “de-risk” (do the due diligence) and bundle cleantech and energy-efficiency investments, in order to be able to offer a suitably large investment to the fixed income market at an acceptably low transaction cost.
Enter financial innovation.
Solution 1: Standardization
Several recent initiatives are tackling the first part of the problem by finding ways to standardize investments.
The U.S. National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) just this week released a set of standardized contracts for solar projects. The contracts, which include lease agreements for residential solar systems offered by third-party solar leasing companies and commercial power purchase agreements (PPAs) for larger systems, were developed by a working group NREL convened in the spring called Solar Access to Public Capital (SAPC).
Comprising some 20 to 25 companies in the sector — including project developers, law firms, and analytical entities — SAPC analyzed many existing contracts for solar projects and figured out which parts could be standardized and which parts needed to be customizable.
I asked NREL Energy Analyst Paul Schwabe, who headed the contract standardization project, why new contracts are needed. “We see a number of benefits for those leases and PPAs,” he says. “One, lowering transaction costs for entities who don’t already have those documents available; they don’t have to reinvent the wheel. Two, improving customer transparency, particularly on the residential side. By using a standard contract, the consumer can more easily compare multiple projects and know that the contract has been analyzed by a number of industry stakeholders. And three, we think it can help facilitate the pooling of cash flows into a common investment that can access capital markets.”
The working group hopes standardized contracts will reduce the cost of capital for project developers, and make it easier for customers and investors to evaluate investments. So far, the prospects are good.
“We’ve gotten buy-in from a large majority of the residential installer community, and we’ve made good inroads in the commercial industry as well,” Schwabe says. “We’ve confirmed that a large percentage of the market will use them.” The working group now has more than 125 members, he estimates, and that number is growing rapidly.
Ultimately, the standardization of contracts will make it easier to assess the expected cash flows from solar projects, and thus make it easier for investors to feel assured that projects will perform as advertised.
Solution 2: Data and metrics
The contract standardization effort is part of a broader NREL initiative to organize the industry and establish collaboration between stakeholders. NREL is also collecting data for solar performance, which will help standardize an understanding of how well various pieces of solar gear perform.
Another industry working group called TruSolar is working on a complementary set of metrics and tools to standardize solar project financing, including rating photovoltaic (PV) projects for performance and establishing credit screening criteria. TruSolar is part of SAPC. It has partnered with NREL to publicize their respective efforts and highlight the synergy between them, Schwabe says.
By collecting historical data on actual system performance and establishing standard credit criteria, the two groups will solve another part of the problem: the lack of a trusted track record.
Whereas the performance of mortgages has a well-analyzed record that stretches back over more than a century, the data trail for solar projects is only a few decades long, and only the last decade of that trail is really representative of how well modern equipment performs.
These investments in collecting data and establishing metrics will make it easier to de-risk solar projects and assign them a credit rating major investors can accept without having to do so much of their own due diligence. This will ultimately reduce the cost of capital and increase the velocity of deal-making.
Schwabe was not at liberty to say whether or not any of the major credit rating agencies are involved in SAPC, but did say that a key conclusion from an earlier NREL paper that led to its formation was that “standardization was needed for securitization and those stakeholders felt it was necessary.”
Solution 3: Securitization
Securitization is the process by which a pool of assets is bundled, graded, sliced and diced, and sold into capital markets. It’s the same process that brought the world the dreaded mortgage-backed securities. But the underlying assets in cleantech are quite different, and far less risky.
Securities in the cleantech sector rely on cash flows generated by stable things: solar equipment sits in the sun, insulation sits in buildings, and wind turbines stand and spin. As long as the gear has been properly evaluated and graded — which is part of what SAPC and TruSolar are doing — and properly maintained, then the only real risk to continued production of cash flow is weather. Fortunately, on an annual basis, insolation (the amount of light falling on a given location), wind, and temperature are quite predictable and have very long historical data records. Averaged over a period of decades, they will not deviate enough from historical averages to constitute a significant financial risk. So the actual risk of non-performance in solar- or wind- or efficiency-backed securities is far lower than the risk of a homeowner who got a “liar’s loan,” lost his job, and then couldn’t pay his mortgage.
Several new approaches to securitization in cleantech are now coming into existence.
NREL, as part of its suite of initiatives, is developing a “mock portfolio” comprising a pool of solar park assets, both commercial and residential, and testing how it might perform as a securitized investment.
SolarCity, one of the largest third-party solar leasing companies, announced this week that it will begin offering $54 million worth of “Solar Asset Backed Notes” to qualified investors. The securities, which will be secured by a pool of the company’s solar systems, leases and PPAs, will pay investors out of the cash flow those assets generate, and free up the company’s capital to invest in new projects.
Jigar Shah, the founder of SunEdison, pioneered the third-party solar leasing model companies like SolarCity and Sunrun have followed. I asked him for his take on securitization.
“The financial innovation that we’re doing now is just an extension of what we started in 2003,” he says. “We popularized it at SunEdison. Securitization is the next step. The first step was to make solar an asset class acceptable to insurance and pension funds. We got Wells Fargo, MetLife, and a few others to give SunEdison $2.3 billion in commercial paper, and something on the order of $1 billion in residential paper. Now we have the right to pursue securitization. But it only happens because the banks believe there’s a multi-billion-dollar market. Until then, the ratings agencies like S&P are not able to participate.”
Although SolarCity’s $54 million offering is tiny in the world of commercial securities, Shah sees it as significant because the company has obtained, for the first time, an investment-grade rating for commercial solar securities. Within five years, he expects the sector to be well into the billions of dollars.
In a detailed Oct. 21 essay about solar securitization for Power Intelligence, energy finance attorneys Elias Hinckley and David John Frenkil wrote that solar asset-backed securities “will enable the solar industry to access a much larger and more diverse investor base, which will eventually help to reduce the long-term cost of capital to a likely range of 3 percent to 7 percent, compared with the 8 percent to 20 percent rate required by some project finance equity and tax equity investors in the current market.”
Securitization is also coming to the building efficiency sector. Massachusetts-based insurance company Energi Insurance Services has extended its risk evaluation services for renewables to the energy-efficiency sector, including energy-savings warranties, electricity-generation performance warranties and equipment warranties. It also backstops performance guarantees offered by energy-efficiency contractors through product underwritten by the International Insurance Company of Hannover. Last month, Energi started working with NREL to analyze and quantify risk for small building energy-efficiency retrofits, giving lenders a tool they can use to rate energy-efficiency loans. Ultimately, the methodology could give rise to efficiency-backed securities, which will deliver cash flows to investors much as securitized solar projects do.
Solution 4: Crowdfunding
Oakland, Calif.-based Mosaic also offers solar asset-backed securities. Instead of being based on a pool of assets, they are issued for specific solar projects. Each note issued by the company corresponds to a certain solar installation, and the payment on those notes derives directly from the cash flow generated by the loan obligation attached to that installation.
After less than a year in business, Mosaic has more than 2,500 investors from nearly every state, who have invested as little as $25 for shares in 19 solar projects with a combined $5.7 million in asset value. Investors typically receive 4 percent to 7 percent returns annually, depending on the project. The company boasts 100 percent on-time payments with zero defaults thus far.
Speaking at the VERGE San Francisco conference last month, Mosaic CEO Billy Parish said interest is brisk in his company’s offerings. Investors are disillusioned with conventional financial markets, he says, and increasingly feel that the stock market is rigged against them. With tens of millions of dollars worth of new solar projects in the Mosaic pipeline, he is confident investors will continue to find the low risk and modest return of the notes attractive. “The transition from fossil fuels to renewables is the biggest opportunity for wealth generation this century,” he declares.
Another Mosaic innovation could open up a torrent of new capital: a security that will be eligible for purchase through IRA accounts. There is $17 trillion sitting in IRAs in the United States alone, according to Parish.
A related recent development in financial innovation will give more investors access to the cleantech sector. The JOBS Act, which President Obama signed into law in April, created a new playing field for crowdfunding that makes it easier for individuals who don’t qualify as high net worth “accredited investors” to invest small amounts in small businesses and startups which, in turn, weren’t qualified to offer public securities.
Earlier this week, the Securities and Exchange Commission finally proposed rules defining the new terms. Investors with less than $100,000 in annual income and net worth will be able to invest up to $2,000 a year, or 5 percent of annual income or net worth, whichever is greater. Those criteria are considerably looser than the ones Mosaic has operated under thus far, so it will open a much larger pool of potential investors in renewable-energy- and efficiency-backed securities.
“We’re glad to see financial innovation occurring in the renewable energy sector, including through use of securitized investments,” Parish told me.
And that’s not all. A multi-billion-dollar market in global finance for renewable energy and efficiency is now giving very large investors, like sovereign wealth funds and pension funds, easy access to these new securities. Stay tuned to this space for more on that exciting new sector.
Photo: William Kamkwamba’s old windmill, Malawi (whiteafrican/Flickr)
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Getreallist/~3/7PW50B7a12U/financial-innovation-is-the-next-big-thing-in-clean-energy-and-efficiency.html
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Thanks GO. I agree financing is definitely part of the big picture for renewables.
Mosaic is doing a great job but now that California has made a pact with B.C., Canada and some other Northwest States to price carbon, the renewable energy projects, most of which have large depreciation time horizons which do justify long term financing, as your article pointed out, will hopefully get easier financing for the large up front costs.
There are some states that are quite friendly to sustainable business ventures in renewable energy. Here's a snippet of a document written for the hypothetical venture capital investor with x amount of money for y type of renewable energy investment.
Article from July 2013: “The Most Solar-Friendly States in the US”:
SNIPPET:
Vermont won recognition in 2011 for its groundbreaking streamlined solar permitting rules, emphasizing residential and small solar installations, which it expanded in 2012. (The state’s solar “registration” process, rather than “permitting,” is described in an interview with AllEarth Renewables’ David Blittersdorf.)
Interestingly, Vermont is also at the forefront of the net metering debate. A report earlier this year found that solar net metering is a net-positive for the state, even with a state incentive factored in, and not including any tangential economic multipliers. Similar reports, and conclusions, have been published for California, New York, and Texas.
Unlike the other top 12 states, Vermont does not have a formal RPS policy; rather it has “goals” of 20 percent of electricity retail sales from renewable energy and combined heat/power by 2017 as part of a Sustainably Priced Energy Enterprise Development (SPEED) program. Beyond that, the state has targets for each providers’ annual electricity of 55 percent of retail sales in 2017, increasing 4 percent a year until reaching 75 percent by 2032.
Rank ‘Em: The Most Solar-Friendly States in the US (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fdl3.glitter-graphics.net%2Fpub%2F465%2F465823jzy0y15obs.gif&hash=797efc3cdc025a8263ef125725aae969446489c3)
(http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2013/07/rank-em-the-most-solar-friendly-states-in-the-u-s?page=all)
Vermont Has excellent Solar investment incentives.
(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-091113190338.png&hash=474791280e0a908bdfbc2536b82886eb4388bff7)
Quantifying State-Policy Incentives for the Renewable Energy Investor
Sreenivas
http://web.ornl.gov/sci/electricdelivery/pdfs/VERDE_IEEE_ECCE_Policy_Paper__Version_4.pdf (http://web.ornl.gov/sci/electricdelivery/pdfs/VERDE_IEEE_ECCE_Policy_Paper__Version_4.pdf)
(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-091113190724.png&hash=9b779e295cb609f897bdbac902b15e1860f9f75b)Quantifying State-Policy Incentives for the Renewable Energy Investor
Sreenivas
http://web.ornl.gov/sci/electricdelivery/pdfs/VERDE_IEEE_ECCE_Policy_Paper__Version_4.pdf (http://web.ornl.gov/sci/electricdelivery/pdfs/VERDE_IEEE_ECCE_Policy_Paper__Version_4.pdf)
(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.eia.gov%2Ftodayinenergy%2Fimages%2F2012.02.03%2FRPSMap.png&hash=ad7af1bf9d9553c1f1841a18b61fe78540741a24)
I wish the Federal Reserve would jump in and assign the SAME level of interest rates for Renewable Energy add-ons to homes and businesses as for housing construction and re-finance. That would be ROCKET FUEL for getting people quickly off of fossil fuel heat and electricity in their homes. The job spurt alone would be enough to goose our economy if the Wall Street crooks would stop trying to get a war going someplace and instead get some renewable energy cheap financing going here.
Renewable energy is the quintessential wise investment because of the excellent EROEI. I read recently that Solartech or SolarCity (not sure which) is securitizing chunks of PV power purchase agreements (PPA).These are basically 25 to 30 year bonds that facilitate financing so I am certain some money people are getting on the band wagon. If you could find out who they are and report on it, I would be grateful. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-141113185047.png&hash=384024358ff8d5e7133d19b6e6638da4584a8154)
By the way, I'm making up for lack of certain emoticon buttons by putting images in the gallery of emoticons you can link to. You may have to size them but once you've got the right width and height, it's a cinch.
The above green smiley is set like this (without the brackets so you see the script):
img width=30 height=40]http://www.createaforum.com/gallery/renewablerevolution/3-141113185047.png[/img
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The Next Big Innovation in Renewable Energy Won't Be Technological
It will be financial.
Todd WoodyNov 11 2013, 3:30 PM ET
Silicon Valley solar company SolarCity last week quietly did something that could revolutionize renewable energy in the United States. No, the company did not invent a radically more efficient or cheaper photovoltaic panel. Rather, it announced it plans to sell $54 million in asset-backed securities. :o
And that is a very big deal, even if the dollar amount of the notes on offer is rather small. That’s because the assets backing the securities are leases for some of the rooftop solar systems it has installed on homes across the country. Hundreds of millions of dollars in solar leases have been signed in the U.S. in recent years.
If those leases can be bundled and sold to pension funds and other investors, “solar securitization” could open up a potentially huge new pool of capital that could be tapped to finance the expansion of renewable energy as federal and state tax breaks for renewable energy begin to expire.
For homeowners and businesses, solar securitization could translate into cheaper electricity. A SolarCity spokesman declined to comment on the securities offering. ;)
Much of the innovation responsible for the solar industry’s explosive growth has been financial rather than technological. Half the U.S.’s solar capacity, for instance, was installed just in 2012. Driving those sales was the ability of homeowners to avoid the five-figure cost of a photovoltaic system by leasing it for a monthly payment that often is lower than what they’d pay their local utility. Anywhere between 75 and 90 percent of all solar systems are now leased as a result.
That’s a lot of demand sitting around waiting to be monetized. After all, Wall Street for years has packaged leases for planes, trains and automobiles and sold them to investors. The risk is considered manageable as rating agencies like Standard & Poor’s evaluate the credit-worthiness of such investments can rely on decades of data on the value of those rolling assets as well as the credit scores of people who sign the leases.
Solar panels, on the other hand, are a relatively new technology (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.coh2.org%2Fimages%2FSmileys%2Fhuhsign.gif&hash=3732d0427be65896527fc3805c5be54a33cffd3b) and have only become a mass market over the past few years. Then there’s the specter of the subprime mortgage debacle that crashed the global economy when the value of both the homes securing mortgage-backed securities and the credit-worthiness of the homeowners proved an illusion.
The risks of subprime solar is probably low. Solar installers like SolarCity, Sungevity, and SunRun only sign leases with customers with high credit scores. And most homeowners are likely to continue paying their electricity bill even if they can’t make their car payment. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2F128fs318181.gif&hash=eff6d5f3831782966c2ff2081f07bf7fc5b22a6b)
The big unknown, however, is the long-term performance of solar panels. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2F1.bp.blogspot.com%2F-TzWpwHzCvCI%2FT_sBEnhCCpI%2FAAAAAAAAME8%2FIsLpuU8HYxc%2Fs1600%2Fnooo-way-smiley.gif&hash=b8545bd420b1e2f2c7b9f665d2093523e4ad2251) Manufacturers typically offer 20-year or more warranties. But as I wrote earlier this year in The New York Times, the extreme financial pressures faced by Chinese solar industry, which supplies most of the world’s photovoltaic panels, has led to cost-cutting and growing incidents of defective solar modules. ::) Whether that is a short-term blip or indicative of a more long-term problem won’t be known for years. (SolarCity chief executive Lyndon Rive, however, told me his company has not experienced any issues with its Chinese-made panels.)
Agelbert NOTE: OF COURSE they haven't experienced any "issues" with Chinese-made panels BECAUSE the hit piece in the New York Times was overblown THEN and has proven to lack substance. I can provide links to anyone interested in seeing that there was NEVER an actual quality control problem above a tiny (less than 3%!) of production and that was ONLY for a few months. The article was a scare tactic, not a balanced piece of industrial quality control problem news.
That makes Big Data companies like kWh Analytics crucial for the success of solar securitization. The Oakland, California, startup analyzes the real-time performance of some 10,000 solar systems—including 3 million photovoltaic modules—to help investors evaluate the risk of putting money into solar assets.
The U.S. Department of Energy recently awarded kWh $450,000. Richard Matsui, kWh’s chief executive, told The Atlantic that his company will use that money to build out a comprehensive database similar to one assembled to analyze home mortgages by a company called CoreLogic.
“Today's solar investors are flying blind, accepting unknown risks (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.smileyvault.com%2Falbums%2Fuserpics%2F12962%2Fnoway.gif&hash=6aaed48c4cb7571f75233f6a34dac66e392c16d5) in exchange for the promise of financial returns,” Matsui said in a statement. “Understanding risk is essential to making investments, but is difficult without aggregated data on panel quality, inverter reliability, and customer default rates.”
http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2013/11/the-next-big-innovation-in-renewable-energy-wont-be-technological/281345/
Agelbert NOTE: Matsui is obviously talking his book so he can milk the "pricing renewable energy" cash cow to hilt! >:( I think the risks are overblown. Here's why. PV is NOT a new technology; it has been tested to beat the band. We have had PV in outer space for over 40 years! Yes the efficency has improved but the durability, unlike what this article is sweating, is an establishe MTBF (mean time between/before failure) born of no nonsense testing. They will probably last longer than 25 years. Planes, trains and automobile securitized leases are FAR more risky and yet Wall Street securitizes these rapidly depreciating assets that are simply not in the same league as PV (or wind turbines, for that matter).
Renewable energy, from wind turbines to PV to geothermal to hydropower has been MUCH MORE scrutinized than dirty energy fossil fuel power plants or nuclear power plants ever were in regard to cost-benefit. So these jitters are simply NOT justified.
The securitization gate has been opened. Unlike the CRAP securitization for mortgages SCAM, this is the real thing and, if priced correctly, should be quite popular. With this financial boost the Renewable Energy "Genie" is out of the bottle! Enjoy the death of fossil and nuclear fuels! (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.smile-day.net%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2011%2F12%2FSmiley-Thumbs-Up2.jpg&hash=4c6cf4d5dab0f54b88dfa0c9247ae699eff03821)
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Imagine where we would be today if our government had spent the resources on getting us out of our Global Warming Fossil Fuel burning emergency as it did bailing out the banksters from their evil ways. :-[
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Yep. It would be a different, and much healthier world. I hope it's not too late.
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NztbbAL-wpA&feature=player_embedded
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Imagine where we would be today if our government had spent the resources on getting us out of our Global Warming Fossil Fuel burning emergency as it did bailing out the banksters from their evil ways.
That was this generation's Apollo program, gents. And the money went right into the bankster's pockets.
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On July 12, 2012 I posted this video arguing that the assumption that GDP GROWTH needs to TRACK energy use growth is a misconception. Zero Hedge pundits, TAE Nicole Foss, Professor Charles Hall (darling of The Oil Drum), several diners and other energy experts out there have made the same FALSE claim over and over. I posted this video on page six of the Waste Based society thread on the Doomstead Diner Forum. Go back and read what diners had to say, Find out how WRONG they were on subsequent page comments.
In the last year and a half, everything I claimed about energy and the cost effectiveness and GREATER EROEI of renewable energy over dirty energy has been proven right. Have a nice day. ;)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6J-ijPcv1VM&feature=player_embedded
Experimental Phycisist Amory Lovins is still at the Rocky Mountain Institute and still doing outstanding work.
Here's one of his recent videos. It FURTHER reinforces THE FACT THAT GDP growth does not have to track energy use! (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-141113185701.png&hash=615e3c1aa9c374cb1eab5bfc1e9494f2cb05e9f7)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_XlEwyAmzBQ&feature=player_embedded
A world-renowned energy expert, Amory Lovins, visits the forefront of Japan's energy shift to propose ways for its energy future. Lovins has been studying and visiting Japan since 1960s as he embarked on his profession. Lovins' message: Japan can lead the world in energy shift, if Japan realizes its potential for more energy efficiency and utilize its abundant renewable energy.
Renewable Revolution (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fdl3.glitter-graphics.net%2Fpub%2F465%2F465823jzy0y15obs.gif&hash=797efc3cdc025a8263ef125725aae969446489c3)
(http://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/index.php)
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11/26/2013 11:09 AM
Boring But Important: Efficiency Standards for Motors Proposed (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.freesmileys.org%2Femoticons%2Ftuzki-bunnys%2Ftuzki-bunny-emoticon-036.gif&hash=8ec7abacc074bac7984d9b80fbca377b3afb119d)
SustainableBusiness.com News
It may not be exciting to read about a new energy efficiency standard, but setting ever-more stringent requirements for appliances and equipment is one of the most powerful tools for cutting energy use in the US.
This is especially true when it comes to motors - which consume about 50% of all industrial electricity, according to the US Energy Information Administration (EIA).
The Department of Energy (DOE) is proposing long-overdue efficiency standards for electric motors, which operate everything from fans and pumps used for irrigation and wastewater treatment plants to elevators and conveyor belts.
Over 30 years, these standards are expected to save 1 trillion kilowatt hours of electricity - enough to power almost every US home for a year, along with savings to businesses of $23.3 billion. In terms of carbon emissions, the savings equal taking 82 million cars off the road.
(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.eia.gov%2Ftodayinenergy%2Fimages%2F2013.10.18%2Felecuse.png&hash=fdcb704c6e13f0617c8efaf672ed35b950fde2c5)
(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.eia.gov%2Ftodayinenergy%2Fimages%2F2013.10.18%2Findustry.png&hash=d70c687149b476166c364774348cf8a48ca3470a)
"The wide use of motors across many industries results in a substantial impact on the demand placed on power grids," says EIA, which projects that this increased efficiency will offset that of industrial output, resulting in relatively flat levels of electricity consumption by machine drives.
And the impact will be felt across the world, where US standards are influencing overseas manufacturers to improve the efficiency of their motors, too.
"Rather than trying to set slightly higher standards for electric motors already covered by two rounds of previous U.S. standards, we recommended that DOE expand the scope of coverage to many motor types not previously regulated," says American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy (ACEEE).
This approach made sense to both manufacturers and environmental groups, all of which were involved in developing the new standards. Manufacturers like the fact that they can apply the proven designs they developed for existing regulated motors to more kinds of motors.
Efficiency standards for motors now apply to almost all kinds of motors - from 1-500 horsepower.
When Secretary Moniz took over DOE this year he promised to make efficiency more of a priority. Since then he's been moving on a series of efficiency standards that have long been delayed, such as commercial refrigeration equipment, furnace fans and metal halide light fixtures.
Last year, the US used less energy than in 1999 and that's with an economy that's grown more than 25% since then. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.freesmileys.org%2Femoticons%2Ftuzki-bunnys%2Ftuzki-bunny-emoticon-005.gif&hash=c0f70cc821100c434469eae24e0fa6131745ab51)
In fact, efficiency has contributed more to meeting US energy demand than all other resources combined over the past 40 years - more than coal, oil, or nuclear, concludes a report from the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC). (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.freesmileys.org%2Femoticons%2Femoticon-object-062.gif&hash=88ceb4a34a12b2bea2fd9edd887da26d73308257)
http://www.sustainablebusiness.com/index.cfm/go/news.display/id/25366?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+SBGeneralNews+%28SustainableBusiness.com+General+News%29
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“The misperception that China is not acting should no longer be seen as a reason for inaction by the U.S. or any other country,” Joffe said. “This misperception is fed in part by looking only at the environmental problems China is facing, while ignoring positive developments. China faces very significant environmental challenges, but it is also taking important steps to address climate change.”
http://realitydrop.org/#articles/96968
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When Lockheed Martin Goes Green , It’s Game Over For Fossil Fuels (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-141113185047.png&hash=384024358ff8d5e7133d19b6e6638da4584a8154)
When a major defense contractor like Lockheed Martin lays down some heavy stakes in the green energy field, you know it’s only a matter of time before fossil fuels lose their headlock on the global energy market. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2Fmaniac.gif&hash=9ecf389a7da25db958f3f63461cbb45a4b316c4e) Lockheed recently teamed up with the green energy innovator Concord Blue Energy to take that company’s waste-to-energy technology global, and here’s where it gets really interesting: Concord Blue has just announced a new agreement to integrate its technology with the firm LanzaTech, which specializes in capturing carbon-loaded waste gas from industrial operations and converting it to high-value products.
;D
http://cleantechnica.com/2013/12/05/lockheed-martin-goes-green-game-fossil-fuels/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+IM-cleantechnica+%28CleanTechnica%29
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US Government Recommits to Renewable Energy Ramp-up
James Montgomery, Associate Editor, RenewableEnergyWorld.com
December 05, 2013
New Hampshire, USA -- Today the Obama administration issued an executive order re-establishing one of the proclamations from the climate change plans it issued this summer: significantly boosting the U.S. federal government's support of renewable energy to supply 20 percent of its energy consumption by 2020.
The U.S. federal government's broad climate-change initiatives issued earlier this summer gained a lot of notice for their emphasis on standards for carbon pollution reductions and energy efficiency. They also pressed the Department of Interior (DOI) to expand permitting of renewable energy projects on federal lands. Now the Obama administration is revisiting and reiterating another part of that broad climate plan: expanding the federal government's electricity consumption from renewable sources to 20 percent by 2020, nearly triple the current 7.5 percent. (It adds the window of uncertainty, though, that such a target must be "economically feasible and technically practicable.")
The order maintains the definitions of "renewable energy" as those laid out in Executive Order 13514 circa 2009: solar, wind, biomass, landfill gas, ocean (tidal, wave, current, and thermal), geothermal, municipal solid waste, and new hydroelectric generation capacity from existing projects (increasing their efficiency or adding more capacity).
This 20/2020 renewables mandate prioritizes on-site production or procurement, retaining renewable energy certificates (REC); followed by purchasing the electricity and RECs, and then just purchasing the RECs alone. For on-site projects the government urges a focus on brownfield sites including contaminated lands, landfills, and mines. There's also a plan to add Green Button pilots on federal facilities, coordinating efforts among the DOE, FEMP, and EPA, which will update the Energy Star Portfolio Manager to include building energy usage data using Green Button.
Here's the official roadmap being laid out for federal renewable energy consumption:
•Fiscal 2015: Not less than 10 percent
•Fiscal 2016-17: Not less than 15 percent
•Fiscal 2018-19: Not less than 17.5 percent
•Fiscal 2020: Not less than 20 percent
Note the U.S. military arms already are under a legal mandate to reach 25 percent renewable energy consumption by 2025, which will amount to 1 GW of new installed capacity each for the Army, Navy, and Air Force.
What's missing, of course, is any direction or definition on how agencies and federal facilities should build or obtain all this new capacity, what is the overall mix among renewable sources, how much money this effort will save, or how it will be paid for.
Nevertheless, "this is a landmark moment in our nation's history," proclaimed Rhone Resch, president/CEO of the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA). The solar industry is already doing its part, with more than 10 GW of installed capacity and representing nearly all the nation's new electricity generation. He also urged the administration to set up a more modernized procurement process that lets agencies adopt long-term power purchase agreements (PPA).
Back in June the Union of Concerned Scientists' Mike Jacobs suggested those 20/2020 goals shouldn't be too difficult given that many states are already approaching or even exceed that number.
We'll keep updating this story as more details and analysis becomes available.
http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2013/12/us-government-recommits-to-renewable-energy-ramp-up?cmpid=rss
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Debate with a Fossil Fueler about Wind Power and the future of renewable energy:(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2Fswear1.gif&hash=87347674f9297191f3f8a447208170617da4caf6)
Quote from: agelbert on Today at 01:09:31 PM
Wind energy will be available AND cheap as long as the earth rotates and the sun shines.
Lets discuss this for a minute, from the perspective of a power engineer running some portion of the grid somewhere for a moderate sized city.
I would love to. However what you want to discuss is not my statement, since that is not challengeable.
What you want to DISCUSS is the Amount of Energy available Instantly 24/7. You want to discuss that because you labor under the view that wind power cannot deliver X number of MW when your community, all of a sudden, from 10PM to 2AM Thursday night, needs them.
The issue of the rate is a separate one you cannot seem to let go of because you are STUCK in a paradigm of varying rates according to demand. This paradigm of yours is fossil fuel base load logic based and is going the way of the dodo bird.
Fossil Fuel (FF) plants have, say 80% base load capability 24/7. They WANT people to use that baseload but, of course, people DON'T during slack periods. Consequently, the FF utility tries, by super low rates during slack periods, to get people to use it. WHY? If you REALLY know anything about power usage, you know that, below baseload, a lot of SHUNTING (throwing MW AWAY) happens. The FF PIGS don't like that. They studied the communitee and built their pollution factory to get as high a base load 24/7 as possible. They never gave a flat **** about the needs of the community, just their ****ing bottom line and YOU KNOW IT!
When baseload is exceeded and they are in prime rate quickstart gas power plant territory, they are happy as pigs in poop to provide it. They have power sharing agreements with surrounding grid blood sucking utilities to get MORE power if they are maxed out above base and peak power plant capability. EVERYTHING ROTATES around PROFIT for the FF utility, NOT SERVICE.
That's what YOU live and die by. That's what YOU think is logical. That's what YOU think energy distribution is all about. That's why YOU JUST DO NOT UNDERSTAND WIND POWER.
Wind, like your ****ed up FF poison factories, is ALSO tied into the grid, which consequently, with the new electronics and computer monitoring, increase or decrease power output IRRESPECTIVE of some baseload criteria.
Baseload, beyond initial infrastructure design according to the community size, will NO LONGER be an issue although there will probably be a rate penalty for high use irrespective of the time you are using it.
The new renewable energy paradigm will NOT BE ABOUT THE COST OF ENERGY; It will be about the COST OF THE INFRASTRUCTURE SERVICE AND MAINTENANCE. For all practical purposes, the FUEL cost of energy itself will be ZERO so people are going to pay for the infrastructure as a service package with a TOP limit on energy use monitored by smart meters based on ENVIRONMENTAL considerations, not the baseload bottom line of the utility predatory capitalist "business model".
There isn't going to BE any "externalized cost" BULL**** for the environment to please "investors". The new business model will work more like a bond issue with the coupon based on a projected moderate profit from installation and maintenance of infrastructure, PERIOD.
I know, I'm speaking GREEK to you. Fine.
For an in depth look at the future of energy use and distribution, read this article. The author is an expert that knows far more about grid nuances than I do so you can argue with him about details.
What Happens When Energy Prices Are Zero? (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.coh2.org%2Fimages%2FSmileys%2Fhuhsign.gif&hash=3732d0427be65896527fc3805c5be54a33cffd3b) (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-141113185047.png&hash=384024358ff8d5e7133d19b6e6638da4584a8154)
Originally published on RenewEconomy.
Numerous studies tell us that 100% renewables is possible, and cost-effective. But how to structure an energy market where there is no fuel cost? Germany is already grappling with this dilemma, and the world is watching with interest. This is part of a series of articles on Germany Energiewende. More can be found in our Insight section.
One of the big questions about scenarios for 100 per cent renewable energy production is how to structure the energy market. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.desismileys.com%2Fsmileys%2Fdesismileys_1402.gif&hash=704ddbc7a892750ad55e7a7bea92270b1df3ecba)
We now know that having electricity supplied to a major economy entirely by renewable energy sources is possible, and most likely no more expensive than building new fossil fuel generation.
What we don’t know is how to structure the energy market so it provides the right incentives: If the marginal cost of solar and wind energy is close enough to zero (because there is no fuel cost), then the energy price in a 100 per cent wind and solar market is going to be zero – at least in the current market structure. But who would invest? (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.desismileys.com%2Fsmileys%2Fdesismileys_1402.gif&hash=704ddbc7a892750ad55e7a7bea92270b1df3ecba)
Full article Here:
Read more at http://cleantechnica.com/2013/12/10/happens-energy-prices-zero/#0XGcSzaKjjh4L6er.99 (http://cleantechnica.com/2013/12/10/happens-energy-prices-zero/#0XGcSzaKjjh4L6er.99)
My Comment on the above article: :icon_sunny:
agelbert
• 20 hours ago
Well, consider this. Without artificial scarcity or price shocks from fossil fuels, two things happen:
1) The power to buy politicians and undermine democracies is lessened which, in turn, saves trillions of dollars in war profiteering and human misery.
2) A world at peace has a much more reliable infrastructure and investment climate. Stability attracts investors for a predictable, stable yield for Renewable Energy infrastructure bond issues.
The two factors above translate to the yield on the investment being a function of the price people pay for the infrastructure that brings them the energy, period. All this machinery has MTBF cycles and can be depreciated in a thirty or forty year accounting cycle.
People will pay for service, not the energy itself, even though, of course, the target for all of us is to be carbon-neutral so the environmental consideration will always affect the pricing structure to possibly penalize high energy cost based purely on environmental considerations, not the energy cost or the infrastructure.
I bring this up because Homo Sapiens is smart enough to set up a 100% renewable energy economy and proceed to overwhelm it through over use of this "free" energy. There is a biosphere out there we can no longer neglect. This time the environmental cost, and there always will be one, must be paid as we use that energy. We do not want a repeat of the greed gluttony of the fossil fuel industry and utility company "investor" profits that encouraged polluting energy and overuse of energy as well.
Just my two cents.
Remember what Thomas Edison said in 1931. He was a wise man but we did not do what he proposed because of greed, not because we couldn't develop the technology. We must look at energy as a part of life, to be used prudently, not as an unlimited "fuel" to be used willy nilly.
1931: Edison Advocates for Solar Energy over Fossil Fuels
In a conversation with fellow inventors and entrepreneurs Harvey Firestone and Henry Ford, Thomas Edison says of renewable energy sources: "We are like tenant farmers chopping down the fence around our house for fuel when we should be using nature’s inexhaustible sources of energy—sun, wind, and tide.… I’d put my money on the sun and solar energy. What a source of power! I hope we don’t have to wait until oil and coal run out before we tackle that." [US History, 2013; About Thomas Edison, 8/19/2013]
It's time to stopped chopping the fence around the house of ALL the earthlings we share this planet with. As self aware beings responsible for 100% of the environmental degradation, if we keep putting ourselves first, we are guilty of criminal negligence.
By the way, in your energy demand calculus you also left out the FACT that there will be NUMEROUS Renewable Energy technologies ALL LINKED from geothermal to solar to wind to biomass to ocean currents using various new storage technologies in addition to the old ones from hydropower to a plethora of battery, compressed air and inertia systems. It's NOT going to be about making energy SCARCE to charge people more. That's OVER. But I know you don't agree.
It's going to be about PRUDENT (as in, respecting the needs of the biosphere) energy use, not how much you can "afford" to buy.
For over a century, you fossil fuelers have gone WAY OUT OF YOUR WAY to destroy new energy technologies by hook or by crook. In the video are a few examples. Some might be pie in the sky but MOST of them are for real and are the DEATH KNELL of the war profiteering, murderous, "energy is scarce so we have to fight, kill for and hoard" (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-311013200859.png&hash=a7aaaa9f04c1e3e2c948723b5f8c13fe814dacd4) ****ED UP world view the "apex predator" Intelli-MORONS among us love to CON we-the-people with.
Have a nice day.
[embed=640,380]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0K2wm8tn088#[/embed]
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(https://s3.amazonaws.com/mosaic-landing/World_US_RPS_3_1250w.jpg)
Attribution for the above graphic is to joinmosaic.com
In the 21st century, many countries are moving away from dependence on fossil fuels for their energy needs. A number of smaller countries have already reached 100% renewable energy, and many others are close to complete independence from fossil fuels. Some of the more notable achievements in our global pursuit of a future free of fossil fuels are:
•Iceland, which is 100% free of fossil fuels, got 26% of its energy from geothermal sources in 2009.
•At the end of June 2013, Germany’s total installed solar PV capacity was 31.19 GW, the highest in the world. Despite this solar success, however, Germany still remains dependent on some of its energy from fossil fuels.
•China’s spending to free itself from fossil fuels and develop more renewable energy may total 1.8 trillion yuan ($323 billion) in the five years through 2015 as part of the nation’s efforts to counter climate change.
•Nicaragua, which has set a goal to be 94% free of fossil fuels by 2017, aims to reduce its reliance on foreign oil from 70% to 6% by that time.
•Paraguay, one of the leading countries in the world claiming independence from fossil fuels, is 100% renewable but also exported 90% of its generated electricity (54.91 TWh) in 2008.
•By 2016, solar energy will bring electricity to 2 million Peruvians who currently do not have access to it and rely on dirty fossil fuels for cooking, lighting, and other energy needs.
•In the Middle East North Africa (MENA) region, solar power’s energy potential far exceeds global electricity demand, yet this region still primarily remains dependent on fossil fuels.
•In the U.S., 29 states, plus Washington, DC, and 2 territories, have a Renewable Portfolio
Standard (RPS), meaning they will need to increase production of energy from renewable sources in the next 10-20 years in order to decrease reliance on fossil fuels.
Infographic created by Aven Satre-Meloy
Learn More:
•Mosaic President Billy Parish on the fastest way to 100% clean energy.
•Get the scoop on impact investing.
•Why you should care about crowdfunding.
https://joinmosaic.com/blog/end-fossil-fuels
(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimages.ame4u.com%2FAnimated_Clipart%2FAnimated-Solar%2Fsun_shining_solar_panel_hg_clr__st.gif&hash=f244a42c405966e333bd5533ae540330a95e63ee)(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.clker.com%2Fcliparts%2Fc%2F6%2F7%2F1%2F12065737551968208283energie_positive_Wind_Turbine_Green.svg.hi.png&hash=be3acd38adc44e524d4d3f94fda9837047a92d3c) (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2F8.gif&hash=c1d98e606d7f558df4040f88e7997b3e11e9448c)
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A fossil fueler called 🦖 MKing brought an interesting 2009 U.S. energy use graphic which uses "quads" for the energy units. When I told him the 2009 global energy demand was 18TW, I was not talking about QUADS but let's deal with the 2009 graphic.
2009
(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fmemberfiles.freewebs.com%2F64%2F55%2F76875564%2Fphotos%2Fundefined%2FCentral%2520power%2520losses.png&hash=3dfb72bc915d331018b737a195037fbe295a7a48)
About 39% of the 2009 US ENERGY USE (IN QUADS) total was electrical, further "justifying" MKing's "perspective".
So what's the problem with MKing's "irrefutable" logic pointing to Renewable Energy being a DROP IN THE ENERGY BUCKET? (I seem to have had this SAME conversation with Nicole Foss about a year and a half ago...)
1) The US is not the whole planet. In fact our energy "policy" DOES NOT EXIST on a national scale. That puts the fossil fuel corporations in De Facto control of energy policy piggery.
That FACT makes us DIFFERENT and technologically and scientifically BEHIND every other developed country in the WORLD (including fossil fuel loving Russia!) in regard to energy policy and piggery in the light of global warming caused by the burning of fossil fuels.
The U.S. is NOT an example of the global energy trends (I'm CERTAIN MKing is aware of this). Using it as an example shows the deliberate intent to use an extreme of fossil fuel use as the planetary norm to undermine the facts about exponential Renewable Energy growth (when they aren't claiming that Renewable energy growth is LINEAR and therefore will take 500 years or so to replace fossil fuels!) and paint the fossil fuel driven economy as the be all, end all of a workable civilization.
It's quite clever. But it is false because it lacks perspective, not because the facts of the year 2009 for the U.S. are "false"; They are accurate.
However, 2007 to 2009 was the apex of fossil fuel piggery and projections for the U.S.! There was LESS before and LESS after in an increasing downward slope!
You would stare open mouthed if you could see the same pie chart above in 1940. Renewable Energy from hydropower reached 33% of our electrical grid penetration, a percentage we have yet to reach again (but a lot of good people are working on it!).
2) In 2009 the situation in Europe was the antithesis of the one in the U.S. as to Renewable Energy. MKing was obligated to show the rest of the planet but did not. If we are going to discuss planetary energy use, we need to include the whole ball of wax. 8)
Now let's see what happened AFTER 2009:
(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fhaysvillelibrary.files.wordpress.com%2F2009%2F12%2Fenergy-use-projected-to-2035.jpg&hash=2013ee7bc3c3088c0eca706a7b840b625be78ace)
Fossil Fueler wet dreams as projected to 2035 when the above graphic was enthusiastically prepared (and shown proudly at THE 🦖 OIL DRUM web site, NO DOUBT! 😈) to make sure us treehugging renewable energy freaks "understood the REAL world". ::)
Yes, unfortunately, PART of the above is coming to pass because of the Chinese energy explosion. But look what is happening in MKing's example (the U.S.) of fossil fuel energy love (see below).
(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fgraphics8.nytimes.com%2Fimages%2F2013%2F02%2F27%2Fblogs%2Fdotchinaco2new%2Fdotchinaco2new-blog480.jpg&hash=c84cd7f04621e19274657680e4dcc31b8f0f0d4e)
And with the massive pollution problem in China, you KNOW that China line is peaking and will begin its inexorable descent if China, and the rest of the biosphere too, is to survive this climate mess.
Yes, MKing, I'm aware of the fact that the graph has CO2 emissions, ::) not energy use. But when you are talking about fossil fuel use, CO2 emissions correlate exactly with burning fossil fuels. Don't try to pretend otherwise.
But your fossil fuel pals are LOATHE to project trends any way but the way they want them to go. THIS IS YOUR PERSPECTIVE PROBLEM.
You scoffed at cost not being germane in the North Sea Platforms because THE PEOPLE, NOT BIG OIL, were made to pay for it. Your "perspective" is that IF you can get away with gaming the costs so YOU don't pay them, you have a viable business model. BULLSHIT!
The mafia has been around for a long, long time because, even they learned, like you fossil fuelers never seem to, that rampant, calloused predation will backfire on you and destroy your business.
Since it hasn't happened to your "business model" YET, you think it won't. Yeah, it's ALL ABOUT DISTORTED AND ARROGANT flawed perspective. But ,hey, you use renewable energy so I guess you have something going for you. ;)
Dear readers, you saw that fossil fueler wet dream projection from 2007 to 2035 above, right?
Well, these fine fellows have made an adjustment to their prevaricating projections (see below).
(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.eia.gov%2Ftodayinenergy%2Fimages%2F2012.01.24%2FAEO2012EnergyConsumption.png&hash=e95553721de0983035ed5ba1b444f27ad6a1a0c2)
Note the attempt to make the energy total in general (and fossil fuel use descent in particular) look like a hiccup! BULLSHIT!
In order to give fossil fuelers a reality check and a bit of heartburn too, I have consulted with the top scientist at the Agelbert Renewable Revolution Institute. He is a very learned man! ;D I see him regularly whenever there is a mirror around.
Anyway, he used his top secret quantum computer to show what the U.S. energy consumption and breakdown of sources is projected to be from now to 2035.
Fossil Fuelers and Nuke Pukes will scoff publicly :P but they will (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/gallery/renewablerevolution/2/3-231218145827.png) sweat bullets privately! (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/gallery/renewablerevolution/1/3-210818163126-16771578.gif)
But this isn't about whether "it would be nice but we just can't swing it due to fossil FOOL corporation power and piggery"; This is a matter of national security and national survival. We DO THIS or we ARE HISTORY, PERIOD. Pass it on. The planet you save may be your own.
[img width=640[http://www.createaforum.com/gallery/renewablerevolution/3-141213214511.png[/img]http://(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-141213203245.png&hash=6490eba12cffaaf7c954fd3831d97a1de3ab0746)
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Space travel is bunk.” — Sir Harold Spencer Jones, Astronomer Royal of the UK, 1957 (two weeks later Sputnik orbited the Earth).
“The earth’s crust does not move”- 19th through early 20th century accepted geological science.
“Radio has no future. Heavier-than-air flying machines are impossible. X-rays will prove to be a hoax.” — William Thomson, Lord Kelvin, British scientist, 1899.
“There is not the slightest indication that nuclear energy will ever be obtainable. It would mean that the atom would have to be shattered at will.” — Albert Einstein, 1932
“The bomb will never go off. I speak as an expert in explosives.” — Admiral William Leahy, U.S. Atomic Bomb Project
“If I had thought about it, I wouldn’t have done the experiment. The literature was full of examples that said you can’t do this.” — Spencer Silver on the work that led to the unique adhesives for 3-M “Post-It” Notepads.
“Stomach ulcers are caused by stress” — accepted medical diagnosis, until Dr. Marshall proved that H. pylori caused gastric inflammation by deliberately infecting himself with the bacterium.
“That virus is a ****cat.” — Dr. Peter Duesberg, molecular-biology professor at U.C. Berkeley, on HIV, 1988
“I think there is a world market for maybe five computers.” — Thomas Watson, chairman of IBM, 1943
“Telltale signs are everywhere —from the unexpected persistence and thickness of pack ice in the waters around Iceland to the southward migration of a warmth-loving creature like the armadillo from the Midwest. Since the 1940s the mean global temperature has dropped about 2.7° F.” — Climatologist George J. Kukla of Columbia University in Time Magazine’s June 24th, 1975 article Another Ice Age?.
So the next time you hear about Scientifically, fastidiously, mathematically, data driven, empirical evidence projections of ENERGY USE BY SOURCE based on the STATUS QUO percentage breakdown in the PRESENT GAMED ENERGY "playing field" dominated by fossil fuel bought and paid for energy use projection modelers in and out of government, you might want to remember that just being an expert, or even having a consensus of experts, doesn’t necessarily mean that a claim is true.
(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.whydidyouwearthat.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2011%2F01%2Ftumblr_l7j9nik8Wf1qaxxwjo1_5001.jpeg&hash=1ddbeb4da161820b2cf932e6f5f740e80f5bada6)
Agelbert's 2035 projection is Fartium, Hopium and UNSCIENTIFC TOO!
You might also consider that the derision and scorn directed at "outlier" projections like THIS ONE (http://www.createaforum.com/gallery/renewablerevolution/3-141213203245.png) (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fdl3.glitter-graphics.net%2Fpub%2F465%2F465823jzy0y15obs.gif&hash=797efc3cdc025a8263ef125725aae969446489c3)that MKing and his Fossil Nuke pals consider story telling (mendacity) fartium and hopium, is based on the status quo perception limitations that can even affect intelligent and far seeing people like Einstein.
Sure, the derision among the fossil fuelers is based on FEAR too but good luck getting them to admit that. They don't operate in the reality based community; They firmly believe they can create their own reality, totally ignoring inconvenient things like the laws of thermodynamics and entropy.
They are used to ****ting where they eat. Up until now, the biosphere has accommodated all their industrial toxins without putting a dent in their profits. But people like Agelbert and many, many other humans out there realize that these predatory fools are heading for a Seneca Cliff. That is why my energy use modeling shows a parabolic descent of the use of fossil fuels.
I could show several historic examples of disruptive technology doing the same thing but MKing and his Predatory Fossil Fueler friends won't buy it because of the old "This time it's different TRICK". ::) They falsely believe they can play whack-a-mole with Renewable Energy now like they did several decades ago. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.desismileys.com%2Fsmileys%2Fdesismileys_2932.gif&hash=0eaec4791a5825821998245e7fcd7744b56557fe)
They corked it in the 1980s and, like a pot of water on high heat, it is boiling over, throwing the lid of bribes, violence based repression, corruption and mendacious fossil fuel energy bull**** to the four winds. Anybody with a lick of sense can see the transition is NOT going to be linear; it's going to be somewhere between parabolic and exponential for the INCREASE in Renewable Energy share of the total demand as well as the DECREASE in the fossil and nuclear poison fuel use.
MKing cannot envisage this because he is OWNED by the perception of the status quo. So he scoffs and asks for minutiae and detailed analysis about a FUTURE that his pals want to continually game.
He won't admit that, of course. He is smug and sure that they WILL succeed in keeping Renewable Energy to a niche. He won't admit big oil gamed the last 50 years; why should he accept publicly the FACT that they want to game the next 50? No, he will claim it was all done in a level energy cost/supply cost/benefit playing field. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.u.arizona.edu%2F%7Epatricia%2Fcute-collection%2Fsmileys%2Flying-smiley.gif&hash=a34c2f7344d5f54f7009a4e684bb6c7310cdda03) Talk about story telling FARTIUM AND HOPIUM! (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2F2rzukw3.gif&hash=f0487b8f0d488ab1126ce5e031b11ea3d74b1cc2)
To show you how discomfited our pet fossil fueler that drives a Volt is by my 2035 projection, notice he did not even COMMENT that MY energy project TOTAL USE for the U.S. is essentially the SAME as the original chart by the "experts" that MKing respects.
Why did I accept their figures for the total? Because I think they recognized that the growth of total energy use is DEAD IN THE WATER because of so many new efficiencies brought on by new technology (see Amory Lovins of the Rocky Mountain Institute for DETAILED scientific reports and analysis of this quantum leap in energy savings - that MKing doesn't talk about ;)).
At any rate the modeling by "respected" status quo supporting GANGS of scientists is, by the 2035 U.S. Energy Use projection chart, admitting ONE NEW and SIGNIFICANT CHANGE in the energy use paradigm. :o That is that GDP GROWTH does NOT HAVE TO TRACK ENERGY TOTAL DEMAND. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.desismileys.com%2Fsmileys%2Fdesismileys_0293.gif&hash=b1af4868ed8f18c30e637f8cbcb79002f6f71039) This is a HUGE admission for the "growth is IT (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-311013201314.png&hash=0715eb72631014310634eb56176ff860c6d542f6)" view of the predatory capitalist mindset.
I simply CORRECTED the blind spot these status quo bean counters displayed.
What's that? The Renewable Energy Explosion tidal waving over the Fossil and Nuclear fuel industries Seneca Cliff.
I find that is a rational, realistic and highly probable scenario. I think most people reading this DON'T but, around 2017, take another look at this chart. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.imgion.com%2Fimages%2F01%2FAngry-animated-smiley.jpg&hash=84657bd1a63cad676e3551587daeb4b39411a289)
Mking and friends will say it was a lucky shot on my part. The quantum computer I have between my ears is no match for big oil and all the scientists working for them in and out of government so I'm just farting in the wind! (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-051113192052.png&hash=93c42ef9f18fc5d9da50fd91fc19f70009f95f85)
Finally, let's talk a little about the erroneous predictions from serious scientists above. What's the common denominator? The common denominator is NOT mendacity or bought and paid for bull****. These people really believed what they were saying and really were serious, dedicated scientists dealing in empirically reached conclusions only.
What happened was twofold:
1) Status Quo linear type projection thinking instead of rapid change from disruptive technology (parabolib, exponential and/or Seneca Cliff).
2) The ETHICAL thought process of these scientists (If we have something that works to do this or that, it is costly/stupid to replace it with this new stuff).
Other considerations like career positions and personal financial holdings certainly would prejudice even the best, clear thinking individual but that is not the common denominator UNLESS we are talking about mendacious propaganda (New Ice Age, anyone?).
Einstein was the smartest of the above bunch, wouldn't you agree? Einstein understood physics pretty well, I would say. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.desismileys.com%2Fsmileys%2Fdesismileys_0293.gif&hash=b1af4868ed8f18c30e637f8cbcb79002f6f71039) He KNEW that messing with radioactivity and making a bomb and using fission to boil water was a low probability event that, though remotely possible, didn't make any sense whatsoever from a military or energy for civilization standpoint.
He was right. He still is right! (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2F301.gif&hash=0291ed4abf2d80e420d1aa00d4eb3c5dd6bbfb53)
But the MKing PERSPECTIVE of the predatory capitalist "war profiteering, externalize the pollution and concentrate the profits in a few hands" was not something Einstein dealt in.
He was a REALITY BASED person. He had ETHICS. They dominated his view of a proper military and energy future. Only when he thought Hitler could get the bomb first did he relent.
Even so, that God Damned Bomb provided work for about 100,000 to 400,000 people in the USA during the height of the Depression when the money was sorely needed to help the starving, hard working millions victimized by Wall Street and the Bankers.
That's just fine for the MKings of this world. The BOMB created the cabal of fascists (protected from public scrutiny by the secrecy of atomic energy) that joined with Big Oil to fnish the transition of this country into a Fascist Police State.
That's cool for the MKings of this world too.
The massive negative inertia of pure calloused behavior and arrogance toward fellow humans with less power that this new technology created in the USA business establishment was the worse thing that ever happened to this country. It brought us the MIC, game theory, unbridled belief in might is right far beyond what the robber barons had believed in and a general disdain for socially humane solutions to human problems. MKing has no problem with that either. He may admit, as Bill gates does, that it is "unfortunate" that the poor get shafted as result of capitalism but that's just the way the cookie crumbles in REAL LIFE. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.websmileys.com%2Fsm%2Faliens%2Fhae51.gif&hash=8f03fbaf5bcbd8c47a5fc16e8cd148ffc66dda73)
Now you may say that I am not a realist and neither was Einstein, someone I can never compare with mentally but I DO compare with ethically.
Einstein WAS a realist. So am I.
I'm telling you, as I'm sure Einstein would as well, that all this fossil fuel and nuclear crap destroying democracy and playing king of the ****ing hill is TEMPORARY. :o That is the historical record in meteoric climbs to power.
The descent FROM power is just as meteoric. MKing doesn't see that. Fossil fuelers don't see that. The MIC doesn't see that.
MKing thinks it's strory telling fartium and hopium to project the rapid end of COSTLY and TOXIC fuel industries. It's not. It's the MOST probable scenario because that is how it has ALWAYS GONE in the historical record when ossified, centralized, elite power has run into decentralized, distributed power. The fact that the dynamic is now thermodynamic as well as political just adds inertia to the rapidity of the CRASH ahead for dirty energy.
I don't give a flat **** what you think, MKing. However, I am gratified that you honored my chart with some ridicule. It shows I touched the RIGHT BUTTONS. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2F5yjbztv.gif&hash=d3dc6c69f3fc5ad39c44fb5466265476f34e5a76)
Have a nice day.
To all readers, don't hesitate to pass this on with or without attribution. Let the status quo worshippers know that that they are cruising for a bruising from Renewable Energy.(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2F47b20s0.gif&hash=cc48c9af9d29b8836023c7db21103e52d1ed439e)
Give them HELL! (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2F2mo5pow.gif&hash=995f9f6c08dcd54f18425f2bfbe138901cf052b1)(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.smileyvault.com%2Falbums%2Fuserpics%2F10172%2FBored-cute-big-smiley-animated-066.gif&hash=3691d0d47ac776c8e5882a7129e63affb86752c8)(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2Fswear1.gif&hash=87347674f9297191f3f8a447208170617da4caf6)
It's what they deserve. This is what happens when these bankrupt energy paradigm true believers argue with you: (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.desismileys.com%2Fsmileys%2Fdesismileys_2544.gif&hash=3eebdffc763448f0b2a411f423f3095098566d10)
Fossil Fueler and Nuke Puke STATUS QUO based linear (ignoring parabolic, exponential and Seneca Cliff historically documented effects of disruptive technology) Projection to 2035 (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2Fwww_MyEmoticons_com__burp.gif&hash=8ff3ef6c016d8baf5f61ed5e8db58f069b64da00)
(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.eia.gov%2Ftodayinenergy%2Fimages%2F2012.01.24%2FAEO2012EnergyConsumption.png&hash=e95553721de0983035ed5ba1b444f27ad6a1a0c2)
High Probabilty Future due to tyranny overkill by predatory capitalist crooks suppressing cheaper Renewable Energy Technology for over 40 years up until now. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.websmileys.com%2Fsm%2Fviolent%2Fsterb029.gif&hash=7a43a0c106eab798f7ba6133dc5cc550647a03d2)
(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-141213203245.png&hash=6490eba12cffaaf7c954fd3831d97a1de3ab0746) (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2Fcowboypistol.gif&hash=2dc97f743dffca22404e6e4e0822765e60b33f38)
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MKing said (after the silly attempt at ridicule, disparagement and IQ lowballing of Agelbert. :icon_mrgreen:)
Religious dogma? (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.coh2.org%2Fimages%2FSmileys%2Fhuhsign.gif&hash=3732d0427be65896527fc3805c5be54a33cffd3b)
Renewable zealotry? (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.smileyvault.com%2Falbums%2Fuserpics%2F10172%2FBored-cute-big-smiley-animated-066.gif&hash=3691d0d47ac776c8e5882a7129e63affb86752c8)
Call it what you'd like, but the economists (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-311013201314.png&hash=0715eb72631014310634eb56176ff860c6d542f6) who built the model for the IEA certainly have answers (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.freesmileys.org%2Femoticons%2Femoticon-object-032.gif&hash=2aed8e35e6ff3ee1afd0eba72554bb7855c7c571) for these kinds of questions. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.imgion.com%2Fimages%2F01%2FAngry-animated-smiley.jpg&hash=84657bd1a63cad676e3551587daeb4b39411a289)
My dear fossil fueler, I never said these worthy economists did NOT have the answers; I SAID they were making faulty projections, as the list of serious scientists I gave you in the last post but are SILENT about, DID.
They were RADICALLY mistaken because they projected the status quo into the future linearly. Do you have difficulty seeing that error? YEP! In fact, in regard to your following list of questions, you are avoiding the central issue here. And that is a COMPARISON of the two technologies at odds with each other.
The other day you said my "perspective" was wrong because I reasoned as to whether some technology (e,g. building North Sea Oil Drilling platforms) should, or should not have been built based on COST. Today, you are back to asking about cost. That's a bit contradictory, old bean. 8)
I would prefer you were a bit more consistent in your demands for scientific, rational, empirical and THEREFORE credibie chart data. Your calculus seems to be a moving target based on "other" factors like who has the biggest gun (see your "rapacious is good :evil4:" comments).
Now you do agree, do you not, that you cannot have it both ways? Either your fossil fuel paradigm is held together with political power born of bribes, corruption, threats and violence because it cannot compete on an HONEST EROI energy playing field or it never needed any of that heavy handed **** because it is such a "blessing" (as in wonderful, cheap, superior concentration of energy, HIGH EROI, etc. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.freesmileys.org%2Femoticons%2Ftuzki-bunnys%2Ftuzki-bunny-emoticon-026.gif&hash=cea0c85d87fadfcde1f4ffdeb123185070f6de75) ).
So what do you call the big oil bull**** and propaganda lie a minute machine (nuke pukes too)? INSURANCE?
Why do you find my conclusion that the FACT that they spend millions each year to bribe, bully and produce pie in the fossil fuel sky projections like the ones you worship (with all the appropriate economic terms and buzzwords for the APPROVED formulation designed to provide CREDIBILITY), is DE FACTO proof that fossil fuels are NOT COMPETITIVE (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2Fmaniac.gif&hash=9ecf389a7da25db958f3f63461cbb45a4b316c4e)with Renewable Energy so RELIGOUS and IRRATIONAL?
Look in the mirror for closed minded, rigid, status quo projecting erroneous assumptions, PAL! YOU are the zealot here, not me! Every time I have zeroed in on the gaming, you dance around the low EROI and claim that the rapacious predatory **** is just fine and dandy. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.desismileys.com%2Fsmileys%2Fdesismileys_2932.gif&hash=0eaec4791a5825821998245e7fcd7744b56557fe)
Fossil Fueler DEMANDS some NUMBER CRUNCHING from Agelbert! (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.desismileys.com%2Fsmileys%2Fdesismileys_6869.gif&hash=f94938471d343a09155d1f60eefacdb2ceab2457)
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Hell, how about just a cost of supply curve for the renewables involved?
Income elasticities would be nice to see.
Assumptions on Chinese vehicle growth, and efficiency?
How about non-OECD GDP projections, and assumptions of elasticity there?
Capital availability for the development of your renewable scenario?
Do you have these in tables Agelbert, or perhaps a spreadsheet?
And the model, do you have some documentation written up and available for review parked somewhere?
When you explain to my satisfaction WHY you feel the heavy handed tactics of Big Oil are not MENS REA because they have an INFERIOR ENERGY PRODUCT as compared with Renewable Energy, I will be glad to shower you with detailed data, discuss cost, supply, elasticity, present value, sunk costs, various depreciation mechanisms and anHONEST application of GAAP (Generally Accepted Accounting Principles) AND thermodynamics in formulating a reality based EROI.
But, until you DO THAT, the answers to those questions are for me to know and you to find out. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.imgion.com%2Fimages%2F01%2FAngry-animated-smiley.jpg&hash=84657bd1a63cad676e3551587daeb4b39411a289) (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-051113192052.png&hash=93c42ef9f18fc5d9da50fd91fc19f70009f95f85)
WHY?
Because I REALLY want to get OUT OF THE WAY the stupid, false and misleading idea that fossil fuels are a better deal than Renewable Energy, not 10 years from now or twenty, but ALWAYS!
At that point we may found common ground in agreeing that, given certain predatory capitalist/fascist police state tactics, they very well might strong arm Renewable Energy out of prime time by all sorts of low down corrupt tactics.
However, I feel THAT FUTURE up to 2035, as the chart you so respect attempts to justify as the most probable scenario, is an outlier, is irrational and reflects a low probability and environmentally catastrophic, future.
Sure, the elite may go for that because the world popuiation can be chopped in half or more that way.
But that has NOTHING to do with sound economics, elasticity, cost/supply, EROI or CFS. IT has EVERYTHING TO DO with rapacious, power mad insanity.
But it could happen. You had better hope it doesn't.
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Cost of renewable energy’s variability is dwarfed by the savings
(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fgrist.files.wordpress.com%2F2013%2F11%2Faaa-spill-popcorn-mean-girls.gif%3Fw%3D350%26amp%3Bh%3D219&hash=99f72e20a39f0c4fbd255f2f7d8237849f03f83e)
Wear and tear on equipment costs millions, but fuel savings are worth billions.(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-141113185047.png&hash=384024358ff8d5e7133d19b6e6638da4584a8154)
by John Timmer - Sept 24 2013,
Energy
The variability of renewable energy sources like solar and wind has raised concerns about how well the US electrical grid could tolerate high levels of them. Some of the early estimates suggested that the grid couldn't handle having more than 20 percent of its electricity coming from intermittent sources without needing a major overhaul. But thanks to improved practices and a bit of experience, several states are already pushing that 20 percent limit well in advance of having a smart grid in place.
Adjusting for intermittent power sources primarily comes from cycling traditional fossil fuel plants on and off to match supply with demand. And that cycling has a cost in terms of wear and tear to equipment and fuel burned without producing electricity.
So the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) produced a series of studies to look at these costs and how they compared to the savings in fuel that doesn't get burned. The answer: the cost is a tiny fraction of the ultimate savings. :o
Solar and wind power have very distinct profiles.
Solar varies the most over the course of a day, but the general outline of solar production is very predictable even if the total power delivered varies a bit with cloud cover.
Wind tends to be steadier, but the total amount being produced can change at any time of day.
To compensate for this variability, electricity suppliers essentially have to turn sources on and off. Since wind and solar have minimal operating costs—they burn no fuel—attention turns to coal and natural gas. Depending on the design of the plant, switching them on or off entails a variety of costs. Fuel gets burned without producing electricity when the plants cycle up, and a changing state entails an increased level of wear-and-tear on the equipment. Some of this went on before renewables entered the mix, but solar and wind are clearly increasing the frequency.
So, what are the costs? To find out, NREL commissioned a company called APTECH that had previously been hired by plant operators to estimate these costs. With these costs in hand, the NREL team analyzed the grid in the Western US under a number of different scenarios where intermittent renewables accounted for 33 percent of the total power. These scenarios included an even split between wind and solar sources and both 25 percent/eight percent (wind/solar and solar/wind) splits.
As expected, costs did go up. Cycling the fossil fuel plants added between $0.47 and $1.28 to each MegaWatt hour generated. Over the course of a year in the Western US grid, that adds up to between $35 and $157 million, a boost of between 13 and 24 percent. :P
That's the bad news. The rest is pretty much good. The fuel savings from not running the fossil fuel plants adds up to $7 billion (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.freesmileys.org%2Femoticons%2Ftuzki-bunnys%2Ftuzki-bunny-emoticon-005.gif&hash=c0f70cc821100c434469eae24e0fa6131745ab51)
, meaning the added costs are, at most, two percent of the savings. The fuel burned when spinning up the fossil fuel plants also makes a minimal contribution to pollution, either in the form of CO2 or in terms of nitrogen and sulfur compounds. ;D
Perhaps the most significant news, however, is that the worst problems come earlier in the transition to renewables. "In terms of cycling costs," the report notes, "there may be a big step in going from 0 percent to 13 percent wind/solar but a much smaller step in going from 13 percent to 33 percent." In other words, once the percentage of renewables reaches a critical point, then the amount of adjustments we have to make becomes incremental.
This doesn't yet mean that all renewable power is cost effective compared to fossil fuels;(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.coh2.org%2Fimages%2FSmileys%2Fhuhsign.gif&hash=3732d0427be65896527fc3805c5be54a33cffd3b) wind is very close, but solar is a bit further. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2Fnocomment.gif&hash=e2062ee03ac013cc64a2d5285ec05dd9510c141b) With current trends, however, we're only a few years away from that point.
And this report indicates that once we get there, there won't be any significant additional costs to adding them to the grid.
http://arstechnica.com/science/2013/09/cost-of-the-variability-of-renewable-energy-is-dwarfed-by-the-savings/
Agelbert NOTE: Actually, I would correct that last sentence to point out there will be significant additional costs to delaying the increased percentage of renewable energy!
WHY? Which smart grid technology, power sharing among neighboring grids and new storage technology from compressed air to battery to inertia (flywheel) storage, keeping old burners maintained won't be worth it (unless they can be converted from coal to biomass)..
Have you noticed they DID mention lost energy for spin up above but didn't mention shunting? Shunting is when a utility is trying to cut it real close on baseload "cheap" coal or nuke power so it doesn't have to use as much from the rapid spin up power plants run on natural gas which costs a bit more. When you are running a high baseload and the demand goes BELOW baseload, you CANNOT slow down a nuke or a coal plant quickly so you shunt the juice to some massive resistance (you throw it away!).
Utilities don't care about this waste because they just make it up with their rates to YOU. The bottom line is utilities LIKE to run full tilt because they make more money that way. That is why they are loathe to set up smart grids that would NEGATE the need for a high baseload!
The excuse they use is that renewable is too "intermittent". They claim they need to supply demand spikes and no way can they even guarantee a baseload common denominator to accurately figure the demand spike on and off power they need.
That simply is not true. Do you know they could have set up giant capacitor technology around nukes and never did because shunting into a massive resistance is cheaper? And WHY is it "cheaper" to throw away power than saving that "over the top" power for later? Because YOU pay for the 4.5 to 6 year MTBF fuel rod baby sitting for a few centuries after she can't boil water up to 600C or so. Such a deal!
Please understand this folks. Utilities HATE RENEWABLE ENERGY, not because it is intermittent, but because they cannot justify a high baseload coal or nuke piggery with smart grid technology.
Look at my last post on LED street lighting to see how they are NOT interested in saving energy. It's ALL about gaming the output to JUSTIFY high energy costs and collect a profit on them. Putting street lights on LED is a royal kick in the nuts to utility baseload wet dreams. Worse yet for them, LED with smart grid technology is NOT as voltage sensitive as the old street light power hogs that would blow or brown out if your voltage or frequency got too strange. Juice sucking street lights JUSTIFIES high baseload fossil fuel or nuke, steady as she goes, high output and profits (and CO2 out the ying yang too!). LED street lights DON'T.
With 50% plus "intermittent" wind and solar on a smart grid, the computer KNOWS where every single street light is and if there is a human or car anywhere near it and shuts it down instantly as power is waxing and waning. Yes, some biofuel baseload will probably need to be available for unusual demands but that will be a the niche power source.
If demand goes up at ten pm when the sun is down, 80% of the LED street lights can be light lowered in an instant with no damage whatsoever. And then there are all the electric cars plugged in to the grid at ten p.m. ready to add to demand spike needs. Computers can handle all this. Don't let the fossil fuelers tell you any different.
Utilities want to have an excuse to run high baseload power so they can claim renewables can't cut it. It's bull****. They just want to burn more fossil fuels and charge YOU for it.
Don't let them get away with. Support 100% renewable energy in your state with biomass fired plants and storage technologies. We do NOT need the nukes or the fossil fuels, period!(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.freesmileys.org%2Femoticons%2Ftuzki-bunnys%2Ftuzki-bunny-emoticon-003.gif&hash=ecfc7a65fb45ec6a67dcf3b070c7bed4045acf48)
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Michigan Conservatives Launch Group to Increase Renewable Energy! :o ;D
SustainableBusiness.com News
Conservatives Launch Renewable Energy Group in Michigan! Is this a typo? (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.desismileys.com%2Fsmileys%2Fdesismileys_1402.gif&hash=704ddbc7a892750ad55e7a7bea92270b1df3ecba) No, but I read the article over several times to make sure. :D
According to Michigan Live, several Republicans have formed the Michigan Conservative Energy Forum to reduce coal use in the state while increasing energy efficiency and renewable energy.
On their facebook page, the group says, "the state must transition to clean, renewable energy sources" and that they plan to facilitate a dialogue that depoliticizes the issue." Great news!
(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fmedia.mwcradio.com%2Fmimesis%2F2013-12%2F17%2Fmcef_png_475x310_q85.jpg&hash=75606346d9ab209b2496fdb46a1b9834cbe52bc8)
"For too long, we have allowed the energy discourse to be dominated by the left," Larry Ward, executive director of the Forum and former political director of the Michigan Republican Party, told Michigan Live. "Conservatives have sat on the sidelines for far too long."
Unfortunately, Conservatives haven't just sat on the sidelines, they have been actively blocking programs that would reduce coal use and increase renewable energy. >:( On the national level, a slew of conservative groups are leading the helm from ALEC (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2F2rzukw3.gif&hash=f0487b8f0d488ab1126ce5e031b11ea3d74b1cc2) to Americans for Prosperity. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2Fwww_MyEmoticons_com__burp.gif&hash=8ff3ef6c016d8baf5f61ed5e8db58f069b64da00) In Michigan, a voter referendum that would have raised the state's Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) failed because of the usual reasons: a pile of money poured into the state spreading misinformation. >:(
The Forum wants Michigan to diversify its energy supply to include wind, solar, hydro, biomass, landfill gas, (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.desismileys.com%2Fsmileys%2Fdesismileys_0293.gif&hash=b1af4868ed8f18c30e637f8cbcb79002f6f71039) natural gas, nuclear and some coal. >:(
"This is exactly what the Republican Party needs to be relevant for the next generation of voters," Michael Stroud, co-chair of the Michigan Federation of College Republicans, told Michigan Live.
Governor Snyder is holding a roundtable discussion today on Michigan's energy policies. After the referendum failed, he called for a one-year study on the state's energy future. Several public forums were held across the state and four reports were submitted to the governor. One of them shows that it's feasible for Michigan to reach 30% renewable energy by 2035.
The referendum would have raised the state's RPS from the current target of 10% renewable energy by 2015 - which utilities are on track to meet at much lower cost than expected - to 25% by 2025.
Michigan is one of a bunch of states that's been in the news because wind power costs less than that from a new coal plant. Because of that, the utility, Consumers Energy, has cut the monthly surcharge that pays the cost of meeting Michigan's RPS and now wants to eliminate it. Over the past two years, they reduced the surcharge from $2.50 a month to just 52 cents.
A Michigan Energy Innovation Business Council study shows the state's advanced energy manufacturing sector - solar, wind, energy storage, and biomass - generates $5 billion a year in economic activity and supports 20,500 jobs a year. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.freesmileys.org%2Femoticons%2Femoticon-object-081.gif&hash=5981b917cdd5e334cd69d00213b2d119acbfb380)
http://www.sustainablebusiness.com/index.cfm/go/news.display/id/25409
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http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2013/12/utility-scale-renewable-energy-development-in-the-u-s-faces-obstacles-in-2014#comment-128499 ;D
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Dreaming Big: Six Really Far-Thinking Renewable Energy Plans :o ;D
New Hampshire, USA -- Every day we applaud and encourage all types of renewable energy development and deployment, in whatever forms make the most sense for their application: distributed solar PV, offshore wind, biomass conversions, hydropower (and hydro storage), geothermal. But what about those at the edge of our universe, the ones really pushing renewable energy to its limits?
During this holiday season as we reflect on the accomplishments of the past year and prepare to look ahead into 2014, we also take time to salute those who peer even further into the distance, envisioning where renewable energy can go -- and it's to some really interesting and far-out places. Some of them may be a little hard to bring to fruition, but all of them get us thinking about what's possible, and that's where the best ideas start.
To the Moon!
Since solar energy comes from the sun, why not cut out part of the middleman? Japanese engineering and construction firm Shimizu envisions the "Luna Ring," a 11,000-km belt of solar panels encircling the moon's equator, in a width from just "a few kilometers to 400 km." Power harvested from the sun would be transmitted via to enormous (20-km diameter) wireless antennas, and shot out to earth via 20-GHz microwaves, with radio beacons ensuring accurate transmission. Alongside, high-density lasers would be beamed to offshore facilities on Earth to be concentrated by a Fresnel lens and mirrors to generate solar PV power; the lasers' thermal energy would be harvested as well. Receivers and massive cabling on Earth would convert all of that into electric power, to be supplied to grids and for conversion of hydrogen. The moon itself would be tapped to produce resources to make the solar cells and panels and construction materials. Robots would perform most of the tasks, and the equipment would be assembled in space and lowered to the surface for installation.
The Luna Ring reportedly would supply up to 13,000 terawatts of power, or what Shimizu says would match the world's energy demand by 2030. Exploration would begin within the next few years, followed by a pilot demo both on Earth and the moon in the next decade, and construction beginning in 2035.
If lunar solar installs seem a bit too risky, how about orbiting solar projects? One company has NASA backing to use robots for building structures in orbit... using the most popular concept running, "additive manufacturing" -- essentially melting a metal (or plastics, in less fancy versions) in precise patterns to build up a tough finished product. The Trusselator and the "SpiderFab" would enable fabrication of carbon fiber truss structures, including solar arrays and other structures like antennae and transmitters with "kilometer-scale apertures," to help enable lower-cost space exploration and development.
Is There a Draft?
One of the more unusual ideas we've noticed in the past year is a proposal to build a downdraft chimney: sun-heated air at the top of a massive tower is cooled with a mist of water, channeled and accelerated down through the structure and out via numerous turbines at the bottom. The company, Solar Wind Energy Tower (SWET), has been approved by the City of San Luis, Arizona (just this side of the border with Mexico) for development rights to develop two of its downdraft towers, and recently signed a "letter of intent to enter into a definitive agreement" to purchase a 3,200-acre site in Mexico with "ideal attributes" for two more towers. They've also begun looking at a site in Chile's Atacama Desert, and claim interest from groups in India, South Africa, and Brazil.
The concrete tower itself would be 2,250 feet high, making it easily the planet's second-tallest structure ever built (Dubai's Burj Khalifa is tops at 2722 feet) -- and that's a significant downscale from initial designs of 3,000 feet. The base alone would be 1,500 feet at the base. Proposed yield would be 600 MWh, but a chunk of that would be used to operate the tower so the actual yield available to the grid would average around 435 MWh hourly. Proposed costs for such a tower is $1 billion, plus another $100 million to pipe in water from Mexico, plus some unspecified amount to build a desalination plant. Earlier this month the company clarified that it isn't proposing to build these massive structures itself; it just wants to license the technology to evaluate sites, and take development fees and royalties based on the tower's output.
There are significant questions about all this, from the challenges scaling up such a project (reportedly straight from a 4-foot model to full king-size) to the physics and costs involved with obtaining and pumping the water at these identified desert sites, though allegedly there would be systems in place to reuse most of what's used. A far smaller structure based on similar principles was built in Spain in the 1980s, worked for a few years at 50 kW max output, and then blew over; a 200-kW structure is currently in operation in China. Neither of them, nor a few other planned proposals, are remotely close to the scale that SWET is proposing. Moreover, other companies are pursuing solar updraft towers in Arizona at smaller scales.
Here is SWET's CEO recently describing the technology & business model, and how they arrive at projections of $18 million annually in royalty fees from each tower, how the company will be "cash-flow positive on the first project" -- and why the stock is currently trading at under a penny.
Giant concrete towers not so feasible? How about swapping all that concrete for some hot air? The man behind Richard Branson's continent-soaring balloon travails wants to alter the design from a massive permanent fixed updraft tower to an inflatable fabric-based tower. The proposed structure would be a 130-MW power station as much as 1-km high (3,280 feet), with roughly 25 percent capacity factor producing 281 GWh/year of electricity -- but at a comparative bargain investment of about $20 million.
Why Not Drones?
Amazon got a lot of buzz a few weeks ago for unveiling its dreams of a drone-powered package delivery service. But just fulfilling warehouse orders for Mr. & Mrs. John Q InternetSurfer might be ok for some drones, why not give them a higher purpose? A U.K. company wants to send them forth into the skies to harvest energy for us back down here on terraria. New Wave Energy says its 65 x 65 ft drones, supersized versions of the delightful copters found in Brookstone et al., would be rigged out with wind turbines and solar panels, sent up to heights of 50,000 feet to generate up to 50-kW of energy to be wirelessly beamed back to Earth. Thus, 8,000 of these buggers aloft in a group would be a 400 MW power plant. Alternatively, smaller-scale groupings would be perfect for deployments such as disaster relief. They suggest it'll cost £32 million and five years of development to reach commercial viability, which they compare favorably against a new Boeing 747. First things first, though: they plan to seek roughly $500,000 through Kickstarter crowdfunding.
Hydro City
OK, a man-made island for pumped hydro is pretty ambitious. So how about a pumped hydro storage system that floats? ;D
Canadian firm Humpback Hydro is designing a platform with holding tanks that sits just "meters offshore" near the demand centers that need them most. (Cue the same argument for offshore wind, which presumably would fit nicely with this concept.) Water is pumped from the surrounding ocean or lake into the tanks, run through turbines, and then sent back into the source. It's said to be scalable from 1MW up to and even exceeding 1 GW. The company is working with the National Research Council of Canada to develop a scale-model pilot project and then one out in the field.
In case that quick elevator pitch didn't swing you, try this: they also propose to put wind turbines and solar panels on these structures for additional benefit (including powering the pumps themselves). They could also be used for desalination. And if built big enough, they'd even be able to support housing and commercial developments.
Blimps: The Civilized way to Transport
This one we first heard about at last spring's AWEA conference in Chicago. Aeros has been designing airships for transporting heavy cargo "from point-of-origin to point-of-need," cutting out all the middleman transportation infrastructure, time, and costs. Its Aeroscraft dramatically changes the game of large-scale logistics, and trust us: it looks extremely cool: cruising along at 100-120 knots at up to 12,000 ft altitudes, with 3,100 nautical mile range.
Their lowest-hanging fruit is in military and disaster recovery applications, and they just signed a deal with a European cargo firm. But they've also expressed a desire to work in renewable energy -- for example, lifting and hauling the entire wind turbine structure and components directly from the factory to a project site, even those that aren't prepared or are uneven. (Think of the highway bottlenecks that would avoid.) A key feature of the Aeros is that it can offload cargo without reballasting to stay grounded.
The company says it's still a few years away from having a 66-ton airship ready to haul wind turbine blades, but they've already projected that they can slash equipment transportation costs by two-thirds.
Solar in the Desert
We've all seen the modeling: a stamp-sized solar array in the Sahara could theoretically generate enough power for the entire planet, notwithstanding challenges in construction or interconnection or financing. The Desertec Initiative (DII) was created for the slightly less grand purpose of just getting enough juice from that desert to power supply some of Europe's power needs.
This summer the initiative ran into some controversy, though, as the Desertec Foundation decided to part ways with DII citing "many irresolvable disputes between the two entities in the area of future strategies, obligations and their communication and last but not least the managerial style of Dii’s top management." The group further cited a desire to distance itself from what it called a "maelstrom of negative publicity" surrounding those conflicts, which it said "led to resentment among the partners of the DESERTEC Foundation." Nonetheless DII is committed to staying the path, pointing to a new arm in France and a European Commission working document urging cooperation in renewable energy, as well as support from economic development interests in the MENA region, and a new partner: China's State Grid Corp. And earlier this month the EC offered to back half of the costs of a feasibility study on a desert energy project between Italy and North African nations.
http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2013/12/dreaming-big-six-really-far-thinking-renewable-energy-plans?page=all
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13 major clean energy breakthroughs of 2013
By Kiley Kroh and Jeff Spross
Cross-posted from ThinkProgress
While the news about climate change seems to get worse every day, the rapidly improving technology, declining costs, and increasing accessibility of clean energy is the true bright spot in the march toward a zero-carbon future. 2013 had more clean energy milestones than we could fit on one page, but here are 13 of the key breakthroughs that happened this year.
1. Using salt to keep producing solar power even when the sun goes down. Helped along by the Department of Energy’s loan program, Solana’s massive 280 megawatt (MW) solar plant came online in Arizona this October, with one unique distinction: the plant will use a ‘salt battery’ that will allow it to keep generating electricity even when the sun isn’t shining. Not only is this a first for the United States in terms of thermal energy storage, the Solana plant is also the largest in the world to use to use parabolic trough mirrors to concentrate solar energy.
2. Electric vehicle batteries that can also power buildings. Nissan’s groundbreaking “Vehicle-To-Building” technology will enable companies to regulate their electricity needs by tapping into EVs plugged into their garages during times of peak demand. Then, when demand is low, electricity flows back to the vehicles, ensuring they’re charged for the drive home. With Nissan’s system, up to six electric vehicles can be plugged into a building at one time. As more forms renewable energy is added to the grid, storage innovations like this will help them all work together to provide reliable power.
3. The next generation of wind turbines is a gamechanger. May of 2013 brought the arrival of GE’s Brilliant line of wind turbines, which bring two technologies within the turbines to address storage and intermittency concerns. An “industrial internet” communicates with grid operators, to predict wind availability and power needs, and to optimally position the turbine. Grid-scale batteries built into the turbines store power when the wind is blowing but the electricity isn’t needed — then feed it into the grid as demand comes along, smoothing out fluctuations in electricity supply. It’s a more efficient solution to demand peaks than fossil fuel plants, making it attractive even from a purely business aspect. Fifty-nine of the turbines are headed for Michigan, and two more will arrive in Texas.
4. Solar electricity hits grid parity with coal. A single solar photovoltaic (PV) cell cost $76.67 per watt back in 1977, then fell off a cliff. Bloomberg Energy Finance forecast the price would reach $0.74 per watt in 2013 and as of the first quarter of this year, they were actually selling for $0.64 per watt. That cuts down on solar’s installation costs — and since the sunlight is free, lower installation costs mean lower electricity prices. And in 2013, they hit grid parity with coal: In February, a Southwestern utility agreed to purchase electricity from a New Mexico solar project for less than the going rate for a new coal plant. Unsubsidized solar power reached grid parity in countries such as Italy and India. And solar installations have boomed worldwide and here in America, as the lower module costs have drivendown installation prices.
5. Advancing renewable energy from ocean waves. With the nation’s first commercial, grid-connected underwater tidal turbine successfully generating renewable energy off the coast of Maine for a year, the Ocean Renewable Power Company (ORPC) has its sights set on big growth. The project has invested more than $21 million into the Maine economy and an environmental assessment in March found no detrimental impact on the marine environment. With help from the Department of Energy, the project is set to deploy two more devices in 2014. In November, ORPC was chosen to manage a wave-energy conversion project in remote Yakutat, Alaska. And a Japanese delegation visited the project this year as the country seeks to produce 30 percent of its total power offshore by 2030.
6. Harnessing ocean waves to produce fresh water. This year saw the announcement of Carnegie Wave Energy’s upcoming desalination plant near Perth, Australia. It will use the company’s underwater buoy technology to harness ocean wave force to pressurize the water, cutting out the fossil-fuel-powered electric pumps that usually force water through the membrane in the desalination process. The resulting system — “a world first” — will be carbon-free, and efficient in terms of both energy and cost. Plan details were completed in October, the manufacturing contract was awarded in November, and when it’s done, the plant will supply 55 billion litters of fresh drinking water per year.
7. Ultra-thin solar cells that break efficiency records. Conversion efficiency is the amount of light hitting the solar cell that’s actually changed into electricity, and it’s typically 18.7 percent and 24 percent. But Alta Devices, a Silicon Valley solar manufacturer, set a new record of 30.8 percent conversion efficiency this year. Its method is more expensive, but the result is a durable and extremely thin solar cell that can generate a lot of electricity from a small surface area. That makes Alta’s cells perfect for small and portable electronic devices like smartphones and tablets, and the company is in discussions to apply them to mobile phones, smoke detectors, door alarms, computer watches, remote controls, and more.
8. Batteries that are safer, lighter, and store more power. Abundant and cost-effective storage technology will be crucial for a clean energy economy — no where more so than with electric cars. But right now batteries don’t always hold enough charge to power automobiles for extended periods, and they add significantly to bulk and cost. But at the start of 2013, researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory successfully demonstrated a new lithium-ion battery technology that can store far more power in a much smaller size, and that’s safer and less prone to shorts. They used nanotechnology to create an electrolyte that’s solid, ultra-thin, and porous, and they also combined the approach with lithium-sulfur battery technology, which could further enhance cost-effectiveness.
9. New age offshore wind turbines that float. Offshore areas are prime real estate for wind farms, but standard turbines require lots of construction and are limited to waters 60 meters deep or less. But Statoil, the Norwegian-based oil and gas company, began work this year on a hub of floating wind turbines off the coast of Scotland. The turbines merely require a few cables to keep them anchored, and can be placed in water up to 700 meters. That could vastly expand the amount of economically practical offshore wind power. The hub off Scotland will be the largest floating wind farm in the world — and two floating turbines are planned off the coast of Fukushima, Japan, along with the world’s first floating electrical substation.
10. Cutting electricity bills with direct current power. Alternating current (AC), rather than direct current (DC) is the dominant standard for electricity use. But DC current has its own advantages: It’s cheap, efficient, works better with solar panels and wind turbines, and doesn’t require adaptors that waste energy as heat. Facebook, JPMorgan, Sprint, Boeing, and Bank of America have all built datacenters that rely on DC power, since DC-powered datacenters are 20 percent more efficient, cost 30 percent less, and require 25 to 40 percent less floorspace. On the residential level, new USB technology will soon be able to deliver 100 watts of power, spreading DC power to ever more low voltage personal electronics, and saving homes inefficiency costs in their electricity bill.
11. Commercial production of clean energy from plant waste is finally here. Ethanol derived from corn, once held up as a climate-friendly alternative to gasoline, is under increasing fire. Many experts believe it drives up food prices, and studies disagree on whether it actually releases any less carbon dioxide when its full life cycle is accounted for. Cellulosic biofuels, promise to get around those hurdles, and 2013 may be when the industry finally turned the corner. INOES Bio’s cellulosic ethanol plant in Florida and KiOR’s cellulosic plant in Mississippi began commercial production this year. Two more cellulosic plants are headed for Iowa, and yet another’s being constructed in Kansas. The industry says 2014′s proposed cellulosic fuel mandate of 17 million gallons will be easily met.
12. Innovative financing bringing clean energy to more people. In D.C., the first ever property-assessed clean energy (PACE) project allows investments in efficiency and renewables to be repaid through a special tax levied on the property, which lowers the risk for owners. Crowdfunding for clean energy projects made major strides bringing decentralized renewable energy to more people — particularly the world’s poor — and Solar Mosaic is pioneering crowdfunding to pool community investments in solar in the United States. California figured out how to allow customers who aren’t property owners or who don’t have a suitable roof for solar — that’s 75 percent of the state — to nonetheless purchase up to 100 percent clean energy for their home or business. Minnesota advanced its community solar gardens program, modeled after Colorado’s successful initiative. And Washington, D.C., voted to bring in virtual net metering, which allows people to buy a portion of a larger solar or wind project, and then have their portion of the electricity sold or credited back to the grid on their behalf, reducing the bill.
13. Wind power is now competitive with fossil fuels. “We’re now seeing power agreements being signed with wind farms at as low as $25 per megawatt-hour,” Stephen Byrd, Morgan Stanley’s head of North American Equity Research for Power & Utilities and Clean Energy, told the Columbia Energy Symposium in late November. Byrd explained that wind’s ongoing variable costs are negligible, which means an owner can bring down the cost of power purchase agreements by spreading the upfront investment over as many units as possible. As a result, larger wind farms in the Midwest are confronting coal plants in the Powder River Basin with “fairly vicious competition.” And even without the production tax credit, wind can still undercut many natural gas plants. A clear sign of its viability, wind power currently meets 25 percent of Iowa’s energy needs and is projected to reach a whopping 50 percent by 2018. :o ;D
Kiley Kroh is a deputy editor of Climate Progress.
Jeff Spross is video editor and blogger for ThinkProgress.org.
http://grist.org/climate-energy/13-major-clean-energy-breakthroughs-of-2013/
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(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-020114155053.png&hash=9b93696023af077837261f7921853309279b1614)
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Outrageously Positive Renewable Energy Growth Prediction! (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fus.123rf.com%2F400wm%2F400%2F400%2Fyayayoy%2Fyayayoy1106%2Fyayayoy110600019%2F9735563-smiling-sun-showing-thumb-up.jpg&hash=09b45642ec6d7943d30b5b87548676e3ee7dbe3d)
(http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/blog/post/2014/01/a-g-gelbert-outrageously-positive-renewable-energy-growth-prediction)
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Here you go, AG.
California Installed More Rooftop Solar In 2013 Than Previous 30 Years Combined (http://www.mintpressnews.com/california-installed-rooftop-solar-2013-previous-30-years-combined/176191/)
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Surly,
Excellent data point! ;D
Here's more good news:
NREL: 23% Of Global Electricity Generation Supplied By Renewable Sources (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fshelivedinashoe.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2013%2F01%2Fgo-dog-go.jpg&hash=5fa9001e12676cb2b58c874e75bf914a57b11579)
Originally published on 1Sun4All.
The National Renewable Energy Lab (NREL) released a report – 2012 Renewable Energy Data Book – in October of 2013 regarding the status of renewable energy globally and in the US. The report has an abundance of great charts and, in reading through the pages, I discovered that renewable energy accounts for 23% of all electricity generation worldwide (4,892 TWh) (on page 41). I’ve brought out a few of the relevant charts and findings. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.
In 2012, Germany led the world in cumulative solar photovoltaic installed capacity, reports the NREL. The United States leads the world in geothermal and biomass installed capacity. China leads in wind, and Spain leads in solar thermal electric generation (STEG). The following is from the 2012
Renewable Energy Data Book:
Leading Countries For Installed Renewable Energy
(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi0.wp.com%2Fcleantechnica.com%2Ffiles%2F2014%2F01%2Frenewable-NREL-country-1.jpg&hash=e3ae4f6f2524de00c79348529aaa3a045cbac014)
Image courtesy of NREL | 2012 Renewable Energy Data Book
Zach mentioned the weakness of this chart is that it doesn’t address the per capita or per GDP leaders. From his post, 18 Fun Renewable Energy Charts From NREL Director Dan Arvizu & Ren21′s Renewables 2013 Global Status Report, he offered the latest on those for wind and solar:
Top Solar Power Countries
Top Wind Power Countries Per Capita
Top Wind Power Countries Per GDP
More findings from NREL’s 2012 Renewable Energy Data Book:
Total Global Renewable Electricity Capacity
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Image courtesy of NREL | 2012 Renewable Energy Data Book
The installed global renewable electricity capacity doubled between 2000 and 2012, and represents a significant and growing portion of the total energy supply both globally and in the United States.
Growth of the World’s Sustainable Energy Resources from 2000 to 2012
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http://cleantechnica.com/2014/01/03/nrel-23-global-electricity-generation-supplied-renewable-sources/#oteiprGfxaOfca4o.99
Agelbert NOTE: I realize most of the data does not include 2013 but I just want to add to the good news about the massive 400 MW hydroelectric dam just completed in Bui, Ghana.
(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fupload.wikimedia.org%2Fwikipedia%2Fcommons%2F1%2F19%2FFlag_of_Ghana.svg&hash=243964d8022b39cbadb6eeacf1dbfd52e1f6a512)
Flag of Ghana
But even before that, Ghana is way ahead of most countries in the world in renewable energy.
Total Electrical Grid capacity (2012) = 14,675 GW
Share of fossil energy = 0%
Share of renewable energy (hydro, bio energy, thermal energy) = 99%
Share of renewable energy (solar, wind energy) = 1%
Perhaps they aren't praised as much as countries like Denmark because of this: Ghana produces 200,000 barrels of crude oil per day on average.
Never the less, this PV project now being built shows they should be touted as a great example of a country transitioning to 100% renewable energy:The biggest photovoltaic (PV) and largest solar energy plant in Africa, the Nzema project, based in Ghana, will be able to provide electricity to more than 100,000 homes. The 155 megawatt plant will increase Ghana's electricity generating capacity by 6%.
One more thing. Ghana burns zero coal for electrical or any other purpose! That is also praiseworthy. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2Fballoons.gif&hash=a64bb5ff3e76c3e11999996c460fa02de1ee10f7)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electricity_sector_in_Ghana
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The Fossil Fuelers are going HATE this plan to make New York State 100% powered by renewable energy by 2030! That's even ahead of my 2035 (less than 100%) prediction! Excellent! (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2Fearthhug.gif&hash=3abcf70466f34337f2d702ebd9e02c650d5c4c20)
Examining the feasibility of converting New York State’s all-purpose energy infrastructure to one using wind, water, and sunlight
a b s t r a c t
This study analyzes a plan to convert New York State’s (NYS’s) all-purpose (for electricity, transportation, heating/cooling, and industry) energy infrastructure to one derived entirely from wind,water, and sunlight (WWS) generating electricity and electrolytic hydrogen. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fus.123rf.com%2F400wm%2F400%2F400%2Fyayayoy%2Fyayayoy1106%2Fyayayoy110600019%2F9735563-smiling-sun-showing-thumb-up.jpg&hash=09b45642ec6d7943d30b5b87548676e3ee7dbe3d)
Under the plan, NYS’s 2030 all-purpose end-use power would be provided by
10% on shore wind (4020 5-MW turbines),
40% off shore wind (12,700 5-MW turbines),
10% concentrated solar (387 100-MW plants),
10% solar-PV plants (828 50-MW plants),
6% residential roof top PV (5 million 5-kW systems),
12% commercial/ government roof top PV (500,000 100-kW systems),
5% geothermal (36 100-MW plants),
0.5% wave (1910 0.75-MW devices),
1% tidal (2600 1-MW turbines), and
5.5% hydroelectric (6.6 1300-MW plants, of which 89% exist ;D). At most, about 944 MW of additional installed hydroelectric will be needed. See pdf for explanation of "6.6" hydroelectric plants meaning.
Mined natural gas and liquid biofuels are excluded from the NYS plan for the reasons given in the pdf link below. Jacobson and Delucchi (2011) explain why nuclear power and coal with carbon capture are also excluded. ;D
(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fgrist.files.wordpress.com%2F2014%2F01%2Fjacobson-powering-ny.jpg%3F&hash=e8b2e6ca6d59382c732c4ca629523f1b96045389)
The conversion would reduce NYS’s end-use power demand 37% and stabilize energy prices since fuel costs would be zero. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.freesmileys.org%2Femoticons%2Ftuzki-bunnys%2Ftuzki-bunny-emoticon-022.gif&hash=3b60da70b71b7109fe66036056cb1dedc1affb43)
It would create more jobs than lost because nearly all NYS energy would now be produced in-state. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2F47b20s0.gif&hash=cc48c9af9d29b8836023c7db21103e52d1ed439e)
NYS air pollution mortality and its costs would decline by 4000 (1200–7600) deaths/yr, and $33(10–76) billion/yr (3% of 2010 NYS GDP), respectively, alone repaying the 271 GW installed power needed within 17 years, before accounting for electricity sales.
NYS’s own emission decreases would reduce 2050 U.S. climate costs by $3.2 billion/yr. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2F301.gif&hash=0291ed4abf2d80e420d1aa00d4eb3c5dd6bbfb53)
2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
http://www.stanford.edu/group/efmh/jacobson/Articles/I/NewYorkWWSEnPolicy.pdf
So is all of this just crazy and unrealistic? Consider some facts about the impressive growth of solar energy of late:
A solar energy system is now installed every four minutes in the U.S., according to GTM Research. By 2016, that’s projected to be down to 83 seconds.
According to the Solar Energy Industry Organization, the price of a solar panel has declined 60 percent just since 2011.
Walmart is now producing more solar power at its stores than 38 U.S. states.
The producers of this study have stated they will ALSO soon publish a 100% Renewable Energy Transition Study for EVERY OTHER STATE! (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2Fmaniac.gif&hash=9ecf389a7da25db958f3f63461cbb45a4b316c4e)
Mark Ruffalo wants you to imagine a 100 percent clean energy future (http://grist.org/climate-energy/mark-ruffalo-wants-you-to-imagine-a-100-percent-clean-energy-future)
Expect MKing to label this feasability study as "hopium and fartium". (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2Fugly004.gif&hash=c56db4280057389afd154a1cb4057410151579c8) What else can expect from someone enamored with Social Darwinism?" (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-051113192052.png&hash=93c42ef9f18fc5d9da50fd91fc19f70009f95f85)
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19 Countries Form Africa Clean Energy Corridor
SustainableBusiness.com News
19 countries have committed to developing an Africa Clean Energy Corridor to help the continent leap frog to renewable energy in the face of rising energy demand.
Led by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), stakeholders believe a regional approach can attract the most investment and optimize the renewable energy mix.
The corridor will span eastern Africa, from Cairo to Capetown, where transmission infrastructure is being built to meet growing energy demand.
Currently, Ethiopia hosts the continent's biggest wind farm and has plans for 800 megawatts of wind and 1 gigawatt of geothermal. The Corbetti Project is a new model for developing large scale power projects in Africa and is part of the Power Africa initiative that President Obama announced last summer.
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IRENA
IRENA will facilitate the large-scale, transborder initiative by:
•identifying renewable energy development zones - areas of high potential - where solar, wind, geothermal or biomass projects would be clustered;
•facilitating government planning so that renewable energy has bigger share of the energy mix;
•fostering new financing models and investment frameworks that can rapidly get projects on the ground;
•building the local knowledge base and leading public information campaigns.
Demand for electricity is expected to triple in Southern Africa, and quadruple in Eastern Africa over the 25 years, making the region’s current dependence on fossil fuels increasingly unsustainable both economically and environmentally, says IRENA.
80% of Southern Africa's energy comes from coal, which will need to expand without the growth of renewables because demand is growing at 4% a year. East Africa relies on natural gas for 60% of electricity, with demand rising 6% a year.
“Lifting the African population out of energy poverty cannot be fulfilled if a business-as-usual approach is followed,” says Mosad Elmissiry, Head of Energy at the New Partnership for Africa’s Development, an African Union implementing body. “We need a drastic transformation in our approach to developing renewable energy, to be sure renewables are fully utilised. The Clean Energy Corridor can support and further advance the implementation of the regional and continental initiatives already on the ground for further utilisation of renewable energy in Africa.”
Environmental ministers and delegates endorsed this action plan this week.
Established in 2009, IRENA is the global hub for renewable energy cooperation, supported by 123 countries and the European Union. Headquartered in Masdar City, United Arab Emirates, it supports countries in their transition to sustainable energy, and serves as the principal platform for international cooperation, a center of excellence, and repository of policy, technology, resource and financial knowledge on renewable energy. The inter-governmental organization promotes widespread adoption of all forms of renewable energy, including bioenergy, geothermal, hydropower, ocean, solar and wind.
Last year, South Africa was one of 10 countries that formed the Renewable Energy Club, which is managed by IRENA. The US did not joing the Club! The idea is to break the logjam on confronting climate change by reframing the focus from the negative - cutting emissions - to the positive - rapidly ramping up renewable energy.
Also last year, IRENA unveiled the first world atlas that shows every country's renewable energy potential.
Here's a brief video from IRENA on the Africa Clean Energy Corridor:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8kbD5g3x52Y&feature=player_embedded
http://www.sustainablebusiness.com/index.cfm/go/news.display/id/25446
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Powering the US with Renewables: A State-By-State Roadmap
James Montgomery, Associate Editor, RenewableEnergyWorld.com
February 24, 2014
New Hampshire, USA -- What does it take to convert a city, a state, a nation, to 100 percent renewable energy? Many countries are giving it a go with very ambitious goals to be 100-percent powered by renewable energy (islands seem to have a leg up). But what about right here in the U.S., how could that be achieved for this nation? And since all politics is local (and most especially true for renewable energy policies), how could it be done by individual states?
Back in 2011 Stanford professor Mark Jacobsen envisioned what that might require, and followed that up with an analysis of how to accomplish it in New York State. (Our coverage of that, by the way, was by far our most commented story in recent memory.) Now he's extended his analysis to all 50 U.S. states, laying out a resource roadmap to how each of them could meet 100 percent of their energy needs (electricity, transportation, heating) through renewable sources by 2050 — excluding nuclear, ethanol and other biofuels. Note that none of these calculations are geared to optimize for the least-cost mix to get to 100 percent renewables usage. Levelized electricity costs from that renewables mix by 2030 are projected to be 4-11 cents/kWh (including local transmission), compared with 20-25 cents/kWh from fossil-fuel energy with added health and climate costs.
His latest results include two more deep-dives as he did for New York, showing how they could achieve all new energy capacity powered by renewables (under the aforementioned definition) by 2020, 80-85 percent of existing energy converted by 2030, and 100 percent by 2050. California, he finds, can get to a 100-percent renewables footprint with the following portfolio: 55 percent solar (both distributed and large-scale, including a lot of CSP), 35 percent wind (both on- and offshore), 5 percent geothermal, and 4 percent hydroelectric, plus a big contribution from energy efficiency. (Blending wind with solar, and combining that with hydro and CSP with storage, will largely smooth out intermittency problems, he concludes.) Ultimately that will create a net 178,000 permanent jobs, avoid $131 billion in annual healthcare costs, and pay off the 631 GW of new installed power within six years.
In Washington State, Jacobson et al calculate a 2050 fully-renewables mix as: 43 percent wind, 28 percent solar PV, 26 percent hydro, 2 percent geothermal, and half a percent each of wave and tidal. New capacity additions of 137 GW would cost $228 billion but be paid off in 13 years. Note that Washington has an abundance of hydro power, and thus has a head-start for built-in storage to match up with energy demand; no new hydro will be necessary (more on that later) but he assumes existing hydro capacity will be updated to improve efficiency.
Change in percent distribution of California energy supply for all purposes (electricity, transportation, heating/cooling, industry) among conventional fuels and WWS energy over time based on the roadmap proposed. Credit: Stanford/Jacobson
Overall the methodologies were pretty much the same: "look at the footprints and areas, and how many devices of each type we would need," Jacobson explains. Compared to his previous calculations, these new findings extend the timeframe out to 2050, instead of just 2030. They're also more updated to account for current installations, such as an extensive wind energy buildout since his 2011 study, and the most recent insight into job creation.
He is also struck by the addition of mortality calculations, based on air quality data for each state spanning three years in every county, and illustrating how renewables will reduce air pollution and its direct connection to mortality. Around three percent of the U.S. GDP goes into health costs due to air pollution he says (quick math: the U.S. GDP is roughly $17 trillion, so that's $500 billion in health costs). Quantifying that at the state level with concrete numbers proves how renewable energy could address and reduce "a significant burden on society."
So which states have the smoothest pathway, relatively speaking, to achieving 100 percent renewables? The key, he says, is tapping and improving existing large-scale hydro, without adding any new ones. "Any state with hydro is amenable to making this easier," he says. Washington State would lead this pack due to its abundant hydro resources — up to 30 percent of what they'd need — plus a small but growing amount of wind and solar. He also notes the state has policies and leadership that are "very supportive of changing things." Other states that could best leverage hydro include Idaho and New York. The growing influence of wind energy in some states (Iowa, South Dakota) will help, too.
On the other hand, it won't be as easy a journey in the southeastern states, which have fewer renewables to tap into and must rely more on interconnection. (Note that his estimates don't restrict states from obtaining renewables outside their borders; this brings things like Canadian hydro into play for some northern states, as well.)
Maybe the biggest takeaway from Jacobson's updates is that broadly speaking none of it is new. "We don't have to invent a new technology to get this to work," he says. "We have to get more efficient from a cost point of view."
http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2014/02/powering-the-u-s-with-renewables-a-state-by-state-roadmap
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The Power Grid Might Become The ‘Alternative’ — Off-Grid The Norm ;D
For years, low-cost solar-plus-battery systems were seen as a distant possibility at best, a fringe technology not likely to be a threat to mainstream electricity delivery any time soon. By far, the limiting factor has been battery costs. But thanks to a confluence of factors playing out across the energy industry, the reality is that affordable battery storage is coming much sooner than most people realize. That approaching day of cheaper battery storage, when combined with solar PV, has the potential to fundamentally alter the electricity landscape.
While grid-tied solar has seen dramatic recent cost declines, until recently, solar-plus-battery systems have not been considered economically viable. However, concurrent declining costs of batteries, growing maturity of solar-plus-battery systems, and increasing adoption rates for these technologies are changing that. Recent media coverage, market analysis, and industry discussions—including the Edison Electric Institute’s January 2013 Disruptive Challenges—have gone so far as to suggest that low-cost solar-plus-battery systems could one day enable customers to cut the cord with their utility and go from grid connected to grid defected.
But while more and more people are discussing solar-plus-battery systems as a potential option at some point in the distant future, there has been a scarcity of detailed analysis to quantify when and where. Until now.
THE ECONOMICS OF GRID DEFECTION
Today, Rocky Mountain Institute, HOMER Energy, and CohnReznick Think Energy released The Economics of Grid Defection: When and where distributed solar generation plus storage competes with traditional utility service. Seeking to illustrate where grid parity will happen both first and last, the report considers five representative U.S. geographies (NY, KY, TX, CA, and HI). These geographies cover a range of solar resource potential, retail utility electricity prices, and solar PV penetration rates, considered across both commercial and residential regionally specific load profiles.
The report analyzes four possible scenarios: a more conservative base case plus more aggressive cases that consider technology improvements with accelerated cost declines, investments in energy efficiency coupled with load management, and the combination of technology-driven cost declines, energy efficiency, and load management. Even our base case results are compelling, but the combined improvements scenario is especially so, since efficiency and load management reduce the required size of the system while technology improvements reduce the cost of that system, compounding cost declines and greatly accelerating grid parity.
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The results of the report show:
•Solar-plus-battery grid parity is here already or coming soon for a rapidly growing minority of utility customers. Grid parity exists today in Hawaii for commercial customers, and will rapidly expand to reach residential customers as early as 2022. Grid parity will reach millions of additional residential and commercial customers in places like New York and California within a decade (see Figures 3 and 4 above).
•Even before total grid defection becomes widely economic, utilities will see solar-plus-battery systems eat into their revenues. ;D Factors such as customer desires for increased power reliability and low-carbon electricity generation are driving early adopters ahead of grid parity, including those installing smaller grid-dependent solar-plus-battery systems to help reduce demand charges, provide backup power, and yield other benefits. These early activities will likely accelerate the infamous utility death spiral—self-reinforcing upward price pressures, which make further self-generation or total defection economic faster.
•Because grid parity arrives within the 30-year economic life of typical utility power assets, the days are numbered for traditional utility business models. ;D The “old” cost recovery model, based on kWh sales, by which utilities recover costs and an allowed market return on infrastructure investments will become obsolete. Utilities must re-think their current business model in order to retain customers and to capture the additional value that such distributed investments will bring.
The results are profound, especially in geographies like the U.S. Southwest. In this region of the country, the conservative base case shows solar-plus-battery systems undercutting utility retail electricity prices for the most expensive one-fifth of load served in the year 2024; under the more aggressive assumptions, off-grid systems prove cheaper than all utility-sold electricity in the region just a decade out from today (see Figure ES3 below).
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A CALL TO ACTION
Millions of customers representing billions of dollars in utility revenues will find themselves in a position to cost-effectively defect from the grid if they so choose. The so-called utility death spiral is proving not just a hypothetical threat, but a real, near, and present one. The coming grid parity of solar-plus-battery systems in the foreseeable future, among other factors, signals the eventual demise of legacy utility business models.
Though utilities could and should see this as a threat, they can also see solar-plus-battery systems as anopportunity to add value to the grid and their business models. The United States’ electric grid is on the cusp of a great transformation, and the future of the grid need not be an either/or between central and distributed generation. It can and should be a network that combines the best of both.
Having determined when and where grid parity will happen, the important next question is how utilities, regulators, technology providers, and customers might work together to reshape the market—either within existing regulatory frameworks or under an evolved regulatory landscape—to tap into and maximize new sources of value that build the best electricity system of the future the delivers value and affordability to customers and society. These disruptive opportunities are the subject of ongoing work by the authors, covered in a forthcoming report to follow soon.
Read more at http://cleantechnica.com/2014/02/28/power-grid-might-become-alternative-grid-norm/#50xghVWeX8570O9R.99
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03/27/2014 02:58 PM
Vermont Raises Support for Solar While Slew of States Consider Repeal (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.websmileys.com%2Fsm%2Fviolent%2Fsterb029.gif&hash=7a43a0c106eab798f7ba6133dc5cc550647a03d2)
SustainableBusiness.com News
Vermont is swimming against the tide of ALEC and other Koch-sponsored Americans for Prosperity bills that are moving through the states to make it harder to grow renewable energy.
In Vermont, the legislature voted to increase solar net-metering to reward homeowners and businesses for installing solar systems. They raised the net-metering cap substantially - from 4% of a utility's peak load to 15%. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2F47b20s0.gif&hash=cc48c9af9d29b8836023c7db21103e52d1ed439e)
That is, utilities no longer have to compensate customers when they send solar back to the grid when net-metering payments surpass 15% of its peak demand from the previous year or from 1996, whichever is greater.
Net metering allows people with on-site solar to first use solar energy for themselves and then sell any excess back to utilities at the full retail price. Utilities, in turn, sell the energy to neighboring homes and businesses.
While Vermont's largest utility and one of the most progressive in the country, Green Mountain Power, doesn't believe there should be a cap at all, the situation is quite different in states where legislation by ALEC is being pushed. >:(
Repeal Bills Sprout in Numerous States >:(
Until this year, we didn't hear much from utilities, but since ALEC developed a model bill to eliminate net-metering - "Updating Net Metering Policies Resolution," it's suddenly become controversial for utilities across the country.
After meeting a measly 1% cap, Missouri utilities say they are no longer required to provide rebates for solar. Last year, solar sales surged in Missouri, adding 1,700 jobs in the state and if it were in place through this year, that number would double, according to Missouri Solar Energy Industries Association.
In Kansas, bills were introduced to eliminate net-metering, but after negotiations, have been watered down instead. They raised the maximum size of solar arrays eligible for net metering and cut the payment that people receive.
This week, the State Senate (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2Fd2.gif&hash=98d536bf1047a88ef91e9c45e08b725347c9fe13) (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.envisionyourdreamsllc.com%2FGolden-Pig.jpg&hash=b7879c3d56faf2797c99c46b9dfeb644196a3e2d) voted to repeal the Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS), but it was rejected by the Assembly. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2F19.gif&hash=3f9f2fc2285bc756137e21463bc2a4c420b15ac3)
ALEC (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-311013201314.png&hash=0715eb72631014310634eb56176ff860c6d542f6) and Americans For Prosperity (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2F2z6in9g.gif&hash=771b084a0f186d9cc14f31defd98a6c90b69b84f) have made repealing the RPS a top priority, and the latter has been running statewide radio and TV ads. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.u.arizona.edu%2F%7Epatricia%2Fcute-collection%2Fsmileys%2Flying-smiley.gif&hash=a34c2f7344d5f54f7009a4e684bb6c7310cdda03) >:(
The RPS - which requires 20% renewable energy by 2020 - has been driving growth of the wind industry there since 2009. It has created 13000 jobs with close to 2 gigawatts installed, and factories that make wind components have sited there. Kansas gets over 10% of electricity from wind and is benefiting from lower electric prices. And Kansas City is about to become a leading city for solar, installing rooftop systems on 80 municipal buildings.
Republican State Senator Forrest Knox says the RPS distorts the free market and therefore will drive up costs now that the federal production tax credit has expired, which has artificially propped up growth. Other senators that voted for repeal say it's time for the industry to stand on its two feet and they expect electric prices to rise 40%.
Kansas should be the first in the nation to abandon cumbersome government mandates on energy production, according to Jeff Glendening, state director of Americans for Prosperity, reports Topeka Capital Journal. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-241013183046.jpeg&hash=51c9c4f17e747698c76c65c7c1814eff4f32c400)(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-311013200859.png&hash=a7aaaa9f04c1e3e2c948723b5f8c13fe814dacd4)
At the same time the Kansas Senate passed the Promoting Employment Across Kansas program - which subsidizes companies that relocate to or expand in Kansas. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimages.sodahead.com%2Fpolls%2F000370273%2Fpolls_Smiley_Angry_256x256_3451_356175_answer_4_xlarge.png&hash=15577651daa4c35ff4d6b26217f99db6ebfde0b3)
Bills to kill net-metering and impose fees on solar owners have also been introduced - and so far have been defeated - in Utah and Washington. In Utah, however, they passed a bill to study the value of distributed energy.
Indiana just passed a law that eliminates the state's energy efficiency standard and ends ratepayer-funded energy efficiency programs, such as free energy audits and subsidized upgrades, at the end of 2014. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2Facigar.gif&hash=dc9dccf92c6c88c99611b06c86d92629d69f2978)
Last year, ALEC failed to roll back state RPS after getting some 120 of its model bills introduced. They added net-metering to their list for this year. Arizona passed a modified bill that is already having a negative impact on solar sales.
30 states have a mandatory RPS and 7 have a voluntary one. Over 40 states have net-metering laws.
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Read a really long article on the battle between rooftop solar and utilities:
Website: www.scientificamerican.com/article/fight-over-rooftop-solar-forecasts-a-bright-future-for-cleaner-energy/
http://www.sustainablebusiness.com/index.cfm/go/news.display/id/25611
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Just How Off Is EIA’s Renewable Energy Outlook? How About 20+ Years? ???
Is the US Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) forecast for the future of renewable energy in America wrong? It’s an important question, considering policy decisions and private investments are often set by EIA guidance.
EIA’s “Annual Energy Outlook 2014” early release overview predicted renewables would supply only 16% of US electricity demand by 2040, but a new analysis of EIA’s own data finds the outlook is “almost certainly wrong.”
According to the Sun Day Campaign, renewables will make up a much larger percentage of America’s energy portfolio, much faster than EIA projects – roughly 20 years faster, in fact. ;D
EIA’s Renewable Energy Forecast “Simply Wrong”
EIA data shows renewable energy sources (biomass, geothermal, hydropower, solar, and wind) grew from less than 9% of total US supply in 2004 to nearly 13% in 2013 on the strength of solar photovoltaic and wind energy’s rapid growth.
(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fc1cleantechnicacom.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com%2Ffiles%2F2014%2F04%2FScreen-shot-2014-04-16-at-2.47.41-PM.png&hash=71cb0e59f94badc2791a0e221ede01022d424751)
US EIA renewable energy production chart via US EIA
That expansion rate raised concerns about EIA’s 16% by 2040 projection. “Given the relatively consistent growth trends of the past decade or longer for most renewable energy sources and their rapidly declining costs, it seems improbable that it will require another 27 years to grow from 13% to 16%,” said Ken Bossong, Sun Day executive director. “Thus, EIA’s forecast is not just unduly conservative; almost certainly, it is simply wrong.”
Sun Day’s analysis parsed EIA data for renewable energy sources within US net electrical generation from 2003 through 2013, and it paints a vastly different picture. If past trends continue, Sun Day forecasts, renewable energy will reach 13.5% in 2014, 14.4% in 2015, 15.3% in 2016, and 16% no later than 2018. That’s five years, not 27, if you’re counting along at home.
Interestingly, even Sun Day’s forecast may be too conservative. Five years ago, the decline of solar PV module prices as well as Production Tax Credit (PTC)-fueled boom and bust of wind may have been impossible to predict. Sun Day notes projections based on EIA data suggest hydropower, biomass, and geothermal contributions will remain largely unchanged, even as other studies suggest significant growth.
Solar And Wind Energy Lead The Charge
So if Sun Day is so bullish on renewable energy’s future, where will the US generate all this new capacity? Unsurprisingly, the answer is probably solar and wind.
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Sun Day US renewables forecast chart via Sun Day
Wind energy made up 4.13% of net electrical generation in 2013, with the amount of wind power growing by an average of 22,200 thousand megawatt-hours (MWh) annually from 2007 to 2013. Uncertainty over the PTC means that pace is unlikely to continue, but Sun Day uses the American Wind Energy Association’s (AWEA) report of 12 gigawatts in the development pipeline to forecast wind energy’s contribution to hit 4.5% in 2014, 5% in 2015, and 5.5% in 2016.
Despite record-setting new solar installations in 2013, solar energy is still one of the smallest overall contributors to US electricity supply, but that’s about to change. Grid-connected solar contributed just 0.23% of net electricity in 2013, but that’s after 50% growth from 2010-2011, 138% growth from 2011-2012, and 114% growth from 2012-2013.
Sun Day combines these growth rates with the number of projects expected to come online in 2014 and 2015 to forecast an exponential expansion of net solar generation to .45% in 2014, .9% in 2015, and 1.37% in 2016. Exciting expectations, considering EIA only expects solar to generate .5% by 2015.
Other Renewables Hold Flat
The growth of wind and solar looks even more impressive when compared to other forms of renewable energy, and shows where the real growth will occur. Hydropower, biomass, and geothermal are all projected to hold steady over the next few years.
Hydropower has long been the “baseload” renewable electricity source, and the dominant percentage of renewables in US energy supply with 6.63% in 2013, but that sector’s potential may be tapped. Some small hydro facilities and upgrades at existing plants are expected to come online, but decreased water supply due to climate change may offset those additions to hold flat. Sun Day forecasts hydropower’s share will actually decrease as other renewables surge, falling to 6.55% by 2016.
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Small hydropower facility image via CleanTechnica
That same trend is expected for biomass and geothermal, as generation increases but overall percentages remain flat, according to Sun Day. Biomass (wood-based fuels, landfill gas, municipal solid waste, and other waste) is expected to hold steady at 1.48% from 2013 through 2016, and geothermal is projected to remain constant at .41% from 2013 through 2016.
While it’s worth noting EIA estimates both geothermal and biomass to increase between 2013 and 2015, that discrepancy may be a direct result of Sun Day’s more aggressive outlook.
Read more at http://cleantechnica.com/2014/04/16/just-eias-renewable-energy-outlook-20-years/#jY2Eo8FcVQBHJxUl.99
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UK Awards First Guaranteed Power Price Contracts to Biomass, Offshore Wind Projects
Alex Morales, Bloomberg
April 24, 2014
LONDON -- Drax Group Plc, D o n g Energy A/S and SSE Plc will get guaranteed power prices for U.K. biomass and offshore wind plants, the first renewable energy projects to benefit from a new aid program.
A project by Drax to convert a coal-fired unit at the U.K.’s biggest power plant to burn biomass was on a list of eight that the Department of Energy and Climate Change said had won the new contracts. A second unit, that had been shortlisted in December, was excluded. Five of the projects were for offshore wind, including three by Dong, one by SSE and a venture between Statoil ASA and Statkraft AS.
The contracts are the first under a new assistance system for renewables that will guarantee the price generators will get for their power for 15 years. The government said today that the eight projects will lead to as much as 12 billion pounds ($20 billion) of investment by 2020, supporting 8,500 jobs and adding as much as 4.5 gigawatts of generating capacity.
“These contracts for major renewable electricity projects mark a new stage in Britain’s green energy investment boom,” Energy Secretary Ed Davey said in the statement. “They are a significant part of our efforts to give Britain cleaner and more secure energy.”
The government is trying to spur 110 billion pounds of spending on power plants and the grid by 2020, while meeting binding renewable energy and carbon emissions targets.
Under so-called “strike prices” announced last year, coal plants that convert to biomass will get 105 pounds per megawatt- hour of power they produce for 15 years. Offshore wind farms will get from 140 pounds to 155 pounds, depending on when they are completed. That compares with the current month-ahead price of about 41 pounds.
Biomass
Davey told reporters in London today that while the contracts announced today will add about 2 percent to power bills in 2020, the net effect of all the government’s energy policies, including efficiency measures, is to lower bills by 166 pounds in 2020 relative to what they would otherwise be.
The other projects to win contracts were a biomass conversion by Lynemouth Power Ltd. and a biomass-fueled combined heat and power plant by MGT Power Ltd. All of the projects had been included on a list of 10 that the department said in December were “affordable” under the new program, except for SSE’s Beatrice project, which wasn’t on that list.
Drax had two units included in the list in December, while only one was awarded a contract. The company said in an e-mailed statement today that the government has since told it that one of the units is no longer eligible for the contracts, and that the generator has begun legal proceedings to challenge that decision.
Drax Slides
“We are disappointed by today’s decision on the ineligibility of our second unit,” Drax Chief Executive Officer Dorothy Thompson said in the statement. “Nothing has changed, as far as our plans are concerned, between being deemed eligible in December and now. We have, therefore, commenced legal proceedings to challenge the decision.”
Drax shares today fell 12 percent as of 4:05 p.m. in London trading, the biggest intraday drop since July 2012.
At a press conference, Davey declined to outline the specific reasons for ruling out one Drax unit.
“We applied our published criteria to all the applicant projects,” Davey told reporters in London. “The decisions we announced today are based on that. It’s not like Drax doesn’t have options,” he said, referring to its eligibility for incentives under the renewables obligation program and so-called contracts for difference that will be started later this year.
Today’s contracts are precursors to the contracts-for- difference, or CFDs, that the government is completing. Under CFDs, utilities will receive a guaranteed price per megawatt- hour of power they produce, over a fixed number of years, regardless of the market price.
The exclusion of the second Drax unit may lend some hope to Eggborough Power Ltd., which said in December that its coal- fired plant may close if it didn’t secure the guaranteed prices that would allow it to convert to biomass.
DECC said that the two other projects listed in December have withdrawn from the process.
The government said it expects the contracts to be signed in May, when they will also take effect. Further contracts will be made available in the fall, the energy department said.
Copyright 2014 Bloomberg
http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2014/04/u-k-awards-first-guaranteed-power-price-contracts-to-biomass-offshore-wind-projects?cmpid=rss
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NRDC Partnership Produces First-Ever Stock Index Excluding ;D Fossil Fuel (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2Fwww_MyEmoticons_com__burp.gif&hash=8ff3ef6c016d8baf5f61ed5e8db58f069b64da00) Companies
http://ecowatch.com/2014/04/29/nrdc-stock-index-fossil-fuel/
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3TioZ2sVL-E&feature=player_embedded
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GUpyD9UHBA0&feature=player_embedded
RMI: Working to achieve a world without WASTE, WANT OR WAR with Amory Lovins.(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-141113185701.png&hash=615e3c1aa9c374cb1eab5bfc1e9494f2cb05e9f7)
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(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2Fearthhug.gif&hash=3abcf70466f34337f2d702ebd9e02c650d5c4c20)Rewiring the World with Clean Energy(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fdl2.glitter-graphics.net%2Fpub%2F1087%2F1087832pmq26zqtt4.gif&hash=b78c8a77d04e8ff6af5d8c7e5a02871cc061e275)
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The Plan involves three interacting strategies which include:
· In industrial countries, withdraw subsidies from fossil fuels and establish equivalent subsidies for clean non-carbon energy sources;
· Create a large global fund -- perhaps through a small tax on international currency trading -- to transfer clean energy technologies to developing countries; and,
· Incorporate within the Kyoto framework a progressively more stringent Fossil Fuel Efficiency Standard that rises by 5 percent per year.
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This paper contains a set three interactive strategies which we believe would reduce carbon emissions by the 80 percent required by nature -- at the same time as it would create millions of jobs around the world, especially in developing countries.
To set the plan in its starkest context: the deep oceans are warming, the tundra is thawing, the glaciers are melting, infectious diseases are migrating and the timing of the seasons have changed. And all that has resulted from one degree of warming. By contrast, the earth will warm from 3 to 10 degrees later in this century, according to the IPCC.
As NASA scientist Jim Hansen said in February, 2006: "We have to stabilize emissions of carbon dioxide within a decade, or temperatures will warm by more than one degree -- warmer than it has been for half a million years."
At the risk of exaggerating their potential, we believe these solutions could, at the same time, address several other major problems facing us as well.
The most obvious, given our newfound vulnerability to guerrilla attacks, is that a worldwide transition to renewable energy would dramatically reduce the significance of oil -- and with it our exposure to the political volatility in the Middle East.
A second security-related connection is that a renewable energy economy would have far more independent sources of power -- home-based fuel cells, stand-alone solar systems, regional windfarms -- which would make the nation's electricity grid a far less strategic target for terrorist attacks.
Perhaps a more relevant connection is that the continuing indifference to climate change by the U.S. -- which generates a quarter of the world's carbon emissions -- will likely provoke more guerrilla attacks from people whose homelands are going under from rising seas, whose crops are destroyed by weather extremes and whose borders are overrun by environmental refugees.
Conversely, a properly-funded global energy transition would represent the kind of proactive policy needed to begin to redress the economic inequity that threatens to split humanity irreparably between rich and poor. Just as runaway carbon concentrations are threatening to destabilize the global climate, runaway economic inequity can only continue to destabilize our global political environment.
For its own security, the U.S. needs to abandon its traditional posture toward developing countries -- which has been by turns defensive and coercive -- and replace that with a new set of policies which are expansive, inclusive and geared toward real poverty alleviation. It seems to be an article of faith among development economists that energy investments in poor countries create far more wealth and jobs than investments in any other sector. Were the U.S. to lead a wholesale transfer of clean energy technologies to developing countries, that would do more than anything else in the long term to undermine support for anti-U.S. terrorism.
On the economic front, it seems clear the entire global economy is susceptible to periods of stagnation, even recession. Not long ago, some members of the Federal Reserve were even talking about deflation.
The globally destabilizing credit crisis, the heart-stopping plunges of the stock market and the crippling uncertainty surrounding the price of oil in late 2008 triggered paralyzing fears of a deep and prolonged global economic recession. A truly floundering economy seems relatively immune to tax cuts and interest rate reductions. I think any recipe for stable, long-term economic health must include a component of public works programs -- in this case, a program to rewire the globe with clean energy. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2F301.gif&hash=0291ed4abf2d80e420d1aa00d4eb3c5dd6bbfb53) Few economists believe the recent capital crisis will be our last. A substantial global public works program would provide a much-needed stabilizing ballast to counteract the wild swings of the market and the resulting instability of the global economy.
Without question, that would be the most productive investment we could make in our future. Within a decade, it would begin to generate a major and continuing worldwide economic lift-off. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.desismileys.com%2Fsmileys%2Fdesismileys_0293.gif&hash=b1af4868ed8f18c30e637f8cbcb79002f6f71039)
No global solution, moreover, can ignore the role of the oil-producing nations -- especially in the Middle East -- without courting major and unacceptable global economic dislocations. In this regard, it is worth repeating that hydrogen is expected to be a major fuel in a post-carbon environment. Hydrogen is most easily produced by putting electricity into water. So if the nations of the Middle East were to cover their deserts with saltwater pipelines and windmills and photovoltaic panels, they could maintain their role as energy suppliers to Europe, East Asia and Africa.
Finally there is the climate crisis itself:
Unintentionally, we have set in motion massive systems of the planet with huge amounts of inertia that have kept it relatively hospitable to civilization for the last 10,000 years. We have reversed the carbon cycle by more than 400,000 years. We have heated the deep oceans. We have loosed a wave of violent and chaotic weather. We have altered the timing of the seasons. We are living on a very precarious margin of stability.
Against that background, we are offering this set of strategies. We believe these strategies present a model of the scope and scale of action that is appropriate to the magnitude of the climate crisis. To date, we have not seen other policy recommendations that adequately address either the scope or urgency of the problem.
Largely because of inaction by the world's governments, it seems that the Kyoto goals (but not the Kyoto process) are fast becoming obsolete -- and that it is soon time to go straight for the goal of 70 percent reductions globally. Our hope is to get ideas of this scope into the conversation to help move it to an appropriate level.
The Plan involves three interacting strategies which include: http://www.heatisonline.org/contentserver/objecthandlers/index.cfm?id=6320&method=full
Agelbert NOTE: Darwininan church UBERMENSCH convinced that Caloric Intake defines Morality in our "random" universe are advised to avoid reading the info at the link because it is too CORNUCOPIAN for you DOOMER "REALISTS". Have a nice day dreaming of collapse, disaster and population die off. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.freesmileys.org%2Femoticons%2Femoticon-object-015.gif&hash=8e6486af5151b5eb075de7af5fb71f325d34dc0c) (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.desismileys.com%2Fsmileys%2Fdesismileys_1593.gif&hash=628238f2fc26695937f6e97b91b050976065743b) (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2Fdesertsmile.gif&hash=293fbde1c87dec2d81c5907e3fbac7d8e5bba7a9)(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.websmileys.com%2Fsm%2Fviolent%2Fsterb050.gif&hash=7ab92003788aa87a5cec0e350c97a7bd23eb8b44)(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2Fmog.gif&hash=08e6f04144781466148f6693be6dc3451a322669)
It is an error of perception to confuse the perverse joy of masochism with reality because it leads to the irrational rejection of all practical hopeful future scenarios (IOW mental box canyons are temporary FUN for doomers that lead to suicidal ideation). This abysmally stupid behavior is often disguised as a sophisticated mockery of hope (based on empirical evidence NOT pie in the sky) filled theists cloaked with a fraudulent air of objective, hard nosed, science based conclusions (IOW Intelli-morons claim Brainiac Ubermensch status when the exact reverse is true). The fate of these Stumbling Blocks to human progress through moral behavior is grim. Believe them at your peril.
Anthony G. Gelbert
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=plCL7a_HM5c&feature=player_embedded
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Even In Turmoil, Egypt Moves to Renewable Energy(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimages.ame4u.com%2FAnimated_Clipart%2FAnimated-Solar%2Fsun_shining_solar_panel_hg_clr__st.gif&hash=f244a42c405966e333bd5533ae540330a95e63ee)
SustainableBusiness.com News
In the midst of all the turmoil in Egypt, we're pleasantly surprised to hear that the government plans to invest in solar, reports PV Magazine.
To spur clean energy and create jobs for youth, they say they will invest up to $1 billion for several big solar projects. They also will install rooftop solar on government buildings to reduce strain on the grid.
The government "will not be able to prevent electrical power cuts" this summer, says Egypt's Minister of Electricity and Energy, but they will reduce energy consumption as much as possible to resolved the overburdened grid within a few years, reports Daily News Egypt.
Egypt's goal is to raise the share of renewable energy to 20% by 2020. 12% is expected to come from wind. In a separate plan for solar, they want 3.5 gigawatts by 2017 - 700 MW of solar PV and 2.8 GW of concentrating solar.
Last year, the government's New and Renewable Energy Authority (NREA) asked for bids (from local and international companies) for its first major solar project. Ten, 20 megawatt solar farms would be spread over the southern Egyptian province of Aswan. Italy is helping out with a $500,000 grant.
Egypt is also taking small steps toward manufacturing solar PV modules, starting with a 21 MW capacity this fall and building to 80 MW by the end of 2016.
"MENA" countries (Mid East, North Africa) could see $50 billion in solar investment alone by 2020, says the Middle East Solar Industry Association. They expect 37 GW of renewable energy projects to be built, with 12-15 GW of that in solar.
There are already 2.3 GW of solar, with Israel in the lead with 842 MW, according to a report from the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), Renewable Energy Policy Network for the 21st Century (REN21) and the United Arab Emirates' Directorate of Energy and Climate Change. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimages.ame4u.com%2FAnimated_Clipart%2FAnimated-Solar%2Fsun_shining_solar_panel_hg_clr__st.gif&hash=f244a42c405966e333bd5533ae540330a95e63ee) (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.clker.com%2Fcliparts%2Fc%2F8%2Ff%2F8%2F11949865511933397169thumbs_up_nathan_eady_01.svg.hi.png&hash=599691109af22b33f1d59dd61eb97448a9427020)
All 21 MENA countries have renewable energy targets, up from five countries in 2007, reports PV Magazine, adding up to 107 GW by 2030.
Read our article, Arab Spring Spawns Middle East Youth Climate Change Movement.
http://www.sustainablebusiness.com/index.cfm/go/news.display/id/25688?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+SBGeneralNews+%28SustainableBusiness.com+General+News%29
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China To Triple Solar Capacity To 70,000 MW By 2017, To Help Reduce Air Pollution (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimages.ame4u.com%2FAnimated_Clipart%2FAnimated-Solar%2Fsun_shining_solar_panel_hg_clr__st.gif&hash=f244a42c405966e333bd5533ae540330a95e63ee) (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fus.123rf.com%2F400wm%2F400%2F400%2Fyayayoy%2Fyayayoy1106%2Fyayayoy110600019%2F9735563-smiling-sun-showing-thumb-up.jpg&hash=09b45642ec6d7943d30b5b87548676e3ee7dbe3d)
China has thrilled the solar industry in the past few years with bigger and bigger solar installation targets. Of course, this also came on the back of solar capacity oversupply and a solar manufacturer shakeout that put many non-Chinese solar companies out of business, but it has also helped to pull manufacturers out of a financial crisis and further drive down the cost of solar for customers and the developers and installers who benefit from growing demand. China’s latest announcement is a pretty impressive solar target of 70,000 megawatts by 2017.
However, anyone who has followed the China solar story over the past few years knows that we may well see that target raised higher before too long. Furthermore, if the driving factor is air pollution, and China is going to be building even more coal power plants in the coming years, the push for clean energy is only going to get stronger. Anyhow, for more information on the new China solar target, see this Solar Love repost:
China just seems to be getting ever more ambitious with its renewable energy targets, as recent announcements have shown. Or is “ever more desperate” the more accurate way to put it? (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.freesmileys.org%2Femoticons%2Ftuzki-bunnys%2Ftuzki-bunny-emoticon-020.gif&hash=2c15038feed2fef3db86754b39ada55b3c81329a)(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.freesmileys.org%2Fsmileys%2Fsmiley-scared002.gif&hash=764898cfbf07ef2c41ffddc5e93fa0e1bed41bae) (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2F128fs318181.gif&hash=eff6d5f3831782966c2ff2081f07bf7fc5b22a6b)
In a recent announcement, the Chinese government revealed that it would (yet again) speed up solar energy development in the country — aiming to triple installed capacity up to 70,000 megawatts (70 gigawatts) by the year 2017. The move is part of a renewed push in the country’s “war on smog” and is intended to help reduce its (great) reliance on coal-fired power plants.
If the new goals are met, then China’s installed solar capacity will surge by 50 GW in just 3 years. That’s seriously impressive installation rates. Of course, as always, that’s if the goals are met — always a big if when dealing with publicly released figures from government bodies. As it stands currently, China is home to about 20 GW of installed solar capacity.
However, it’s worth noting that China has a history of setting “low” solar targets and then raising them. A few years ago, China’s 2015 solar target was 5 GW, then it doubled that to 10 GW, then it more than doubled that to 21 GW, then it nearly doubled that to 40 GW! This all occurred within the course of about 2 years. 70 GW by 2017 sounds impressive, but we’ll see if that isn’t increased yet again in the coming years.
The announcement also noted that the current aim is to possess 150 GW of installed wind power capacity, 11 GW of biomass power, and 330 GW of hydro power by 2017.
;D Climate Progress provides more:
The announcement comes just two months after Chinese Premier Li Keqiang’s officially “declared war” on the country’s horrific and tragic smog problem, which scientists in Beijing have compared to the effects of a nuclear winter. The pollution has made headlines around the world as it has worsened, causing myriad health problems, marring cityscapes, and even giving an 8-year-old girl lung cancer. What’s more, the pollution has recently been confirmed to be caused by fossil fuel production, with coal at the forefront. >:( :P
China’s announcement that it would increase solar capacity also comes just days after a report found that China’s continued dependence on coal would thwart any effort to fight global warming by any other country. That report, led by the UK’s Center for Climate Change Economics and Policy and the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment, recommended China swiftly reduce its dependency on the fossil fuel, otherwise it would be “almost impossible” for the world to avoid a situation where global warming stays below 2°C.
“The actions China takes in the next decade will be critical for the future of China and the world,” the study stated (rather starkly for such a report). “Whether China moves onto an innovative, sustainable and low-carbon growth path this decade will more or less determine both China’s longer-term economic prospects in a natural resource-constrained world, … and the world’s prospects of cutting greenhouse gas emissions sufficiently to manage the grave risks of climate change.”
Something to note — last year the country approved the construction of over 100 million metric tons of new coal production capacity. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2F2rzukw3.gif&hash=f0487b8f0d488ab1126ce5e031b11ea3d74b1cc2)
To put that another way, in only a single year, the country “added coal production capacity equal to 10% of total US annual usage.”
…
To get back to the subject of air-pollution — a decade-long study exploring the after-effects of the closure of a coal-fired power plant, (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2Fmog.gif&hash=08e6f04144781466148f6693be6dc3451a322669) with regard to human health, was recently released. The report shows — without any kind of ambiguity — the great cost that such plants have on human health, and, more specifically, on the health of children. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2Fminzdr.gif&hash=f5927d7395d8a28c69df2a0a3a98660932c6903f)
One of the most interesting findings of the research was that “childhood developmental scores and levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) — a key protein for brain development — are significantly higher with decreased levels of exposure to air pollution in utero.” >:( Not really surprising, but still good to see it spelled-out so clearly.
Agelbert NOTE:Remember that the next time somebody tells you children growing up in coal country (WV) or in areas near a coal fired power plant (I.E. THE POOR and the POOR MINORITIES) all over the USA have the SAME CHANCE as the rich and upper middle class kids who AREN'T BRAIN IMPAIRED BY PROFIT OVER the PLANET in general AND THE POOR IN PARTICULAR... (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2Facigar.gif&hash=dc9dccf92c6c88c99611b06c86d92629d69f2978)(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.smilies.4-user.de%2Finclude%2FSpiele%2Fsmilie_game_017.gif&hash=e8548890f80af23241a1d43a1ab1ca8031301f20)
(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2F1.bp.blogspot.com%2F-Bzb-1rVB8pc%2FUfXxBekcYVI%2FAAAAAAAAEm4%2FhXUkGCzFIPg%2Fs1600%2Fgiveafuckometer-gif.gif&hash=ba12a8b5eb920e7de0ca2ba5256e06bfc2c040e7)
Another study conducted by the then-director of the Harvard Medical School found that coal cost the United States $500 billion a year in health and environmental impacts. Amazing. Imagine what the global total must be.
http://cleantechnica.com/2014/05/18/china-triple-solar-capacity-2017-part-new-effort-reduce-air-pollution/
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South Carolina Prepares for Solar Revolution With Historic 105-0 State House Vote (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fus.123rf.com%2F400wm%2F400%2F400%2Fyayayoy%2Fyayayoy1106%2Fyayayoy110600019%2F9735563-smiling-sun-showing-thumb-up.jpg&hash=09b45642ec6d7943d30b5b87548676e3ee7dbe3d)
http://ecowatch.com/2014/05/22/south-carolina-solar-state-house-vote/
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1EHz8uORs_k&feature=player_embedded
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Stanford Professor’s 50-State Plan For 100-Percent Renewable Energy (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fdl.glitter-graphics.net%2Fpub%2F2203%2F2203581bnrjxumnn6.gif&hash=cbe539d89200318441a2848b3620ecd4ed7dee04)
http://ecowatch.com/2014/02/19/stanford-professor-50-state-renewables/
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How Scotland is powering the renewables revolution ;D
Michael Gray
Scotland remains on track to produce the equivalent of 100% of its electricity consumption from renewable sources by 2020, according to a recent report by WWF Scotland.
(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.businessforscotland.co.uk%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2014%2F03%2Frenewable-generated-in-scotland.png&hash=8ea1510557bb9b93b6ab838a4571d109003bf28b)
http://www.businessforscotland.co.uk/how-scotland-is-powering-the-renewables-revolution/
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Chile's New Energy Agenda Lays the Foundation for Sustainable Growth (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2Fmaniac.gif&hash=9ecf389a7da25db958f3f63461cbb45a4b316c4e)
Amanda Maxwell, NRDC
May 29, 2014
Chilean President Michelle Bachelet released a new Energy Agenda on May 15th, which her administration will use as the foundation for a national energy policy. The much-anticipated document outlines seven pillars, or key areas, where new and specific efforts are needed if the country is to grow sustainably and stably over the coming decades. Overall, the agenda is right on target regarding several broad issues –and a few specific ones as well— and if Bachelet and Energy Minister Máximo Pacheco are able to execute these plans, Chile’s renewable* energy and energy efficiency sectors should be able to compete with conventional energy –dirty fossil fuels and large hydro—on a more even playing ground than before. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2Fcowboypistol.gif&hash=2dc97f743dffca22404e6e4e0822765e60b33f38)
A wide variety of people have been calling for more strategic and coherent government direction of the energy sector for years, and with good reason: existing and proposed plants have caused significant social and environmental damage; many new conventional projects are stalled in legal appeals; the booming growth of renewable energy has been stifled by a variety of regulatory obstacles; and energy efficiency—the energy sector’s “low-hanging fruit”—has been languishing in the background. As a result, experts warn of an impending energy crisis in the next few years, when the country will not have enough generation to power continued growth in the mining sector in particular and the economy at large. The Energy Agenda is this administration’s answer to those calls.
There are four high-level themes in the Energy Agenda which are particularly encouraging:
1.The government will take a more active role in the energy sector. This is, in fact, the first pillar of the agenda (“A New Role of the State”), but is also present throughout the document. The historic lack of government engagement in planning and overseeing the energy sector has led to an industry in which most of the power and influence is highly concentrated in three powerful companies, resulting in the problems listed above. The agenda recognizes that the government’s role in areas such as zoning and strategic planning is fundamental if things are to improve.
2.Stakeholder participation will be incorporated into key processes. This is major. Participatory processes are critical to making decisions that are trusted, transparent and supported by the public – and for which the decision-maker (i.e. the government) can be held accountable. The Energy Agenda describes the role of participation in several of its objectives, ranging from specific processes such as setting the new natural gas tariff in the distribution market, to more broadly creating the new “Participation and Dialogue” Section within the Ministry of Energy, to dedicating the entire seventh pillar to “Citizen Participation and Territorial Planning.”
3.Energy efficiency gets the attention it deserves. Energy efficiency was largely ignored during the past four years, although it is the fastest and most economical way to help meet future energy demand. The fifth pillar of the Energy Agenda is dedicated to energy efficiency and management, and it gets a number of things right. It is also largely in line with NRDC’s report, “From Good to Great: The Next Steps in Chilean Energy Efficiency.” First and foremost, the government will prioritize passing an Energy Efficiency Law, a “legal framework to convert [energy efficiency] into a long term State policy.” This would ensure that energy efficiency efforts are no longer at the whim of any given administration, but that they would instead be a permanent institutional priority. The document reasserts the goal of reducing national energy consumption by 20 percent by 2025 compared to BAU projections, and specifies objectives for various sectors. I’ll go into detail on this in another blog, but in the meantime here is a review from the good folks at Opower.
4.Addressing concrete obstacles to renewables. The renewable energy sector is poised to penetrate the Chilean energy market in a huge way, with over 17 GW of projects in the pipeline. Yet some key obstacles stand in the way. For example, the current system used for energy auctions heavily favors conventional projects. Financing is also more difficult for renewables –particularly geothermal – and speculation prevents real projects from going forward. The Energy Agenda addresses them specifically. It also focuses on improving conditions for geothermal power companies, which face unique regulatory and financial barriers in Chile despite the country’s vast geothermal resources. The document also reaffirms the national commitment to meet Chile’s renewable portfolio standard of producing 20 percent of its energy with renewables by 2025. The Chilean Renewable Energy Association (ACERA) has written an excellent summary here about how the Energy Agenda’s items will benefit renewables.
There are two more specific items in the Energy Agenda that I want to call attention to as well.
First, the document calls for the creation of a government entity devoted to the collection and analysis of energy data, similar to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Although it was mentioned just briefly in the Energy Agenda, I cannot underscore the importance of this action enough. Presently, data about the energy sector in Chile is either difficult to find, outdated or different depending on which government agency database you are using. This makes it nearly impossible for academics, private companies, the media, civil society and the government itself to know the real, accurate status of energy generation, consumption, and other indicators – information necessary to make decisions about the future of the sector.
Second, the Energy Agenda’s first two annexes list the legislative bills and regulations that the administration will pursue, as well as when the government aims to pass or adopt each one. This provides civil society and the private sector with a clear schedule of the government’s agenda, for which it can be held accountable.
Of course, the devil is in the details; these objectives and ideas will only be successful if the government can follow through and make them a reality. But if President Bachelet and Minister Pacheco are able to do so, this Energy Agenda would put Chile on the path to be an innovative, sustainable energy leader in the region and around the globe. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fdl3.glitter-graphics.net%2Fpub%2F465%2F465823jzy0y15obs.gif&hash=797efc3cdc025a8263ef125725aae969446489c3)
*The term “non-conventional renewable energy” is used in Chile to exclude large hydro (over 20 MW) from the category. For the sake of space in this blog, I use “renewable energy” though with the same intention of excluding large hydro, which I include in the “conventional energy” category.
http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2014/05/chiles-new-energy-agenda-lays-the-foundation-for-sustainable-growth
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Germany's Wind Energy Nexus: A Tour Around Hamburg
James Montgomery, Contributing Editor
June 02, 2014
(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-020614144413.jpeg&hash=517717e44d29be92713a9750b654d0a9ddebb7df)
Microalgae biogas system sitting in the sun at E.ON's Reitbrook facility, affixed to a solar tracker.
(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2Flooksmiley.gif&hash=2fa679c2bf50092b12a1301928cb338275c3ba54)
http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2014/06/germanys-wind-energy-nexus-a-tour-around-hamburg#comment-132125
Demand Destruction of Fossil Fuels continues accelerating due sustainable, biosphere defending, human ingenuity in the Service of Future Generations, not calloused, conscience free greed.
Good!
It's time for Americans in the Service of Future Generations to GET WITH THE PROGRAM! We did it with the massive, industrial scale building of Liberty Ships in WWII. We can do it again with the massive, industrial scale building of Liberty Renewable Energy Machines.
Country of Origin: United States of America
(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.firstnetsource.com%2Famerican_flag_graphic%2Flarge_images%2Fflag_05.jpg&hash=b2f4e490efe6071401fa9ab8b553acb50b61f45d)
Manufacturers: Alabama Dry Dock Co, Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyards Inc, California Shipbuilding Corp, Delta Shipbuilding Co, J A Jones Construction Co (Brunswick), J A Jones Construction Co (Panama City), Kaiser Co, Marinship Corp, New England Shipbuilding Corp, North Carolina Shipbuilding Co, Oregon Shipbuilding Corp, Permanente Metals Co, St Johns River Shipbuilding Co, Southeastern Shipbuilding Corp, Todd Houston Shipbuilding Corp, Walsh-Kaiser Co.
Major Variants: General cargo, tanker, collier, (modifications also boxed aircraft transport, tank transport,
hospital ship, troopship).
Role: Cargo transport, troop transport, hospital ship, repair ship.
Operated by: United States of America, Great Britain, (small quantity also Norway, Belgium, Soviet Union, France, Greece, Netherlands and other nations).
First Laid Down: 30th April 1941
Last Completed: 30th October 1945
Units: 2,711 ships laid down, 2,710 entered service.
Despite being initially labelled an 'ugly duckling' by the newspapers, and intended to be expendable if necessary, the ships eventually caught the imagination of the public. They proved to be easy to build, reliable and versatile, exceeding even the most optimistic expectations for their overall contribution to the war effort.
It was a project on a massive scale, undertaken with great speed and efficiency. The first Liberty ship (the Patrick Henry) was launched on 27 September 1941 (and completed on 30 December 1941), which was an incredible feat considering that just seven months previously neither shipyard nor workforce existed to build her. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.websmileys.com%2Fsm%2Fviolent%2Fsterb029.gif&hash=7a43a0c106eab798f7ba6133dc5cc550647a03d2) (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.freesmileys.org%2Femoticons%2Ftuzki-bunnys%2Ftuzki-bunny-emoticon-013.gif&hash=67c881f5cbeaeb689faa72f76545db455b347ce4)
Average Liberty Ship deadweight = 12,500 metric tons. (33,875,000 metric tons of ships built!).
Convert short tons to metric tons by multiplying the number of short tons by 0.907184
On the GE 1.5-megawatt model the total weight is 164 tons. The corresponding weights for the Vestas V90 are 75, 40, and 152, total 267 tons, and for the Gamesa G87 72, 42, and 220, total 334 tons.
164 x 0.907184 = 148.8 metric tons
33,875,000 divided by 148.8 = 227,655 wind turbines X 1.5 MW = 341,482 MW = .3415 TW x 20% capacity factor = 68.3 x 24 hours X 365 days = 598.3 TWh/year.
2012 wind power production United States 140.9 TWh 26.4 % of world total wind power.
1 TWhour per year = 1,000,000 MW / 8765.8 hours in a year) 114 megawatts per hour.
USA total annual electric consumption = 3,886,400,000 MWh = 3,886,400 = GWh = 3,886 TWh.
3886.4 / 598.3 = 20 to 40% of US electrical demand just from Wind Turbines in less than five years of Liberty Ship scale manufacturing wind turbine tonnage. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.freesmileys.org%2Femoticons%2Ftuzki-bunnys%2Ftuzki-bunny-emoticon-028.gif&hash=24570cb7e8246617010ce900a07bc85117ff78ca)
Liberty Ship scale manufacturing wind turbine tonnage can provide 25 to 40% of US electrical demand in less than five years. Double that in ten years and add in Solar Panels, Geothermal, Tide and Undersea Current and we have MORE than 100% Renewable Energy! (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2F47b20s0.gif&hash=cc48c9af9d29b8836023c7db21103e52d1ed439e) (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2F128fs318181.gif&hash=eff6d5f3831782966c2ff2081f07bf7fc5b22a6b)(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.desismileys.com%2Fsmileys%2Fdesismileys_0293.gif&hash=b1af4868ed8f18c30e637f8cbcb79002f6f71039)
WE can use the excess to bioremediate the environmental damage done in the last 100 years. WE can rid ourselves of Planet Polluting Fossil Fuels and Nuclear Poison Plants in a decade and win the Climate Victory for Future Generations! (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.freesmileys.org%2Femoticons%2Femoticon-object-106.gif&hash=f996659d18df7f3b445e6135e884397ac91f25b1)We can set an example for all the nations on the Earth of the Proper Path to a Viable and Vibrant Bounty filled, harmonious Biosphere.
Let's GET IT DONE! Our children and grandchildren are counting on us! (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2F301.gif&hash=0291ed4abf2d80e420d1aa00d4eb3c5dd6bbfb53)
http://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/general-discussion/historical-documentaries/msg1214/#msg1214
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Developing Countries Lead Global Surge in Renewable Energy Capacity
Yale Environment 360 | June 3, 2014 4:34 pm | Comments
The number of developing nations with policies supporting renewable energy has surged more than six-fold in just eight years, from 15 developing countries in 2005 to 95 early this year, according to a report from REN21, an international nonprofit renewable energy policy network.
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Countries with renewable energy policies or targets in place in early 2014 (top), versus 2005 (bottom). Graphic courtesy of REN21, Renewables 2014 Global Status Report via Yale Environment 360 .
Those 95 developing nations today make up the vast majority of the 144 countries with renewable energy support policies and targets in place. The report credits such policies with driving global renewable energy capacity to a new record level last year—1,560 gigawatts, up 8.3 percent from 2012. More than one-fifth—22 percent—of the world’s power production now comes from renewable sources.
Overall, renewables accounted for more than 56 percent of net additions to global power capacity in 2013, ;D the report says. Although financial and policy support declined in the U.S. and some European countries, China, the U.S., Brazil, Canada and Germany remained the top countries for total installed renewable power capacity. China’s new renewable power capacity surpassed new fossil fuel and nuclear capacity for the first time, the analysis found.
http://ecowatch.com/2014/06/03/developing-countries-renewable-energy-capacity/
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A truly amazing, concise (and filled with hard data easy to understand ;D) about how we CAN transition to 100% Renewable Energy and NOT have a civilizational collapse along the way! (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.freesmileys.org%2Femoticons%2Femoticon-object-042.gif&hash=76ef1277aabb18fb4b98437f4ebc40a0f80ed4e8)
Presented as a series of slides. Enjoy! (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-141113185441.png&hash=26743778f1a536d8268441c8736c8a6b4cec217b)
“Profitable Solutions to Climate, Oil, and Proliferation” by Amory B. Lovins
http://environment.harvard.edu/video/future_of_energy/lovins/lovins__profitable_solutions_to_climate_oil_and_proliferation.pdf
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Inside the Book Resource Revolution (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fdl3.glitter-graphics.net%2Fpub%2F465%2F465823jzy0y15obs.gif&hash=797efc3cdc025a8263ef125725aae969446489c3)
(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fecx.images-amazon.com%2Fimages%2FI%2F51YBBHIFNdL.jpg&hash=dcf23b041c9506afb84ff65ecb64473b2d95b8e0)
Jun 3, 2014
Authors Amory B. Lovins Chief Scientist
Jules Kortenhorst CEO
From patterns of scarcity to patterns of abundance (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.freesmileys.org%2Femoticons%2Femoticon-object-062.gif&hash=88ceb4a34a12b2bea2fd9edd887da26d73308257) ;D
During the first Industrial Revolution of the late 18th and early 19th centuries, economic growth and societal progress faced a problem of relative scarcity—not of resources, which were then considered inexhaustibly abundant, but of people. Making people (and the labor processes by which they manufactured goods and provided services) radically more productive, the Industrial Revolution unlocked orders-of-magnitude gains in economic growth.
Today, patterns of scarcity have shifted. People are now abundant, but many of the resources that metaphorically and literally fuel our economy, and the nature that absorbs their wastes and impacts, are becoming scarce. Continued progress must thus liberate consumption and scarcity from economic growth. We must define the next Industrial Revolution, one that makes business and the environment mutually supportive, rather than one buoyed at the expense of the other.
Natural Capitalism, published in 1999, charted just such a pathway, based on four principles: 1) radically increase the productivity of natural resources, 2) shift to biologically inspired production models and materials with closed loops, no waste, and no toxicity, 3) move to a “service-and-flow” business model that rewards the first two shifts, and 4) reinvest in natural capital. Along the way, companies will necessarily adopt new technologies, new manufacturing processes, and new management practices—all of which will drive innovation faster.
Now the new book Resource Revolution, by Stefan Heck and Matt Rogers, similarly argues that companies have enormous opportunity to improve resource productivity dramatically, sparking the next industrial revolution. Companies like Tesla Motors, Zipcar, Opower, SolarCity, and Nest Labs, write Heck and Rogers, have capitalized on the resource revolution through five approaches: substitution, optimization, virtualization, circularity, and waste elimination.
Substitution
As Heck and Rogers explain, many new materials have begun to reshape industrial and consumer products. Companies must consider every resource they use and substitute higher-performing and less expensive, less risky, or less scarce materials. One example is carbon fiber. As we showed in Reinventing Fire, automotive manufacturing investment can be cut by 80 percent with carbon fiber-based autos vs. steel-based ones, while providing lighter, more efficient, better performing, cleaner, and as safe or safer cars.
Optimization
The second approach to resource revolution is optimizing a resource’s use, akin to Natural Capitalism’s charge to radically increase the productivity of natural resources. Through fundamental changes in technology, design, and processes, farsighted companies are developing ways to make natural resources—energy, minerals, water, forests—stretch five, ten, even 100 times further than they do today. For example, UPS rerouted its trucks to avoid left turns, thus reducing fuel consumption, improving safety and speed, and saving the company money. Similarly, OPower has used behavioral science and cloud-based software to motivate consumers to cut their energy consumption by two to four percent annually. RMI’s integrative design further expands the resource-productivity potential, often at lower cost and hence with expanding returns.
Virtualization
Virtualization encompasses moving processes out of the physical world, or not doing things actively because they’ve been automated. In some regards this is similar to Natural Capitalism’s service and flow model, in which businesses shift from selling physical goods to delivering a flow of virtual service. Why sell light bulbs when customers really want illumination? (Thomas Edison figured this out, but was overruled in 1892, and apart from street lighting, utilities have been selling kilowatt-hours ever since.)
Heck and Rogers highlight Nest Labs as one of the companies that has practiced virtualization with great success. The company took a traditional thermostat and turned it into a digital platform that provides multiple dynamic energy and security services. Another example of virtualization is telecommuting. The need to physically commute by car, bus, or train is replaced by the ability to virtually commute via telephone, email, video chat, and other forms of connectivity. Meanwhile, commuting’s resource consumption is replaced by more productive time for employees.
Circularity
Finding value in products after their initial use is what happens in closed-loop, cradle-to-grave product management. Producers of goods need to be responsible for their fabrication, maintenance, and ultimate complete reuse and recycling, with zero waste. In closed-loop production systems, modeled on nature’s designs, every output either is returned harmlessly to the ecosystem as a nutrient, like compost, or becomes an input for manufacturing another product.
Heck and Rogers use the example of cars to show how circularity can produce greater gains. Systems or components can be upgraded, refurbished, reused, or materials reclaimed and recycled, leading to multiple uses, longer life, and much higher productivity. Tesla created a recycling program for its battery packs, recapturing the cobalt and separating out the lithium, allowing for much greater reuse. Another example is DuPont, which actually transforms its industrial scrap and post-consumer waste into higher-value products.
Waste Elimination
In this country the amount of material we dig up and move around and process and use and throw away amounts to about twenty times one’s body weight per person per day. Worldwide this amounts to close to a half trillion tons per year—and yet only 1 percent of it is going into durable products; the other 99 percent is waste. The second principle in Natural Capitalism, a shift to biologically inspired designs, seeks not merely to reduce waste but to design out the very concept of waste. So too write Heck and Rogers in Resource Revolution. With 3-D printers, they note, many manufacturing processes can drastically cut waste because material will only be used exactly where it’s needed, and “subtractive” manufacturing will become a thing of the past. Another example is Interface, a global manufacturer of carpets and interior furnishings. Interface built the least oil-dependent cost structure in the industry while cutting its greenhouse gas emissions by 82 percent in 11 years. A quarter of its profit comes from systematically eliminating waste.
The Next Industrial Revolution
The next industrial revolution, perhaps, will be not about shifting patterns of scarcity—from people to resources—but about shifting to a new pattern of abundance and resourcefulness. Natural Capitalism offered one such pathway, creating abundance by design. Now, Resource Revolution offers a resounding and renewed call for such a shift, highlighting the necessary steps and the innovative companies leading the way.
Book cover courtesy of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
http://blog.rmi.org/blog_2014_06_03_inside_the_book_resource_revolution
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Eye-Opening Map of Front Groups Attacking Renewable Energy(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.websmileys.com%2Fsm%2Fviolent%2Fsterb029.gif&hash=7a43a0c106eab798f7ba6133dc5cc550647a03d2) :o >:( (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimages.sodahead.com%2Fpolls%2F000370273%2Fpolls_Smiley_Angry_256x256_3451_356175_answer_4_xlarge.png&hash=15577651daa4c35ff4d6b26217f99db6ebfde0b3)
06/06/2014 03:59 PM
SustainableBusiness.com News
President Obama took a pretty big risk in directing the EPA to announce power plant emissions rules before the 2014 election.
Democratic candidates in coal states are reeling, but it goes much farther than that as the fossil fuel industry ramps up campaign contributions to help Republicans win the Senate majority.
They want Keystone and natural gas exports approved, and they want to expand fracking. And the last thing they want are any regulations.
You can be sure, the Koch Bros are angry about Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's quest to expose what these two men are doing to our country: among his many recent attacks, he called them out for being a main cause of climate change. And he said, they are "waging a war against anything that protects the environment."
Which is true, as we have laid out in multiple news stories. The Koch Bros back some 93 groups working across the country on local, state and national levels. They are not alone, of course. Coal, oil, gas and utilities are all pushing to keep the status quo.
This powerful infographic should make it crystal clear, if you have any doubts about the extent of their influence.
(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.sustainablebusiness.com%2Fimageupload%2FKoch-attack-web-final.jpg&hash=7e445b9dcf1c4c1b073c0beee695c0c37e17bae1)
Map of Front Groups Attacking State Renewable Energy Policies 2013-2014
Koch Attack Web (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.freesmileys.org%2Fsmileys%2Fsmiley-devil19.gif&hash=6eeb0dbc471743691793f5130640fdcbd1f77b5c)
Read the report by the Energy and Policy Institute, which details what's happening in each of these states:
Website: www.energyandpolicy.org/renewable-energy-state-policy-attacks-report
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Renewed Energy
(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fdl2.glitter-graphics.net%2Fpub%2F1225%2F1225662m3squ1oj6v.gif&hash=04764acd98565ded05a519757ede60e502342499)
Nature | Editorial
Reforms at the US Department of Energy are recharging research. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2F170fs799081.gif&hash=ec7f929a28b215e9c00ec270a26b830d596920b2)
04 June 2014
When physicist Steven Chu took over as head of the US Department of Energy (DOE) in 2009, he vowed to reform its research culture. Many felt that the department had become much too bureaucratic — too rigid, too unresponsive to new opportunities, too divided into disciplines and too isolated from the needs of the marketplace.
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The following year, Chu launched five Energy Innovation Hubs intended to mimic the research style that he remembered from his time working at the AT&T Bell Labs in Murray Hill, New Jersey. Each hub would focus on a well-defined challenge in the area of renewable energy — a top priority for the then-new administration of US President Barack Obama. It would bring together all the necessary expertise, from basic and applied research to engineering and early product development.
Four years later, there is justified, if cautious, optimism about the outcome of Chu’s experiment. Viewed purely as research projects, most of the hubs seem to be doing well. In the next few months, the Joint Center for Artificial Photosynthesis, headquartered at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, hopes to demonstrate a first-generation prototype of an ‘artificial leaf’ — a cheap, robust and highly efficient system able to make liquid fuels out of sunlight, air and water (see page 22). The Joint Center for Energy Storage Research, headquartered at the DOE’s Argonne National Laboratory near Chicago in Illinois, is likewise making good progress towards its goal: devices that can store much more electricity in much less space than the current champions, lithium-ion batteries (see Nature 507, 26–28; 2014).
Only one of the five hubs has fallen by the wayside. The Energy Efficient Buildings hub, headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, was eventually judged to be too diffuse in its goals for DOE purposes, and too oriented towards trying to get people to use currently available technology. But it still exists. In April it took a new name — the Consortium for Building Energy Innovation — and relaunched itself as an independent research and demonstration centre.
There are also grounds for optimism about the hubs’ larger purpose of transforming the DOE research culture — although in this case, the progress is less clear-cut. In some ways the agency is as bureaucratic as ever. And talk of change within the department has provoked its share of resistance from individuals who feel that their programmes are threatened.
“There is considerable excitement in the Department of Energy — a sense of new opportunities, new ventures, new people.”
Nevertheless, there is considerable excitement in the DOE — a sense of new opportunities, new ventures, new people. The hubs are responsible for some of that feeling, as are innovations such as the Advanced Research Projects Agency — Energy (ARPA-E), established in 2009 to fund speculative, high-risk, high-reward investigations, and a network of Energy Frontier Research Centers, launched the same year to promote cutting-edge basic research.
But at least as important is the sense that the people at the top understand and support reform. Chu’s initiatives have been continued by his successor, physicist Ernest Moniz — who last year told Congress that the hubs would be a good model for reforming the DOE’s network of 17 national laboratories. Last month, Moniz appointed a panel to review the national labs, with a report due early next year.
Obama’s administration has been supportive. In both his 2013 and 2014 State of the Union addresses, Obama called for a US$1-billion National Network for Manufacturing Innovation. An interagency programme modelled in part on the DOE’s energy hubs, this would comprise 15 or more centres looking to cut the energy, time and materials required to make things. The goal is to help US industries to compete with low-cost factories in emerging nations such as China, and to make it easier for start-up companies — including many renewable-energy firms — to bring new products to market. Congress has not yet acted on this proposal, but the administration has established several centres using existing funds from the DOE and other agencies.
Such efforts need to be supported and encouraged — especially by Congress, which holds the federal purse strings, and by the energy industry, which can tap vast amounts of cash for activities it perceives to be in its interest. And even here there is reason for optimism. Despite the ideological warfare that has riven Washington DC in recent years, both parties have generally endorsed the DOE’s reform efforts. And industry leaders seem ready to work closely with researchers to bring innovative products to market. One example is the Clean Energy Trust, a Chicago-based consortium of energy companies that supports renewable-energy start-ups.
Congress and the Obama administration could greatly help this movement by reviving the idea of the Clean Energy Deployment Administration: a ‘green bank’ that would pool public and private money for large-scale investments in clean-energy infrastructure. The idea was proposed a few years ago, but abandoned amid budget wrangles. Now that the federal deficit is easing and the economy has begun to improve, it could find renewed support on both sides of the aisle. The future, for once, is starting to look brighter. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2Flooksmiley.gif&hash=2fa679c2bf50092b12a1301928cb338275c3ba54)
Nature 510, 7–8 (05 June 2014) doi:10.1038/510007b
http://www.nature.com/news/renewed-energy-1.15344
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How Doubling Renewable Energy Worldwide Could Save $740 Billion per Year
(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Felqahera-trading.com%2Fhome%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2012%2F04%2Fdollar-sign-thumbnail1.jpg&hash=e1962ecaa694d312d50a9984ee058a45aed1e860) (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Felqahera-trading.com%2Fhome%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2012%2F04%2Fdollar-sign-thumbnail1.jpg&hash=e1962ecaa694d312d50a9984ee058a45aed1e860) (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Felqahera-trading.com%2Fhome%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2012%2F04%2Fdollar-sign-thumbnail1.jpg&hash=e1962ecaa694d312d50a9984ee058a45aed1e860) (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Felqahera-trading.com%2Fhome%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2012%2F04%2Fdollar-sign-thumbnail1.jpg&hash=e1962ecaa694d312d50a9984ee058a45aed1e860) (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Felqahera-trading.com%2Fhome%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2012%2F04%2Fdollar-sign-thumbnail1.jpg&hash=e1962ecaa694d312d50a9984ee058a45aed1e860) (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Felqahera-trading.com%2Fhome%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2012%2F04%2Fdollar-sign-thumbnail1.jpg&hash=e1962ecaa694d312d50a9984ee058a45aed1e860) (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Felqahera-trading.com%2Fhome%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2012%2F04%2Fdollar-sign-thumbnail1.jpg&hash=e1962ecaa694d312d50a9984ee058a45aed1e860) (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Felqahera-trading.com%2Fhome%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2012%2F04%2Fdollar-sign-thumbnail1.jpg&hash=e1962ecaa694d312d50a9984ee058a45aed1e860) (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Felqahera-trading.com%2Fhome%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2012%2F04%2Fdollar-sign-thumbnail1.jpg&hash=e1962ecaa694d312d50a9984ee058a45aed1e860) (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Felqahera-trading.com%2Fhome%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2012%2F04%2Fdollar-sign-thumbnail1.jpg&hash=e1962ecaa694d312d50a9984ee058a45aed1e860) (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Felqahera-trading.com%2Fhome%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2012%2F04%2Fdollar-sign-thumbnail1.jpg&hash=e1962ecaa694d312d50a9984ee058a45aed1e860)
Brandon Baker | June 6, 2014 12:21 pm
When combining all of the world’s countries, 18 percent of the world’s electricity consumption comes from renewable sources. A global agency estimates that amount could be doubled in a little more than 15 years while saving a combined $740 billion per year in the process.
The latest study, REmap 2030, from the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) estimates that amping up renewables to constitute 36 percent of the international energy mix would more than offset the costs associated with fossil fuel pollution. It would also reduce the global demand for oil and gas by about 15 percent, and for coal by 26 percent.
Some of the graphics within REmap include annual investment needs and percentage breakdowns in doubling renewables’ share of the world’s TFEC—total final energy consumption—by 2030.
SLIDESHOW ► (at link ;D)
To IRENA, the question isn’t if it can be done, but how investment dollars should be spent to ensure that renewable energy doubling happens.
“The central policy question is this: What energy sources do we want to invest in? Our data shows that renewable energy can help avert catastrophic climate change and save the world money, if all costs are considered,” Adnan Z. Amin, director-general of IRENA, said at the report’s unveiling in New York. “In answering this question, REmap 2030 makes a clear case for renewables. It shows the transition is affordable based on existing technologies, and that the benefits go well beyond the positive climate impact. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fmedia.giphy.com%2Fmedia%2FHjPbLbmep2aJO%2Fgiphy.gif&hash=3c7f7703f00cb341d3e9bdba607208d4204a294c)(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.freesmileys.org%2Femoticons%2Femoticon-object-062.gif&hash=88ceb4a34a12b2bea2fd9edd887da26d73308257)
“Countries today face a clear choice for a sustainable energy future.” ;D
http://ecowatch.com/2014/06/06/doubling-renewable-energy-740-billion/
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East Africa Pushes to Adopt Solar Energy (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimages.ame4u.com%2FAnimated_Clipart%2FAnimated-Solar%2Fsun_shining_solar_panel_hg_clr__st.gif&hash=f244a42c405966e333bd5533ae540330a95e63ee)
Renewable Energy World Editors
June 10, 2014 | 1 Comments
LONDON -- Rwanda’s government has signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with the Goldsol II energy consortium for the construction of a 10-MW solar power plant in Kayonza, Eastern Province.
The US$20 million project, which will be among the largest such projects in East Africa, is expected to be operational by 2016.
Comprising of TMM Renewables, Gesto Energy Africa and 3E Power Solar, the Goldsol II consortium will initially carry out a feasibility study which will then develop into a long term agreement to generate, manage and distribute power.
Commenting on the development, Valentine Rugwabiza, the Rwanda Development Board’s chief executive officer, said: “The current installed generation capacity is close to 120 MW. The 2017 energy target is 563 MW to allow for affordable access to power to cover most of the country, which is currently at 19.4 percent to increase to 70 percent by 2017.”
The solar power project was awarded to the consortium through a competitive tender project run by the Energy Water and Sanitation Authority (EWSA).
Rwanda has established a solar energy target of 20 MW by 2017.
http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2014/06/east-africa-pushes-to-adopt-solar-energy#comment-132362
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Google Aims To "Fundamentally Change the World of Power"
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According to sources familiar with the company, Google has set its sights on transforming the delivery of electrons.
Brian Womack and Mark Chediak, Bloomberg
June 11, 2014
SAN FRANCISCO -- Google Inc. plans a deeper push into the $363.7 billion U.S. power-sales market by working on tools that help utilities deliver electricity to homes and businesses more efficiently, people with knowledge of the matter said.
The operator of the most popular Internet-search engine is in the early stages of building software and hardware tools to manage power lines and other infrastructure, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the matter is private. The technology is being developed by Google’s EnergyAccess team and led by Arun Majumdar, vice president of the company’s energy unit, the people said.
Google, a big consumer of electricity for the computer servers that power its services, is looking at ways to transform the century-old utility industry, which has been struggling to adapt to changing demands for power management and production. As solar, wind and other renewable energy sources come online, the power grids that transmit electricity will need to be more flexible and efficient.
“They recognize there is a huge wide-open space and that the utility companies are not stepping up to the plate,” Steven Chu, former secretary of the U.S. Department of Energy, said of Google during an interview last month at an energy conference in Fremont, California. “They see a huge market opportunity.”
Chu said he isn’t familiar with Google’s plans and was expressing his views on what the company might do. Kelly Mason, a spokeswoman for Mountain View, California-based Google, declined to comment on its energy project and who is handling the effort.
Power Projects
Others have pushed into energy-management services. ABB Ltd., Siemens AG and Alstom SA are among the companies offering tools that can help utilities integrate rooftop solar systems and quickly respond to changes in electricity demand such as on hot summer days when air-conditioning units tax the grid.
Google, which is also funding projects in health care, computerized eyewear and self-driving cars, has been stepping up investments in recent years to make energy more clean and efficient. Earlier this year, it spent $3.2 billion to acquire Nest Labs, a digital-thermostat company, and is an investor in Atlantic Grid Development LLC, a project designed to help deliver electricity in New Jersey.
Google has also put more than $1 billion into environmentally friendly energy power projects in the U.S. and around the world. That includes everything from wind farms in Oregon to solar efforts in Germany.
Such investments have given the company experience in the power industry, preparing it to develop new products that could help with managing the increasingly complex power market.
Electric Grid
Already, advances in areas including sustainable power and home energy management have begun to threaten the traditional utility business model.
Most electricity now moves from large, centralized generation stations to homes and businesses, powering heating units, laptops and blenders. While generally effective, that approach has raised concerns for potentially being inefficient, polluting and costly -- especially when compared to the decentralized movement of bits of information on the Internet.
Now, electricity has begun to flow in new ways on the grid, empowering consumers and prompting demand for new services to efficiently manage the distribution of electricity. Technologies are emerging that will allow for more granular control and movement of electricity, similar to how data is processed and moved over broadband networks.
Google’s Energy Access team is part of a larger group looking at infrastructure, Internet access andenergy that is led by Craig Barratt, who recently joined Chief Executive Officer Larry Page’s top team of leaders, one person familiar with the company said.
Energy Control
“Google is working on innovative solutions for access to clean, low-cost electricity,” according to a job posting on Google’s website. “Google is seeking to develop technologies and products to address global opportunities for electricity delivery via new and improved infrastructure.”
The company didn’t hold back in its assessment of the potential, saying it involved “solutions that aim to fundamentally change the world of power.”
Google also has some patents that target power efficiency. One patent published in 2012 cites an apparatus to manage the flow of electricity on the grid with an eye on how the power is being used by electric vehicles, batteries and household appliances.
“Appropriate control of power use over time can compensate for variations in power supply or demand elsewhere in an electrical grid,” the patent said. “Further, such control of energy use can improve the stability of the electrical grid.” (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2F19.gif&hash=3f9f2fc2285bc756137e21463bc2a4c420b15ac3)
Mass Production
There are at least two postings tied to the project referred to as “Energy Access/Bottom Up Grid” -- one for a hardware engineer in power electronics and the other for a mechanical/thermal engineer. The project is slated to get to “mass production,” according to one of the job listings.
Majumdar joined Google in December 2012. Before that, he worked with Chu at the Department ofEnergy, where he pushed for innovation and new products through the Advanced Research Projects Agency Energy group, known as ARPA-E.
http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2014/06/google-aims-to-fundamentally-change-the-world-of-power
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zbW0qxTTfGc&feature=player_embedded
(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.clker.com%2Fcliparts%2Fc%2F6%2F7%2F1%2F12065737551968208283energie_positive_Wind_Turbine_Green.svg.hi.png&hash=be3acd38adc44e524d4d3f94fda9837047a92d3c)(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimages.ame4u.com%2FAnimated_Clipart%2FAnimated-Solar%2Fsun_shining_solar_panel_hg_clr__st.gif&hash=f244a42c405966e333bd5533ae540330a95e63ee)(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2F2.bp.blogspot.com%2F-GL5j1HJXNGE%2FU5HAcjeP3KI%2FAAAAAAABEGY%2FZBbqo0mVQi0%2Fs1600%2F06-06-2014c.gif&hash=2d25e7a048a40c0442d015228dddb0128d85a7b5) (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.freesmileys.org%2Femoticons%2Ftuzki-bunnys%2Ftuzki-bunny-emoticon-022.gif&hash=3b60da70b71b7109fe66036056cb1dedc1affb43)
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Why the Barclays Downgrade of the Entire U.S. Electricity Sector Means an Upgrade for Consumers ;D
Barclays recently downgraded the U.S. electricity sector. That’s right, the whole sector. It’s now listed as “underweight,” meaning that if you were to hold a full portfolio of bonds for the U.S. economy, you might want to be a bit light on U.S. electric utilities, as they might not keep up with the broader economic growth trends. Why? One answer is the disruptive threat of solar-plus-battery systems. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-141113185047.png&hash=384024358ff8d5e7133d19b6e6638da4584a8154) From the Barclays report:
Over the next few years… we believe that a confluence of declining cost trends in distributed solar photovoltaic (PV) power generation and residential-scale power storage is likely to disrupt the status quo. Based on our analysis, the cost of solar + storage for residential consumers of electricity is already competitive with the price of utility grid power in Hawaii. Of the other major markets, California could follow in 2017, New York and Arizona in 2018, and many other states soon after.
In the 100+ year history of the electric utility industry, there has never before been a truly cost-competitive substitute available for grid power. We believe that solar + storage could reconfigure the organization and regulation of the electric power business over the coming decade.
If that language sounds familiar, it’s because Barclays’ logic is very similar to that of our recent report, The Economics of Grid Defection, in which we forecasted the declining costs of solar plus storage and the time—coming soon—when those systems could reach parity with grid-sourced retail price electricity in a growing number of markets, including Hawaii, California, and New York. In fact, the Barclays report cites RMI as a key source in several of its analyses that lead to this conclusion.
Barclays believes we’re entering a post-monopoly world in which distributed energy resources will take a place alongside large-scale central generation as a critical energy resource and a widely available and affordable customer option. In a surprisingly strong prediction for analysts, Barclays views this transition as inevitable: “Whatever roadblocks utilities try to toss up—and there's already been plenty of tossing in the states most vulnerable to solar, further evidence of the pressures they're facing—it's already too late.”
If you’re a utility, or an investor who’s got money in utilities, that’s some ominous language. Admittedly, a downgrade suggests two possible outcomes in the near future: 1) analysts tend to move in herds, so expect more news on the U.S. electric sector soon, and 2) capital is likely to get a bit more expensive for utilities, as millions of dollars shift out of the sector.
It’s not all bad news. As we discussed recently in “Caveat Investor,” this should ultimately lead to a stronger, more resilient power sector with stronger overall valuations, but the transition is likely to be volatile. The Barclays report suggests we’re about to enter that volatile transition phase.
So, what are the major trends we can learn from this, and what does a utility downgrade mean for the future of distributed renewables?
1) Distributed energy is hitting the mainstream. Historically, it’s renewables’ creditworthiness that has been challenged (while utilities have been considered rock solid), but now this trend appears to be reversing. We’ve seen declining costs of capital in solar (as recent securitizations demonstrate), new financial instruments emerging for related technologies, and lower costs overall. Despite this progress, there is still a large gap between the market acceptance of renewables and the market acceptance of central, fossil-fueled generation. The recent downgrade suggests that people are starting to take distributed renewables seriously, and that utilities and renewables are entering a period of equal (or at least comparable) market strength.
2) Issuing new bonds for thermal fossil generation will become more expensive. While many people focus on the construction costs of new assets (central and distributed generation alike), it’s more often the cost of capital that determines project viability. Traditionally, utilities have almost always been the lowest-cost provider of new energy resources, and part of this advantage has rested on ready access to and favorable terms from the bond market. If that advantage is eroding, then expect new players to be able to compete for providing the nation’s energy, including providers of much smaller, distributed generation.
3) Distributed storage, when combined with already mature trends in generation and energy efficiency, compounds the disruptive threat of consumer-scale investments in energy. Many people have worried that declining demand (through energy efficiency) and distributed generation are putting enormous stress on the traditional business model for investments in central generation. That has not changed at all. So why does the emergence of storage, something that doesn’t reduce consumption or increase generation, suddenly give the markets concern? Simply put, the addition of storage gives customers the option to entirely disengage from their relationship with the utility. While most customers won’t choose to leave, and for good reasons, the threat of grid defection creates consumer leverage that will slow recent upward trends in utility rates out of competitive necessity.
4) These trends are likely to accelerate. As capital shifts from central to distributed generation, this just improves the economics of distributed resources even further, through scale benefits as well as lower cost of capital. Few people would say that we’ve even come close to market saturation for any customer segment for renewables and efficiency. As the traditional electric sector becomes a more challenging place to park capital (or even just a less certain place), more investors will start to notice that investments in distributed resources have similar risk-reward profiles, and this movement of capital will be self-reinforcing.
Barclays took a fairly surprising stance for an industry not traditionally known for looking years into the future. That’s a great sign for the markets, which need to start responding to global, long-term trends. And while the Barclays report isn’t likely to move markets in the next 6 or 12 months, it does signal an important shift under way—distributed generation is likely to be an affordable and accessible choice for more and more customers alongside traditional utility-provided electricity. More options means more competition and increased relevance of the customer. And that’s an upgrade for users of electricity everywhere. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2Flooksmiley.gif&hash=2fa679c2bf50092b12a1301928cb338275c3ba54)
http://blog.rmi.org/blog_2014_06_10_the_barclays_downgrade_of_the_entire_us_electricity_sector
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New England Clean Power Link Will Generate Nearly $400 Million Annually ;D, Says Analysis
During the construction period, planned for 2016 to 2018, the project is expected to create an average of more than 140 direct construction jobs annually in Vermont.
Corina Rivera-Linares, Senior Analyst, TransmissionHub
June 16, 2014
TDI New England’s proposed New England Clean Power Link will generate nearly $400 million annually in new economic activity for the New England region as a whole during the first 10 years of commercial operations, according to a new report by London Economics International.
As noted in the report, the 150-mile underwater and underground HVDC transmission line, to be located in Vermont, will deliver 1,000 MW of clean, low-cost energy into the New England wholesale power market.
“The New England Clean Power Link is an innovative, privately financed project that will create hundreds of new jobs, save consumers millions of dollars and spur economic growth across Vermont and the wider region,” TDI New England CEO Donald Jessome said in a June 11 statement. “The significant energy savings means more money in the pockets of businesses and homeowners — savings they can then reinvest in communities throughout New England, creating long-term permanent job growth and a stronger regional economy.”
Cable manufacturing could begin as early as 2015, along with some site preparations, a company spokesperson told TransmissionHub on June 11, adding that construction would begin in early 2016 and be completed by the end of 2018.
The project is expected to begin service in early 2019. The company filed its application for the Presidential permit from the U.S. Department of Energy last month and will apply its application for approval from the Army Corps of Engineers next fall. The spokesperson also said that the company will file for the Vermont 248 siting permit by the end of this year.
London Economics, an economic, financial and advisory firm headquartered in Boston, Mass., noted in a disclaimer that it was engaged by TDI New England to develop an economic impact analysis of the proposed project, adding that the report is based upon current data concerning economic conditions in New England and on current information available concerning construction and operation of the proposed project. Additionally, the report is not intended to be a complete and exhaustive analysis of the proposed project.
London Economics analyzed the potential economic benefits of the proposed project in terms of the employment and gross domestic product (GDP) impacts to Vermont and the rest of New England, using the PI+ model developed by Regional Economic Models Inc. (REMI). That model is an economic forecasting model that is widely used in the public and private sectors to simulate the dynamic and interactive effects over time and across industries that result from large investments, policy changes and infrastructure projects like the Clean Power Link, according to the report.
The model generates year-by-year estimates of the total regional effects of any specific policy initiative or large investment. London Economics also said that the model used for the analysis was a 70-sector, state-level model that covers the entire New England region. Those sectors included forestry and logging, fishing, hunting and trapping, as well as oil and gas extraction and nonmetallic mineral product manufacturing.
The model incorporates several modeling approaches, including input-output, computable general equilibrium theory, econometric equations and new economic geography theory to create a comprehensive model that understands detailed interrelated changes in a regional — or state — economy.
London Economics also noted that the model, which is used by government agencies and others, estimates comprehensive economic and demographic effects in wide-ranging initiatives, such as economic impact analysis; policies and programs for economic development, infrastructure, environment, energy and natural resources; and state and local tax changes.
Regarding modeling inputs, London Economics noted that TDI is expecting the project to undergo a 36-month construction phase, starting in 2016 and finishing by the end of 1Q19. The operating life of the project, beginning in 2Q19, is expected to go out 40 years or even longer. For its analysis, London Economics added that it has focused on the first 10 years of operation. Given the significance of the installation costs for the project, more than $80m in capital costs for the project will be spent in Vermont to build and install the project.
Additionally, the project will bring, on average, 140 direct construction jobs annually to Vermont during the construction period. Once commercial operations begin, the project is expected to reduce the wholesale market price of energy in ISO New England (ISO-NE) for the benefit of consumers.
The reduction in retail electricity costs to New England electricity customers is estimated to be about $195 million per year on average for the first 10 years of commercial operation, or 2019 to 2028, according to the analysis. Electricity cost savings are projected based on simulation modeling of the ISO-NE wholesale market — assuming a 95 percent utilization rate on the project. On average over the 10 years modeled, the project produces more than $1/MWh reduction in annual average energy prices across the region.
Based on the analysis, the project is expected to create on average more than 640 direct, indirect and induced jobs in Vermont during its 36-month construction phase and 2,000 jobs across the region, including Vermont, in the first 10 years of commercial operation.
That local employment and spending will expand state economic activity, as measured by GDP, by $58 million per annum on average, or about 0.2 percent of Vermont’s GDP based on 2012 GDP levels.
London Economics added that its analysis suggests that the economic activity that will be generated by the construction phase will ripple through the rest of the region. That phase will generate on average more than 850 jobs, including 670 indirect and induced jobs, across the region, including Vermont, and will increase New England’s regional GDP by about $78 million per year.
Furthermore, during the first 10 years of commercial operation, London Economics estimates that Vermont’s GDP would increase by an average of $30 million per annum due to reduction in energy costs, and an increase in jobs and spending within Vermont for continued operations and maintenance of the line.
Based on London Economics’ analysis of those reduced electricity costs using the PI+ model, together with the ongoing local spending by the project for operations and maintenance of the project, the project will produce an average of more than 2,000 direct, indirect and induced jobs across the region during the first 10 years of commercial operation and lead to an increase in regional GDP by an average of about $400 million per year.
http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2014/06/new-england-clean-power-link-will-generate-nearly-400-million-annually-says-analysis
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Renewable Energy Provided One-Third Of Germany’s Power In The First Half Of 2014 ;D
By Kiley Kroh on July 8, 2014 at 1:51 pm
Helped along by low demand on a holiday, Germany nevertheless set another solar power record in June, generating 50 percent (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimages.ame4u.com%2FAnimated_Clipart%2FAnimated-Solar%2Fsun_shining_solar_panel_hg_clr__st.gif&hash=f244a42c405966e333bd5533ae540330a95e63ee)(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.freesmileys.org%2Femoticons%2Femoticon-object-081.gif&hash=5981b917cdd5e334cd69d00213b2d119acbfb380) (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.freesmileys.org%2Femoticons%2Femoticon-object-102.gif&hash=528930a8e8af7241bb620e4cb06eca642c7666c4)of its overall electricity demand from solar for part of the day. And in May, renewable energy sources combined to account for 75 percent of power demand for part of the day. ;D
As a point of comparison, approximately 13 percent of the U.S. electricity supply was powered by renewables as of the end of 2013, roughly half of Germany’s rate.
http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2014/07/08/3456934/renewable-one-third-germany/
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Investment In Clean Energy At Highest Point Since 2012 (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.freesmileys.org%2Femoticons%2Ftuzki-bunnys%2Ftuzki-bunny-emoticon-022.gif&hash=3b60da70b71b7109fe66036056cb1dedc1affb43)
New investment in the global clean energy sector totaled $66.2 billion in the second quarter this year. The post Investment In Clean Energy At Highest Point Since 2012 appeared first on ThinkProgress.
http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2014/07/08/3457438/clean-energy-investment-3/
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Group Representing 590 Million Christians Divests From Fossil Fuel
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Fri Jul 11, 2014 at 01:54 PM EDT.
"Perhaps recalling the parts of the Bible in which God asks that his followers be good stewards to the Earth, the World Council of Churches, a global coalition of 345 churches moved to no longer invest in oil, gas, or coal companies and urged their members to follow their lead. ...
The move is the biggest one yet by Christian groups attempting to reconcile the damages that climate change is causing with their beliefs to serve the planet well.
In a statement sent from its meeting in Geneva, the group strongly condemned the rampant burning of fossil fuels and its effects on the environment: (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2F301.gif&hash=0291ed4abf2d80e420d1aa00d4eb3c5dd6bbfb53) (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.freesmileys.org%2Femoticons%2Ftuzki-bunnys%2Ftuzki-bunny-emoticon-028.gif&hash=24570cb7e8246617010ce900a07bc85117ff78ca) (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.freesmileys.org%2Femoticons%2Femoticon-object-106.gif&hash=f996659d18df7f3b445e6135e884397ac91f25b1)
“The World Council of Churches reminds us that morality demands thinking as much about the future as about ourselves– (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.desismileys.com%2Fsmileys%2Fdesismileys_0293.gif&hash=b1af4868ed8f18c30e637f8cbcb79002f6f71039)and that there’s no threat to the future greater than the unchecked burning of fossil fuels,” said Bill McKibben, the founder of 350.org, a global climate campaign that is supporting the divestment effort. “This is a remarkable moment for the 590 million Christians in its member denominations: a huge percentage of humanity says today ‘this far and no further.’” (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fmedia.giphy.com%2Fmedia%2FHjPbLbmep2aJO%2Fgiphy.gif&hash=3c7f7703f00cb341d3e9bdba607208d4204a294c)
This isn’t from a fringe group either, the WCC includes many of the biggest churches in the world. The 25 million-member Church of England and the 48 million-member Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church count themselves as members of the umbrella Christian coalition group."
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http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/07/11/1313294/-Group-Representing-Half-Billion-Christians-Divests-From-Fossil-Fuel
100% RENEWABLE ENERGY WORLD, HERE WE COME! (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.freesmileys.org%2Femoticons%2Ftuzki-bunnys%2Ftuzki-bunny-emoticon-022.gif&hash=3b60da70b71b7109fe66036056cb1dedc1affb43) (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.chicagonow.com%2Fsteve-dales-pet-world%2Ffiles%2F2011%2F09%2FHappy-cat.jpg&hash=1e9a9a34515739d237deb32a15b49ce679552266)(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-280614160222.gif&hash=728b965d6d4048309d24d486b4121efb8be31a7c)
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07/14/2014 01:09 PM Solar Wins Big In Iowa, Next Battle is Wisconsin
SustainableBusiness.com News
Solar just won big in Iowa in the latest battle with utilities.
Iowa's Supreme Court ruled in favor of solar leasing, :emthup: :icon_sunny: rejecting the utility's (and state regulators) claim (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2F165fs373950.gif&hash=ad797fcc08a061d3ae50ee49ccd9f3d517fb7496)
that only it can sell energy. In a typical leasing arrangement, the city of Dubuque signed a long-term power purchase agreement with Eagle Point Solar, which installed and owns the solar system. :emthup:
Alliant Energy Corp insists that Eagle Point acted like a public utility in signing a third party power purchase agreement, infringing on its monopoly in the service area. Iowa's regulatory board agreed.
If the case ended there, solar installers would be subject to a gamut of regulations, increasing costs and complexity for the industry, says the Environmental Law and Policy Center, which represented a coalition of solar businesses and environmental groups in the appeal.
Alliant Energy's service area: (at the link ;D)
Solar Alliant Energy Service Area
"One of the important aspects of the case is that it says that the purpose of utility regulation is to protect the public, not the utility industry," :icon_mrgreen: Brad Klein, a senior attorney with the Environmental Law and Policy Center, told Midwest Energy News. "Generating one's own power "behind the meter" - meaning it doesn't move through a utility's distribution system - is a private transaction and should not be subject to interference by a utility."
On the East Coast, "conversations are beginning on how the electric utility industry transitions to a system that's more decentralized. We want to see these conversations happen in Iowa and the Midwest. We want to work with Alliant on approaches that are win-win," says Klein. represented a coalition of solar businesses and environmental groups in a case appealing an Iowa Utilities Board
Read our article, NY State Leads: Radical Changes Toward Distributed Energy.
Iowa gets close to 30% of its electricity from wind and is now moving to support the growth of solar. In May, the legislature voted - almost unanimously - to triple the solar tax credit and raise the rebate cap for residential and commercial projects.
What Will Happen in Wisconsin?
Amazingly, utility We Energies in Wisconsin is seeing how far it can go. Like so many utilities across the US, they want big surcharges from solar owners, and they even propose barring customers from leasing solar systems. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-311013201314.png&hash=0715eb72631014310634eb56176ff860c6d542f6)
"The proposals in Wisconsin right now are some of the most damaging to the growth of the solar industry, Brad Klein, an attorney with the Environmental Law and Policy Center, told Milwaukee-Wisconsin Journal Sentinel.
http://www.sustainablebusiness.com/index.cfm/go/news.display/id/25807
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The World Is Going Solar ;D
Thom Hartmann | July 15, 2014 2:49 pm
Snippet:
The bottom-line is that solar power and other renewable forms of energy are the energy of today and of the future, in both developed and developing nations. Not coal. Not oil. Not natural gas. And as the richest country in the world, we need to finally embrace that fact, and lead the world in investing more in these clean and green energies that will be powering our country into the future.
Each year, Big Oil receives $500 billion in government subsidies. >:( Can you imagine what would happen if that $500 billion went to investing in developing renewable sources of energy instead? ;D Despite what Big Oil executives and their cronies in Washington might say, going green isn’t just a choice. It’s reality.
It’s the only option we have if we want to save the human race from a climate disaster. So, let’s start treating it like that, by investing in a secure energy future for America, and the rest of the world.
http://ecowatch.com/2014/07/15/the-world-is-going-solar/2/
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Contrary to widespread misreportage, closing those eight reactors did not cause more fossil fuel to be burned. Whenever renewable sources run in Germany, both law and economics require them to displace costlier sources, so renewables always make fossil-fueled plants run less, though often in more complex patterns.
The data confirm this: from 2010 through 2013, German nuclear output fell by 43.3 TWh, renewable output rose by 46.9 TWh, and the power sector burned almost exactly as much more coal and lignite as it burned less of the costlier gas and oil. German utilities bet against the energy transition and lost. ;D Now they gripe that the renewables in which most of them long underinvested have made their thermal plants too costly to run. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2F165fs373950.gif&hash=ad797fcc08a061d3ae50ee49ccd9f3d517fb7496)
http://blog.rmi.org/blog_2014_07_08_opposite_energy_policies_turned_fukushima_disaster_into_a_loss_for_japan_and_a_win_for_Germany
Many claim renewables could harm grid stability. So why do Germany, with 25% renewable electricity in 2013, and Denmark, with at least 47%, have Europe’s most reliable electricity, about ten times more reliable than America’s? (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.freesmileys.org%2Femoticons%2Ftuzki-bunnys%2Ftuzki-bunny-emoticon-005.gif&hash=c0f70cc821100c434469eae24e0fa6131745ab51)
These countries, like three others in Europe (none very rich in hydropower) that used roughly half-renewable electricity in 2013—Spain 45%, Scotland 46%, Portugal 58%—simply require fair grid access and competition. Of all major industrial nations, only Japan doesn’t.
http://blog.rmi.org/blog_2014_07_08_opposite_energy_policies_turned_fukushima_disaster_into_a_loss_for_japan_and_a_win_for_Germany
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A Province of Denmark is totally energy independent. It can be done. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.freesmileys.org%2Femoticons%2Femoticon-object-042.gif&hash=76ef1277aabb18fb4b98437f4ebc40a0f80ed4e8)
(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-100714103519.gif&hash=c6ea59750a010dd7a3e524640af0cc89caf41a55)
(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-300714203505.png&hash=8be3fdaeb1abde66730578cd695daa14c59c7d2e)
http://vimeo.com/7841815
Retired Monk - "Ideology is a disease"
Samsø, Denmark, Vineyard Power & Energy Independence
from Vineyard Voice Plus 4 years ago / Creative Commons License: by nc sa All Audiences
This video presents the reality of energy independence experienced by the people of Samsø, Denmark.
This film chronicles the success of the Danish island of Samsø in achieving energy independence through community involvement. Produced by Miljø Media, funded by European REislands and distributed by the International Network for Sustainable Energy, the film includes Samsø's perspectives and experiences with renewable energy and energy efficiency.
Much like Martha's Vineyard, Samsø, Denmark is an island community with a small core of year-rounders and an economy that relies on thousands of summer residents and visitors who take the ferry from the mainland to one of the island's two ports. Like Martha's Vineyard, much of Samsø is green, with agricultural lands and forests meeting the blue of the surrounding waters. Samsø's residents also pay higher prices on everything from sugar to tires, the result of an economy where everything is transported to the island by ferry.
One thing residents do not worry about, however, is their energy bills. By improving the efficiency of their homes and offices, using the natural resources that are found on and around the island, and working together as a community to take ownership of their future, the residents of Samsø have secured their energy future.
Eleven onshore and 10 offshore wind turbines now generate more electricity than Samsø uses. Visitors still flock to the island to enjoy the agricultural surroundings and sparkling ocean vistas, but now the island's tourism industry has also grown to meet the interests of a whole new kind of visitor - the one interested in seeing sustainability and renewable energy at work. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.freesmileys.org%2Femoticons%2Femoticon-object-102.gif&hash=528930a8e8af7241bb620e4cb06eca642c7666c4) The new education and conference center introduces thousands of tourists to Samsø's energy achievements each year.
Over the past few months, the Vineyard Energy Project (VEP) has been talking to Islanders about our energy resources and has found an overwhelming desire to take control of our Island's energy resources. Islanders have strongly supported the idea of a community-owned cooperative to generate our own power and promote energy efficiency, keeping the benefits on the Vineyard. This was underlined by the Island Plan's vision of a more sustainable energy future.
This excerpt is part of a longer "European Renewable Energy Islands." Permission for this excerpt was granted by Miljo Media.
Read More…
http://www.thomhartmann.com/forum/2014/07/report-out-states-offshore-wind-can-deliver-cleaner-more-affordable-energy-and-jobs-of#sthash.SjyrxBMO.dpuf
(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.freesmileys.org%2Femoticons%2Ftuzki-bunnys%2Ftuzki-bunny-emoticon-036.gif&hash=8ec7abacc074bac7984d9b80fbca377b3afb119d)
Agelbert NOTE: They DID IT ALL on Samsø from insulation to wind power to solar to biofuels to selling excess electricity all at a cost of about 4,000 euros per resident in LESS than ten years! Now they've got a nice fat 200,000 Euro account from their CLEAN energy profits! (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2F19.gif&hash=3f9f2fc2285bc756137e21463bc2a4c420b15ac3)(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Felqahera-trading.com%2Fhome%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2012%2F04%2Fdollar-sign-thumbnail1.jpg&hash=e1962ecaa694d312d50a9984ee058a45aed1e860)
The sooner we ELIMINATE FOSSIL FUELS, the BETTER! (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.freesmileys.org%2Femoticons%2Ftuzki-bunnys%2Ftuzki-bunny-emoticon-028.gif&hash=24570cb7e8246617010ce900a07bc85117ff78ca)(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.freesmileys.org%2Femoticons%2Femoticon-object-106.gif&hash=f996659d18df7f3b445e6135e884397ac91f25b1)
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smithsonian.com
August 5, 2014
We Don’t Need a Huge Breakthrough to Make Renewable Energy Viable—It Already Is (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.freesmileys.org%2Femoticons%2Ftuzki-bunnys%2Ftuzki-bunny-emoticon-013.gif&hash=67c881f5cbeaeb689faa72f76545db455b347ce4) (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-200714183515.bmp&hash=4a3ad9d0a78a7e161f53ddd84f568082a5b0d2ad)
The idea that renewable energy can't handle the load is a myth, says Amory Lovins (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.freesmileys.org%2Femoticons%2Ftuzki-bunnys%2Ftuzki-bunny-emoticon-005.gif&hash=c0f70cc821100c434469eae24e0fa6131745ab51)
By Colin Schultz
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MsgrahFln0s&feature=player_embedded
Read more: http://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/we-dont-need-huge-breakthrough-make-renewable-energy-viable-it-already-180952254/#P3iUtSFmKXE6lgA5.99
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From the North American Student Energy Summit: Bright Outlook for a Carbon-free Future
By Lauren Levin and Viktoriya Syrov
on July 03, 2014 at 11:00 AM
California Continues To Lead U.S. In Green Technology
Breaking Energy was honored to be included in the recent North American Student Energy Summit held in New York City. Author and environmental activist Bill Hewitt and Breaking Energy’s Managing Editor Jared Anderson helped out with the Role of Media in Energy interactive breakout session in which students formulated blog posts about an important energy issue.
Students were asked to write about the following question: “Have there been any recent political and social developments that indicate significant movement towards fully decarbonized and denuclearized economies globally in the foreseeable future?” We selected the following post for publication on Breaking Energy:
“If properly harnessed, there is enough sunlight that falls on the Earth in just one hour to meet the world energy demands for a whole year,” explained Dr. Mark Jacobson, founder of The Solutions Project, to an audience of over 300 students at the first ever North American Student Energy Summit (NASES) held in New York City. Innovators and energy leaders like Jacobson, whose Solutions Project aims to power the United States on 100 percent renewable energy by 2050, along with policy makers and journalists, took the stage to present their work in the energy sector and answer challenging questions from the cross-disciplinary body of students in attendance.
As the subject of renewable energy makes its way into college curricula and news headlines – and as we witness rising tides and an increasing number of storms – it has become more and more apparent that we live in a world of environmental thresholds. More than ever before, students are motivated to act to reduce the level of greenhouse gasses in the atmosphere and prevent further environmental destruction.
NASES, which was held on June 19-20,, 2014 at the United Nations and Columbia University, was one of four Regional Student Energy Summits taking place simultaneously around the world in Africa, Latin America, North America and Europe. The inaugural events, organized by nonprofit group Student Energy, aimed to connect approximately 1,200 students around the globe and inspire them to tackle the energy issues facing their nations. The issues are vast and entrenched, but the speakers at NASES were optimistic, they urged the young audience to steer the movement away from fossil fuels, as Carbon War Room COO, Peter Boyd, simply summarized it: “Go efficient and go renewable.”
Efficiency has been a driving force across all sectors during our lifetimes. In the U.S., policies now require all federal agencies to purchase only Energy Star and Federal Energy Management Program-designated products and for all new agency buildings to be constructed with LEED Gold standards in mind, setting a powerful example. On the social scale, the rise in popularity of the collaborative consumption movement has enabled the international success of sharing economy giants such as Airbnb and ZipCar, encouraging the maximized use of existing resources rather than wasteful acquisition of new products. Even the energy sector is learning lessons from sharing: a company called Sunrun leases out solar panels to homeowners in 11 states, providing users the benefit of lower energy bills and a clean source of electricity, without the often high initial installation costs.
The global community is implementing clean, renewable energy into existing and new infrastructure at unprecedented levels. “With every passing month, renewables become the most economical option in an ever greater number of places. Clean energy markets are scaling fast, with government incentives, economies of scale, and decreased production costs all factoring into the accelerating momentum for the industry,” noted Nick Blitterswyk, CEO of Urban Green Energy (UGE), a worldwide distributed renewable energy company.
The green energy sector has shown consistent growth in U.S., with 74% of electricity installations in the first quarter of 2014 being solar, and the first offshore wind farm approved this year off the coast of Massachusetts, the world’s second largest energy consumer is making great strides towards lowering carbon emissions and fulfilling the new EPA requirements of cutting carbon emissions by 30 percent of 2005 levels by 2030.
Although China has caused major unease with the proliferation of coal power plants, the government of the leading energy consumer has invested heavily in renewable energy ($54 billion in investments in renewables in 2013 compared to U.S. investment of $36.7 billion) and is leading the world in installed wind power. In Europe, Germany has set a goal to produce 35 percent of its electricity from renewable sources by 2020 and 100 percent by 2050 and just this month for the first time, was able to meet 50 percent of the country’s energy demand with solar.
Some islands are also at the forefront of the carbon-free, nuclear-free movement. Floreana island in the Galapagos and El Hierro in the Canary islands have already transitioned to 100 percent renewable energy ;Dand many other island nations plan to follow in their footsteps. These and other advancements towards a global divestment in carbon and nuclear technologies will be discussed at the upcoming September UN Climate Summit in New York, in preparation for the 2015 UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, where countries are expected to make strong commitments towards a low carbon future.
The students at NASES appear ready and willing to take on the speakers’ challenges. A glimpse into the United Nations Sustainable Energy Innovation Jam breakout session, shows they are well prepared. With only 90 seconds to pitch an innovative energy idea to a panel of experts from Sustainable Energy For All, including Blitterswyk of UGE and other experts, attendees presented diverse projects with high potential for improving our energy future. From the “low hanging fruit” of converting organic waste to energy in an urban metropolis such as New York City, a solution offered by John Ortolano of Columbia University and Earl Co of NYU, to the prospect of using satellite technology to assess viability of greenroof construction on urban buildings, proposed by Columbia graduate Alan Burchell, the ideas were applauded by the judges for their creativity and feasibility. “The technology is already in place,” said Co, “we just need policy to put it into action.”
Topics: Carbon Emissions Mitigation, Climate Change, Columbia University, Emissions, Energy Policy, EPA, EPA Carbon Rule, Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Innovation, Jobs, Student Energy, Student Featured, Sustainable Energy for All, United Nations
http://breakingenergy.com/2014/07/03/from-the-north-american-student-energy-summit-bright-outlook-for-a-carbon-free-future/
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Global Renewable Energy Status Uncovered
(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fdl2.glitter-graphics.net%2Fpub%2F1087%2F1087832pmq26zqtt4.gif&hash=b78c8a77d04e8ff6af5d8c7e5a02871cc061e275) (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2Fearthhug.gif&hash=3abcf70466f34337f2d702ebd9e02c650d5c4c20)
“Over the last 10 years, continuing technology advances and rapid deployment of many renewable energy technologies have demonstrated that the question is no longer whether renewables have a role to play in the provision of energy services, but rather how we can best increase the current pace to achieve a 100 percent renewables future with full energy access for all.” -- Arthouros Zervos, chair of REN21
REN21’s 2014 Global Status Report reveals a number of key trends for the renewables sector, shedding light on likely policy and market movements across technologies. Despite stormy weather, the analysis picks up on a positive under current for renewables.
David Appleyard, Contributing Editor
August 13, 2014
LONDON -- More than a fifth of the world's electrical power production now comes from renewable sources and in 2013 renewables accounted for more than 56 percent of all net additions to global power capacity. These remarkable conclusions come from this year’s Renewables Global Status Report (GSR) from REN21. This highly-regarded annual analysis — the 2014 edition was released this summer — concludes that renewable electricity capacity jumped by more than 8 percent overall in 2013, to produce some 22 percent of all global power production. Total global installed renewable electricity capacity reached a staggering 1,560 GW in 2013.
The Policy Landscape
At the end of 2013, China, the United States, Brazil, Canada, and Germany remained the top five countries for total installed renewable power capacity. Excluding hydro, the top three were again China, the U.S. and Germany, but now followed by Spain and Italy and in sixth spot, India. Aside from the bare facts, the report also identifies a number of hotspots. For example, China's new renewable power capacity surpassed new fossil and nuclear capacity for the first time in 2013 while per capita, Denmark’s non-hydro renewable capacity places it as a clear lead. In the European Union, renewables represented the majority of new electric generating capacity for the sixth consecutive year, with a 72 percent share. But, relative to annual GDP, Uruguay, Mauritius, and Costa Rica were among the top countries for investment in new renewable power and fuels in 2013.
At least 144 countries now have renewable energy targets in place with 138 having renewable energy support policies, up from the 138 and 127, respectively, seen in 2012.
Inevitably policy mechanisms continued to evolve in 2013, with increasing differentiation by technology. Feed-in policies and renewable portfolio standards (RPS) remained the most commonly used support mechanism. Many countries with existing feed-in policies shifted towards premium payment schemes to top up prices traded on electricity markets. Competitive bidding gained further prominence, with the number of countries turning to public auctions rising from nine in 2009 to 55 as of early 2014.
Furthermore, the report also identifies a trend, particularly in Europe, that is seeing new policies emerge that respond to the issue of grid integration of renewable energy. This is in some cases being manifested as support for energy storage, demand-side management, and smart grid technologies, REN 21 finds. Indeed, variable output renewables achieved high levels of penetration in several countries in 2013, with wind meeting more than a third of Denmark’s and more than a fifth of Spain’s electricity demand. Meanwhile, solar met 7.8 percent of the total 2013 electricity demand in Italy.
In addition, a growing numbers of cities, states, and regions are developing strategies to transition to 100 percent renewable energy. For example, Djibouti, Scotland, and Tuvalu are targeting 100 percent of their electricity from renewables by 2020. Among those who have already achieved their goals are about 20 million Germans who live in so-called 100 percent renewable energy regions, the authors note.
This policy momentum continued in 2013 with city and local governments increasingly using their authority to regulate, make expenditure and procurement decisions, facilitate and ease the financing of renewable energy projects.
However, 2013 also saw an increasing focus on revision to existing policies, including retroactive changes that reduced financial support, either to improve policy effectiveness or to curb rising costs associated with renewables support schemes.
In some cases the reductions have exceeded even the rapid decline in technology costs, the report says. In Europe, policy uncertainty has also increased the cost of capital; as a result, the region continued to see a significant loss of start-up companies, especially in the solar PV sector, during 2013.
Technology Profiles
In the last five years, the report finds, hydropower capacity has increased by nearly 4 percent annually to approximately 1,000 GW. In 2013, hydropower and solar PV each accounted for about one-third of new renewable power capacity; however, solar PV has experienced the fastest growth of any energy technology, with growth in global capacity of 39 percent in 2013 and averaging almost 55 percent annually over the last five years. Non-hydro renewables for electricity generation, including wind, collectively grew nearly 17 percent during 2013 to more than 560 GW.
Hydropower and Marine/tidal
Global hydropower generation during 2013 was an estimated 3,750 TWh and about 40 GW of new capacity was commissioned over the year. By far the most capacity was installed in China at 29 GW, with significant capacity also added in Turkey, Brazil, Vietnam, India, and Russia.
Growth in the industry has been relatively steady in recent years, fuelled primarily by China’s expansion but modernization of ageing hydropower facilities is another growing global market. There also is increasing recognition of the grid support potential for hydropower to complement other renewables.
Ocean energy capacity, mostly tidal power generation, was about 530 MW by the end of 2013 and a handful of pilot installations were deployed, notably in the U.K. and France. A key trend is the continued strategy of major corporations to consolidate their positions through partnerships and acquisitions.
Solar Photovoltaics
The global solar PV market had a record year, after a brief slowdown, installing more capacity than any other renewable technology except perhaps hydropower. Even as global investment in solar PV declined nearly 22 percent compared with 2012, new capacity installations increased by more than 27 percent. The solar PV market had a record year, adding about 38 GW for a total of around 138 GW. China accounted for nearly a third of the total global capacity added, followed by Japan and the U.S. During 2013, module prices stabilised, while production costs continued to fall and cell efficiencies to increase. Lower prices are opening up new markets from Africa and the Middle East to Asia and Latin America, while interest has continued to grow in corporate- and community-owned systems.
Concentrating Solar Power (CSP)
Global CSP capacity was up by nearly 0.9 GW (36 percent) in 2013 to reach 3.4 GW. The U.S. and Spain remained market leaders but markets are expanding to developing countries. Beyond the leading markets, capacity nearly tripled with projects coming on-line in the United Arab Emirates, India, and China. Thermal energy storage continued to gain in importance, but revised growth projections and competition from solar PV in some countries led a number of companies to close their CSP operations. The trend towards larger plants to take advantage of economies of scale was maintained, while improved design and manufacturing techniques reduced costs.
Wind
More than 35 GW of wind power capacity was added in 2013, making a total above 318 GW, but the market was down nearly 10 GW compared with 2012, reflecting the U.S. fall in installations.
The European Union remained the top region for cumulative capacity, with Asia nipping at its heels and set to take the lead in 2014. New markets continued to emerge with, for the first time, Latin America representing a significant share of 2013 installations. Wind power was excluded from one of Brazil’s national auctions because it was pricing all other generation sources out of the market.
Offshore wind had a record year, with 1.6 GW added, almost all of it in the EU. However, the record level hides delays due to policy uncertainty and project cancellations or downsizing.
Bioenergy
Global bioenergy electricity generation capacity was up by an estimated 5 GW to 88 GW, producing more than 400 TWh in 2013. Liquid biofuels met about 2.3 percent of global transport fuel demand in 2013, with production up by 7.7 billion litres to reach 116.6 billion litres. Ethanol production was up 6 percent, biodiesel rose 11 percent, and hydrogenated vegetable oil (HVO) was up by 16 percent.
As of early 2014, at least 63 countries supported transport biofuels through regulatory policies, up from 49 in 2012, and some mandates were strengthened during 2013. In some countries, however, support for first-generation biofuels was reduced due to environmental and social sustainability concerns and overall investment in new biofuel plant capacity continued to decline from its 2007 peak.
Within the bioenergy sector, 2013 trends included the increasing use of renewables in combined heat and power plants and district heating and cooling systems. Hybrid solutions in the building sector and growing use of renewable heat for industrial purposes also featured. Meanwhile, demand is driving increased international trade in biofuels, including wood pellets, and new advanced biofuel production plants were commissioned in Europe and North America.
Geothermal
About 530 MW of new geothermal generating capacity came on-line in 2013, bringing total global capacity to 12 GW and representing 4 percent annual growth. Governments and industry have continued technological innovation to increase efficiency and the use of low-temperature fields for both power and heat continues to expand.
Solar Thermal Heating and Cooling
Solar water and air collector capacity reached an estimated 330 GWth by the end of 2013 with China accounting for more than 80 percent of the global market. Demand in key European markets continued to slow, but expanded in countries such as Brazil. The trend towards deploying large domestic systems continued, as did growing interest in district heating, cooling, and industrial applications. China maintained its lead in manufacturing while Europe saw accelerated consolidation during the year, with several large suppliers announcing their exit from the sector. Industry expectations for market development are brightest in India and Greece.
The Current Renewable Energy Landscape?
As renewable energy markets and industries mature, the report notes, they increasingly face new and different challenges, as well as a wide range of opportunities. In 2013, renewables faced declining policy support and uncertainty in many European countries and the U.S. Grid-related constraints, utility opposition and continuing subsidies for fossil fuels were also issues.
Nonetheless, markets, manufacturing, and investment expanded further across the developing world, and it became increasingly evident that renewables are no longer dependent upon a small handful of countries, the authors’ state. They add that continuing technological advances, falling prices, and innovations in financing means renewables have become increasingly affordable for a broader range of consumers. According to Janet Sawin, the report’s lead author, “renewable energy is considered crucial for meeting current and future energy needs in a growing number of countries.” (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.desismileys.com%2Fsmileys%2Fdesismileys_0293.gif&hash=b1af4868ed8f18c30e637f8cbcb79002f6f71039)
“Global perceptions of renewable energy have shifted considerably,” concludes Arthouros Zervos, chair of REN21. He continues: “Over the last 10 years, continuing technology advances and rapid deployment of many renewable energy technologies have demonstrated that the question is no longer whether renewables have a role to play in the provision of energy services, but rather how we can best increase the current pace to achieve a 100 percent renewables future with full energy access for all.”
http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2014/08/global-renewable-energy-status-uncovered
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US Renewable Electrical Generation Hits 14.3 Percent (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2Freading.gif&hash=63e3e644b39258d4c4eedbcdaf322315b1856723)
In the first half of 2014 US wind energy hit 5 percent, while solar more than doubled.
http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2014/08/us-renewable-electrical-generation-hits-14-3-percent
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VLL8OB_zTLI&feature=player_embedded
24 Hours of Reality: 24 Reasons for Hope
http://ecowatch.com/2014/08/29/24-hours-reality-climate-reality-project-al-gore/
(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-160614020239.gif&hash=f40a70a5ed83e4b620438b3da151bc17dea25358)
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Germany Has Obtained 31% Of Its Electricity From Green Sources This Year (Through July) ;D
http://cleantechnica.com/2014/09/01/germany-obtained-31-electricity-green-sources-july-ytd/
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(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-060914180554.png&hash=e36a3f11f68d43ebcff5cecaa9e706bcbeeafa71)
Above please observe the Fossil Fueler "concept" of "doing the math" (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2Fugly004.gif&hash=c56db4280057389afd154a1cb4057410151579c8) CENTRALIZED ENERGY "efficiency". (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2F2rzukw3.gif&hash=f0487b8f0d488ab1126ce5e031b11ea3d74b1cc2)
(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fa.disquscdn.com%2Fuploads%2Fmediaembed%2Fimages%2F1230%2F6680%2Foriginal.jpg&hash=bef2b475b019155b3299763f1d1962e899ec8669)
World Is Moving to Distributed Energy: 165 GW by 2023 (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fdl3.glitter-graphics.net%2Fpub%2F465%2F465823jzy0y15obs.gif&hash=797efc3cdc025a8263ef125725aae969446489c3)
SustainableBusiness.com News
Whether utilities, ALEC (and their coal/oil backers) like it or not, the world is moving to decentralized electricity. ;D (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FsiGMkUI.gif&hash=4b0ed7d7c6e3989595d992416ca26b88eddb1b63)
Because of Western Europe's supportive renewable energy policies, utilities there have been struggling the most, losing hundreds of billions of dollars in market capitalization. In the US, a battle is underway from the threatened industry trying to hold onto its centralized business model.
But change is underway, with distributed energy installations expected to grow from 87.3 gigawatts (GW) in 2014 to 165.5 GW in 2023, according to Navigant Research, with worldwide revenue growing from $97 billion in 2014 to more than $182 billion by 2023.
"One of the most important issues for the energy industry is striking a balance between distributed generation growth and fairly compensating utilities for the ability to effectively use the existing electrical grid as a backup service for onsite power at higher concentrations in the future," says Dexter Gauntlett, senior research analyst with Navigant Research. "Utilities that proactively engage with their customers to accommodate distributed generation - and even participate in the market themselves - limit their risk and stand to benefit the most."
By 2018, Navigant expects new distributed capacity additions worldwide to surpass new centralized ones, and by 2023, it will eliminate the need for at least 321 GW of new large-scale power plants. Extremely efficient diesel engines will dominate in the short term, followed by solar PV and natural gas.
Distributed Energy (Graphic at link)
Credit: Integrated Teaching and Learning Program, College of Engineering, University of Colorado Boulder
That's What NRG is Doing
NRG Energy's latest initiative is a joint venture with another leader, Green Mountain Power of Vermont. They plan to make the city of Rutland an "Energy City of the Future," with intentions to spread the innovations state-wide.
Starting next year, they will begin "transforming the distribution grid from a 100-year-old electric delivery model to a market-based platform that creates efficiencies and distributed energy solutions through renewable technologies and energy storage," they say.
"Our customers consistently tell us they want tools to save money and move to renewable energy, and we can show the rest of the country how to get there," says Mary Powell, CEO of Green Mountain. ;D
"We hope to demonstrate that investing in a 21st century energy ecosystem is more sustainable, resilient, affordable and individually empowering than pouring more investment into the creaky old grid infrastructure from the 20th century," remarks David Crane, NRG's CEO. "In the course of so doing, we will prove the concepts of 'electric utility', 'renewables' and 'personal choice' are not mutually exclusive."
Their offerings aren't new but combined, they make it easier for customers to generate and use renewable energy ... and provide revenue opportunities for the two utilities.
•comprehensive personal energy management allows subscribers to track and remotely manage energy use in homes;
•expand and connect a network of electric vehicle charging stations across Vermont using NRG's eVgo technology. Subscribers will find them at workplace and commercial locations;
•NRG is financing community solar arrays - its first, in Rutland, credits residential and business subscribers on their Green Mountain utility bill for their portion of electricity produced by solar - in exchange for a small fee.
•micro-generation solutions, such as NRG's Beacon 10, which generates up to 10 kilowatts of electricity, provides water and space heating, and battery storage for onsite solar systems.
NRG leads on solar and wind, and recently spun off NRG Yield. Green Mountain Power's "Cow Poop to Cow Power" is expanding across Vermont.
New York State is on the same track with its Reforming Energy Vision program, announced in May. No longer will utilities make money by selling more energy. Rather, revenue will come from helping customers use less energy, while "directing traffic" and "coordinating" thousands of small inputs to the grid.
Read our article, With Renewables Rising, Business Model Changing for Utilities.
http://www.sustainablebusiness.com/index.cfm/go/news.display/id/25889
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zm-3kovWpNQ&feature=player_embedded
HUGE Renewable Energy BIO MACHINES POTENTIAL HERE!
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Ontario Gets 35% of Energy From Renewables As Coal Plants Shut Down ;D
CleanTechnica reports that, with 2,312 megawatts (MW) of wind power, 4,091 MW of hydro and 159 MW from other sources, renewables hit 35 percent of all the energy going into the grid one day this week. That amount will vary, of course, depending on how windy it is on a given day.
“Ontario is now the first jurisdiction in North America to fully eliminate coal as a source of electricity generation,” a press release from its Ministry of Energy said when Thunder Bay closed.
Full article at link below:
http://ecowatch.com/2014/09/12/ontario-renewable-energy/
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We Can Run the Planet on 100% Renewable Energy(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.desismileys.com%2Fsmileys%2Fdesismileys_0293.gif&hash=b1af4868ed8f18c30e637f8cbcb79002f6f71039)
Josh Fox (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2F19.gif&hash=3f9f2fc2285bc756137e21463bc2a4c420b15ac3)
September 10, 2014 3:30 pm
I have to write you a very deeply personal letter right now and I hope it is met with an open mind.
I have a secret to confess.
Well, it’s actually not a secret at all, it’s a very easy thing to find out if you just Google me, but I am not sure that many of you who are fans of my two documentaries GASLAND and GASLAND Part II know it.
It is this: I was not always a documentary filmmaker and I was not always an environmentalist. In fact, before the gas industry made a maelstrom out of all of our lives, I had a job that I deeply deeply loved: I was a theatre director and playwright.
I made more than 25 new works for the stage with my theatre troupe the International WOW Company. These plays would premiere in amazing places all over the world, hence our name. We performed in Thailand and Japan and the Philippines, we performed in Germany and France, we performed in New York City and in upstate New York. We made huge, fantastical, epic plays with large casts, striking imagery and powerful politics.
The theater is a kind of collective action. The theater is a motivator. A great theater production is something that you never forget about all your days.
So here is the news: I am making a new play, for the first time in five years, and I want you to come see it. I want you to be a part of this very special new kind of action. I am calling it The Solutions Grassroots Tour and it is a very different and unique kind of play that prompts a very different and unique kind of action.
Full article at link below:
http://ecowatch.com/2014/09/10/solutions-grassroots-tour-renewable-energy/
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Which Country Generates all of its Electricity With Renewables? (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.coh2.org%2Fimages%2FSmileys%2Fhuhsign.gif&hash=3732d0427be65896527fc3805c5be54a33cffd3b)
Iceland is the only country that generates 100% of its electricity through renewable sources, with 81% of total energy use coming from renewables. The country uses both hydro (75%) and geothermal (25%) sources to generate electricity and heat. For primary energy uses, such as transportation and heating, fossil fuels account for only 21% of energy use. The country's renewable energy sources are largely due to the island sitting on a very active spreading zone, where the Eurasian and North American tectonic plates are moving away from each other.
More about renewable sources:
•Renewable energy is used from four main sources: sun, wind, water, and geothermal heat.
•By 2012, 80 countries operated wind farms totaling to over 225,000 wind turbines in use. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-200714183632.bmp&hash=6511806c9d22bb52be6eac78997c7c3f99a59277)
•in 1904, Larderello, Italy was the first community to produce electricity through geothermal energy.
http://www.wisegeek.com/which-country-generates-all-of-its-electricity-with-renewables.htm
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100% of power for Vermont city now renewable (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-200714183632.bmp&hash=6511806c9d22bb52be6eac78997c7c3f99a59277)
By Wilson Ring
Associated Press September 15, 2014
BURLINGTON, Vt. — Vermont’s largest city has a new success to add to its list of socially conscious achievements: 100 percent of its electricity now comes from renewable sources such as wind, water, and biomass.
With little fanfare, the Burlington Electric Department crossed the threshold this month with the purchase of the 7.4-megawatt Winooski 1 hydroelectric project on the Winooski River at the city’s edge.
When it did, Burlington joined the Washington Electric Co-operative, which has about 11,000 customers across central and northern Vermont and which reached 100 percent earlier this year.
‘‘It shows that we’re able to do it, and we’re able to do it cost effectively in a way that makes Vermonters really positioned well for the future,’’ said Christopher Recchia, the commissioner of the Vermont Department of Public Service.
It’s part of a broader movement that includes a statewide goal of getting 90 percent of Vermont’s energy from renewable resources by 2050, including electricity, heating, and transportation. Across the state, Vermonters are urging their electric utilities to provide them with renewable sources of power, and the utilities are listening, Recchia said.
It’s also a growing movement across the country, as governments and businesses seek to liberate themselves from using power produced by environmentally harmful fossil fuels. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-200714183515.bmp&hash=4a3ad9d0a78a7e161f53ddd84f568082a5b0d2ad)
Diane Moss, the founding director of the Southern California-based Renewables 100 Policy Institute, said that she wasn’t sure if any other communities as large as Burlington — a city of 42,000 — have reached 100 percent but that many are working on it.
‘It shows that we’re able to do it, and we’re able to do it cost effectively in a way that makes Vermonters really positioned well for the future.’ (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2Fballoons.gif&hash=a64bb5ff3e76c3e11999996c460fa02de1ee10f7)
‘‘It’s these front-runners that are showing that it’s possible,’’ Moss said.
Nearly 1,000 businesses both large and small and many communities have also committed to 100 percent, she said.
Greensburg, Kan., almost wiped out by a 2007 tornado, rebuilt with energy efficiency in mind. A 12.5-megawatt wind farm went online in 2009, producing electricity in excess of that consumed by the community of 850, said Administrator Ed Truelove.
For both Burlington and Washington Electric, reaching 100 percent was the result of a years-long strategy to wean themselves from traditional sources of power.
Utility officials in the lakefront city known for its liberal politics and extensive social service network began discussing becoming 100 percent renewable a decade ago. Four years later they realized it could be done.
‘‘The transition in thought from 2004 to 2008 was ‘We want to do this’ to ‘This actually makes economic sense for us to do this,’’’ said Ken Nolan, the manager of power resources for Burlington Electric. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2F301.gif&hash=0291ed4abf2d80e420d1aa00d4eb3c5dd6bbfb53)
Neither utility claims that each of their customers’ lights comes from renewable sources all the time. When the wind isn’t blowing and the rivers are low, they will buy power from traditional sources that include electricity generated from fossil fuels.
When the resources are right, though, they get more than they can use, and the difference is sold to other utilities. Over time, they sell more than they buy.
Another caveat that, to some, minimizes the 100 percent achievement is that both Burlington and Washington Electric sell renewable energy credits for the renewable power they produce to utilities in southern New England, where their value is highest. In turn, they buy less expensive credits from other sources to offset the credits they have sold.
Sandy Levine, of the Vermont office of the Conservation Law Foundation, commended Vermont utilities for seeking renewable sources of power but questioned the credit trading.
‘‘They are selling the renewable energy credits to customers in other states. Those customers have the renewable and clean energy benefits of that power,’’ Levine said. ‘‘Simply using accounting measures to make claims about clean energy doesn’t get us there.’’
Taylor Ricketts, the director of the Gund Institute for Ecological Economics, an interdisciplinary research center that works on sustainability issues at the University of Vermont, said reaching 100 percent was a big achievement.
‘‘It definitely makes me feel better here at UVM to know that every time I turn on a light switch or fire up my computer or anything else, to know that it’s 100 percent renewable,’’ he said.
http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2014/09/14/vermont-milestone-green-energy-efforts/fsLHJl4eoqv6QoFNewRYBK/story.html (http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2014/09/14/vermont-milestone-green-energy-efforts/fsLHJl4eoqv6QoFNewRYBK/story.html)
Agelbert NOTE: Vermont is going to get off stinking, polluting, war sponsoring, elite welfare queen feeding fossil fuels before any other state does! (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.websmileys.com%2Fsm%2Fviolent%2Fsterb029.gif&hash=7a43a0c106eab798f7ba6133dc5cc550647a03d2) (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2Fcowboypistol.gif&hash=2dc97f743dffca22404e6e4e0822765e60b33f38)
Do you know what that means? It means NO COLLAPSE from lack of energy HERE! (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2Flooksmiley.gif&hash=2fa679c2bf50092b12a1301928cb338275c3ba54) (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fdl2.glitter-graphics.net%2Fpub%2F1225%2F1225662m3squ1oj6v.gif&hash=04764acd98565ded05a519757ede60e502342499)
AND NO MORE ENERGY COST PRICE SHOCKS EITHER! (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2F5yjbztv.gif&hash=d3dc6c69f3fc5ad39c44fb5466265476f34e5a76)
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October 13, 2014
China Finally Tackles Solar Support 8)
China to sharply lower solar tariffs by 2020
Lofty targets contained in a new report show that China intends to push ahead with ambitious plans to build up its renewable energy sector. But perhaps the most interesting thing about this new report is word that Beijing finally intends to sharply reduce the inflated state-set fees now paid for solar and wind-produced power, in one of the sharpest indicators that it expects the industry to stop depending on government support and become commercially viable on its own. Such state support through a wide array of measures, which also include export credits and low-interest loans, have become a huge sticking point that has led to a series of trade wars between China and the west.
All that said, let’s jump right in and look at the latest aggressive targets now being finalized by Beijing under its upcoming 5 year plan for the sector between 2016 and 2020. China makes such 5 year plans for all major sectors, a relic of a Soviet-era practice for centrally planned economies. Under revised figures for its current 5-year plan, Beijing announced late last year it was aiming for national solar power-generating capacity of 35 gigawatts by the end of 2015, a very ambitious target for a country that had virtually no such capacity just 3 years earlier. (previous post)
Anyone who thought that figure looked ambitious will probably think the newest plan looks even more aggressive, aiming to build up solar generating capacity to 100 gigawatts by 2020. (English article) The country has even more ambitious plans for the wind power industry, with a target of 200 gigawatts of capacity by 2020. ;D
At the same time, officials who are leaking details of the upcoming plan are also making it clear that state support will be phased out over the next 6 years for makers of solar panels and wind generation equipment. One of the biggest forms of support comes via artificially high state-set prices for renewable energy, which force big power companies to buy such clean energy at rates that are well above the cost of power from more conventional fossil fuels. The use of such high, state-set fees is also common in the west, used as a policy tool to promote the clean energy sector’s development.
Under the new 5 year plan, China’s tariffs for solar generated power will be reduced by a hefty 50 percent by 2020, falling from the current 0.9 yuan per kilowatt-hour to 0.6 yuan, according to an unnamed government energy official. Wind power tariffs will also be cut sharply, falling to 0.4 yuan per kilowatt-hour from the current 0.6 yuan. Equally interesting is a more general quote from the official saying the solar panel and wind equipment makers should improve the efficiency of their products “instead of depending on government subsidies.”
This is one of the first times I’ve seen a government official openly acknowledge what western governments have been saying all along, namely that Chinese solar panel makers like Trina (NYSE: TSL), Yingli (NYSE: YGE) and Canadian Solar (Nasdaq: CSIQ) get a big advantage over their western rivals due to extremely strong state support through a wide range of favorable policies from Beijing. Such support led Washington to slap anti-dumping tariffs on Chinese solar panels last year, and the European Union has also considered taking similar action.
So what does this flood of new information mean for the Chinese panel industry? The ambitious construction target means that Beijing will continue to push for construction of new solar power plants, even if such plants aren’t economically viable. That problem could become worse as solar power prices are lowered, leading to a bumper crop of unusable solar and wind power plants by 2020. That means that the big Chinese solar panel makers could see strong business over the next 5 years from a domestic building boom, but could then see a sharp slowdown if many new projects prove to be economically unviable.
Bottom line: China’s aggressive new energy power goals and determination to reduce state support could result in a building boom of economically unviable solar and wind power generation plants.
http://www.youngchinabiz.com/en/china-tackles-solar-support-finally/
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Norway Approves First Direct Electricity Link to Germany (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.clker.com%2Fcliparts%2Fc%2F8%2Ff%2F8%2F11949865511933397169thumbs_up_nathan_eady_01.svg.hi.png&hash=599691109af22b33f1d59dd61eb97448a9427020)
Stefan Nicola, Bloomberg
October 13, 2014
BERLIN -- Norway approved the construction of the first direct electricity cable to Germany and granted a license for a link to the U.K. to aid power trading between the nations.
Norway’s government granted power-grid operator Statnett SF the necessary licenses for the country’s portion of the Nord.Link project today, the German Economy Ministry said in an e-mailed statement. DC Nordseekabel GmbH, which is owned by TenneT TSO GmbH and KfW Group, will carry out construction on the German side, it said.
“This means the way is clear for the new sea-cable link,” German Economy Minister Sigmar Gabriel said in the statement. “Nord.Link will help increase supply security on both sides.” Germany has already granted all necessary permits.
The cable would be the first direct power link between the nations and have a capacity to transmit 1.4 gigawatts starting in 2018 or 2019, the ministry said. It would allow the countries to trade hydropower from Norway and wind electricity from Germany.
Norway today also granted a license to Statnett for a 1.4- gigawatt interconnector to the U.K. that’s scheduled to be completed in 2020, London-based National Grid Plc said in an e- mailed statement. The cable would link Kvilldal in Norway to Blyth in Northumberland and may bring low-cost renewable energy to the U.K. for an investment of more than 1 billion pounds ($1.6 billion), it said.
Norway is already linked with the Netherlands through NorNed, a 700-megawatt subsea cable that began operating commercially in 2008. It also has connections with Denmark and Sweden.
Copyright 2014 Bloomberg
http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2014/10/norway-approves-first-direct-electricity-link-to-germany
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Oct 20, 2014
Authors Amory B. Lovins Chief Scientist
Titiaan Palazzi Special Aide OCS
Micropower’s Quiet Takeover
Small-scale, low-carbon generation now produces one-quarter of world electricity :o ;D
In a cover story and article 14 years ago about the emergent disruption of utilities, The Economist’s Vijay Vaitheeswaran coined the umbrella term “micropower” to mean sources of electricity that are relatively small, modular, mass-producible, quick-to-deploy, and hence rapidly scalable—the opposite of cathedral-like power plants that cost billions of dollars and take about a decade to license and build. His term combined two kinds of micropower: renewables other than big hydroelectric dams, and cogeneration of electricity together with useful heat in factories or buildings (also known as combined-heat-and-power, or CHP).
Besides being cost-competitive and rapidly scalable, why does micropower matter? First, as explained below, its operation releases little or no carbon.[1] Second, micropower enables individuals, communities, building owners, and factory operators to generate electricity, displacing dependence on centralized, inefficient, dirty generators. This democratizes energy choices, promotes competition, speeds learning and innovation, and can further accelerate deployment—because “vernacular” technologies accessible to many diverse market actors, even if individually small, tend to deploy faster in sum than a few big units requiring specialized institutions, complex approvals, intricate logistics, and hence long lead times.
Thanks to Bloomberg New Energy Finance, which tracks investments and generating capacity, and the global expert network REN21.net, which tracks capacity and (where known) electrical output, global progress in renewables has become rather transparent. Starting in 2005 and updated with a fifth edition in July 2014, RMI’s Micropower Database added a third source: industry sales data for cogeneration equipment. Tracking renewables, minus big hydro, plus cogeneration, this database documents the global progress of distributed, rapidly scalable, and (as we’ll see) no- or low-carbon generators.
The update’s most astonishing finding: micropower now produces about one-fourth of the world’s total electricity (Fig. 1). (Excellent Graphics at link:)[ img]http://www.pic4ever.com/images/8.gif[/img][/b][/color]
http://blog.rmi.org/blog_2014_10_20_micropowers_quiet_takeover
Micropower’s climate implications
Operating modern renewables is essentially carbon-free, except for minor subsets fueled by biomass grown using unsustainable practices that gradually deplete soil carbon.[2] Of the estimated 3–5 percent of cogeneration fueled by biomass, most is in the forest products industry, whose biomass wastes produce most of its electricity and process heat.
Cogeneration in refineries often burns waste fuels that would otherwise be uselessly flared. Similarly, much industrial cogeneration harnesses waste heat previously thrown away. Where extra fuel is burned to make electricity as well as heat, typically far less is burned than when making them separately. If cogeneration also produces cooling and other services, it can convert as much as 93 percent of fuel energy into useful work, both in industry and in buildings. Moreover, the natural gas that fuels most cogeneration is only about half as carbon-intensive as the coal-fired power-only generation it often displaces.[3]
Big hydroelectric dams and nuclear power are also carbon-free in operation. Thus in 2013, nearly half of the world’s electricity was produced with little or no carbon release: 8.4 percent by modern renewables [4], 10.2 percent by nuclear power (set to be overtaken by modern renewables in 2015), 15.5 percent by cogeneration [5], and 13.5 percent by big hydroelectric dams (excluding the 2.8 percent small hydro classified under modern renewables).
The other half came from power-only plants, burning mainly coal. Those plants cost more to build, and often more just to run, than their competitors, so their orders are fading, their operations are dwindling, and over decades, they’ll retire in favor of cleaner, cheaper substitutes—both micropower and efficient use.
Winners and losers
(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2Flooksmiley.gif&hash=2fa679c2bf50092b12a1301928cb338275c3ba54)
Far from recognizing that they’re being rapidly overtaken, many advocates of coal or nuclear power stations don’t even acknowledge (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2Fgen152.gif&hash=d5b10968fe56c4cb95fae17cee3cb420a5f4e2da) micropower as an important competitor —even as it grabs their markets and destroys their sales. In 2009, a senior strategic planner for a major nuclear vendor told me micropower was trivial—having failed to find it in official databases of utility-owned central power stations, without understanding the difference. And even at minor market share, micropower can have major effects. The solar 4.7 percent of Germany’s 2013 generation destroyed the incumbent utilities’ business model and wiped a half-trillion Euros off their market cap.
Yet by the end of 2013, the rapid output growth of both modern renewables and cogeneration (Fig. 1) had eclipsed shrinking nuclear power by 3.34-fold in capacity and 2.35-fold in output. Modern renewables alone, those other than big hydro dams, reached 1.95 times nuclear power’s capacity in 2013 and should exceed its annual electricity output by 2015. This role reversal (Fig. 2) is accelerating, due mainly to economics and to modular renewables’ extraordinarily dynamic scaling mechanism.
The trends are even clearer when we look at where today’s money is invested, because power plants built long ago tell us only about the past, while those now being ordered reveal the future. More new renewable capacity than fossil-fueled plus nuclear capacity was added in 2013. As orders grow for renewables but shrink for central thermal stations, Bloomberg New Energy Finance expects that by 2030, new renewable capacity, including big hydro, will exceed new thermal capacity by 7.4-fold (Fig. 3), without even counting cogeneration.
For micropower as for cellphones and personal computers, the race goes to the quick—but photovoltaic power worldwide is scaling up even faster than cellphones. Advocates who assume renewables can’t do much without a breakthrough in bulk storage of electricity are in for a rude awakening.
Banking giant UBS calls the big, slow, lumpy, expensive coal and nuclear plants “the dinosaur of the future energy system: Too big, too inflexible, not even relevant for backup power in the long run.” Such obsolete technologies are less at risk from regulatory mandates than from market defeat by a swarm of agile competitors that their promoters don’t even recognize. What a sad epitaph—Devoured by Invisible Ants. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2F5yjbztv.gif&hash=d3dc6c69f3fc5ad39c44fb5466265476f34e5a76)
[1] Carbon emissions embodied in the energy and materials used to produce different kinds of energy equipment are separate, relatively small, and broadly consistent with their relative economic costs, so they’re not further examined here. New hydro dams that flood big areas can also release large amounts of methane from the rotting of submerged vegetation.
[2] U.S. woodchip exports, chiefly for cofiring Britain’s Drax coal plant, raise such concerns but aren’t in RMI’s database because Drax is a giant power-only station, not a smaller cogenerator.
[3] However, this comparison ignores the unknown degree of methane leakage from both the gas and the coal systems, the export of displaced coal that is then burned abroad, and cogeneration’s potential displacement of some carbon-free generation.
[4] RMI’s estimate of 2013 electricity production exceeds the ~6 percent stated by the authoritative REN21.net global expert network. That’s because RMI includes 191 GW of small hydropower <50 MW, based on Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF) transaction-based capacity data, while REN21’s 6-percent figure excludes all hydropower.
[5] Conservatively excluding large industrial installations: RMI’s database includes all cogenerating turbines up to 30 MW, but fractions decreasing down to 5 percent for ≥120 MW.
This article originally appeared on Forbes.com.
http://blog.rmi.org/blog_2014_10_20_micropowers_quiet_takeover
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Oct 23, 2014
Authors Jesse Morris Manager
Kaitlyn Bunker, Ph.D. Associate
Four Reasons Why Natural Gas is the Wrong Choice for Electricity in the Caribbean
SUMMARY:
1: Efficiency and Renewables are Cheaper than LNG and Diesel
2: LNG Infrastructure Isn’t Cheap
3: LNG = Energy Price Volatility
4: Small-Scale LNG Faces Serious Contractual Challenges
A Bridge to Nowhere
Given the abundant wind and solar resources available in the Caribbean, and the still-falling costs of installing renewable generation compared with converting existing diesel resources to LNG, choosing renewables over LNG now is a smart economic decision. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2F128fs318181.gif&hash=eff6d5f3831782966c2ff2081f07bf7fc5b22a6b) As the case of San Andres illustrates, sinking capital into LNG would be a poor decision for most Caribbean islands facing similar challenges. There’s simply no reason to build this expensive, unnecessary natural gas bridge when the cost-saving benefits of renewables and efficiency can be captured here and now.
FULL ARTICLE WITH COST COMPARISON BAR GRAPH and detailed information at link:
http://blog.rmi.org/blog_2014_10_23_four_reasons_why_natural_gas_is_wrong_for_electricity_in_the_caribbean
(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.smile-day.net%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2011%2F12%2FSmiley-Thumbs-Up2.jpg&hash=4c6cf4d5dab0f54b88dfa0c9247ae699eff03821)
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THE ROAD AHEAD: A ROLE FOR REINVENTING FIRE: CHINA
In partnership with China’s Energy Research Institute, Energy Foundation China, and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Rocky Mountain Institute is 18 months into a 24-month study called Reinventing Fire: China. The project is a pan-Pacific cooperative research effort to reimagine China’s future energy system as one that is clean, connected, distributed, and secure. Reinventing Fire: China is a pathway designed to enhance energy and environmental security without compromising economic growth.
The initiative’s analysis aims to measure the economic, social, and environmental benefits of rapidly deploying renewables and energy efficiency technologies in China. To do so, it focuses on an economy-wide analysis of the four energy-producing and -consuming sectors of the economy: buildings, industry, transportation, and electricity.
While the analysis is still being refined, the project team believes China might be able to more than double its 2030 target of 20 percent non-fossil supply economically by 2050.
Full article at link below:
The United States and China's Joint Climate Policy Announcement—What It Means (http://blog.rmi.org/blog_2014_11_13_usa_and_china_joint_climate_policy_announcement_what_it_means)
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11/21/2014 06:29 PM
Toyota Marks New Era With Sales of Fuel-Cell Cars (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.runemasterstudios.com%2Fgraemlins%2Fimages%2F2thumbs.gif&hash=98130be1edf2bed4a80ac8f134b0126673bd469e)
SustainableBusiness.com News
Next month marks the start of a new era as Toyota begins sales of the world's first mass produced hydrogen fuel-cell car.
Mirai goes on sale in Japan this year, and in Europe and the US (east and west coasts) toward the end of 2015. Toyota's goal is to sell 700 cars next year, 3000 by the end of 2017, and "tens of thousands" within 10 years. It has 200 pre-orders from government agencies and corporations.
"We are at a turning point in the automotive industry," says CEO Akio Toyoda. When we introduced the first hybrid car in the world (the Prius), people said we couldn't break through, and now we will do it again."
Indeed, while Prius means "to go before," Mirai means "the future" in Japanese. The Prius "paved the way by demonstrating the future of mobility would include electric motors."
(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.trbimg.com%2Fimg-54691272%2Fturbine%2Fla-fi-hy-toyota-mirai-hydrogen-fuel-cell-vehicle-20141116&hash=ff62daa2c872d66790efb11df5f75fb5f5483fe4)
Toyota Mirai fuel cell car
"After surviving millions of miles on the test track and 10 years of testing on public roads, in freezing cold and scorching heat, after passing extensive crash tests and after working with local governments and researchers around the world to help make sure it is easy and convenient to refuel, we are ready to deliver," he says. They also cut the cost 95% over 20 years of R&D.
(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.guim.co.uk%2Fstatic%2Fw-620%2Fh--%2Fq-95%2Fsys-images%2FEnvironment%2FPix%2Fpictures%2F2014%2F11%2F21%2F1416564427984%2FMirai-means-future-in-Jap-017.jpg&hash=377449f53d500ccaa1131858f46eae0898a3c57f)
Toyota Mirai fuel cell car
Mirai, with two hydrogen tanks under the seats, has a range of 400-435 miles, and can accelerate from 0-60 miles per hour in 9 seconds. A powertrain with an electric motor and fuel cell stack replaces the gasoline engine.
In the US, it will retail at $57,500, ending up around $45,000 after federal and state incentives. Filling up will cost more than gas at first but will cheaper in the long run, Toyota says, and California will provide it free to Mirai owners.
Where the Hydrogen Stations Are
"It was a big challenge when we first introduced the Prius in 1997 and it's an even bigger challenge this time because there is no infrastructure," notes Yoshikazu Tanaka, deputy chief engineer for Toyota's next generation vehicle development.
Imagine launching a completely new car where there's hardly any place to fill up! There are two commercial fuel stations in Japan, and 43 under construction, according to the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, with plans for 100 by the end of 2016 - subsidized partially by the government.
Germany also plans to have 100 stations by 2017, and in the US, Hydrogen Highways are being built in California (60 stations by 2016) and in the Northeast (12 stations).
Toyota says it's not the number of stations that are important, however, but where they are located. California, for example, would do just fine with 15% of its gas stations.
Mike Chino, writing for Inhabitat, describes the Mirai this way:
"The Toyota Mirai drove like a dream - it floats along the road and the ride is virtually silent save for the sci-fi sound of the hydrogen pump and the whirr of the electric drivetrain. The car's electric motors give it plenty of torque and a sprightly pickup, and the vehicle's touch-sensitive controls are a pleasure to use. A counter on the dashboard displays how many miles you can drive until it's time to fill up.
The refueling process was a breeze at the Fountain Valley station [Orange County, CA]. It took a few seconds for the pump to pressurize, and then I attached the gas-like pump to the hydrogen valve and locked it in. The mechanics are remarkably similar to the way a standard gas pump operates, and the entire process took less than five minutes. The fact that it can be powered by human waste is testament to how versatile fuel cell vehicles can be."
The final judge of fuel-cell cars will be where the hydrogen comes from - natural gas? solar or wind energy? or in this case, from biogas at a nearby wastewater treatment plant.
Last month, the US Department of Energy announced a $1 million prize for completing the fuel cell car puzzle - developing an affordable way for people to fill-up their cars right at home. They are also working on a standard design for commercial stations.
Read our article, Get Ready For Hydrogen Fuel Cell Cars, Coming Next Year.
Honda - which is working with GM to commercialize hydrogen vehicles - postponed the debut of its fuel-cell car until 2016, and VW (Golf HyMotion), Hyundai, Audi (H-Tron Quattro) and BMW all showed off their hydrogen concept cars at the Los Angeles Auto Show:
Website: http://inhabitat.com/tag/los-angeles-auto-show/
http://www.sustainablebusiness.com/index.cfm/go/news.display/id/26022
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A Big Change in How the IEA Views Renewables
Michael Kanellos
November 26, 2014
SNIPPET:
... some other notes from the 2014 report
•Subsidies for fossil fuels are four times greater those given to renewables >:(. Fossil fuel subsidies come to approximately $550 billion a year (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-200714183404.bmp&hash=dc40a133c761f80036b08ef0f6c0427aaa7e9f4b). Subsidies to renewables come to around $121 billion. Renewable subsidies will rise to $230 billion by 2030 but then drop to $205 billion by 2040.
•Global investment in power infrastructure will total $21 trillion by 2040. A significant portion will go toward upgrading transmission and distribution networks. It’s needed. The average age of transformers in the U.S. is 42 years. The average lifetime expectancy of a transformer is 40 years.
•Nuclear shifts to non-OECD nations. In 2013, there were 434 nuclear reactors worldwide >:(, supplying 11% of the world’s power, far down from the 18% market share in 1996. Nuclear’s market share will grow to 12% by 2040 >:(, but the big change is the locations of the reactors. The bulk of the 380GW coming on line will be in China and other non-OECD nations while the majority of the 148GW retirements will come in North America ;D, Europe and Japan ;D. Still, nuclear remains one of the “limited options” ::) for controlling emissions.
•Watch Sub-Saharan Africa. The region has tremendous potential for solar, geothermal, wind and natural resource extraction (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.runemasterstudios.com%2Fgraemlins%2Fimages%2F2thumbs.gif&hash=98130be1edf2bed4a80ac8f134b0126673bd469e). In the last five years, 30% of new oil and discoveries were made there. It will also be a hotbed of grid experimentation. 950 million people will get access for the first time to regular sources of power by 2040 and 70% of those new customers in rural areas will get power through microgrids and off grid systems.
A. G. Gelbert
November 26, 2014
The slow transition to a 100% renewable energy world civilization is inevitable. And that includes shutting down of all nuclear power plants and the bioremediation of all the polluted sites that dirty energy has visited us with.
That said, it may be too late already to avoid massive die offs in the human population. The die offs in thousands of other species are already part of our new "normal" insanity of corporate profit over planet.
Some people welcome a drop in out human population. They are stupid. Why? Because the millions that may die from our overly slow foot dragging in the transition to renewable energy ARE NOT part of the upper 20% that does over 80% of the environmental damage. In other words, the pollution and pillage will continue even with a much reduced human population. The problem is in our leaders, not in the masses.
The scientists have warned us. That's all they can do. Our leaders either get real or we have had it.
The 1%'s Responsibility to Shoulder 80% of the COST of a 100% Renewable Energy World:
http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/blog/post/2013/10/one-percents-planetary-assets-equals-80-responsibility-for-funding-a-100-renewable-energy-world
Fossil Fuel Fascism in Action (3 minute lesson on our Orwellian world):
http://viewrz.com/video/fossil-fuel-fascism-in-action
Corporate Business model in ONE MINUTE:
http://viewrz.com/video/the-corporate-business-model-is-psychopathic
When you are in a hole, you are supposed to stop digging. If we don't, then our species should have our scientific name changed from Homo sapiens to Homo SAPS. The biosphere is not impressed with our so called "intelligence" and "advanced" tool making. We are succeeding in killing off a large part of the biosphere which constitutes the human life support system and seed corn. If that is not stupid, suicidal evolutionary dead end behavior, I don't know what is.
If we survive it MUST be through a paradigm shift in our government and civilizational structure. I'm not holding my breath for Homo SAP to do it, but here's how it MUST be done, if we are to avoid extinction and achieve harmony with the biosphere:
Golden Rule Government: A Lawful System Based on Caring instead of Conquest:
http://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/who-can-you-trust/corruption-in-government/msg2043/#msg2043
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Japan Should Continue Its Road Towards Renewables
Dolf Gielen, Director of Innovation & Technology, International Renewable Energy Agency
December 01, 2014
The power sector crisis in Japan has entered a new stage. The recent refusal of Japanese utilities to grant grid access to new renewable energy projects should not be seen as a failure of Japan’s renewable energy policy, but as a consequential and necessary phase to extend Japan’s technological leadership into the power sector.
Through its feed-in tariff for renewables projects, Japan catapulted from a laggard into a frontrunner of renewable energy deployment in less than two years. From July 2012 to the end of June 2014, more than 11 gigawatts (GW) of renewables were installed and an additional 60 GW of renewable projects have been approved. In comparison, Japan’s total installed power generation capacity equates to around 280 GW.
At a national level, the renewables contribution (4 percent) is also much lower than the renewables contribution to power production in other countries. Although Japan’s grid infrastructure is unique, small countries like Denmark (47 percent), industrial power houses like Germany (25 percent), and relatively isolated countries like Portugal (58 percent) have achieved much higher annual penetration shares.
So why are Japanese utilities calling for an indefinite time-out to review the impacts of renewables on the stability of the grid? The main technical challenge for Japan lies in its grid infrastructure, which is essentially broken up into 10 separate grids, each operated by a separate monopolistic utility. Although there are interconnections in place, the utilities have traditionally tried to balance supply and demand within their own region and cross-regional trade accounts for less than 5 percent of all power consumed. A more formidable technical barrier is the fact that half of the country operates at 50 Hz while the other half operates at 60 Hz electricity frequency.
Indeed, with large wind resources in northern Japan and demand centres in the South, new grid extensions are needed to ensure that the almost zero-cost production of wind can be used to replace the expensive and import-reliant coal, gas and oil-fired power stations in the South. However, such extensions are also expensive and unaffordable for those utilities that are already cash constrained. The imminent establishment of a national grid operator, which will take over the responsibilities for operating the grid and supporting interregional trade in March 2015, adds to the inaction of utilities today.
However, this is not the full picture. Only 0.074 GW of wind has been installed in the last two years and only 1 GW of wind capacity is in the pipeline. Almost all (98 percent) of newly installed projects in the last two years are solar photovoltaics (PV). Solar PV can be installed locally and its production patterns, especially in summer, are perfectly compatible with the peak in electricity demand for air conditioning on hot days when the sun is shining ;D. Residential rooftop PV, which accounts for 2.4 GW or 22 percent of installed capacity in the last two years, perfectly matches demand profiles ;D and can reduce the need for more expensive options to balance the grid. Furthermore, community-scale systems (up to 50 kW) require certified inverters, and installations above 50 kW are subject to a permitting and consultation process with the local utility to determine the connection to the grid and inverter choice.
In essence, this means that grid operators have a number of possibilities to ensure that solar PV systems and other renewables are adequately integrated into the grid. Moreover, Japanese companies are technology leaders in a whole suit of technical solutions that can aid utilities in the integration of renewables into the grid. These technological solutions include smart grid technologies, electricity storage solutions like batteries and flywheels, fuel cells and microgeneration to name a few. Widespread deployment of such advanced technologies at home will open up markets abroad.
But the challenge is not only a technical one. Japan’s Diet passed the Electricity Business Act on 11 June. This Act fully opens the retail electricity market to so-called Power Purchaser and Supplier in 2016. This means that any company is now allowed to sell electricity, including to households. This opens up a new market for companies like real-estate companies, IT suppliers, gas suppliers and other service providers to 84 million customers. Together with the rise of independently owned generation capacity, this could mean that utilities are caught between a rock and a hard place.
In all, it seems that the 10 utilities are currently caught in a perfect storm. ;DThey have experienced an influx of companies developing new power generation, they are cash constrained due to the shutdown of their nuclear power stations after Fukushima in 2011, they face imminent investment to ensure interconnection options and upgrades of their existing grids, they will be subject to economic competition from newcomers on the market, and there are also plans to unbundle them.
Now, the question is whether one-sided action from the utilities to refrain from connecting new renewables projects to the grid will remove these clouds? An alternative is to take a longer-term perspective. This means that the short-term commercial constraints of the utilities need to be recognized, but that all stakeholders need to work together towards a 21st century grid that will turn Japan from a resource-importing country to one that will be relying on its own natural resources. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2F301.gif&hash=0291ed4abf2d80e420d1aa00d4eb3c5dd6bbfb53)
Because progress on renewables is expected to continue. Before 2016, solar PV panels on Japanese households may be cheaper than buying electricity from the grid. :o (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.runemasterstudios.com%2Fgraemlins%2Fimages%2F2thumbs.gif&hash=98130be1edf2bed4a80ac8f134b0126673bd469e) Wind resources are abundant and can considerably contribute to the cheap power needed to maintain a competitive industry. The many existing small hydro plants can be upgraded to provide reliable and flexible back-up generation, biomass and geothermal resources are available to provide low-cost heat, and Japan’s oceans provide abundant natural resources through offshore wind and ocean energy technologies. Japan has 25 GW pumped hydro electricity storage capacity that is idling due to the nuclear shut down, perfectly suited for storage of surplus solar PV electricity.
Considering this future, it is important that instead of a stand-off all stakeholders come together to resolve the current issues and look forward towards a bright future. The engagement of Japanese academics in a new Committee examining the grid stability issue is indeed a good start. Important lessons can be drawn from best practices abroad where grid issues have been resolved, for example in Germany and Italy. And once the current situation is resolved, Japan should take its experience and manufacturing know-how and bring its solutions to other countries that soon will also be transforming their power sector.
http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2014/12/japan-should-continue-its-road-towards-renewables#comment-137797
A. G. Gelbert
December 1, 2014
The problem that the 10 grid systems in Japan have is not an energy problem or even an infrastructure problem; it is a welfare queen greed problem. Yes, as long as we are human, greed is part of the package but that does not excuse allowing it to get so predatory and economy stifling that conscienceless humans are allowed to profit from inefficiency.
In Japan, we may have a new, somewhat humorous and definitely ironic, definition of "gridlock". (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2F4fvfcja.gif&hash=34a9a570347d39a0a892bc1f376c5e8b88add6b5)
Ever since Little John wanted to charge Robin Hood for crossing the stream over a log, we have had that problem of gate keepers that hamper progress in the service of greed. >:(
Alternating current is used in grids BECAUSE it is EFFICIENT to send current LONG distances from the generating source. This is not hard. This is old technology.
As the article points out, PV is all over Japan so their is no excuse for not allowing the national government to beef up the transmission lines from the high wind areas in the north to the low wind areas with high electrical demand in the south. No excuse EXCEPT the corrupt status quo gravy train of grid operator gate keeping welfare queen greed. ;)
Excess greed is the real issue. I hope Japan addresses it properly. Turf battles over energy transmission rights need to end, not just in Japan, but all over the world. Trying to hamper people from setting up their own renewable energy generating systems by repealing incentives is wrong and will backfire. The Koch brother types in Japan don't understand that there just like they are too greedy to understand it here in the USA. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-200714183337.bmp&hash=fd5a6df63c32bd65dda7b6d93e788647ca3829df)
Right here, in the USA, Renewable Energy threatens the design of our electrical grids. WHY? Because the grids were originally designed around centralized fossil fuel power plants near large populated areas.
Yes, we have a national grid divided into "islands" that have been written about here often. BUT, the really high powered transmission lines from the vast wind and geothermal sources we have in the USA have NEVER been built because the fossil fuel power plant structure never needed them. And believe me, that is the corrupt status quo that many are defending with tooth and nail. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-200714183337.bmp&hash=fd5a6df63c32bd65dda7b6d93e788647ca3829df)
The U.S. Government owns 28% of the land in the USA. Are you going to tell me that they could build giant hydropower facilities from the 1930's to the late 1940's (providing fully 33% of grid power at that time!) along with the large transmission lines needed to send that power to population centers but CANNOT do exactly the same thing for wind and geothermal? ??? Of course they can! (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2Fswear1.gif&hash=87347674f9297191f3f8a447208170617da4caf6)
But that is a threat to every fossil fuel power plant near populated centers now belching out poisons from coal (and other fossil fuels), not limited to CO2, along with generating the profits (and welfare queen subsidies). (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.freesmileys.org%2Fsmileys%2Fsmiley-scared005.gif&hash=2de3525707995f1cf9333ecfafd947caca42e8eb)
So, we see excessive greed acting as a gate keeper welfare queen to stifle beefed up transmission lines from wind and geothermal sources. >:(
The population is waking up to that game here as well as in Japan so they are rushing to put PV everywhere they can, thereby creating demand destruction for the fossil fuelers. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-200714191258.bmp&hash=e4ed21caaca822f7445ccafd39f49a9f84be90ca)
The fossil fuelers greedballs have responded, not by waking up and reining in their excessive greed, but by attempting to roll back subsidies for renewable energy in state laws This greedy (and quixotic) behavior just makes people more determined (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2Fcowboypistol.gif&hash=2dc97f743dffca22404e6e4e0822765e60b33f38) to answer this unjustified gate keeper corruption with increased energy independence.
We need more cooperation from the grid operators. They need to accept that the new normal is renewable energy and coal and fossil fuels have to go.
(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.freesmileys.org%2Fcustom%2Fimage%2Ftongue%255E_%255Earial%255E_%255E0%255E_%255E0%255E_%255EBurning+Fossil+Fuels+IS+SUICIDE%255E_%255E.gif&hash=dddc6d85ffcc21075f53bda643372d2383013562)
Once they accept that, they will back robust transmission lines that help balance the demand.
If they don't do that, we will all eventually refuse to do business with them. The writing is on the wall here and in Japan as well. They either rein in their gate keeper greed or they go bankrupt. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.desismileys.com%2Fsmileys%2Fdesismileys_6869.gif&hash=f94938471d343a09155d1f60eefacdb2ceab2457)
TINA to a Low Carbon Economy (http://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/climate-change/global-warming-is-with-us/msg2114/#msg2114)
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German Utility EON To Ditch Fossil Fuel Arm, Focus on Renewables (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fstatic.uglyhedgehog.com%2Fupload%2F2012%2F8%2F14%2F1344970546338-awesome_mc_ht_smiley.gif&hash=3ae7abfc4fed4417a941b6f116204b754f1e587f)
Stefan Nicola, Bloomberg
December 02, 2014 | 1 Comments
BERLIN -- EON SE’s plan to spin off its fossil fuel plants marks a watershed moment in Germany’s renewables effort that will likely bolster the country’s already leading position in clean energy.
EON’s announcement is the culmination of a push to wind, solar and other alternative energy forms that the German government began 14 years ago with subsidies to reduce the country’s reliance on fossil fuels for power production. That plan gained added momentum in 2011 with a decision to close the country’s nuclear reactors following the Fukushima accident.
Chancellor Angela Merkel’s bold move is already beginning to pay off, with Europe’s largest economy for the first time getting more electricity from renewables this year than any other source. About a quarter of Germany’s power now comes from green energy, compared with 6.2 percent in the U.S. and 4.8 percent in France.
“We are in the midst of a giant transformation process of our energy system,” Deputy Environment Minister Jochen Flasbarth told reporters yesterday in Berlin. “Renewables are the increasingly dominant factor in the German energy mix. EON’s decision is a piece of the puzzle.”
The government intends to go further, setting goals to increase the use of alternative energy sources to as much as 45 percent of all power generated by 2035 and boost that figure to 80 percent by 2050. Germany, where the eastern countryside is already dotted with thousands of wind turbines, plans to do that in part by expanding large-scale offshore wind plants that can produce more reliably because the breeze is steadier at sea.
Closing Reactors
Merkel decided after the Fukushima accident in Japan to close the country’s eight oldest nuclear reactors and shutter the remainder by 2022. To reach stricter climate protection targets, Germany tomorrow will unveil details of a plan demanding additional emissions cuts from electricity produced using fossil fuel.
“Germany has some of the most ambitious climate protection targets and is radically rebuilding its energy system,” said Sven Diermeier, an analyst at Independent Research GmbH in Frankfurt who follows EON and rival RWE AG. “And now EON is attempting the most radical rebuilding so far of any large European utility.”
Germany’s push has come at a cost for the country’s utilities, energy-intensive industries and consumers. The influx of renewable power on the grid has undermined wholesale prices and decimated the profitability of coal and gas plants. At the same time, the taxes on electricity that subsidize renewable energy production has led to Germany having the second-highest household power prices in the European Union, according to Eurostat.
Subsidies
German consumers have paid a total of 106 billion euros ($132 billion) through the surcharge on their power bills to finance the clean-energy expansion. The annual cost may peak this year and drop slightly to 22 billion euros in 2015 as the government begins reducing subsidies for the industry.
Despite the expense, the shift has broad public support. A poll earlier this year showed 71 percent of Germans back the decision to close the nuclear reactors and 67 percent think the country isn’t doing enough to move to renewables, according to the Allensbach polling company.
Against this general backdrop, power companies in Germany are increasingly staking their future on green energy. EON after the split in 2016 will concentrate on renewables, distribution and marketing to households and consumers. The spun-off entity will include conventional power generation, global energy trading, exploration and production.
Renewables Focus
“There’s a new world becoming reality that’s driven by customers,” EON Chief Executive Officer Johannes Teyssen said today in Berlin of the plan to split the utility.
Vattenfall AB, owned by the Swedish state, wants to get rid of its German coal operations to focus on renewables, while ENBW Energie Baden-Wuerttemberg AG last year doubled its asset sales goal to 3 billion euros to free up cash to invest in clean energy. RWE, Europe’s biggest corporate emitter of greenhouse gases, said yesterday it didn’t plan to follow EON’s lead. RWE last year generated more than half of its power in Germany with lignite, the dirtiest fossil fuel.
“Spinning off coal, gas and oil from the core business is a smart strategy for a future-oriented company,” said Patrick Graichen, head of Agora Energiewende. “I’m sure additional utilities will follow suit -- not just in Germany, but worldwide.”
Electric Cars
Merkel is also trying to reduce the country’s emissions by pushing Germany’s auto industry to build more electric cars after French, Japanese and American carmakers got off to an early lead. Including vehicles like Bayerische Motoren Werke AG’s i3 city car and an electric version of Daimler AG’s Smart two-seater, German auto manufacturers will offer 17 electric- powered models by the end of 2014, and another 12 will be going on sale next year, according to the country’s VDA automotive industry group.
(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.freesmileys.org%2Femoticons%2Femoticon-object-062.gif&hash=88ceb4a34a12b2bea2fd9edd887da26d73308257)
The chancellor today threw her support behind incentives to reach her goal of having 1 million electric cars on German roads by 2020. The country is behind on the effort in part because the government has previously balked at subsidies like those offered in France, where consumers receive as much as 6,300 euros to help cover the higher cost of low-emission vehicles. Electric car sales in Germany last year amounted to about 7,600 vehicles, while in France demand was almost double that at 14,400.
“There’s a lot to do,” Merkel said during a press conference in Berlin. “We see that further subsidies are necessary. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2F128fs318181.gif&hash=eff6d5f3831782966c2ff2081f07bf7fc5b22a6b) (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2F19.gif&hash=3f9f2fc2285bc756137e21463bc2a4c420b15ac3) We must speak with the German states about that.”
Copyright 2014 Bloomberg
http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2014/12/german-utility-eon-ditches-fossil-fuel-arm-focuses-on-renewable-development#comment-137845
A. G. Gelbert
December 2, 2014
Germany gets it. It's time the rest of the world did too!
Watch this one minute clip to learn why Natural Capitalism is the only REAL Capitalism. Modern so-called "Capitalism" (i.e. Crapitalism!) actually SHRINKS, DEGRADES and DESTROYS Capital!
http://viewrz.com/video/real-money
The Next Revolution: Discarding Dangerous Fossil Fuel Accounting Practices.
http://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/fossil-fuel-folly/fossil-fuel-profits-getting-eaten-alive-by-renewable-energy!/msg2089/#msg2089
TINA to a Low Carbon Economy
http://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/climate-change/global-warming-is-with-us/msg2114/#msg2114
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Report from the Future ;D
Denmark plans to be off coal by 2025 and free of all fossil fuels by 2050. Danes use more wind power per capita than anyone else in the world, half of Copenhagen gets around by bike, and they're making a fortune by supplying three out of four of the world's offshore wind turbines. Plus -- really great pastries!
http://www.sierraclub.org/sierra/2015-1-january-february/feature/leading-edge
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NextEra Buys Hawaii’s Biggest Utility To Study Renewable Energy in the Island State
The move may also help remedy some of HECO's solar power interconnection problems. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.emofaces.com%2Fpng%2F200%2Femoticons%2Ffingerscrossed.png&hash=d56f8009d18b55f4cea7be68284c0521be92fc5d)
Mark Chediak and Ehren Goossens, Bloomberg
December 04, 2014 | 2 Comments
San Francisco and New York -- NextEra Energy Inc., North America’s largest generator of wind and solar power, will take over Hawaii’s biggest electricity company in what the company sees as a proving ground for its push into green energy.
Hawaiian Electric Industries Inc. has been among the utility owners most vulnerable to challenges caused by distributed solar power, in a state with the most expensive electricity rates in the nation. As customers defect to generating their own electricity from rooftop systems, the utility has said it aims to cut rates by 20 percent over the next 15 years by increasing renewable energy to 65 percent of its electricity mix.
“It makes a lot of sense for NextEra with all the renewables that Hawaiian Electric was going to do,” Tim Winter, an analyst at Gabelli & Co. in Rye, New York, said in a telephone interview. NextEra is “the premier renewable energy builder and developer and really good at transmission.”
NextEra Chairman and Chief Executive Officer James Robo said he sees Hawaiian Electric, which serves 95 percent of Hawaii’s population, as a testing ground for the expected transition from fossil-fuels to power generated from the sun and wind.
“You can think about Hawaii as a postcard from the future of what’s going to happen in the electric industry in the United States,” Robo said by phone yesterday. “As renewable generation gets cheaper, as electric storage becomes more efficient and possible, all electric utilities are going to have to face this.”
About 11 percent of Hawaiian Electric customers have rooftop solar systems, the highest penetration in the U.S., according to the Honolulu-based utility owner.
Solar Incentives
Solar electricity, helped by federal and state tax incentives, is already as cheap as utility-supplied power in 10 states including Hawaii, Deutsche Bank AG said in a report published in October.
NextEra can use its expertise in integrating more renewables and transitioning to cleaner fuels while lowering customer bills in Hawaii, Robo said. Hawaii relies on expensive imported oil for its generators. NextEra has experience in weaning its Florida utility, FPL, off the fuel, reducing its reliance by more than 99 percent since 2001, he said yesterday during a conference call with investors.
“Given NextEra’s track record, I would think they would probably increase the operational efficiency of the company, which over the long-term should lead to lower customer bills,” said Paul Patterson, a New York-based analyst for Glenrock Associates LLC.
LNG Imports
NextEra, the nation’s largest buyer of natural gas :P, can also use its expertise to help Hawaii import liquefied natural gas to burn to make electricity, said Hawaiian Electric Chairman and CEO Constance Lau in a conference call with investors.
“This is a phenomenal opportunity for us to accelerate clean energy here in Hawaii,” Lau said in a telephone interview.
Holders of Hawaiian Electric will receive 0.2413 shares in Juno Beach, Florida-based NextEra plus a 50-cent one-time dividend for each share they own, the companies said yesterday in a joint statement. As part of the deal, Hawaiian Electric will also spin off the parent of American Savings Bank.
Including an $8 a share estimated value for the bank spinoff, the deal values Hawaiian Electric at about $33.50, the companies said during an investor presentation. That gives a total value of about $3.4 billion.
Without the spinoff, the sale values Honolulu-based Hawaiian Electric at $25.69 a share, or $2.6 billion.
Including debt, the total value of the transaction is about $4.3 billion.
Shares Jump
Hawaiian Electric rose 17 percent to $33.00 after the close in trading in New York. NextEra was unchanged at $104.39.
Hawaiian Electric was incorporated in 1891 from a royal charter by King David Kalakaua, before Hawaii became part of the U.S., according to the company’s website.
The deal requires approval from state and federal regulators, in addition to shareholders. It’s expected to be completed within about 12 months. NextEra won’t make any “involuntary workforce reductions” at Hawaiian Electric for at least two years after the close, the companies said.
Citigroup Inc. is serving as financial adviser to NextEra Energy, and Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz is legal counsel. JPMorgan Chase & Co. is advising Hawaiian Electric, with Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP as legal counsel.
2 Comments
SEAN O
December 4, 2014
Am I the only one that finds it ironic, that NextEra is based out of Florida, and is the biggest Commercial Solar/Wind, and yet have 0 wind/solar installations in Florida, and the Florida utilities are the ones beating down, consumer laws?
The article mentions hauling in NG, quite frankly, at 30-40c/kwh for electric, they can generate enough solar for well below that cost and even make lowly hydrogen to provide night time power and still be below that cost. They don't need to be hauling in NG. They can easily be self-sufficient. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.desismileys.com%2Fsmileys%2Fdesismileys_0293.gif&hash=b1af4868ed8f18c30e637f8cbcb79002f6f71039)
A. G. Gelbert
December 4, 2014
SEAN O,
I agree. This is very strange. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.desismileys.com%2Fsmileys%2Fdesismileys_6656.gif&hash=2038f9b45636a93e5c0f4ee508ce29778fe9e9b4) Is this about aiding the renewable energy transition or is it about a "testing ground" to see if fossil fuels (see LNG) can keep a grip on centralized power production under the guise of "Renewable Energy"? (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2F2.bp.blogspot.com%2F_9HT4xZyDmh4%2FTOHhxzA0wLI%2FAAAAAAAAEUk%2FoeHDS2cfxWQ%2Fs200%2FSmiley_Angel_Wings_Halo.jpg&hash=13281f1944b60773bf12b29387b70be77cc1fe16)(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.u.arizona.edu%2F%7Epatricia%2Fcute-collection%2Fsmileys%2Flying-smiley.gif&hash=a34c2f7344d5f54f7009a4e684bb6c7310cdda03) (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-291014182422.png&hash=f5178cb31c0bf9067fb3cf408d7047840a10e3f4) (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-051113192052.png&hash=93c42ef9f18fc5d9da50fd91fc19f70009f95f85)
It bears watching what actually happens to renewable energy in Hawaii, a state that could and should have been 100% Renewable Energy powered decades ago. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2F301.gif&hash=0291ed4abf2d80e420d1aa00d4eb3c5dd6bbfb53)
If Portugal, a much larger area with less Renewable energy potential than Hawaii, can reach 58% Grid Renewable Energy, there is ZERO excuse for Hawaii not being well over 100% to the point of electrifying all their transportation too.
"Renewable energy in Portugal was the source for 58.3%[1] of the country's electricity generation in 2013. In the first 10 months of 2014, renewable energy production supplied 62% of consumption: 32% from hydro, 24% from Wind, 6% from biomass and 1.3% from solar.[2]"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Renewable_energy_in_Portugal
When you take even a cursory look at the VAST sun, wind and geothermal resources Hawaii has, it is obvious that the fossil fuel industry gamed the energy production in Hawaii from the start.
I hope that common sense prevails in Hawaii. they need fossil fuels like a hole in the head AND the pocket!
(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.freesmileys.org%2Fcustom%2Fimage%2Ftongue%255E_%255Earial%255E_%255E0%255E_%255E0%255E_%255EBurning+Fossil+Fuels+IS+SUICIDE%255E_%255E.gif&hash=dddc6d85ffcc21075f53bda643372d2383013562)
http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2014/12/nextera-buys-hawaiis-biggest-utility-to-study-renewable-energy-in-the-island-state#comment-137967
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A “Business” Model for Expanding Renewable Energy: The New Mexico Production Tax Credit (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2Freading.gif&hash=63e3e644b39258d4c4eedbcdaf322315b1856723)
Maria Blais Costello
December 05, 2014 | 2 Comments
The State of New Mexico now has a total renewable generation capacity that is over 1 million kilowatts. ;D This huge milestone for renewable energy in New Mexico would have not been realized so soon without the NM Renewable Energy Production Tax Credit (REPTC). (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2F19.gif&hash=3f9f2fc2285bc756137e21463bc2a4c420b15ac3)(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Felqahera-trading.com%2Fhome%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2012%2F04%2Fdollar-sign-thumbnail1.jpg&hash=e1962ecaa694d312d50a9984ee058a45aed1e860)
The REPTC is not just a credit on taxes owed, it is a refundable credit and can be allocated at any time to a new owner of renewable electric generation. The program supports utility-scale wind, biomass, and solar projects by providing a refundable corporate income tax credit for companies that generate electricity from renewable energy resources.
For wind and biomass, the credit is applicable on the first 400,000 MWh of electricity in each of 10 consecutive taxable years. There is a 1 cent per kilowatt-hour (kWh) credit for wind or biomass, and between 1.5–4 cents per kWh for solar generation. For solar, the credit is applicable only to the first 200,000 MWh of electricity in each taxable year. To qualify, an energy generator must have a capacity of at least 1 MW and be installed before January 2018.
This innovative program involved collaboration between utilities, industry, and state government. It has resulted in long-term economic and societal benefits, leveraged private investment, and increased renewable energy deployment.
Making a Change to Renewables Easier (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2F47b20s0.gif&hash=cc48c9af9d29b8836023c7db21103e52d1ed439e)
The Energy Conservation and Management Division (ECMD) of the State of New Mexico’s Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department develops and implements effective clean energy programs—renewable energy, energy efficiency, alternative fuels, and safe transportation of radioactive waste—to promote environmental and economic sustainability and to protect public health and safety for New Mexico’s citizens. In 2003, ECMD began implementing the REPTC with several distinct initiatives and a long-term strategy.
Quantifying the potential for renewable energy: The ECMD began this effort by developing “investment grade” wind maps for the state using an international firm whose reputation was acceptable to investment bankers. With this data, wind developers and investors became more comfortable in developing projects. Projects were advanced by at least three years because developers had reliable data at an early stage with which to base decisions.
The additional New Mexico 10-year production tax credit made wind and solar attractive investments. Since the inception of REPTC, 10 wind and 21 solar projects have been completed, leading to 2,246,000 MWh in annual energy production.
There are now 794 MW of wind and 232 MW of solar operating in New Mexico. These projects created approximately $2 billion in construction activity over the past ten years. :o ;D A waiting list for the tax credit includes another 677 MW of wind and 65.5 MW of solar. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fus.123rf.com%2F400wm%2F400%2F400%2Fyayayoy%2Fyayayoy1106%2Fyayayoy110600019%2F9735563-smiling-sun-showing-thumb-up.jpg&hash=09b45642ec6d7943d30b5b87548676e3ee7dbe3d)
Helping Utilities to Meet the RPS: The existence of REPTC has also made it easier for electric utilities in the state to cost-effectively meet the targets in the state’s Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS). Senate Bill 418 was signed into law in March 2007 and added new requirements to the states RPS. Under the new law, regulated electric utilities must have renewables meet 15 percent of the electricity needs by 2015, and 20 percent by 2020. Rural cooperatives must have renewable energy account for 5 percent of their electricity needs by 2015, increasing to 10 percent by 2020. Renewable energy can come from new hydropower facilitates, from fuel cells that are not fossil-fueled, and from biomass, solar, wind, and geothermal resources. The REPTC has assisted utilities in meeting this standard by providing a fiscal incentive. Since October 2007, the REPTC has been a refundable tax credit and can be allocated at any time to a new owner of the renewable energy generation project.
Revenue generated by land leases: Utility-scale renewable energy projects have become a steady source of revenue for the State Land Office. The New Mexico State Land Trust receives direct revenue from leasing public lands to wind, solar, and geothermal power plants. The projects qualify for the tax credit for ten years, but continue to produce renewable energy far beyond the 10-year incentive, as state land leases are commonly up to 30 years in length. Projected lease revenue for the next 38 years from renewable energy and transmission projects is projected to be $574 million.
Renewable energy projects are also leasing private land. This has become an important supplemental income source for a number of ranchers. Land leases, construction jobs and permanent maintenance positions are additional ways that renewable energy farms are supporting rural communities. A wind turbine typically generates about $20,000 in annual income to farmers and ranchers. PV systems also generate income to the land owners.
A Net Economic Benefit
For wind and biomass, the credit is $0.01 per kilowatt hour (kWh) and applies to up to 400,000 MWh for each certified generator in each of ten consecutive tax years. The statewide cap of the credit for wind and biomass is 2,000,000 MWh of production per year. For solar, the credit ranges between $0.015 and $0.04 per kWh (an average of $0.027/kWh) and applies to the first 200,000 MWh for each certified generator in ten consecutive tax years. The statewide cap of the credit for solar is 500,000 MWh.
Maximum tax liability for the state each year for the wind/biomass and solar tax credits combined is $33,500,000. In contrast, as noted above, the revenue for the next 38 years from renewable energy and transmission projects for state-owned land leases is projected to be $574 million, which spread relatively equally over that time frame will be $15 million per year, and will continue for an estimated 28 years beyond the 10-year tax incentive.
Without this tax incentive New Mexico would possibly have a small amount of wind energy, but it would in no way been able to create the substantial land lease revenue it has now with many, large-scale wind farms throughout the state. Creating the REPTC was New Mexico’s planned approach to make the state RPS acceptable to all stakeholders. In turn, this tax incentive leveraged private investment to benefit New Mexico. Since the REPTC was instated in 2003, several other states have examined the NM REPTC as a model for creating their own programs.
Highlights
•The Renewable Energy Production Tax Credit Program has brought wind and solar developers to invest in New Mexico, leveraging state investments. Interest has grown to the point that the state now has a project waiting list and legislators are considering increasing the cap on the annual energy production available for this credit.
•As a result of the program, 794 MW of wind capacity and 232 MW of solar capacity have been installed, representing just the beginning of clean energy development in New Mexico.
•The long-term benefits of the incentive program far outweigh the costs of the ten-year incentive program, resulting in continued economic benefits from and investments in renewable energy in the state.
Learn More about this Program
The New Mexico Renewable Energy Tax Credit Program was one of eight recipients of the 2014 State Leadership in Clean Energy Awards, an initiative of the Clean Energy States Alliance (CESA) to highlight exemplary state and municipal programs that advance clean energy markets. (See my previous blog from November 24, 2014.) CESA will be hosting a webinar featuring this program on December 8th. The webinar is free to attend, but registration is required. You can learn more and register here.
2 Comments
A. G. Gelbert
December 6, 2014
Thank you, Maria Blais Costello, for this information. It's this kind of nuts and bolts, honest cost benefit analysis math doing that will enable the transition to 100% Renewable Energy.
Anumakonda Jagadeesh
December 6, 2014
Excellent. Other Developing countries can adopt this.
Dr.A.Jagadeesh Nellore(AP),India
http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/blog/post/2014/12/a-business-model-for-expanding-renewable-energy-the-new-mexico-renewable-energy-production-tax-credit#comment-138085
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A $48 Billion Opportunity for US Electric Customers (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Felqahera-trading.com%2Fhome%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2012%2F04%2Fdollar-sign-thumbnail1.jpg&hash=e1962ecaa694d312d50a9984ee058a45aed1e860)
(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.renewableenergyworld.com%2Fassets%2Fimages%2Fuser%2Fj%2F71278-20101105215955.jpg&hash=1c6029e37151ab917af36a6b91a695a692f19087)
John Farrell
December 15, 2014 | 1 Comments
Electricity customers in the U.S. got good news last week. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.freesmileys.org%2Femoticons%2Femoticon-object-062.gif&hash=88ceb4a34a12b2bea2fd9edd887da26d73308257)
A new report from Accenture highlighted a potential revenue loss for U.S. utilities of $48 billion per year by 2025 due to distributed solar and energy efficiency. But where does that money go? If we pursue a democratic energy system as outlined in ILSR's new report (also released last week), it goes right into the pockets of utility customers.
Read on for an explanation of how we can achieve energy democracy (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2F47b20s0.gif&hash=cc48c9af9d29b8836023c7db21103e52d1ed439e) out of the turmoil of today's electricity system.
A System Under Stress
Why are U.S. electric utilities facing huge revenue losses? Because their business model, built around a 20th century centralized command-and-control electric utility, is increasingly outdated in an age when we can produce power on rooftops from ubiquitous sunshine and manage energy individually on ubiquitous smartphones.
See the following timeline released in ILSR's new report to understand the changes being wrought.
(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Filsr.org%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2014%2F12%2Fbeyond-utility-2.0-to-energy-democracy-graphics-ILSR.003.jpg&hash=cfcb7983832bd94628eeb354348fbe9597db9998)
U.S. Electricity System Timeline
There have been three waves of change crashing over the electric utility system in the past 50 years: Shock & Competition, Deregulation, and Transition. The third wave, powered by distributed renewable energy and stagnant energy demand and aided by state regulation, isn't going to recede. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.desismileys.com%2Fsmileys%2Fdesismileys_0293.gif&hash=b1af4868ed8f18c30e637f8cbcb79002f6f71039)
Already, the Wall Street Journal notes that the era of growing electricity sales is likely over.
(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Filsr.org%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2014%2F12%2FP1-BQ847_LESSPO_G_20140728182704.jpg&hash=1d39ce5181355e60fa278887f91821d71403869d)
WSJ stagnant electricity demand (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2Fmaniac.gif&hash=9ecf389a7da25db958f3f63461cbb45a4b316c4e)
Not only is demand falling, but competition from renewable energy sources is growing. In the past few years, that competition isn't just from other large power producers, but from utility customers themselves (see the growth of "small solar" in particular (and red), representing residential and commercial installations 1 megawatt and smaller).
(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Filsr.org%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2014%2F12%2Fbeyond-utility-2.0-to-energy-democracy-graphics-ILSR.007.jpg&hash=94e00076ed253933fcf68677fca06b2ffd9b8210)
Renewable Energy Share of New U.S. Power Plants
The $48 Billion Question for a New Business Model (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-301014182447.gif&hash=58fbc1dfd905f79b3d4bacde8e89a935c2b859ac)
Utilities haven't given up in the face of this threat. In fact, they're often actively fighting it while they continue to invest in the infrastructure for last century's grid >:( (read more in ILSR's report).
These battles are the origin of "Utility 2.0," a business model discussion inside and outside of utilities that would allow electric companies to accommodate flat energy demand and rising customer energy production. It's good policy, focused on shifting the principles of the electricity system to a low-carbon, flexible, and efficient one as well as shifting utility incentives to achieve these outcomes.
But Utility 2.0 will prove inadequate if it remains indifferent to the flow of energy dollars out of communities (the $48 billion question).
Already, 500,000 U.S. homes sport solar energy and it gets more affordable every year. Rooftop solar, smartphones, and widespread energy storage will give utility customers unprecedented opportunity to control their energy usage, and to capture their share of the nation's energy dollars. A 2.0 utility business model that doesn't accommodate this opportunity for local, equitable access to energy production and management will leave many U.S. electricity consumers deeply unsatisfied.
Energy Democracy (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2Fcowboypistol.gif&hash=2dc97f743dffca22404e6e4e0822765e60b33f38)
That's the central point of Utility 3.0, or as we call it, energy democracy. It adds two other principles – local control and equitable access – to the low-carbon, flexible, and efficient grid of the future to make the Five Pillars of Energy Democracy. The following graphic illustrates the principles of the ideal 21st century electricity system and how the policies of the electricity system contribute to achieving those desired outcomes.
(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Filsr.org%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2014%2F12%2Fbeyond-utility-2.0-to-energy-democracy-graphics-ILSR.027.jpg&hash=f68568fe57e120476e6f02a5d82ff2275251b4f8)
Five Pillars of Energy Democracy(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.websmileys.com%2Fsm%2Fviolent%2Fsterb029.gif&hash=7a43a0c106eab798f7ba6133dc5cc550647a03d2)
How do we get to energy democracy from where we are now?[color=green]
(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fdl10.glitter-graphics.net%2Fpub%2F2491%2F2491210ovie015m90.gif&hash=c2edc7e32994c57779427e0df75cabac786a12bf) (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2F19.gif&hash=3f9f2fc2285bc756137e21463bc2a4c420b15ac3)
In Vermont, the state has already identified and adopted many of the key strategies and policies, from robust net metering to integrated distribution and transmission planning. [/color]They have an independent energy efficiency utility, and a feed-in tariff to encourage broader distributed renewable energy development.
In New York, the state is Reforming the Energy Vision, and considering how to make an open and transparent marketplace that puts utility customers on an even footing with utilities in providing key energy services. The following graphic illustrates this concept.
(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Filsr.org%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2014%2F12%2Fbeyond-utility-2.0-to-energy-democracy-graphics-ILSR.022.jpg&hash=85e8393a11055bf617585c210b89623300c1ebe4)
Energy democracy in action
Neither state has unleashed a system with real "energy democracy" yet, but they're pursuing the right principles and structure and policy that will lead in that direction. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2F128fs318181.gif&hash=eff6d5f3831782966c2ff2081f07bf7fc5b22a6b)
Will utilities survive this crashing wave of energy democracy? It depends on your definition of survive. Will they continue to profit from retaining control over the generation and transaction of power on the electricity system? Perhaps not. ;DCould they profit from designing and deploying the infrastructure and software to make a democracy energy distribution system? Certainly. They just need a little vision. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-051113192052.png&hash=93c42ef9f18fc5d9da50fd91fc19f70009f95f85)
And we've got one to share.
(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.freesmileys.org%2Femoticons%2Ftuzki-bunnys%2Ftuzki-bunny-emoticon-036.gif&hash=8ec7abacc074bac7984d9b80fbca377b3afb119d)
http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/blog/post/2014/12/a-48-billion-opportunity-for-u-s-electric-customers?
This article originally posted at ilsr.org. For timely updates, follow John Farrell on Twitter or get the Democratic Energy weekly update.
The information and views expressed in this blog post are solely those of the author and not necessarily those of RenewableEnergyWorld.com or the companies that advertise on this Web site and other publications. This blog was posted directly by the author and was not reviewed for accuracy, spelling or grammar.
1 Comments
A. G. Gelbert
December 15, 2014
Outstanding article!
I wish to add that Energy Democracy is the sure (and only!) path to obtaining political democracy in the USA. Anybody that thinks we have one is into magical thinking.
For those who think this is hyperbole, please remember what the Fossil fuel Lobby and the Nuclear Power Lobby does with their "profits". Look at the disproportionate "contributions" to MOST of our (s)elected officials over the last half century.
The dirty energy welfare queens have gotten what they paid for.
As John noted, the utilities defending fossil fuels are fighting Renewable distributed Energy tooth and nail. The Polluting Energy Industries are the friend and advocate of centralized energy. They provide the lion's share of "contributions" to PACs.
The bottom line for we-the-people is that politicians never stay bought. As long as Demand Destruction for dirty energy continues apace, less welfare queen "profits" will be available to further degrade our thoroughly degraded democracy.
The people of the English Colonies in America were able to be totally independent of England by providing for everything they needed in energy, food, shelter and clothing during the American Revolution. Americans actually had totally distributed energy, most of it renewable, in 1776.
And no, there was absolutely no reason to change that energy picture as the industrial revolution gathered steam. Centralized Energy was a stalking horse for centralized political power. It still is.
This is how the oligarchic Oil barons and captains of industry degraded our Democratic Representative Republic:
Around the year 1800, the power of a (white, land owner) American citizen's vote was reasonable (if all the adult citizens had been allowed to vote). At that time a NEW Rep could be added to a state if the Congressional district exceeded 60,000 population. In 1918-19 the COUNT of reps was UNCONSTITUTIONALLY frozen.
This assured corporations would get MORE influence while the individual voter would get less. At present your vote is worth one SIXTEENTH of what it was in the year 1800! Representative Republic? I don't think so.
I cede the floor to Patrick Henry
"But we are told that we need not fear; because those in power, being our representatives, will not abuse the powers we put in their hands. I am not well versed in history, but I will submit to your recollection, whether liberty has been destroyed most often by the licentiousness of the people, or by the tyranny of rulers.
I imagine, sir, you will find the balance on the side of tyranny. Happy will you be if you miss the fate of those nations, who, omitting to resist their oppressors, or negligently suffering their liberty to be wrested from them, have groaned under intolerable despotism!
Most of the human race are now in this deplorable condition; and those nations who have gone in search of grandeur, power, and splendor, have also fallen a sacrifice, and been the victims of their own folly. While they acquired those visionary blessings, they lost their freedom."
I imagine that Patrick Henry, who is famously quoted as saying he smelled a rat in Philadelphia (the Constitutional convention), would have preferred one elected representative for much fewer voters than 30,000. He wanted to keep a sharp eye on the reps way back when. He would probably be outraged and leading a revolution today.
Patrick Henry's rat was eaten by a Rockefeller T-Rex. We need to kill this dinosaur. The damned thing will kill us all and then start on it's own tail.
Do your part to provide a viable biosphere for future generations AND obtain a Democratic Representative Republic in the USA; go distributed Renewable Energy!
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Excellent Comments to A $48 Billion Opportunity for US Electric Customers by John Farrell. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.runemasterstudios.com%2Fgraemlins%2Fimages%2F2thumbs.gif&hash=98130be1edf2bed4a80ac8f134b0126673bd469e)
Brian Donovan
December 15, 2014
Great articles, saved.
Watch out for the energy storage bugaboo. The grid already has reserve generators to deal with baseload inflexibility and unpredictable demand changes, it works just fine withe intermittent but predictable solar and wind.
15 minutes battery grid stabilization help the "old" baseload grid as much as it help the new, intermittent grid.
I see a different more democratic grid. Cities and town need to own their grid and power sources, enough to stand alone at least for several days. The grid is already organized with "distribution substations" that supple a few 100 KW at the local low voltage home use, from the higher voltage greater grid. These distribution substations are the perfect place to put MSW to energy and fuels systems feeding reserve gas turbines. The local are installs solar on every good roof and parking lot. This is a complete 24/7 system for isolated communities. This is how the third world should build their grid.
In the first world, they are already all connected to the greater grid. The advantages are numerous. They can sell excess solar and electricity from wastes. They can draw electricity from the greater grid when they want to. These distribution stations have the switches to island in the case of greater grid blackouts. No more multi state blackouts! The local communities have the power to set terms on the greater grid giant utilities. The local waste powered gas turbines are normally under control of the greater grid controllers, and collectedly backup the entire grid. Because it's distributed, the 7% grid loses nearly vanish.
Finally, we add plug in hybrid electric cars with Vehicle to Grid (V2G). Now we don't need wastefull spinning reserve. The ecars collectively use 5% of their battery charge to stabilize the grid as never before possible, down to the microsecond. The reserve generators can be shut off till needed. The ecars provide 5-15 minutes backup needed to start the reserve generators up.
Plug in hybrids can even eliminate the need for the substation reserve generator. 250 M 100kw ecars is many times the total grid power. Sine they are hybrids, just keep feeding the fuel, from wastes. Third world countries could have a system with solar panels and a plug in hybrid. Done.
William Fitch III
December 15, 2014
Hi: Nice article. You have to, with RE, be able to handle times when RE is not available.
Right now in PA we are having an extremely cloudy DEC. It may be on track to be the cloudiest I have ever seen. Since Nov 26th, I have had only two days of production where I have overtaken load. The difference between Nov and Dec so far is an almost complete inversion of load vs production. This won't last forever of course, but these are the times that demand the most creative engineering solutions to maintain RE production and load matching.... Wind has been in the picture during this period which would help of course, but by itself would not fill all production "holes"....
.....Bill
http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/blog/post/2014/12/a-48-billion-opportunity-for-u-s-electric-customers?
Agelbert NOTE: See ETHANOL to fill the other Renewable Energy production "holes". ;D
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Dec 23, 2014
Author: Laurie Guevara-Stone
Writer / Editor
You’ll Shoot the Climate’s Eye Out
And 10 More Surprising Stats About Greenhouse Gas Emissions
Christmas is just a few days away, and with it, also TBS’s annual marathon of A Christmas Story. Readers of a certain generation will remember it as the classic movie from 1983 in which Ralphie Parker, the central character, pines for an airsoft Red Ryder BB gun, only to be rebuffed, “You’ll shoot your eye out.”
As it turns out, he’d do a number on the climate, too. The other day a colleague alerted me to the fact that some airsoft guns use HFC 134a as a propellant. HFC 134a is 3,800 times more powerful than carbon dioxide as a greenhouse gas over a 20-year period. :o
But here are 10 other statistics you might not know about greenhouse gas emissions and energy this holiday season:
1. If considered as a separate nation, the United States’ building stock would rank third in energy consumption: Only China and the U.S. consume more primary energy than the U.S. built environment, which uses 8 percent of the world’s primary energy, 42 percent of U.S. primary energy, and 72 percent of U.S. electricity.
2. Searching for parking burns one million barrels of oil per day: In Los Angeles alone, city drivers searching for parking in a 15-block district drove more than 950,000 miles, emitted 730 metric tons of carbon dioxide, and burned 47,000 gallons of gasoline.
3. Junk mail has a huge carbon footprint, not just a landfill footprint: The energy used to produce, deliver, and dispose of junk mail produces more greenhouse gas emissions than 2.8 million cars.
4. Micropower now produces about one-fourth of the world’s total electricity: Low- and no-carbon micropower, which includes renewables minus big hydro, plus cogeneration, now produces one-fourth of the world’s electricity. When you add big hydro and nuclear to the mix, micropower produced half the world’s electricity in 2013.
5. Photovoltaic power worldwide is scaling even faster than cellphones: For the last 14 years, global solar PV production has grown faster than 41 percent per year. The amount of solar power installed worldwide is now over 140 GW.
6. Renewable energy is cheaper than fossil fuels: The cost of solar and wind power has plummeted so much in the past five years that utility-scale renewable generation is now cost competitive with, and in some markets cheaper than, coal and natural gas, even without subsidies.
7. Efficient transportation beats out the fracking revolution: Between 2004 and 2013 the decrease in driving in the U.S. along with more-efficient vehicles displaced twice as many oil imports than the U.S. fracking revolution and the consequent rise in domestic oil output.
8. Efficiency beats out natural gas: In 2012, energy efficiency displaced nearly twice as much domestically burned coal as expanded natural gas use did. In fact, lower consumption due to 1974–2010 increases in energy efficiency was the largest single energy resource across the 11 IEA member countries’ aggregate total final consumption—bigger than oil, or than all other sources combined.
9. Universities are striving for carbon neutrality: Since 2007, the American Colleges and Universities Presidents’ Climate Commitment has encouraged almost 700 colleges and universities to commit to achieving carbon neutrality. A few small colleges have already achieved carbon neutrality, most recently Colby College in Maine.
10. There are more U.S. jobs in the solar industry than in coal mining: In 2013 the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics estimated 80,030 jobs for all occupations within the coal-mining industry. Meanwhile, the Solar Foundation’s National Solar Jobs Census 2013, stated that the solar industry employed 142,698 Americans.
http://blog.rmi.org/blog_2014_12_23_youll_shoot_the_climates_eye_out
Agelbert NOTE: It's nice when the hard, irrefutable, REAL WORLD data CONFIRMS what I have been saying, in writing (http://www.doomsteaddiner.net/blog/2012/07/17/hope-for-a-viable-biosphere-of-renewables/), for TWO AND A HALF YEARS. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-200714191258.bmp&hash=e4ed21caaca822f7445ccafd39f49a9f84be90ca) (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2F128fs318181.gif&hash=eff6d5f3831782966c2ff2081f07bf7fc5b22a6b)
For those who insisted that fossil fuels are cheaper than Renewable energy, DINNER IS SERVED:
(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Flucidating.files.wordpress.com%2F2012%2F01%2Featcrow.gif&hash=40fab0b2775d3fb285afd6c24535120837141e04)
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As Germans look to the future, Kaun notes that they have a broader definition of energy storage than in the United States. The U.S. definition of energy storage typically focuses on electric power in, electric power out – that is, electricity storage. Germany’s definition is broader, characterized by three main categories: power to heat, power to gas (specifically hydrogen) and power to power, which can utilize a range of storage technologies, including electrochemical (batteries), mechanical or thermal.
RenewableEnergyWorld.com's Top 10 Blogs of 2014
Check out the most popular blogs posted on REW during the past year.
Renewable Energy World Editors
December 26, 2014
http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2014/12/renewableenergyworld-coms-top-10-blogs-of-2014?page=all
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Richard Branson and Amory Lovins Join Forces to Accelerate Clean Energy Revolution
(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fus.cdn2.123rf.com%2F168nwm%2Flenm%2Flenm1201%2Flenm120100200%2F12107060-illustration-of-a-smiley-giving-a-thumbs-up.jpg&hash=2046bc6d662e09d3014a2c404a2af6ba17f8217c) (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2Fza4.gif&hash=2db0a6001703f4089cb64dc38159bb3d467e1bff) (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fus.123rf.com%2F400wm%2F400%2F400%2Fyayayoy%2Fyayayoy1106%2Fyayayoy110600019%2F9735563-smiling-sun-showing-thumb-up.jpg&hash=09b45642ec6d7943d30b5b87548676e3ee7dbe3d)
December 17, 2014 11:09 am
The world’s three biggest carbon emitters—the U.S., China, and the European Union—have all announced emissions goals or limits in the past few months. That’s great news, but global fossil fuel demand continues to rise, and with it, so do climate change’s risks—to the economy, to the environment, to security, to human health and to people living in poverty in areas where climate change will have a devastating impact. The most recent IPCC report (AR5) found that “warming of the climate system is unequivocal,” “human influence on the climate system is clear,” and “limiting climate change will require substantial and sustained reductions in greenhouse gas emissions.”
Combating climate change through energy efficiency, renewable energy technologies, clean transportation, and smarter land use can reap rewards as great economically as environmentally. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2F128fs318181.gif&hash=eff6d5f3831782966c2ff2081f07bf7fc5b22a6b)
The 2014 report Risky Business: The Economic Risks of Climate Change in the United States detailed the serious economic harm we can expect from climate change if we continue on our current path. But the challenge before us is about more than averting the worst economic impacts of climate change. As highlighted in the recently released Better Growth, Better Climate report from The New Climate Economy, it’s also about finding enormous economic opportunity in clean energy solutions that both tackle global warming and unlock growth opportunities for all.
The transformation to a low-carbon future is arguably the greatest business opportunity of our time. Combating climate change through energy efficiency, renewable energy technologies, clean transportation, and smarter land use can reap great rewards both economically and environmentally.
Fortunately, an energy revolution is rising all around us—enabled by smart policies in mindful markets, and led by business for profit. Efficient energy use fuels more economic activity than oil, at far lower cost, while its potential gets ever bigger and cheaper. In each of the past three years, the world invested a quarter-trillion dollars—more than the market cap of the world’s coal industry—to add over 80 billion watts of renewable capacity (excluding big hydro dams). Generating capacity added last year was 37 percent renewable in the U.S., 68 percent in China, 72 percent in Europe and 53 percent in the world. Last year, the world invested over $600 billion in efficiency, renewables, and cogeneration.
This growth is accelerating (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2Fballoons.gif&hash=a64bb5ff3e76c3e11999996c460fa02de1ee10f7): solar power is scaling faster than cellphones. Last year alone, China added more solar capacity than the U.S. has added in 60 years. :o (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fthumbs.dreamstime.com%2Fz%2Fchinese-emoticon-22648577.jpg&hash=e5f417f773692d246a108dcc451657cb8b2c6e05)
Electric vehicle sales are growing twice as fast as hybrid cars did at a comparable stage. Shrewd companies are realizing climate solutions’ enormous business opportunities—a prospect scarcely dimmed by cheaper oil, which makes only a few percent of the world’s electricity.
Global companies like IKEA, Google, Apple, Facebook, Salesforce and Walmart have committed to 100 percent renewable power. Tesla’s stock is up an astounding 660 percent over the past two years and has half the market value of General Motors Corp. The NEX index, which tracks clean energy companies worldwide, grew by 50 percent over the past two years—far outperforming the general market—while equity raisings by quoted clean energy companies more than doubled. Many of the world’s top financial firms concur that the era of coal and of big power plants is drawing to a close; Germany’s biggest utility is divesting those assets to focus on efficiency and renewables.
Yet we need to create even bigger and faster change. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.desismileys.com%2Fsmileys%2Fdesismileys_0293.gif&hash=b1af4868ed8f18c30e637f8cbcb79002f6f71039) Which is why we are delighted to announce that our two nonprofit organizations—Rocky Mountain Institute and the Carbon War Room—are joining forces. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2Fcowboypistol.gif&hash=2dc97f743dffca22404e6e4e0822765e60b33f38) By uniting two of the world’s preeminent nonprofit practitioners of market-based energy and climate solutions, we will help turn the toughest long-term energy challenges into vast opportunities for entrepreneurs to create wealth and public benefit for all.
United we stand to make a greater impact more quickly. Indeed, we already are. Our first combined program, the Ten Island Challenge, is making progress in six Caribbean countries. Caribbean economies suffer from some of the world’s highest electricity prices—perpetuating poverty, swelling national debts, and blocking sustainable development. They are also on the front lines of climate change, facing earlier impacts from sea-level rise, rising temperatures, and extreme weather events. Our alliance is laying the groundwork to transform these islands’ energy systems from dependence on costly imported diesel oil to cleaner, cost-effective efficiency and local renewables. This will cut electricity costs, boost private investment, and enhance and diversify local jobs. We are demonstrating that entire economies can adopt low-carbon solutions while strengthening their economies.
And islands are just the beginning as we build on our organizations’ initiatives already underway and on our new joint efforts to go further, faster together. In trucking, the learnings of our North American initiative will seed a new China program—strengthening an exciting collaboration with the Chinese government’s energy analysts that’s already showing the maximum share of efficiency and renewables that could support the forecasted economic growth of what will soon become the world’s largest economy. In cement, we will join forces to offset the energy surge from construction in the world’s fastest-growing economies. And we will combine our work on cracking the biggest nut of all: energy efficiency in buildings. Since they use nearly three-fourths of U.S. electricity, that’s the key to making electricity supply affordable, distributed, diverse, resilient, and largely renewable.
Switching to a fossil-fuel-free energy system will not only cost less, but will help re-ignite the world’s economies.
In the U.S. alone, Rocky Mountain Institute’s Reinventing Fire analysis found that a 158-percent bigger economy could need no coal and oil and one-third less natural gas, yet cost $5 trillion less than business as usual. We are closer than ever before to transforming the world to a low-carbon energy system. Rocky Mountain Institute and the Carbon War Room are excited to coordinate their proven approaches to scaling transformational change worldwide. Together, we will more than double our impact on the scale and speed of the energy transformation to a clean, prosperous, secure and low-carbon world.
We will reach this better world only if we all collaborate. None of us can do this on our own. That’s why we are thrilled to be joining forces, and hope that others will be inspired to do the same—so we can build this exciting new world of opportunities at the pace our grandchildren require.
http://ecowatch.com/2014/12/17/branson-lovins-clean-energy-revolution/
Agelbert Comment: GO GET EM' Amory! (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.websmileys.com%2Fsm%2Fviolent%2Fsterb029.gif&hash=7a43a0c106eab798f7ba6133dc5cc550647a03d2) (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.freesmileys.org%2Femoticons%2Ftuzki-bunnys%2Ftuzki-bunny-emoticon-022.gif&hash=3b60da70b71b7109fe66036056cb1dedc1affb43)
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Germany To Dump Coal? (http://cleantechnica.com/2014/11/07/germany-dump-coal/) ;D
Snippet 1:
Germany is looking into cutting its use of coal power, at the same time that it is cutting out nuclear. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.runemasterstudios.com%2Fgraemlins%2Fimages%2F2thumbs.gif&hash=98130be1edf2bed4a80ac8f134b0126673bd469e) If it does, there could be a ripple effect because Germany is a major player in the European energy market. A Berlin-based journalist said that Germany’s emphasis on renewables is already impacting electricity markets in Poland and the Czech Republic. (Denmark is also exploring how it might go coal-free, but even sooner.)
Snippet 2:
Currently about 45% of Germany’s electricity comes from burning coal. However, it was reported recently that new coal plants will not be financed there. About 24% came from solar and wind last year, but that amount could expand to 45% by 2025, if targets are met.
Snippet 3:
The decision to dump coal is not the easiest one to make, but Germany has been a world leader in renewables, so it seems only logical for fossil fuels to be phased out.
The speed at which the German government is moving on its energy transition is very impressive. Another issue is how much money Germany will save over time by reducing energy imports.
Germany To Dump Coal? (http://cleantechnica.com/2014/11/07/germany-dump-coal/)
Agelbert NOTE: Unlike fossil fuel funded "energy experts" and other assorted LIARS that publish at the Wall Street Journal, the above article tells the truth. Don't believe the mendacious propaganda that Germany is INCREASING their use of coal. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.u.arizona.edu%2F%7Epatricia%2Fcute-collection%2Fsmileys%2Flying-smiley.gif&hash=a34c2f7344d5f54f7009a4e684bb6c7310cdda03) That is EXACTLY OPPOSITE of what is happening. >:(
THIS is the TRUTH:
(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fcleantechnica.com%2Ffiles%2F2014%2F08%2FScreenshot-2014-08-08-11.43.06-570x354.png&hash=aa3ae96c5b2341e93e2eaddbe94a24f7e3a22ef3)
Shove the above graph in the face of any LIAR that claims Germany is using more coal and ask them if they are standing on their head when they read it!
And the liars writing these lies are doing it because Germany is teaching the world that a highly industrialized nation CAN transition quickly to 100% Renewable Energy.
This drives the profit over people and planet fossil fuelers into a frenzy. Pay close attention to what you read. The fossil fuel industry has a lot of media presstitutes on the payroll. BUT, people are realizing that they have been taken for a pollution for profit ride and it's PAYBACK TIME.
Renewable energy= (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-301014181553.gif&hash=c09667beb656b25086c168adcdaddcba59abf858) (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.freesmileys.org%2Fsmileys%2Fsmiley-scared002.gif&hash=764898cfbf07ef2c41ffddc5e93fa0e1bed41bae)=Fossil Fuelers
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Nature & Transmission Lines
Siting transmission lines is a double-edged sword. They are necessary for scaling renewable energy, but they sure are ugly and too often clear cut huge swaths of land, fragmenting forests and habitats, while emanating electromagnetic fields that can cause serious illnesses.
Yet, these days any place that's left undeveloped can be an important haven for wildlife. Open land under transmission lines could protect 9 million acres and the land under which pipelines flow, another 12 million acres. Since these projects run hundreds (even thousands) of miles, they could create a network of conservation areas about a third the size of our national park system. They could provide crucial wildlife corridors that allow long migrations and a healthier gene pool where small, segmented populations of the same species can find each other.
Nonprofits are also working with transportation departments to plant wildflowers in medians and along the sides of roads, another 5 million acres that can sequester carbon while aiding wildlife.
For example, open, scrubby habitat under power lines provides habitat for endangered butterflies(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fdl5.glitter-graphics.net%2Fpub%2F3328%2F3328805eipbi6o30e.gif&hash=6b47effe687cb862012c19507f1979f43ff67a02) and is the best place to find native bees (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2F170fs799081.gif&hash=ec7f929a28b215e9c00ec270a26b830d596920b2), Sam Droege of the US Geological Survey's Patuxent Wildlife Research Center told Yale 360.
Transmission Conservation
A group has formed to make it happen - the Right of Way Stewardship Council that's setting standards and certifying these lands. Three utilities - NY Power Authority, Vermont Electric and Arizona Public Service are certified and three more are seeking certification. Utilities in Brazil and Australia are also showing interest.
"You're surrounded by evergreen closed-canopy forest and then there's this explosion of color, this linear streak of color, and it's all wildflowers," describes ecologist Kimberly Russell to Yale 360. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2Fearthhug.gif&hash=3abcf70466f34337f2d702ebd9e02c650d5c4c20)
Read the full article:
Website: http://e360.yale.edu/feature/electric_power_rights_of_way_a_new_frontier_for_conservation/2816/
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01/26/2015 12:19 PM
Renewable Energy Transmission Backbone Takes Shape Across US, Europe
SustainableBusiness.com News
The US and Europe are making major investments in transmission infrastructure that will finally create a renewable energy backbone - driving billions of dollars in new projects and bringing clean energy to much more of the population.
In the US, approved and newly completed transmission lines make it possible for another 35 gigawatts (GW) of renewable energy projects - mostly wind - bringing clean energy throughout the Midwest and to Southern and Eastern states.
Just approved is the SunZia Project. At a cost of $2 billion, two parallel 500-kilovolt transmission lines will traverse 515 miles of federal, state and private lands in New Mexico and Arizona. It will enable construction of 3 GW of wind and solar resources that couldn't otherwise gain access to the grid, enough for 1 million homes. It will create about 6000 construction jobs and potentially 40,000 jobs in new renewable energy projects.
SunZia will run parallel with existing roads and power lines, avoiding major population centers and sensitive areas. The Bureau of Land Management held 28 public meetings on the project since 2009, along with working with local, state and federal agencies and Indian tribes.
"New Mexico could lead the nation in wind and solar energy production, and transmission is the key to unleashing our clean energy potential," says Senator Tom Udall (D-NM).
In 2013, The 990-mile Gateway West Transmission Project was approved, which will be able to carry 1.5 GW of wind energy from southern Wyoming and Utah to Idaho and Washington State. Eventually it extend 2000 miles with the ability to carry 4.5 GW across western states.
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Transmission Line Gateway West
A $6.8 billion transmission project in Texas is carrying wind energy to all the state's cities - spanning 3600 miles, it can carry as much as 18.5 GW. Minnesota is finishing off an 800-mile upgrade this year
In October, the Prairie Wind Transmission line began carrying electricity over 108 miles in Kansas, a linchpin of the "electric superhighway" being built through the windiest areas in Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas and population centers. At a cost of $4 billion, it will allow another 3 GW of wind to connect to the grid in High Plains states.
In the Oklahoma panhandle, the 700-mile, 3.5 GW Plains & Eastern Clean Line will deliver wind power to Arkansas, Tennessee, and other states in the Mid-South and Southeast. It will enable more than $6 billion in new wind farms when it opens in 2018.
The Rock Island Clean Line is waiting for approval to bring wind energy from western Iowa to eastern states through Illinois. The $2 billion, 500 mile transmission line would open another 3.5 GW - $7 billion in new wind projects.
Many of these are being built by Clean Line Energy Partners which offers annual payments to landowners who agree to host the lines.
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If the wind industry keeps up the pace, it can provide 30% of US electricity by 2030, more than enough to meet the EPA's Clean Power Plan and a third of the greenhouse gas reductions President Obama committed to in its agreement with China, says Environment America.
Unfortunately, the Republican majority in Congress will probably not allow the industry to receive any further tax credits to make sure it happens.
Read our articles, Landmark Ruling Opens Grid to Renewable Energy and 100% Renewable Energy Indeed Possible, say Stanford U. Researchers.
Europe Too (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.freesmileys.org%2Femoticons%2Femoticon-object-062.gif&hash=88ceb4a34a12b2bea2fd9edd887da26d73308257)
In Europe, a planned supergrid will integrate renewable energy across all 28 countries, increasing reliability and lessening dependence on gas imports. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.runemasterstudios.com%2Fgraemlins%2Fimages%2F2thumbs.gif&hash=98130be1edf2bed4a80ac8f134b0126673bd469e)
"Connecting Europe" will spend $7.5 billion through 2020 in cost-shared grants. Some funds will be used to build LNG plants that enable natural gas imports from countries other than Russia, but most will be used to carry renewable energy between countries, including hydro, offshore wind and tidal energy. One project is the longest under-sea cable in the world between the UK and Norway. :o ;D
Surpluses in one country will be sent to others that need power, making the grid much more efficient. Originally, the supergrid was also supposed to carry geothermal electricity from Iceland and the enormous Desertec Project in the Sahara Desert, but these have been tabled for now. :(
Worldwide, the onshore wind market should reach $898 billion by 2020, up from $89 billion in 2013, according to Transparency Market Research.
Full article:
http://www.sustainablebusiness.com/index.cfm/go/news.display/id/26119
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01/26/2015 04:17 PM
Homeowners: Don't Consider Solar a Luxury, Renewables Hit Parity in Many Countries (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2Fza4.gif&hash=2db0a6001703f4089cb64dc38159bb3d467e1bff)
SustainableBusiness.com News
Renewable energy costs the same or less than fossil fuels in most US states and in many parts of the world - very impressive for such a young industry.
42 of 50 Cities in US
In the US, solar is the more economical choice in 42 of the 50 largest cities, according to Going Solar in America, by the North Carolina Clean Energy Technology Center. Even fully financing a solar system (at 5% interest) costs homeowners less over its life than buying electricity from the local utility.
Because of high electricity prices, installing solar is cheapest in NYC and Boston, followed by:
Albuquerque, NM
San Jose, CA
Las Vegas, NV
Washington DC
Los Angeles, CA
San Diego, CA
Oakland, CA
San Francisco
But even people in states with moderate utility rates like North Carolina benefit because mid-Atlantic and southern states have the lowest installation costs.
Americans should no longer consider buying a solar system as a luxury, they say, but it does depend on the amount of sun and policies like the 30% federal tax credit and net-metering in the states. Over the 25 years of the solar systems people buy today, utilities are expected to increase electric rates 83%.
If the federal Investment Tax Credit stays in place, solar will cost the same or less than utility prices in 47 states by 2016, according to Deutsche Bank. If Congress allows it to fall to 10%, solar will have price parity in 36 states.
Importantly, solar costs would drop a lot more if more people understood what a great deal it is. That's because up to 64% of the cost is now "soft" customer acquisition costs, says the North Carolina Clean Energy Technology Center.
Read our article, Solar Has Another 'Best Year Ever' in 2014.
Home Buyers Pay More for Solar
Home buyers consistently pay about $15,000 more for homes with solar - a typical 3.6 kilowatt PV system - showing that it is increasingly viewed as a key asset that maintains home value in addition to lowering electricity costs.
Researchers at Lawrence Berkley Lab led a team that analyzed 22,000 home sales in eight states from 2002-2013 - 4,000 of which have solar. Homes ranged in price from $200,000-$900,000.
Solar gives a home "green cachet" they conclude, because the price premium doesn't vary much based on the size of the solar system. Newer solar systems get double the premium than those eight years or older.
The major point is "if you install solar and then sell your house, you should be able to get a significant portion of your money back. That's something we couldn't say with as much confidence before," says Ben Hoen, lead researcher. New home builders should take notice as well as those that are considering selling their house in the near term. Also, the real estate industry needs to include this when they appraise homes.
Renewables Worldwide
Onshore wind, geothermal, biomass and hydropower cost the same or less than coal, oil and gas-fired power stations, even without financial support and despite falling oil prices, says IRENA in Renewable Power Generation Costs in 2014. Solar PV leads the cost decline - modules cost 75% less since the end of 2009 and 50% less for utility-scale solar PV since 2010.
This chart shows the growth of solar as prices come down, 2000-2014 (at link http://www.sustainablebusiness.com/index.cfm/go/news.display/id/26120)
Solar Costs Worldwide 2014
•Onshore wind consistently provides electricity at $0.05 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) without subsidies in Europe and elsewhere, compared to $0.045 to 0.14/kWh for fossil fuel power plants.
•Wind energy costs $0.06/kWh in Asia, $0.07 in North America and $0.09 in Africa.
•Residential solar PV systems cost some 70% less than in 2008
•Total costs for utility-scale solar PV dropped 65% since 2010, with the most competitive projects delivering electricity for $0.08/kWh without subsidies.
•When damage to human health from fossil fuels is factored in, along with the cost of carbon emissions, the price of fossil fuel-fired power generation rises to $0.07-$0.19/kWh.
These costs, however, vary widely based on resources and availability of financing.
"Now is the time for a step-change in deployment for renewables," says Adnan Amin, Director-General of IRENA. "It has never been cheaper to avoid dangerous climate change, create jobs, reduce fuel import bills and future-proof our energy system with renewables. This requires public acknowledgement of the low price of renewables, an end to subsidies for fossil fuels, and regulations and infrastructure to support the global energy transition." (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.freesmileys.org%2Femoticons%2Femoticon-object-062.gif&hash=88ceb4a34a12b2bea2fd9edd887da26d73308257)
Read our article, Global Solar Hits Parity Next Year, No Subsidies Needed.
http://www.sustainablebusiness.com/index.cfm/go/news.display/id/26120
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Solar Is Creating Jobs Nearly 20 Times Faster Than Overall U.S. Economy
Anastasia Pantsios | January 15, 2015 9:56 am
All those senators (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2Fgen152.gif&hash=d5b10968fe56c4cb95fae17cee3cb420a5f4e2da) currently debating in Washington D.C., calling the Keystone XL pipeline approval bill an urgent “jobs creation bill,” are looking for jobs in all the wrong places.
Solar installation alone added more jobs in 2014 than both the oil and natural gas sectors—jobs that can’t be outsourced. Photo credit: The Solar Project
They should be perusing the National Solar Jobs Census 2014, the fifth annual such report compiled by the nonprofit Solar Foundation. What they’d find there puts the pipeline project to shame. Despite attacks on clean, renewable energy around the country, creating uncertainty in the sector, job creation grew dramatically. It outperformed the slowly improving U.S. economy, creating jobs at nearly 20 times the rate of the overall economy.
Last year, jobs in solar increased by 21.8 percent, adding up to 31,000 new jobs in 2014 and bringing the total number of solar-related jobs in the U.S. to 173,800. That’s an increase of 86 percent since 2010. The vast majority—approximately 157,500— work 100 percent on solar activities.
“The solar industry has once again proven to be a powerful engine of economic growth and job creation,” said The Solar Foundation’s president and executive director Andrea Luecke. “Our Census findings show that one out of every 78 new jobs created in the U.S. over the past 12 months was created by the solar industry—nearly 1.3 percent of all jobs. It also shows for the fifth consecutive year, the solar industry is attracting highly skilled, well-paid professionals. That growth is putting people back to work and strengthening our nation’s economy.”
And despite attacks in states like Ohio, which froze its renewable energy standards last June and is talking about permanently eliminating them, The Solar Foundation projects that growth will continue. Its employer survey, which collected data from more than 7,600 U.S. businesses, found that the next year solar is likely to see a similar increase of almost 21 percent, bringing the total number of workers in the industry to 210,060.
“Demand for clean renewable power is growing,” said Robert Reich, former U.S. Secretary of Labor and Professor of Public Policy at the University of California at Berkeley. “Solar exists at the critical intersection between energy, the economy and the environment. As the nation’s fastest growing energy source, solar is adding thousands of new jobs each year. Its growth will almost surely continue to be robust in coming years.”
The survey also found that installation remains the largest source of domestic solar employment growth, more than doubling since 2010 and that those workers are more and more diverse, with more African-Americans, Hispanics, women and veterans than in the 2013 report. Solar installation jobs have already blown past employment in the shrinking coal industry, which is now down to only 93,185 jobs. And while the oil and gas pipeline construction and extraction added 19,217 jobs in 2014, the solar installation sector created almost 50 percent more jobs.
Those jobs are that can’t be outsourced, won’t disappear in two years like the Keystone XL construction jobs and don’t come with negative health impacts or harmful impacts on the environment.
“The tremendous growth in the solar industry last year is further evidence that we can clean our air and cut climate pollution while also growing the economy,” said former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg. “The more data we have about the renewable energy industry, the better positioned policymakers and investors will be to make informed decisions. The Solar Jobs Census has the potential to help make that possible.”
And with jobs in the wind sector increasing rapidly as well, supporting fossil fuel industries at the expense of renewables seems like bad economic as well as bad environmental policy.
“Americans want greater clean energy deployment, and conventional electricity generation is among the largest sources of air and water pollution in the U.S.,” said Lyndon Rive, CEO of Solar City, the largest solar employer in the U.S. “As the Census underscores, solar is providing a tremendous boost to our economy while meeting public demand for choice, competition and cleaner, more affordable energy.” (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2Fearthhug.gif&hash=3abcf70466f34337f2d702ebd9e02c650d5c4c20)
http://ecowatch.com/2015/01/15/solar-industry-jobs/
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After a several DECADES of denying the obvious, mortgage providers are FINALLY recognizing that renewable energy INCREASES the value of a property. It's about time! (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2F301.gif&hash=0291ed4abf2d80e420d1aa00d4eb3c5dd6bbfb53)
02/13/2015 11:05 AM
Fannie Mae Gives Discount to Green Apartment Buildings
SustainableBusiness.com News
For the first time, mortgages will be discounted for green buildings, which advocates have been pursuing for years.
Fannie Mae announced that green multifamily properties will get a 10 basis point discount on interest for refinancing, acquisition and supplemental mortgage loans. To qualify, buildings can be LEED-certified, Energy Star-certified or meet Enterprise's Green Communities Criteria.
Fannie Mae is the top provider of multifamily financing in the US with a portfolio valued at more than $200 billion. 20 million families live in rental apartments and condos in the US.
If the market interest rate is 4% for multifamily loans, for example, certified buildings would pay 3.9%, saving $95,000 in interest payments over 10 years on a $10 million dollar loan.
"This is a great demonstration of leadership from Fannie Mae, and the partnership between the multifamily finance industry and the green building industry," says Rick Fedrizzi, CEO and founding chair of the US Green Building Council. "This is real money and an incentive to not only build green but also for existing buildings to achieve certification. For the first time, Fannie Mae multifamily lenders will be able to reward building owners for their better buildings."
"We clearly see the value in the triple-bottom line of certified green buildings: financial benefits of lower operating costs for owners and tenants; social benefits of better quality housing for renters; and environmental benefits for everyone," says Jeffery Hayward, executive vice president for multifamily, Fannie Mae.
And Fannie Mae will securitize the loans as Green Bonds, making them available for socially responsible investors to include them their portfolios.
Green building advocates have long said mortgages should be cheaper because lower energy, water and maintenance bills leave more disposable income for loan recipients. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2F47b20s0.gif&hash=cc48c9af9d29b8836023c7db21103e52d1ed439e)
LEED Savings
LEED buildings, for example, consume 25% less energy and 11% less water on average, and have 19% lower maintenance costs, while producing a third less greenhouse gas emissions.
In 2013, President Obama extended his Better Buildings program to multifamily housing. Under the program, building owners pledge to reduce energy consumption across their portfolios by 20% within 10 years, and agree to share best practice strategies that can be substantiated with energy data.
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac also provide financing to make multifamily buildings more energy and water efficient.
Here is Fannie Mae's Green Initiative:
Website: www.fanniemaegreeninitiative.com
http://www.sustainablebusiness.com/index.cfm/go/news.display/id/26152
Agelbert NOTE: THe MKings among us will NO DOUBT wail, moan and groan about "welfare queenery", "government handouts" and other "lack of responsibility" (see psychological projection on steroids ;)) claims while studiously ignoring THEIR mega-welfare queen, 24/7, decade after decade, taxpayer theft FOR WARS AND "subsidies". (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2Fugly004.gif&hash=c56db4280057389afd154a1cb4057410151579c8)
(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-160215143930.png&hash=a9d5f330127a91d7808df0c9d6b32270db2296e5)
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(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.haleakalasolar.com%2Fimages%2Findex-infobox2.jpg&hash=c49806321315171df0f26c7f0f47adb61cf632eb) Hawaii Reaches 21% Renewable Energy (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2F19.gif&hash=3f9f2fc2285bc756137e21463bc2a4c420b15ac3)
SustainableBusiness.com News
Hawaii Electric announced that 21% of its electricity comes from renewables, far exceeding the state's Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) that targets 15% by 2015.
12% of residential customers have on-site solar - a penetration level that leads the nation, says the utility. Partially that's because Hawaii has very high energy prices because it imports all its oil, but it is also because the utility has been proactive on developing home-grown energy.
The utility filed a Power Supply Improvement Plan with the Hawaii Public Utilities Commission which would:
•Increase renewable energy to over 65% by 2030
•Triple the amount of distributed solar by 2030
•Lower electric bills 20% by 2030
In other words, a utility is actually promoting the idea of raising the state's RPS, instead of trying to crush it like we're seeing in too many states.
In 2014, "we continued to grow our businesses in steady fashion and delivered a competitive core return on equity of 9.8% for the year as Hawaii Electric's combination of companies continues to provide us with the financial resources to efficiently invest in future opportunities," says Constance Lau, CEO.
Part of that investment is in grid modernization to be able to integrate more renewable energy. A clear, open planning process will let customers and solar contractors know how much more solar can be added each year, says Hawaii Electric.
"Even as recent oil price decreases have brought our customers bill relief, we remain focused on further reducing costs for our customers with proposed grid-scale solar and wind projects," Lau said. "We also are working with other stakeholders to bring liquefied natural gas to Hawaii as a cleaner, lower-cost alternative to oil while we continue to aggressively pursue more renewable generation sources."
Hawaii Electric is being acquired by NextEra Energy, one of the largest renewable energy developers, currently repowering parts of Altamont Pass Wind Farm and part-owners of the recently completed 550 MW Desert Sunlight Solar Project, for example. NextEra's utility side, Florida Power & Light, isn't very forward looking.
Read our article, Hawaii Plans For Solar, Instead of Reacting To It.
http://www.sustainablebusiness.com/index.cfm/go/news.display/id/26167
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02/26/2015 01:19 PM
California Carbon Auction Brings In $1 Billion! And Protects Forests
SustainableBusiness.com News
California raked in $1 billion in first cap-and-trade auction of the year, and since they take place every quarter, it can look forward to raising about $4 billion this year.
December's auction brought in $400 million, so why so much more now? As of January 1, transportation fuels are included in the program. ;D
This is a big deal. Until now, the program applied to a few hundred major stationary polluters - utilities, manufacturers and food processors. Now, it includes mobile sources - transportation fuels - which accounts for 40% of California's emissions, expanding it dramatically.
Refineries and fuel wholesalers have to pay for emissions tied to fuel sales. They passed the cost to motorists, raising gas prices about 10 cents a gallon at the pump.
Even with the number of permits raised substantially, prices held steady at $12.21 per carbon credit, which gives companies the right to emit 1 ton of carbon this year.
Last year, Quebec joined the program, so the province will get a share. When Quebec on board the program became the Western Climate Initiative.
Carbon Offsets Protect Forests, Help Native Americans ;D
As part of the carbon trading program, companies can cover up to 8% of emissions with purchases of less expensive carbon offsets.
Offsets can be used for three purposes:
•to pay businesses that destroy carbon-forcing HFCs like refrigerants;
•to pay dairies that capture methane
•to pay landowners that make a 100-year commitment to manage forests so they absorb maximum carbon from the atmosphere.
In April, California's Air Resources Board (ARB) issued the Yurok tribe over 800,000 offset credits in one of the first approved forestry projects. At the going rate of about $9 a credit, the tribe earns several million dollars to protect its forests, reports the LA Times.
Carbon Offset Yurok Land
About half the land on its reservation is owned by logging companies and the tribe is using the proceeds to buy and restore its ancestral land along the northern California coast.
"Due to the heavy logging activity that occurred around the Blue Creek Drainage, there's been significant degradation of habitat as well as fish population, by 80-90% from what it had been historically. We wanted to restore this land to its fullest capacity and the revenue from the carbon market offsets allowed us to do that," Vice Chair Susan Masten, told the Environmental Defense Fund.
Carbon projects allow the tribe to "maximize both revenue and the ability to preserve the forest," Chairman Thomas O'Rourke Sr., told the LA Times. It's allows us to "do our part on global warming and to preserve our way of life so that our future generations can see the pristine forest that our parents' grandparents saw."
Round Valley Indian Tribes is getting over 540,000 offset credits for its Improved Forest Management Project - 5,550 acres on its northern California reservation.
"This reinforces our goal of sustainable forestry to maintain levels of wildlife, native plants, fish, clean water, and reduced fire threats. This project also is in line with the tribes' mission to ensure that our future generations enjoy the benefits of a healthy forest," Joe Dukepoo, Round Valley Tribal Councilman, told Indian Country Today.
ARB set up the program with rigorous rules to make sure that emissions reductions are "real, permanent, quantifiable, verifiable and enforceable." A 113-page protocol for forest projects shows how to measure the amount of carbon plants are absorbing, and requires extensive monitoring, reporting and independent verification.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xbjmbqTdXN0&feature=player_embedded
Read our article, How California Will Spend the $5 Billion a Year From Cap-and-Trade.
http://www.sustainablebusiness.com/index.cfm/go/news.display/id/26171
Reader Comments (1)
Author:
Dave Clegern
Date Posted:
02/26/15 11:48 PM
It is incorrect to imply that California will have $1B to spend as a result of this month's carbon allowance auction. The majority of that money (considerably more than half) is returned to utilities for the benefit of their customers (to avoid rate increases, for on-bill credits twice a year, etc.) The remaining proceeds are split between California and our auction partner, the Canadian Province of Quebec. The amount of the actual total for California is also affected by the exchange rate at the time the total is tallied, and that has not yet happened. Dave Clegern Air Resources Board Public Information Officer for Climate Change Programs dclegern@arb.ca.gov
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(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-140315132209.jpeg&hash=d210263b37f9ad22f98e1cafe205300e366752e4)
Market Forces Signal Clean Energy’s Watershed Moment (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2F8.gif&hash=c1d98e606d7f558df4040f88e7997b3e11e9448c)
Tom Doyle, President and CEO, NRG Renew
March 12, 2015
Business leaders have an important decision to make this year: to continue operating under the status quo or to join the list of successful companies creating a more sustainable future by contracting or investing in renewable energy and making a positive impact on their brand, customers, employees and bottom line.
In the past few months, we’ve seen exciting renewable energy announcements from market leaders such as Kaiser Permanente, Apple, Google, Starwood, Amazon, Citigroup and Blackrock.
Citing concerns about climate change and its threat to human health, Kaiser Permanente, one of the nation’s largest not-for-profit healthcare providers, last week announced plans to power half the electricity it uses in California with renewable energy. Having previously committed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 30 percent by 2020, Kaiser Permanente is now targeting to surpass this goal by the end of 2016, accelerating its timetable by three years. To this end, Kaiser Permanente will purchase up to 70 megawatts of distributed solar power from NRG Renew to be installed on rooftops and parking shade structures at up to 170 Kaiser Permanente facilities across California, including medical offices, hospitals, clinics and data centers.
Several of the following market forces have aligned to make distributed solar power a viable, strategic option for Kaiser Permanente — and companies across all industries that are reviewing and re-evaluating their energy needs, looking for cleaner, more sustainable sources:
Cost reduction driven by technology advancements and scalability: The renewable energy industry is experiencing a decrease in infrastructure costs, finding that “solar photovoltaic modules cost three-quarters less today than they did in 2009, while wind turbine prices declined by almost a third over the same period.” The economics of clean energy are clear. In fact, some Fortune 500 companies have shaved more than $1 billion off their annual electric bills.
Grid instability and weather catastrophes have driven more interest in distributed generation: Not a lot has changed since the grid was originally built more than a century ago. In 2001, five weather-related events caused power outages that affected more than 50,000 customers. Ten years later, that figure rocketed up to 120 events that took down the grid. Weather events like Superstorm Sandy, combined with an antiquated infrastructure, signal that this pattern of unreliability will likely continue. Making the grid more resilient presents an ever-increasing cost imposed on consumers, but distributed solar and microgrids can take the strain off the grid by placing clean, solar energy generation next to a company’s load needs, helping mitigate the impact of future grid-related catastrophes.
(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-140315153043.png&hash=1b154933d3c644fd98d5412bb2aba1f7065d844e)
Sustainability goals improve brand image in the eyes of customers, employees and shareholders: According to an Accenture and United Nations sustainability report surveying more than 1,000 top executives across 103 nations and 27 industries, 93 percent of CEOs see sustainability as important to the future success of their business, and 80 percent see sustainability issues as a route to competitive advantage in their industry. Not only do sustainability efforts address growing consumer demands that companies address climate change and do the right thing for the planet, but renewable energy savings can be reinvested in research and development of innovative new products to corner markets or increase market share.
Companies are hedging for the future against volatile fuel prices and escalating utility rates: In the past, companies did not have a choice where their energy would come from. Today, there are more options for companies to lock in long-term, fixed-cost, clean energy contracts such as Power Purchase Agreements or Operating Leases that allow companies to hedge against future increases in power pricing and fundamentally purchase electricity in a cheaper way.
A combination of all these factors has led to an increase in renewable investment including a rise in the number of companies embracing distributed generation as a strategic, economic and more sustainable energy option. This middle ground between residential solar and utility-scale solar is an area where single-brand, multi-site companies, such as Kaiser Permanente and Unilever, can uniquely benefit from a portfolio approach to harnessing renewable energy.
At Arizona State University, we worked with the university’s team to develop and install more than 30 installations across the campus. At our Starwood projects in Arizona, Hawaii and St. John, we’re taking a diversified, custom design-driven approach, integrating solar panels into the existing landscape to provide visually compelling installations that adds to the beauty at each resort. While the economics and electricity pricing can vary greatly, a portfolio approach spreads the pricing across the collection of projects for overall savings. And it’s an approach that will work for many companies globally that operate multiple sites from college, government and corporate campuses to shopping centers, warehouses/distribution centers and manufacturing facilities.
Our sustainable future is here. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2F128fs318181.gif&hash=eff6d5f3831782966c2ff2081f07bf7fc5b22a6b) Now is the time to reevaluate your energy needs and join us in rewriting the energy status quo with renewables at its core. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.coh2.org%2Fimages%2FSmileys%2Fhuhsign.gif&hash=3732d0427be65896527fc3805c5be54a33cffd3b)
http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2015/03/market-forces-signal-clean-energys-watershed-moment
Agelbert note: The energy status quo needs to have renewables EVERYWHERE, not simply at its core. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2F301.gif&hash=0291ed4abf2d80e420d1aa00d4eb3c5dd6bbfb53) And dirty energy production needs to PAY for all the pollution from the past as well as be prohibited from polluting in the present and future. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2Fswear1.gif&hash=87347674f9297191f3f8a447208170617da4caf6)
The Fossil Fuelers DID THE Climate Trashing CRIME, but since they have ALWAYS BEEN liars (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.u.arizona.edu%2F%7Epatricia%2Fcute-collection%2Fsmileys%2Flying-smiley.gif&hash=a34c2f7344d5f54f7009a4e684bb6c7310cdda03) and conscience free crooks (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.freesmileys.org%2Fsmileys%2Fsmiley-devil19.gif&hash=6eeb0dbc471743691793f5130640fdcbd1f77b5c), they are trying to AVOID DOING THE TIME or PAYING THE FINE! Don't let them get away with it!
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03/20/2015 12:32 PM
China Installs As Much Solar As Entire US This Year :o (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fus.123rf.com%2F400wm%2F400%2F400%2Fyayayoy%2Fyayayoy1106%2Fyayayoy110600019%2F9735563-smiling-sun-showing-thumb-up.jpg&hash=09b45642ec6d7943d30b5b87548676e3ee7dbe3d) (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fthumbs.dreamstime.com%2Fz%2Fchinese-emoticon-22648577.jpg&hash=e5f417f773692d246a108dcc451657cb8b2c6e05)
SustainableBusiness.com News
If you thought India's goals for solar were high at 15 gigawatts a year (http://thehill.com/blogs/pundits-blog/energy-environment/234186-a-change-to-renewable-energy-can-happen-quickly), China can still beat that.
China says it will install 17.8 gigawatts of solar this year, raising the target 20%. That's almost as much as the entire US has at 20 GW.
If they follow last year's plan, about half will be rooftop solar - a priority for the first time - as a way to reduce pollution in populated centers (http://www.sustainablebusiness.com/index.cfm/go/news.display/id/25696), and get off coal (http://www.sustainablebusiness.com/index.cfm/go/news.display/id/26174). Until now, almost all solar systems have been built in remote locations at utility-scale, requiring big investments in transmission infrastructure.
Since most people don't live in single family homes, rooftop solar and small, ground-mounted projects would be on large rooftops of industrial and commercial companies, and public buildings like rail stations and airport terminals. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.runemasterstudios.com%2Fgraemlins%2Fimages%2F2thumbs.gif&hash=98130be1edf2bed4a80ac8f134b0126673bd469e)
According to news sources, China missed the mark last year on small solar because lots of distributed systems are more complicated to finance and install.
The country can reach 26% renewable energy by 2030, according to the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) in Renewable Energy Prospects: China. Looking only at electricity, renewables could supply 40% by then (including hydro and nuclear). And that would bring 18% lower coal consumption.
"China's energy use is expected to increase 60% by 2030. :P How China meets that need will determine whether or not the world can curb climate change," says Adnan Amin, Director-General of IRENA.
According to IRENA, 2.6 million people work in the renewable energy industry in China.
Determined to Clean Up Pollution
(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.freesmileys.org%2Femoticons%2Femoticon-object-106.gif&hash=f996659d18df7f3b445e6135e884397ac91f25b1)The country has a new Minister of the Environment, Chen Jining, an environmental scientist (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-200714191258.bmp&hash=e4ed21caaca822f7445ccafd39f49a9f84be90ca) and former president of the prestigious Tsinghua University.
His predecessor was known as a "consummate insider (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2Facigar.gif&hash=dc9dccf92c6c88c99611b06c86d92629d69f2978)" that let industry (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2F2z6in9g.gif&hash=771b084a0f186d9cc14f31defd98a6c90b69b84f) get away with skirting requirements, which came to a head with the recent release of the film, "Under the Dome," which made headlines when it went viral. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2Fmaniac.gif&hash=9ecf389a7da25db958f3f63461cbb45a4b316c4e) (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2Fcowboypistol.gif&hash=2dc97f743dffca22404e6e4e0822765e60b33f38) (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-050315175442.gif&hash=244c0486f303979d386a4fa8d77393769e7516eb)(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.websmileys.com%2Fsm%2Fviolent%2Fsterb029.gif&hash=7a43a0c106eab798f7ba6133dc5cc550647a03d2)
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(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/B96agauCQAA0iTR.jpg:large)
While the population has been protesting polluted air and water for years, the film is widely seen as the final wake-up call - China's "Silent Spring." Viewed an amazing 200 million times for a 104-minute film, it exposes the devastating impact China's industries have had on air quality, and the government that has failed to regulate them. While the media and government originally lauded the film, the files have quietly become unavailable. >:(
Amazingly, companies have been covering up their pollution in some innovative ways, like "rigging automated pollution-monitoring systems to fudge data, discharging pollution through secret underground pipes and dumping toxic waste into rivers in the dead of night," reports CleanBiz.Asia.
Agelbert NOTE: It's clear the Chinese Predatory Capitalists LEARNED A LOT from a certain FASCIST FOSSIL FUEL GOVERNMENT that has RUN/RUINED the USA for about a century. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-200714191329.bmp&hash=4764bfbe6bb0e11ca61102efa97a932a824f47e0)
And China's air pollution is making it all the way to the US. Various pollutants, from acid rain-inducing sulphate to
black carbon, (http://www.sustainablebusiness.com/index.cfm/go/news.display/id/24473) travel on "westerly winds," reports Reuters.
"We've outsourced our manufacturing and much of our pollution, but some of it is blowing back across the Pacific to haunt us," Steve Davis, a scientist at University of California Irvine, told Reuters. One third of China's greenhouse gases is attributed to its export industries, according to Worldwatch Institute.
Read our article, Climate Change Reframed: China, World Bank Prioritize Pollution (http://www.sustainablebusiness.com/index.cfm/go/news.display/id/25174).
http://www.sustainablebusiness.com/index.cfm/go/news.display/id/26206 (http://www.sustainablebusiness.com/index.cfm/go/news.display/id/26206)
AGELBERT RANT: If you think, FOR ONE SECOND, that the very same Fascist Fossil Fuel Government in the USA that is spraying nanoparticle aerosols in the troposphere TO SLOW DOWN GLOBAL WARMING SO THE FOSSIL FUEL BASTARDS can preserve their profit over people and planet CRAP, is "concerned" about the pollution from China, you have that EXACTLY backwards. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.coh2.org%2Fimages%2FSmileys%2Fhuhsign.gif&hash=3732d0427be65896527fc3805c5be54a33cffd3b) More aerosols from MORE pollution reflects sunlight, GET IT? (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2Fsnapoutofit.gif&hash=911b14b142101df534f739771fb2d3836a807d19)
If you don't, you need to look up the term "profit over planet". And no, that will NOT work in the long run to cool the planet. BUT THE SHORT RUN is ALL that the greedball imbeciles that run our country have the mental horsepower to handle.
So EXPECT our biosphere math challenged Dr. Strangeloves to INCREASE the geo-engineering of the atmosphere in DIRECT PROPORTION to the DECREASE of polluting aerosols from China by adding MORE heavy metal aerosols to MAKE UP for the aerosols China stops putting out. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2F126fs2277341.gif&hash=1a8375f11d76a653bcb48e30eaa7b652175f029d)(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2F2z6in9g.gif&hash=771b084a0f186d9cc14f31defd98a6c90b69b84f)
Have a nice day.
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04/02/2015 03:47 PM
China's Hydrogen Tram Rolls Off Assembly Line
SustainableBusiness.com News
The first hydrogen-powered train just came off the assembly line in China and will soon be operating in Qingdao.
It looks like a bullet train, but it is called a tram because it's meant for short city trips right now. It has a 62-mile range and a top speed of 43 mph, with room for 380 passengers.
Built by Sifang, a subsidiary of state-owned China South Rail Corporation, it runs on hydrogen fuel cells, an "advanced permanent-magnet synchronous motor and frequency converter."
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China plans to spend $32 billion in the next five years to reach over 1,200 miles of tram tracks in numerous cities, up from just 83 miles now, says Xinhua News.
The city of Foshan - with 8 million people - is taking the lead on hydrogen. Last year, it invested $72 million to bring Sifang's factory and distribution system there, and they are collaborating on a national hydrogen research center in the city, reports Bloomberg.
Shanghai has Maglev trains - super high-speed trains that "float" at top speeds of 260 mph, and work is advancing on speeds as high as 371 mph.
Instead of running on wheels, Maglevs are propelled along tracks electromagnetically, eliminates friction and providing a smooth, quiet, very fast ride.
In Japan, a Super-Maglev that reaches 311 mph carried passengers during an eight day test last year. It enters full service in 2027, when it will take 1000 passengers between Tokyo and Nagoya (167 miles) in 40 minutes.
Japan wants to spread the technology and even offered the US a $4 billion loan (half the cost) to build a Super-Maglev between Baltimore and Washington DC. It would cut the one hour commute (37 miles) to 15 minutes. Another line would run from Boston to DC. Although there's been interest on both the state and federal level, it's hard to imagine the US Congress allocating funds for this anytime soon.
http://www.sustainablebusiness.com/index.cfm/go/news.display/id/26230
Renewable energy= (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-301014181553.gif&hash=c09667beb656b25086c168adcdaddcba59abf858) (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.freesmileys.org%2Fsmileys%2Fsmiley-scared002.gif&hash=764898cfbf07ef2c41ffddc5e93fa0e1bed41bae)=Fossil Fuelers
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Renewables Beat Fossil Fuels Second Year in a Row ;D
Nathanael Greene, Natural Resources Defense Council * | April 21, 2015 9:39 am
Start spreading the news: The world is now deploying more renewable energy in the production of electricity—more wind and solar power, in particular—than it is fossil fuels.
And it has been since 2013 (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2F301.gif&hash=0291ed4abf2d80e420d1aa00d4eb3c5dd6bbfb53) , according to the analysts at Bloomberg New Energy Finance. That year, the world added 143 gigawatts of new renewables capacity, compared to the 141 gigawatts of power generated by coal, natural gas and oil combined.
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States can speed the deployment of solar by allowing third-party developers to install solar on homes, businesses and community institutions and sell the electricity the systems generate back to customers at a reduced cost. Photo credit: Shutterstock
Not only that, but by 2030, we’ll likely add a whopping four times as much renewable energy generating capacity as fossil fuel capacity, the Bloomberg folks say. “The electricity system is shifting to clean,” Michael Liebreich, of Bloomberg New Energy Finance, said at the company’s The Future of Energy Summit 2015 in New York City last week. “Despite the change in oil and gas prices, there is going to be a substantial build-out of renewable energy that is likely to be an order of magnitude larger than the build-out of coal and gas.”
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Power generation capacity additions (gigawatt). Source: Bloomberg New Energy Finance
That is great news, but it doesn’t mean we’re out of the woods, global warming-wise. Renewables still produce less energy (gigawatt-hours) than fossil fuels. Worldwide and here in the U.S., we’re still not investing nearly as much as we need to to prevent the worst impacts of climate change. But we’re making headway and the goal is in sight, assuming we continue with policies that incentivize clean energy for all it has to offer. Here I mean, of course, significant climate change mitigation, cleaner air for our kids to breathe, improved public health (and the decreased healthcare spending that comes with it), and good jobs galore.
Recent advances in the deployment of renewables, and commensurate drops in fossil fuel installation, have been made possible because many nations around the world—ours included—along with their state, provincial and local governments, have used smart policies to support renewable energy. These policies have spurred demand, sped economies of scale, driven investment in improved technologies and increased competition in the marketplace, all of which, in turn, have led to breath-taking price declines in the costs of both wind and solar power.
To continue these advances around the world, and help make renewable energy even more prevalent and accessible, there’s much we in the U.S. can do. And what we do in the U.S. is especially significant, because the progress we make here influences the world marketplace (Here’s an example: Policy-driven demand in the U.S. helped bring Chinese solar manufacturers into the market. Their efforts, in turn, significantly drove down the cost of solar panels so that last year, they cost a mind-blowing 50 cents a watt in most places. Compare that to $1.31 a watt in 2011).
There are three federal policies, at a minimum, that need to be renewed if we are to continue to push down prices and deploy more clean energy: the Production Tax Credit for wind power and the Investment Tax Credit for offshore wind power, both of which have already expired; and the 30 percent Solar Investment Tax Credit, which remains in effect through 2016. That credit has been pivotal in solar’s exponential growth in recent years, including double-digit job growth in an industry that provides good-paying jobs to many people with only high school degrees. That credit should be renewed as well.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean Power Plan to cut carbon pollution from existing power plants will also likely become a huge driver of renewable energy development here in the U.S. and, thus, help lower prices and increase deployment worldwide.
At the state level, renewable energy standards, which require utilities to get certain percentages of their electricity from sources such as solar and wind power, have been the major impetus behind clean energy development. These standards are under attack in some states by legislators connected with the fossil-fuel-funded American Legislative Exchange Council, and we should defend these standards with all we’ve got. The good news is that many states are increasing their standards so that more and more of their energy comes from renewable sources, a move the Natural Resources Defense Council encourages.
California is the current leader, with its plan to get 50 percent of its electricity from renewable sources by 2030. New York could pull ahead, though, with a 50 percent by 2025 standard that the Natural Resources Defense Council and its partners are promoting now. States can also speed the deployment of solar through more efficient permitting and interconnection processes, and, importantly, by allowing third-party developers to install solar on homes, businesses and community institutions and sell the electricity the systems generate back to customers at a reduced cost.
As renewable energy prices come down fast and the concentration of carbon pollution in our atmosphere continues to skyrocket, renewable energy offers a solution with benefits for everyone—cleaner air, good jobs and a safer climate for our kids. Smart policies that promote it and its many benefits are key to advances not just here in the U.S. but all the way around the world.
http://ecowatch.com/2015/04/21/renewables-beat-fossil-fuels-bloomberg/
* Agelbert NOTE: Please do not confuse anything written for and by dirty energy defender MKing disingenuously titled "Natural Resources" with the peer reviewed and responsible work coming from Nathanael Greene of the Natural Resources Defense Council.
MKing is all about exploitation without reflection. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-200714183312.bmp&hash=02dafef2fe739676600fdc9bd56271f0f5ab3723)
Nathanael Green is about restoration and responsible preservation. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.runemasterstudios.com%2Fgraemlins%2Fimages%2F2thumbs.gif&hash=98130be1edf2bed4a80ac8f134b0126673bd469e)
Renewable energy= (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-301014181553.gif&hash=c09667beb656b25086c168adcdaddcba59abf858) (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.freesmileys.org%2Fsmileys%2Fsmiley-scared002.gif&hash=764898cfbf07ef2c41ffddc5e93fa0e1bed41bae)=Fossil Fuelers
(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.freesmileys.org%2Fsmileys%2Fsmiley-forum%2Fpopcorn.gif&hash=f4c8fc573041a73e34bfb823e0611fbfe8617d67)
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Does RELIABLE energy have to be DIRTY energy?
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LuSMoFBFBlw&feature=player_embedded
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May 4, 2015
Authors Laurie Guevara-Stone Writer / Editor
Emerging Economies Surge Forward with Renewables
A recent report from Bloomberg New Energy Finance and several partners shows that renewable energy adoption is growing in the world’s emerging economies nearly twice as fast than in industrialized nations.
Not only are renewable energy technologies now cost competitive with fossil fuels in many developing nations, but they are often more reliable, safer, and at times cheaper than conventional grid power. ;D
The report—covering 55 countries in Africa, Asia, and Latin America and the Caribbean—destroys the myth that fossil generation is the best way forward, and shows that the strides made by the private sector, government, and civil society have the potential to pave the way for an exciting market for renewables in Africa and beyond. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2F47b20s0.gif&hash=cc48c9af9d29b8836023c7db21103e52d1ed439e)
The top ten countries studied in the report with the best investment climate and policies for clean energy include large polluters like China, Brazil, India, and Indonesia, but also include smaller nations such as Kenya, Uganda, and Uruguay. The report looked at numerous indicators of what makes a country attractive for clean energy investment, development, and deployment, including a country’s policy and power sector structure, the level of price attractiveness for clean energy deployment, the expectations for how large the market for clean energy can become, the availability of local funds, the local cost of debt and green microfinance activity, the availability of local manufacturing and other similar types of capacity to spur clean energy projects, the level of policy support for carbon emissions reduction, and local corporate awareness of carbon issues.
Cost-Competitive Electricity
Some of the poorest countries in the world actually have very expensive and/or quite unreliable electricity. Their grids—with badly aging infrastructure—often rely on imported fossil fuels and even those with their own energy resources face shortages meaning routine brownouts, or worse, blackouts. (In countries such as Sierra Leone and Nigeria, the grid is down more than half the year, according to a Joint Research Centre, European Commission report.) Brazil’s drought is causing electricity rationing due to the country’s reliance on large hydro, and India’s coal shortage in previous years raised costs and closed power plants. When renewables such as solar and wind compete with expensive energy coupled with inadequate infrastructure, renewables reach grid parity and are more reliable and secure for populations connected to the grid.
The case is even stronger for the 1.3 billion people in the world without access to electricity. Many of these people rely on kerosene lamps that are not only costly—poor households typically spend 10 percent of their income on kerosene—but also an extreme health hazard. Access to distributed solar systems or other renewable technologies could not only bring cleaner, healthier, and more reliable power to rural areas, but can do so much more economically than trying to extend the grid.
The following four countries—countries in which renewables are growing quickly—exemplify why developing countries and emerging economies are investing in renewables … from greening their centralized grids to electrifying the billions of people still without access to electricity.
Brazil
In October 2014 Brazil held its first solar-only energy auction, and the accepted bids for more than 1,000 MW of power—averaging $87/MWh—were among the lowest unsubsidized solar prices in the world and well below the peak wholesale power prices at that time of $400/MWh. Wind energy became the cheapest energy source in Brazil years ago, beating out both natural gas and hydropower.
Currently Brazil gets less than 1 percent of its electricity from solar (only 44.6 MW), 3 percent from wind, and over 70 percent from hydropower. But being in the worst drought in eighty years, the country wants to diversify its electricity supply, with a target of 3.5 GW of solar and 22.4 GW of wind power in operation by 2023, 20 percent of the country’s current generating capacity.
India
Solar energy in India is now cheaper than coal. And many utility companies in India are now realizing the business case for renewables over conventional power projects. Tata Power, the second-largest private sector power generating company in India, is looking to expand its renewable energy portfolio by acquiring 300 MW of wind projects in northwest India. And the country recently announced it intends to more than double its use of renewable energy, from 6 percent to at least 15 percent, by 2020.
Yet India also realizes there are many more benefits to renewable energy than alleviating climate change. The country already has over 1 million households and 10,000 rural communities using distributed renewable energy systems to provide them with basic electricity. According to a booklet the country produced for the climate talks in Lima, “Apart from electricity generation, the application of these technologies has benefited millions of rural folk by meeting their lighting, cooking, and productive energy needs in a decentralized and environmentally benign way.” Among India’s proposals are 25 more solar farms and 100,000 more solar pumps for irrigation and drinking water.
Kenya
Although Kenya is the largest economy in East Africa, less than 20 percent of Kenyans have access to electricity. For people without access to grid power, often renewables are the cheapest option. Most Kenyans use kerosene for lighting, paying $0.92 per liter. For the average Kenyan family that makes less than $2 per day kerosene is not only a costly extravagance, but also an unhealthy and polluting one. This makes off-grid solar an economical and healthier choice. Around 744 buildings from health centers to schools have been hooked up to solar through Kenya’s 2009 Rural Electrification Master Plan.
The country also hopes to boost wind power generation by 630 MW. Kenya is already on its way with construction of the Lake Turkana 300 MW Wind Project spanning 40,000 acres. The project is expected to increase the country’s power generation by 17 percent, and be the cheapest source of power in the country after geothermal.
Uruguay
This small South American country generates about 45 percent of its electricity from hydropower. However, during dry periods, prior to 2013 the country purchased electricity from neighboring Argentina at up to $400/MWh, eight times the average cost of electricity generation in the United States. To avoid expensive imported fuels, the country embarked on a plan to install enough wind farms to generate 30 percent of the nation’s energy needs, at only $64/MWh. The installed wind capacity is now at 219 MW, and renewables generate 84 percent of Uruguay’s electricity. Because of cheap wind power, consumers saw a 5.5 percent energy bill decrease in July 2014.
Uruguay is also forging ahead with solar power, and the state electric company recently agreed to purchase electricity from a 50-megawatt solar farm at just over $90/MWh.
Smart Choices for the Future
While countries around the world experiment with renewables, many emerging economies are making it part of their long-term strategies for development. Demand continues to grow quickly—developing countries grew their grids by nearly 30 percent in the past five years, compared to 9.6 percent in OECD nations. And sub-Saharan Africa is seeing 300 percent compound annual growth in off-grid lighting.
This is thus a critical time for emerging economies around the world. Will their current dirty, expensive, unreliable grids be built out with fossil-fueled power? And how will they electrify the 1.3 billion beyond the reach of that grid?
Encouraging examples and early successes from these countries and others demonstrate that distributed solar PV and other renewables could provide an answer, but much work remains left to do in the transition from fossil fuels to clean, reliable, affordable renewable electricity.
http://blog.rmi.org/blog_2015_05_04_emerging_economies_surge_forward_with_renewables
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Hawaii Goes Green and Other Big Renewables Stories
Posted on May 12, 2015
By Juan Cole
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This post originally ran on Juan Cole’s website.
The Hawaii legislature has just passed a bill by an overwhelming margin that sets a goal of 100% renewable energy in the state by 2045. The new law requires that the state get a third of its electricity from renewables by 2020, only five years from now. Electricity in Hawaii is expensive, about 34 cents a kilowatt hour for residences, since unlike most states it depends on petroleum as the fuel for its plants, and that has to be imported across long distances. The US average cost for residential electricity is 12 cents a kilowatt hour. New solar installations can provide it as low as 6 cents a kilowatt hour, and new geothermal plants are slightly cheaper (Hawaii has a *lot* of potential geothermal power but there is substantial public resistance, and solar may be the better play). So the legislature’s plan is the only thing that makes sense, and if anything its timeline is not nearly ambitious enough. Even a developing country like Morocco plans for 42% renewables by 2020, and Scotland may well be 100% by then. Costa Rica already is.
Solar energy is playing a role in post-disaster relief works in Nepal. Small solar kits power water purification and can charge phones and provide lighting in villages, where power lines are now often down because of the massive earthquake. donate here.
China put in 5 gigawatts of new solar plants in the first three months of 2015 alone. In all of 2014, the USA did not install that much new solar, and 2014 was a remarkably good year for solar power in the US. China is near to outstripping Germany for title of country with the most solar energy. It will likely have 45 gigwatts of solar generation capacity by the end of 2015, 10 gigs more than it had planned for.
Graphic of installed Renewable Energy capacity of top ten ountries at link below.
Pakistan, habitually plagued with a lack of electricity and repeated brown-outs, has opened its first solar power plant. The newly opened plant generates 100 megawatts, but that will be increased 10-fold to 1 gigawatt over the next year. It only cost $190 mn. to build, took a year, and was installed by by China’s Tebian Electric Apparatus Stock Co Ltd (TBEA). The project is part of a $46 bn. development scheme proposed by the Chinese government for Pakistan.
Dubai has earmarked $3 billion to raise the generating capacity of the Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park from 1 gigawatt to 3 gigawatts. The United Arab Emirates also announced that it will install 100 MW of solar in the north.
http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/hawaii_goes_green_and_other_big_renewables_stories_20150512
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Jane Jones
May 13, 2015
Germany's power houses not only feel the pinch, they're done with.
The CEO of EoN held a speech last week agreeing they're finished.
And RWE's CEO said that all reserves are gone.
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I wrote a posting today on:
http://www.renewablesinternational.net/are-the-poor-paying-for-the-rich-in-the-energiewende/150/537/87495/
Quote:
I don't know where to put this, so here is probably the best place ...:
The share holder meeting of EoN was last week, CEO Teyssen declared the Energiewende a success and says the revolution is in full swing. The large generators are at loss, the small scale generation is the future.
Here the speech in English:
http://www.eon.com/content/dam/eon-com/Investoren/Hauptversammlung/HV15_Speech_Johannes_Teyssen_EN.pdf
An article by Franz Alt (in German) in Telepolis:
http://www.heise.de/tp/artikel/44/44927/1.html
Remarkable: Teyssen hails the successful Energiewende in Canada and Australia!
That'll give some up-swing to the people there who are still trying to digest Mr. Abbott.
Home-made power is already the cheapest power, so Teyssen.
Well, we know that. ;D
The impact of these words should not be underestimated: Germany's laws (and those in other states as well) demand public money to be spend wisely, economical.
Some extracts:
- the hedging price in central Europe will drop from 2014= € 56.-/MWh to 2015= € 50.-/MWh
- batteries in combination with PV will be the cheapest power
Teyssen at page 8 :
" How should we address the heterogeneous and in some cases mutually contradictory developments in our markets? Last year we thoroughly analyzed this question. We talked to a lot of people: experts in the energy industry as well as other industries, investors, researchers, startup founders, and above all with the many experts and practitioners across our company. We asked ourselves what do solar panels and gas pipelines still have in common? We asked the same question about micro CHP units and large - scale power stations, smart meters and intraday trading. Our answer is: not very much anymore "
........
" It became clear to us that our company’s current business profile is no longer viable for the future. We believe the integrated business model is obsolete. "
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This is not a won battle, this is a total surrender. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2Fza4.gif&hash=2db0a6001703f4089cb64dc38159bb3d467e1bff)
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Another one from RWE, EoN's main competitor in Europe: (in German)
http://www.sonnewindwaerme.de/panorama/kernkraft-rwe-hat-vermutlich-nichts-zurueckgestellt
RWE has probably no financial reserves left. They should have enough money set aside by law to pay for the demolition of their atomic power plants.
But this money is gone says the boss. Everything they are going to need, for demolition of atomic power plants, for re-naturation of coal pits, for pensions and so on ...everything has to be earned in future. They're bankrupt.
In other words: they must burn coal to finance their faltering. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-200714183312.bmp&hash=02dafef2fe739676600fdc9bd56271f0f5ab3723)
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end of quote
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Small-scale PV has broken the neck of Europe's utilities. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2F47b20s0.gif&hash=cc48c9af9d29b8836023c7db21103e52d1ed439e)
The ants kicked the elephants off their back. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-280614160021.gif&hash=c4232ef777279385681440205c65fed5025a6886)
And they run for their lives (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.freesmileys.org%2Fsmileys%2Fsmiley-scared002.gif&hash=764898cfbf07ef2c41ffddc5e93fa0e1bed41bae), begging for mercy for their souls. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.freesmileys.org%2Fsmileys%2Fsmiley-scared003.gif&hash=d92208ad6a7118de03c11a1656d0ce1759802703)
For 100 years these gangsters reigned the world, the bloodiest which mankind ever faced.
http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2015/05/germanys-powerhouse-feels-pinch-of-merkels-shift-to-renewables#comm142778
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(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fdl10.glitter-graphics.net%2Fpub%2F2491%2F2491210ovie015m90.gif&hash=c2edc7e32994c57779427e0df75cabac786a12bf)
Law creates Vermont’s first renewable energy standards (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.freesmileys.org%2Femoticons%2Femoticon-object-098.gif&hash=ab04cec34d8ac6be10d5db27dc7987012b3a69c4)
(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fcliparts.co%2Fcliparts%2FBig%2FEgq%2FBigEgqBMT.png&hash=e7eec62f009cdd686ce795fad0a53c6befe748e9)
John Herrick May. 15 2015, 10:40 pm
The Vermont Legislature passed a major renewable energy bill late Friday despite last-minute anxiety over where new wind and solar projects should be built.
The Senate voted 22-6 to pass H.40, a renewable energy standard that requires utilities to buy and sell more renewable electricity beginning in 2017. The bill received final approval in the House on a voice vote late Friday and now goes to Gov. Peter Shumlin’s desk.
The bill incentivizes the build out of 400 megawatts of new renewable energy generation by 2032, according to the Shumlin administration. It also encourages utilities to reduce customers’ fossil fuel consumption through the use of heat pumps and electric cars.
Proponents say the bill puts the state on a track to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, generate its own power supply and save on energy costs. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.desismileys.com%2Fsmileys%2Fdesismileys_0293.gif&hash=b1af4868ed8f18c30e637f8cbcb79002f6f71039)
Critics (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2F165fs373950.gif&hash=ad797fcc08a061d3ae50ee49ccd9f3d517fb7496) say the bill does little to address local concerns about how and where wind and solar projects are built. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-051113192052.png&hash=93c42ef9f18fc5d9da50fd91fc19f70009f95f85) (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-200714191329.bmp&hash=4764bfbe6bb0e11ca61102efa97a932a824f47e0)
After days of squabbling in the Senate over policy proposals that would change how energy projects are developed, the issue was resolved temporarily with a summer study committee that will lead to siting legislation next year.
The Senate’s version of the bill put in place a requirement that solar projects meet statewide solar setback limits and local screening measures. It also makes it easier for towns to participate in the Public Service Board permitting process by giving them automatic party status.
The bill also addresses a concern that electric rates could rise due to legal issues with Vermont’s current renewable energy incentive program, known as SPEED.
At the start of the session, the Shumlin administration told lawmakers electric rates could rise 6 percent statewide if no action was taken. That’s because SPEED allows Vermont utilities to sell renewable energy credits and count them toward a state goal in 2017. Because these credits could be “double counted,” the state of Connecticut has said they may not purchase them after 2017.
Vermont utilities sell about $50 million worth of credits, largely from wind and solar projects, to keep electric rates down. Losing the ability to sell them could increase electric rates. The renewable energy standard passed Friday would repeal SPEED, which would eliminate the risk of double counting, according to Connecticut regulators. Because Vermont would now have its own energy standards, utilities could not count them toward their Vermont goals and sell them on the REC market.
“That’s a risk for ratepayers that we want to take off the books,” (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-080515182559.png&hash=d4dfa952fa0f817bf30a8059a4c88d6fb05ee1bf) said Darren Springer, deputy commissioner for the Department of Public Service, before the House vote Friday. “This bill resolves that issue.”
H.40 requires utilities to offer incentives to customers to reduce their fossil fuel consumption. ;D The program is designed to replace gasoline fueled cars with electric vehicles and oil-fired furnaces with electric heat pumps. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2F47b20s0.gif&hash=cc48c9af9d29b8836023c7db21103e52d1ed439e) Weatherization would also count toward the requirements.
Utilities can petition regulators for a waiver from the regulations if they prove it would increase electric rates. There is also an annual reporting requirement on the rate impact of the program.
Senate President Pro Tem John Campbell, D-Windsor, was slow to move the bill through the Senate. He says he supports renewable energy development, but some developers have been irresponsible. He wanted towns to have more say in project siting.
Before the vote, Campbell said he would not support the bill without a strong siting provision, but he later voted for the bill and sent it over to the House.
“I could have killed it, but I’m not going to do that,” he said. “Sometimes it’s tough to be a leader and a statesman.”
The bill requires the Shumlin administration to report back on the impacts of renewable energy development on forest fragmentation, wildlife habitat and agricultural soils.
http://vtdigger.org/2015/05/15/law-creates-vermonts-first-renewable-energy-standards/
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7 Facts That Prove the Renewable Energy Revolution Has Arrived
Earth Policy Institute | May 17, 2015 10:54 am
The global transition to clean, renewable energy and away from nuclear and fossil fuels is well under way with remarkable developments happening every day. The Great Transition by Lester Brown, Janet Larsen, Matt Roney and Emily Adams of Earth Policy Institute lays out a tremendous range of these developments. Here are seven that may surprise you:
Over the past decade, world wind power capacity grew more than 20 percent a year. Photo credit: Shutterstock
1. Solar is now so cheap that global adoption appears unstoppable.
•The price of solar photovoltaic panels has declined 99 percent over the last four decades, from $74 a watt in 1972 to less than 70 cents a watt in 2014.
•Between 2009 and 2014, solar panel prices dropped by three fourths, helping global PV installations grow 50 percent per year.
•See more solar power facts here.
2. Wind power adoption is rapidly altering energy portfolios around the world.
•Over the past decade, world wind power capacity grew more than 20 percent a year, its increase driven by its many attractive features, public policies supporting its expansion and falling costs.
•By the end of 2014, global wind generating capacity totaled 369,000 megawatts, enough to power more than 90 million U.S. homes. Wind currently has a big lead on solar PV, which has enough worldwide capacity to power roughly 30 million U.S. homes.
•See more wind power facts here.
3. National and subnational energy policies are promoting renewables, and many governments are considering a price on carbon.
•Unfortunately, governments worldwide still subsidized the fossil fuel industry with over $600 billion, giving this aging industry five times the subsidy that went to renewables.
•But by the start of 2014, some 70 countries, including many in Europe, were using feed-in tariffs to encourage investment in renewables.
•See more energy policy facts here.
4. The financial sector is embracing renewables—and starting to turn against fossils and nuclear.
•The financial services firm Barclays downgraded the entire U.S. electricity sector in 2014, in part because in its view U.S. utilities are generally unprepared for the challenges posed by distributed solar power and battery storage.
•In January 2013, Warren Buffett gave solar energy a huge financial boost when his MidAmerican Energy Holdings Company announced an investment of up to $2.5 billion in California in what is now known as the Solar Star project. At 580 megawatts, it will become the world’s largest PV project when complete in late 2015. MidAmerican had earlier bought the Topaz solar farm in California, now tied with Desert Sunlight, another California project, as the world’s largest at 550 megawatts. As of its completion in late 2014, Topaz can generate enough electricity to power 180,000 California homes.
•See more financial sector facts here.
5. Coal use is in decline in the U.S. and will likely fall at the global level far sooner than once thought possible.
•U.S. coal use is dropping—it fell 21 percent between 2007 and 2014—and more than one-third of the nation’s coal plants have already closed or announced plans for future closure in the last five years.
•Major U.S. coal producers, such as Peabody Energy and Arch Coal, have seen their market values drop by 61 and 94 percent, respectively, as of September 2014.
•See more coal facts here.
6. Transportation will move away from oil as electric vehicle fleets expand rapidly and bike- and car-sharing spreads.
•Bike-sharing programs have sprung up worldwide in recent years. More than 800 cities in 56 countries now have fully operational bike-share programs, with over 1 million bikes. In the U.S., by the end of 2012 some 21 cities had 8,500 bikes in bike-share racks. By the end of 2016, this is expected to climb to over 70 cities with close to 40,000 bikes.
•The share of carless households increased in 84 out of 100 U.S. urban areas surveyed between 2006 and 2011. And as urbanization increases, this share will only rise.
•See more transportation facts here.
7. Nuclear is on the rocks thanks to rising costs and widespread safety concerns.
•For the world as a whole, nuclear power generation peaked in 2006 and dropped by nearly 14 percent by 2014.
•In the U.S., the country with the most reactors, nuclear generation peaked in 2010 and is now also on the decline.
•See more nuclear facts here.
http://ecowatch.com/2015/05/17/renewable-energy-revolution/
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Renewable Power Can Now Flow All Over Europe (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2Fza4.gif&hash=2db0a6001703f4089cb64dc38159bb3d467e1bff)
Eight years in the making, EU energy stakeholders are celebrating because flow-based market coupling is now functioning in the EU.
May 20, 2015
By Rachel Morison and Weixin Zha
London and Frankfurt -- After almost two years of delays, Germany, France and their neighbors in central-western Europe connected their electricity markets on Wednesday under a system that lets prices dictate where power flows between countries.
Flow-based market coupling matches supply and demand across borders, sending electricity to where prices are highest. Average day-ahead rates are expected to rise in Germany, and decline in Belgium and the Netherlands, according to data compiled by Energy Brainpool GmbH, a Berlin-based consultant.
Eight years ago, a group of 29 energy ministers, regulators, exchanges and grid operators from Germany, France, Belgium and the Netherlands first agreed to improve their cross-border flows. The project, originally scheduled to start in 2013, better manages the way power networks are used, which means that on a breezy day in northern Germany, power from a wind turbine can reach a hospital in France.
“Flow-based market coupling, which is finally starting, might lead to higher exports from Germany into neighboring countries and definitely would be a supportive element for wholesale power prices in Germany,” Alfred Hoffmann, vice president for portfolio management at Vattenfall AB’s energy trading unit in Hamburg, said by phone on May 11, without being more specific.
In flow-based coupling, all cross-border paths between grids are taken into account to maximize capacity. Traditionally, flows are based on the available interconnection capacity at each border, which can hamper price convergence between national networks.
Popping Corks (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimages.zaazu.com%2Fimg%2Fcheers-cheers-champagne-wine-smiley-emoticon-000183-large.gif&hash=bdb20f3940f60a3fa02af770c14551018df8e302)
“After the successful start and intense preparation, we are popping the corks here,” Andreas Preuss, a spokesman at German grid operator Amprion GmbH, said by phone from Dortmund on Wednesday. Hourly prices for tomorrow were calculated according to the new system, he said, without being specific.
Germany has the lowest power prices in the central-west region of Europe, with an average day-ahead rate of 32.11 euros ($35.90) a megawatt-hour for the past year, exchange data show. That compares with 36 euros for France, 41.35 euros in the Netherlands and 43.46 euros for Belgium.
Prices can turn negative when electricity supply outstrips demand, especially when it’s windy and sunny. Germany, Europe’s biggest renewable-energy producer, had 109 hours of negative prices this year, double the amount in the same period of 2014, Epex Spot SE data show.
Flow-based market coupling means negative prices would be “more subdued” because it’s possible to export more from Germany, Preuss said.
Cheaper Rates ;D
Belgian prices would have been 8.7 percent lower on average and Dutch prices 5.8 percent cheaper under market coupling last year, according to Energy Brainpool.
“We won’t see a visible jump in the spot market from one day to another,” Philipp Goetz, a consultant at Energy Brainpool, said by phone on May 13. “In the long run, it will show up” with higher prices in Germany in off-peak times and during the night when demand is lower, he said.
Fluctuating German renewable power generation may still have a bigger effect on prices than market coupling, according to Omar Ramdani, head of analysis at RheinEnergie Trading GmbH in Cologne.
“On average, prices will rise 1 to 2 euros if we don’t see counter-effects from wind and solar production,” Ramdani said Wednesday by phone.
While coupling may improve cross-border flows, the European Commission estimates Europe still needs to spend 200 billion euros on energy infrastructure by 2020, including new power links between countries.
“Market coupling will have some impact but we need more investment in cross-border capacity and interconnectors to see a big difference,” Elchin Mammadov, European utilities analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence, said Monday. “Once these are built the traders will follow.”
©2015 Bloomberg News
http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/articles/2015/05/renewable-power-can-now-flow-all-over-europe.html
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The developing world is beating the U.S. at clean energy (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2F301.gif&hash=0291ed4abf2d80e420d1aa00d4eb3c5dd6bbfb53) :(
By Tim McDonnell on 19 May 2015
(https://grist.files.wordpress.com/2015/05/screen-shot-2015-05-18-at-2-51-03-pm.jpg)
(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2Freading.gif&hash=63e3e644b39258d4c4eedbcdaf322315b1856723)
http://grist.org/climate-energy/the-developing-world-is-beating-the-u-s-at-clean-energy/
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Wind and Solar Provide 100% of New Generating Capacity in April
Sun Day Campaign | May 26, 2015 10:00 am
In what is becoming a frequent occurrence, if not predictable pattern, renewable energy sources once again dominate in the latest federal monthly update on new electrical generating capacity brought into service in the U.S.
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Wind and solar accounted for all new generating capacity placed in-service in April. Photo credit: Shutterstock
According to the recently-released “Energy Infrastructure Update” report from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s (FERC) Office of Energy Projects, wind and solar accounted for all new generating capacity placed in-service in April. For the month, two “units” of wind (the 300-megawatt (MW) Hereford-2 Wind Farm Project in Deaf Smith County, Texas and the 211-MW Mesquite Creek Wind Project in Dawson County, Texas) came on line in addition to six new units—totaling 50 MW—of solar.
Further, wind, solar, geothermal and hydropower combined have provided 84.1 percent of the 1,900 MW of new U.S. electrical generating capacity placed into service during the first third of 2015. This includes 1,170 MW of wind (61.5 percent), 362 MW of solar (19.1 percent), 45 MW of geothermal steam (2.4 percent) and 21 MW of hydropower (1.1 percent). The balance (302 MW) was provided by five units of natural gas.
FERC has reported no new capacity for the year-to-date from biomass sources nor any from coal, oil or nuclear power.
The total contribution of geothermal, hydropower, solar and wind for the first four months of 2015 (1,598 MW) is similar to that for the same period in 2014 (1,611 MW—in addition to 116 MW of biomass). However, for the same period in 2014, natural gas added 1,518 MW of new capacity while coal and nuclear again provided none and oil just 1 MW. Renewable energy sources accounted for half of all new generating capacity added in 2014.
Renewable energy sources now account for 17.05 percent of total installed operating generating capacity in the U.S.: water—8.55 percent, wind—5.74 percent, biomass—1.38 percent, solar—1.05 percent and geothermal steam—0.33 percent (for comparison, renewables were 13.71 percent of capacity in December 2010—the first month for which FERC issued an “Energy Infrastructure Update”).
Renewable energy capacity is now greater than that of nuclear (9.14 percent) and oil (3.92 percent) combined. In fact, the installed capacity of wind power alone has now surpassed that of oil. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-080515182559.png&hash=d4dfa952fa0f817bf30a8059a4c88d6fb05ee1bf)In addition, total installed operating generating capacity from solar has now reached and surpassed the one-percent threshold—a ten-fold increase since December 2010.*
“Members of Congress and state legislators proposing to curb support for renewable energy, such as Renewable Portfolio/Electricity Standards and the federal Production Tax Credit and Investment Tax Credit, are swimming against the tide,” noted Ken Bossong, executive director of the SUN DAY Campaign. “With renewable energy’s clear track record of success and the ever-worsening threat of climate change, now is not the time to pull back from these technologies but rather to greatly expand investments in them.”
*Note that generating capacity is not the same as actual generation. Electrical production per MW of available capacity (i.e., capacity factor) for renewables is often lower than that for fossil fuels and nuclear power. According to the most recent data (i.e., as of February 2015) provided by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), actual net electrical generation from renewable energy sources now totals 13.4 percent of total U.S. electrical production; however, this figure almost certainly understates renewables’ actual contribution significantly because neither EIA nor FERC fully accounts for all electricity generated by distributed renewable energy sources (e.g., rooftop solar).
http://ecowatch.com/2015/05/26/wind-solar-april-capacity/
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06/02/2015 04:03 PM
Finally, An Apollo Program to Combat Climate Change (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2F47b20s0.gif&hash=cc48c9af9d29b8836023c7db21103e52d1ed439e)
SustainableBusiness.com News
We've needed an Apollo program on climate change for a long time, and now we are getting one.
The UK-based Global Apollo Programme to Combat Climate Change has this goal: Within 10 years, baseload wind and/or solar energy will cost less than coal in every country, and oil and gas too.
The overarching goal is for the world to get 100% of electricity from renewable energy by 2050. We can only get there if the price is irresistible.
(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fcdni.wired.co.uk%2F620x413%2Fs_v%2FScreen-Shot-2015-06-02-at-11.36.49.jpg&hash=f3215a9f0ac47814f5a56be4c62fa56c488c9409)
Recognizing that country commitments are not enough to keep world temperatures from exceeding 2C, a handful of eminent people have come together to coax them into a mission that rivals Apollo - the race to put a man on the moon in the 1960s.
To get there, founders are calling for countries to invest the same amount spent on the Apollo program - $23 billion a year in today's money for accelerated research, development and demonstration of solar, wind, energy storage and smart grid technologies.
Calling it the "greatest scientific challenge facing the world," they simply want to double the tiny 2% of R&D budgets the world spends each year on this research.
Among the seven founders are: Sir David King, UK's climate change envoy; Lord Nicholas Stern, Professor of Economics and Government at London School of Economics and Chair of the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment; ecologist Sir David Attenborough and Lord John Browne, former CEO of BP Petroleum!
Many countries are interested, they say: US, UK, India, Japan, China, Korea, Mexico and UAE. It's on the agenda for next week's G7 meeting and they plan to launch right before this year's Climate Summit in Paris.
Nations that join the program commit to spend 0.02% of GDP on R&D through 2025, and they get a seat on the global "roadmap committee" that coordinates and oversees the process.
Some countries, like the UK, are spending this amount now, but many aren't, and there is no coordination to maximize results, they say.
Research isn't all that's needed, carbon must be priced, they say. And prices have to come down even further to displace existing fossil fuel infrastructure.
Also in the UK, SolarCentury CEO Jeremy Leggett is asking corporations to contribute 5% of annual profits to the 5% For-Climate-and-Development Club, to eradicate poverty and stop climate change at the same time. Many are showing interest without being solicitied, he says.
Read our article, 100% Renewable Energy Indeed Possible, say Stanford U. Researchers. (http://www.sustainablebusiness.com/index.cfm/go/news.display/id/22215) (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fcliparts.co%2Fcliparts%2FBig%2FEgq%2FBigEgqBMT.png&hash=e7eec62f009cdd686ce795fad0a53c6befe748e9)
Read the Global Apollo plan: (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2Freading.gif&hash=63e3e644b39258d4c4eedbcdaf322315b1856723)
Website: http://cep.lse.ac.uk/pubs/download/special/Global_Apollo_Programme_Report.pdf
http://www.sustainablebusiness.com/index.cfm/go/news.display/id/26324
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Big Oil Soon to Be Extinct ;D
Posted on Jun 5, 2015
By Pamela Alma Weymouth
(First published by 3BL Media Media/Justmeans)
What do Big Oil and whale oil have in common? According to Amory B. Lovins, chairman and chief scientist of the sustainability-focused Rocky Mountain Institute, Big Oil is soon to follow whale oil’s downward trajectory toward extinction. At the Ceres Conference 2015 for sustainable business, Lovins challenged big businesses to rethink the outdated belief that investing in fossil fuels remains the safest way to get rich (dolphins, seabirds and humanity be damned).
At first look, Lovins appears to be a nerdy, middle-aged scientist in a suit, but once he starts talking, it becomes clear that he’s actually a brilliant revolutionary. Lovins’ message hasn’t changed much in the four decades he’s been doggedly trying to get the world to embrace renewable energy, but he’s accumulated more data to prove his point to a host of unlikely converts, from communist China to Arab sheiks and presidents of companies like Texaco.
Even if you don’t care much about the environment, Lovins makes the case that you’d be economically foolish not to invest in renewable energy, because green technology today is akin to the discovery of petroleum and its effect on the whaling industry of the 19th century. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2F128fs318181.gif&hash=eff6d5f3831782966c2ff2081f07bf7fc5b22a6b)
In 1850, oil from the whaling industry lit most homes. Yet only nine years later, Edwin Drake, an ex-railroad conductor, drilled what is widely considered to have been the first oil well in the U.S., ushering in the oil rush and the effective end of whaling for oil. Even before Drake, coal and kerosene had begun to replace whale sperm oil, because those natural resources were more affordable and efficient—just as today, hybrids, electric vehicles and biodiesel are beginning to replace gas-guzzling cars and trucks. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-200714191258.bmp&hash=e4ed21caaca822f7445ccafd39f49a9f84be90ca)
Amory Lovins / Rocky Mountain Institute (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2F19.gif&hash=3f9f2fc2285bc756137e21463bc2a4c420b15ac3)
Lovins teaches us history in order to wake us up to the notion that renewable energy isn’t just a matter of what’s good for the planet. What’s more, it’s foolish, bad for our collective pocketbooks and naïve to ignore the obvious: Alternative energy and advanced technology vehicles (and renewable energy sources in all sectors) are becoming more affordable and better for national energy security, and they’re creating a huge influx of new jobs.
Lovins understands that big money, big companies and the governments of big countries don’t respond to abstract arguments about values or future doom—they respond to cost and consumer demand, hard facts.
These are points that even Republicans can get behind. While our government remains too paralyzed to collaborate across party lines, Lovins is a bridge-builder between unlikely coalitions. In 2005, Robert C. McFarlane, President Reagan’s National Security advisor, writing in The Wall Street Journal, described the Rocky Mountain Institute as “a respected center of hard-headed, market-based research.”
The institute’s research suggests that lack of consumer demand may bring the oil industry to its knees. Though this seems impossible to believe now, while gas-guzzling minivans are still the norm in many parts of North America (and elsewhere around the world), Lovins sheds light on where the tide is turning. From Zipcar and the explosion of similar shared car services now available in cities like San Francisco, to electronic bicycles in China, to Uber and Google’s self-driving cars, he shows us the emerging trend that’s pointing away from single-family cars and toward a different kind of ownership model: a rental model, a bus-bicycle-walking model. In San Francisco today, bike rentals are all the rage; parents are biking kids to school on all kinds of fancy two-wheel contraptions that weren’t seen 20 or 30 years ago, when clunky old Chevys and Fords were more often the people-movers of choice.
Big auto companies are following Europe’s lead in producing smaller cars and lighter-weight electric vehicles, as governments from across Europe to the U.S. are offering financial incentives for residents who buy environmentally friendly vehicles. They’re recognizing that some members of the millennial generation are more interested in new tech, car-sharing apps and living a simpler, more eco-friendly lifestyle.
Go here for page 2: (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-080515182559.png&hash=d4dfa952fa0f817bf30a8059a4c88d6fb05ee1bf)
http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/big_oil_soon_to_be_extinct_20150529
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06/12/2015 02:37 PM
(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fdl10.glitter-graphics.net%2Fpub%2F2491%2F2491210ovie015m90.gif&hash=c2edc7e32994c57779427e0df75cabac786a12bf) Vermont Shoots For 55% Renewable Energy in Two Years, While Wisconsin Fires Climate Scientists
SustainableBusiness.com News
Governor Shumlin of Vermont signed the most aggressive renewable energy law in the US this week.
It requires utilities to use 55% renewable energy for electricity by the end of 2017, 75% by 2032, and 90% by 2050.
There's also a carve-out for small renewable energy systems of 5 megawatts or less - they must provide at least 1% of electricity in 2017 and 10% by 2032.
Utilities must own this renewable energy or renewable energy credits (RECs) - they can't sign power purchase agreements to buy it elsewhere.
The bill also establishes an "Energy Transformation Program" under which utilities have to provide leasing or on-bill financing options that help customers pay for efficiency improvements for their homes.
"Under this bill, Vermont will pioneer a new model where utilities will be in the business of helping customers use less energy, save money, and ensure the energy they do use is from renewable sources. That's the future of energy in America, and it's starting right here in Vermont," says Governor Shumlin.
"With the signing of H.40 Vermonters will now have one stop access for services and financing to weatherize their homes and businesses, add on-site solar and replace or upgrade their current heating systems with state-of-the-art air source heat pumps," says Rep. Tony Klein, one of the sponsors.
The policies are expected to create 1000 new jobs, save Vermonters $390 million on energy costs, in addition to combating climate change. ;D (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-080515182559.png&hash=d4dfa952fa0f817bf30a8059a4c88d6fb05ee1bf)
Last year, Vermont raised the cap on net-metering to greater reward homeowners and businesses that install solar systems.
Vermont is part of the "Under 2 MOU" group - 12 governments that commit to joint action to keep global temperatures from reaching 2°C.
MyLife.com ranking of state emissions (http://www.sustainablebusiness.com/index.cfm/go/news.display/id/26340) shows Vermont produces the least in the US! (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-200714191258.bmp&hash=e4ed21caaca822f7445ccafd39f49a9f84be90ca)
Agelbert NOTE: Per person, New York has the lowest emissions and Wyoming has the highest. No wonder Cheney loves Wyoming. http://www.sustainablebusiness.com/index.cfm/go/news.display/id/26340
Meanwhile in Wisconsin
The striking difference between red and blue governors rears its head. After being told not to mention the words "climate change" or "global warming," lawmakers decided to fire those scientists.
Scientists that focus on climate change, pollution and mining are being laid off from the Department of Natural Resources (DNR). They want to refocus the department on hunting and fishing, they say! (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-280515145049.png&hash=84e87515e750391c1f1bca6d6ae06485972bfa81) (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-051113192052.png&hash=93c42ef9f18fc5d9da50fd91fc19f70009f95f85)
Ultra-conservative Governor Scott Walker - who is running for president - slashed 18 research positions in the state budget, leaving the department's Science Services Bureau with 13 research positions. Why? Because the positions no longer serve DNR's core mission.
The Bureau of Science Services' research plan calls for extensive study on how climate change is affecting the Great Lakes, Wisconsin's river ecosystems, and the state's forests, wildlife and fish. It also calls for research on "emerging" water pollutants such as prescription drugs, hormones and industrial additives and agents. Another line of research would develop ways to predict and mitigate the impact of sand, iron and sulfide mining on air and water, plants and animals, along with monitoring strategies for newly permitted mines, reports Wisconsin Gazette.
"All of those issues are politically inconvenient for Republicans, whose donors are involved in pollution-producing businesses that are costlier to operate under environmental regulations. Republicans, including Walker, don't allow staff to even talk about climate change, let alone the fact that an overwhelming preponderance of scientific evidence shows it's happening," says the Gazette.
"Let's offer more opportunities for sportsmen rather than going off on something that's theoretical [referring to climate change]," says Republican state Senator Tom Tiffany, who led the charge to dismantle Wisconsin's mining regulations. The mining company that benefited donated $700,000 to Walker and state Republican campaigns.
Walker is a member of ALEC and is loved by the Koch Brothers (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2Facigar.gif&hash=dc9dccf92c6c88c99611b06c86d92629d69f2978). He's the most anti-environment governor in the state's history.
Read our article, Wisconsin Governor Walker's Record on Clean Energy, Environment.
http://www.sustainablebusiness.com/index.cfm/go/news.display/id/26340
Agelbert NOTE: Governor Walker, like the Koch Crooks, suffers from Empathy Deficit Disorder.
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06/12/2015 05:32 PM
Scotland Makes Energy Efficiency Its Preferred Fuel, Indonesia Announces Renewables Target ;D
SustainableBusiness.com News
Although Scotland has missed its aggressive climate targets in each of the past four years, the government issued a policy to decarbonize heating fuels by 2050.
The policy designates energy efficiency as a national infrastructure priority along with renewable energy. Heat accounts for more than 50% of Scotland's energy use and emissions, according to The Scotsman.
One of the goals is to connect 40,000 homes to district or communal heating by 2020.
"Reducing our dependence on volatile fossil fuels to heat our homes is a huge opportunity to cut bills, lift people out of fuel poverty, enhance energy security and cut emissions," Sam Gardner, head of policy at WWF Scotland told The Scotsman.
But the commitment needs to be backed by clear goals, milestones and a strong funding package, he says. The government says it will work out a detailed plan over the coming year, but that it would require more than £100 billion to replace outdated equipment and to make energy retrofits through 2050.
Scotland's Energy Efficiency Programme will provide support to upgrade all buildings in Scotland, and the Low Carbon Infrastructure Transition Programme launched this year to support infrastructure projects.
Scotland's goal is to reach 100% renewable energy and banned fracking this year . It is leading on tidal energy and offshore wind. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2Fmuscular.gif&hash=1ebeafc0e4589b9d38ab66d37aa940d757e830e9)
(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2F2.bp.blogspot.com%2F-GL5j1HJXNGE%2FU5HAcjeP3KI%2FAAAAAAABEGY%2FZBbqo0mVQi0%2Fs1600%2F06-06-2014c.gif&hash=2d25e7a048a40c0442d015228dddb0128d85a7b5)
Indonesia Announces Renewable Energy Target
Indonesia announced that renewable energy will provide 19% of all energy by 2019 and 25% by 2025. The country currently gets 5-6% of energy from renewables, reports Jakarta Post.
As of last year's Climate Summit, Indonesia is on track to cut emissions 26% by 2020.
The government plans to put solar systems on government buildings, map areas of greatest geothermal potential, and create "energy forests" (doesn't sound good) and energy gardens. It plans to invest $304 billion to meet the goals over the next five years.
We have long heard about the country's geothermal potential - about 40% of the world's total - but it still has only 1.2 gigawatt (GW) of capacity out of a potential of 29 GW. 4-5 GW will come online this year, and the goal is for 10 GW by 2025, employing as many as 800,000 people. It has strong feed-in tariffs that support development.
Surprisingly, Indonesia ranks among the top 10 countries for renewable energy jobs. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Felqahera-trading.com%2Fhome%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2012%2F04%2Fdollar-sign-thumbnail1.jpg&hash=e1962ecaa694d312d50a9984ee058a45aed1e860) (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-080515182559.png&hash=d4dfa952fa0f817bf30a8059a4c88d6fb05ee1bf)
http://www.sustainablebusiness.com/index.cfm/go/news.display/id/26342
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(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.nexbay.com%2Fsun_shining_solar_panel_hg_clr.gif&hash=d6badfa817928e890b8f6b5352f6bb6d6042ad3f)
California Sets Record; Surpasses UK, France, Spain in Installed Solar Capacity
Rhone Resch
Think about this for a second: If California was a nation, it would rank 6th in the world in installed solar capacity. Wow.
(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-060914180936.jpeg&hash=5e39d70fafe4e7190a6eebce34b740c58721de3f)
http://blog.renewableenergyworld.com/ugc/blogs/2015/06/california_sets_reco.html
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More Truth in this comment than in the article it references.
June 17, 2015
Bruce McFarling says:
The thesis that a carbon price is unwinnable seems to be based on a premise that winnable fights have to be on grounds that can be "bipartisan" ... and that is the premise that resulted in the politicizing of science and renewable energy policy, since you only have to turn it into a partisan issue to close the door on that bipartisan approach.
"At the national level, the effort by the extreme right to politicize science funding is a deep threat to progress in developing renewable energy technology. I think de-politicizing and increasing basic science funding and funding renewable energy research and development are winnable battles at the federal level."
The threat to progress in developing renewable energy technology is a large point of the point of politicizing science funding. If people reacting to reality gives an answer that threaten the wealth of large, established and (by definition) wealthy interests, then the immediate pursuit of narrow and short term self interest calls for obscuring reality.
De-politicizing basic science funding and funding renewable energy research and development are winnable battles, but its not likely that they will be won on a "bipartisan" model. There seems to be enough wealth at stake to guarantee dominance of at least one mainstream political party.
So they will most likely have to be won the old fashioned way, of entrenching them in the platform of one mainstream political party, whether by gaining adherence from one or from shattering the current political alignment and rebuilding it anew (as in the 1850's in the US with the collapse of the Whigs over the slavery issue), and then winning that political fight..
How the Transition to Renewable Energy Could Come
by Steven Cohen, Executive Director of Columbia University’s Earth Institute and a Professor in the Practice of Public Affairs at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs.
Posted June 16, 2015
http://theenergycollective.com/stevenacohen/2240131/how-transition-renewable-energy-could-come
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Not Your Grandparent's Grid: 6 Reasons Why Penetrations of Renewable Resources are Becoming Attainable (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.freesmileys.org%2Femoticons%2Femoticon-object-077.gif&hash=eb438043c93ec6a7daa400b47ad44ad22d4818ce)
Posted June 17, 2015
SNIPPET:
There are key differences between yesterday’s grid and tomorrow’s grid that should be forefront as we consider the ability of the system to integrate high levels of renewables.
•Advanced communication and IT resources are being deployed to provide grid operators with the information and tools necessary to optimize system operations, markets, and planning.
•The benefits of geographically broad and co-optimized operating and market footprints are becoming increasingly apparent and there are significant initiatives underway globally to leverage the benefits of regional collaboration to support the reliability and economic performance of the grid while also enabling the integration of clean energy resources.
•Commercially available technologies including active power controls on wind turbines and advanced solar inverters are capable of supporting grid operations and reliability, and in some cases they are better equipped to do so than older or inflexible thermal generating units that do not respond well to automated signals.
•Electricity markets have the potential to provide investors and developers with appropriate economic signals to deploy advanced technologies that provide varying combinations of energy, capacity, and ancillary services. The development of market products beyond energy and capacity will increase the value propositions for renewable resources and there are an encouraging number of initiatives underway to augment existing markets and start new markets.
•Increasingly sophisticated distributed resources, demand response, and storage technologies are in the queue to become essential components in a system that leverages the broad capabilities of a diverse set of resources.
•The ongoing retirement of large coal generating units and the decentralization of generation assets are creating a grid that is more flexible, resilient, and better equipped to integrate renewables.
http://theenergycollective.com/rebeccajohnson/2237676/isn-t-our-grandparent-s-electric-grid-six-reasons-why-very-high-penetrations-
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Archbishop Pedro Barreto Jimeno of Huancayo, Peru warned that Francis “will have many critics, because they want to continue setting rules of the game in which money takes first place. We have to be prepared for those kinds of attacks.”
The Pope took his critics into account—making it clear within the text of Laudato Si that his approach to the environment is firmly rooted in traditional Catholic views of the uniqueness of human life and the need for a non-market based common good—drawing a line clarifying that he is not preaching a “new age” form of Catholicism.
(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.websmileys.com%2Fsm%2Fviolent%2Fsterb029.gif&hash=7a43a0c106eab798f7ba6133dc5cc550647a03d2)
How Pope Francis’s Climate Encyclical Is Disrupting American Politics
http://ecowatch.com/2015/06/22/pope-francis-disrupting-american-politics/
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06/29/2015 12:55 PM
New York Releases Plan For Visionary Energy Policy
SustainableBusiness.com News
Last year, NY Governor Cuomo announced the state's visionary and groundbreaking plan to transition to distributed, renewable energy, "Reforming the Energy Vision," hailed as the most aggressive in the country.
Now there's a path to make it reality.
Under the NY State Energy Plan, by 2030:
•cut greenhouse gas emissions 40% from 1990 levels by 2030, and 80% by 2050 - from electricity, heating, industry, buildings and transportation
•renewable energy supplies 50% of energy (up from 25% now, including hydro) from solar, onshore and offshore wind, biomass and hydro
•energy efficiency in buildings 23% below 2012 levels
Plan Components
1. Transform utilities to market-based role: Rather than selling energy that's under centralized control, utilities will buy electricity from thousands of small generators (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-080515182559.png&hash=d4dfa952fa0f817bf30a8059a4c88d6fb05ee1bf) (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-200714191456.bmp&hash=a239c2fd76d20d142f1c54b961e22ebd0d2a4808) that have, for example, solar on their roof. Utilities will make money by linking them together and integrating the energy into the grid.
Utilities must submit their plans to meet these goals by the end of this year.
2. Clean Energy Fund: $5 billion over 10 years to support NY-Sun and K-Solar, NY Green Bank , plus $1.5 billion for large scale solar and wind projects.
3. Building Efficiency: implement advanced building codes, raise efficiency in affordable housing, move to combined heat and power, and BuildSmart NY program.
4. Minimize methane emissions from natural gas infrastructure
5. Research, development and commercialization of energy storage technologies through NY-BEST and Brookhaven National Lab.
6. Investments in electric vehicles and infrastructure - 3000 charging stations across the state over the next five years.
Read our article, New York Sets California-Like Path for Solar Energy.
Website: http://energyplan.ny.gov/Plans/2014.aspx
http://www.sustainablebusiness.com/index.cfm/go/news.display/id/26367
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Renewables = 17% of US Electricity Production In April (Exclusive)
Published on July 7th, 2015 | by Zachary Shahan
25 comments
Following my latest US electricity capacity report, let’s look at actual electricity generation. As the headline indicates, renewables accounted for 17% (or 17.1% if you want to be slightly more precise) of US electricity production in ... Read More →
http://cleantechnica.com/2015/07/07/renewables-17-of-us-electricity-production-in-april-exclusive/
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07/09/2015 03:44 PM
Energy Efficiency Has Penetrated Business Psyche
SustainableBusiness.com News
Energy Efficiency is fast becoming part of the "business psyche" and energy management is considered an essential business strategy, according to a Deloitte survey.
Industries leading the way are technology, media, telecommunications and healthcare.
79% of businesses with more than 250 employees view reducing electricity costs as key to competitive advantage and 57% have formal energy reduction goals, up from 46% just last year.
Almost all - 93% - invested in energy management during the past three years - 17% of capital budgets this year.
They are moving toward energy independence, with 55% saying they generate some electricity on-site, up from 44% last year.
13% of the energy generated on-site comes from solar or wind, 9% from fuel cells, and 9% from combined heat and power.
"Based on the results of the 2014 study, we found that energy was becoming a core business competency. The findings of the 2015 study not only corroborate that result but further suggest a tipping point has been passed: thoughtful, deliberate energy consumption has permeated the business psyche, and companies, by and large, now consider energy management to be an essential aspect of corporate strategy."
Read our article, World Is Moving to Distributed Energy: 165 GW by 2023.
Manufacturers Can Do Much More
Although manufacturers are much more efficient - they use 17% less energy than in 2001, they still consume 24% of US energy, according to "Barriers to Industrial Energy Efficiency," by the Department of Energy.
The sector can cut energy use another 15-32% over the next 10 years through demand response and by incorporating efficient equipment such as advanced electric motors, lighting, sensors, controls, and combined heat and power.
In other words, most companies are still scratching the surface on efficiency.
(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-130715174027.jpeg&hash=71f8a05fc8d85988ffcd729ee63e52282504d41e)
Why? Not surprisingly, economic constraints are cited as the main reason, but they also don't make it up on the priority list. Other reasons are perceived lack of returns and too much of a focus on short-term results. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-200714183337.bmp&hash=fd5a6df63c32bd65dda7b6d93e788647ca3829df)
Efficiency has yet to become ingrained in corporate strategy for industrial manufacturing. :(
http://www.sustainablebusiness.com/index.cfm/go/news.display/id/26375
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He believes that in less than 10 years nearly all cars will be electric. ;D Also he said bulk storage with batteries will grow faster than predicted. “Our view is that batteries are really going to win” over other energy storage technologies like pumped hydro, compressed air energy storage, even flow batteries, he said. “We are seeing price declines that make a lot of those technologies somewhat stranded,” he added.
“So if we can have solar generation at $0.02-0.03 per kWh and if you can have a levelized cost of a battery that may fall below $0.10 per kWh you suddenly get to have energy that is 100 percent firm and buffered from photovoltaics that is cheaper than fossil energy,” he said. That goal is in “grasping distance” according to Straubel.
Tesla CTO: Bulk Energy Storage Will Grow Much Faster Than People Expect :o (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-200714191258.bmp&hash=e4ed21caaca822f7445ccafd39f49a9f84be90ca)
Much ado about energy storage at the Intersolar 2015 opening keynote.
July 14, 2015
By Jennifer Runyon, Chief Editor
http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/articles/2015/07/tesla-cto-bulk-energy-storage-will-grow-much-faster-than-people-expect.html
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07/16/2015 01:26 PM
Five Seismic Shifts In Energy On the Way
SustainableBusiness.com News
Calling it "5 Seismic Shifts" in global power generation, Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF) outlines the dominant trends we'll see over the next 25 years.
The big news is the scale of renewable energy investment we are about to see, especially in distributed solar energy. The bad news is that without more radical policies, continued fossil fuel emissions will prevent the world from reaching climate goals.
Solar, Solar Everywhere! Costs keep coming down in solar PV, driving a $3.7 trillion surge in solar investment, both large-scale and small-scale.
Power to the People: $2.2 trillion of that will go to rooftop and community-based solar systems, giving individuals and businesses electricity independence by storing it in batteries and giving billions in the developing world access to power for the first time.
Small solar and building-integrated solar will soar from 104 gigawatts in 2014 to nearly 1.8 terawatts in 2040, a 17-fold increase. Prices will drop another 47% per megawatt, conversion efficiencies will improve and the industry will move to new materials and more streamlined production methods.
Solar on House
"Up to now, small-scale solar investment has been dominated by wealthy countries such as Germany, the US and Japan. By 2040, developing economies will have spent $1 trillion on small PV systems, in many cases bringing electricity for the first time to remote villages," says Jenny Chase, chief solar analyst at BNEF.
Utility-scale solar PV will grow 24-fold to 1.9 terawatts, onshore wind will reach 1.8 terawatts (up five-fold) and offshore wind will grow 25 times to 198 gigawatts. Smart grid capacity will grow 17-fold to 858 GW.
By 2030, solar will be the cheapest energy resource and by 2040, the cost of wind projects will have dropped another 32%.
In fact, 78% of the $12.2 trillion invested in power generation will be in emerging markets. Renewables will account for two thirds of that, with $1.6 trillion still in coal, $1.2 trillion in gas and $1.3 trillion in nuclear.
For every 1 GW of new build in the Americas, 3.4 GW will be installed in Asia Pacific nations. China alone will attract $3.3 trillion, nearly double that for the Americas, BNEF says.
Solar Becomes Top Energy Source in 2018
Looking at the shorter term, GTM Research finds 2018 will be the tipping point for solar, when it achieves grid parity worldwide and becomes the energy of choice. By 2020, the world will be installing 135 gigawatts a year, triple the current pace.
The top countries will be China, US and Japan, and Africa, Latin America and the Mid-East will jump from 1% solar today to 17%.
Demand Undershoots: at the same time, ever-increasing energy efficient technologies of all kinds will limit energy demand growth to 1.8% a year, down from 3% a year from 1990-2012. In OECD countries, electricity demand will be lower in 2040 than in 2014.
Gas Flares Briefly: Natural gas will not be the world's "transition fuel" away from coal, except in the US. Many developing nations will opt for a twin-track of coal and renewables.
Climate Peril: Despite $8 trillion in renewable energy investments, there will still be enough fossil-fuel plants to keep world carbon emissions rising until 2029, and in 2040, emissions will still be 13% above 2014 levels. Fossil fuels will still be used for 44% of electricity production, down from 67% in 2014).
Even with much slower energy demand growth, the world will use 56% more electricity - too much of it from coal - as population and economies expand in developing countries.
"The CO2 content of the atmosphere is on course to exceed 450 parts per million by 2035 even if emissions stay constant, so the trend we show of rising emissions to 2029 makes it very unlikely that the world will be able to limit temperature increases to less than 2 degrees Centigrade," says Seb Henbest, head of Europe, Middle East and Africa for BNEF.
"The message for international negotiators preparing for the Paris climate change conference in December is that current policy settings - even combined with the vast strides renewables are making on competitiveness - will not be enough. Further policy action on emissions will be needed," he adds.
The analysis, however, leaves out key policies that have yet to be put in place, such as EPA's Clean Power Plan in the US or China's cap-and-trade systems, which starts official operations next year. In proceeding years, a worldwide cap-and-trade system will likely coalesce.
Read our articles, World Emissions Can - and Must - Peak By 2020 and Stabilizing Our Atmosphere Costs $44 trillion through 2050.
Read BNEF's report, New Energy Outlook 2015:
Website: www.bloomberg.com/company/new-energy-outlook/
http://www.sustainablebusiness.com/index.cfm/go/news.display/id/26383
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07/20/2015 12:48 PM
Milestone Passed: World Adds Over 100 GW of Renewables in 2014 ;D
SustainableBusiness.com News
2014 was another big year for renewable energy worldwide - for the first time, over 100 gigawatts (GW) were installed in one year.
The 103 GW added - mostly solar and wind - equals the output of all US nuclear plants combined, and is a significant increase from previous years - 86 GW in 2013, 89 GW in 2012 and 81 GW in 2011.
Renewables are edging toward supplying 10% of the world's power. They contributed 9.1% of all electricity in 2014, up from 8.5% the previous year, and that doesn't include big hydro.
The industry grew 17% with $270 billion invested, according to the 9th Annual Global Trends in Renewable Energy Investment 2015, by the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) and Bloomberg New Energy Finance.
Even sharply lower oil prices didn't stop the growth, thanks to major expansions of solar in China and Japan and record investments in offshore wind.
"Once again in 2014, renewables made up nearly half of the net power capacity added worldwide" says Achim Steiner, UN Under-Secretary-General and Executive Director of UNEP.
"There is now nobody who thinks the energy system of the future will look like the energy system of the past," says Michael Liebreich, advisory board chair for Bloomberg New Energy Finance.
Solar and wind continue to dominate with 92% of all investments. Solar jumped 25% to $150 billion - its second highest figure ever - and wind rose 11% to a record $99.5 billion. 49 GW of wind and 46 GW of solar PV were added, both records.
Seven $1 billion-plus offshore wind projects were approved in Europe, including the biggest one ever - the $3.8 billion 600 megawatt Gemini project in the Netherlands. Geothermal grew 23% to $2.7 billion invested, but biofuels, biomass and small hydro declined.
Renewable Energy Growth Worldwide 2014 (graphic at link below)
China saw record investments of $83.3 billion (up 39% from 2013) and the US came in second at $38.3 billion, up 7% on the year. Japan is third at $35.7 billion, a 10% increase and its biggest year yet.
Read our articles, World Wind Industry Grows 44% in 2014 and Solar Set To Soar Worldwide This Year, 36% Growth!
Read UNEP's report: http://fs-unep-centre.org/publications/global-trends-renewable-energy-investment-2015
http://www.sustainablebusiness.com/index.cfm/go/news.display/id/26384
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On Green Energy, Ethiopia Leaves U.S. in the Dust
Posted on Jul 28, 2015
By Juan Cole
SNIPPET:
President Obama’s state visit to Kenya and Ethiopia has involved a good deal of scolding of those countries by Western pundits. On some matters, the chiding should go in the other direction. On the issues of green energy and climate change, Ethiopia has announced initiatives that put the United States to shame.
The U.S. commits an annual crime against the earth by emitting 5.4 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide, whereas these African countries live cleanly in this regard. They are intent on growing economically in an environmentally friendly way. On the most important environmental and economic issue of our day, the U.S. is an unrepentant and even bullying fossil-fuel dinosaur, whereas young Africa is awakening to the benefits of renewable energy.
Full article:
http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/on_green_energy_ethiopia_leaves_us_in_the_dust_20150728
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The Economics of Load Defection
Rising retail prices for grid electricity and declining costs for solar PV and batteries mean that grid-connected solar-plus-battery systems will be economic within the next 10–15 years for many customers in many parts of the country.
Utilities could see significant decline in energy sales that would support needed grid investment.
Thus it's critical that utilities, regulators, and other electricity system stakeholders urgently pursue reform on three fronts—rate structures, utility business models, and regulatory frameworks—to embrace solar, batteries, and other DERs as an integral, optimized part of the future grid, rather than as a threat to that grid.
(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-060914180936.jpeg&hash=5e39d70fafe4e7190a6eebce34b740c58721de3f)
http://www.rmi.org/electricity_load_defection
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Germany Breaks Renewable Energy Record (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2Fza4.gif&hash=2db0a6001703f4089cb64dc38159bb3d467e1bff) (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fus.123rf.com%2F400wm%2F400%2F400%2Fyayayoy%2Fyayayoy1106%2Fyayayoy110600019%2F9735563-smiling-sun-showing-thumb-up.jpg&hash=09b45642ec6d7943d30b5b87548676e3ee7dbe3d)
Emily J. Gertz, TakePart | July 30, 2015 10:39 am
http://ecowatch.com/2015/07/30/germany-breaks-renewable-energy-record/
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The Price Is Right on Clean Energy
The Climate Reality Project | August 4, 2015 12:33 pm
Ever had one of those moments where you turn on the television and stumble onto a show from decades back that you can’t believe is even on any more? If you’re in the U.S., something like Wheel of Fortune or The Price Is Right? (And this is one of those rare instances of universal harmony where every nation has its own version). But there it is, still making the rounds with the host looking as indeterminately aged as ever and an audience dressed for today. And you can’t help thinking, “Wait, people still watch this?”
Here at Climate Reality, we’ve been having a similar thought hearing senators and media pundits rehearse the tired old claim that switching from fossil fuels to clean energy would be economic suicide: “Wait, people still believe that?”
Because—and here’s the key point—the opposite is true. Look at the list of countries making real commitments to clean energy and you’ll see a list of strong economies that aren’t suffering because they’ve embraced renewables like solar and wind power. In many cases, they’re growing—and kind of like Pat Sajak, it’s time to take the Clean Energy Would Kill the Economy show off the air once and for all. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.desismileys.com%2Fsmileys%2Fdesismileys_0293.gif&hash=b1af4868ed8f18c30e637f8cbcb79002f6f71039)
Changing the Channel in 2015
If this myth has been around for so long, why are we focusing on it now? And why this one in particular?
In a word: Paris. Along with everyone else in the climate community, The Climate Reality Project is working to build support for a global agreement to cut greenhouse gas emissions at the UN talks in Paris later this year. If we’re successful—and world leaders make the kind of emissions reduction commitments that can keep warming within safe limits—the upshot is that we’re going to have to scale down our use of fossil fuels as a planet and scale up renewables in a big, big way. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fcliparts.co%2Fcliparts%2FBig%2FEgq%2FBigEgqBMT.png&hash=e7eec62f009cdd686ce795fad0a53c6befe748e9)
Naturally, the fossil fuel industry (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2Facigar.gif&hash=dc9dccf92c6c88c99611b06c86d92629d69f2978) sees an existential threat (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.freesmileys.org%2Fsmileys%2Fsmiley-scared005.gif&hash=2de3525707995f1cf9333ecfafd947caca42e8eb) here and has its spokespeople and government supporters making the rounds to claim that any significant moves in this direction would only kill jobs and destroy the economy. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.freesmileys.org%2Fsmileys%2Fsmiley-scared002.gif&hash=764898cfbf07ef2c41ffddc5e93fa0e1bed41bae)(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2Ftissue.gif&hash=f8d05db8e11569882e0effbdd719e2b2e95c6785) (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2F165fs373950.gif&hash=ad797fcc08a061d3ae50ee49ccd9f3d517fb7496) Just look at all the hyperbolic invectives against the EPA’s Clean Power Plan we’re hearing here in the U.S., as one example.
These kinds of claims make for great quotes and conspiracy theories, but when you compare them to what’s already actually happening in the world, they fall apart fast. So in the interest of a little truth-telling, over the next couple weeks, we’re highlighting some of the nations showing that clean energy economies work—and work well—beginning with a few that have been going clean and winning for a while.
Germany
You might have heard of it. You know, the world’s fourth-largest economy by gross domestic product (GDP), industrial powerhouse of Europe, world champions in soccer/football and home of major companies like Volkswagen, Deutsche Bank and Siemens.
Germany began betting big on clean energy long before it was cool, with the government taking its first significant steps to start a nationwide transition from nuclear power and fossil fuels to renewables back in the early 90s (there’s even a typically long and nearly pronounceable German word for this idea: “Energiewende” (or “energy transition”). The results have been pretty spectacular. Among other highlights:
•Between 1990 and 2010, per capita greenhouse gas emissions dropped 26 percent, even as per capita GDP grew 36 percent.
•In 2014, Germany generated more than 27 percent of its electricity with renewables, making clean energy the nation’s primary source of power and cementing its place at the top of the list of solar-powered countries. That same year, it ranked second in the world in most electricity from biopower and third in installed wind power capacity. Not too shabby.
•Meanwhile, the nation set goals of reducing its greenhouse gas emissions by 40 percent from 1990 levels by 2020 and 80 percent by 2050.
•Germany is also working to reduce its primary energy consumption by 20 percent below 2008 levels by 2020 and 50 percent by 2050.
It’s worth remembering that Germany has continued its clean-energy initiatives in the middle of a global recession and all while remaining one of the world’s greatest economic powers. ;D And it somehow beat Brazil 7-1 in Brazil, which suggests there’s very little Germans can’t do when they put their collective wills to it.
Denmark
Just across the border, Denmark has been taking a bit of anything-you-can-do-Germany-we-can-do-better approach to clean energy. While the nation isn’t quite the economic powerhouse of its southern neighbor, it has one of the highest standards of living in the world and has seen steady economic growth in the twenty-first century. And it’s done so while also decreasing both its energy use through ambitious conservation measures and its carbon emissions.
No surprise: renewables are a big part of this story, especially wind. The country set a new world record for wind power by getting more than 39 percent of its power from wind in 2014. Then on July 9 and 10 of this year, Denmark generated 140 percent of its energy needs with wind, sending the surplus power to neighboring nations. Plus, just in case anyone ever wanted to accuse the Danish of lacking ambition, the country aims to go from low-carbon to no-carbon and become completely independent of fossil fuels by 2050. No one on staff at Climate Reality knew Danish for “wow,” but it’s clearly time we learned.
Costa Rica
For any detractors thinking clean energy can only work in advanced economies in Europe, let’s head over to Costa Rica. The nation has taken advantage of its abundant natural resources to create real capacity in small-scale hydroelectric and geothermal power, with the result it generated 100 percent of its electricity with renewables for the first 113 days of this year. Costa Rica is also developing—and attracting investment in—other areas like solar, wind and biofuels and has committed to becoming carbon-neutral by 2021.
So far, all this focus on renewables hasn’t exactly killed the nation’s economy. Instead, Costa Rica has become an upper middle-income country, experiencing steady economic growth over the past 25 years and the World Bank expects its GDP to keep growing around 4 percent annually for the next several years. Pura vida, indeed.
California
Admittedly, California isn’t technically a nation—the whole “California Republic” ethos notwithstanding—but this one state has the seventh-largest economy in the world, ahead of countries like Brazil, Canada and Italy. Which makes it a pretty good test case for clean energy in the U.S.—and something of an embarrassment for the anti-renewable crowd.
So what’s making the Golden State the, um, gold standard on clean energy when it comes to the U.S? The topline here is that through a combination of ambitious efficiency measures, aggressive targets and policies for emissions reduction and a deep commitment to expanding renewables, the state’s been able to do the remarkable and grow its economy without substantially increasing emissions. And not just without increasing emissions, but actually shrinking them by 25 percent per person from 1990—2012, all while growing per-capita GDP by 37 percent in the same period and creating what one report has hailed as the second-greenest economy in the world.
While pulling out all the factors contributing to this achievement would take up a post of its own (if not a book), a few in particular stand out:
•Governor Jerry Brown recently issued an executive order to reduce California’s greenhouse gas emissions by 40 percent below 1990 levels by 2030, making it possibly the most ambitious target in North America.
•California is home to the largest carbon market in North America, with a cap and trade system linked with Quebec and soon with Ontario.
•The state has developed both the policies and industry to become the leading state for solar energy in the U.S. and currently is home to the world’s three largest solar power plants. Along the way it became the first U.S. state to top 10 GW of solar capacity—or enough to power nearly 2.6 million homes—while its domestic solar industry employs nearly 55,000 workers across the solar value chain.
Looking at these figures, you have to try hard—really hard—not to reach one conclusion: if the world’s seventh-largest economy can make clean energy work, other nations and states can too. Which gives us a lot of hope looking ahead to negotiations in Paris. You might have heard the saying, “As California goes, so goes the nation.” We sure like the sound of it. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2F128fs318181.gif&hash=eff6d5f3831782966c2ff2081f07bf7fc5b22a6b)
http://ecowatch.com/2015/08/04/price-is-right-clean-energy/
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World’s Largest Solar Project and Floating Wind Turbine Signal Global Shift to Renewable Energy (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-200714191258.bmp&hash=e4ed21caaca822f7445ccafd39f49a9f84be90ca)
Lorraine Chow | August 5, 2015 1:48 pm
http://ecowatch.com/2015/08/05/world-largest-solar-wind-projects/
Comments
agelbert
Thank you for this inspiring news. I would add that the coastal wind turbines about 50 to 70 miles south of Fukushima, constructed BEFORE the 2011 tsunami that caused the subsequent meltdowns at the Fukushima nuclear power plant, were unscathed by the tsunami and were the ONLY power source for over a month. Now that's what I call reliable energy! The propagandists for dirty energy that frequent these boards should be reminded of how UNRELIABLE the energy they defend is.
Paul Kangas
The meltdown in Fukushima, Japan caused Japan to shift towards 100% solar.
The meltdown in Chernobyl, Russia caused Germany to rush towards solar & a solar payment policy.
Germany began paying $0.99 kwh for solar. Japan is paying $0.53 kwh for solar.
This is all good. However, we want decentralized solar, locally made, from home roof tops, not giant corporate solar.
To ship the energy from these huge projects to homes, where it is needed, you lose 40% of the energy in transmission. Big is not better.
That is not "clean" energy.
If we build solar homes, each with 100 solar panels, the homes get free energy at the point of use, no transmission costs, and the working class homeowner makes $2,000. / month income from the solar. Small is better. Decentralization. That is clean energy.
This also creates jobs that cannot be off-shored.
Stop genuflecting every time some Daddy War Bucks builds a large Pen*s.
These giant energy plants were built by Fukushima, and that means General Electric and atomic energy money.
Stop and think.
reply to Paul Kangas by agelbert
I agree distributed is the best form of renewable energy. But your cost figures for German Solar power per kwh are WAY OFF (German wind is even cheaper!).
"Solar power is already cost-effective, Agora notes. “In the sunny, desert country of Dubai, a long-term power purchase contract was signed recently for 5 cents per kilowatt hour, while in Germany large solar plants deliver power for less than 9 cents. By comparison, electricity from new coal and gas-fired plants costs between 5 and 10 cents per kilowatt hour and from nuclear plants as much as 11 cents.”
By 2025, the cost of producing power in central and southern Europe will have declined to between 4 and 6 cents per kilowatt hour. (http://www.energypost.eu/fraunhofer-solar-power-will-cost-2-ctskwh-2050/)
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Europe’s energy revolution marches on: one-third of power supply now renewable
June 17, 2015 by Karel Beckman
Fully one-third of electricity produced in Europe last year came from renewable energy, reports ENTSO-E (the European Network of Transmission System Operators for Electricity). Four years ago this was just 24%. The increased share of renewables has come at the expense of fossil fuels. ;D “There is a revolution taking place”, says Susanne Nies, Corporate Affairs Manager at ENTSO-E.
(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2Freading.gif&hash=63e3e644b39258d4c4eedbcdaf322315b1856723)
http://www.energypost.eu/europes-energy-revolution-marches-one-third-power-supply-now-comes-renewables/
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Islands Become Trendsetters for Renewable Energy
by Colin McCormick - August 05, 2015
Colin McCormick is a Research Fellow looking at energy technology innovation for WRI’s Charge project.
(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pv-magazine.com%2Ffileadmin%2FPVI_website_pictures%2FHawaii_solar_photovoltaic_panels_on_a_roof_Image_Hawaii_State_Separtment_of_Education.jpg&hash=a39157b4446da60a8d48ba5dfefc7ef6a6c65dd9)
With its new target in place, Hawaii becomes the largest island to aim for a full-renewables grid strategy.
Hawaii made waves earlier this year with the announcement that it plans to transition its electric grid to 100 percent renewables by 2045. This is the most aggressive target in the United States, and it means that the state will serve as a testbed for bringing large amounts of variable renewables onto the grid. It should be watched closely by grid managers everywhere.
It’s no coincidence that Hawaii leads the nation in its renewable ambitions. As a group of islands, Hawaii faces unique energy challenges, and it has worked closely with the U.S. Department of Energy to analyze the potential of solar energy, and examine the challenges of integrating a variety of renewables into its energy mix.
From one perspective, an island seems like a hard place to use variable renewable energy like wind and solar. Island grids are usually isolated, so they can’t rely on power from the mainland grid when there’s no sun or wind. (There are some exceptions, like the Danish island of Samso.) Island grids generally have to pay more attention to backup generation and energy storage than mainland grids, raising the overall costs of renewables.
On the other hand, most islands rely on fuel imports to run their grid. These shipments of diesel, oil or natural gas are very expensive, and anything that can reduce or eliminate them can mean big savings. It also means less reliance on imports, increasing energy security. So shifting to fuel-free renewables like solar and wind saves money on this side of the ledger.
How do these two factors balance out in practice? The answer is clear in the growing number of island communities around the world that are moving quickly to adopt renewables.
The Growth of Renewable Islands
Hybrid renewable energy technologies can provide stable power for islands. For example, El Hierro, one of the Spanish Canary Islands off the coast of Africa, operates a stand-alone electric grid to serve its population of 11,000 and run power-hungry desalination plants. Last summer, the island inaugurated a hybrid wind-hydro power plant that combines wind energy when it’s available with pumped hydroelectric storage that runs when the wind drops. This has allowed it to almost completely stop using expensive, shipped-in fuel oil. The plant has just completed one year of successful operation.
Grid management and storage solutions are also being developed and used on islands. Kodiak Island in Alaska has just shifted to fully running its grid with wind and hydro power. To make this work, the utility had to deal with the challenge of smoothly transitioning between wind and hydro generation without the power flickering. Managers handle this by using a battery-storage system that can provide a brief (90 second) amount of power to bridge the gap. With the full system in operation, Kodiak is able to almost completely eliminate imports of close to 3 million gallons of diesel per year.
Many other islands are expanding how much of their electricity can feasibly come from renewables, as IRENA and the Carbon War Room have both addressed. These islands range from extremely small—such as the tiny Pacific nation of Tokelau, which moved to entirely solar power several years ago—to relatively large—Iceland relies almost entirely on hydropower and geothermal power, although these are less variable than wind and solar.
Learning from Hawaii
With its new target in place, Hawaii becomes the largest island to aim for a full-renewables grid strategy. The lessons from balancing variable renewable generation on smaller islands will help the state as it works to handle the challenges of large amounts of renewables. And while some of these lessons will remain island-specific, many will be relevant to mainland grids.
(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fstatic01.nyt.com%2Fimages%2F2015%2F04%2F19%2Fbusiness%2F19SOLARsub1%2F19SOLARsub1-articleLarge.jpg&hash=d0fa081c00b2f0c22db52662ba85729145ab1378)
Ubiquitous solar panels on Rooftops in Hawaii
One particular example that many utilities around the world are grappling with is the question of how much distributed renewable energy can be safely installed on the grid. Hawaii has the highest percentage of rooftop solar in the United States—one household in eight has it—which has raised some technical concerns about grid stability. ;) In 2013, the local utility (HECO) capped the allowed amount of rooftop solar, freezing thousands of permit applications for new installations. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-200714183312.bmp&hash=02dafef2fe739676600fdc9bd56271f0f5ab3723) >:(
After research by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) resolved those concerns, HECO doubled the cap and allowed new installations to go ahead. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fus.123rf.com%2F400wm%2F400%2F400%2Fyayayoy%2Fyayayoy1106%2Fyayayoy110600019%2F9735563-smiling-sun-showing-thumb-up.jpg&hash=09b45642ec6d7943d30b5b87548676e3ee7dbe3d)
Now it is charting new territory, including learning how to work with distributed solar companies to better use data from rooftop solar installations to improve awareness of how these systems are performing and their impact on grid stability.
As the Hawaiian grid continues to gather real-world experience in incorporating large amounts of renewables, it will serve as both a practical demonstration and a tremendously valuable testbed for how other states could follow a similar path. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2F128fs318181.gif&hash=eff6d5f3831782966c2ff2081f07bf7fc5b22a6b)
http://www.wri.org/blog/2015/08/islands-become-trendsetters-renewable-energy
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World’s Second Largest Source of Electricity Is Now Renewables (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-200714191258.bmp&hash=e4ed21caaca822f7445ccafd39f49a9f84be90ca)
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The construction of a vast solar power plant in Germany. Photo credit: Bilfinger SE / Flickr
It probably surprises nobody to learn that coal produces more of the world’s electricity than any other fuel. But it may provide food for thought to realize that the second most widely-used fuels for power generation are now renewables.
Electricity generation from renewable sources has overtaken natural gas to become the second largest source of electricity worldwide, the International Energy Agency (IEA) has announced.
In Europe, the main renewables used to generate electricity are wind and solar power. Since 1990, global solar photovoltaic power has been increasing at an average growth rate of 44.6 percent a year and wind at 27.1 percent. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fcliparts.co%2Fcliparts%2FBig%2FEgq%2FBigEgqBMT.png&hash=e7eec62f009cdd686ce795fad0a53c6befe748e9) (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.freesmileys.org%2Femoticons%2Ftuzki-bunnys%2Ftuzki-bunny-emoticon-022.gif&hash=3b60da70b71b7109fe66036056cb1dedc1affb43)
The IEA reports that electricity production last year in the 34 members of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) fell slightly to 10,712 TWh (terawatt hours)—a decrease of 0.8 percent (86 TWh) compared with 2013. To put that in context, 1 TWh is 1 billion kilowatt hours and each KWh takes about 0.36 kilograms of coal to generate.
Partially Offset
This decline, the agency says, was driven by lower fossil fuel and hydro production, which were only partially offset by increases in non-hydro renewables. These grew by 8.5 percent and nuclear energy by 0.9 percent.
In 2014, solar photovoltaic power overtook solid biofuels—used in power plants that burn biomass—to become the second-largest source of non-hydro renewable electricity in OECD countries of Europe, with a share of 17.3 percent.
The IEA says overall growth in electricity generation continues to be driven by non-OECD countries. Its latest statistics, which show world electricity generation increasing by 2.9 percent between 2012 and 2013, reveal two distinct trends.
Electricity generation is leveling off within the OECD, while it is rising strongly in the rest of the world. In 2011, non-OECD countries for the first time produced more electricity than members of the OECD.
Other milestones were reached in 2013, when global non-hydro renewable electricity exceeded oil-fired generation for the first time and renewable electricity overtook natural gas to become the world’s second largest source of electricity, producing 22 percent of the total. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-080515182559.png&hash=d4dfa952fa0f817bf30a8059a4c88d6fb05ee1bf)
In the same year, electricity generated by coal reached its highest level yet at 9,613 TWh, representing 41.1 percent of global electricity production :P. The growth in coal generation was driven by non-OECD countries. :(
Globally, more renewable energy is consumed in the residential, commercial and public services sectors than elsewhere, but there are two distinct patterns of use.
In non-OECD countries, only 22.3 percent of renewables are used for electricity and heat production and 60.7 percent in homes, commercial and public sectors. In OECD countries, more than half of the renewable primary energy supply (58.5 percent) is used for electricity and heat.
Huge Challenge
The IEA’s data will encourage renewable energy’s supporters, but they also show how much the world continues to rely on fossil fuels for its electricity.
In 1971, coal produced about 2 TWh of global electrical power, but that figure is now almost five times higher. Replacing that much generation with clean fuels will be a huge challenge, despite the very rapidly accelerating growth of renewables.
Fatih Birol, the IEA’s director, has said that, without clear direction from the UN climate summit to be held in Paris in December, “the world is set for warming well beyond the 2°C goal,”—the internationally-agreed limit for global temperature rise that is intended to prevent climate change reaching dangerous levels.
The IEA World Energy Outlook 2014 said that, by 2040, the world’s energy supply mix is likely to divide into four almost-equal parts: oil, gas, coal and low-carbon sources.
This scenario, it said, “puts the world on a path consistent with a long-term global average temperature increase of 3.6°C.” (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-300714025456.bmp&hash=f4e4a260bd60d3f34ca86fed93c47d5fb4117cfd)
http://ecowatch.com/2015/08/19/renewables-second-largest-source/
(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.freesmileys.org%2Femoticons%2Femoticon-object-106.gif&hash=f996659d18df7f3b445e6135e884397ac91f25b1) Save humanity! DEMAND DIVESTMENT FROM FOSSIL FUEL INDUSTRY POLLUTERS NOW! (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.freesmileys.org%2Femoticons%2Ftuzki-bunnys%2Ftuzki-bunny-emoticon-028.gif&hash=24570cb7e8246617010ce900a07bc85117ff78ca)
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Shilling for Dollars
(https://frackorporation.files.wordpress.com/2015/08/gilbert-ross.gif)
Front groups with official and impressive name such as Medicine and Public Health at the American Council on Science and Health (ACSH) tend to lend an air of authoritative credibility to a given issue. It carries the impression of being an expert source.
To increase the “expert credibility” image, add someone with a few letters before and/or after their name to the staff.
But is the front group or its representatives really an expert and credible organization? (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.desismileys.com%2Fsmileys%2Fdesismileys_1730.gif&hash=cdaf50326d98ff7b051a9c49e83d51c7bb687407)
Full article:
https://frackorporation.wordpress.com/2015/08/15/shilling-for-dollars/
Agelbert NOTE: The short answer is NO. The ACSH is funded by a rogues gallery of polluters. The scientists they employ are bought and paid for to distort, dissemble and twist the science of applied physics (see "High Energy Density" of fossil fuels happy talk) and climate science along with several other pro-corporate and anti-people propaganda). The ACSH exists to perpetuate the profit over planet polluting status quo, PERIOD.
Why You Can’t Trust the American Council on Science and Health
Posted on April 17, 2015 by Gary Ruskin
The American Council on Science and Health is a front group for the tobacco, agrichemical, fossil fuel, pharmaceutical and other industries.
Personnel
ACSH’s “Medical/Executive Director” is Dr. Gilbert Ross.[2] In 1993, according to United Press International, Dr. Ross was “convicted of racketeering, mail fraud and conspiracy,” and was “sentenced to 47 months in jail, $40,000 in forfeiture and restitution of $612,855” in a scheme to defraud the Medicaid system.[3]
ACSH’s Dr. Ross was found to be a “highly untrustworthy individual” by a judge who sustained the exclusion of Dr. Ross from Medicaid for ten years.[4]
Funding (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2Facigar.gif&hash=dc9dccf92c6c88c99611b06c86d92629d69f2978)
ACSH has often billed itself as an “independent” group, and has been referred to as “independent” in the press. However, according to internal ACSH financial documents obtained by Mother Jones:
“ACSH planned to receive a total of $338,200 from tobacco companies between July 2012 and June 2013. Reynolds American and Phillip Morris International were each listed as expected to give $100,000 in 2013, which would make them the two largest individual donations listed in the ACSH documents.”[5]
“ACSH donors in the second half of 2012 included Chevron ($18,500), Coca-Cola ($50,000), the Bristol Myers Squibb Foundation ($15,000), Dr. Pepper/Snapple ($5,000), Bayer Cropscience ($30,000), Procter and Gamble ($6,000), agribusiness giant Syngenta ($22,500), 3M ($30,000), McDonald’s ($30,000), and tobacco conglomerate Altria ($25,000).
Among the corporations and foundations that ACSH has pursued for financial support since July 2012 are Pepsi, Monsanto, British American Tobacco, DowAgro, ExxonMobil Foundation, Philip Morris International, Reynolds American, the Koch family-controlled Claude R. Lambe Foundation, the Dow-linked Gerstacker Foundation, the Bradley Foundation, and the Searle Freedom Trust.”[6]
ACSH has received $155,000 in contributions from Koch foundations from 2005-2011, according to Greenpeace.[7]
Indefensible and incorrect statements on science
ACSH has:
Claimed that “There is no evidence that exposure to secondhand smoke involves heart attacks or cardiac arrest.”[8]
Argued that “there is no scientific consensus concerning global warming. The climate change predictions are based on computer models that have not been validated and are far from perfect.”[9]
Argued that fracking “doesn’t pollute water or air.”[10]
Claimed that “The scientific evidence is clear. There has never been a case of ill health linked to the regulated, approved use of pesticides in this country.”[11]
Declared that “There is no evidence that BPA [bisphenol A] in consumer products of any type, including cash register receipts, are harmful to health.”[12]
Argued that the exposure to mercury, a potent neurotoxin, “in conventional seafood causes no harm in humans.”[13]
Footnotes
[2] “Meet the ACSH Team,” American Council on Science and Health website.
[3] “Seven Sentenced for Medicaid Fraud.” United Press International, December 6, 1993. See also correspondence from Tyrone T. Butler, Director, Bureau of Adjudication, State of New York Department of Health to Claudia Morales Bloch, Gilbert Ross and Vivian Shevitz, “RE: In the Matter of Gilbert Ross, M.D.” March 1, 1995. Bill Hogan, “Paging Dr. Ross.” Mother Jones, November 2005. Martin Donohoe MD FACP, “Corporate Front Groups and the Abuse of Science: The American Council on Science and Health (ACSH).” Spinwatch, June 25, 2010.
[4] Department of Health and Human Services, Departmental Appeals Board, Civil Remedies Division, In the Cases of Gilbert Ross, M.D. and Deborah Williams M.D., Petitioners, v. The Inspector General. June 16, 1997. Docket Nos. C-94-368 and C-94-369. Decision No. CR478.
[5] Andy Kroll and Jeremy Schulman, “Leaked Documents Reveal the Secret Finances of a Pro-Industry Science Group.” Mother Jones, October 28, 2013. “American Council on Science and Health Financial Report, FY 2013 Financial Update.” Mother Jones, October 28, 2013.
[6] Andy Kroll and Jeremy Schulman, “Leaked Documents Reveal the Secret Finances of a Pro-Industry Science Group.” Mother Jones, October 28, 2013. “American Council on Science and Health Financial Report, FY 2013 Financial Update.” Mother Jones, October 28, 2013.
[7] “Koch Industries Climate Denial Front Group: American Council on Science and Health (ACSH).” Greenpeace. See also Rebekah Wilce, “Kochs and Corps Have Bankrolled American Council on Science and Health.” PR Watch, July 23, 2014.
[8] Richard Craver, “The Effects of the Smoking Ban.” Winston-Salem Journal, December 12, 2012.
[9] Elizabeth Whelan, “’Global Warming’ Not Health Threat.” PRI (Population Research Institute) Review, January 1, 1998.
[10] Elizabeth Whelan, “Fracking Doesn’t Pose Health Risks.” The Daily Caller, April 29, 2013.
[11] “TASSC: The Advancement of Sound Science Coalition,” p. 9. Legacy Tobacco Documents Library, University of California, San Francisco. November 21, 2001. Bates No. 2048294227-2048294237.
[12] “The Top 10 Unfounded Health Scares of 2012.” American Council on Science and Health, February 22, 2013.
[13] “The Biggest Unfounded Health Scares of 2010.” American Council on Science and Health, December 30, 2010.
Food For Thought, Hall of Shame
http://usrtk.org/hall-of-shame/why-you-cant-trust-the-american-council-on-science-and-health/
Agelbert NOTE: Here is an excellent example of pseudo scientific baloney published by the ACSH (it's three years old but the same baloney continues to be peddled by fossil fuelers and those that swallowed their mendacious propaganda):
Energy Density: Why Gasoline Is Here To Stay (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2F2.bp.blogspot.com%2F_9HT4xZyDmh4%2FTOHhxzA0wLI%2FAAAAAAAAEUk%2FoeHDS2cfxWQ%2Fs200%2FSmiley_Angel_Wings_Halo.jpg&hash=13281f1944b60773bf12b29387b70be77cc1fe16)
By Hank Campbell (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-200714191329.bmp&hash=4764bfbe6bb0e11ca61102efa97a932a824f47e0) | August 2nd 2012 11:00 PM
SNIPPET 1 - The Pretense of Objectivity Wind Up (i.e. tough love "real world" baloney mixed with sympathy laced rhetoric):
Like people who approach geopolitics with the attitude of "If people would just talk to each other, we would all along", there are a lot of naïve assumptions about just dumping gasoline.
We know it causes emissions, and emissions are bad, we know a lot of the money paid for oil goes to fund Middle Eastern terrorism, and that is bad - those things should cause both the left and the right in America to want gasoline gone. And yet it is not gone. The reason is simple: gasoline is a lot more efficient than alternative energy proponents want to believe.
SNIPPET 2 - The pitch:
Energy density is the amount of stored energy in something; in the case of gasoline we talk in America about a 1 gallon volume but I will use both metric and standard for the values. Gasoline has an energy density of about 44 megajoules per kilogram (MJ/kg), converted to American values that is 1.3 × 108 J/gallon.
SNIPPET 3 (Just ONE of SEVERAL real world AND applied physics LIES):
Ethanol was the last craze of the Anything-But-Oil contingent yet even they had to succumb to reality and recognize that the lower energy density meant 25% worse gas mileage - worse for people, worse for food prices and worse for the environment.
http://www.science20.com/science_20/energy_density_why_gasoline_here_stay-91403
(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-090315203150.png&hash=c52cac3e4572a3609fd1a46ef50b96a57ce04554)
Agelbert NOTE: To begin with, ethanol is not a "craze". It was not a craze in 2012 and, because presently 15 billion gallons of it are made a year (http://www.e100ethanolgroup.com/Can_We_Really_Do_This_.html), it certainly isn't one now.
But the fact that the author is so ignorant of history (Edison labs in partnership with the U.S. Navy, in the first decade of the 20th century, PROVED that ethanol was a superior fuel to gasoline - It was rather convenient for Standard Oil that Prohibition just happened to come along after Rockefeller funded the temperance movement to the tune of several million dollars...) is informative about the questionable scientific objectivity of the author. ;)
The author puts up a happy talk graph showing gasoline as the high energy density champion over E85. He leaves out E100 (an informative omission that points squarely at a fossil fuel bias).
The chart is accurate. So what's the problem? The problem is that energy density of gasoline and ethanol is a process determined in the lab, by scientists, in certain standardized conditions. I'm CERTAIN fossil fuelers know this. The energy density of about 44 MJ/kg) for gasoline is determined by heating water, in an open flame in standard atmospheric conditions (a fixed temperature and pressure - sea level at 59 degrees F).
If the above appears irrelevant to you, let me remind you that heating water in an open flame is an EXTERNAL combustion process. It is true that gasoline will heat that water quicker than ethanol. ;D
But, unless you have a steam engine running your car, you need to consider how much WORK you can get from gasoline versus ethanol in an INTERNAL combustion engine. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.desismileys.com%2Fsmileys%2Fdesismileys_6869.gif&hash=f94938471d343a09155d1f60eefacdb2ceab2457)
The author neglected to mention that ethanol (E100) has a higher octane rating than non-leaded gasoline, even though E100 has a lower energy density. ;D High octane ratings give a fuel better mileage as long as you oxidize them in a high compression internal combustion engines. That is why tetra-ethyl lead was invented to help our children's IQ... You see, ethanol was outlawed for fuel thanks to Prohibition... And, by the way, leaded gasoline is STILL LEGAL for use in aircraft internal combustion engine, all of which are high compression engines. Do you live under the approach to general aviation airport? Then you are getting the "benefit" of still another "externalized" cost thanks to the fossil fuel industry.
When you mix gasoline with ethanol (e.g. E85) you LOWER the octane rating. IOW, you are making it LESS efficient. You are making it LESS competitive with gasoline. You are getting the waste heat disadvantage of gasoline and losing the a part of the high octane rating of ethanol. That is Inefficient. That is unscientific. That is STUPID. But that is convenient and profitable for the fossil fuel industry. You might ask yourself why E100 is in common use in Brazil, but not in the USA. I'll give you three guesses - the first two don't count. ;)
Why ethanol's octane rating is higher than that of non-leaded gasoline if ethanol has a lower energy density? Because ethanol is of uniform chemical structure. Consequently, it burns evenly and does not suffer from pre-ignition (like low octane gasoline DOES) which can severely damage an engine.
More thermodynamically important, however, the consistent chemical structure of E100 ensures complete combustion, aided by the fact that it carries it's own oxygen.
In addition, ethanol has extremely low waste heat because, unlike gasoline, it doesn't produce carbon deposits from incomplete combustion on the cylinder walls that increase friction and decrease engine life.
Unlike an engine running on gasoline, you can touch the block, or the manifold, of an engine running on ethanol with your hand AND KEEP IT THERE without getting burned. This has huge savings implications for engine design that the fossil fuel industry has done it's best to keep from internal combustion engine designers and manufacturers (more on that below).
IN SUMMARY, "High energy density" calculations are based on EXTERNAL thermodynamic combustion processes. It is true that gasoline will boil water in an open flame faster than ethanol will. That doesn't have beans to do with automobiles.
But when INTERNAL combustion is involved, ethanol produces more useful work than gasoline. That has EVERYTHING to do with automobiles.
But there is more the fossil fuel industry does not want most people to know. Due to the fact that ethanol burns so cleanly and has such low waste heat, a high compression internal combustion engine specifically designed for ethanol would be about 30% lighter (i.e. a lot cheaper) because the metal alloys involved would not have to be engineered to withstand the engine stressing waste heat that gasoline generates. Of course, said internal combustion engine (ICE) could not be approved for running gasoline. Gasoline would trash an engine designed specifically to run on ethanol in short order. The fossil fuel industry would not like that at all.
A lighter ICE running ethanol would then get even more mechanical energy (i.e. WORK) out of each gallon because less engine weight would need to be moved along with the car and occupants.
The Fossil Fuel Industry knows all that. That is why they continuously try to demonize and talk down ethanol biofuel with mendacity and dissembling about "low ERoEI", "water in the fuel" and "corrosion".
I, and many others, have exposed all that fossil fuel industry self serving propaganda. But they just keep throwing it out there to try to preserve the TOTALLY unscientific basis for claiming fossil fuels are a "better fuel" than E100 (pure ethanol).
Don't believe them. And check to see who is doing the funding when you read happy talk about fossil fuels.
The American Council on Science and Health (ACSH) is not objective, science based or credible. Hank Campbell, like the fossil fueler MKing that haunts the Doomstead Diner, is not interested in scientific objectivity; preserving the fossil fuel profit over planet status quo with mens rea mendacity is behind everything they write. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-200714183337.bmp&hash=fd5a6df63c32bd65dda7b6d93e788647ca3829df)
Further reading that methodically takes apart some relatively recent pseudo scientific baloney by the "illustrious" Professor Charles Hall, friend of fossil fuelers everywhere. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-280515145049.png&hash=84e87515e750391c1f1bca6d6ae06485972bfa81)(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-051113192052.png&hash=93c42ef9f18fc5d9da50fd91fc19f70009f95f85)
Renewables have higher ERoEI than fossil fuels (http://bountifulenergy.blogspot.com/2014/07/renewables-have-higher-eroei-than.html)
(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fus.123rf.com%2F400wm%2F400%2F400%2Fyayayoy%2Fyayayoy1106%2Fyayayoy110600019%2F9735563-smiling-sun-showing-thumb-up.jpg&hash=09b45642ec6d7943d30b5b87548676e3ee7dbe3d)
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US Green Building Industry Employs 2.3 Million People
SustainableBusiness.com News
Did you ever think there would be 2.3 million people employed in green building in the US? (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-200714191258.bmp&hash=e4ed21caaca822f7445ccafd39f49a9f84be90ca)
That's how many are employed this year, according to the 2015 Green Building Economic Impact Study, conducted by Booz Allen Hamilton for the US Green Building Council. As have previous studies, it shows that green construction is rapidly outpacing conventional building and will continue to rise.
By 2018, green building will support more than 3.3 million US jobs - about a third of the construction industry - and directly contribute $304 billion to GDP, along with critical savings in energy, water and construction debris that is recycled, rather than trashed.
States are also benefiting from LEED building projects, estimated to reach $8.4 billion by 2018. Texas alone has close to 1.3 million jobs in green building.
Read our article, US Still Leads On Green Building: Top 10 Countries.
http://www.sustainablebusiness.com/index.cfm/go/news.display/id/26392
Global Real Estate Industry Embraces Sustainability
Last year, the global real estate industry cut greenhouse gas emissions 3%, increased on-site renewable energy 50% and improved environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance 19%, says Netherlands-based GRESB, which evaluates the sustainability performance of real estate portfolios.
The global property industry is at the heart of critical global issues that include resource constraints, climate change, and urbanization. There is strong evidence that more sustainably designed and operated buildings can provide solutions to these challenging issues, while also creating value for real estate investors and shareholders," they say.
Its latest study concludes the industry is increasingly integrating ESG considerations in corporate policies, strategy, and practices, such as energy and water efficiency programs.
Report Highlights:
•More property companies and REITs issue Sustainability Reports: 707 companies and funds, representing $2.3 trillion and 61,000 assets;
•Better environmental performance: in addition to reducing emissions 3%, energy consumption is down 2.87% and water use is down 1.65%.
•On-site renewable energy generation has reached 445 gigawatt-hours (GWh), up from 296 GWh in 2014.
North American REITs and private equity funds trailed the global market slightly, with an average sustainability score of 44 compared to 46 globally. 88% of US funds have sustainability policies and a growing number - but still too small - include specific provisions that address climate risk (36%) and resilience (26%). 86% of North American property companies and funds implemented water efficiency systems over the past four years.
Download the 2015 Green Building Economic Impact Study:
Website: http://go.usgbc.org/2015-economic-impact-report.html
http://www.sustainablebusiness.com/index.cfm/go/news.display/id/26414
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100% Renewable Energy Possible by 2050, Says Greenpeace Report
Tierney Smith, TckTckTck | September 21, 2015 9:08 am
100 percent renewable energy for all is achievable by 2050, creating jobs and cutting fuel costs, according to Greenpeace’s latest Energy [R]evolution report.
Researched in collaboration with the German Aerospace Centre (DLR), the report finds that the clean energy transition—including the electricity, transport and heating sectors—will create 20 million jobs over the next 15 years, and—unlike coal—will provide energy access to the one third of people globally that currently have none.
Greenpeace Energy [R]evolution report author Sven Teske said:
“The solar and wind industries have come of age, and are cost-competitive with coal. It’s the responsibility of the fossil fuel industry to prepare for these changes in the labour market and make provisions.
Governments need to manage the dismantling of the fossil fuel industry which is moving rapidly into irrelevance.
Every dollar invested in new fossil fuel projects is high risk capital which might end up as stranded investment.”[/color]
Greenpeace and DLR found that the investment necessary to reach a 100 per cent renewable goal will be a considerable US$1 trillion a year.
However, this will be more than covered by the US$1.07 trillion in savings on fuel costs alone in the same period, not to mention the vast co-benefits to human health and the avoided costs from climate change-related extreme weather that come with the renewable transition.
To date, Greenpeace’s clean energy transition projections have proven to be the amongst the most accurate globally. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.desismileys.com%2Fsmileys%2Fdesismileys_0293.gif&hash=b1af4868ed8f18c30e637f8cbcb79002f6f71039)
This updated roadmap plots an ambitious path, but a necessary one for the world to tread if we are to remain below the agreed 2C guardrail of average global warming.
Renewable potential has been consistently understated, but with overwhelming public support, renewable records being broken all the time in Germany and elsewhere, Tesla about to add storage to the rapidly growing Australian solar market, and California recently approving 50 percent by 2030 renewable target—to name just a few developments—momentum is growing at such a pace Greenpeace could be proven prescient once again.
Greenpeace International executive director, Kumi Naidoo said:
“We must not let lobbying by vested interests in the fossil fuel industry stand in the way of a switch to renewable energy, the most effective and fairest way to deliver a clean and safe energy future. I would urge all those who say ‘it can’t be done’ to read this report and recognize that it can be done, it must be done, and it will be for the benefit of everyone if it is done.”
With the UN climate talks in Paris looming, fossil fuel divestment gathering pace worldwide, and the renewable industry booming, there is no fork in the road—there is only forward to a clean energy future or backwards to a dirty fossil fuel past.
Countries from Sweden to Brazil, China to India are already waking up to the opportunities of a clean energy future, and with the right investment, Greenpeace says renewables will triple to 64 percent of global electricity supply—almost two thirds—by as early as 2030.
Such a transition would see CO2 emissions fall from the current 30 gigatonnes a year to 20 gigatonnes by 2030.
http://ecowatch.com/2015/09/21/100-renewables-2050-greenpeace/
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96 Cities That Are Quitting Fossil Fuels and Moving Toward 100% Renewable Energy
Cole Mellino | September 22, 2015 9:46 am
SNIPPET:
While countries have dragged their feet for years on meaningful climate action, many cities around the world have forged ahead with sustainability efforts. In July, about 60 mayors pledged to fight climate change at a two-day conference hosted by Pope Francis.
Several cities have even made impressive strides to ditch fossil fuels in favor of renewables. Two recent reports have confirmed that 100 percent renewable energy is possible. Earlier this summer, professors out of Stanford and U.C. Berkeley laid out a plan for the U.S. to convert to 100 percent renewable energy in less than 40 years, and Monday Greenpeace published its Energy Revolution 2015 report, which proposes a pathway to a 100 percent sustainable energy supply by 2050.
A report issued last week by CDP, a a U.K.-based nonprofit, and AECOM shows that “96 cities—one third of cities participating in CDP—are already taking action to decarbonize their electricity supply. And 86 percent of these cities say taking action on climate change presents an economic opportunity.”
Full article:
http://ecowatch.com/2015/09/22/cities-renewable-energy/
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Brazil pledges to cut carbon emissions 37% by 2025
Brazil becomes first major developing country to pledge an absolute reduction in greenhouse gas emissions ahead of Paris climate talks
Associated Press
Monday 28 September 2015 08.17 EDT Last modified on Monday 28 September 2015 11.14 EDT
Brazil on Sunday became the first major developing country to pledge an absolute reduction in greenhouse gas emissions for an envisioned global pact against climate change.
The world’s seventh biggest greenhouse gas polluter said it would cut its emissions by 37% by 2025 from 2005 levels by reducing deforestation and boosting the share of renewable sources in its energy mix. It also indicated an “intended reduction” of 43% by 2030.
“Our goals are just as ambitious, if not more so, than those set by developed countries,”
President Dilma Rousseff said as she announced the targets at the UN in New York.
In talks on a new climate agreement, set to be adopted in Paris in December, developed countries are expected to shoulder the biggest responsibility for cutting emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. For example, the US has pledged to reduce its emissions by 26-28% between 2005 and 2025.
Major developing countries such as China and South Africa have pledged to rein in their emissions as their economies expand, rather than to slash them in absolute terms.
Brazil, however, has already achieved significant emissions cuts in the past decade primarily because of efforts to reduce deforestation in the Amazon.
Environmental groups tracking climate policy applauded Brazil for taking absolute reduction targets, but said they could have been even more ambitious.
The targets would reduce Brazilian emissions from the current level of 1.6bn tonnes a year to 1.5bn tonnes by 2025 and 1.3bn tonnes by 2030, said Viviane Romeiro of the World Resources Institute (WRI), an environmental thinktank.
“Ideally, we would have reached 1 gigaton by 2030. This pledge won’t allow us to get to that number,” she said.
Rousseff said that by 2030, Brazil, which has large dams, aims to get 66% of its electricity from hydropower and 23% from other renewable sources including wind, solar and biomass.
That’s an increase from a joint announcement with the US in June, when Brazil said it would double its non-hydropower renewable sources to 20% by 2030.
She also said that Brazil would strive to end illegal deforestation by 2030, a goal that Romeiro said it had previously hoped to achieve by this year.
A crunch issue in UN climate talks is how to divide the responsibility of fighting climate change between developed countries who have historically released the highest emissions and developing nations whose emissions are growing the fastest.
Environment minister Izabella Teixeira told the Associated Press that Brazil’s targets were consistent with its historical responsibility to deal with the problem.
“We are not increasing our emissions. We are cutting our emissions,”
she said.
Without naming anyone, she added that many countries say they want to fight global warming, “but when you check their numbers you see they are increasing their emissions”.
http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/sep/28/brazil-pledges-to-cut-carbon-emissions-37-by-2025
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How to Finance the Global Transition from Fossil Fuels to Renewable Energy (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.emofaces.com%2Fpng%2F200%2Femoticons%2Ffingerscrossed.png&hash=d56f8009d18b55f4cea7be68284c0521be92fc5d)
Ken Berlin | October 1, 2015 9:57 am
The question of how to finance a global transition from fossil fuels to clean energy is perhaps the most critical and difficult issue in the upcoming United Nations climate negotiations that will take place in Paris, starting in late November. Three contentious issues are on the table.
First, how should developed countries mobilize $100 billion a year by 2020 for mitigating and adapting to the adverse effects of climate change, largely through the Green Climate Fund (GCF) agreed upon during the Cancun round of UN negotiations. Second, what should be the balance between public and private sector funding in reaching the $100 billion a year goal. Third, to what extent should public funding be based on finance mechanisms versus grants?
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All of these are important issues, but arguably, they are all encompassed within a much larger question. Namely, how much needs to be spent on renewable energy projects each year in order to enable the rapid transition to a clean energy economy?
Spending on renewable energy projects in 2014 gives a good clue to the answer. According to a study by the UN and Bloomberg New Energy Finance, public and private investors spent approximately $270 billion on renewable energy projects in 2014 (some estimates are higher, like the estimate of the investor group CERES of $310 billion). According to the study, this spending only increased renewable energy’s share of global generation by about 0.6 percent.
This rate of spending is simply way too low if we are successfully to keep carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere below the 450 parts-per-million (PPM) level that many scientists believe would keep temperature increases resulting from greenhouse gas emissions below 2 degrees Celsius. CERES and the International Energy Agency estimate that the rate of investment in clean energy needs to be doubled by 2020 and quadrupled by 2030 to $ 1 trillion/year in order to achieve the 450 PPM goal.
Thus, no matter what else we do to address climate change—whether it’s introducing a carbon tax, creating a cap-and-trade system, or adding tax incentives—we cannot transition to a clean energy economy without generating extremely large investments in renewables.
Such large investments are possible. In 2012, the world made $4 trillion in infrastructure and capital spending investments and this number is expected to increase to 9 trillion in 2025. So the funds are there. Also, $1 trillion/year level of investment in renewable energy would create massive numbers of jobs and sustained economic growth. The crucial question is what is needed to direct those funds into renewable energy investments.
The first key is that this money has to come from private investors. Governments can help, but they simply cannot generate this amount of funding on a yearly basis due to political barriers and constituent expectations.
Second, there have to be attractive projects for the investments to take place. The great news here is that renewable energy is becoming increasingly cost competitive with fossil fuel energy. If one plays out the trends, there is reason to believe that renewable energy is already competitive in much of the world and—with storage batteries included in the calculation – should be cost competitive nearly worldwide before the end of this decade.
Third, governments can play a vital role in encouraging these investments. There are a series of tools that can help with this: low-cost financing through green banks or the GCF, green bonds, loan loss reserves, public pension fund investments and risk insurance are just some examples.
Fourth, barriers to the deployment of renewable energy must be removed. As of today there are myriad laws that make the deployment of renewable energy difficult if not impossible. Classic examples include limitations on the ability of owners of rooftop solar to sell electricity back to the grid and laws that prevent the leasing of rooftop solar energy systems.
Fifth, putting a price on the cost of carbon pollution will speed up and solidify this transition since it will make renewable energy more competitive. Such a price would be fair—after all, the price of a product should include all of its costs on society.
Sixth, some of the tension in UN climate negotiations will ease as renewables become fully cost competitive (though funding for adaptation will still be an issue). Many developing countries argue that building renewable energy facilities is more expensive than building fossil-fuel-based facilities and that they are doing so only because of problems created by historical carbon emissions by developed countries. But, this argument loses immediacy if in fact renewables are fully cost competitive and installing them either has no negative impact on economic growth—or it spurs economic growth more than fossil fuel investments.
Seventh, it is far easier to finance a project than it is to support it with grants, in part because most funds lent are repaid and can be lent out again. This doesn’t mean that grants will remain unimportant. Where renewable energy is not competitive, even with low-cost financing, grants can further decrease the price of renewable energy because they do not have to be repaid. And there are some projects where the users of the energy generated cannot repay the cost of even fully competitive renewables.
Asking the right questions about finance is critical. Doing so provides clarity of purpose and focuses efforts on the key issues that have to be addressed. With UN negotiations in Paris approaching and issues with planet-wide implications on the agenda, it’s time to start asking the right questions about energy finance.
You can help ask world leaders the key questions. Join with millions around the planet demanding a strong climate agreement in Paris by adding your name to our Road to Paris petition. You’ll help build support for a breakthrough agreement at a critical moment and we’ll keep you updated on important policy developments in climate finance and other areas.
http://ecowatch.com/2015/10/01/fossil-fuels-renewable-energy/
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Sweden to Become the World’s First Fossil Fuel-Free Nation (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2F19.gif&hash=3f9f2fc2285bc756137e21463bc2a4c420b15ac3)
Lorraine Chow | September 25, 2015 11:20 am
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http://ecowatch.com/2015/09/25/%e2%80%8bsweden-fossil-fuel-free/
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Is there any consensus on Doomstead on the cost of a RE energy system? This is including storage and transmission and all the overhead that make a system rather than a sometimes supplement.
For a grid tie system, a 10.5K system like the one below will work well. Throw in the Tesla Powerwall and you are good to go.
10.5KW Complete Grid Tie System
Product Code: 10.5KW Complete Grid Tie System
Availability: In Stock
Weight: 4,000.00lb
Mounting Hardware: * 10.5KW - Unirac PV SolarMount (+$2,625.00)
$12,390.00
http://sunelec.com/pv-systems/grid-tie-systems/10000-watt-grid-tie-system.html (http://sunelec.com/pv-systems/grid-tie-systems/10000-watt-grid-tie-system.html)
Tesla Powerwall
The calculator assumes a home with enough solar-panel surface area to generate 7 kilowatt hours of surplus energy 365 days per year. That's enough to fill the smaller of the two available Powerwall battery packs, which sells for $3,000 before installation. Tesla will also sell a 10-kWh pack for $3,500.
http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1098363_will-tesla-powerwall-home-battery-save-money-cost-calculator-helps-you-decide (http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1098363_will-tesla-powerwall-home-battery-save-money-cost-calculator-helps-you-decide)
If you want to be able to handle a complete collapse scenario, you might to want have a ground sourced geothermal heat pump system for heating and cooling. This is because you can use that year round low energy temperature access for organic gardening extended growing season as well as keeping your family comfortable. Remember, no matter how harsh the climate gets, about 25 feet down (almost everywhere on the planet), temperatures are pretty constant all year round.
What goes into pricing a geothermal system?
Geothermal Heat Pump Pricing
The short answer to how cost is calculated is as follows:
Indoor Portion + Underground Loop Field = Total System Cost
The inside portion is composed of the price of the geothermal heat pump, its installation, and possible duct work modification. This is done by an HVAC contractor properly trained in geothermal.
The Underground Loop Field involves drilling (or sometimes excavating) and materials. This is usually done by a well driller. The loop field is approximately 50% of the total cost, although many factors effect this generalization.
For your particular situation the following variables are considered:
1. Size of the Home/Building
The first factor that we'll take a look at is the size of the home or other building for which you'd like to install geothermal. Look at it like this - a 2000 sq. ft. home isn't going to require the same amount of heating and cooling as a 6000 sq. ft. church. The larger the area covered, the more heating and cooling it is going to demand. That said, a major variable of pricing is the insulation factor, which has a direct effect on how much heating and cooling is needed. Do you live in a well insulated home or a cardboard box?
2. Size of the Heat Pump
Based on the size of the home, insulation, and climate the amount of heating and cooling needed is calculated, which in turn enables a contractor to calculate the size of the heat pump for the job. Needless to say, a larger heat pump is going to be a little pricier than one that's smaller in comparison.
3. Size of the Loop Field
Next, the size of the loop field that's to be installed in the ground comes into play. The size of the system (3-ton, 4-ton, etc.) along with the climate in which your located will dictate the amount of pipe that needs to be inserted into the earth. A loop field contractor will usually charge a price per foot; therefore, the larger the system, the more pipe that needs to go into the ground, the more expensive the loop field becomes. The loop field cost can vary by region because of the availability of contractors, the ground conditions, and also the price of fuel.
4. Usability of Current Ductwork
In most cases, this shouldn't be too large of a factor, as most existing ductwork requires little to no adjustment to be suitable for geothermal heating and cooling. That said, if you don't have existing ductwork then you'll have the full expense of installing it. However, it's important to consider that this is a cost for which you are going to be responsible for regardless of what type of heating and cooling you install. Ductwork is simply a necessity of almost all HVAC systems - not an exclusive monetary addition to your geothermal system pricing.
These are some of the main players as far as the cost of your geothermal heating and cooling system goes. There are more minute components of pricing, of course, but we feel that these four (and all that they encompass) are the most important for consumers to grasp. Bottom line - Size of Home, Climate, & Labor dictate total system price.
http://www.geothermalgenius.org/thinking-of-buying/average-cost-of-geothermal-heat-pump-installation.html (http://www.geothermalgenius.org/thinking-of-buying/average-cost-of-geothermal-heat-pump-installation.html)
And don't forget to have lots of spare parts to keep all the above running. All that said, passive geothermal systems like the one discussed above are EXTREMELY reliable and durable over 50 year PLUS time spans. Even with old heat pump technology, their historical efficiency is unparalleled by anything else out there for heating and cooling. The only issue is earthquakes, of course. 8)
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The Colorado
Statesman
Letter: Reject fossil fuel industry’s roadblocks to solar energy
10/16/2015
Editor:
The sun can provide virtually limitless, pollution-free energy to power our lives. Solar energy is also supported by people with a wide range of political backgrounds. Incredibly, support for the development of solar energy ranges from environmentalists all the way to tea party activists. In an increasingly competitive renewable energy market, and with increasingly bipartisan support for solar, what’s getting in the way of our clean energy future?
A recent report from Environment Colorado’s research and policy center, entitled Blocking the Sun, helps shed some light on this — pun very much intended. ;D
The report reveals major opposition to the development of solar energy from utility interest groups and fossil fuel industry-funded think tanks that are providing funding, model legislation and political cover for anti-solar campaigns across the United States and in Colorado.
Because of the overwhelming public support for solar, these special interests are resorting to some seriously shady tactics to stop the development of solar energy in its tracks. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.freesmileys.org%2Fsmileys%2Fsmiley-devil19.gif&hash=6eeb0dbc471743691793f5130640fdcbd1f77b5c)
The Koch brothers, who have an enormous financial stake in the fossil fuel industry through their company Koch Industries and its many subsidiaries, have provided funding to the national fight against solar by funneling tens of millions of dollars through a network of opaque nonprofits like Americans for Prosperity, which has a chapter in Colorado, and is a first-hand participant in Colorado anti-solar campaigns. Through Americans for Prosperity, and by funding anti-solar efforts by other groups, including ALEC, the Koch brothers have funded or participated in fights against solar in Colorado.
The Koch Brothers and their front groups like Americans for Prosperity (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2F2z6in9g.gif&hash=771b084a0f186d9cc14f31defd98a6c90b69b84f) have resorted to shady tactics to undermine our solar power.
Now it’s personal.
(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-050315175442.gif&hash=244c0486f303979d386a4fa8d77393769e7516eb)
This is a matter of political monopoly over the public interest and environmental sustainability. Now it’s up to our leaders to reject these attacks and support a clean energy future. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fcliparts.co%2Fcliparts%2FBig%2FEgq%2FBigEgqBMT.png&hash=e7eec62f009cdd686ce795fad0a53c6befe748e9)
Katie Otterbeck (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.freesmileys.org%2Femoticons%2Femoticon-object-062.gif&hash=88ceb4a34a12b2bea2fd9edd887da26d73308257)
Solar power campaign organizer, Environment Colorado
Denver
http://coloradostatesman.com/content/996254-letter-reject-fossil-fuel-industry%3Fs-roadblocks-solar-energy
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https://youtu.be/ZVjpB4TB-So
Elon Musk on the stupidity of fossil fuels dependence
The above was three years ago. Now look at all the progress Tesla has made!
https://youtu.be/u6IZRjP39do
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10/30/2015 02:53 PM
Which US Cities Lead on Renewable Energy Use? (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.desismileys.com%2Fsmileys%2Fdesismileys_6656.gif&hash=2038f9b45636a93e5c0f4ee508ce29778fe9e9b4)
SustainableBusiness.com News
Surprisingly, Dallas ranks #1 this year on renewable energy use :o, followed by Houston :o :o, which was #1 last year, says the EPA.
EPA's ranking rates government use of green power. Other governments in the top five are District of Columbia, Montgomery County, Maryland, and Austin, Texas.
Municipal buildings in Dallas now run on 100% wind and Houston gets half its electricity from a mix of wind and solar.
When we look at the top 10 renewable energy users in the US, these cities are still on the list: Intel, Microsoft, Kohl's, Apple, Google, Mars, City of Dallas, Starbucks, US Department of Energy, and City of Houston.
Austin, Texas Contracts for More Solar (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fus.123rf.com%2F400wm%2F400%2F400%2Fyayayoy%2Fyayayoy1106%2Fyayayoy110600019%2F9735563-smiling-sun-showing-thumb-up.jpg&hash=09b45642ec6d7943d30b5b87548676e3ee7dbe3d)
Once again, Austin will add a lot more solar, this time another 600 megawatts (MW) by the end of 2019. That's in addition to 118 MW approved this year and 150 MW last year, bringing it close to its goal of 35% renewable energy by 2020.
This exceeds the entire amount of solar in the state - 300 MW as of 2014, according to the Solar Energy Industries Association. The reason Texas has so little solar is because of a lack of incentives compared to other states, approving the first utility-scale solar projects just last year because of low prices.
Read our article, US Solar Production Underestimated - By Half! (http://www.sustainablebusiness.com/index.cfm/go/news.display/id/26379) (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.freesmileys.org%2Femoticons%2Ftuzki-bunnys%2Ftuzki-bunny-emoticon-028.gif&hash=24570cb7e8246617010ce900a07bc85117ff78ca)
But Texas Remains Top US Polluter (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2Fwww_MyEmoticons_com__burp.gif&hash=8ff3ef6c016d8baf5f61ed5e8db58f069b64da00) (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-200714183404.bmp&hash=dc40a133c761f80036b08ef0f6c0427aaa7e9f4b)
Texas leads the nation on wind energy, supplying 10.6% of its electricity, but it still burns lots of coal, gas and oil, maintaining its position as the biggest polluter among US states for the 24th consecutive year, according the US Energy Information Administration (EIA).
And pollution isn't going down. In 2013, Texas spewed more carbon emissions than since 2004 - almost double that of California. So did other states that are major fossil fuel producers - especially from fracking, which boomed that year. >:(
Calculated per capita, top carbon emitting states are (in this order): Wyoming, North Dakota, West Virginia, Alaska and Louisiana. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.freesmileys.org%2Femoticons%2Femoticon-object-070.gif&hash=93009ff65ce639d8cd1cdf1ed3e8c37e93940a2c)
And the lowest are (in this order): New York, Vermont and California. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.freesmileys.org%2Femoticons%2Femoticon-object-062.gif&hash=88ceb4a34a12b2bea2fd9edd887da26d73308257)
(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-311015143044.jpeg&hash=edb1aaf48ceff2ae6dec17ec7a82f6b2c4d3a0a3)
Climate Change State Emissions Through 2013
Between 1990-2013, Washington DC has driven down emissions the most - an impressive 36% - followed by Delaware, New York, Massachusetts and Maryland with declines of 17-24%. Nebraska's emissions grew the most at 28%, thanks to growth in ethanol which consumes a lot of natural gas.
Across the country, "the general trend is emissions are down and are stable," (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-080515182559.png&hash=d4dfa952fa0f817bf30a8059a4c88d6fb05ee1bf) says Perry Lindstrom, EIA analyst. US emissions are down around 11% from the 2005 peak, with emissions falling in 37 states and rising in 13 between 1990-2013.
Here is EIA's analysis of state's emissions from 1990-2013:
Website: www.eia.gov/environment/emissions/state/analysis/
http://www.sustainablebusiness.com/index.cfm/go/news.display/id/26455
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12/16/2015 05:15 PM
$1 Trillion Spending Bill Passes With Major Poison Pill
SustainableBusiness.com News
Congress approved a $1.1 trillion spending bill for fiscal 2016 today, and there's great news for renewable energy, GMO food and wildlife ... in exchange for one, big poison pill.
The biggest news is that crucial solar and wind tax incentives are renewed for five years in exchange for lifting the 40-year ban on exporting US crude oil.
Can the difference between Democrats and Republicans be clearer? The former pulled out all the stops for renewable energy, the latter for oil.
Why only 5 years of renewal for renewable energy, but a permanent lift for oil? And why are fossil subsidies still in place permanently? While we're thrilled that renewables will get more support, it seems like far from a fair trade.
Obama Budget 2016
Republicans (and their oil backers) claim the US oil industry needs access to the world market at this time of low prices and with Iran about to enter. Since they don't believe climate change is real, that's a non-issue. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2Fgen152.gif&hash=d5b10968fe56c4cb95fae17cee3cb420a5f4e2da)
Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi1.wp.com%2Fgas2.org%2Ffiles%2F2013%2F05%2Fstupid.png&hash=03f34f8c94a314e127f3ee8c4872e721e1b04063) told reporters that Democrats "asked for the sun and the moon and the aurora borealis" (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-030815183114.gif&hash=2bf1553e87e8605311feb874231953d5fb88ee9c) in exchange for lifting the ban. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.coh2.org%2Fimages%2FSmileys%2Fhuhsign.gif&hash=3732d0427be65896527fc3805c5be54a33cffd3b) (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Ffc06.deviantart.net%2Ffs71%2Ff%2F2009%2F347%2F2%2F6%2FWTF_Smiley_face_by_IveWasHere.jpg&hash=8ca673f8cf785d9dac626f9fd91e37a1a318c7ac)
To those of us who want the sun, moon and Earth, lifting the ban means oil companies will want to drill and explore everywhere and fill our country with pipelines and oil trains ... (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2F2z6in9g.gif&hash=771b084a0f186d9cc14f31defd98a6c90b69b84f) increasing US emissions and putting citizens at risk.
The ban was put in place in 1975 to protect Americans from the OPEC oil embargo and future similar crises.
"This deal gives oil drillers an enormous policy win that does our economy no good and threatens climate progress made in Paris. A five-year renewable energy tax credit extension is cold comfort to everyone who supports a forward-looking clean energy economy and an end to constant oil favoritism in Congress," says Rep. Raúl Grijalva (D- AZ).
"It is corporate welfare for the most profitable industry in the history of the world, the oil industry," (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2Facigar.gif&hash=dc9dccf92c6c88c99611b06c86d92629d69f2978) moans Senator Ed Markey (D-MA).
"By lifting the crude oil export ban, Congressional Republicans are opting to export American jobs, escalate fossil fuel development, rip up iconic American landscapes to extract more oil, and increase climate disrupting carbon emissions," (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimages.sodahead.com%2Fpolls%2F000370273%2Fpolls_Smiley_Angry_256x256_3451_356175_answer_4_xlarge.png&hash=15577651daa4c35ff4d6b26217f99db6ebfde0b3) says Michael Brune, Executive Director of Sierra Club.
Lifting the ban could lead to 7600 new wells - mostly fracking - each year >:(, raising oil production by 3.3 million barrels a day and increasing emissions on par with 135 new coal-fired power plants, says Wenonah Hauter, Executive Director of Food & Water Watch.
How Democrats and Republicans Faired
Generally, Democrats won relief from tough sequester spending caps and removed over 100 riders ranging from blocking the Clean Power Plan to undercutting Dodd-Frank financial regulations and the health care law.
Republicans got a $33 billion boost for defense - a 6% increase, bringing the Pentagon budget to $523 billion, in addition to lifting the 40-year ban on oil exports.
Amazingly, Republicans also won:
•language that bars the IRS from issuing a rule in 2016 that better defines nonprofits to prevent political and "dark money" organizations from masquerading as non-profits.
•language that blocks the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) from requiring publicly traded companies to disclose political spending.
Renewable Energy Tax Credits
Both the Production Tax Credit (PTC) for wind (and geothermal, biomass) and the Investment Tax Credits (ITC) for solar and off-shore wind are renewed for five years. Yes!! (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fcliparts.co%2Fcliparts%2FBig%2FEgq%2FBigEgqBMT.png&hash=e7eec62f009cdd686ce795fad0a53c6befe748e9)
For the first two years - which includes 2015, because it expired last year - the wind PTC is 100%. Each year after that, it declines by 20% until 2020 when it expires again.
For the first three years, the solar ITC maintains the 30% write-off for homeowners and businesses to install solar, declining to 26% in 2020 and 22% in 2021.
Both the PTC and ITC can be claimed when construction commences rather than when a project begins generating energy.
"While this deal does not provide parity with the permanent federal tax code benefits the fossil fuel industry enjoys, the five-year extension provides greater certainty to the clean energy industry, and helps avoid the boom-bust cycle of the year-to-year uncertainty of expiring credits," says Todd Wolf of the Union of Concerned Scientists.
Without renewal, both the solar and wind industries would significantly slow down, exactly when we need to keep them growing faster. Obama's budget extended the incentives permanently.
Read our article, Expiring Tax Credits Spur Doubling of US Solar
Impacts on Environmental Side:
•Prevents even steeper funding cuts for the Environmental Protection Agency - already cut to the bone - and increases funding for the Department of Interior;
EPA's funding levels remain flat with the lowest staffing levels since 1989. Republicans wanted another $718 million cuts for the agency they most despise.
•Removes the DARK Act, which prohibits states from requiring GMO labels on food;
•Requires labels on the GMO salmon that was just approved!
•Retains important food safety measures, such as full funding to implement the Food Safety Modernization Act, increased funding for meat and poultry inspection, a ban on purchasing chicken processed in China for school lunches, and limits on beef imports that may have been exposed to foot and mouth disease!
•Forbids horse slaughter plants in the US
•Strong funding levels to enforce the Animal Welfare Act and Horse Protection Act, for wildlife traffickingefforts, and for development of alternatives to animal testing at the National Institutes of Health.
•Requires tougher animal welfare standards at federal agricultural research facilities and strongly criticizes the USDA for allowing farm animal abuse.
•Removes a rider that blocks the Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) from cracking down on ivory sales in the US to stop poaching of elephants.
•Thwarted poison riders include: repeal of public health standards for air and water; blocking implementation of the Clean Power Plan; deregulating fracking on public lands; more logging in National Forests.(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.freesmileys.org%2Femoticons%2Ftuzki-bunnys%2Ftuzki-bunny-emoticon-052.gif&hash=1baf29ffd25f73a53f1b3129069a22b306c03ac8) Unfortunately, one poison rider that did get through blocks FWS from listing the greater sage grouse as Endangered, because of Republican concern that it could impede potential fossil fuel development. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-241013183046.jpeg&hash=51c9c4f17e747698c76c65c7c1814eff4f32c400)(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-070814193155.png&hash=144ce9330e49ee84060db8753a8db69c39a14913)
•After letting the Land and Water Conservation Fund expire for the first time in 50 years, it is renewed for three years in this bill. The main source of funds to acquire and maintain parkland in the US - it allocates $900 million in royalties from oil and gas drilling on public land - Republicans see it as a way for government to take control of more land.
Instead of being permanently re-instated at full funding, it is renewed for just three years at $450 million.
•Doesn't block President Obama's pledge to the Green Climate Fund, a critical part of the Paris Climate Agreement.
•A 7% cut for the UN Population Fund, which conservatives call a "coercive birth limitation policy." They wanted the fund eliminated.
Wolves!! ;D
The big news for wildlife is that Wolves in Wyoming, Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin will remain protected from the zealots out to exterminate them.
If you remember, environmental groups won back that protection in court, but it would have been removed again through this spending bill. A rider - just for them - would have again stripped their protection under the Endangered Species Act.
"We thank members of the House and Senate who stood strong for protection of wolves and recognize that a spending bill is no place to make life-and-death policy decisions for our nation's wildlife," says Drew Caputo, Earthjustice Vice-President of Litigation for Oceans, Lands and Wildlife, the attorneys for the cases.
It was a "fierce battle," says Wayne Pacelle, Executive Director the American Humane Society, which also won in court. Senators Ron Johnson (R-WI) and John Barasso (R-WY) and Reps Reid Ribble (R-WI) and John Kline (R-MN) also introduced free-standing bills to de-listing wolves, but we fought it off, potentially forestalling the slaughter of 1000 wolves in 2016.
Senators Cory Booker (D-NJ), Barbara Boxer (D-CA) and 23 other Senators strongly opposed the anti-Endangered Species Act riders, as did Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-AZ) and 91 House members.
Compare with last year's $1 trillion spending bill: Details on Cromnibus: What's In It For Us?
and the previous year, How Cleantech, Environment Fared In $1 Trillion Spending Bill.
http://www.sustainablebusiness.com/index.cfm/go/news.display/id/26502
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A positive future (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.freesmileys.org%2Femoticons%2Femoticon-object-041.gif&hash=162ffcc5ac459baecdad5244402edbaf94b877fa) IF, and ONLY IF, we do what MUST be done to ensure it. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2F301.gif&hash=0291ed4abf2d80e420d1aa00d4eb3c5dd6bbfb53)
Prepare for Business as UNusual
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cJ-J91SwP8w&feature=player_embedded
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Costa Rica Powers 285 Days of 2015 With 100% Renewable Energy (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2Fza4.gif&hash=2db0a6001703f4089cb64dc38159bb3d467e1bff)
Cole Mellino | December 24, 2015 9:44 am
“We close 2015 with 99 percent clean energy!” ICE wrote on Facebook, saying that “the energy produced … in 2015 reaches 98.95 percent with renewable sources as of December 17.”
http://ecowatch.com/2015/12/24/costa-rica-renewables/ (http://ecowatch.com/2015/12/24/costa-rica-renewables/)
And don't forget Uruguay. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-200714191258.bmp&hash=e4ed21caaca822f7445ccafd39f49a9f84be90ca)
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Dr. Cherry Murray Confirmed as Director of the Office of Science
December 11, 2015 - 3:04pm
WASHINGTON – Dr. Cherry Murray was confirmed by the Senate on Thursday, December 10, 2015 as the Director of the Department of Energy’s Office of Science.
“Dr. Murray will be an outstanding Director of the Office of Science, drawing upon her experience in academia as professor and dean of one of country’s leading universities of engineering and applied sciences, key R&D leadership roles in industry, and as former head of science and technology at one of the Department’s national laboratories, ” said Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz. “I thank the Senate for the approving her nomination and look forward to working closely with her as Director.”
As Director of the Office of Science, Dr. Murray will oversee research in the areas of advanced scientific computing, basic energy sciences, biological and environmental sciences, fusion energy sciences, high energy physics, and nuclear physics. She will have responsibility not only for supporting scientific research, but also for the development, construction, and operation of unique, open-access scientific user facilities. The Office of Science manages 10 of the Department’s 17 National Laboratories.
For the past year, Dr. Murray served as the Benjamin Peirce Professor of Technology and Public Policy and Professor of Physics at Harvard University. Previously she was the Dean of the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences at Harvard University from 2009 to 2014. Dr. Murray served as Principal Associate Director for Science and Technology at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory from 2007 to 2009 and as Deputy Director for Science and Technology from 2004 to 2007.
Dr. Murray held a number of positions at Bell Laboratories, Lucent Technologies, formerly AT&T Bell Laboratories and previously Bell Telephone Laboratories, Inc. from 1978 to 2004. She began as a Member of Technical Staff within the Physical Research Laboratory and eventually finished her tenure as Senior Vice President for Physical Sciences and Wireless Research.
Dr. Murray was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 1999, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2001, and the National Academy of Engineering in 2002. Dr. Murray was appointed to the National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling in 2010 (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-200714183337.bmp&hash=fd5a6df63c32bd65dda7b6d93e788647ca3829df). She was also awarded the National Medal of Technology and Innovation by the White House in 2014 for contributions to the advancement of devices for telecommunications, the use of light for studying matter, and for leadership in the development of the STEM workforce in the United States. Dr. Murray received a B.S. and a Ph.D. in physics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
http://energy.gov/articles/dr-cherry-murray-confirmed-director-office-science
Agelbert NOTE: It is hoped that Dr. Murray, who has in the past (http://sites.nationalacademies.org/cs/groups/pgasite/documents/webpage/pga_161590.pdf) written some excellent pieces about future plentiful rooftop gardens and the potential for bountiful solar power to be used for sequestering excess CO2 from our atmosphere, has not been brought in as a stalking horse for the new "small reactor" nuclear power scam AND/OR another fossil fuel government excuse to keep burning fossil fuels through solar powered CO2 sequestering technology. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.emofaces.com%2Fpng%2F200%2Femoticons%2Ffingerscrossed.png&hash=d56f8009d18b55f4cea7be68284c0521be92fc5d)
But I wouldn't put it past them. :P
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Nicaragua Joins Clean Energy Revolution, Vows 90% Renewables by 2020 (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.clipartbest.com%2Fcliparts%2Fxig%2Fojx%2Fxigojx6KT.png&hash=6706182c9f1427099a77e10d1758e61d9cadb701)
Cole Mellino | January 8, 2016 11:21 am
Costa Rica is well-known for its ambitious development of renewable energy, but neighboring country Nicaragua has been charging ahead on renewables, too. The country doesn’t produce its own oil and has historically been dependent on foreign (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2Facigar.gif&hash=dc9dccf92c6c88c99611b06c86d92629d69f2978)imports. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-200714183337.bmp&hash=fd5a6df63c32bd65dda7b6d93e788647ca3829df)
But the country is trying to change all of that by tapping into its natural resources—strong winds, bright sunshine and its 19 volcanoes. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-200714191258.bmp&hash=e4ed21caaca822f7445ccafd39f49a9f84be90ca)
Nicaraguan officials have set goals of 75 percent renewable energy by 2017 and 90 percent by 2020, ProNicaragua reported. An International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) report from January 2015 found that “Nicaragua’s renewable energy sector has a bright future, both for utility-scale and small-scale projects, due to the country’s largely untapped renewable resources.”
Javier Pentzke, manager of Amayo Wind Farm, told NPR his farm’s location on the shores of Lake Nicaragua is one of the top places in the world for wind energy. “You have all the opening here from the lake all the way to the Caribbean, so it’s like a tunnel,” he said. “And it’s very steady. It’s not too gusty.”
(https://jbsnews.files.wordpress.com/2015/03/nicaragua-renewable-energy-may-soon-power-80-of-the-nation.jpg?w=636&h=410)
Amayo Wind Farm RELIABLE Renewable Energy
As of June 2015, renewables made up 54 percent of all electricity production and 80 percent of the country had reliable access to the grid.
Just 10 years ago, the 64 percent of Nicaraguans with grid access regularly lost power for 4 to 5 hours per day, and only 25 percent of electricity came from renewable sources. Even just a few years ago, 12-hour blackouts were still common. But that’s all starting to change.
When Daniel Ortega assumed the presidency in 2007, he made the bold decision to invest heavily in renewables. “During the 2006-2012 period, the Central American country attracted $1.5 million in investment in renewable energy,” ProNicaragua reported. “In 2012, Nicaragua invested the fifth highest percentage worldwide of its GDP in developing renewable energy, according to the Renewables 2014 Global Status Report.”
According to last year’s report from IRENA, from 2006 to 2012, 15 percent of Nicaragua’s electricity came from wind, 16 percent from geothermal, 12 percent from hydropower and 7 percent from biomass. ProNicaragua puts the latest wind estimates at 20 to 30 percent of total electricity generation. And the country has barely begun to tap into its solar potential.
This video from NowThis sums up Nicaragua’s energy revolution:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=9G51ZnuJtjs
Fossil Fuels
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http://ecowatch.com/2016/01/08/nicaragua-renewable-energy/
Agelbert NOTE: The next time somebody claims you need fossil fuels to have reliable grid electricity, tell them they are full of fossil fuel self serving, profit over planet defending baloney.
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(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-301014182234.gif&hash=bf6d91c9f6bd3e01a951d725e8b0b5c62c68c519) (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.nexbay.com%2Fsun_shining_solar_panel_hg_clr.gif&hash=d6badfa817928e890b8f6b5352f6bb6d6042ad3f)
Jan 5, 2016
Authors Laurie Guevara-Stone Writer / Editor
Top 12 Clean Energy Developments of 2015
From a global climate accord to major domestic progress on the renewables front, 2015 was a great year for clean energy. As the 12 days of Christmas concludes today, January 5, here are—fittingly—12 things we saw as the biggest developments of the year, in no particular order.
1. Climate Accord Reached
In December, 196 nations reached a landmark accord to address climate change—committing nearly every country to lower greenhouse gas emissions. The agreement achieved at COP21 in Paris aims to keep global temperatures from rising more than 2°C by 2100 with an ideal target of keeping temperature rise below 1.5°C. The draft agreement also sets a goal for developed countries to pay at least $100 billion per year by 2020 to developing countries for mitigation and adaptation. COP21 also held the first-ever UNFCC buildings day to improve the energy efficiency of buildings globally.
2. U.S Gets its First-Ever Clean Power Plan
In August, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) established the first-ever national standards to reduce carbon emissions from power plants. The Clean Power Plan not only cuts significant amounts of carbon and other pollutants, but also advances clean energy innovation, development, and deployment, laying an important part of the policy foundation for the long-term strategy needed to tackle the threat of climate change.
3. Keystone Pipeline Gets Nixed
After seven years of review, President Obama rejected the request for the Keystone XL oil pipeline. The 1,179-mile pipeline would have carried 800,000 barrels of petroleum a day from the Canadian oil sands to the Gulf Coast. And while Congress’s end-of-year tax extenders include a lift on the decades-old oil export ban, RMI has other plans. We can avoid an estimated two billion barrels of oil consumption each year through more-efficient mobility systems around the country, a mobility transformation we’re pioneering with the cities of Austin, TX, and Denver, CO.
4. Corporations Set Renewable Energy Record
Corporations signed roughly 3 GW of power purchase agreements (PPAs) for large-scale, off-site renewable energy in 2015. This more than doubles the amount signed in 2014, and includes corporate giants such as Google, Apple, and Walmart. RMI’s Business Renewables Center to advance corporate purchasing of renewable energy has been critical in this market shift. Across 2014 and 2015, BRC-affiliated companies were part of three out of every four corporate deals.
5. Renewables Keep Getting Cheaper (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fcliparts.co%2Fcliparts%2FBig%2FEgq%2FBigEgqBMT.png&hash=e7eec62f009cdd686ce795fad0a53c6befe748e9)
Wind power is now the cheapest electricity to produce in both Germany and the U.K., even without government subsidies. And in the U.S., the increase in wind and solar have begun to cut into the use of conventional coal and gas power plants ;D, forcing the capacity factor of gas plants down from 70 percent to 62 percent from 2014 to 2015. The cost of wind and solar are falling so much that utility-scale solar projects in the U.S. are regularly securing power purchase agreements for 5 cents per kWh or less. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-200714183515.bmp&hash=4a3ad9d0a78a7e161f53ddd84f568082a5b0d2ad)
6. Batteries Hit the Market
Tesla launched the Powerwall battery, and Vermont’s Green Mountain Power became the first utility to sell and lease behind-the-meter home battery systems to residential customers. Meanwhile, German battery maker Sonnebatterie introduced a community storage system that combines PV panels, batteries, and a software platform to allow households to buy and sell electricity within a community. While battery costs have decreased dramatically, that’s not the whole story. RMI’s report, The Economics of Battery Energy Storage, shows the greatly enhanced value batteries provide when they’re customer sited and highly utilized with stacked services.
7. Renewables Set Record Contributions
On a summer day in June, renewable energy supplied 43 percent of the UK’s electricity demand, setting a new national record. In July, Germany also set a new national record when renewable energy met 78 percent of the day’s electricity demand. And in the U.S., wind power set a new record in November with 70 gigawatts of installed generating capacity, enough to power 19 million homes.
8. Cities are Aiming for 100% Renewable
Cities around the country are setting targets to ditch fossil fuels and go 100-percent renewable. 2015 saw commitments from Las Vegas, NV (2017), Georgetown, TX (2017), San Jose, CA (2022), San Diego, CA (2035), and Vancouver, Canada (2050). And some cities are already leading the way. Aspen, CO, and Burlington, VT, became 100-percent renewable in 2015, joining the first U.S. 100-percent renewable city—Greensburg, KS.
9. The Trucking Industry Gets Greener
In June 2015, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and National Highway Transportation Safety Administration announced new, more-stringent fuel economy and emissions standards for heavy-duty trucks. The move is estimated to save 1 billion metric tons of GHG emissions, 1.8 billion barrels of oil, and $170 billion in fuel costs over the lifetime of vehicles sold under the program. RMI and CWR’s Trucking Efficiency was central to informing the government's stance with multiple Confidence Reports cited in the proposed rule and accompanying impact analysis, to direct consultations with federal agencies.
10. Home Energy Efficiency Becomes Easier
In August President Obama announced plans to unlock residential PACE (property assessed clean energy) financing to make it easier for Americans to invest in energy efficiency and clean energy technologies for their homes. PACE provides 100 percent funding that is repaid over a period of up to 20 years with an assessment linked to a homeowner’s property tax bill. The announcement also included a new DOE Home Energy Score for estimating the energy use of a home, equivalent to an easily understood “miles per gallon” label for homes.
11. Electric and Autonomous Cars on the Rise
The first commercial all-electric, long-range, AWD, full-size SUV has been unveiled. The 250-mile-range Tesla X actually broke the Consumer Reports rating system. Meanwhile, Google let loose its electric, fully self-driving vehicle on the streets of Austin—the lead implementation city in our mobility transformation work—and California’s Bay Area to test its software. Google plans to introduce self-driving cars to the public by 2020.
12. The Caribbean Commits to Renewables
Montserrat became the tenth island to join RMI and CWR’s Islands Energy Partnership. Montserrat joins Anguilla, Aruba, Bahamas, Belize, Colombia (San Andres), Grenada, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and Turks and Caicos in their commitment to transition to renewable energy. Both Montserrat and Aruba have committed to achieve 100-percent renewable energy by 2020. Islands across the Caribbean are combating high electricity prices from imported fossil fuels by transitioning to renewables, and proving that entire economies can adopt low-carbon solutions while strengthening their economies.
http://blog.rmi.org/blog_2016_01_05_top_12_clean_energy_developments_of_2015
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Agelbert NOTE: Here is a news summary uptdate on the WAR going on between the fossil fuel WELFARE QUEENS against renewable energy efforts to get those "Socialism For Polluters and the shaft for the rest of us" off of our backs.
The fossil fuelers are excellent game theorists. So, you have to bring a sandwich, so to speak (they are used to pounding into dirt with skullduggery anyone that points out their welfare queenery and polluting practices), when attempting to bring them to justice.
They are SOCIAL ENGINEERS for the POLLUTING ASS HOLES that degraded our democracy and are bound and determined to make we-the-people CONTINUE to subsidize profit over planet. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-200714183337.bmp&hash=fd5a6df63c32bd65dda7b6d93e788647ca3829df) Do your part to stop them: Feel Free to Pass this on. 8)
01/14/2016 02:23 PM
As Solar Booms, States Still Try to Stop It
SustainableBusiness.com News
SNIPPET:
Leaders like California, New York and Vermont aren't going for it, but 27 states have enacted similar changes or are considering them, according to a report by NC Clean Energy Technology Center in North Carolina.
http://www.sustainablebusiness.com/index.cfm/go/news.display/id/26518
01/13/2016 12:54 PM
US Solar Industry Rises to 209,000 Jobs
SustainableBusiness.com News
SNIPPET:
Solar adoption by corporations is rising quickly, ending 2015 with 907 megawatts (MW) installed across 1700 systems - a rise of 59% during 2015, says the Solar Means Business report by Solar Energy Industries Association.
See where your state stands on solar policies:
Website: www.solarpowerrocks.com/2016-state-solar-power-rankings/
http://www.sustainablebusiness.com/index.cfm/go/news.display/id/26517
01/15/2016 01:07 PM
Obama Heard Us! No New Coal Leases on Public Lands
SustainableBusiness.com News
SNIPPET:
About 30% of US energy production comes from public land and water, and amazingly, that's not counted toward US emissions because they are caused by private companies.
(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fmedia.tumblr.com%2Fc6492e4b47cfdbd50e74d285fde3c53e%2Ftumblr_inline_mm3g4yCaZc1qz4rgp.gif&hash=4b1cad5ea13f7430a0c01f3065039d21d78da398)(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fmedia.tumblr.com%2F302d5f12cc0718fa860d4eb3560c6813%2Ftumblr_inline_mr7yzosKkc1qz4rgp.gif&hash=959ec57a0f0c635329f6a25ee0df1224254728b7)
Pressure Has Been Building
In September, hundreds of organizations sent President Obama a letter urging him to stop new fossil leases. "Federal public lands and waters - such as our national parks, monuments, forests, wildlife refuges and oceans - are cherished resources for us all. They embody deep and diverse cultural values and provide clean air and water, recreation and solitude, and refuge for endangered wildlife."
"For far too long, the Interior Department has given away our publicly-owned fossil fuels to mining and drilling companies without regard for the damage they cause to communities and our climate," says Annie Leonard, Executive Director of Greenpeace USA.
http://www.sustainablebusiness.com/index.cfm/go/news.display/id/26520
01/15/2016 05:11 PM
New York State Says Goodbye to Coal, Hello To Green Economy
SustainableBusiness.com News
SNIPPET:
"My friends, this is the path for the future to ensure that the planet has a future."
http://www.sustainablebusiness.com/index.cfm/go/news.display/id/26519
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Vermont Gov. Peter Shumlin announced last week his intention to push for divestment of coal and ExxonMobil stocks from the state’s retirement account, and lawmakers are preparing legislation to accomplish that. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-080515182559.png&hash=d4dfa952fa0f817bf30a8059a4c88d6fb05ee1bf)
State Treasurer Beth Pearce (fossil fuel toady (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-200714191329.bmp&hash=4764bfbe6bb0e11ca61102efa97a932a824f47e0)) is not a happy camper. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2F165fs373950.gif&hash=ad797fcc08a061d3ae50ee49ccd9f3d517fb7496)
http://vtdigger.org/2016/01/12/state-treasurer-opposes-governors-call-for-carbon-divestment/
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01/19/2016 03:34 PM SustainableBusiness.com News
Good Signs Abound For Renewable Energy Worldwide, Tackling Climate Change
If there's any good news about climate change, it's that we can still tackle it if we treat it as the emergency that it is. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.emofaces.com%2Fpng%2F200%2Femoticons%2Ffingerscrossed.png&hash=d56f8009d18b55f4cea7be68284c0521be92fc5d)
If renewable energy doubles by 2030, reaching 36% of the global energy mix, that will provide half the emissions cuts to keep temperature rise under 2°C, and energy efficiency can supply the other half, calculates the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA).
And as we've written about so many times, there would also be great economic benefits. Over 24 million jobs would be created and about 1.1% would be added to world GDP - about $1.3 trillion, according to IRENA's report, Renewable Energy Benefits: Measuring the Economics.
"This analysis provides compelling evidence that achieving the needed energy transition would not only mitigate climate change, but also stimulate the economy, improve human welfare and boost employment worldwide," says Adnan Amin, who heads IRENA.
Good Signs (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.desismileys.com%2Fsmileys%2Fdesismileys_0293.gif&hash=b1af4868ed8f18c30e637f8cbcb79002f6f71039)
And there are signs this is happening. Even with oil prices at record lows, investment in renewables rose to $329 billion last year - the highest levels ever, according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF). (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.freesmileys.org%2Femoticons%2Ftuzki-bunnys%2Ftuzki-bunny-emoticon-013.gif&hash=67c881f5cbeaeb689faa72f76545db455b347ce4)
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Worldwide, 64 gigawatts (GW) of wind and 57 GW of solar PV were commissioned in 2015, almost 30% more than the previous year. And this is without the leadership of Europe, where investments dropped to 2006 levels because of economic stagnation.
China spent close to the EU and US combined - a record $111 billion, up 17% from 2014. US spending also rose 7.5% to $56 billion.
Perhaps most importantly, more renewable energy is being installed than coal, natural gas, and oil combined.
"These figures are a stunning riposte to all those who expected clean energy investment to stall on falling oil and gas prices. They highlight the improving cost-competitiveness of solar and wind power," says Michael Liebreich, Chairman of BNEF.
"Wind and solar power are now being adopted in many developing countries as a natural and substantial part of the generation mix: they can be produced more cheaply than often high wholesale power prices; they reduce a country's exposure to expected future fossil fuel prices; and above all they can be built very quickly to meet unfulfilled demand for electricity. And it is very hard to see these trends going backwards, in the light of December's Paris Climate Agreement," he says.
http://www.sustainablebusiness.com/index.cfm/go/news.display/id/26524
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American Scientific article:
How Renewable Energy Could Make Climate Treaties Moot
Powering the U.S. and 138 other countries exclusively with wind, water, and solar would solve global warming—and is entirely doable (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2F128fs318181.gif&hash=eff6d5f3831782966c2ff2081f07bf7fc5b22a6b) (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.desismileys.com%2Fsmileys%2Fdesismileys_0293.gif&hash=b1af4868ed8f18c30e637f8cbcb79002f6f71039)
By Mark Z. Jacobson on November 23, 2015
SNIPPET:
A 100-percent renewable energy system would still need to continuously meet the power demands of consumers—even when the sun isn’t shining or the wind isn’t blowing.
This is a solvable problem. Our analysis found that it is possible to stabilize a renewable power system with low-cost solutions including storing excess energy generated when the sun and wind are strong in ice, water, concentrated solar power with storage, pumped hydropower and hydrogen; and by using a smarter power grid to lessen periods of excess demand.
In our simulations biomass, nuclear power, natural gas and batteries (with the exception of those in electric vehicles) were unnecessary.
The benefits of switching to this entirely renewable mix would be significant. The mean cost of energy in 2050, accounting for storage transmission, distribution, maintenance and array losses, would be 10.6 cents per kilowatt hour for electricity and 11.4 cents per kWh for all energy (2013 dollars)—comparable with energy costs today. Yet each state’s end-use power demand would drop by a mean of 39.3 percent by 2050. Nationwide, the conversion would produce a net increase of two million 40-year jobs, eliminate 48,000 premature deaths due to air pollution per year in 2050 and save $3.3 trillion per year in 2050 global climate costs. Each American would save $260 per year in energy costs and $1,500 per year in health costs.
Most recently, we developed similarly detailed road maps showing how 139 countries could switch to 100 percent renewables.
These studies suggest that, in aggregate, converting entirely to renewables would create a net of over 22 million jobs while preventing as many as seven million premature air-pollution deaths each year. The conversion would use little land. It would stabilize energy prices and reduce international conflict over energy—after all, each country will be largely energy independent.
Mark Z. Jacobson, is a professor of civil and environmental engineering and director of the Atmosphere/Energy Program, at Stanford University.
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-renewable-energy-could-make-climate-treaties-moot/
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The Smart Money Is Going Green
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by Caio Koch-Weser Caio Koch-Weser - January 25, 2016
The cost of solar panels has fallen by 80 percent since 2008. Photo by jonsowman/Flickr (at link below)
This post originally appeared in CNN Money.
Last month, the world reached a landmark agreement on climate change in Paris. Last week, business leaders gathered in Davos for the World Economic Forum started breathing life into that deal.
The Paris Agreement delivered a clear and credible signal that the world economy is moving in a low-carbon direction. Now it's time for companies and investors to make 2016 a 'Year of Green Finance' by putting efforts to reduce emissions on their priority list for investment and risk management.
Over the past few years, businesses have learned that strong climate action can deliver economic growth. Shares in companies taking the lead in this area outperformed the Bloomberg world index of top companies by almost 10 percent from 2010-2014.
Investors can see the way the wind is blowing, which is why the value of green bonds for sustainable infrastructure has exploded, hitting $41 billion in 2015. Over 400 investors representing $24 trillion in assets have pledged to seek out and scale up low-carbon and carbon-resilient investments.
Cost of Renewable Energy Falling Fast (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.freesmileys.org%2Femoticons%2Femoticon-object-077.gif&hash=eb438043c93ec6a7daa400b47ad44ad22d4818ce)
One reason investors are so excited ;D is because innovation is lowering the price of renewable energy much faster than anticipated. The cost of solar panels has fallen 80 percent since 2008, and solar and wind energy can now compete on cost with fossil fuels in many regions worldwide.
This has led to a drastic market shift: In 2013, new clean power capacity exceeded that of new fossil fuel capacity for the first time ever.
We can expect the shift to continue. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2Fmuscular.gif&hash=1ebeafc0e4589b9d38ab66d37aa940d757e830e9) (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2Fballoons.gif&hash=a64bb5ff3e76c3e11999996c460fa02de1ee10f7)
The cost of investing in carbon-intensive sectors is increasing. According to research from Corporate Knights, 14 funds holding more than $1 trillion in assets could have saved $22 billion had they shifted investments from the highest carbon companies to those that receive at least 20 percent of revenues from environmental markets or clean energy.
The awareness of the risks of high-carbon investment is growing, though it could still use a push.
The financial community should expect increasing pressure on companies to disclose their exposure to climate risk, and to be more transparent about the carbon intensity of their investments. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fpm1.narvii.com%2F5869%2F6a64193d6770c3afd17406c78686c0eda32ded1c_hq.jpg&hash=fedf26e48d67cdd1e932380c7336ac18486d3fee)
The Portfolio Decarbonization Coalition (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2F19.gif&hash=3f9f2fc2285bc756137e21463bc2a4c420b15ac3) -- a joint effort by United Nations Environment Programme, its Finance Initiative, and major funds and asset managers -- announced last month that more than $600 billion in assets had been committed to de-carbonization, six times its original target. This is a clear indication that the smart money is already moving in the right direction.
Businesses and investors are acting fast, but what can policymakers do to support the clean energy transition?
For one, they can enact carbon pricing, which offers a win-win opportunity for climate and the economy. Revenues from such programs have helped to balance budgets or have been used to address other public priorities, such as employment generation or reducing inequality.
Green Investments Are Making Money (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Felqahera-trading.com%2Fhome%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2012%2F04%2Fdollar-sign-thumbnail1.jpg&hash=e1962ecaa694d312d50a9984ee058a45aed1e860)
The transition will also require policymakers to throw their support behind green finance institutions and tools, including green banks and public capital for renewable energy and other low-carbon investments. Green banks are already successfully leveraging private capital in a number of countries and proving that such investments can be profitable. For instance, the UK Green Investment Bank expects to earn taxpayers a return of 10 percent in 2015.
In developing countries, public capital must play a key role. Without financing, the upfront costs of clean energy can deter investors and obscure the future cost advantages from lower fuel and operating costs. This is an urgent issue if ambitious renewable energy targets in countries like India are to be realized. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2F301.gif&hash=0291ed4abf2d80e420d1aa00d4eb3c5dd6bbfb53)
Other countries like China and Brazil have provided low cost, long-term debt for renewable energy.
We could all learn from their successes in providing cheap public financing. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fcliparts.co%2Fcliparts%2FBig%2FEgq%2FBigEgqBMT.png&hash=e7eec62f009cdd686ce795fad0a53c6befe748e9)
The Paris Agreement gave the world a clear signal. Early movers in business and finance will see important gains over competitors. But much work still lies ahead.
http://www.wri.org/blog/2016/01/smart-money-going-green
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(https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/527210744178167809/z6CbCdS5.jpeg) Feb 1, 2016 Authors Amory B. Lovins (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.clipartbest.com%2Fcliparts%2Fxig%2Fojx%2Fxigojx6KT.png&hash=6706182c9f1427099a77e10d1758e61d9cadb701) Chief Scientist
As Oil Prices Gyrate (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.telegraph.co.uk%2Fmultimedia%2Farchive%2F03366%2Fwile_3366650b.jpg&hash=89f38ecf842f6084b101b5da1d5d50817556e89a), Underlying Trends Are Shifting To Oil's Disadvantage (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fcliparts.co%2Fcliparts%2FBig%2FEgq%2FBigEgqBMT.png&hash=e7eec62f009cdd686ce795fad0a53c6befe748e9)
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Why should equity markets tank when oil prices do? Beats me ;D. Among many sources of jitters, this shouldn’t be a big one (though The Economist demurs). When oil prices fall 70+ percent, oil companies and their lenders and investors suffer, so do oil-dependent communities, but oil users (far more numerous) rejoice and respend. The net macroeconomic effect sounds as positive as the middle-class tax cut that it effectively is — the OPEC-monopoly-rent tax that Congress has long seemed determined to pay to the Saudis rather than to the Treasury, finally if accidentally being respent at home.
Surely investors understand — don’t they? — that oil is a commodity. As I explained elsewhere, oil prices go down because they went up before, and they go up because they went down before.
Get used to it. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.desismileys.com%2Fsmileys%2Fdesismileys_6869.gif&hash=f94938471d343a09155d1f60eefacdb2ceab2457) Commodities do that; it’s their job. If you don’t like it, don’t buy them. Buy constant-price, and usually cheaper, efficiency and renewables instead, as the national and global market is doing. Then you can avoid loop-the-loop roller-coaster rides and get your energy services cheaper, cleaner, and more reliably.
(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-040216194956.png&hash=368ed7007c3d06e32f86945c120b1918fccf80e2)
(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.freesmileys.org%2Femoticons%2Femoticon-object-106.gif&hash=f996659d18df7f3b445e6135e884397ac91f25b1)Those who claimed low oil prices would crash renewables (other than biofuels) were wrong. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.freesmileys.org%2Femoticons%2Ftuzki-bunnys%2Ftuzki-bunny-emoticon-028.gif&hash=24570cb7e8246617010ce900a07bc85117ff78ca)
Those who claimed low oil prices would crash renewables (other than biofuels) were wrong. The reason is simple. Wind and solar power make electricity. Oil makes less than four percent of world and under one percent of U.S. electricity, so oil has almost nothing to do with electricity. Thus in 2015, as oil prices kept skidding, global additions of renewable power set a new record, adding about 121 GW of wind and solar power alone. Renewables’ $329 billion investment was up 4% from 2014, says Bloomberg New Energy Finance (which tracks each transaction), but it added 30 percent more capacity because renewables got much cheaper. Solar power is booming even in the Persian Gulf, where it beats $20 oil.
Natural gas does compete with solar and windpower, and its price tends to move with oil’s, but cheaper gas doesn’t much affect renewable power either. That’s because new wind and solar power often beat even the operating costs of the most efficient gas-fired power plants anyway, even without counting the market value of gas’s price volatility. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.freesmileys.org%2Femoticons%2Ftuzki-bunnys%2Ftuzki-bunny-emoticon-005.gif&hash=c0f70cc821100c434469eae24e0fa6131745ab51)
Yet as oil prices gyrate, it’s important to understand that underlying trends are shifting too, to oil’s disadvantage. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-200714191258.bmp&hash=e4ed21caaca822f7445ccafd39f49a9f84be90ca) It’s happened before. In the 1850s, whalers—America’s fifth-largest industry—were astounded to run out of customers before they ran out of whales. Over five-sixths of their dominant market (lighting) vanished to competitors—oil and gas both synthesized from coal—in the nine years before Drake struck “rock oil” (petroleum) in Pennsylvania in 1859. Two decades later, Edison’s electric lamp beat whale oil, coal oil, town gas, and John D. Rockefeller’s lighting kerosene. Today in turn, most traditional lighting is being displaced by white LEDs, which each decade get 30x more efficient, 20x brighter, and 10x cheaper. By 2020 they should own about two-thirds of the world’s general lighting market.
Agelbert NOTE: Not mentioned by Lovins, and adding to his argument ;D, is the fact that the tax on ethanol, either for drinking or use as fuel for lighting, post Civil War made kerosene "cheaper" by Law, NOT because it was cheaper to produce. THAT was a huge factor in getting Rockefeller the fortune he used to corrupt our government on behalf of fossil fuels.
LEDs inside-out are PVs—photovoltaics, turning light into electricity. PVs often, and very soon generally, beat just the fossil-fuel cost of running traditional power plants. PVs are now less capital-intensive than Arctic oil, not counting the ability to use electrons more effectively than molecules. Costly frontier hydrocarbons like Arctic oil can’t sell for a high enough price to repay their costs. Their revenue model has been upside-down for years. Had Shell persevered instead of abandoning its $7-billion Arctic investment, and had it found oil, it wouldn’t have won durable profits.
Oil companies since 1860 and electric utilities since 1892 have sold energy commodities—molecules or electrons—rather than the services customers want, such as illumination, mobility, hot showers, and cold beer. This business model means that when customers use the energy commodity more efficiently to produce the service they want, the provider loses revenue, not cost. That’s bad for both electric utilities and hydrocarbon companies, because most (and for oil, ultimately all) of the commodity they sell can be displaced by far cheaper energy productivity.
That displacement is already well underway. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.freesmileys.org%2Femoticons%2Ftuzki-bunnys%2Ftuzki-bunny-emoticon-013.gif&hash=67c881f5cbeaeb689faa72f76545db455b347ce4) Renewable electricity merits and gets lots of headlines, but in 2014 it raised U.S. energy supplies only a third as much as the energy saved in the same year by greater efficiency.
Over the past 40 years, Americans have saved 31 times as much energy as renewables added. Those cumulative savings are equivalent to 21 years’ current energy use. They’re simply invisible: you can’t see the energy you don’t use. But globally, it’s a bigger “supply” than oil, and inexorably, it’s going to get much, much bigger.
Oil companies worry about climate regulation, but they’re even more at risk from market competition. The oil that’ll be unburnable for climate reasons is probably less than the oil that’ll be unsellable because efficiency and renewables can do the same job cheaper. An oil business that sputters when oil’s at $90 a barrel, swoons at $50, and dies at $30 will not do well against the $25 cost of getting U.S. mobility—or anyone else’s, since the technologies are fungible—completely off oil by 2050. That cost, like the $18 per saved barrel to make U.S. automobiles uncompromised, attractive, cost-effective, and oil-free, is a 2010–11 analytic result; today’s costs are even lower and continue to fall.
In short, like whale oil in the 1850s, oil is becoming uncompetitive even at low prices (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.freesmileys.org%2Femoticons%2Ftuzki-bunnys%2Ftuzki-bunny-emoticon-022.gif&hash=3b60da70b71b7109fe66036056cb1dedc1affb43) before it became unavailable even at high prices. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.freesmileys.org%2Femoticons%2Ftuzki-bunnys%2Ftuzki-bunny-emoticon-028.gif&hash=24570cb7e8246617010ce900a07bc85117ff78ca)
Today’s oil glut, we hear, is caused by fracking, a bit by Canadian tar sands, and most of all by the Saudis’ awkward (though impeccably logical ;D) unwillingness to give up their market share to higher-cost competitors. But less noticed, and equally important, is that demand has not lived up to irrationally exuberant forecasts.
Gasoline demand has trended down in the U.S. for the past eight years and in Europe for the past ten, for fundamental and durable reasons of technology, urban form, shifting values, and superior ways to get mobility and access. Suppliers have invested to supply more oil than customers want to buy. Had crimped budgets not curtailed investment budgets, oil companies would still be building pre-stranded production assets as fast as they could.
As frontier oil becomes costlier while accelerating demand-side innovations spread from rich to developing countries, led by China, oil companies face discouraging fundamentals. They’re stuck with the least attractive 6% of global reserves while parastatals keep the rest, and even that last 6% can be confiscated or taxed away at any time. Oil companies are price takers in a volatile market. They’re extraordinarily capital-intensive. They have decadal lead times. They have high technical, geological, and political risks. They’re politically fraught and interfered with; some firms have also suffered self-inflicted reputational damage that sullies the rest. Oil companies’ shrinking reserves and geographies force them into riskier and costlier projects while investors demand lower risk and higher return. Their service companies have turned into formidable competitors. Their permanent subsidies are coming under scrutiny and pressure (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-080515182559.png&hash=d4dfa952fa0f817bf30a8059a4c88d6fb05ee1bf). Most of the reserves underpinning their balance sheets are unburnable or unsellable or both—far costlier than demand-side competitors, even at today’s oil prices, and increasingly challenged even on the supply side—so financial regulators are sniffing around mark-to-market.
What a recipe for headaches! Why be in a business like that? (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2Fgen152.gif&hash=d5b10968fe56c4cb95fae17cee3cb420a5f4e2da) With mature provinces in decline and fiercely contested, prices volatile, ingenuity strained, exploration pushed to the ends of the earth at spiraling cost and risk, and unforeseen competitors inexorably taking away demand, should hydrocarbon companies ignore, deny, resist, diversify, hedge, finance, transform, or decline? That strategic choice is stark, tough, and increasingly urgent.
And that’s before we add oil’s volatile geopolitics—focused chiefly on the world’s most unstable and dangerous region where a Rubik’s Cube of ancient feuds ensures that, as one expert famously taught, “However bad things are in the Middle East, they can always get worse.”
One troubling scenario concerns the brittleness of Saudi Arabia’s vital 10 million barrels of oil per day—5–10 times the world oil market’s surplus. Most Saudi oil flows through terminals at Ras Tanura and Ju‘aymah and through the Abqaiq processing plant (which al Qa‘eda tried to attack a decade ago and then planned to fly hijacked planes into). These highly concentrated facilities have also been attacked, so far ineffectually. It could take decades to fix damaged key components.
Who might want to do that? Da‘ish or al Qa‘eda would win a twofer: damaging Western economies and toppling the Saudi monarchy (whose export of intolerant Wahhabist ideology, ironically, inspired jihadism in the first place). Oil exporters severely damaged by low oil prices, such as bystanders Nigeria and Venezuela, lack capability to limit Saudi output. But two very interested neighbors might not.
Iran is right across the Gulf, with two big airbases a quarter-hour’s flight from the Saudi oil chokepoints. Iran is a bitter rival, the opposite pole of the tense Shi‘a-Sunni axis, and influential with the disaffected Shi‘a population that predominates in the eastern Saudi region around the main oilfields. Iran is currently in a tiff with the Saudi leadership. Its versatile and creative military and paramilitary forces and proxies don’t not always seem under full political control. Reentering the oil market with the lifting of nuclear sanctions, Iran would like to earn more money per barrel.
Also now active in the neighborhood is militarily formidable Russia—the world leader in secret, disguised, and proxy warfare *. President Putin’s impressive ability to retain power by seeming to protect the Russian people from crises he manufactures cannot work without a viable domestic economy. At today’s oil price, Russia is likely to deplete its stability funds this year and its foreign reserves by about next year, so Mr. Putin may see a much higher oil price (plus lifted Ukraine sanctions) as an existential necessity.
*Agelbert NOTE: I disagree with Lovins that Russia is the "world leader in secret, disguised, and proxy warfare". Russia is WAY BEHIND "our" (see U.S. oligarchs) M.I.C. in that regard.
Ras Tanura and Saudi Aramco have weathered cyberattacks. (Both Iran and Russia have lately cyberattacked their neighbors—Turkey and Ukraine respectively.) There are also many options for physical attack, some hard to forestall. So far, Saudi forces have defeated both cyber- and physical attacks on key oil facilities. But attackers need succeed only once, and they could be highly motivated.
A successful attack, strangling Saudi oil output for years (and then repeatable), could make oil prices soar more than they’ve plunged. Massive global inventories could help cushion the blow, efficiency and renewables could be surged, behaviors would change, but most of 10 million at-risk barrels per day lack ready replacements. Now, that could justify a skittish Dow.
All the more reason to buy efficiency and renewables instead of oil. We’ll profit more and sleep better. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.desismileys.com%2Fsmileys%2Fdesismileys_0293.gif&hash=b1af4868ed8f18c30e637f8cbcb79002f6f71039)
This article originally appeared on Forbes.com.
Photo courtesy of IrenicRhonda via Flickr, Creative Commons license (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0).
http://blog.rmi.org/blog_2016_02_01_as_oil_prices_gyrate_underlying_trends_are_shifting_to_oils_disadvantage
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DEMAND RESPONSE WINS: U.S. SUPREME COURT UPHOLDS FERC ORDER 745 (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fg3.ykimg.com%2F0130391F485579567E659E02E8C87BBAEBE345-AF8A-AA04-3BED-2B9531615A6D&hash=8086b3867ee597fb2150a698976384335450014d)
SNIPPET:
A victory for clean energy and customers (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.freesmileys.org%2Femoticons%2Femoticon-object-081.gif&hash=5981b917cdd5e334cd69d00213b2d119acbfb380)
The court’s decision is undoubtedly a victory for clean energy. It sets up FERC jurisdiction to regulate both the demand and supply sides of wholesale energy markets (i.e., interstate trade of electricity between utilities and generators), even when those markets touch on the actions of retail customers (i.e., American homes and businesses). This means that the environmental benefits of flexible demand will remain supported by federal authority, instead of being left to a patchwork of state regulations.
The decision is also a victory for consumers, because by allowing compensation for DR customers at wholesale rates, DR saves money for the grid as a whole as well. From the court’s opinion: “[demand response] will put ‘downward pressure’ on . . . the rates wholesale purchasers pay. Compensation for demand response thus directly affects wholesale prices. Indeed, it is hard to think of a practice that does so more.” And those wholesale purchasers (i.e., the utilities that sell electricity) pass these savings on to their customers.
Financial markets immediately took notice of the impact of this decision on the business opportunity for clean energy; EnerNOC, an established DR company, saw its stock price rise 65% in the day following the court decision. It has come down some since, but still remains more than 25 percent above its one-month average prior to the SCOTUS ruling.
Full Article: (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-080515182559.png&hash=d4dfa952fa0f817bf30a8059a4c88d6fb05ee1bf)
http://blog.rmi.org/blog_2016_01_29_demand_response_wins_us_supreme_court_upholds_ferc_order_745
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A Renewables Revolution Is Toppling the Dominance of Fossil Fuels in U.S. Power (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2Fmaniac.gif&hash=9ecf389a7da25db958f3f63461cbb45a4b316c4e)
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February 4, 2016 — 12:01 AM EST Updated on February 4, 2016 — 4:59 PM EST
Renewable energy (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2F170fs799081.gif&hash=ec7f929a28b215e9c00ec270a26b830d596920b2) was the biggest source of new power added to U.S. electricity grids last year as falling prices and government incentives made wind and solar increasingly viable alternatives to fossil fuels.
Developers installed 16 gigawatts of clean energy in 2015, or 68 percent of all new capacity, Bloomberg New Energy Finance said in its Sustainable Energy in America Factbook released Thursday with the Business Council for Sustainable Energy. That was the second straight year that clean power eclipsed fossil fuels.
The biggest growth came from wind farms, with 8.5 gigawatts of new turbines installed as developers sought to take advantage of a federal tax credit that was due to expire at the end of 2016; Congress extended it in December.
This is a long-term trend,” said Colleen Regan, a BNEF analyst who follows North American power markets. “System costs have really come down for renewables, which makes the case for installing them a lot stronger.”
Demand for energy, meanwhile, flatlined in the U.S. last year, holding steady even as the gross domestic product grew 2.4 percent, BNEF said. Since 2007, U.S. energy consumption has dropped 2.4 percent while GDP has grown by 10 percent.
U.S. clean-energy investments rose to $56 billion last year, up 7.5 percent from 2014. The majority, $30.2 billion, went to solar. Investors pumped $11.6 billion into wind energy and $11.1 billion into technology to improve grids, boost efficiency, develop storage systems and other ways to better manage power usage.
Power from natural gas-fired plants accounted for 25 percent of capacity added to grids last year. >:( Nearly one third of all electricity in the U.S. is now generated by gas, putting it nearly on par with coal.
A record number of coal plants were shuttered in 2015, with 11 gigawatts of capacity coming off line by the end of October, and plants with another 3 gigawatts of capacity expected to close in November and December. Natural gas, meanwhile, continues to surge.
“It looks good for gas to be a larger share of electricity generation than coal in 2016,” Regan said.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-02-04/renewables-top-fossil-fuels-as-biggest-source-of-new-u-s-power
Agelbert NOTE: While getting rid of coal is important, the gas that should supplant it is NOT fracked gas, which is almost as polluting as coal, when all the flaring damage and ground water pollution damage is figured in. Fracked Natural gas is an OBSCENITY! (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-070814193155.png&hash=144ce9330e49ee84060db8753a8db69c39a14913) (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2F2rzukw3.gif&hash=f0487b8f0d488ab1126ce5e031b11ea3d74b1cc2)
COW POWER is the ONLY kind of TRULY NATURAL GAS that should be used for whatever in our society:
(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-050216215516.jpeg&hash=c953c97996cdf45d878966f6d28c0ef0f299f087)
http://www.greenmountainpower.com/innovative/cow/how-it-works/
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Investors Tip Balance Toward Renewables
Posted on Feb 4, 2016
By Tim Radford / Climate News Network
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More than half of global electricity system investment is now in renewables such as wind power.
This Creative Commons-licensed piece first appeared at Climate News Network.
LONDON—Global investment in renewable energy, against expectation, now outstrips spending on fossil fuels.
Across the planet, economies have been either dependent on or addicted to fossil fuels for 150 years, but there appears to be global momentum towards better energy use and more sustainable approaches, according to a new study in Nature Energy journal.
Catherine Mitchell, professor of energy policy at the University of Exeter, UK, argues that change is on the way.
Not everybody shares her optimism. It isn’t clear that governments everywhere are acting on their own declared principles, and the argument still has to be won.
Reducing emissions
But there are clear signs of change, as demonstrated by the 195 governments that promised at the UN climate change summit in Paris last December to try to contain average global warming to around 1.5°C principally by reducing carbon dioxide emissions released in the combustion of fossil fuels.
Professor Mitchell says: “While the world is still dependent on fossil fuels, because energy systems have long lives, it has got to the point where more than half of global electricity system investment is in renewables, rather than fossil fuels investment.
“It is a sign that, globally, we have moved our public policy discourse and investor preferences from the old ‘dirty’ energy system to a clean one.”
“Nations have realised that meeting their climate change reduction commitments is
no longer as expensive as they thought” ;D
She sees two changes that are fundamentally altering both practice and mindset.
One of these is the rapid uptake of what she calls variable power renewables—academic shorthand for wind and solar energy—within just a few countries or states. Denmark, Germany, Portugal, Spain, California and Hawaii all derive somewhere between 25% and 43% of their electricity from these sources.
The second change, which builds on the first, is a greater understanding of the value of flexibility for the secure operation of energy systems. This process began more than 40 years ago, during an energy crisis precipitated by some of the oil-producing states. There was every incentive at that time to diversify.
Fall in costs
But the increasing adoption of renewables has led to a fall in costs, which has in turn encouraged further investment.
A few nations, such as the UK, remain dominated by conventional energy systems, Professor Mitchell says, but most now support a move to a sustainable future. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2Fballoons.gif&hash=a64bb5ff3e76c3e11999996c460fa02de1ee10f7)
“They are just trying to act as good global neighbours and have realised that meeting their climate change reduction commitments is no longer as expensive as they thought, and it helps, rather than makes worse, the security of their energy systems,” she says.
The recent UN agreement has led to strong support for the sustainable energy policies declared by individual nations. “However, these statements need to be backed up with appropriate governance—policies, institutions, incentives and energy system rules—to make sure they are implemented and successful,” Professor Mitchell stresses.
Tim Radford, a founding editor of Climate News Network, worked for The Guardian for 32 years, for most of that time as science editor. He has been covering climate change since 1988.
http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/investors_tip_balance_toward_renewables_20160204
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An interstate for renewable energy
https://youtu.be/sAiOSsPzCow
January 25, 2016 •
Institutes, Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Science (CIRES)
The United States could slash greenhouse gas emissions from power production by up to 78 percent below 1990 levels within 15 years while meeting increased demand, according to a new study by NOAA and University of Colorado Boulder researchers.
The study used a sophisticated mathematical model to evaluate future cost, demand, generation and transmission scenarios. It found that with improvements in transmission infrastructure, weather-driven renewable resources could supply most of the nation’s electricity at costs similar to today’s.
“Our research shows a transition to a reliable, low-carbon, electrical generation and transmission system can be accomplished with commercially available technology and within 15 years,” said Alexander MacDonald, co-lead author and recently retired director of NOAA’s Earth System Research Laboratory (ESRL) in Boulder.
Although improvements in wind and solar generation have continued to ratchet down the cost of producing renewable energy, these energy resources are inherently intermittent. As a result, utilities have invested in surplus generation capacity to back up renewable energy generation with natural gas-fired generators and other reserves.
“In the future, they may not need to,” said co-lead author Christopher Clack, a physicist and mathematician with the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences at CU-Boulder.
Since the sun is shining or winds are blowing somewhere across the United States all of the time, MacDonald theorized that the key to resolving the dilemma of intermittent renewable generation might be to scale up the renewable energy generation system to match the scale of weather systems.
Audio from MacDonald at link below.
So MacDonald, who has studied weather and worked to improve forecasts for more than 40 years, assembled a team of four other NOAA scientists to explore the idea. Using NOAA’s high-resolution meteorological data, they built a model to evaluate the cost of integrating different sources of electricity into a national energy system. The model estimates renewable resource potential, energy demand, emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) and the costs of expanding and operating electricity generation and transmission systems to meet future needs.
The model allowed researchers to evaluate the affordability, reliability, and greenhouse gas emissions of various energy mixes, including coal. It showed that low-cost and low-emissions are not mutually exclusive.
“The model relentlessly seeks the lowest-cost energy, whatever constraints are applied,” Clack said. “And it always installs more renewable energy on the grid than exists today.”
Even in a scenario where renewable energy costs more than experts predict, the model produced a system that cuts CO2 emissions 33 percent below 1990 levels by 2030, and delivered electricity at about 8.6 cents per kilowatt hour. By comparison, electricity cost 9.4 cents per kWh in 2012.
If renewable energy costs were lower and natural gas costs higher, as is expected in the future, the modeled system sliced CO2 emissions by 78 percent from 1990 levels and delivered electricity at 10 cents per kWh. The year 1990 is a standard scientific benchmark for greenhouse gas analysis.
A scenario that included coal yielded lower cost (8.5 cents per kWh), but the highest emissions.
At the recent Paris climate summit, the United States pledged to cut greenhouse emissions from all sectors up to 28 percent below 2005 levels by 2025. The new paper suggests the United States could cut total CO2 emissions 31 percent below 2005 levels by 2030 by making changes only within the electric sector, even though the electrical sector represents just 38 percent of the national CO2 budget. These changes would include rapidly expanding renewable energy generation and improving transmission infrastructure.
In identifying low-cost solutions, researchers enabled the model to build and pay for transmission infrastructure improvements—specifically a new, high-voltage direct-current transmission grid (HVDC) to supplement the current electrical grid. HVDC lines, which are in use around the world, reduce energy losses during long-distance transmission. The model did choose to use those lines extensively, and the study found that investing in efficient, long-distance transmission was key to keeping costs low.
MacDonald compared the idea of a HVDC grid with the interstate highway system which transformed the U.S. economy in the 1950s. “With an ‘interstate for electrons’, renewable energy could be delivered anywhere in the country while emissions plummet,” he said. “An HVDC grid would create a national electricity market in which all types of generation, including low-carbon sources, compete on a cost basis. The surprise was how dominant wind and solar could be.”
The new model is drawing interest from other experts in the field.
"This study pushes the envelope,” said Stanford University’s Mark Jacobson, who commented on the findings in an editorial he wrote for the journal Nature Climate Change. “It shows that intermittent renewables plus transmission can eliminate most fossil-fuel electricity while matching power demand at lower cost than a fossil fuel-based grid - even before storage is considered." ;D
http://www.colorado.edu/news/features/interstate-renewable-energy#sthash.6JYur9bS.dpuf
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K.C. Whiteley: Steps to divestment
Feb. 7, 2016, 7:00 pm by Commentary
Editor’s note: This commentary is by K.C. Whiteley, wno is a retired state employee and active member of Central Vermont Climate Action, which is affiliated with 350Vermont.
As a retired state employee, I have been following the conversation about divestment of our pension funds with interest in both my own financial future and the future of our environment.
When Gov. Shumlin called on the Legislature to divest state pension funds from coal and from Exxon Mobil in his 2016 State of the State address, I thought this was an easy win-win. Out of over $4 billion invested in state retirement funds, only $7 million is invested in coal and another $32 million in oil and gas companies. We know from an analytical tool called Decarbonizer that our pension funds invested in fossil fuels, and especially in coal, have been losing money over the past three years. The tool estimates the financial impact starting in October 2012 of what would have happened if Vermont moved funds out of the largest oil and coal investments into other, hopefully, fossil free investments. The finding was alarming: our returns have lost $77 million.
Coal has been a losing investment for some time, and fund managers are advising investors to move into renewable energy or other non-fossil fuel investments. [/b]The Rockefeller Fund made news last year when it divested its $860 million portfolio from fossil fuel companies. Current estimates, including the Rockefeller Fund, total $3.4 trillion currently divesting from fossil fuels. These include churches, universities, cities and the entire California state teachers and public employees retirement funds.
Right up the road in Burlington, the Burlington Employee Retirement System, which left the state system managed by the Vermont Pension Investment Committee (VPIC) last year, is exploring divesting and moving into fossil free index funds.
Divesting from fossil fuels is the right thing to do for our personal financial futures and has the added benefit of being the right thing to do for the environment. Scientists and the agreement reached by 195 countries at the Paris climate talks concur that keeping 80 percent of fossil fuel reserves in the ground is essential to limiting the rise in temperatures to 2°C, the level after which temperature and sea level rises become unmanageable.
So where’s the disagreement coming from? It’s coming from the State Treasurer’s office and from VPIC who claim that divesting is too complex and expensive, and that the Legislature should not be entrusted to manage state pension funds. All good arguments except that the funds are losing value right now and run the risk of becoming stranded assets, and that the divestment bills currently being considered by the Legislature leave the fund management and the process and pace of divesting up to VPIC. Seems like we should be able to get to the win-win.
For Vermonters, divesting from fossil fuels beginning with coal is a good place to start. I urge the Vermont State Employees Association and the Vermont-NEA to bring their members up to speed on why divestment benefits us all so we can steer the Legislature on this critically important issue.
http://vtdigger.org/2016/02/07/k-c-whiteley-steps-to-divestment/
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Feb 17, 2016
Authors David Labrador Writer / Editor
First-Time Buyers Are Dominating Corporate Renewable Purchasing (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-260116192120.png&hash=daf2cd0aaafd9f8140e406ffd5a927e52d036aaf)
For years, just a handful of companies—especially Google—comprised the market for large-scale, off-site renewable energy procurement. In 2015, Google reigned again, announcing more MW of green energy than any other single company: 729 MW, including the single largest deal of the year, a 225-MW agreement to buy wind power from BRC-sponsor Invenergy. “Google continues to dominate the market,” says Lily Donge, a principal at RMI and head of its Business Renewables Center (BRC). “They continue to be juggernauts and we expect more to come from them.”
But the bigger story is about a changing of the guard: first-time corporate buyers are entering the market in droves and now account for the majority of both deal announcements and contracted MW of wind and solar energy. The deals announced in 2015 amounted to 3.44 GW of energy, nearly triple the total for 2014, which was double the total for 2013 (see figure). A whopping 2.29 GW of 2015’s year-end numbers, or slightly more than two-thirds of the total, was purchased by corporations new to utility-scale renewable energy.
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2015 was the Year of the First-Time Corporate Buyer
More than 20 corporations announced major renewable energy deals in 2015; a whopping 15 of them were first-time buyers (see below), accounting for 67 percent of the 2015 market. This is a tidal shift and the BRC—with its members, sponsors, and advisors—is proud to be playing a role. BRC-affiliated companies represented 85 percent of deals and 86 percent of contracted capacity.
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Their ranks included Equinix, a BRC member that announced nearly one-third of a gigawatt of renewable power in 2015, entering the market emphatically. Donge says, “Equinix entered the market with a bang—they were able to do three deals in two months.” Equinix announced deals with several market players, including BRC sponsors NextEra Energy Resources and Invenergy.
Equinix also has the distinction of being among the largest corporate renewable power purchasers despite not being in the Fortune 500. Equinix is ranked 884 on the Fortune 500 list and shows that utility-scale renewables are not the exclusive domain of the largest companies. “Over the past two years, companies outside of the Fortune 500 have gotten more involved in the market,” explains Anthony Teixeira, a senior associate at RMI and part of the BRC team. “After accounting for only eight percent of corporate renewable purchases through 2013, companies outside the Fortune 500 signed 25 percent of the contracted volume in 2014–15.”
First-time buyers continued to dominate in 2016
Less than two months into the year, first-time buyers are again putting their stamp on the market. Four deals have already been announced. At the beginning of February, BRC member Steelcase announced its first deal—for 25 MW of wind. That same week, BRC member Lockheed Martin announced its first deal as well—for 30 MW of solar. And one week later, BRC sponsor Invenergy announced 120 MW of wind with 3M.
The fourth deal announced so far this year was from BRC member Saleforce—for 24 MW of wind. But Salesforce had just announced its first deal in December 2015, so the ink was barely dry before it announced a follow-on deal in early 2016. It’s essentially a first-time buyer, too.
This flood of first-time buyers is a powerful sign of the market maturing, with more first-time buyers to follow. The BRC’s Lily Donge explains: “The moment a first-time buyer walks into any marketplace, we know that all market participants are working hard to make a good first impression. The buyers may well go for another purchase—in this case a solar or wind project—but just as importantly, their first-time deal and then repeat deals will be strong signals telling other major corporations that this is the market to be in.”
If recent signs are any indication, corporations are getting the message. A recently released Deloitte report called “corporations buying renewables” one of eight trends shaping the grid of the future. The unanswered question for now remains, “Which companies will enter the renewables market for the first time over the course of 2016?” Time will soon tell.
http://blog.rmi.org/blog_2016_02_17_first_time_buyers_are_dominating_corporate_renewable_purchasing
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02/18/2016 12:19 PM
17 States Join to Make Clean Energy Future A Reality (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2F19.gif&hash=3f9f2fc2285bc756137e21463bc2a4c420b15ac3)
SustainableBusiness.com News
In the wake of the Supreme Court decision to place the Clean Power Plan on hold, governors from 17 states are joining to make a clean energy future a reality under the "Governors' Accord for a New Energy Future."
Governors say they plan to establish goals and benchmarks to accelerate energy efficiency and renewables, modernize the grid, and incentivize clean transportation, such as hydrogen and electric vehicles.
(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.sustainablebusiness.com%2Fimageupload%2FRenewables-Beat-Gas.jpg&hash=b80423f90b42b6ef6d3f6416606a34457ba05325)
Renewables Beat Gas US 2015
Signatories represent 40% of US population: Hawaii, California, Oregon, Washington, Nevada, Iowa, Minnesota, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Delaware, New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, and Vermont. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2Ficare.gif&hash=7a81c13fb045a57fc456f34661fddcf04dbfe8b7)
The accord is based on the economic benefits of rapidly moving in this direction (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Felqahera-trading.com%2Fhome%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2012%2F04%2Fdollar-sign-thumbnail1.jpg&hash=e1962ecaa694d312d50a9984ee058a45aed1e860) , not climate change - which was intentionally omitted from the discussion to get bipartisan support. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-080515182559.png&hash=d4dfa952fa0f817bf30a8059a4c88d6fb05ee1bf) (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-200714191258.bmp&hash=e4ed21caaca822f7445ccafd39f49a9f84be90ca)
Michigan is the only state in the group that's working to block the Clean Power Plan in court, and Nevada's Governor signed on after the state just eliminated distributed solar incentives.
Importantly, governors agree that it's time to transition from fossil fuels, and that it can be done profitably. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fcliparts.co%2Fcliparts%2FBig%2FEgq%2FBigEgqBMT.png&hash=e7eec62f009cdd686ce795fad0a53c6befe748e9)
New York's Governor Cuomo sees the coalition "developing an effective national energy policy to ensure a safer, greener and more sustainable future for all."
Parallel efforts include:
•City Energy Project which focuses on energy efficiency in buildings
•Carbon Neutral Cities Alliance, which consists of many of the world's largest cities
•"Under 2 MOU," led by Governor Brown, 12 governments are collaborating to stay under 2°C global temperature rise.
Read our article, Most Ambitious Climate Goals Lead to Greatest Economic Growth.
Learn more about the Governors' Accord for a New Energy Future:
Website: www.governorsnewenergyfuture.org/accord
http://www.sustainablebusiness.com/index.cfm/go/news.display/id/26552
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Dear A. G.,
Last week, Climate Reality Founder and Chairman Al Gore spoke at the 2016 TED (Technology, Entertainment and Design) conference in Vancouver, British Columbia. This talk came nearly a decade after Vice President Gore last spoke on the TED stage, and we can say with certainty, the future of our planet looks very different today than in 2006.
Today, we’re truly hopeful. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.bativert.ma%2Fimages%2Fimage3.jpg&hash=7c7c27d838504cb1d5c5a4c1efac44e790a39265)
Hope isn’t always easy. With global temperature records being broken month after month, rising seas off coastal cities like Miami causing “sunny day flooding,” droughts and wildfires destroying thousands of acres of forests, and more severe hurricanes and typhoons, many wonder how we’ll solve this planetary crisis in our lifetimes.
But we want to remind you that you can – and should – be hopeful. Here are a few reasons why:
•In 2000, analysts projected the world would have 30 gigawatts of wind energy capacity installed by 2010. In 2015, the world passed this mark by 14.5 times!
•Experts also projected in 2002 that the world would install 1 gigawatt of solar power per year by 2010. Last year, we beat that figure by 58 times over. And this year, we are on track to exceed that prediction by 68 times over!
•The cost of solar energy has decreased about 10 percent each year for the past 30 years, and we’re getting closer to grid parity in more and more markets around the world, which means solar power will soon cost less than electricity from fossil fuels in more and more places around the world!
Then there’s the Paris Agreement. In December, 195 nations reached a historic agreement at the UN’s COP 21 climate conference in Paris, to reduce carbon emissions and put us on a path to a sustainable future. The Paris Agreement marked a turning point for our movement and will have a positive impact on the health of people everywhere and the planet for generations to come.
Ready to learn more about the future of our planet? Watch our Chairman, Al Gore, give his latest TED talk and learn more about the challenges we’re facing, what the world can look like if our world leaders live up to their promises in the Paris Agreement, and why he’s optimistic that we can and will solve the climate crisis.
https://www.climaterealityproject.org/blog/ideas-worth-spreading
Thank you for all that you do every day,
- Your friends at Climate Reality
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Vintage-style posters highlight clean energy projects financed through the Recovery Act (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.bativert.ma%2Fimages%2Fimage3.jpg&hash=7c7c27d838504cb1d5c5a4c1efac44e790a39265)
https://youtu.be/R-ljkEkl1DE
Article with beautiful graphics: (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fdl5.glitter-graphics.net%2Fpub%2F3328%2F3328805eipbi6o30e.gif&hash=6b47effe687cb862012c19507f1979f43ff67a02) (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.clipartbest.com%2Fcliparts%2Fxig%2Fojx%2Fxigojx6KT.png&hash=6706182c9f1427099a77e10d1758e61d9cadb701)
http://www.treehugger.com/renewable-energy/vintage-style-posters-highlight-clean-energy-projects-financed-through-recovery-act.html
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100% Renewable Energy Is Possible, Here’s How
Richard Heinberg, YES! Magazine | February 28, 2016 10:21 am
http://ecowatch.com/2016/02/28/transition-renewable-energy/3/
Agelbert COMMENT: The issue is not whether it is easy or hard to transition QUICKLY (in ten to 15 years MAX) to MORE than 100% Renewable energy ( we need more in order to reverse the massive pollution damage already done, including, but not limited to, returning the CO2 level back to 280 PPM).
The issue is that WE DO NOT HAVE A CHOICE.
Even Warren Buffet, no great friend of the rapid transition now required to get to 100% Renewable Energy, GETS IT. Berkshire Hathaway owns a LOT of stock in the property insurance business. They have no choice but to GET IT.
"If there is only a 1% chance the planet is heading toward a truly major disaster and delay means passing a point of no return, inaction now is foolhardy. Call this Noah’s Law: If an ark may be essential for survival, begin building it today, no matter how cloudless the skies appear." - Warren Buffet
And we KNOW that the probability that the planet is heading toward a truly major disaster of climate catastrophe is certainly not 1%.
It's 100% if we continue on our present trajectory.
Top Climate Expert Kevin Anderson: Crisis is Worse Than We Think & Scientists Are Self-Censoring to Downplay Risk. (http://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/climate-change/global-warming-is-with-us/msg4163/#msg4163)
The Myth About Renewable Energy Subsidies (http://cleantechnica.com/2016/02/25/the-myth-about-renewable-energy-subsidies/)
"The millennial atmospheric lifetime of anthropogenic CO2" by Archer and Brovkin .
"The notion is pervasive in the climate science community and in the public at large that the climate impacts of fossil fuel CO2 release will only persist for a few centuries. This conclusion has no basis in theory or models of the atmosphere/ocean carbon cycle, which we review here. The largest fraction of the CO2 recovery will take place on time scales of centuries, as CO2 invades the ocean, but a significant fraction of the fossil fuel CO2, ranging in published models in the literature from 20–60%, remains airborne for a thousand years or longer.
Ultimate recovery takes place on time scales of hundreds of thousands of years, a geologic longevity typically associated in public perceptions with nuclear waste. The glacial/interglacial climate cycles demonstrate that ice sheets and sea level respond dramatically to millennial-timescale changes in climate forcing. There are also potential positive feedbacks in the carbon cycle, including methane hydrates in the ocean, and peat frozen in permafrost, that are most sensitive to the long tail of the fossil fuel CO2 in the atmosphere."
Video: The situation is grave. A call for sanity. (http://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/climate-change/pollution/msg4364/#msg4364)
You Won’t Believe What I Found in the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library Regarding Climate Change – I Sure Was Surprised! (http://cleantechnica.com/2015/12/08/you-wont-believe-what-i-found-in-the-ronald-reagan-presidential-library-regarding-climate-change-i-sure-was-surprised-cleantechnica-exclusive/)
The biggest threat that climate change has in store for us. (http://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/climate-change/global-warming-is-with-us/msg4160/#msg4160)
Read Oxfam's report, "Extreme Carbon Inequality" (http://: http://www.oxfam.org/sites/www.oxfam.org/files/file_attachments/mb-extreme-carbon-inequality-021215-en.pdf)
These studies further confirm the reality that burning fossil fuels is poisoning the biosphere.
Global civilization is threatened within 25 years.
The Hansen et al June 2015 study * and the Dutton et al July 2015 study ** evidences a 6 to 25 meter (19 to 82 feet!) sea level increase in the geological record when the CO2 parts per million (PPM) atmospheric concentration was between 300 and 400PPM. As of October of 2015, the CO2 concentration is at 400PPM. It is increasing at over 3PPM per year.
*Atmos. Chem. Phys. Discuss., 15, 20059–20179, 2015 doi:10.5194/acpd-15-20059-
© Author(s) 2015. CC Attribution 3.0 License.
Ice melt, sea level rise and superstorms: evidence from paleoclimate data, climate modeling, and modern observations that 2C global warming is highly dangerous
J. Hansen1, M. Sato1, P. Hearty2, R. Ruedy3,4, M. Kelley3,4, V. Masson-Delmotte5,
G. Russell4, G. Tselioudis4, J. Cao6, E. Rignot7,8, I. Velicogna8,7, E. Kandiano9,
K. von Schuckmann10, P. Kharecha1,4, A. N. Legrande4, M. Bauer11, and K.-W. Lo3,4
** Science 10 July 2015: Vol. 349 no. 6244 DOI: 10.1126/science.aaa4019
Sea-level rise due to polar ice-sheet mass loss during past warm periods
A. Dutton1,*, A. E. Carlson2, A. J. Long3, G. A. Milne4, P. U. Clark2, R. DeConto5, B. P. Horton6,7, S. Rahmstorf8, M. E. Raymo9
Climate Change, Blue Water Cargo Shipping and Predicted Ocean Wave Activity: PART THREE (http://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/climate-change/future-earth/msg4074/#msg4074)
Internal Documents Expose Fossil Fuel Industry’s Decades of Deception on Climate Change. (http://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/fossil-fuel-folly/fossil-fuel-propaganda-modus-operandi/msg3434/#msg3434)
Our Responsibility to Future Generations (http://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/climate-change/future-earth/msg3885/#msg3885)
World War CO2 (http://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/climate-change/global-warming-is-with-us/msg3895/#msg3895)
For the Sake of the Children, Please Pass These Stickers On. (http://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/climate-change/pollution/msg4115/#msg4115)
Agelbert SECOND COMMENT: Some "minor" details Heinberg left out. ;)
Yes there IS a drop in replacement for ALL fossil fuel use, not just aviation fuel that Heinberg claims has "no drop in replacement". It's called ETHANOL.
Op-Ed: Big Oil Tells More Lies About Ethanol, Only Idiots Believe Them (http://renewablerevolution.http://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/renewables/ethanol/msg26/#msg26)
And the Chinese, in cooperation with scientists from Rutgers University, ALREADY designed Lemna minor (duckweed - the fastest growing angiosperm known to man) refineries that can make fuel, textiles, plastics, pharmaceuticals, etc. (i.e. EVERYTHING we get from fossil fuels NOW) quite nicely.
And ALL that duckweed can be grown on shallow ponds (not needing to be filled more than ONCE) on non-arable land all over the planet. There is, by the way, a LOT MORE nonarable available to grow duckweed WITHOUT destroying the adjacent desert or scrub land biomes than there is arable land now used for food crops. The claim that ethanol production takes food out of people's mouths DOES NOT APPLY to duckweed because you DO NOT NEED arable land to grow duckweed SEVERAL TIMES FASTER than corn or sugar cane.
Duckweed, The Little Green Plant that Could. (http://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/renewables/plant-based-products-for-transprtation-and-building-materials/msg1012/#msg1012)
Is Duckweed The Food of the Future? (http://portablefarms.com/2015/is-duckweed-the-food-of-the-future/)
Duckweed - a potential high-protein feed resource for domestic animals and fish. (http://www.fao.org/ag/aga/agap/frg/LRRD/LRRD7/1/3.HTM)
And, by the way, Richard Heinberg, duckweed can be burned as a fuel without refining. More importantly, it can be pelletized for animal feed and even used for a nutrition supplement for humans. That totally destroys the ridiculous claim that some may have here that growing agricultural products for fuel takes food out of peoples mouths. That claim was used against corn and sugar cane. It was, at most, a half truth in regard to those crops. It is totally false in regard to duckweed.
And did I forget to mention that duckweed is NOW used to clean water in sewage treatment plants WITHOUT added chemicals (chemicals that use FOSSIL FUELS as a feed stock that will no longer be needed)? Richard certainly did. Not only is duckweed used to reduce fecal coliform count, it is ALSO used to clean up heavy metal contamination in stagnant water bodies. Of course, when used that way it cannot be burned or used for feed.
Richard's Heinberg's heart is in the right place but he is fighting the "last war", so to speak. He is framing our situation as a non-war emergency where we can use incremental techniques to slowly wean ourselves from fossil fuels. That is NOT going do the job.
FIRST OF ALL, we need to extract from our heads the STUPID idea that it costs a lot of money to transport energy from the harvest point (from solar wind, geothermal, tide, ocean current, etc.) to the point of use. Electrical transmission cables already DO THAT far more efficiently than ocean going tankers that leak pollutants into the oceans and pipelines that break and leak pollutants into the soil and tanker trucks that pollute the atmosphere.
ALL major industrial high thermal heat, beat and treat processes ALREADY use electrical furnaces because those are the most efficient for processing and manufacturing metals and their alloys. So ALL of heavy industry, except for back up generators than can run on ethanol, can be powered by ELECTRICITY.
ALL the factories that make ALL the Renewable energy technology harvesting hardware like solar panels and wind turbines run on electricity now. As Richard Heinberg points out, it is OBVIOUS that coal fired power plants MUST be replaced with Renewable Energy power.
And in regard to our stone age transportation system, considering that the wind and the sun and the heat of the earth (and so on) can be harvested 24/7 all over the planet and coordinated quite nicely with computer load balancing so the demand is handled near the speed of light over electrical transmission cables, it is STUPID to cling to our old polluting gasoline station network servicing over a billion polluting internal combustion machines in a shameful exercise of thermodynamic inefficiency.
Electricity can power the factories that manufacture the vehicles and manufacture the batteries that run those vehicles. Ethanol from renewable energy based agriculture ( NOT from fossil fuels, which NOW make about 5% of all the ethanol produced in the world) can power the ten percent or so of mining and large vehicles like aircraft, trucks and ships that would make up the rest of the vehicle mix.
It takes about 14 years for the average internal combustion engine to go from the factory to the junk yard for recycling. THAT MEANS, though Richard Heinberg failed to mention it, that, in only FIFTEEN YEARS, over 95% of all engines can be replaced by electric motors and ethanol powered internal combustion engines.
And, by the way, an ethanol ONLY engine (gasoline prohibited because the waste heat generated would warp the block and ruin the engine) would be about 33% lighter than one approved for gasoline because ethanol burns cleaner and cooler. You DO NOT have to over engineer the alloys to handle high temperatures with an ethanol only engine. That's ANOTHER inconvenient truth that the fossil fuel industry has kept from we-the-people. Brazil figured that out long ago.
If Richard Heinberg is concerned with stepping on the fossil fuel welfare queen toes, I think he is in denial of the grossly inefficient and polluting status quo we have no choice but to SHITCAN with extreme prejudice for our own survival. This change required is NOT "pie in the sky"; it's change or DIE!
We need a crash program to transition to a viable biosphere in a maximum of 15 years. After that it will STILL take about a century to get clean up all the massive pollution causing the highest mammalian extinction rate before we existed from all sorts of industrial toxins spewed for the last 150 years and get our CO2 back to 280 PPM.
Below are just two of several approaches that would work to achieve this indispensable goal for our survival as a species:
Water, Energy and Waste Sustainable Development in Large Cities (http://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/renewables/masdar-engage-contest-entry-by-a-g-gelbert/msg587/#msg587/)
It's time for Americans in the Service of Future Generations to GET WITH THE PROGRAM! We did it with the massive, industrial scale building of Liberty Ships in WWII. We can do it again with the massive, industrial scale building of Liberty Renewable Energy Machines. (http://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/general-discussion/historical-documentaries/msg1273/#msg1273)
Slow, incremental measures will not work.
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Text of Gov. Peter Shumlin’s speech to the Vermont Pension Investment Committee
Feb. 24, 2016, 10:11 am by VTD Editor
Editor’s note: This is the full text of Gov. Peter Shumlin’s presentation to the Vermont Pension Investment Committee on Feb. 23. Numbered footnotes appear at the bottom.
Good morning and thank you for inviting me to talk with VPIC about the urgent need for Vermont to divest from coal and ExxonMobil stocks.
I have called for Vermont to divest from ExxonMobil stocks. As Pulitzer-prize winning journalists have uncovered, ExxonMobil spent millions trying to persuade
the American people not to support policies to fight climate change at the same
time that their own internal research clearly indicated climate change was real.1
In the late 1990’s, as they designed their own offshore oil rigs to account for sea
level rise, Mobil oil paid for advertisements telling the American people that
climate science was uncertain and that the U.S. should not join other nations in a
global climate agreement.2 Neva Rockefeller Goodwin, the great grand-daughter
of ExxonMobil’s founder, donated her shares this year so that the proceeds could
be used to support nonprofit work to fight global warming.3 After 15 years of
failed shareholder engagement and meetings between the Rockefeller family and
ExxonMobil to encourage diversification, she declared that “I lost faith in
ExxonMobil’s future value.”4
Let’s be clear – If the Rockefellers cannot convince ExxonMobil to change,
Vermont will not succeed in effecting change through shareholder engagement.
Rockefeller Goodwin wonders “[h]ow different things might be if Exxon and
others had begun to pivot away from fossil fuels 34 years ago.” Instead, as “the
enormity of the effects of its lies becomes more evident, ExxonMobil is positioned
to supplant Big Tobacco as global Public Enemy No. 1.”5
She goes on to say what should be evident to all of us by now, “[t]his is not good for a company’s bottom line.”6
In testimony before the House and Senate Government Operations Committees
last week, Vermont Law School Professor and former Public Service Board Chair
Michael Dworkin discussed how ExxonMobil has significantly underperformed the
S&P 500 over the last five years.7
Earlier this month several investment advisors indicated they were downgrading ExxonMobil to a sell or an underperform rating.8 Raymond James senior energy analyst Pavel Molchanov said even as the oil sector hopes for a recovery of value, “Exxon is probably the last oil stock you want.”9
For these reasons, we must divest from ExxonMobil and ensure we never
buy another penny again.
Divest from Coal
As you know, I have also called for Vermont to follow California’s lead and divest
from corporations that derive 50 percent or more of their revenue from coal
mining used to generate electricity, and put in a screen to ensure we never buy
such assets again.10 Based on conversations my staff have had with the
Treasurer’s Office, it is my understanding that out of the roughly $4 billion
Vermont manages in pension funds, we have approximately $600 worth of stocks
that fit this definition.
In the VPIC invitation letter to me you suggest that when it comes to divesting,
“[m]uch of the public discourse has been more about persuasion than a real
assessment of the costs and benefits.” So for today, let’s put aside the fact that as
a matter of moral responsibility, Vermont should not be invested in coal when our
state is the tailpipe to the dirty energy choices made by states to our West. Let’s
put aside the fact that coal is responsible for acid rain which has harmed our
forests, and mercury pollution that puts poison into our fish such that pregnant
women and children have to limit their consumption. Let’s put aside the fact that
coal burning is a leading contributor to global warming that threatens the future
of our planet. Let’s put aside the fact that Vermont is a leader in combatting
climate change and together with California we can lead the country in making
the right choices for our planet. Clearly those arguments have not persuaded this
committee to-date to take action.
So today let’s discuss the facts about why I believe in addition to being bad moral,
environmental, and health policy, it is straight forward bad economic policy for
the State of Vermont to be invested in coal stocks:
o Financial Institutions Agree, Coal is a Bad Investment – Recognizing that for
the planet to have any chance to slow and reverse the trends of global
warming, many large financial institutions are exiting the coal industry. In November of 2015, Wells Fargo and Morgan Stanley joined Citigroup, Bank of America, and Goldman Sachs in pledging to “stop or scale back support for coal projects,” according to Bloomberg Business.11 In a statement Morgan Stanley said “[w]e will continue to shift our lending and capital-raising efforts toward cleaner and renewable sources of energy and reduce the proportion of our energy financing to coal mining and coal-fired power generation.”12
Wells Fargo stated that it “will continue to limit and reduce our credit exposure to the coal mining industry.”13 A new report from Citigroup delivers the news that if we are serious about meeting the agreed to climate target of 2 degrees Celsius then fossil fuel companies have stranded assets that have to stay in the ground totaling approximately $100 trillion, with coal companies accounting for more than half of that potential loss in value.14 Not the type of industry I would want my money invested in, or Vermont’s money invested in.
o Coal Use and Mining is on the Decline – In the mid-2000’s coal represented 50 percent of our nation’s power supply, today it accounts for only 35 percent according to the Energy Information Administration.15 That trend is likely to continue, because no new coal plants are being built. According to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, for the entirety of 2015, a total of one new coal plant came online, producing a mere 3 megawatts of capacity. Compare that to 50 new natural gas plants totaling nearly 6,000 megawatts, or 69 wind farms totaling nearly 8,000 megawatts, or 248 solar plants totaling over 2,100 megawatts.16 The market has spoken and it’s divesting itself of coal.
As we use less coal for electric generation, coal mining both in the U.S. and
globally is stalling. Reports from China indicate that based on lower demand,
it plans to close over 4,000 coal mines. 17 In another blow to the industry, President Obama recently took strong action to halt new coal mining leases on public lands.18 According to the New York Times, “[t]he move represents a significant setback for the coal industry, effectively freezing new coal production on federal lands and sending a signal to energy markets that could turn investors away from an already reeling industry.”19 Perhaps it is not surprising then that CNN reports that the Dow Jones U.S. Coal Index, which captures the value of large coal corporations, “has lost a stunning 95 percent of its value since July 2011.”20
o Coal Companies are Failing – As a result of the decline in coal mining, coal
electric generation, and coal financing outlined above, coal mining companies are failing. The second-largest coal company, Arch Coal, filed for bankruptcy earlier this year, and “Arch cited weakening demand for coal in filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.”21 That follows bankruptcy filings by other major coal companies such as Walter Energy, Alpha Natural Resources, and Patriot Coal.22
Let me spend just a minute talking about Alpha Natural Resources. Alpha purchased Massey Energy before going bankrupt, and Massey, if you recall, was headed by Don Blankenship, a CEO who was found guilty this past December of willfully conspiring to violate safety standards.23 Massey is the company found to have covered up safety violations related to the Upper Big Branch mine disaster that killed 29 coal miners in 2010.24 If you think this is an isolated incident, think again. An investigation by NPR in 2014 found 2,700 mine owners who collectively owe $70 million in outstanding fines for safety violations they have not paid, and who committed a total of 130,000
violations and had nearly 4,000 worker injuries since their initial fines went unpaid.25 I want all of our friends in the Vermont labor community to remember that if we say no to divesting from coal, we are saying yes to the idea of investing your hard-earned dollars in mining companies that have not shown a high regard for the lives and welfare of their workers.
California saw the light. Their legislature passed a bill to divest from coal, Governor Jerry Brown signed it, and it had support from diverse stakeholders including the SEIU public employees union and the Insurance Commissioner.26 The Board of the California State Teachers Retirement System voted affirmatively to divest its holding from U.S. coal companies, and Investment Committee Chair Sharon Hendricks said of the decision “[w]e determined that given the financial state of the industry, the movement of the regulatory landscape and coal’s impact on the environment, its presence
reflects a loss of value.”27
Vermont Has a Proud History of Using Divestment as a Positive Tool for Change
I know I don’t need to tell this committee that in each of the preceding three decades, Vermont has stepped up to use divestment, thoughtfully and cautiously, when other recourse for extraordinary societal challenges had been exhausted. We used divestment to get out of companies that did business with South Africa under Apartheid in the 1980’s, thanks to leadership from then-Senator Peter Welch and Governor Madeleine Kunin. Former Representative Don Hooper said that the year Nelson Mandela was released from jail he visited South Africa and asked business leaders there why Apartheid failed. The answer he got back was “Apartheid failed because all your little divestments in Madison, WI, Cambridge, MA, the state of Vermont…made South Africa an international pariah,” helping reduce capital and investment needed for economic growth.28
We used divestment, under the leadership of then-Treasurer Jim Douglas with
support from the legislature, to get out of Big Tobacco in the 1990’s. We owned
more than $21 million in tobacco stocks back in the late 1990’s, but somehow
back then it was deemed prudent and within the fiduciary responsibility to get rid
of all of them. Then-Treasurer Douglas confirmed with the Attorney General that
divestiture does not violate the trustees’ fiduciary responsibility.29 According to
Pensions and Investments which wrote about the divestment at the time, “[t]he
Vermont funds have some of their tobacco investments in an index fund with
Alliance Capital Management, but Alliance indicated it can create a tobacco-free
index without a problem, Mr. Douglas said.”30 Today we hear the argument that
we cannot possibly divest of $600 of coal stocks and get our fund managers to
screen out coal, but back in the 1990’s Jim Douglas managed to divest of many
millions in tobacco stocks and get fund managers to create a tobacco-free index
screen without a problem.
We used divestment under the leadership of then-Treasurer Jeb Spaulding to get
out of businesses operating in Sudan in 2007, after the tragic events in Darfur.
Then-Treasurer Spaulding said: The Committee believed it would be prudent, from a fiduciary position, to refrain from owning securities in companies listed on the Sudan Divestment Task Force Highest Offenders list, because the value of our portfolio could suffer if we continue holding these securities while other investors take affirmative action to sell securities on the list. Personally, I hope that by joining with other institutional and individual investors, we can do our part to apply economic pressure on the Sudanese government and companies they do business with to get serious about ending the horrific atrocities still taking place in Darfur.31
I want to ask each of you here today, and I do not mean this to be rhetorical, please raise your hand if you believe Vermont should still own Big Tobacco
stocks?
Please raise your hand if you think Vermont should not have divested from South Africa at a time when Nelson Mandela was languishing in prison?
Please raise your hand if you think Vermont should not have divested from Sudan while people were killed and starved to death?
Now please raise your hand, if you still think we should invest our money in the coal industry?
Divestment in Vermont has been a seldom-used, but necessary tool to confront major challenges and put us on the right side of history. I take issue with those who say it is a slippery slope. In our form of government, elected officials live on that slope – it’s called democracy. I take issue as well with those who view divestment as symbolic, or a meaningless gesture. If Vermont were going it alone, maybe it would be symbolic. But by divesting from coal and ExxonMobil we would be joining our $4 billion in assets with $3.4 trillion worldwide that has already committed to some type of fossil fuel divestment.32 That is not a meaningless amount of investment. That represents not just our friends in California, but also Europe’s largest insurance company, many religious and educational institutions, and many large municipal pension funds and national sovereign wealth funds around the world.
I know the argument to-date seems to be around the process for making this decision. However, it does not matter if the legislature passes a bill, or if VPIC decides to make the right decision. The process is not ultimately what this is about. It is about Vermont using our power as an investor to put pressure on coal companies economically, and to protect our pensioners from holding securities that have a bleak future. As the coal industry continues to suffer economically and harm our environment and our health, and as ExxonMobil continues to oppose changing its business model even at the urging of our own Treasurer, this committee can continue to delay and to study. Or this committee can take action. I believe the time has come to act on our values, and divest. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fcliparts.co%2Fcliparts%2FBig%2FEgq%2FBigEgqBMT.png&hash=e7eec62f009cdd686ce795fad0a53c6befe748e9)
1 Amy Lieberman and Susan Rust, LA Times “Big Oil braced for global warming while it fought regulations,” Dec. 31,
2015, available at: http://graphics.latimes.com/oil-operations/
2
Id.
3 Neva Rockefeller Goodwin, LA Times (published in Valley News), “Giving Up On ExxonMobil,” February 16, 2016,
available at: http://www.vnews.com/opinion/21086384-95/column-giving-up-on-exxon-mobil?print=true
4
Id.
11 Alex Nussbaum, Bloomberg Business, “Wells Fargo, Morgan Stanley Join Banks Edging Away from Coal,”
November 30, 2015, available at: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-11-30/wells-fargo-morganstanley-join-banks-edging-away-from-coal
5
Id.
6
Id.
7 Michael Dworkin, Testimony before Vermont House and Senate Government Operations Committee, February
19, 2016.
8 Tom DeChristopher and Christine Wang, CNBC, “ExxonMobil Posts Earnings of 67 cents a share vs 63 cents
estimate,” February 2, 2016, available at: http://www.cnbc.com/2016/02/02/exxon-mobil-reports-fourth-quarter-
2015-earnings.html.
9
Id.
10 Chris Megerian, LA Times, “California Pension Funds to Drop Coal-Mining Companies,” October 8, 2015, available
at: http://touch.latimes.com/#section/-1/article/p2p-84561954/.
12 Id.
13 Id.
14 Giles Parkinson, Renew Economy, “Citigroup Sees $100 Trillion of Stranded Assets if Paris Succeeds,” August 25,
2015, available at: http://reneweconomy.com.au/2015/citigroup-sees-100-trillion-of-stranded-assets-if-parissucceeds-13431.
15 Rory Carroll, Reuters, “California Insurance Commissioner Calls for Coal Divestment,” Jan 25, 2016, available at:
16 FERC Office of Energy Projects, Energy Infrastructure Update, December 2015, available at:
17 Daniel Cohan, The Hill “Plummeting Coal Use and Peaking Stockpiles,” February 17, 2016, available at:
18 Coral Davenport, NY Times, “In Climate move, Obama Halts New Coal Mining Leases on Public Lands,” Jan 14,
2016, available at: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/15/us/politics/in-climate-move-obama-to-halt-new-coalmining-leases-on-public-lands.html?_r=0
19 Id.
20 Matt Egan, CNN Money “Wall Street Cuts Lending to Coal,” December 1, 2015, available at:
21 Timothy Cama, The Hill, “Major coal mining company files for bankruptcy,” January 11, 2016, available at:
22 Id.
23 Bourree Lam, The Atlantic, “A Guilty Verdict in Don Blankenship’s Trial,” December 3, 2015, available at:
http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2015/12/blankenship-trial-verdict/418641/; Clifford Krauss, NY
Times, “Alpha Natural Resources, a Onetime Coal Giant, Files for Bankruptcy Protection,” August 3, 2015, available
at: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/04/business/energy-environment/alpha-natural-resources-a-onetime-coalgiant-files-for-bankruptcy-protecton.html?_r=0
24 Id.
25 Howard Berkes, NRP, “Fines Don’t Appear to Deter Mine Safety Violations,” November 16, 2014, available at:
26 Rory Carroll, Reuters, “California Insurance Commissioner Calls for Coal Divestment,” January 25, 2016, available
at: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-california-insurance-coal-idUSKCN0V32SM; Press Release, 350.org
“”Unions Add Voice In Support of California Thermal Coal Divestment,” June 12, 2015;
27 Press Release, California State Teachers Retirement System, February 3, 2016, available at:
28 Don Hooper, Written Testimony, Vermont Senate Government Operations Committee, February 11, 2016.
29 Vineeta Anand, Pensions and Investments, “Funds Feeling Heat From Tobacco Investments,” April 28, 1997,
available at: http://www.pionline.com/article/19970428/PRINT/704280770/funds-feeling-heat-from-tobaccoinvestments
30 Id.
31 Treasurer Jeb Spaulding, news release, February 20, 2007, available at:
32 Alex Nussbaum, Bloomberg, “Fossil Fuel Divestment Tops $3.4 Trillion Mark, Activists Say,” December 2, 2015,
available at: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-12-02/fossil-fuel-divestment-tops-3-4-trillion-markactivists-say
http://vtdigger.org/2016/02/24/gov-peter-shumlins-speech-to-the-vermont-pension-investment-committee/
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Gov. Shumlin Statement on House Action Calling for Divestment
Feb. 29, 2016, 5:28 am by Press Release
MONTPELIER – Gov. Peter Shumlin issued the following statement after the House passed a resolution urging the Vermont Pension Investment Committee (VPIC) to take action to divest the state of coal and ExxonMobil stocks. The Governor made the same call for divestment in his State of the State Address. Earlier this week he addressed VPIC and made the case to its members to act quickly to divest the state of coal and ExxonMobil assets.
“I am pleased that the House has joined me in calling for action to rid our state of coal and ExxonMobil securities. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.clipartbest.com%2Fcliparts%2Fxig%2Fojx%2Fxigojx6KT.png&hash=6706182c9f1427099a77e10d1758e61d9cadb701) I want to thank all of the sponsors of the resolution, and in particular I want to thank House Speaker Shap Smith for his leadership on this issue. Shap has been a strong voice for action on climate change, and I appreciate his effort in the House to get this done.
“I have never expected that divestment would happen overnight. But now that the House has spoken, I expect VPIC to undertake a serious and expeditious effort to meet the goal the House and I have laid out – getting Vermont out of the business of owning coal and ExxonMobil.
“As a matter of moral and financial responsibility, there is absolutely no reason that Vermont should own either. According to NASA, January was the most unusually warm month on record, capping off the most unusually warm three month period on record. In Vermont, all it takes is one look outside to see the effects of those trends. Just this week, Vermonters experienced widespread temperature swings and intense flooding. Some of our ski areas have shut their doors temporarily to preserve snow. Already, some Vermont sugaring operations have begun making maple syrup, a potentially worrying sign for the industry. Climate change is here and it is changing the Vermont that we love.
“The time for debate is over. Let’s protect our retirees and public employees from owning assets that have a bleak economic future. Let’s join with California, and with the $3.4 trillion in funds to-date that have already made commitments to divest, and challenge the polluters who are harming our health and our environment. Let’s act to do everything we can to help preserve our planet for future generations.”
http://vtdigger.org/2016/02/29/gov-shumlin-statement-on-house-action-calling-for-divestment/
(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.freesmileys.org%2Femoticons%2Femoticon-object-062.gif&hash=88ceb4a34a12b2bea2fd9edd887da26d73308257)
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Vermont House Speaker (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.bativert.ma%2Fimages%2Fimage3.jpg&hash=7c7c27d838504cb1d5c5a4c1efac44e790a39265) Shap Smith praises passage of resolution to urge divestment of coal, ExxonMobil stocks
Feb. 29, 2016, 5:26 am by Press Release
CONTACT:
Dylan Giambatista (802) 828-2245
Vermont House Urges State Pension Investment Managers to Study Threat of Risky ExxonMobil and Coal Investments
Montpelier, Vt. – Vermont House Speaker Shap Smith today praised the passage of a resolution that urges the State’s pension managers to remove from their portfolio risky ExxonMobil and coal investments that could pose a threat to the state’s investment returns.
“The House took action because of legitimate concerns that corporate fossil fuel companies have not disclosed the financial risks posed by climate change,” said Speaker Smith. “ExxonMobil and coal companies are some of the world’s worst climate offenders. For too long, these corporations have put profits ahead of the health of our planet. Now we see financial consequences as coal companies hemorrhage dollars and file for bankruptcy. We call on the State’s investment managers to evaluate how the reckless behavior of fossil fuel companies will impact our investments’ long-term success.”
The House-backed resolution urges the committee that oversees retiree pension funds (VPIC) to develop a responsible strategy to eliminate ExxonMobil and coal stocks from its investment portfolio. The measure asks VPIC to study alternative investment opportunities including socially responsible and renewable energy stocks.
Speaker Smith praised the House’s approach for honoring Vermont’s commitment to sound investment practices and proactively looking ahead to assure the long-term health of the State’s pension funds: “We have an obligation to the 49,000 members of our retirement systems to manage public employee and taxpayer dollars with the utmost care. With fossil fuel stocks—particularly coal—suffering from declining profitability, it’s time for the State’s pension fund managers to assess how continued investment in coal and fossil fuels is impacting our strategic goals,” Smith concluded.
http://vtdigger.org/2016/02/29/house-speaker-shap-smith-praises-passage-of-resolution-to-urge-divestment-of-coal-exxonmobil-stocks/
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02/29/2016 02:15 PM
UK's Biggest Fossil Lobby Promotes Renewable Energy (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.coh2.org%2Fimages%2FSmileys%2Fhuhsign.gif&hash=3732d0427be65896527fc3805c5be54a33cffd3b) (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2F128fs318181.gif&hash=eff6d5f3831782966c2ff2081f07bf7fc5b22a6b)
SustainableBusiness.com News
Why does the biggest fossil fuel lobbying group in the UK suddenly support renewable energy? It's just one more sign that we are making progress and the times - they are a'changin. ;D
Energy UK's chief exective says the shift is urgent because they don't want to be left behind!, reports The Guardian.
"No one wants to be running the next Nokia (referring to the mobile phone company that was squashed by forward-looking rivals), CEO Lawrence Slade told The Guardian. Clearly, the direction is toward distributed energy and away from centralized power stations.
Incredibly, Energy UK now officially supports the government's decision to phase out coal while criticizing its drastic cuts to incentives for renewable energy (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2F2mo5pow.gif&hash=995f9f6c08dcd54f18425f2bfbe138901cf052b1).
He wants efficiency measures returned and regulatory support for energy storage to support solar and wind. He wants a long term plan for renewables so that investor confidence can return, but he also favors natural gas. :P
Since conservatives won last year's election they have dismantled just about every green program and subsidy for renewable energy, while bolstering them for nuclear and offshore oil. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2F126fs2277341.gif&hash=1a8375f11d76a653bcb48e30eaa7b652175f029d) (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2Fgen152.gif&hash=d5b10968fe56c4cb95fae17cee3cb420a5f4e2da)
And after emissions from power plants dropped 13.6% last year because of declining coal use, government officials have been calling to bring it back - to keep the lights on.
After shedding thousands of renewable energy jobs since the incentive cuts - and investors pulling out in droves - the government slimmed the cuts for rooftop solar by 65% instead of 87%. Why the cuts at all? Like in the US, conservatives (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2F165fs373950.gif&hash=ad797fcc08a061d3ae50ee49ccd9f3d517fb7496) claim subsidies for solar and wind should be temporary (except for fossil fuels and nuclear ;)) and claim it leads to higher utility bills. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-030815183114.gif&hash=2bf1553e87e8605311feb874231953d5fb88ee9c)
"In just one month, one nuclear plant at Hinkley would swallow up four years' worth of subsidies for the whole solar sector >:( .
Why are ministers signing a blank cheque for expensive, outdated nuclear power while pinching pennies for an energy source on the cusp of a massive investment boom? (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.desismileys.com%2Fsmileys%2Fdesismileys_1730.gif&hash=cdaf50326d98ff7b051a9c49e83d51c7bb687407) This makes no economic sense and will only put up [utility] bills in the long run," says Greenpeace.
Fracking Becomes The Plan (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-200714183337.bmp&hash=fd5a6df63c32bd65dda7b6d93e788647ca3829df) >:(
Fracking is the centerpiece of Prime Minister Cameron's energy plan. A leaked letter from three Cabinet ministers even suggests that permits should be removed from local control because the majority of citizens are squarely against it. The latest polls show 78% support for solar and wind, and 26% support for fracking. Parliament voted to allow fracking everywhere - in national parks and near drinking water supplies. In December, 159 permits were handed out, opening huge swaths of the countryside to fracking. Protests have been widespread.
Scotland banned fracking. (http://www.sustainablebusiness.com/index.cfm/go/news.display/id/26125)
(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.sustainablebusiness.com%2Fimageupload%2Ffracking-UK-final.jpg&hash=98e4985445311beaed300d824643d0465ac8cd66)
"Ministers happily take credit for being climate champions on an international stage [referring to the Paris Climate Agreement] while flagrantly undermining the renewable industry here at home," Caroline Lucas, a Green Party member of the Parliament, told Reuters.
Meanwhile, the formerly booming renewable energy industry is about to fall off a cliff. Last year, wind supplied 11% of electricity, generating power for 30% of households, about 8.25 million homes. And most of Britain's major cities have pledged to run on 100% renewables before 2050.
And this winter has the been the warmest in recorded history in England, up 7°C so far.
http://www.sustainablebusiness.com/index.cfm/go/news.display/id/26562
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Oregon Passes Historic Bill to Phase Out Coal and Double Down on Renewables (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2Fza4.gif&hash=2db0a6001703f4089cb64dc38159bb3d467e1bff)
SNIPPET 1:
Oregon just became the first state to pass legislation to get off of coal and double down on renewable energy instead. The Oregon Legislature voted Wednesday to eliminate coal generation from the state’s future and committed its largest utilities to supply at least half of their electricity from renewable resources by 2040.
SNIPPET 2:
Cleaning up its electricity grid will also help Oregon clean up its carbon emissions from transportation by converting the gasoline and diesel-powered vehicles on Oregon’s roadways to electric cars and trucks and plugging them into its low-carbon grid. The legislation directs utilities to propose significant investments to accelerate the deployment of charging stations for electric cars, trucks and buses in a manner that also supports integrating renewable power onto the electric grid.
Success from Consensus
Oregon’s new clean energy future was charted by unique coalition—not the usual environmentalists vs. utilities, but true consensus: regional and national environmental groups worked with the two largest electric utilities in Oregon—Portland General Electric and Pacific Power—and the state’s utility consumer advocate.
http://ecowatch.com/2016/03/03/oregon-bill-renewable-energy/
Agelbert NOTE: Yes, 2040 seems a bit far away. But the point is that this sets a trend that cannot be jawboned away by those fossil fuelers that claim their products are "competitive". They aren't. And they aren't BECAUSE they COST the government and the health care system MONEY due to missed hours of work and disabilities from health problems due to externalized fossil fuel pollution, unlike ALL Renewable Energy harvesting technologies.
From NOW ON, thanks to this Oregon Law, the COST to the business world and the government of externalized pollution will NOT be able to be ignored by the fossil fuel corporations. Oil and Gas will inevitably follow the elimination of Coal BECAUSE they ALL endanger future generations and the biosphere through pollution.
THAT will blatantly reveal to all the propagandized among us how UNCOMPETITIVE ALL FOSSIL FUELS ARE.
And then the inevitable end of the fossil fuel profit over planet "business model" will spell the doom for all the corporate dirty energy peddlers much quicker than most people anticipate.
(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2F5yjbztv.gif&hash=d3dc6c69f3fc5ad39c44fb5466265476f34e5a76)
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(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-270915171817.jpeg&hash=adb2c3a602a0a59d1303318d67d1711bfe308ff6)
Renewable Energy Revolution Rocks On: All New Generating Capacity in January From Wind and Solar (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fcliparts.co%2Fcliparts%2FBig%2FEgq%2FBigEgqBMT.png&hash=e7eec62f009cdd686ce795fad0a53c6befe748e9)
SUN DAY Campaign | March 7, 2016 2:09 pm
http://ecowatch.com/2016/03/07/january-capacity-wind-solar/
JPMorgan Becomes Latest Big Bank to Ditch Coal ;D (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2F8.gif&hash=c1d98e606d7f558df4040f88e7997b3e11e9448c)
Climate Nexus | March 8, 2016 9:15 am
http://ecowatch.com/2016/03/08/jpmorgan-bank-ditch-coal/
New York pension fund could have made billions by divesting from fossil fuels – report
SNIPPET:
Moving money out of fossil fuels and into environmentally-friendly tech could have made members of the state’s pension fund an extra $4,500 each. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Felqahera-trading.com%2Fhome%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2012%2F04%2Fdollar-sign-thumbnail1.jpg&hash=e1962ecaa694d312d50a9984ee058a45aed1e860) (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.freesmileys.org%2Femoticons%2Ftuzki-bunnys%2Ftuzki-bunny-emoticon-022.gif&hash=3b60da70b71b7109fe66036056cb1dedc1affb43)
http://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/2016/mar/04/fossil-fuel-divestment-new-york-state-pension-fund-hurricane-sandy-ftse
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Agelbert NOTE: Renewable Energy interests win a round at the court of appeals. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2Fza4.gif&hash=2db0a6001703f4089cb64dc38159bb3d467e1bff) (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-200714183515.bmp&hash=4a3ad9d0a78a7e161f53ddd84f568082a5b0d2ad)
Tenth Circuit Rejects Challenge to Colorado's Renewable Energy Standards; Supreme Court Denies Cert
On December 7, 2015, the U.S. Supreme Court denied a petition for writ of certiorari in Energy & Environment Legal Institute v. Epel , No. 15-471, which sought to overturn the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit's July 13, 2015 opinion, 793 F.3d 1160, affirming a federal district court's judgment upholding Colorado's Renewable Energy Standards. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fcliparts.co%2Fcliparts%2FBig%2FEgq%2FBigEgqBMT.png&hash=e7eec62f009cdd686ce795fad0a53c6befe748e9)
Petitioners challenged the constitutionality of a Colorado statute and related regulations (the "Renewable Energy Standards") requiring "qualified retail utilities" to "generate, or cause to be generated," electricity from Colorado-approved renewable sources in specified minimum amounts. Specifically, the Renewable Energy Standards require 30 percent of electricity supplied by investor-owned utilities to be obtained from Colorado-approved renewable sources by 2020.
Petitioners (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-241013183046.jpeg&hash=51c9c4f17e747698c76c65c7c1814eff4f32c400) argued that the Renewable Energy Standards eliminate competition (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-220216203149.gif&hash=bd184b6edccce4045e246847a0c84e89bd5a18b6) with other states by requiring a specified amount of electricity to come from renewable sources and then limiting what qualifies as a renewable source.
(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-111214174727.png&hash=a0ea65f844542e4709bd444bd2f70496c434c56b)
One example of in-state favoritism cited by petitioners (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2F165fs373950.gif&hash=ad797fcc08a061d3ae50ee49ccd9f3d517fb7496) is that the Renewable Energy Standards do not consider ocean thermal and ocean wave electricity generation—methods that cannot themselves be generated within Colorado's borders—as approved renewable sources, even though other states, such as California, do. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.coh2.org%2Fimages%2FSmileys%2Fhuhsign.gif&hash=3732d0427be65896527fc3805c5be54a33cffd3b)
Petitioners argued the Renewable Energy Standards thereby favor Colorado over other states by approving methods of electricity generation that can be generated within Colorado.
(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-090315203150.png&hash=c52cac3e4572a3609fd1a46ef50b96a57ce04554)
While petitioners argued in their petition for writ of certiorari that Colorado's Renewable Energy Standards violate the Commerce Clause, Full Faith and Credit Clause, and Due Process Clauses,
(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fmemecrunch.com%2Fmeme%2F5L3XX%2Fspiderman-bullshit-detector%2Fimage.jpg%3Fw%3D544%26amp%3Bc%3D1&hash=4825835b92337d62f61a3d37d282105e97ac3ee3)
the only issue before the Tenth Circuit was whether the Renewable Energy Standards violate the dormant Commerce Clause under the line of cases stemming from Baldwin v. G.A.F. Seelig, Inc., 294 U.S. 511 (1935). The Tenth Circuit found that there were only three cases total in this line: Baldwin; Brown-Forman Distillers Corp. v. New York State Liquor Authority, 476 U.S. 573 (1986); and Healy v. Beer Institute, Inc., 491 U.S. 324 (1989). The court explained that the common thread among these cases is that they involved "(1) a price control or price affirmation regulation, (2) linking in-state prices to those charged elsewhere, with (3) the effect of raising costs for out-of-state consumers or rival businesses." The Tenth Circuit held that Colorado's statute did not fall within the bounds of these cases because "it isn't a price control statute, it doesn't link prices paid in Colorado with those paid out of state, and it does not discriminate against out-of-staters."
It further noted that the Renewable Energy Standards equally hurt ;D in-state and out-of-state fossil fuel producers (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.desismileys.com%2Fsmileys%2Fdesismileys_6869.gif&hash=f94938471d343a09155d1f60eefacdb2ceab2457) (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2F4fvfcja.gif&hash=34a9a570347d39a0a892bc1f376c5e8b88add6b5) that provide energy to the grid, while equally helping in-state and out-of-state renewable energy producers. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.desismileys.com%2Fsmileys%2Fdesismileys_0293.gif&hash=b1af4868ed8f18c30e637f8cbcb79002f6f71039)
Although the Tenth Circuit upheld Colorado's Renewable Energy Standards under the Baldwin line of cases—a decision that will not be reviewed by the Supreme Court—it left the door open to a challenge under other lines of dormant Commerce Clause cases, namely Pike v. Bruce Church, Inc., 397 U.S. 137 (1970) ("allowing judges to strike down state laws burdening interstate commerce when they find insufficient offsetting local benefits"), and City of Philadelphia v. New Jersey, 437 U.S. 617 (1978) ("appl[ying] to state laws that 'clearly discriminate' against out-of-staters").
— Jane B. Story (+1.412.394.7294, jbstory@jonesday.com)
http://thewritestuff.jonesday.com/cv/e6851a62b558a19678a219dc8f556d6884d2f252/p%3D5380653?utm_source=Mondaq&utm_medium=syndication&utm_campaign=View-Original
Agelbert NOTE: The "door" left open was CLOSED when Scalia, front man for the fossil fuel fascists, went to his "reward" with "Lord" Lucifer. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.freesmileys.org%2Femoticons%2Ftuzki-bunnys%2Ftuzki-bunny-emoticon-022.gif&hash=3b60da70b71b7109fe66036056cb1dedc1affb43)
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(https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/527210744178167809/z6CbCdS5.jpeg)
Mar 11, 2016
Authors Kaitlyn Bunker, Ph.D. Sr. Associate
Kate Hawley, LEED AP Sr. Associate
Learning from Islands: Renewable Transitions for Mines, Industrial Facilities, and the Military
What do mines, industrial facilities, and the military all have in common? They all have a need for reliable electricity in remote locations. It turns out these places and others can learn a lot from islands. Rocky Mountain Institute and Carbon War Room’s recent microgrid casebook, Renewable Microgrids: Profiles from Islands and Remote Communities Across the Globe, explores 10 examples of islands and remote communities from around the world that have transitioned from 100 percent oil-based electricity systems to high-penetration renewable microgrids. These communities now increasingly rely on various renewable sources of electricity and storage technologies, while also increasing their use of energy efficiency. As a result, they are seeing lower operating costs, decreased reliance on imported fuels, and overall cleaner electricity systems. Many of the lessons learned during the transition to renewable microgrids in these ten locations can be transferred to mines, industrial facilities, and military forward operating bases.
Renewable Energy for Mines
Similar to islands and remote communities, many mining operations are remote microgrids— disconnected from any distribution grid. All of the electricity needed for the operation must be generated on-site efficiently and reliably. While mines have traditionally relied on oil-based generation of electricity, such as diesel gensets, they present another great opportunity for a transition to a more-renewable microgrid.
One specific example is at the Diavik Diamond Mine, located in Canada’s Northern Territories. Prior to 2012, the mine relied solely on diesel fuel for electricity generation, which had to be transported to the mine via truck or plane. Now, 11 percent of the mine’s annual electricity needs are met by four wind turbines, with a total installed capacity of 9.2 MW. The addition of the wind turbines means that 75 fewer truckloads of diesel fuel must be transported across the seasonal ice road to the mine each year.
The Diavik mine faced similar installation challenges as Mawson Station, a research station in Antarctica and one of the cases included in Renewable Microgrids. Given their remote locations and cold climates, special provisions were required to transport and assemble wind turbine parts, as well as to ensure proper operation and maintenance once installed. Both locations are now less reliant on a transported fuel source, and are utilizing local wind power to complete their research and mining operations.
RMI and CWR have an ongoing initiative called Sunshine for Mines, which works with other mines around the globe to consider similar transitions to utilizing local resources and renewable microgrids.
Reliable Electricity for Industrial Facilities through Efficiency and Renewables
While many industrial facilities may have a connection to the larger electricity grid, they also have strict requirements for reliability and quality of their electricity supply in order to maintain their operations. Similarly, islands and remote communities require a high level of reliability in their electricity system in order to provide electricity to their residents and on-island businesses. Many islands rely on tourism as a major contributor to their economy, and keeping guests comfortable with appropriate lighting and air conditioning is important to success in that industry.
Like islands and remote communities, some industrial facilities are turning to energy efficiency and renewable energy in order to ensure a reliable supply of electricity for their operations. One example is the Texas Instruments (TI) facility in Richardson, Texas, which was the first wafer fabrication facility to achieve LEED status. During design, construction, and current occupancy of the building, TI strove to take advantage of energy efficiency opportunities. By requiring less overall energy to operate the system, it requires less overall electricity in the first place. It also saves significant amounts of money.
In Renewable Microgrids, we saw a similar utilization of energy efficiency in the case of Marble Bar and Nullagine. In these two remote towns located in Australia, energy efficiency was utilized first as a way to require less overall energy, better enabling a transition to more renewable sources of electricity.
Saving Fuel and Lives in Military Forward Operating Bases
Forward operating bases are permanent or temporary bases used by the military while on assignment in foreign countries. These bases are often not connected to a larger electricity grid, so they rely on one or more local generation resources to provide electricity. The bases may be temporary, so it is important that equipment can be easily transported to different locations. Reliability is especially important in military microgrids, since many lives depend on the consistent operation of the electrical equipment at the base. Minimizing the use of fuel is also critical, as transporting fuel to a forward operating base can cost up to $400 per gallon and can be dangerous, resulting in the loss of one life for every 24 fuel convoys in Iraq and Afghanistan in 2007.
Various branches of the military are considering energy efficiency and renewable energy opportunities in order to meet the needs of forward operating bases while reducing their use of traditional fuel and the costs and risks associated with it. For example, the U.S. Marines see potential to cut back on the number of resupply convoys that are necessary for forward operating bases by transitioning to more renewable options for supply. Not only is this a benefit for each forward operating base, but it also helps to reduce oil use by the overall U.S. military, which is currently the largest consumer of both energy and oil in the world.
In a similar way for many of the locations studied in Renewable Microgrids, importing fuel to run the generators is expensive. For example, in the Falkland Islands, the use of wind energy has reduced the diesel fuel needed for electricity generation by 1.4 million liters per year. For this island community, the fuel savings is translated to the residents through lower electricity rates. In military forward operating bases, relying less on diesel fuel can save money as well as lives since less fuel convoys will be required.
The diverse set of examples illustrated in the casebook demonstrates the potential for energy transitions for similar communities around the world, as well as for similar applications like mines, industrial facilities, and military forward operating bases. In addition, the islands where the RMI-CWR team is currently working are helping to create a blueprint for high penetrations of renewables for these applications, as well as providing insight into similar transitions at a continental scale. To take deeper look at the 10 transitions from oil-based to renewable microgrids studied in our recent publication,
please download Renewable Microgrids: Profiles From Islands and Remote Communities Across the Globe. (http://www.rmi.org/PDF_islands_renewable_microgrids)
http://blog.rmi.org/blog_2016_03_11_learning_from_islands_renewable_transitions
Agelbert COMMENT: From your lips to caring, intelligent people's ears.
There are still too many influential, but grossly irresponsible, people who do not care what damage they do to the environment as long as they profit form the damage ((i.e. "externalize" the costs) now and mostly future generations will have to deal with it.
"When men act for the sake of a future they will not live to see, it is for the most part out of love for persons, places and forms of activity, a cherishing of them, nothing more grandiose. It is indeed self-contradictory to say: 'I love him or her or that place or that institution or that activity, but I don't care what happens to it after my death.' To love is, amongst other things, to care about the future of what we love" (Passmore, 1980, p. 53)
Why Dianoia is sine qua non to a Viable Biosphere. (http://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/climate-change/future-earth/msg3867/#msg3867)
Our Responsibility to Future Generations (http://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/climate-change/future-earth/msg3885/#msg3885)
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UK to enshrine 'net zero' emissions into law (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.clipartbest.com%2Fcliparts%2Fxig%2Fojx%2Fxigojx6KT.png&hash=6706182c9f1427099a77e10d1758e61d9cadb701)
http://www.treehugger.com/environmental-policy/uk-enshrine-net-zero-emissions-law.html
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US Heartland Powered by Clean Energy Jobs (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.clipartbest.com%2Fcliparts%2Fxig%2Fojx%2Fxigojx6KT.png&hash=6706182c9f1427099a77e10d1758e61d9cadb701)
Nearly 600,000 people are employed in clean energy across the Midwest and that number will only continue to grow, a new report from the Clean Energy Trust shows.
Illinois, Ohio and Michigan lead the pack with more than 300,000 combined clean energy jobs, while Wisconsin lags behind with 24,700. Energy efficiency (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2F19.gif&hash=3f9f2fc2285bc756137e21463bc2a4c420b15ac3) is the largest employment sector within clean energy across the region, with renewable energy (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-200714191258.bmp&hash=e4ed21caaca822f7445ccafd39f49a9f84be90ca) coming in second.
The clean energy sector is expected to expand more than four percent over the next year, comparable to some of the fastest growing industries in the nation, with policy incentives like tax credits for wind and solar helping to drive the growth.
http://www.cleanjobsmidwest.com/
Agelbert NOTE: For more info on how Energy Efficiency DESTROYS the demand for fossil fuels, while not registering on any of the EIA charts or data the fossil fuel industry mistakenly worships, Google Amory Lovins Negawatts.
Energy Efficiency improvements in combination with Renewable Energy technologies, not just the bad economy, have been instrumental in causing the price of crude oil to crater. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2F128fs318181.gif&hash=eff6d5f3831782966c2ff2081f07bf7fc5b22a6b)
The quantum leaps in Energy Efficiency in the past two decades, along with advances in computer electric grid load balancing software and Renewable Energy Technologies, collectively spell the Doom of the Fossil Fuel Industry.
(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.projectrenaissance.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2015%2F04%2FNegawatt-Revised-Logo-1_HiRes.jpg&hash=17c6ebca6f9cc4df4d54af23083f96ef87282e06)
(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2Flooksmiley.gif&hash=2fa679c2bf50092b12a1301928cb338275c3ba54)
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Media giants Sky and Bloomberg join RE100 clean power campaign (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-080515182559.png&hash=d4dfa952fa0f817bf30a8059a4c88d6fb05ee1bf)
Madeleine Cuff 24 March 2016
http://www.businessgreen.com/bg/news/2452378/media-giants-sky-and-bloomberg-join-re100-clean-power-campaign
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How Green Energy Is Already Taking Over the World (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.emofaces.com%2Fpng%2F200%2Femoticons%2Ffingerscrossed.png&hash=d56f8009d18b55f4cea7be68284c0521be92fc5d) (Video)
Posted on Mar 29, 2016
By Juan Cole
https://youtu.be/m0A5RvGSy6o
This post originally ran on Truthdig contributor Juan Cole’s website.
In 2015 energy companies invested more in new renewables power plants in 2015 than in fossil fuel plants for the first time in history. The majority of these plants were planned for the developing countries, which is a sign that the technology is viewed as now less expensive.
The UNEP press release said, “Coal and gas-fired electricity generation last year drew less than half the record investment made in solar, wind and other renewables capacity — one of several important firsts for green energy announced today in a UN-backed report.
Global Trends in Renewable Energy Investment 2016 . . . says the annual global investment in new renewables capacity, at $266 billion, was more than double the estimated $130 billion invested in coal and gas power station s in 2015.
All investments in renewables, including early-stage technology and R&D as well as spending on new capacity, totaled $286 billion in 2015, some 3% higher than the previous record in 2011.
Since 2004, the world has invested $ 2.3 trillion in renewable energy (unadjusted for inflation).
(All figures for renewables in this release include wind, solar, biomass and waste-to-energy, biofuels, geothermal, marine and small hydro, but exclude large hydro-electric projects of more than 50 megawatts).
Just as significantly, developing world investments in renewables topped those of developed nations for the first time in 2015. Helped by further falls in generating costs per megawatt-hour, particularly in solar photovoltaics, renewables excluding large hydro made up 54% of added gigawatt (GW) capacity of all technologies last year. It marks the first time new installed renewables have topped the capacity added from all conventional technologies.
The 134 gigawatts of renewable power added worldwide in 2015 compares to 106GW in 2014 and 87GW in 2013. Were it not for renewables excluding large hydro, annual global CO2 emissions would have been an estimated 1.5 gigatonnes higher in 2015.”
Here is how the new energy generation broke down by type of fuel:
Additional energy generating capacity, 2015:
Renewables (excl. large hydro) 134 GW
Large Hydro: 22 GW
Nuclear: 15 GW
Coal-fired: 42 GW
Gas-fired: 40 GW
What shocks me is that companies are still investing as much in new coal plants :P as in new gas or renewables. All fossil fuels are bad and are on their way out, but coal is in investor’s terms already a dead man walking.
Why would you do that? Quite apart from being highly polluting and now no cheaper than solar or wind, coal emits more carbon dioxide than other fossil fuels, a deadly greenhouse gas. It will likely just be outlawed in most of the world soon as a health and environmental hazard. So investing in a long-term coal plant is like piling up your cash and setting it on fire (that would also emit a lot of CO2).
And here are the past few years’ annual global investments in renewable energy
($US)
$286 billion (2015)
$273 billion (2014),
$234 billion (2013),
$257 billion (2012),
$279 billion (2011),
$239 billion (2010),
$179 billion (2009),
It is clear that there is a secular trend upwards and there is no reason to think that will change. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.desismileys.com%2Fsmileys%2Fdesismileys_0293.gif&hash=b1af4868ed8f18c30e637f8cbcb79002f6f71039)
One of the things cities like about new renewables plants is that they can lock in price over say 25 years, because the cost of the fuel is zero and won’t change (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-200714191258.bmp&hash=e4ed21caaca822f7445ccafd39f49a9f84be90ca).
You never know what natural gas (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2Fpirates5B15D_th.gif&hash=32438e1ed2c4d1823d4ed2a193286525c840a605)will cost 15 years from now, and you don’t know if the government environmental agency or ministry will outlaw coal.
Scotland just closed its last remaining coal plant (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2Fmaniac.gif&hash=9ecf389a7da25db958f3f63461cbb45a4b316c4e), Europe’s third largest. It was, in part, a victim of European Union carbon emissions limits. (That’s why I say it is crazy to invest in a new coal plant.)
In February, wind turbines alone met 41% of Scotland’s electricity needs!
Exemplifying the kind of thing the UNEP report found, Morocco has opened the first of three big solar plants planned at Ouarzazate on the doorstep of the Sahara (they film Game of Thrones episodes there). Morocco wants two new gigawatts from solar, two from wind, and two from new hydro by 2022.
While there are problems with the social relations involved (it is a Berber area and the government used eminent domain to acquire the land), in the medium to long term it will mean much cheaper electricity for Morocco, and less air pollution, and more jobs. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2F128fs318181.gif&hash=eff6d5f3831782966c2ff2081f07bf7fc5b22a6b)
The plant uses molten salt batteries and so goes on working at night. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fcliparts.co%2Fcliparts%2FBig%2FEgq%2FBigEgqBMT.png&hash=e7eec62f009cdd686ce795fad0a53c6befe748e9)
And this is the kind of thing that is happening all over the world where Big Oil, unlike in America, can’t hog the microphone.
http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/how_green_energy_is_already_taking_over_the_world_video_20160329
Renewable energy= (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-301014181553.gif&hash=c09667beb656b25086c168adcdaddcba59abf858) (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.freesmileys.org%2Fsmileys%2Fsmiley-scared002.gif&hash=764898cfbf07ef2c41ffddc5e93fa0e1bed41bae)=Fossil Fuelers
(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.freesmileys.org%2Fsmileys%2Fsmiley-forum%2Fpopcorn.gif&hash=f4c8fc573041a73e34bfb823e0611fbfe8617d67)
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:eusa_dance: Already the maple sugar and ski resort people in Vermont, for example, have figured out it might be a good idea to move to 100% renewable energy a bit faster.
Largest City In Vermont Now Gets All Its Power From Wind, Water And Biomass
http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2014/09/15/3567307/vermont-renewable-power/ (http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2014/09/15/3567307/vermont-renewable-power/)
Good things are coming from Vermont.
(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi1.wp.com%2Fwww.politicususa.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2015%2F01%2Fsanders-flag.jpg%3Fresize%3D485%252C323&hash=721dea6a845ee7475a530d1716abf8fce4dd87b8)
Bernie Sanders on Energy Policy
As an adamant supporter of the science that acknowledges global warming to be a man-made danger, Bernie is a strong advocate for adopting new climate-neutral energy policies. Bernie has fought for improving access to renewable energy by introducing various bills such as the Residential Energy Savings Act, the Low Income Solar Act, the Green Jobs Act, and the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant Program. Bernie helped form a public-private partnership, Efficiency Vermont, and has partnered with the National Guard to improve military energy efficiency to make Vermont a leader in clean-energy. Bernie believes that not only should the rest of the U.S. move aggressively toward sustainability, but that we can achieve sustainability while saving money for the majority of American families.
- http://feelthebern.org/bernie-sanders-on-energy-policy/ (http://feelthebern.org/bernie-sanders-on-energy-policy/)
(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fus.cdn2.123rf.com%2F168nwm%2Flenm%2Flenm1201%2Flenm120100200%2F12107060-illustration-of-a-smiley-giving-a-thumbs-up.jpg&hash=2046bc6d662e09d3014a2c404a2af6ba17f8217c)
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Clean energy jobs benefiting South Dakota
Monday, April 04, 2016 12:56 p.m. CDT by Jack Taylor
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO AM) -The Clean Jobs Midwest survey shows that out of 12 Midwestern states, South Dakota has the third lowest number of clean energy jobs per capita at a little more than 7,000.
However, Gail Parsons with Environmental Entrepreneurs says the state's clean-energy job growth rate is higher than average and that is driving some economic growth.
Parsons says the overall projected growth rate for the region was 4.4%, which is incredibly high for any industry. She says in South Dakota, the businesses are quite optimistic with a projected growth rate of about 5%
An estimated 25,000 new clean-energy jobs are expected to be added to the Midwest over the next year and Parsons says the region is becoming a powerhouse for those careers.
She says many think of corn, or farms, but the Midwest should be known for clean energy. Contributing over a half-million workers, certainly not fly-over country when it comes to the clean energy field. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2Fmuscular.gif&hash=1ebeafc0e4589b9d38ab66d37aa940d757e830e9) (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2F128fs318181.gif&hash=eff6d5f3831782966c2ff2081f07bf7fc5b22a6b)
The majority of South Dakota's clean-energy businesses says they're having a tough time finding qualified workers.
http://kelo.com/news/articles/2016/apr/04/clean-energy-jobs-benefiting-south-dakota/
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(https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/527210744178167809/z6CbCdS5.jpeg) Apr 11, 2016
Industrialised Nations Must Lead an Exit Strategy for Fossil Fuels
Authors Rainer Baake Guest Author
Rainer Baake (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2F19.gif&hash=3f9f2fc2285bc756137e21463bc2a4c420b15ac3) is state secretary at the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy.
At the UN climate conference in Paris in December 2015, 195 countries concluded a groundbreaking climate accord. They agreed to limit global warming to well below 2C to avoid extremely dangerous and irreversible climate change.
The international community’s remaining emission “budget” is less than 1,000 gigatonnes of CO2. The Paris agreement is intended to ensure as quickly as possible that the annual global emissions go down, the budget is stretched, and the net emissions of greenhouse gases are reduced to zero over a few decades.
The challenge of limiting the combustion of oil, coal and gas to this budget is enormous in view of the fossil reserves still underground. If we were to use all the known and probable reserves to generate energy, global emissions would amount to around 15,000 gigatonnes of CO2. So limiting global warming to 2C means this: of the 15,000 thousand gigatonnes of CO2, we need to leave at least 14,000 underground.
Truly, our problem is not a scarcity of fossil resources, it is the exact opposite. We lack an exit strategy for oil, coal and gas. Energy efficiency and renewable energy are indispensable parts of a response to climate change, but they do not tell us why private companies and private individuals should stop extracting, marketing and consuming fossil fuels.
In fact, the progress made on energy efficiency and renewables can actually exacerbate the problem. An oversupply of fossil resources lowers the price and makes it even more tempting to use them. And the temptation is great: the fossil energy industry offers profits, jobs and low energy prices.
The Paris agreement says this to our children and grandchildren: “We promise not to expose you to the dangers of climate change.” If we are to keep our word, we have no alternative to decarbonisation. Our production and consumption must become carbon-neutral. There is an international consensus that the industrialised countries need to lead the way.
Germany does not need to change its climate and energy transition targets in view of the decisions made in Paris. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-200714191258.bmp&hash=e4ed21caaca822f7445ccafd39f49a9f84be90ca) There is a consensus amongst the political parties represented in the Bundestag that Germany will reduce greenhouse gases by 80-95% by 2050 from the 1990 baseline. The Federal government and the Bundestag have decided on the following interim goals: greenhouse gas emissions are to be down 40% by 2020, 55% by 2030, and 70% by 2040.
We should regard this challenge as an opportunity for a comprehensive modernisation of our economy. The fossil fuels are being substituted by investment in efficiency technologies and renewable energy. Here, a key role will be played by digitisation. In short: we will replace oil, coal and gas with intelligence and sustainable investment by 2050 at the latest. By doing this, we will be creating high-quality growth and jobs. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2F128fs318181.gif&hash=eff6d5f3831782966c2ff2081f07bf7fc5b22a6b)
If this transformation is to become a success story not only in climate terms, but also in economic terms, in the coming decades, we will need a paradigm shift.
The most important aspect is to avoid misallocated investments. We want to complete the switch by 2050, which gives us three-and-a-half decades. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.emofaces.com%2Fpng%2F200%2Femoticons%2Ffingerscrossed.png&hash=d56f8009d18b55f4cea7be68284c0521be92fc5d)
Investments in fossil structures with a lifespan extending beyond 2050 will become stranded assets of the respective companies, and will require us to undertake expensive repairs in future. A forward-looking approach to modernisation which avoids lock-in effects, subsequent destruction of capital, and job losses, must put the right policies in place right now.
We should therefore declare efficiency and renewable energy to be the new “rule”, the new standard investment. Investments in fossil structures must become the exception. We should only undertake them in cases where we have no alternative technologies or where the alternatives are disproportionately expensive. We need to reverse the rule-exception relationship: that is the paradigm shift.
What does the new “rule”—investment in energy efficiency and renewables—mean for the various sectors?
Power generation still accounts for by far the largest proportion of greenhouse gases. The sector is also set to grow as the decarbonisation of the heating and transport sectors will only be possible if we use more electricity. This electricity needs to stem from zero-carbon renewable sources, particularly wind and photovoltaics. We need to keep investing in these technologies.
Fossil fuel power stations have a lifespan of 40 years or more. To avoid misallocated investment which reach far beyond 2050 and to avoid lock-in effects, we should urgently dispense with new coal-fired power plants and extensions to opencast mines. Gas-fired power stations with comparatively small carbon emissions fall into the “exceptions” category, because we need them as controllable power stations for our energy security; however, natural gas will have to be replaced gradually by zero-carbon.
Of all CO2-relevant emissions, buildings have the longest lifespans, at around 100 years. We should therefore define an efficiency standard for all new buildings which, when coupled with the direct use of renewable energy and electricity, results in zero carbon emissions. We already have the necessary technologies and they are already affordable, so that this new standard can be introduced with just a few years’ notice. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fcliparts.co%2Fcliparts%2FBig%2FEgq%2FBigEgqBMT.png&hash=e7eec62f009cdd686ce795fad0a53c6befe748e9)
The challenges in the existing building stock are far greater. These buildings are dominated by gas-fired and oil-fired combustion systems which mostly heat buildings which are only moderately insulated. :P
In the short term, a switch to using efficient condensing boilers can save a lot of CO2 emissions. As heating systems have a lifespan of 20 years, from 2030 investment in fossil fuel heating systems should stop so that we can finish the transition by 2050. The only cost-efficient way to do this is to combine it with appropriate insulation of the building envelope.
The transport sector may pose the greatest challenge. Most of the rail system has already been electrified, but almost all passenger and freight traffic on the road, in the air and on water is almost entirely dependent on fossil fuels. Electric mobility offers us the chance to achieve the energy transition in the field of private transport.
With an average lifespan of 20 years we need to have switched from fossil-based to renewables-based engines by 2030 if we are to stop using gasoline and diesel on our roads in 2050.
The emissions of newly bought vehicles must then amount to zero. We need a road map which enables the state and the automotive industry to draw up an ambitious investment strategy for the transport sector.
The paradigm shift in the energy transition cannot be applied to all sectors. The process-related industrial emissions, and the methane emissions from agriculture, cannot be avoided by higher efficiency or a switch to renewable energy. These emissions will continue unless we manage to develop alternative technologies. But by far the largest proportion of our emissions is produced by burning oil, coal and gas.
For this reason, a cost-efficient energy transition should be oriented to investment cycles with a view to a far-reaching decarbonisation by the middle of the century. Investments in efficiency and renewable energy must become the rule, and investment in fossil structures the exception with clearly defined timelines for an exit.
By adopting this forward-looking policy, we will avoid misallocations of investment and lock-in effects. It will enable Germany to follow a sustainable path of growth—whereas a continuation of investment in fossil fuels brings incalculable economic risks.
In the aftermath of Paris, we are now seeing a race between nations to adopt the smartest and most cost-efficient modernisation policies. Thanks to its energy transition, Germany has a lead. We will have to work hard if we are to maintain this lead. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-200714191258.bmp&hash=e4ed21caaca822f7445ccafd39f49a9f84be90ca)
http://blog.rmi.org/blog_2016_04_11_industrialised_nations_must_lead_an_exit_strategy_for_fossil_fuels
(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fmedia.giphy.com%2Fmedia%2FHjPbLbmep2aJO%2Fgiphy.gif&hash=3c7f7703f00cb341d3e9bdba607208d4204a294c)
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Americans used less energy in 2015 than in previous year, solar use makes a big leap
Megan Treacy (@mtreacy) Energy / Renewable Energy April 20, 2016
SNIPPET:
Every year, the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (part of the Department of Energy) releases an energy flow chart showing how much and what types of energy were consumed in the U.S. in the past year.
In recent years there have mainly been small increases in energy use each year, but in 2015, that trend reversed and Americans actually used less energy than in the previous year. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2F19.gif&hash=3f9f2fc2285bc756137e21463bc2a4c420b15ac3)
(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2Freading.gif&hash=63e3e644b39258d4c4eedbcdaf322315b1856723)
http://www.treehugger.com/renewable-energy/americans-used-less-energy-2015-previous-year.html (http://www.treehugger.com/renewable-energy/americans-used-less-energy-2015-previous-year.html)
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The executives leaving oil and gas behind for jobs in clean energy
SNIPPET:
Edinburgh, Scotland
Elaine Buck grew up in the oilfields of Texas. She started her career as a navigation engineer on seismic research vessels for Schlumberger, a big oil-services company, and worked her way to high up in the executive ranks, with a salary to match. So how has this American hydrocarbon specialist ended up living in the tiny, remote Orkney islands off northern Scotland, and working at the forefront of renewable energy?
The answer is a mix of ideology, opportunity, and economics—a combination of factors pushing people out of extractive industries and into cleaner alternatives around the world. For those with specific expertise, like Buck, deep experience working offshore has led many to move from oil and gas to the complex parallel challenges of ocean energy.
With a degree in marine science, Buck says she has “a very strong love of the ocean.” For 17 years, starting in 1992, she traveled the world with Schlumberger in a “fantastic career” that took her from Houston to Mexico, Denver, back to Houston, Bogata, to Mexico again, and on to Malaysia.
She learned a lot, she tells Quartz, but adds that she “was seeing the effects of the commercialization and the rapid exploration we were doing to try and pull as much oil out of the ground as quickly as possible.”
From an environmental perspective, “I was starting to get, you know… I was having the doubts,” she says. Those doubts crystalized in April 2010, when a massive explosion tore through the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig in the Gulf of Mexico.
“That really opened my eyes,” Buck says. “And I thought: ‘You know what, I have another 15 to 20 years in the energy sector. I can now make a difference in helping [to] move from a high fossil fuel industry to a low carbon industry.” She knows that’s not going to happen overnight, but pointed to developments in international policy—like the global climate agreement made in Paris at the end of last year—that support her view that the shift is unavoidable.
In August 2014 she joined the European Marine Energy Centre in Orkney, in a role helping wave- and tidal-power projects develop and test their technologies.
Perks of the job
Do these renewable converts get any criticism from former colleagues for switching sides? “Not at all,” says Buck. In fact, the contrary is true, as former coworkers have asked about her path into green power (which came about via a Masters degree in renewable energy, taken with Schlumberger’s support).
The one thing she hasn’t managed to do yet is bring about actual collaboration between her former industry and her new one. But now that the prices of oil has fallen so far, squeezing profit margins, there might be more interest in trying something different.
Meanwhile, she’s happy to be raising her family with a sea view, on a group of islands that produces more than enough power to run itself via renewables. Traditional oil and gas locations—deserts, platforms—“are not the prettiest,” she says.
“I’ve had several of my friends in the oil and gas industry come up and they’re like, ‘how did you manage this? How can you live in such a beautiful part of the world?’
http://qz.com/637318/epiphanies-and-economics-whats-pushing-workers-out-of-oil-and-gas-and-pulling-them-into-renewables/ (http://qz.com/637318/epiphanies-and-economics-whats-pushing-workers-out-of-oil-and-gas-and-pulling-them-into-renewables/)
Even the Wall Street Journal :o ;D is facing the reality the fossil fuel fascists cannot accept.
As Oil Jobs Dry Up, Workers Turn to Solar Sector
Burgeoning solar projects offer opportunities for out-of-work rig hands, roustabouts and pipe fitters
http://www.wsj.com/articles/as-oil-jobs-dry-up-workers-turn-to-solar-sector-1461280612 (http://www.wsj.com/articles/as-oil-jobs-dry-up-workers-turn-to-solar-sector-1461280612)
Don't listen to the fossil fuel industry claims that they will recover. They have the "objectivity" of a cornered animal.
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09 May 2016 | Sören Amelang, Julian Wettengel
A new renewable record? / Study: Coal phase-out costs 71.6 billion euros
Preliminary data suggests renewable record in Germany (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-200714191456.bmp&hash=a239c2fd76d20d142f1c54b961e22ebd0d2a4808)
SNIPPET:
Strong winds and sun all over Germany might have pushed renewable power production to a new record share on Sunday. Renewable generation covered 95 percent of German power consumption :o (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fus.cdn2.123rf.com%2F168nwm%2Flenm%2Flenm1201%2Flenm120100200%2F12107060-illustration-of-a-smiley-giving-a-thumbs-up.jpg&hash=2046bc6d662e09d3014a2c404a2af6ba17f8217c) at 11 o’clock on Sunday, according to preliminary data from energy think tank Agora Energiewende*.
While power consumption is estimated at around 58 gigawatts (GW), solar provided around 26 GW, wind almost 21 GW, hydro 3 GW and biomass 5 GW. But the think tank warned final data might deviate considerably from the first estimates.
“While it is possible - or even probable - we saw a new record share of renewable energy production on Sunday, it is far from certain the share was above 90 percent,” explained press spokesperson Christoph Podewils, who noted wholesale electricity prices fell to minus 125 euros per megawatt-hour at the time.
He also said it was likely that Germany will see further records of renewable share at certain peak hours in the coming months, because solar power is nearing its yearly summer peak and total installed renewable capacity, including wind, has risen considerably compared to last year.
(https://www.cleanenergywire.org/sites/default/files/styles/lightbox_image/public/images/article/2016/05/agorameter.png?itok=qGW6f7ok)
https://www.cleanenergywire.org/news/new-renewable-record-study-coal-phase-out-costs-716-billion-euros (https://www.cleanenergywire.org/news/new-renewable-record-study-coal-phase-out-costs-716-billion-euros)
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Agelbert NOTE: This puts the LIE (i.e. less fossil fuel use means a shrinking economy (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.desismileys.com%2Fsmileys%2Fdesismileys_2932.gif&hash=0eaec4791a5825821998245e7fcd7744b56557fe) ) to the claims made by the fossil fuel industry shills like Gail Tverberg and most economists in the USA. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2F5yjbztv.gif&hash=d3dc6c69f3fc5ad39c44fb5466265476f34e5a76)
Carbon Emissions Fall as U.S. Economy Grows
Climate Nexus | May 10, 2016 9:49 am
U.S. energy-related carbon dioxide emissions declined in 2015, falling 12 percent below 2005 levels due to coal-fired power plant retirements and increased use of renewables and natural gas.
The U.S. economy has expanded 15 percent since 2005 and last year was the first time since 2012 that power sector emissions fell while the economy continued to grow, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. The U.S. has pledged to reduce power sector emissions 32 percent from 2005 levels by 2030.
http://ecowatch.com/2016/05/10/carbon-emissions-fall/
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05/09/2016 12:50 PM
22 Years Later, Interface Still Leads Corporate World, Uses 96% Renewable Energy
SustainableBusiness.com News
(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Finterfaceinc.scene7.com%2Fis%2Fimage%2FInterfaceInc%2FInterfacelogo2015medRbrown%3Ffmt%3Dpng-alpha%26amp%3BresMode%3Dsharp&hash=627151500fa93aa12162c6762c3c468c625783b9)
Interface,one of the first companies in the world to set a goal of 100% renewable energy, is almost there. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-260116192120.png&hash=daf2cd0aaafd9f8140e406ffd5a927e52d036aaf)
22 years ago, founder Ray Anderson realized what his carpet company was doing to the planet and became an evangelist for corporate sustainability. Now, Mission Zero (zero emissions) has achieved 96% renewable energy for US manufacturing plants. Worldwide, the company's total is 84%.
Interface's goal is to eliminate all negative impacts by 2020 - that's four years away! Unlike most corporations whose renewable energy comes from wind and solar, Interface gets 53% of its total energy from biogas.
"We hope that Interface's use of biogas will contribute to creating a marketplace for more innovation in renewables," says Erin Meezan, Vice President of Sustainability.
Read our article, Interface Flooring Closing In On Mission Zero. (http://www.sustainablebusiness.com/index.cfm/go/news.display/id/25509)
(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fstatic01.nyt.com%2Fimages%2F2007%2F05%2F22%2Fscience%2F22anderson.xlarge2.jpg&hash=7733ab4cfdf185de45626f624253f861ce1acb58)
Ray Anderson at his plant in West Point, Ga. Credit Jessica McGowan for The New York Times
We miss Ray Anderson, who passed away in 2011, a visionary and deeply caring man (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.bativert.ma%2Fimages%2Fimage3.jpg&hash=7c7c27d838504cb1d5c5a4c1efac44e790a39265).
Sustainability leaders like Interface are increasing supported by major stock exchanges, like FTSE Russell's new fossil-free index, Divest-Invest Developed 200 Index (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fus.123rf.com%2F400wm%2F400%2F400%2Fyayayoy%2Fyayayoy1106%2Fyayayoy110600019%2F9735563-smiling-sun-showing-thumb-up.jpg&hash=09b45642ec6d7943d30b5b87548676e3ee7dbe3d) . The index omits fossil companies (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.desismileys.com%2Fsmileys%2Fdesismileys_6869.gif&hash=f94938471d343a09155d1f60eefacdb2ceab2457) and instead includes corporate leaders, guiding investors to companies that have "low carbon risks." (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Felqahera-trading.com%2Fhome%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2012%2F04%2Fdollar-sign-thumbnail1.jpg&hash=e1962ecaa694d312d50a9984ee058a45aed1e860)
53 major corporations have reached 50% renewable electricity (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.clipartbest.com%2Fcliparts%2Fxig%2Fojx%2Fxigojx6KT.png&hash=6706182c9f1427099a77e10d1758e61d9cadb701) and are expected to attain 80% by 2020, such as Adobe, Autodesk, BMW Group, Coca-Cola, Google, Microsoft, IKEA, Johnson & Johnson, Mars Inc., Nestlé, Nike, Philips, Procter & G a m b l e, Starbucks, and Unilever.
At the Paris Climate Summit, 2,000 companies voluntarily submitted climate pledges to the United Nations. Unilever, for example, plans to be "carbon positive" in its operations by 2030, by running on 100% renewable energy, with 50% by 2020. As of 2014, it gets 28% of electricity from renewables.
Unilever says its sustainability efforts have saved $424 million so far, and brands that are most active, such as Dove, Lifebuoy, Ben & Jerry's and Comfort - perform the best, reports Reuters.
Taken together, carbon emissions from the S&P 500 account for 15% of the world's total, equal to France, Germany and the UK combined, according to the S&P Dow Jones Carbon Emitter Scorecard. And 50 of them (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2Fpirates5B15D_th.gif&hash=32438e1ed2c4d1823d4ed2a193286525c840a605)are responsible for 75% of those emissions >:(, mostly in the energy, materials and utilities sectors.
Incredibly, the collective actions of just 140 companies could get the world 65% of the way toward constraining temperature rise to 2°C. 89% of corporations are actively reducing greenhouse gas emissions compared to 49% five years ago, says CEP.
http://www.sustainablebusiness.com/index.cfm/go/news.display/id/26617
(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fstatic1.squarespace.com%2Fstatic%2F50fb1738e4b0dcfb3cb27d86%2F52b78872e4b0b29a4fd93b8a%2F52b788b8e4b00f0e378a70cc%2F1387759806748%2F%3Fformat%3D1000w&hash=8065e49626b7c13476a03f7664f569a9edaff483)
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With Clean Energy Jobs Booming in Republican Districts, It’s Time to Recalibrate Climate Politics (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2Fmaniac.gif&hash=9ecf389a7da25db958f3f63461cbb45a4b316c4e)
Keith Gaby, Environmental Defense Fund | May 13, 2016 12:23 pm
Many elected officials want to solve climate change for the same reason activists do. Rising global temperatures will be a terrible burden on our children, cost our economy trillions and cause dangerous changes to the natural world.
But winning enough votes in Congress for bold policy changes also requires raw politics—and on that score, there’s an important, under-appreciated shift that may be improving our chances.
(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fecowatch.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2016%2F05%2Fpv_install_750.jpg&hash=85385811cb6fcec64710df52ed23892964f09b14)
Photo credit: Dennis Schroeder / NREL
Look at the chart below, from Morning Consult. Clean energy jobs, in the form of utility-scale wind or solar facilities, are now mostly in Republican districts.
That’s because sunshine and wind are abundant in places such as Kansas, North Carolina, Oklahoma and Texas. And rural areas, often represented by Republicans, have inexpensive land available for facilities like this.
(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fecowatch.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2016%2F05%2Fsolarconsultjobs_750.jpg&hash=d76b70d77f52036df4f69fcbf0ab89ebaf625789)
Clean energy jobs, in other words, are no longer partisan or regional, if they ever were. Texas leads the nation in wind. North Carolina and Nevada are hot beds of solar energy.
Jobs Drive Policy, for Better or Worse
There are very few things politicians care about more than their constituents’ jobs. It’s not an exaggeration to say that job stability and growth are the lens through which they see nearly every issue.
Former Secretary of State James Baker once tried to build support in Congress for the first Gulf War by saying, of the main reason to act, “if you want to sum it up in one word, it’s jobs.”
In fact, claims about job losses were used to great effect against comprehensive climate legislation in 2009. Proponents of that argument seemed to forget the far larger economic damage from unchecked climate change, but their talking points had a big impact on nervous members of Congress.
In response, environmental activists and economists talked about the very real potential for clean energy jobs—but existing always beats potential in a political fight. And the “jobs argument” was used to increase the partisan divide on climate and clean energy issues.
But now things are changing—rapidly. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2Fmaniac.gif&hash=9ecf389a7da25db958f3f63461cbb45a4b316c4e)
Next time Congress considers climate legislation, the terms of the debate may be different.
Nationwide, solar jobs have grown 20 percent annually for the last three years. There are now far more jobs in that industry than in coal mining and most new electric generating capacity added last year was renewable.
Red states and congressional districts, again, are on the receiving end of a large chunk of that growth.
It could be that next time Congress considers comprehensive clean energy and climate legislation, the terms of the debate will be different. This time, the “jobs argument” would come from a bi-partisan block of politicians representing clean energy workers with real jobs.
And that might just change the whole conversation. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-210614221847.gif&hash=54129e3b65760aaddc6f2d7f42b34a7d839d2f27) (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.desismileys.com%2Fsmileys%2Fdesismileys_0293.gif&hash=b1af4868ed8f18c30e637f8cbcb79002f6f71039)
http://ecowatch.com/2016/05/13/clean-energy-jobs-booming/
Rob Brown
Rank and file Republican voters are, for whatever reasons, quickly becoming much more responsible in their views on climate change and other environmental issues than Republican politicians are. This puts the Republican party brass on the horns of a dilemma. Hopefully, the Republican party won't trot out any "Trumped up excuses" for inaction on climate change, water and air pollution and other environmental problems.
agelbert > Rob Brown
I hope you are right about the Republican party.
The bought and paid for Republicans like Lamar Smith will, however, continue to defend the "subsidies" for the fossil fuel industry welfare queens and do everything possible to prevent the desperately needed total transition to 100% Renewable Energy until they are run out of office.
Lamar Smith, like the deniers that pollute the discourse here, belong in prison.
The problem with the fossil fuel polluting status quo is that custom and prejudice accompany it and unthinking resistance to change perpetuate it. In human affairs, custom, prejudice and resistance to change are stronger than truth and logic.
That is why the fossil fuel industry did not go the way of the dodo bird decades ago.
Let us hope that common sense and prudence prevails over irrational profit over planet custom and prejudice.
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CLEAN ENERGY JOBS vs. FOSSIL FUEL JOBS
SNIPPET 1:
(https://collapseofindustrialcivilization.files.wordpress.com/2016/03/ambiente-01.jpg?w=529&h=237)
LEADERS KNOW NOBODY SETS THEIR OWN HOUSE ON FIRE TO KEEP TEMPORARILY WARM, FOR WHEN THAT GLOW IS GONE, ALL WE HAVE LEFT ARE THE ASHES
SNIPPET 2:
DEVELOPING RENEWABLE POWER NOW CREATES MORE JOBS THAN DEVELOPING FOSSIL-FUEL-FIRED ELECTRIC GENERATION
Wind, solar, geothermal, & hydropower combined accounted for 84.1 % of the new US electric generating capacity (1,900 MW) in the first four months of 2015. Five natural gas units provided the rest.
Between January 2011 and the end of 2014, the U.S. added roughly 170,000 new natural resources and mining jobs, according to the payroll processing firm, ADP. But between the start of 2015 and June 30, 2015, roughly 76,000 of those jobs were eliminated. [1]
So the trend is away from fossil fuel related jobs and toward clean affordable renewable energy jobs.
INTERNATIONAL CLEAN ENERGY JOBS:
North American Clean Energy Reported: “Employment in the renewable energy sector is growing rapidly…. In 2014, an estimated 7.7 million people worldwide worked directly or indirectly in the sector.”
Noting the economic opportunity that can come from proactive climate policies needed to protect our planet and its jobs, the International Labour Organization echoed on its blog the union slogan that “there are no jobs on a dead planet,”.
(https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/d2/37/50/d23750fcbd2b0e0d1bdb7ab41552bd2c.jpg)
And in a similar vein, citing the publication linked on the left, global labour leader Sharan Burrow says there are millions of new jobs on a healthy one. She is general secretary of the International Trade Union Confederation, which represents over 176 million workers in 162 countries.
Wind can provide 20% of US electricity by 2030 while creating 380,000 jobs.
(https://www.mtcares.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/wind-jobs-2030.jpg)
Click photo to link to the full “US Department of Energy “Wind Vision” report (at story link below).
MONTANA CLEAN ENERGY JOBS
The “Montana Renewable Portfolio” Report (p. 1) determined the development and operation “of wind power in Montana generated nearly $400 million in spending, and 1,400 man-years of work” between 2005 and 2015. “Excluding construction booms associated with developing wind assets, wind is estimated to” have added “close to $16 million to the annual Gross State Product and about 90 jobs to yearly employment.”
The first 10 years of wind development in Montana produced $77 million for taxes and $16 million in land leases . (p. 7)(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2F19.gif&hash=3f9f2fc2285bc756137e21463bc2a4c420b15ac3)
(https://www.mtcares.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/Windpower-jobs-in-Montana.jpg)
From Montana’s Renewable Portfolio” 2015 Report by SciGaia
This was done while keeping electricity rates lower than in other states. The “Montana Renewable Portfolio” Report (p. 2) found: “In general, rates in Montana have been 5% lower than in Mountain States; 15% below the US average, and 25% or more below the average for the Contiguous Pacific States.” And that happened despite the fact that many of those states are developing wind power that is lowering their electricity rates.
Jobs created by wind development in Montana counties are depicted in the following graphic:
(https://www.mtcares.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/MT-windpower-jobs-by-county.jpg)
APOLLO ALLIANCE/BLUE GREEN ALLIANCE
Since its founding in 2004, the Apollo Alliance, a nationwide coalition of business, labor, environmental, and community leaders, has worked to reduce the nation’s dependence on foreign oil, cut the carbon emissions that are destabilizing the climate, and expand opportunities for American businesses and workers.
Apollo’s early report, “New Energy For America,” emphasized the positive impact of investments in renewable energy and energy efficiency on the national job market. In 2008, that report evolved into the “The New Apollo Program, Clean Energy, Good Jobs: An Economic Strategy for American Prosperity,” report involving not only the electric power sector but other sectors of our economy as well. A 2003 study done for Apollo by the Perryman Group took this down to the state level, and showed how Montana could add jobs and grow its economy through renewable energies. It projected:
•An Additional $453 Million of Economic Activity in Montana
•7,670 Jobs Created, including: •559 New Manufacturing Jobs Created
•1,230 New Construction Jobs Created
•$299 Million of Increased Income
For example, there could be 369 new Montana transportation jobs when we use windmills to produce hydrogen from water–not coal or methane–to run our cars. Enough hydrogen can be produced from the quantity of water that flows for 29 hours past the mouth of the Mississippi River to replace the fossil fuel used by the entire US transportation industry. [1at p. 73] For Montana that is many swallows less than would be needed in the coal-synfuel scenario once proposed for Montana, that would guzzle the Tongue River.
Other Resources:
For US Government facts about renewable energy, click HERE (http://energy.gov/eere/office-energy-efficiency-renewable-energy).
Page updated 1/23/2016
Full article evidencing the inexorable and irrefutable trend AWAY from fossil fuels jobs and TOWARDS clean energy jobs, regardless of the "1980's repeat" wishful thinking of the fossil fuel industry. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2Freading.gif&hash=63e3e644b39258d4c4eedbcdaf322315b1856723)
https://www.mtcares.org/jobs-2/
"Hitting peak oil will come faster than any of us think. But don't blame dwindling supply — it's all about disappearing demand" Amory Lovins
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05/25/2016 01:02 PM
Renewable Energy Employs 8.1 Million People Worldwide, Up 21% in US Wind & Solar
SustainableBusiness.com News
While employment in fossil fuels is declining, it is rising in renewable energy worldwide.
In renewables, there are about 400,000 more jobs than this time last year - growing 5% to 8.1 million people employed, according to the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA). In 2014, the industry grew even faster at 18%.
The top countries for renewable energy jobs are the US, China, Japan, Brazil, India and Germany, and solar PV is the biggest employer, employing 2.8 million people in manufacturing, installation and maintenance. Biofuels comes next with 1.7 million jobs, followed by wind power, with 1.1 million global jobs.
If country climate pledges are met, there will be over 24 million jobs by 2030, IRENA projects.
In the US, employment in renewable energy rose 6% over the past year, while dropping 18% in oil and gas. In China, renewable energy employs 3.5 million people compared to 2.6 million in oil and gas.
Renewable Energy Jobs May 2016 (graphic at article link)
Findings of Renewable Energy and Jobs - Annual Review 2016:
• Solar PV jobs rose 11% last year, mostly in Japan and the US. Employment is stable in China, and is down in the European Union. In the US, solar jobs grew 22%.
• Wind jobs rose 5%, mostly in the US, China and Germany. Employment in the US rose 21%.
• China leads on renewable energy employment with 3.5 million jobs, since a third of the world's installations were there in 2015.
• In the EU, Germany employs as many people as the UK, France and Italy combined. Because of the weak economy, jobs in renewables declined for the fourth year in the EU.
Read our article, 70% Renewable Energy Possible By 2030, says World Survey (http://www.sustainablebusiness.com/index.cfm/go/news.display/id/26226).
Download Renewable Energy and Jobs - Annual Review 2016
Website: bit.ly/1TrVO5o
http://www.sustainablebusiness.com/index.cfm/go/news.display/id/26634
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2. You may explain your answer to question 1 here.
All energy scenarios with 100% ER requires a strong decrease of consumption (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.desismileys.com%2Fsmileys%2Fdesismileys_2932.gif&hash=0eaec4791a5825821998245e7fcd7744b56557fe). Who wants that?
Amory Lovins and yours truly disagree with the premise that ALL 100% Renewable Energy Scenarios require a strong decrease of consumption. Yes, much less ENERGY will be used, but the assumed sine qua non correlation of less energy with dead people and lower standard of living is what I strongly find fault with.
As I stated in the survey (and Amory Lovins has fastidiously laid out in peer reviewed, hard ball, no details left out published plans to transition to 100% Renewable Energy STEP BY STEP), about 3 billion people would probably die needlessly IF an overnight transition to RE occurred.
HOWEVER, if the transition matches manufacturing replacement of vehicles and other machines with RE infrastructure over a ten to 15 year period, nobody has to die and, although CONSUMPTION of fossil fuels and nuclear power goes to a statistically insignificant amount, the STANDARD of LIVING is actually IMPROVED while the ENERGY CONSUMED is reduced over 80% from EFFICIENCY IMPROVEMENTS in the use of the available Renewable Energy.
Amory Lovins does not DO "pie in the sky". AND NEITHER DO I!
(https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/d2/37/50/d23750fcbd2b0e0d1bdb7ab41552bd2c.jpg)
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05/24/2016 04:08 PM
Ontario Moves On Climate, Providing a Model for All
SustainableBusiness.com News
As Ontario enshrined its climate plan into law, Environment minister Glen Murray said it "marks the start of the next chapter in Ontario's transformation to an innovative and prosperous low-carbon economy."
Canada's most populous province will spend over $7 billion over the next four years to implement its 57-page Climate Change Action Plan. It contains about 80 policies, each with a price tag, for 2017-2021. The big goal is to cut greenhouse gas emissions 15% by 2020, 37% by 2030 and 80% by 2050, from 1990 levels.
They've already shuttered all coal plants and by 2030, fossil fuels, including natural gas (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-200714191258.bmp&hash=e4ed21caaca822f7445ccafd39f49a9f84be90ca) , will not be allowed for heating (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-080515182559.png&hash=d4dfa952fa0f817bf30a8059a4c88d6fb05ee1bf) ;D . New building codes require all new homes heated by geothermal or electricity by 2030, and incentives will encourage efficiency upgrades in existing buildings. All homes sold must first have an energy audit. Rebates for electric vehicles will help meet the goal of 5% of all vehicles sold by 2020 and 12% by 2025.
Much of money needed to implement the plan will come from the province's cap-and-trade program, which starts next year. It will be linked with the Western Climate Initiative, which consists of California and Quebec. A new Green Bank will finance many programs.
What Ontario will look like in 2050, taken from the Climate Change Action Plan:
(https://files.ontario.ca/moecc-ccs-figure7a.png)
According to The Globe & Mail:
•$3.8 billion in grants, rebates and other subsidies to retrofit buildings
•Up to $14,000 in rebates to buy an electric vehicle and up to $1000 for a home charger; subsidies for lower income families to get older cars off the road and free overnight electricity to charge vehicles at public outlets. Funding will also help schools switch to electric buses and trucking companies to cleaner trucks. The regional rail network will be enhanced, as will bicycle infrastructure, such as separte bike lanes and parking at train stations. Total cost: $1.1 billion.
•Gasoline and diesel will have to have 5% lower lifecycle emissions by 2020. Natural gas will have to be derived from more renewable sources, such as biogas.
•$375 million for cleantech R&D, about half of which is for a Global Centre for Low-Carbon Mobility.
•$1.2 billion to help industry buy more energy efficient equipment and other measures to reduce emissions.
•$174 million to make the government carbon neutral through building upgrades, telecommuting, and carbon offset purchases.
"By 2050, we envision Ontarians will be using less energy and the energy we do use will be from low-carbon sources. Communities will be climate-resilient, complete and compact. More people will choose electric or other zero-emission vehicles and transit to get swiftly and efficiently where they need to go. Agricultural lands, natural areas and ecosystems will be better protected for the benefit and enjoyment of all, including First Nations and Métis peoples who rely on our shared natural environment for sustainment and spiritual benefit.
"Ontario that will be employing new ways to reduce waste while ensuring that more of the waste produced is reintroduced to the economy. Industries will be thriving while generating fewer or zero emissions. Businesses and innovators will be creating world-leading clean technologies and products that drive new economic growth, productivity, and job creation. We must do it. We can do it. And we will do it, together," says Murray.
Learn more:
https://youtu.be/MbUwhIROLek
Website: www.ontario.ca/page/climate-change
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Renewable Energy Surges to Record-Breaking Levels Around the World (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fcliparts.co%2Fcliparts%2FBig%2FEgq%2FBigEgqBMT.png&hash=e7eec62f009cdd686ce795fad0a53c6befe748e9)
Andy Rowell, Oil Change International | June 1, 2016 9:17 am
The renewable revolution is gathering apace according to new research. Last year was an “extraordinary” record year for the sector, with “the largest global capacity additions seen to date.”
An estimated 147 gigawatts of renewable power capacity was added in 2015, according to the annual report of REN21, the renewables policy organization made up of energy experts, NGOs and governments, which is based in Paris.
In total, new installations of renewable power generation capacity rose to 1,848.5 GW globally in 2015, underlying the fact I made in yesterday’s blog that Big Oil’s demise might come sooner rather than later, in part due to the renewable revolution. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.desismileys.com%2Fsmileys%2Fdesismileys_0293.gif&hash=b1af4868ed8f18c30e637f8cbcb79002f6f71039)
Most importantly, slowly but surely every year, renewables are becoming more cost competitive with fossil fuels.
“I’ve been working in this sector for 20 years and the economic case is now fully there,” said Christine Lins, the executive secretary of REN21: “The fact that we had 147GW of capacity, mainly of wind and solar is a clear indication that these technologies are cost competitive (with fossil fuels).”
Lins also points out that this record renewable growth has been achieved despite huge subsidies to fossil fuels. “What is truly remarkable about these results is that they were achieved at a time when fossil fuel prices were at historic lows and renewables remained at a significant disadvantage in terms of government subsidies,” she said in a statement.
Lins continued: “For every dollar spent boosting renewables, nearly four dollars were spent to maintain our dependence on fossil fuels.”
Most worrying for Big Oil is that this is the largest ever annual increase in installed clean capacity ever. As if to emphazise the point the amount spent on renewables was double that spent on new coal and gas-fired power plants.
In total, including large hydro projects, new investment was an estimated $328.9 billion, echoing research by Bloomberg New Energy Finance from earlier in the year which put clean energy investment a fraction higher at $329.3 billion.
More than 8 million people are now employed in the sector.
Other important trends were apparent too: For the first time ever, developing nations spent more than the developed world on renewables. “For the first time in history, total investment in renewable power and fuels in developing countries in 2015 exceeded that in developed economies,” the report said.
China alone accounted for more than one-third of the global total. “The renewables industry is not just dependant on a couple of markets but it has turned into a truly global one with markets everywhere and that is really encouraging,” added Christine Lins.
The report also advocated the desperate need to integrate renewables into the current power infrastructure which was built for fossil fuels. “The renewables train is barreling down the tracks, but it’s running on 20th century infrastructure—a system based on outdated thinking where conventional base load is generated by fossil fuels and nuclear power,” said Arthouros Zervoz, chairman of REN21.
Zervoz added: “To accelerate the transition to a healthier, more secure and climate-safe future, we need to build the equivalent of a high-speed rail network—a smarter, more flexible system that maximizes the use of variable sources of renewable energy and accommodates decentralized and community-based generation.”
http://ecowatch.com/2016/06/01/renewables-record-year-2015/
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7 Charts Show How Renewables Broke Records Globally in 2015 (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-260116192120.png&hash=daf2cd0aaafd9f8140e406ffd5a927e52d036aaf)
Simon Evans, Carbon Brief | June 3, 2016 12:33 pm
SNIPPET:
Global investment in renewable energy reached record levels in 2015, according to a new report from the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF).
More surprisingly, perhaps, the report shows that the $286bn poured into green energy was more than double the spending on coal– and gas-fired power.
It also shows, for the first time, that more renewable power capacity was added than other sources and that renewable energy investment was mostly in developing countries.
Carbon Brief runs through the key findings in seven charts.
Full article at link below: (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2Freading.gif&hash=63e3e644b39258d4c4eedbcdaf322315b1856723)
http://ecowatch.com/2016/06/03/renewable-investment-broke-records/
Agelbert NOTE: ANYONE that claims the above global energy market share of Renewable Energy is not SERIOUSLY DESTROYING DEMAND for fossil fuels, is willfully ignorant of reality or is working for the fossil fuel industry (usually the same thing ;D).
The declining energy market share of fossil fuels is the most important, and deliberately unreported, reason that the price of crude oil remains low.
"Hitting peak oil will come faster than any of us think. But don't blame dwindling supply — it's all about disappearing demand" Amory Lovins
(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-180614155536.png&hash=65418be384d0d228de3dff320a2000078907a6aa)
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The PERFIDY of the Energy Information Administration - EIA - Official Energy Statistics from the U.S. Government
(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-050616182206.jpeg&hash=7e0c2b801ff7e6293beeeb961ef1b91f53ad994e)
EIA Fossil Fuel and Nuclear Power Friendly Charts Consistently Low Ball Renewable Energy
These charts by the fossil fuel friendly EIA severely understate the Renewable energy share of U.S. energy consumption BECAUSE they ONLY measure REPORTED energy use, not NEGAWATTS (off grid, non-metered and efficiency based energy demand destruction). The Rocky Mountain Institute has reported that over one third of all global rural electrical production is now Renewable Energy based.
So, why do I present these charts? Because even the EIA cannot disguise how Renewable Energy is taking market share away from the fossil fuel industry (although they do their level best to try).
Notice the change from 2012 through 2015 and you will see evidence of the Renewable Energy caused fossil fuel demand destruction. This is also the main cause of the persistently low price of oil and gas driving, at last count, over 60 oil and gas polluters into bankruptcy.
(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.eia.gov%2Fenergyexplained%2Fimages%2Fcharts%2Fenergy_consumption_by_source_2012-large.jpg&hash=189a1821728e18a06838572c5d78b19063284f99) (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.eia.gov%2Fenergyexplained%2Fimages%2Fcharts%2Fenergy_consumption_by_source_2015-large.jpg&hash=6c70e2d0ed4d559fd41846ea9cdeff5aba8c6332)
AS you can see, our loyal servants in the EIA were magnanimous enough to admit ONE PERCENT increase for Renewable Energy for 2012 through 2015. Not only is that a bad joke, but excluding coal, it is downright embarrassingly defensive of the polluters from the fossil fuel AND nuclear power industries. WHY?
First, despite the MASSIVE economic disruptions during that time and the MASSIVE increase in Renewable energy capacity during that time period, let us ass-u-me, as the charts claim, that the total energy consumption increased 2.7 quadrillion btu from 2012 through 2015. They drop 2% off of coal but, despite some closings of nuclear power plants, ADD a percent to nuclear power! But it gets better.
Second, they REFUSE to lower the percentage for Petroleum while adding 2 percent to fossil "natural" (i.e. FRACKED) gas. The disclaimer about "the sum of components not adding to 100%", even though in the 2015 chart they DO add up, is ridiculous. They don't even update their boilerplate. These people have no shame.
Third, they have the unadulterated brass to claim, not just that there was a ONE PERCENT ONLY increase in the Renewable Energy share of consumption rom 2012 through 2015, but that WIND POWER added a mere 2 percent of the Renewable energy mix in FOUR YEARS!
Now take a look at 2014's fossil fuel and nuclear power friendly EIA chart next to the 2015 chart. They are DESPERATE to hide the massive increase in Renewables.
(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.eia.gov%2Fenergyexplained%2Fimages%2Fcharts%2Fenergy_consumption_by_source_2014-large.jpg&hash=018461d22f7fb7b860ebb81568cd02b69acd0e53) (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.eia.gov%2Fenergyexplained%2Fimages%2Fcharts%2Fenergy_consumption_by_source_2015-large.jpg&hash=6c70e2d0ed4d559fd41846ea9cdeff5aba8c6332)
2015 was a banner year for BOTH wind and solar power. 2015 saw massive demand destruction for fossil fuels causing over 60 oil and gas bankruptcies and cratering price of fossil fuels. Renewable energy use INCREASED while USE of fossil fuels due to a depressed economy and added Renewable infrastructure, DECREASED.
YET, according to our EIA bean counters, there was NO INCREASE in the Renewable energy SHARE of consumption OR A DECREASE in the oil and gas energy share from 2014 to 2015! To make it look good, they took one percent away from petroleum and handed it to "natural" FRACKED gas. LOL! Renewable Energy consumption is allegedly STILL only 10% after a BANNER YEAR!
BULLSHIT!
The EIA admits, inaccurately (remember they count only REPORTED energy from utilities, not negawatts), that 0.1 quadrillion Btu of Renewable Energy was added. Point one quadrillion Btu DOES NOT CUT IT for a banner year in both wind and solar. They give solar a mere 2% increase and give wind, which REALLY jumped in 2015, a mere ONE PERCENT increase in the Renewable Energy mix.
BULLSHIT!
The PRICE of oil and gas is not low because we are "consuming them at the same percentage"; it's low because we are consuming them at a LOWER percentage. The oil and gas pigs are not known for charitable gestures.
The PRICE of Renewable Energy infrastructure is coming down from mass production and installation. The ratio of Renewable energy installation to fossil fuel based infrastructure new installation in 2015 (which has continued into this year) is 70 to one.
When the EV market takes off in 2017, the end will come quickly for the fossil fuel industry because they cannot make a profit when over 50% of the refinery product is for transportation fuels they cannot sell. And even without the loss of the polluting fuels product profit, the fossil fuel industry would self destruct without all their subsidy swag. But the EIA plays dumb about the all the pollution costs that we-the-people are paying.
Renewable energy is easily already over 25% of total Energy consumption in the U.S., though the EIA will never admit it until they "revise" the data a couple of decades from now. ;)
Renewable Energy Growth Blows EIA Forecasts Out of the Water, Again
by Ben Jervey, originally published by DeSmog Blog | Mar 14, 2016
http://www.resilience.org/stories/2016-03-14/renewable-energy-growth-blows-eia-forecasts-out-of-the-water-again
EIA 2040 Forecast Understates Renewables, Policy, Contingencies
April 20th, 2015 by Sandy Dechert
MONEY QUOTES:
So far more possibilities exist than those indicated by the narrow range of assumptions that EIA has included in this latest assessment. Respected voices are saying that America can, and should, get 100% of its energy from renewables by 2050, that 80% would be good enough, or 100% by 2100, or that 50% is attainable in the next 35 years, and so on. EIA’s limited focus can support none of these.
The organization claims in Figure 4 to cover “scenarios that encompass a wide range of future crude oil price paths.” Great to have such a diverse oil perspective, but the exploration of renewable and other scenarios seems puny by comparison.
http://cleantechnica.com/2015/04/20/eia-2040-forecast-understates-renewables-policy-contingencies/
EIA responds that it never told a lie, fudged the stats or gamed the predicted numbers to favor fossil fuels and low ball Renewable Energy.
Turning to projections, some critics have argued that EIA's recent AEO Reference case projections have consistently understated the adoption of wind and solar power.
A review of past performance of EIA's projections does not offer much support for this argument, particularly when it is recognized that AEO Reference case projections deliberately incorporate existing laws and regulations that are in effect at the time the Reference case projections are developed and do not attempt to forecast future policy decisions.
http://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.cfm?id=25512
Don't you just love that "does not offer much support for this argument" pseudo erudite exercise in dismissive type fallacious debating techniques? Do all these fossil fuel tools go to the same school of double talk sophistry?
The above defense is ludicrous in the light of the FACT that their projections for fossil fuel use and nuclear power have CONSISTENTLY IGNORED the ENVIRONMENTAL LAWS (that the EPA has danced around and refused to try to enforce or over 30 years, even though they ARE on the books) that militate for a REDUCTION in the energy market share of fossil fuels and nuclear power.
NOT ONE closing of nuclear power plants was predicted by the EIA. Even the now vertiginous descent in coal use was NOT even remotely foreseen by these dirty energy defending tools, never mind the current descent in the demand for oil and gas (that they CONTINUE to low ball).
And now they want to talk about legislation as the "logical" basis for their grossly inaccurate Renewable Energy projections?
The EIA can come up with all sorts of hemming and hawing excuses about inconsistent application of laws favoring Renewables, as if that had beans to do with the ACTUAL Renewables track record of their installation and use (which is what unbiased energy experts use to project future use and market share), but give fossil fuels and nuclear power the most rosy energy use projection scenario as the "prudent" and "most realistic" outlook...
But the last paragraph in their response PLAINLY states WHO they are going to defend in their cherry picking energy bean counting (hint - dirty energy producers = industry stakeholders):
EIA continues to work with industry stakeholders to ensure its assumptions and analytic methodologies provide accurate data and appropriate projections for wind, solar, and other renewables. A more extensive review of EIA's data and projections for wind and solar technologies is available in a recent EIA report, Wind and Solar Data and Projections from the U.S. Energy Information Administration: Past Performance and Ongoing Enhancements.
Principal contributors: Chris Namovicz
http://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.cfm?id=25512
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Now you know why certain fossil fuelers love to quote the "reliability" of the energy use stats and projections from the EIA.
Have a nice day.
The Fossil Fuelers DID THE Climate Trashing, human health depleteing CRIME, but since they have ALWAYS BEEN liars and conscience free crooks, they are trying to AVOID DOING THE TIME or PAYING THE FINE! Don't let them get away with it! Pass it on! (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2F176.gif&hash=121533221905789c6b8d57a9603883266d349266)
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06 Jun 2016 | Kerstine Appunn, Julian Wettengel
German Grid operator says 80% renewables no problem ;D
Tagesspiegel
“80 percent renewables are not a problem”
There is much more flexibility in the German power grid to cope with renewables development than currently needed, said Boris Schucht, CEO of transmission system operator 50Hertz in an interview with Tagesspiegel.
“The idea that the integration of renewable energy immediately calls for more system flexibility [is] a myth. We have much more flexibility in the system than we need. […] it will last until 2030 or even 2040.”
Schucht is confident that 50Hertz will be able to integrate 70 to 80 percent of renewables “without additional flexibility options” in the future.
He said that the company had for the first time succeeded in February to use wind power as control power to balance out generation and consumption. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fus.cdn2.123rf.com%2F168nwm%2Flenm%2Flenm1201%2Flenm120100200%2F12107060-illustration-of-a-smiley-giving-a-thumbs-up.jpg&hash=2046bc6d662e09d3014a2c404a2af6ba17f8217c)
See the CLEW dossier The energy transition and Germany's power grid (https://www.cleanenergywire.org/dossiers/energy-transition-and-germanys-power-grid)
and the CLEW factsheet Set-up and challenges of Germany's power grid. (https://www.cleanenergywire.org/factsheets/set-and-challenges-germanys-power-grid)
https://www.cleanenergywire.org/news/grid-operator-says-80-renewables-no-problem-environment-ministry-turns-30
Renewable energy= (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-301014181553.gif&hash=c09667beb656b25086c168adcdaddcba59abf858) (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-210316151047.png&hash=322a7c76731414f0f2ba44f8649e39de889b4bd6)=Fossil Fuelers
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Oil demand to peak in 2030 as energy experts slash forecasts
McKinsey has slashed their forecasts for the world’s energy use even as global economic growth climbs
By Jillian Ambrose 6 June 2016 • 5:33pm
Global oil demand could peak by the end of the next decade even as global economic growth climbs.
The latest downward revision to forecasts, from consulting firm McKinsey, could leave major new investments uneconomic if demand for energy fails to meet expectations.
McKinsey said it has cut its forecast for growth in demand to 0.8pc a year to 2040, “well below mainstream base case perspectives”, including its own estimate of 1.1pc made last year.
Demand for oil is expected to grow even more slowly beyond 2025, with the research pointing to a possible peak of 100m barrels a day by 2030, from current levels of 94m.
“Major investments in the energy system may no longer be needed and some could be at risk of being stranded” McKinsey Energy Insights
The industry is mired in debt after the plunge in oil prices in recent years.
McKinsey’s Occo Roelofsen said despite an expected increase in global population of around 36pc, and a doubling in global gross domestic product (GDP), shifting energy sector dynamics are set to depress energy demand.
“ This change is driven by three factors: first, overall GDP growth is structurally lower as the population ages; second, the global economy is shifting away from energy-intense industry towards services; and third, energy efficiency continues to improve significantly,” he said. “Peak oil demand could be reached around 2030. ”
Meanwhile growth in electricity demand will outstrip other sources of energy by more than two to one, due to the steady “electrification” of building and industry in China and India.
Almost 80pc of the capacity needed to meet this increase will be from solar and wind power, McKinsey predicts. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fus.123rf.com%2F400wm%2F400%2F400%2Fyayayoy%2Fyayayoy1106%2Fyayayoy110600019%2F9735563-smiling-sun-showing-thumb-up.jpg&hash=09b45642ec6d7943d30b5b87548676e3ee7dbe3d)
Video at link below:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2016/06/06/oil-demand-to-peak-in-2030-as-energy-experts-slash-forecasts/
(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.carbontracker.org%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2015%2F11%2FSynthesis-cover.png&hash=3019312874059a2698c0b223bcce08498d099b23)
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Norway Sets 2030 Carbon Neutrality Goal
Norway’s Parliament committed to reach its net carbon neutrality target 20 years ahead of schedule and now aims to cut net greenhouse emissions to zero by 2030.
Parliamentary officials told Reuters the oil and gas producing country could reduce emissions by using more electric vehicles and supplying electricity from the national grid to offshore oil and gas platforms to reduce use of gas turbines there.
More than 95 percent of Norway’s own electricity comes from hydropower.
http://www.climatechangenews.com/2016/06/08/norway-targets-climate-neutrality-by-2030/
Agelbert NOTE: Don't expect the International (fossil fuel friendly) Energy Agency (IEA) OR the U.S. EIA to adjust their projections accordingly. ;)
(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-050616182206.jpeg&hash=7e0c2b801ff7e6293beeeb961ef1b91f53ad994e)
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EIA talks construction cost, never mind what happens after it is built and DOES what it is DESIGNED to DO (i.e. GENERATE energy). (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2Fugly004.gif&hash=c56db4280057389afd154a1cb4057410151579c8)
EIA: Constructing ;) a natural gas plant is cheaper than other options
By Robert Walton | June 7, 2016
(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-300416161529.png&hash=7e65b1d0ab888d4250eab0ffe7403e18a942f2ed)
HAPPY TALK SNIPPET:
•The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) recently began collecting data on the cost to construct electric power generators, showing gas capacity to be the cheapest widely-used generation (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-030815183114.gif&hash=2bf1553e87e8605311feb874231953d5fb88ee9c) and wind (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2F2.bp.blogspot.com%2F_9HT4xZyDmh4%2FTOHhxzA0wLI%2FAAAAAAAAEUk%2FoeHDS2cfxWQ%2Fs200%2FSmiley_Angel_Wings_Halo.jpg&hash=13281f1944b60773bf12b29387b70be77cc1fe16) to be the least-expensive renewable resource. ;)
•In 2013, the first year for which the agency collected data, natural gas generation on a capacity-weighted basis averaged $965/kW (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-030815183114.gif&hash=2bf1553e87e8605311feb874231953d5fb88ee9c) , compared with $1,895/kW for wind and $3,705/kW for solar.
•More than 7,400 MW of gas capacity was added that year, compared with 2,600 MW of solar and 860 MW of wind.
http://www.utilitydive.com/news/eia-constructing-a-natural-gas-plant-is-cheaper-than-other-options/420453/
Agelbert NOTE: Doesn't that sound so nice and objective? That sweet talk about wind being the Cheapest Renewable Energy source is the set up for the sucker punch chart they rigged showing the "natural" gas power plants as MUCH "cheaper". And WTF is the idea of limiting the COST of infrastructure to the initial construction costs? HELLO? Power Plants operate for at least THIRTY YEARS! It's BOLD FACED mendacity and disingenuous duplicity to claim one system is "cheaper" than another just from initial construction costs! Talk about PICKING WINNERS by excluding pollution costs after operation begins! (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-200714183337.bmp&hash=fd5a6df63c32bd65dda7b6d93e788647ca3829df)
And, by the way, it's 2016. What's with the 2013 stats (2014 and 2015 were BOTH BANNER YEARS for wind that saw construction costs GO DOWN!) to try to make Gas Power Plants look good?
Then they have the brass to publish a ridiculous cost comparison chart excluding fossil fuel pollution costs! (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-311013200859.png&hash=a7aaaa9f04c1e3e2c948723b5f8c13fe814dacd4)
The "capacity" talk is a deliberate conflation of construction costs with generation costs to pull the wool over your eyes. The EIA (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2Fwww_MyEmoticons_com__burp.gif&hash=8ff3ef6c016d8baf5f61ed5e8db58f069b64da00) has no shame. ANY study of capacity for ANY Renewable energy source in general, and wind in particular, evidences VAST more energy capacity than fossil fuel power plants BECAUSE the fuel is FREE.
What these fossil fuel friendly bastards in the EIA are doing here is going back to "high energy density" of hydrocarbons to justify a gamed "capacity".
In a sane world, the INSTANT you talk about energy density, you MUST talk about polluting products COSTS. If you don't, then you are cherry picking fossil fuels as WINNERS, PERIOD. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fdrphilyerboots.files.wordpress.com%2F2012%2F05%2Fcherry-picking.jpg&hash=c196a0ec409afacfa8f087d5a4556de272d44c6b)
HERE'S what the fossil fuel friendly EIA does not want YOU to know:
Wind energy is now as cheap as natural gas, and solar is getting close
And it's only getting cheaper.
BEC CREW 7 OCT 2015
Wind power is now comparable in price to fossil fuels, and solar is well on its way, according to a new report that confirms earlier predictions that renewables aren't just the best option for the environment - they’re unequivocally the smartest long-term investment you can make on energy.
The report, by Bloomberg New Energy Finance, found that in the second half of 2015, the global average cost of onshore wind energy will be $83 per megawatt-hour of electricity (which is down $2 from the first half of the year), and for thin film solar photovoltaics, the cost is $122 per megawatt-hour (down $7 in the past six months).
http://www.sciencealert.com/wind-energy-is-now-as-cheap-as-natural-gas-and-solar-is-getting-close
Natural Gas Health and Environmental Hazards
Natural gas power plants are significant air pollution sources, releasing hazardous air pollutants, global warming pollution and fine particulate matter.
Natural gas is worse than coal for global warming
While the smokestack emissions from gas-burning power plants are lower than coal, gas is worse because of the leakage from the wells to the pipelines and compressor stations to the end-uses -- since methane (the principle component of natural gas) is far more potent at heating the atmosphere than carbon dioxide (which is produced when coal or gas are burned).
The newest science on methane's global warming potential shows that it's far more potent than previously thought:
http://www.energyjustice.net/naturalgas
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Ritter to Kick Off Renewable Energy Summit at UW
Former Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter, is director of the Center for the New Energy Economy at Colorado State University.
June 7, 2016 — Former Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter will discuss the forces behind renewable energy development Sunday, June 12, kicking off a two-day Renewable Energy Summit at the University of Wyoming.
Ritter, who founded and directs the Center for the New Energy Economy at Colorado State University, will provide an overview of the present status and future of renewable energy at 7 p.m. in the Hilton Garden Inn Ballroom. His keynote address, “Powering Forward: What Everyone Should Know about America’s Energy Revolution,” is free and open to the public.
Ritter is described as one of America’s key thought leaders on renewable energy. His talk will address the future of fossil fuels, wind energy and solar power, and new ways to think about energy.
Hosted by UW’s Center for Photoconversion and Catalysis, the Wind Energy Research Center and the School of Energy Resources, the Renewable Energy Summit will cover topics ranging from science and technology development to big-picture policy and management perspectives.
An optional tour of a Wyoming wind farm will precede Ritter’s lecture on Sunday.
Other sessions of the conference will take place at UW’s Berry Biodiversity Conservation Center. For more information or to register, go online to www.uwyo.edu/ser/conferences/upcoming-events/renewable-summit.html (http://www.uwyo.edu/ser/conferences/upcoming-events/renewable-summit.html).
Activities Monday, June 13, will focus on wind energy. Among the scheduled speakers are Paul Veers, chief of engineering at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory’s (NREL) National Wind Technology Center; Scott Beyer, director of transmission planning for PacifiCorp; Ryan Jacobson, director of engineering and construction for the Power Company of Wyoming; and UW professors Dimitri Mavriplis, John Pierre and Jonathan Naughton.
Solar energy will be the focus Tuesday, June 14. Scheduled speakers include Bill Tumas, associate laboratory director at NREL; Mike Woodhouse, economic analyst at NREL; and a number of academic experts, including Reuben Collins of Colorado School of Mines; Carl Koval and Sean Shaheen of the University of Colorado-Boulder; Jim Sites of Colorado State University; and Carrick Eggleston of UW.
http://www.uwyo.edu/uw/news/2016/06/ritter-to-kick-off-renewable-energy-summit-at-uw.html (http://www.uwyo.edu/uw/news/2016/06/ritter-to-kick-off-renewable-energy-summit-at-uw.html)
SNIPPET from an article by Bill Ritter, Colorado’s 41st governor:
Fossil fuels enjoy a variety of targeted tax benefits as well as MLPs. Denying the same mix to renewable energy investors perpetuates federal policies that have long picked fossil fuels as the winners. The PTC/ITC and MLPs should not be an either/or issue. Both belong in an intelligent mix of tax policies that create more robust market competition on a more level playing field.
In addition, opening MLPs to renewable-energy investment is consistent with the "all of the above" energy strategy advocated both by President Obama and the Republican Party. I am confident that as various renewable energy technologies become ready for full-scale commercialization, they will compete very well.
In the absence of access to MLPs, private investors and state governments are creating other ways to capitalize emerging clean-energy technologies. Renewable-energy bonds, green-energy banks, crowdfunding and "yield cos" are among recent innovations.
Nevertheless, a great deal of private capital remains sidelined, waiting for stable and equitable federal energy policies. If we really believe in letting all market-ready energy options slug it out in robust competition, then we shouldn’t ask that federal policies fix the fight. But that is what happens when renewable-energy investors are barred from the tax incentives that investors in fossil fuels enjoy.
Bill Ritter served as Colorado’s 41st governor. He is currently the director of the Center for the New Energy Economy at Colorado State University.
http://blogs.wsj.com/experts/2014/09/30/lets-even-the-playing-field-for-renewable-energy/Negative (http://blogs.wsj.com/experts/2014/09/30/lets-even-the-playing-field-for-renewable-energy/Negative)
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Energy transitions are usually slow. Here’s why the clean energy transition might be faster (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.emofaces.com%2Fpng%2F200%2Femoticons%2Ffingerscrossed.png&hash=d56f8009d18b55f4cea7be68284c0521be92fc5d)
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Updated by David Roberts on June 15, 2016, 7:00 a.m. ET @drvox david@vox.com
Several years ago, at a clean energy conference, I saw a presentation by entrepreneur and venture capitalist Bill Gross, founder of the technology incubator IdeaLab. He was discussing eSolar, a company he helped found and of which he was, at the time (around 2010, if memory serves), CEO.
In the course of his presentation, he said something that has stuck with me ever since.
Substituting computing power for raw materials
eSolar is a concentrated solar thermal company; it builds solar power plants that consist of hundreds of mirrors that focus sunlight on a central tower, where the heat boils water and drives a turbine.
The company’s innovation was that instead of using fancy, parabolic, custom-built mirrors that had to be specially manufactured and installed, it used small, plain, flat mirrors that were easy to mass-manufacture and could be installed by any skilled laborer.
What was lost in efficiency through the use of simple mirrors was regained through the development of sophisticated tracking software; the mirrors closely track the sun as it moves across the sky.
In other words, said Gross, eSolar shifted its focus away from materiel and into computing — away from stuff, into intelligence.
After all, he said, physical commodities (like silicon and steel) have a tendency to get more expensive over time, while computing power just keeps getting cheaper. To the extent that you can substitute the latter for the former — intelligence for stuff — you save money in the long run.
I’ve thought about that a lot since, the way computing power and software can help dematerialize and accelerate the transition to clean energy.
Large-scale energy transitions have historically been slow. Do they have to be?
There is a certain kind of pessimism in the energy world, represented best by the work of the University of Manitoba’s Vaclav Smil, that cites previous large-scale energy transitions to question whether the transition to clean energy can possibly proceed as fast as climate hawks want it to. (For the latest iteration of that argument, from University of Cambridge engineering professor M.J. Kelly, see this paper.)
Such transitions have typically taken many decades, up to a century, as one energy infrastructure is replaced by another.
If there is any hope in the face of this grim historical truth, it is in the nature of the current transition. There are two things about the shift to clean energy that might set it apart.
First, after centuries of greater and greater scale (peaking in the nuclear power plant frenzy of the 1970s), energy technology is starting to get smaller. Where once there were a few gigawatt-level power technologies available, now there are many options, ranging in scale from gigawatts all the way down to kilowatts: wind turbines, solar panels, large-scale energy storage (like pumped hydro or trains), microturbines, microgrids, fuel cells, home batteries, electric cars, smart thermostats and appliances, and on and on.
These "distributed energy resources," or DERs, have advantages over huge power-generation technologies like coal power plants. Because they are smaller, innovation can be spread across dozens or hundreds of parties instead of just a handful of utilities. Small technologies iterate and improve faster.
This blossoming of energy technologies means that where previous energy transitions (e.g., the substitution of coal for oil, or oil for biomass) were almost entirely infrastructure problems, with a few big players mustering huge, long-term investments, the current energy transition is taking the form, at least in large part, of a technology market. And technology markets move much faster than infrastructure.
Critics of DERs point out that they also have a flaw: They’ve become decentralized, but demand hasn’t. Electricity demand is still concentrated in large, energy-intensive cities, with their factories and hospitals, and will be even more so in coming decades. Cities need large amounts of steady, reliable power. Meeting that demand with variable renewable energy (wind and solar) is a huge challenge.
If there’s any way to tackle this problem, it’s not just to build more and more wind and solar until they can match the output of centralized power plants. (That would require a lot of land, given their generally lower energy density.) Building is only half the solution.
The other half is to link and coordinate DERs better, using sensors and software, so that maximum energy services can be wrung out of every single kWh generated. (We currently waste mind-boggling amounts of energy, more than half of what we generate.)
Sensors and software don't look like traditional infrastructure. They look more like an information technology market. And we know that IT markets move very quickly indeed. Once you’ve developed good software, there’s no incremental cost to deploying it 10 or 1,000 times, and every instance of it can be continually upgraded, at minimal additional deployment cost.
To the extent that the clean energy transition is a software challenge, we can expect it to move far more rapidly than previous energy transitions, simply because software moves much faster than hardware.
Energy is becoming a software business
What made me think of all this is a story in Utility Dive about the home battery market. There have been lots of questions about whether home batteries are really ready for the consumer market, whether the payoff is worth the investment. Consequently, there’s been lots of focus on improving battery performance or finding new battery chemistries.
But it turns out what’s going to unlock the full value of all those batteries is aggregation — smart software that will link them all together and deploy them as one big super-battery, with the power and duration of grid-scale storage.
As policy director Ted Ko of the storage aggregator Stem put it to Utility Dive, "In the long run, storage is a software business."
I’d put it even more broadly: In the long run, DERs in general are going to become a software business, at least in large part. Solar cells, batteries, wireless chargers — they’re all eventually going to be commoditized. The value will come in squeezing more out of them by linking them up and making them work together more intelligently — getting scale out of coordination rather than sheer size.
In other words: substituting computing power for raw materials, intelligence for stuff.
We don’t really have a model for an energy transition that involves intelligent coordination of distributed resources rather than blunt-force deployment of centralized resources. We’ve never had the information technology to do it before. Even today, energy IT is in early development — we have only the faintest idea where it might go or what new capabilities it might unlock.
So I think Smil and other clean energy pessimists are, at the very least, wrong to be quite so confident in their pessimism. Much of what’s going on in the energy world today is genuinely novel, without historical precedent. Small, smart, nimble technologies are swarming up around big, dumb, slow ones, a process Michael Liebreich, head of Bloomberg New Energy Finance, likens to mammals overrunning dinosaurs.
Renewable energy= (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-301014181553.gif&hash=c09667beb656b25086c168adcdaddcba59abf858) (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-210316151047.png&hash=322a7c76731414f0f2ba44f8649e39de889b4bd6)=Fossil Fuelers
It’s tough to predict exactly how it will play out. But there’s good reason to think it will happen faster than any previous energy transition.
http://www.vox.com/2016/6/15/11923832/energy-transitions-software
Agelbert NOTE: The currently prevailing “law of the jungle”, causing the atmosphere to be overused in terms of the deposition of carbon ad infinitum, has been de-legitimized by the Pope.
It is astonishing to discover that major political efforts in democracies can be turned to undermining the core purpose of government, destroying the factual basis for fair and effective protection of essential common property resources of all to feed the financial interests of a few.
These efforts, limiting scientific research on environment, denying the validity of settled facts and natural laws, are a shameful dance, far below acceptable or reputable political behavior. It can be treated not as a reasoned alternative, but scorned for what it is – simple thievery." —George M. Woodwell, Woods Hole Research Center founder
"We do not need a 'new' business model for energy because we never had one. What we need, if we wish to avoid extinction, is to plug the environmental and equity costs of energy production and use into our planning and thinking. " -- A.G. Gelbert
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bb/The-NASA-Earth's-Energy-Budget-Poster-Radiant-Energy-System-satellite-infrared-radiation-fluxes.jpg)
"Facts do not cease to exist because they are ignored." -- Aldous Huxley
"We can’t have a healthy business on a sick planet."-- Ashley Orgain, manager of mission advocacy and outreach for Seventh Generation, Burlington, Vermont
"Technical knowledge of Carrying Capacity will not save us; only a massive increase in Caring Capacity will." -- A. G. Gelbert
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Scotland Exceeds Emissions Goals Six Years Early (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-260116192120.png&hash=daf2cd0aaafd9f8140e406ffd5a927e52d036aaf)
Scotland has already exceeded its interim 2020 goal to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 42 percent according to government statistics. Its 2014 emissions were 48 percent lower than in 1990, making this the first time since 2010 that Scotland has met its emissions targets. Stop Climate Chaos Scotland attributed this drop in emissions largely to factors outside of Scottish government control, such as a warmer 2014 winter and loss of heavy industry.
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/jun/14/scotland-beats-climate-emissions-reductions-target-six-years-early (https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/jun/14/scotland-beats-climate-emissions-reductions-target-six-years-early)
Agelbert NOTE: Scotland isn't the only one ahead of schedule in the race to reduce greenhouse gas emissions eventually to ZIP. Most people don't know this, thanks to the fossil fuel industry influence in the media (especially in the USA ;)), but the EU has a schedule for all their countries, on a decade by decade goal basis, for adopting increasing percentages of Renewable Enrgy in their total energy use and reaching a zero emissions target by 2050. I don't know if all of them are going to get there by 2050.
But some of them will get there long before that. ;D
Below, please find, the facts about the EU progress (as of 2014) towards the interim 2020 goal. If you think that progress in using LESS fossil fuels has not contributed substantially to the cratering of the price of fossil fuels, you are mistaken. It has. And despite the lower price of fossil fuels, the EU activity, like that of all other countries that understand the risks to our biosphere of using CRAP to run our civilization, will continue to contribute to the destruction of demand for dirty energy. 8)
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And furthermore ;D, while it is certainly true that correlation is not necessarily causation, you can bet your sweet bippy, in the above case, that the high concentrations of bankers and foot dragging to install Renewable Energy is NOT coincidental.
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July 11, 2016
Germany Ends Feed-In-Tariffs
The German Parliament voted for a law to replace the current feed-in-tariffs for wind and solar with competitive auctions that will set the price for electricity generation.
Currently, 33 percent of Germany’s energy mix comes from renewable energy and the target is to reach 45 percent by 2025.
Under the new law, starting in 2017 prices will be set competitively at annual auctions and the total expansion for onshore wind will be capped at 2.8 GW and will vary for offshore wind.
Critics fear this development could spell the end of citizen-owned projects with only big corporations being able to build wind farms. (BusinessGreen, Financial Times $, Wall Street Journal $, Bloomberg BNA, reNEWS)
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Sea Otters Are Climate Champions
Researchers have discovered that the humble sea otter plays an important role in managing carbon dioxide levels in the Aleutian Islands, which stretch across the North Pacific Ocean from Alaska to the coast of Kamchatka in eastern Russia.
In his latest book, marine biologist James Estes says that by feeding on sea urchins, sea otters are preventing them from ravaging kelp forests.
Hence, by helping ensure the continued existence of rich kelp forests, sea otters protect a key carbon sink, since the kelp forests absorb substantial amounts of carbon.
“The difference in annual absorption of atmospheric carbon from kelp photosynthesis between a world with and a world without sea otters is somewhere between 13 and 43 billion kg (13 and 43 teragrams) of carbon,” says Estes.
(Guardian)
Mangrove Die-Off in Australia Led by Climate Change
About 7,000 hectares of mangroves in Australia’s Gulf of Carpentaria have died due to climate change and El Nino. According to Norm Duke, an expert in mangrove ecology from James Cook University, this mangrove die-off has been the worst in the world.
Typically the death of mangroves happens naturally at a smaller scale, but the massive death of mangroves that occurred in a single month was unprecedented.
An unusually long dry-season in Carpentaria caused the mangroves to die en mass, according to Duke. "This is what climate change looks like. You see things push the maximums or minimums,” he says.
Climate change warmed waters in the area that made rainfall more erratic and, along with the strong El Nino this year, pushed mangroves beyond their tolerance threshold. Australia is also reeling from mass coral bleaching in the Great Barrier Reef and mass deaths of kelp forests off the coast of Western Australia. (Guardian, ABC Australia, Sky News, News.com.au, IB Times $)
DENIER ROUNDUP
Meaningless, Mean-Spirited McCarthyism: Lamar Smith’s Ironic Investigations
Lamar Smith, the Texas Republican who’s received more funding from fossil fuels than any other industry, has repeated his request for private communications between the attorneys general investigating what #ExxonKnew and a handful of NGOs who have exercised their constitutional right to petition those AGs.
As chair of the Committee on Science, Space and Technology, Smith has taken it upon himself to return Congress to the glory days of Joseph McCarthy, only instead of smoking out communists Smith is hunting for those who threaten his fossil fuel donor base. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-311013200859.png&hash=a7aaaa9f04c1e3e2c948723b5f8c13fe814dacd4)
Though the McCarthy comparison may seem hyperbolic, it is unfortunately all too literal. Smith is, at least implicitly, embracing McCarthyism. To justify his demands for information, Smith invokes two Supreme Court rulings that dealt with the infamously paranoid and ruinous Congressman. In essence, Smith seems to think that anything McCarthy could do, he can do better.
Even more embarrassing is that one of the two cases cited by Smith shows that not only is his harassment campaign unjustified, but it is in fact doubly unconstitutional. This information and the quotes that follow are from a letter that Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX) sent him on June 23 (h/t ICN) after Smith demanded documents last month. You may remember Congresswoman Johnson as the one who sent Smith a letter in response to his NOAA harassment that was described as a blisteringly brutal thing of beauty. This latest letter is just as good, if not better, throwing shade harder than a Drake diss track and calling out irony better than Alanis Morissette ever could.
In addition to identifying multiple ways that “This ‘investigation’ is illegitimate” (like how Smith is violating the Tenth Amendment by usurping states’ power) and an “abuse of authority,” Johnson looked into the two SCOTUS cases Smith invoked to justify his witch hunt. Johnson writes: “Both of these cases involved the notorious House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC)...If ever there was an example of a ‘witch hunt’ in the history of the United States Congress, the HUAC investigations best fit the bill. For that reason, it is more than a little disconcerting that [Smith] think(s) those cases’ fact patterns so closely resemble [his] own investigation.”
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Lamar Smith's Modus Operandi
But it gets even worse than merely mimicking McCarthy, as Smith has done, because “Rather than supporting the legal grounds of [Smith’s] investigation, the Watkins decision is actually an indictment against it.” So, she writes, “based on the legal authorities [Smith himself has] cited, this ‘investigation’ violates the Constitution.” This means that Smith is not only aware that he’s following in McCarthy’s footsteps, but also that he can’t even be factually accurate in doing so.
As per the Watkins ruling, the only way Smith’s investigation would be legitimate would be if Congress were considering legislation relevant to the issue, the most plausible of which Johnson says would be “altering Federal fraud and RICO Act statutes to inappropriately help Big Oil avoid potential liability.” But even then Smith wouldn’t have jurisdiction, because “such a bill would not come anywhere near the jurisdiction of the Committee on Science, Space and Technology.”
Ironically, under the guise of protecting ExxonMobil’s constitutional right to free speech, Smith is himself acting unconstitutionally. And in doing so, he is infringing on the constitutional right of NGOs to petition their government to enforce their laws (in this case by investigating potential fraud.) That’s two unconstitutionals in one! What a deal!
Finally, Johnson points out the irony of Smith’s accusation that the #ExxonKnew investigations might be “having a chilling effect (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2Fugly004.gif&hash=c56db4280057389afd154a1cb4057410151579c8) on the free flow of scientific inquiry and debate regarding climate change.” But of course, if anyone is guilty of such a “chilling” it would be Smith, who spent months attacking NOAA over a study that debunked the denier-favorite “pause.” And what of that witch hunt? “In the end, [Smith’s] investigation, like so many recent Science Committee investigations, found nothing.”
This is why she describes the Committee as becoming “more like a Committee on Harassment. The Committee’s prolific, aimless and jurisdictionally questionable oversight activities have grown increasingly mean-spirited and meaningless.”
Harsh words from Johnson, but fair given that Smith is acting as though he’s Chair of the House Un-Scientific Activities Committee. May we suggest a catchy new jingle for Mr. McCarthy 2.0? Double the unconstitutionality, double the irony, in the statements from the Committee of Harassment for Fun.
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July 12, 2016
Cities consider diesel ban / Co-ops fear end of 'energy revolution'
#Transport Automobilwoche / Spiegel Online
“Big cities consider driving bans on diesel cars”
Several German cities, including Berlin, Munich, Bremen, and Stuttgart, are considering banning older diesel cars in order to bring harmful nitrogen oxide emissions within EU limits, according to a survey by press agency dpa. The ban would mean only cars with a "blue badge" dependant on meeting Euro-6 emission limits could enter restricted zones. But the cities also say there is currently no legal basis for such a ban. Munich and Berlin said residents and businesses should be granted exceptions and transition periods to avoid social hardship, according to an article in Automobilwoche.
According to a Spiegel report, only 1.3 million of Germany’s 14.5 diesel cars would be eligible for the “blue badge”. The environment ministry said it hoped to decide on how to proceed this autumn.
Read the Spiegel report: http://www.spiegel.de/auto/aktuell/fahrverbot-fuer-dieselautos-was-sie-wissen-sollten-die-fakten-a-1102417.html
For background, read the CLEW dossier The energy transition and Germany’s transport sector: https://www.cleanenergywire.org/dossiers/energy-transition-and-germanys-transport-sector
#Citizens' energy
#EEG2016/Law
Financial Times
“Legal shake-up threatens Germany’s energy ‘revolution’”
The reform of the Renewable Energy Act (EEG) could spell the end for Germany’s grassroots energy cooperatives, reports Guy Chazan in the Financial Times. The new auction system poses large financial risks for cooperatives, members of the sector told Chazan.
Read the article in English here. (http://www.ft.com/cms/s/a460ffa6-4428-11e6-9b66-0712b3873ae1,Authorised=false.html?siteedition=intl&_i_location=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ft.com%2Fcms%2Fs%2F0%2Fa460ffa6-4428-11e6-9b66-0712b3873ae1.html%3Fsiteedition%3Dintl&_i_referer=&classification=conditional_standard&iab=barrier-app#axzz4EDsih3ea)
For background on the reform, read the new CLEW dossier The reform of the Renewable Energy Act (https://www.cleanenergywire.org/dossiers/reform-renewable-energy-act) and the factsheet EEG reform 2016 – switching to auctions for renewables. (https://www.cleanenergywire.org/factsheets/eeg-reform-2016-switching-auctions-renewables)
Tags: #Transport
Federal Office for Economic Affairs and Export Control (BAFA)
“First interim results: 718 applications for e-car buyer’s premium”
The Federal Office for Economic Affairs and Export Control (BAFA) has received 718 applications for the e-car buyer’s premium since the official launch on 2 July, according to a press release. The most popular models were BMW’s i3 (127 applications) and Renault’s ZOE (115 applications). “The number of applications met expectations, even if demand is somewhat subdued compared to the 150,000 applications in the first days of the introduction of the car-scrap bonus,” said BAFA president Arnold Wallraff. Germany introduced a car-scrappage scheme to encourage drivers to upgrade their vehicles in the wake of the financial crisis in 2009.
Tags: #Transport
Wirtschaftswoche
Researchers develop city e-car for 12,500 euros :o (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-200714191258.bmp&hash=e4ed21caaca822f7445ccafd39f49a9f84be90ca)
Researchers at Aachen University have developed a small electric car go on the market for 12,500 euros from 2018, reports Wolfgang Kempkens for Wirtschaftswoche. The same team was responsible for the development of the Streetscooter now used by Deutsche Post. Unlike most e-cars, which are basically conventional models with the combustion engine exchanged for an electric one, the new vehicle was specifically designed as an e-car, according to the report. It is a two-seater with a range of 80 kilometres.
Tags: #Policy
pv magazine
“Bundesrat passes digitalisation law”
The passing of a new law on the “Digitalisation of the Energiewende” in the second house of the German parliament, the Bundesrat, has been overshadowed by the vote on the reform of the Renewable Energy Act (EEG), according to an article in pv magazine. Among other things, the law regulates the introduction of smart meters and a cap on their installation costs. The Bundesrat also warned of “unreasonable costs for consumers, producers, smart meter operators, as well as grid operators” and called for a regular cost-benefit analysis after the enactment of the law, writes pv magazine.
Tags: #International
Reuters
Tags: #Cost & Prices #Finances
Netztransparenz / pv magazine
Green energy account with surplus of more than 3.5 billion euros in June
Germany’s ‘green energy account’ had a surplus of 3,688,937,633.01 euros in June 2016, according to new figures published by the four transmission grid operators (TSOs). This is about 500 million euros less than in June 2015. The TSOs provide a balance of income (mostly from the EEG surcharge and electricity sales at market prices) and expenses (feed-in tariffs for green energy) on a monthly basis. According to an article in pv magazine, the surplus traditionally falls during the summer months, when feed-in from solar PV and the resulting tariffs are high.
Tags: #Citizens' energy #EEG2016/Law
bizz energy
“Tenants receive solar power from their own roof”
One of the last minute changes to the Renewable Energy Act (EEG) reform could boost local use of solar power (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fus.123rf.com%2F400wm%2F400%2F400%2Fyayayoy%2Fyayayoy1106%2Fyayayoy110600019%2F9735563-smiling-sun-showing-thumb-up.jpg&hash=09b45642ec6d7943d30b5b87548676e3ee7dbe3d), with profound consequences for the German energy market, reports Manuel Berkel in bizz energy. Power that tenants use from a PV array installed on the roof of their house will be partly exempt from the green energy surcharge in the future. But the impact of this change is still highly uncertain as many details are yet to be worked out, according to Berkel.
Tags: #Climate & CO2 #Fossil fuels
Aurora Energy Research / WirtschaftsWoche
“German climate targets unattainable – because of coal”
German power plant operators would likely not be overburdened by a partial coal exit aimed at meeting the country’s climate targets, but emissions would shift to neighbouring countries, according to a new study by British consultancy Aurora Energy Research. A summary of the study seen by Clean Energy Wire suggests that under current policies Germany is set to miss its climate targets for 2030. Titled "Closing the emissions gap: Germany’s 2030 climate policy options in the power sector" the study examines three different scenarios that would allow Germany to meet its targets: a coal exit by 2040; a regional CO2-floor price for a selected group of ambitious countries; and the focused development of cogeneration power plants.
All texts created by the Clean Energy Wire are available under a “Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Licence (CC BY 4.0)”. They can be copied, shared and made publicly accessible by users so long as they give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made.
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Top 5 Hybrid Energy News (Solar- and Wind-Diesel-Hybrid + Microgrids) – June 2016 by THEnergy
The June edition of our “Top 5 Hybrid Energy News” features Neyveli Lignite, Saudi Aramco, GE, Solar for Samoa, Solarcentury, London Distillers and Kodiak Electric Association. Traditional energy players such as Neyveli Lignite and Saudi Aramco are turning toward renewables and are an interesting option for island microgrids.
Top 1
Neyveli Lignite to set up 20 MW solar + storage project in Andaman and Nicobar Islands
Neyveli Lignite Corporation Ltd. (NLC), a Navratna Public Sector Enterprise, will set up a 20 MW solar project in Andaman and Nicobar Islands (India). The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has picked NLC to establish solar-based power plants in Andaman with a view to phase out the usage of the diesel generator sets. These projects will be established by NLC under an MNRE scheme, wherein the latter provides 40% of the capital cost as subsidy. The solar power project is proposed to be installed with sufficient capacity of battery energy storage to cater the power needs of South Andaman with a fairly flat and firm power throughout the day time and the evening peak demand period. This arrangement will considerably reduce diesel consumption for power generation (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-080515182559.png&hash=d4dfa952fa0f817bf30a8059a4c88d6fb05ee1bf). The cost of power generation will also be less compared to the current diesel based power generation in Andaman.
http://www.business-standard.com/article/companies/neyveli-lignite-to-set-up-20-mw-solar-project-in-andaman-and-nicobar-116053000640_1.html
Top 2
Saudi Aramco and GE to add wind turbine to diesel power plant
Saudi Aramco and General Electric are partnering to install Saudi Arabia’s first Wind Turbine at the Turaif Bulk Plant, located in the north-west of the Kingdom. The initiative is in line with Saudi Vision 2030 as endorsed by the Saudi Cabinet that has set an initial target of generating 9.5 gigawatts (GW) of renewable energy. The project marks the first regional installation of GE’s model 2.75-120 Wind Turbine. The demo Wind Turbine to be installed at Turaif bulk plant will allow the displacement of diesel that is used for power generation in the plant.
http://saudigazette.com.sa/business/saudi-aramco-ge-install-first-wind-turbine/
Top 3
2.1 MW-solar plant in Samoa will save on diesel costs
The Samoa Government's target to achieve 100 percent renewable energy by 2017 moved one step closer with the opening of a 2.1 MW solar plant. The solar plant is located in the middle of the Faleata Racecourse and the electricity it will produce will save 1,900,000 litres of diesel on average each year. Owned by Solar for Samoa, the solar plant will offset a substantial portion of Samoa's existing diesel-generated electricity, which currently accounts for nearly two-thirds of the country's energy mix. The project is the first stage of Solar for Samoa's total 5.2 MW PV project, scheduled to come online in July. The government launched the Faleata project in 2014 with the help of the European Union and New Zealand.
http://www.radionz.co.nz/international/pacific-news/304811/samoa's-solar-panels-will-save-on-diesel-costs
Top 4
Solarcentury to deliver 1 MWp solar-diesel hybrid rooftop project for London Distillers
Solarcentury has teamed up with London Distillers to ensure that its building in Athi River, Kenya, will soon house the largest rooftop solar project in East Africa. Solarcentury is to install a 1MWp rooftop PV system that should generate enough electricity to power the entire building during daytime hours. London Distillers estimates it will save at least US$180,000 per year for the next 25 years. The hybrid solar-diesel system that will operate in conjunction with the grid.
http://www.pv-tech.org/news/solarcentury-and-london-distillers-to-deliver-east-africas-largest-rooftop
Top 5
Two 1 MW flywheels added to hydro-wind + battery storage microgrid on Kodiak Island (Alaska) crowding out diesel ;D
Kodiak Electric Association’s (KEA) two flywheels can each [/b]store up to 1 megawatt of electricity. That's enough power to lift a heavy cargo container from the dock and move it to the ship. On an average day, KEA's customers use about 17 MW of power, with demand climbing to 20 MW during the island's peak fish processing season. The flywheels are just the latest addition to the company's impressive lineup of renewable energy systems. Roughly 76 percent of KEA's electricity comes from hydroelectric energy, with wind providing another 23 percent. The utility also relies on a storage battery system and the flywheels to back up its variable wind systems.
http://www.eenews.net/stories/1060038577
http://www.th-energy.net/english/blog/
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Energy Intensity Falls in Key Countries (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-280416145345.jpeg&hash=c4e7afc08c72dc2f0bda6263e15988db481c2418)
Developing nations’ energy consumption per unit of gross domestic product has fallen by 40 percent since the 1990s, a rate significantly faster than that of developed nations.
In global terms, according to a report by the U.S. Energy Information Administration, worldwide energy intensity has dropped by nearly a third, led by increases in energy efficiency. China cut its energy intensity by 20 percent between 2006 and 2010.
Another study (http://mjbradley.com/benchmarking-air-emissions) about the United States shows declining carbon dioxide emissions from power plants, due to decline of coal use and increased energy efficiency.
http://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/developing-nations-energy-intensity-down-40-since-1990
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UK Breaks Clean Energy Record (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2F8.gif&hash=c1d98e606d7f558df4040f88e7997b3e11e9448c) , Controversy over Nuclear Continues
Renewable energy supplied a quarter of the United Kingdom’s electricity needs last year, surpassing coal for the first time.
Data from the UK’s Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy show that nuclear power supplied an additional 21 percent while coal’s share of the energy mix fell to just 22 percent.
Controversy over nuclear development continues after the government made a surprise announcement yesterday to postpone its decision on the Hinkley Point C nuclear plant until the fall. This came just hours after the French utility EDF finally approved a plan to build the reactor. The Hinkley project has been in talks for ten years and, if built, would be Britain’s first nuclear plant in two decades. (Energy Mix: Press Association, Telegraph $, Climate Home, BusinessGreen. Hinkley Project: Financial Times $, Guardian, Telegraph $, Times $, New York Times $, Bloomberg, BBC. Commentary: Guardian, Simon Jenkins column; Financial Times, Nick Butler column; Carbon Brief, Simon Evans analysis, Guardian editorial)
http://www.climatechangenews.com/2016/07/28/renewables-overtake-coal-in-uk-power-generation/
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Climate| Aug 26, 2016
Big Oil’s Nightmare Comes True ;D
By Carl Pope
SNIPPET:
"This was retail politics and oil lost," (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2Fza4.gif&hash=2db0a6001703f4089cb64dc38159bb3d467e1bff)
was how Adrienne Alvord of Union of Concerned Scientists summed up the stunning environmental victory Tuesday in the California legislature, a victory which cemented the state's commitment to a 40 percent reduction in climate pollution by 2030.''
http://www.ecowatch.com/california-climate-policy-1988157045.html (http://www.ecowatch.com/california-climate-policy-1988157045.html)
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“Construction begins on power line NordLink”
Germany and Norway have started construction on NordLink, the first direct power line between the two countries that will allow the exchange of renewable energy from 2019 on, reports dpa.
The 620 kilometre long, mostly underwater transmission line showed “how well grid expansion in [the northernmost German state] Schleswig-Holstein works,” said Robert Habeck, the state’s energy transition minister.
http://www.bmwi.de/DE/Presse/pressemitteilungen,did=780192.html
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Renewables have the economic advantage over fossil fuels
Alex Kirby
15th September 2016
A new energy market analysis shows the average cost of electricity from renewables is already lower than from fossil fuels, writes Alex Kirby. And as renewables eat deeper into the 'market share' of coal and gas power plants, so the entire economics of fossil fuel power generation will unravel.
This analysis explains why renewables are already the cheapest option in a number of markets. This trend is only likely to spread as the growth of renewables undermines the economics of fossil fuels.
The cheapest way of generating energy today is to use renewable fuels - and the authors of a new analysis predict that renewables are set to enjoy even more of an advantage within a few years.
The study by the Carbon Tracker Initiative says renewable power generation costs are already lower on average worldwide than those of fossil fuels.
It couples this with a bold claim that clean energy plants will become more cost-competitive by 2020.
The Carbon Tracker authors call for new thinking about what's happening in the energy markets in the wake of the UN climate talks in Paris last December, which concluded the Paris Agreement on tackling climate change.
They say assuming that demand for energy from fossil fuels will remain high for years ahead could be seriously mistaken.
James Leaton, Carbon Tracker's head of research, says: "Policy-makers and investors really need to question outdated assumptions on technology costs that do not factor in the direction of travel post-Paris. Planning for business-as-usual load factors and lifetimes for new coal and gas plants is a recipe for stranded assets."
Renewables undermine fossil fuel viability (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-200714191258.bmp&hash=e4ed21caaca822f7445ccafd39f49a9f84be90ca)
The study uses a tool called a Levelised Cost of Electricity (LCOE) sensitivity analysis to compare the power-generation costs of four new-build coal, gas, wind and solar plants.
The LCOE is a way to compare different methods of electricity generation, using the average total cost to build and operate a power plant divided by its total lifetime energy output.
And the study shows that reduced load factors (measures of efficiency) and shorter lifetimes for coal and gas plants in a world that is steadily decarbonising significantly undermine the plants' economics. It says few models so far have taken these factors into account.
At the same time, solar and wind energy can rely on lower-cost capital and cheaper technology, further improving the relative competitive position of renewables.
"This analysis explains why renewables are already the cheapest option in a number of markets", says Paul Dowling, a co-author of the report. "This trend is only likely to spread as the growth of renewables undermines the economics of fossil fuels."
Lower costs of capital for renewables will lower prices further
Carbon Tracker says another important point to consider is who is developing renewables plants. Developers and management funds with lower costs of capital are entering the market, bringing down LCOEs for more capital-intensive renewables.
And taking into account that renewable energy is spreading more widely, and that workers are becoming more at home with the technologies it employs, this reduces still further the capital costs of clean power plants.
The study says that, after 2020, the impetus developed by the Paris Agreement will see renewables on average more cost-competitive, even if fossil fuel prices fall and carbon prices are modest at around US$10 per tonne of CO2, or lower.
"Markets are having to deal with integrating variable renewables on a growing scale", says Matt Gray, senior Carbon Tracker analyst and a co-author of the report.
"Rather than continue debating whether this energy transition is already occurring, it is time to focus on developing the opportunities in energy storage and demand management that can smooth the process." (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.desismileys.com%2Fsmileys%2Fdesismileys_0293.gif&hash=b1af4868ed8f18c30e637f8cbcb79002f6f71039)
http://www.theecologist.org/News/news_round_up/2988130/renewables_have_the_economic_advantage_over_fossil_fuels.html
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Renewables - So Hot Right Now (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-260116191529.png&hash=cbc70d3107f019cfbef88dc573223aefa7732476)
The International Energy Agency’s latest report (http://www.iea.org/bookshop/731-World_Energy_Investment_2016)signals a “broad reorientation” toward clean energy, with renewables accounting for a fifth of the total $1.8 trillion energy spending in 2015.
The highest ever investment in renewable power shows the success of governmental measures in aiding the clean energy transition. “But we need to triple efforts to meet the Paris targets,” emphasized IEA director Fatih Birol.
https://www.bloomberg.com/gadfly/articles/2016-09-14/iea-energy-report-what-1-8-trillion-doesn-t-buy
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The future of energy is now (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2F128fs318181.gif&hash=eff6d5f3831782966c2ff2081f07bf7fc5b22a6b) (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.desismileys.com%2Fsmileys%2Fdesismileys_0293.gif&hash=b1af4868ed8f18c30e637f8cbcb79002f6f71039)
by Karl Grossman
East Hampton Town Supervisor Larry Cantwell was speaking the other day with satisfaction about the town’s plan to have 100 percent of its electricity come from renewable energy — safe, clean, green power — by 2020. That’s just four years away.
After the East Hampton Town Board in 2014 unanimously adopted a resolution to have all the town’s electricity come from renewable sources, Mr. Cantwell said: “Making the switch to clean energy is just the right thing to do, both for the environment and for keeping more money in the local economy and creating jobs here.”
At East Hampton Town Hall recently he said: “We’re doing it!”
East Hampton is to meet its 100 percent renewable energy goal through solar energy, from panels on town-owned land and rooftops, and via wind energy from off-shore wind turbines, such as those the company Deepwater Wind is now completing east of the town in the ocean near Block Island.
East Hampton became the first municipality on the East Coast to adopt a 100 percent renewable energy goal, but other governments in the U.S. — among them cities such as San Francisco — have done the same, as have nations around the world.
Every town on Long Island could do it, too. There would be different packages of renewable power, just as there needs to be different packages globally, depending on energy resources, although solar power runs through all.
An energy revolution is underway.
“The World Can Transition to 100 percent Clean, Renewable Energy,” declares the website of The Solutions Project headquartered California. “Together,” it continues, “we can build a stronger economy, healthier families, and a more secure future. 100 percent clean is 100 percent possible. Join us.” The website, the solutionsproject.org, is full of information on current renewable energy programs. Among the articles: “139 Countries Could Be 100 percent Renewable by 2050.”
The Solutions Project, supported by leading U.S. foundations, including the Park Foundation, last month launched “The Fighter Fund, a new grant-making program for community-based groups on the front lines of the fight for clean energy and climate justice.”
And a fight is occurring. “Holding Clean Energy Hostage,” was the title of an article last month by Cathy Kunkel of the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis and M.V. Ramana of the Program on Science and Global Security at Princeton University in the journal, Reason in Revolt. Companies tied to “traditional” energy — coal, oil, gas and nuclear — the article states, seek to block “renewable energy every step of the way.”
The sun does not send a bill. Neither does the wind. Once the infrastructure for renewable energy is built, energy flows freely, in both meanings of the word. And this threatens the old power order.
But there are new companies, such as Deepwater Wind, making huge advances in renewable energy technologies that the old order can’t put a lid on.
Just last week, for example, a new firm, Insolight, announced development of solar photovoltaic panels with 36 percent efficiency. The most advanced solar panels for use in space have 25 percent efficiency. Several years ago the efficiency of solar panels was measured in single digits. Currently, most are 18 percent to 20 percent, and the SunPower company last year began producing panels with 24 percent “world record” efficiency. With 36 percent efficiency, less space for panels is needed.
Meanwhile, the price of solar panels has gone down dramatically.
Regarding wind, the United Kingdom last month gave the go-ahead for what’s to be the world’s largest offshore wind farm.
This August 7, Scottish wind turbines generated “the total amount of electricity used by every home and business” in Scotland, reported the U.K. newspaper, The Independent.
There are big advances in energy storage, to end criticism of renewable energy being intermittent. “Holy Grail of Energy Policy in Sight as Battery Technology Smashes the Old Order,” was the headline last month in another U.K. newspaper, The Telegraph.
“There’s enough wind and solar to power the world,”
said Bill Nye, the “Science Guy,” on CNN last month. And there are other renewable sources including those involving water — tidal power and wave power — as we see daily on Long Island, now being tapped around the world.
East Hampton, by “setting these bold renewable energy goals,” says Gordian Raacke, executive director of Renewable Energy Long Island, is “a visionary leader in the fight against climate change and an example of how we can all become part of the solution.”
The round-the-world flight of the solar-powered airplane Solar Impulse, completed in late July, was an historical milestone. Closer to home, the boat Novela skippered by solar pioneer Gary Minnick of Flanders, arriving in Riverhead a week earlier on a journey from Florida, are symbols of a the potentially bright new energy future.
http://shelterislandreporter.timesreview.com/2016/09/24/suffolk-closeup-the-future-of-energy-is-now/
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Courts should get out of the way of energy revolution, learn from the ‘90s telecom revolution
By Reed Hundt
When the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals convenes oral arguments on the Clean Power Plan (CPP) this week, the court will act as the gatekeeper to what could be a powerful, wealth-creating transformation of the American economy away from fossil fuels and toward clean energy.
With the nation’s energy landscape already rapidly changing, the 5-4 Supreme Court stay of the Obama Administration’s cornerstone environmental rule flew in the face of the investors, innovators and city leaders who are driving the energy revolution. As a nation, we (and the courts) should draw upon the experience of the communications revolution of the 1990s, and the way smart regulation laid the foundation for today’s explosion in phone, Web and media.
By limiting pollution from power plants, the plan would slow our headlong rush to change our climate and in so doing would catalyze America’s growing renewable energy markets. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fcliparts.co%2Fcliparts%2FBig%2FEgq%2FBigEgqBMT.png&hash=e7eec62f009cdd686ce795fad0a53c6befe748e9)
(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fjimtheeditor.files.wordpress.com%2F2012%2F04%2F223163gu3xhshh5.jpg&hash=2114b9b3af6674d2920b1edcd18102bae27e3432)
The five Justices (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-241013183046.jpeg&hash=51c9c4f17e747698c76c65c7c1814eff4f32c400) who supported the Supreme Court’s unprecedented stay of the rule must have assumed that the Environmental Protection Agency regulation via the longstanding Clean Air Act would cause irreparable injury to some businesses—presumably utilities bent on burning coal to generate electricity and the firms that provide them coal.
What those Justices failed to consider is that the energy transition is taking place now, from the Iowa plains to the California desert to the mountain ridges of Maine, benefiting many more.
The parallels to the Telecom Act of 1996 are clarifying. As the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission during the act’s implementation, I wish I could impart the fundamental lesson of that law to the Court: Regulation that pushes America into the beckoning brighter future is good for business, consumers, and the world.
The 84 separate regulatory actions the FCC took to implement the ‘96 Act and the numerous separate parts of the CPP are fundamentally based on the crucial, central point that regulation to catalyze new markets can produce major economic gains, and lead to the replacement of old methods of doing business with innovative life-enhancing techniques.
Many firms, in fact, did not survive the metamorphosis of communications from analog to digital, from wire line to wireless, from circuit-switched to packet-switched, from voice to Internet. But many other firms—far more wealth-creating businesses—were born, transformed, and given a chance to flourish because of the regulatory changes of the ‘96 Act.
More than $2 trillion in new wealth was created in the 1990s for American households. The federal budgets soared from big deficits to astounding surpluses. Unemployment fell and wages increased for all income levels, for the only years between the 1960s and today. If the firms afraid of these regulatory changes had succeeded in obtaining judicial proscriptions against innovation, the country and the world would be far worse off.
It is not just a tragedy, it is a blunder that the Supreme Court in staying the CPP did not understand the importance of regulating in favor of new markets, new opportunities, change itself.
The court ignored the thousands of cities and the millions of Americans who are demanding the clean, cheap, reliable energy that wind and solar technologies now provide. The court ignored the jobs that would be created if the budding renewable energy market were allowed to blossom. The court ignored the freedom that consumers should have to choose their energy sources in a competitive market now that technology can break up utility monopolies, and they ignored the right that all Americans have to clean air.
I hear these voices every day in coalitions across the country, through my work in more than a dozen states helping investors fuel the clean energy revolution via the nonprofit Coalition for Green Capital.
This revolution of innovation is an imperative driven by climate change, a threat we do not have the luxury of waiting to solve. The Pentagon has recognized climate change as a threat multiplier, instructing commanders to prioritize resilience to climate change in their operations. Health experts warn that climate change could undo the past 50 years of public health gains—spreading famine, disease, and extreme weather in unpredictable ways. Cities are investing in major infrastructure projects to protect against rising seas and extreme storms. Fire departments are preparing for record-long and increasingly deadly forest fire seasons. Farmers are updating irrigation systems to prepare for a dwindling water supply.
Americans are doing their best to avert and adapt to climate change. They recognize the need to overcome the entrenched fossil fuel interests and infrastructure of the status quo.
The wireless revolution of the last two decades and the budding renewable energy revolution aren’t that disparate. Outdated fossil fuel infrastructure and interests are keeping us entrenched in the 19th century technology of coal-fired power. If we take the path of least resistance and do nothing, we’ll continue to pollute our planet and warm the globe to devastating effect.
But if government sets the stage so that renewable energy is allowed to flourish in every state, we’d spur major economic growth and development. It’s time we let a 21st century clean, efficient energy system unfold – and, just like the wonders of today’s communications technology, we can look back on the marvels it produces for all of us. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.bativert.ma%2Fimages%2Fimage3.jpg&hash=7c7c27d838504cb1d5c5a4c1efac44e790a39265)
Reed Hundt is the CEO of the Coalition for Green Capital, and was the Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission from 1993 to 1997.
http://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/energy-environment/297756-courts-should-get-out-of-the-way-of-energy-revolution
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Soft Energy Paths
Lessons of the First 40 Years
Article written by Amory B. Lovins, cofounder, chief scientist, and chairman emeritus of Rocky Mountain Institute.
SNIPPET 1:
When the 1973 oil shock threatened security and prosperity, America’s initial policy responses were confused and ineffectual. Intensifying business as usual — drilling oil and gas wells, building giant coal and nuclear plants, perhaps developing coal-to-liquids synfuels — was vigorously proposed, but soon began looking too costly, dirty, slow, and difficult. The huge capital requirement would choke off other needed investments and ultimately make energy prices soar, so faltering demand couldn’t pay for the costly new supplies. Yet by autumn 1976, no coherent alternative vision had been articulated. Policy imagination was stuck.
At that teachable moment, my Foreign Affairs article “Energy Strategy: The Road Not Taken?” reframed the energy problem and added an alternative vision of U.S. energy strategy. The “hard path” was more of the same; the “soft path” combined energy efficiency with a shift to renewable supply. The article soon became that venerable journal’s most-reprinted ever, spreading as virally as pre-Internet technologies permitted. Forty years later, a review of its initial reception and continued influence shows what lessons have and haven’t been learned.
SNIPPET 2:
Incumbent energy industries (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-241013183046.jpeg&hash=51c9c4f17e747698c76c65c7c1814eff4f32c400) greeted the article with skepticism, scorn, even outrage. A four-inch-thick Senate hearing record compiled three dozen pairs of critiques and responses. Nowadays it makes amusing reading, reminding us that 40 years ago energy efficiency was novel and controversial, while renewable energy was strange, threatening, or absurd. Some people still cling to those views.
When the hubbub died down, ARCO’s chief economist, Dr. David Sternlight, nicely captured the conclusion of sober observers: He for one didn’t care if I were only half right — that would be better performance than he’d seen from the rest of them. Over the next decade, the article’s thesis gained enough credence that many of its harshest critics hired RMI, founded in 1982, to help them adopt it. By the current decade, two leading journals of the electricity industry generously recognized our approach’s prescience, and the article’s thesis has broadly prevailed in the energy marketplace.
The article was so influential because rather than just proposing yet another portfolio of energy investments, it redefined their purpose and logic. Previously, the problem was where to get more energy — more, of any kind, from any source, at any price. Planners extrapolated historic growth in energy demand and built supply to meet it. The article started at the other end by asking what we want energy for — what “end-uses” we sought, such as hot showers, cold beer, mobility, comfort, smelted alumina, baked bread — and how to deliver each of those services by providing the amount, kind, scale, and source of energy best suited to the task. This end-use concept soon merged with Roger Sant’s “least-cost” language, resonant with the emerging Reaganomics emphasis on free markets. The resulting “end-use/least-cost” approach revealed the most cost-effective solutions, chosen via competition or planning, to such questions as whether to keep warm in winter by gas or electric heating, or by insulation and weatherstripping.
Different questions yield different answers, so the article contrasted two ways the U.S. energy system could evolve (Figures 1A and 1B). (at article link)
Agelbert NOTE: The two alternative energy scenarios consisted of going for more fossil fuels (Hard Path) or eliminating them with efficiency and Renewable energy (Soft Path). The hard energy path required investments, infrastructure, and institutions that precluded the soft energy path.
SNIPPET 3:
THINGS I GOT RIGHT
Climate understanding isn’t new. The 1976 Foreign Affairs article says of the hard path:
“The commitment to a long-term coal economy many times the scale of today’s makes the doubling of atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration early in the next century virtually unavoidable, with the prospect then or soon thereafter of substantial and perhaps irreversible changes in global climate. Only the exact date of such changes is in question.”
Are we there yet? Cue the Clean Power Plan and the Paris Agreement.
Anticipating RMI’s 2002 book Small Is Profitable and today’s market trends, the article says avoided grid costs and diseconomies of scale could reduce electricity costs, and “an affluent industrial economy could advantageously operate with no central power stations at all!” It also notes that “Energy storage is often said to be a major problem of energy-income technologies.” But partly since thermal storage is easier and cheaper than electrical storage to do the same tasks, “On the whole…energy storage is much less of a problem in a soft energy economy than in a hard one.” So
“One of the article’s most controversial claims — that soft and hard energy paths are mutually exclusive — has unfortunately been borne out.”
says the market today. Renewables’ lower costs, risks, and hassles; favoring market-led over policy-driven adoption; and reinforcing individual and community choice are all now commonplace. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fcliparts.co%2Fcliparts%2FBig%2FEgq%2FBigEgqBMT.png&hash=e7eec62f009cdd686ce795fad0a53c6befe748e9)
The hard path’s political risks sound familiar too:
“In contrast to the soft path’s dependence on pluralistic consumer choice in deploying a myriad of small devices and refinements, the hard path depends on difficult, large-scale projects requiring a major social commitment under centralized management…. The hard path, sometimes portrayed as the bastion of free enterprise and free markets (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2Facigar.gif&hash=dc9dccf92c6c88c99611b06c86d92629d69f2978), would instead be a world of subsidies, $100-billion bailouts, oligopolies, regulations, nationalization, eminent domain, corporate statism.” (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-200714183337.bmp&hash=fd5a6df63c32bd65dda7b6d93e788647ca3829df)
The grave vulnerabilities of over-centralized systems, later amplified in Brittle Power (1981/82), are also now visible.
Other gratifying content from the article includes the utility death spiral, backcasting, integrative design (demonstrated in my house seven years later), institutional barriers and solutions, cogeneration, reliance on market principles and mechanisms, and utilities’ financing customers’ solar systems (though “solar” in 1976 meant solar-thermal, as photovoltaics were still “exotic”).
Full article with several eye opening graphics and some interesting historical pictures: (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.clipartbest.com%2Fcliparts%2Fxig%2Fojx%2Fxigojx6KT.png&hash=6706182c9f1427099a77e10d1758e61d9cadb701)
(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2Freading.gif&hash=63e3e644b39258d4c4eedbcdaf322315b1856723)
https://medium.com/solutions-journal-summer-2016/soft-energy-paths-f044e7b65443#.50kd1s7gh
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Chart of the year: ‘Incredible’ price drops jumpstart clean energy revolution (https://thinkprogress.org/clean-energy-revolution-now-81a8e61134c7#.d8ecg3gsx)
New DOE report details latest advances in solar, wind, LED lights, batteries, and electric cars.
(https://d262ilb51hltx0.cloudfront.net/max/1200/1*0jfpSGJVgvCYmF7ygm24bQ.jpeg)
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has released the 2016 update of its report, Revolution…Now: The Future Arrives for Five Clean Energy Technologies.
The must-read report reveals the game-changing progress core clean energy technologies have made over the last several years — specifically, solar, wind, LED lights, batteries, and electric cars. Accelerated deployment driven by smart government policies, both domestically and around the world, have created economies of scale and brought technologies down the learning curve faster than almost anyone expected.
“The clean energy revolution is too often always assumed to be something that would come along in 10 to 20 years,” Energy Secretary Earnest Moniz said Wednesday after the report’s release. “The message is: look around, it’s happening now.”
And these technologies have a very important synergy, as this chart shows:
(https://d262ilb51hltx0.cloudfront.net/max/1200/1*0mMDBCEPNMsf2coxCPOR5g.jpeg)
Batteries are helping to enable the rapidly growing penetration of variable renewable sources like wind and solar (see my May piece, “Storing the sun’s energy just got a whole lot cheaper”). The DOE report notes that “the capacity of these grid-scale batteries has increased nearly 10-fold since 2008.”
Moreover, while “the lithium-ion battery packs used in the majority of grid-connected batteries” have declined more than 70 percent in the past decade, “analysts expect both utility and consumer scale batteries to decline in cost by another 20–27 percent in just the next two years.”
As a result, DOE projects “the total domestic energy storage market could be worth $2.9 billion by 2021, as compared to $350 million in 2015.” And that’s without considering the impact of emerging super-low-cost used (“second-life”) electric car batteries, which I discussed here.
DOE calls the soaring new battery storage market “Revolution Next,” which includes such transformational technologies as smart buildings, light-weight materials, and “Big Area Additive Manufacturing” (BAAM!), better known as 3-D printing.
The next time an opponent of climate action questions the cost-effectiveness and scalability of climate solutions — or the value of government clean energy policies — the top chart and indeed the whole report should be front and center in your response. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.desismileys.com%2Fsmileys%2Fdesismileys_0293.gif&hash=b1af4868ed8f18c30e637f8cbcb79002f6f71039)
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Oslo's 'climate budget' aims to halve carbon emissions in just 4 years (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2F19.gif&hash=3f9f2fc2285bc756137e21463bc2a4c420b15ac3)
Sami Grover (@samigrover)
Business / Environmental Policy
September 29, 2016
Remember when Oslo said it would ban cars from the city center in the next four years? And we were impressed? Well, it seems that Norway's capital isn't satisfied with such small gestures. Reuters is reporting that Oslo has just released its new "climate budget", and it's aiming for nothing less than a 50% reduction in emissions in the next four years.
How, might you ask? ??? Here are just some of the measures being proposed:
—Raise tolls for cars to enter the city
—Cut parking spaces
—Phase out fossil-fuel heating in homes and offices
—Run the bus fleet on renewables
—Build more bike lanes
Oh, and as if that's not enough, the city is also aiming to be at net zero emissions by 2030. It's worth noting that just because the city is planning on these cuts doesn't mean they'll be achieved. As the Reuters piece points out, no country has achieved more than 5% per year cuts in carbon emissions since we started paying attention to such matters, and that was when France shifted from coal to nuclear back in the seventies.
Still, to achieve big things you have to set big goals. And even if Oslo fell 50% short of its goals, it would still have achieved cuts at a scale and a pace not ever seen before.
http://www.treehugger.com/environmental-policy/oslos-climate-budget-aims-halve-carbon-emissions-just-4-years.html
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World News | Tue Oct 11, 2016 | 1:32pm EDT
As prices plunge, Africa surges into clean, cheap solar energy (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fus.123rf.com%2F400wm%2F400%2F400%2Fyayayoy%2Fyayayoy1106%2Fyayayoy110600019%2F9735563-smiling-sun-showing-thumb-up.jpg&hash=09b45642ec6d7943d30b5b87548676e3ee7dbe3d)
By Maina Waruru
NAIROBI (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Until almost two years ago, James Mbugua, a farmer living in Karai, a village on the outskirts of Kenya’s capital, relied on kerosene to light his house, and a car battery to power his television so he wouldn't miss the news.
Part of the reason he couldn't plug into the power grid, despite being so close to Nairobi and in an area where electricity is readily available, is that he lives on government land as a squatter, with no papers to show he owns the 70-foot by 80-foot parcel where he has put up a makeshift house.
Now, however, he has found an alternative: An affordable solar system to power his home.
"I could not go on like that and had to seek an alternative way of lighting my house and I discovered that with only $150 I could use solar to light my house and power the television plus radio,” he told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.
The money for the purchase, he said, came from a loan from his community savings group, which asks members to contribute $5 a month and then offers loans from that pot of cash.
The father of five grown children is one of the millions of people across Africa who are taking advantage of falling prices of home solar panel systems to get cheaper, cleaner and more reliable energy.
According to the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), home solar systems in Africa can now provide electricity for many households for as little as $56 a year – a cost lower than getting energy from diesel or kerosene.
Of the estimated 600 million people living off-grid in Africa, about 10 percent of them are now using off-grid clean energy to light their homes, according to IRENA statistics.
“About 60 million people may be using off-grid renewable electricity of some kind in Africa. That is about 10 percent of those living off–grid,” IRENA Director-General Adnan Z. Amin said at a recent off-grid renewable energy conference in Nairobi.
SOLAR, PHONES AND CASH
In East Africa alone, more than 350,000 people are now using solar panels to light their homes and technologies such as mobile phone-based money transfers to pay for the technology, he said. That suggests renewable energy could be a major driver to help the region meet a new U.N. Sustainable Development Goal to provide universal access to electricity by 2030.
“Here in Kenya, we find ourselves at one of the global epicenters of growth, where solar products combined with pay-as-you-go models and mobile payment technologies are breaking new ground in bottom-up electricity sector development,” Amin said.
According to Joseph Njoroge, Kenya’s energy and petroleum principal secretary, solar mini-grids – small-scale electricity networks, sometimes combined with wind power as well – are expected to play a major role in bringing electricity to sparsely populated but vast northern Kenya, as well as to other areas not connected to the national grid.
“We have a third of Kenya’s population living in the northern part of the country, which is also two-thirds of the total area of the country, and it is here that we shall hugely deploy solar mini-grids to attain universal access to power – possibly even before the year 2030”, Njoroge said.
Last August Kenya won $36 million in support from France to put in place 23 mini-grid systems in northern Kenya that will use solar panels, wind or a combination of the two.
60 PERCENT PRICE DROP? :o ;D
IRENA predicts that ongoing renewable energy innovation, including new business models and finance, will result in a 60 percent decrease in the cost of producing electricity from renewable mini-grids in the next 20 years.
Such significant cost drops are being seen not just in Africa but across the world, IRENA officials said. They attribute the cost declines to technological innovations, changes in regulatory policies and an improved investment environment for private money.
Solar home lighting systems – which now cost about $120 for a small-scale system in Kenya – have fallen by as much as 80 percent since 2010, according to IRENA. The agency noted that it expects the trend to continue.
At the same time, investments in off-grid solar systems globally grew by 15 times between 2012 and 2015, with $276 million spent on them in 2015.
Employment in the renewable energy sector worldwide hit 8.1 million jobs in 2015, an increase of 1.3 million compared to 2014, IRENA said. Solar panels led the way with 2.7 million jobs created. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-200714191456.bmp&hash=a239c2fd76d20d142f1c54b961e22ebd0d2a4808)
In addition to lighting homes for the poor, off-grid renewable energy is being used to power things like health and education facilities, agriculture and water access – helping achieve at least a dozen of the other new Sustainable Development Goals, an IRENA report said. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-280416145345.jpeg&hash=c4e7afc08c72dc2f0bda6263e15988db481c2418)
(Reporting by Maina Waruru, editing by Laurie Goering)
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-africa-solar-energy-idUSKCN12B254
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How wind and solar plan to thrive during the Trump presidency
Steadily declining prices and increasing market share mean the wind and solar industries 'got it from here'
http://www.utilitydive.com/news/how-wind-and-solar-plan-to-thrive-during-the-trump-presidency/430313/
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11/22/2016 02:52 PM
Remember, Energy Efficiency & Renewables Mean Lower Electric Bills (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fcliparts.co%2Fcliparts%2FBig%2FEgq%2FBigEgqBMT.png&hash=e7eec62f009cdd686ce795fad0a53c6befe748e9)
SustainableBusiness.com News
Before Trump(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-311013200859.png&hash=a7aaaa9f04c1e3e2c948723b5f8c13fe814dacd4) takes over and the GOP (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2Fpirates5B15D_th.gif&hash=32438e1ed2c4d1823d4ed2a193286525c840a605) tries once again to misinform Americans about how renewable energy raises electric bills sky high, here's the latest research.
The study, "Cleaning Up Our Act on Energy and Reaping the Benefits," by the Natural Resource Defense Council (NRDC), shows that electric bills are lowest in states that aggressively embrace energy efficiency and renewable energy. And it shows that states with the highest electric bills - and pollution - are those (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2Fgen152.gif&hash=d5b10968fe56c4cb95fae17cee3cb420a5f4e2da) that refuse to invest.
Furthermore, investing in renewables means stable electric rates, rather than the wild swings in fossil fuel prices.
Renewable Energy Electric Prices (Chart at article link)
Iowa is a great example, where wind now supplies 31% of electricity. Residents pay only 0.6 cents more per kilowatt hour (adjusted for inflation) than in 2000. And Californians' pay just $4.25 a month more since 1990 because of a combination of renewables and efficiency. But Wyoming residents pay $16 more a month than they did in 1990 because they depend solely on fossil fuels.
Iowa will soon run on 40% wind when the utility finishes its next huge wind project. Oh, and it also brings $11.8 billion and 6000 jobs to Iowa's economy, according to the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA).
Read our article, More Wind Energy Means Lower Electricity Prices. (http://www.sustainablebusiness.com/index.cfm/go/news.display/id/25517)
In terms of energy efficiency, people who live in the five least-efficient states have seen electric bills increase twice as much as those in the five most efficient states.
On the federal level, higher efficiency standards for over 60 kinds of appliances and equipment saved $63 billion on utility bills in 2015 alone.
These energy savings, along with those from building energy codes, have also cut the costs of constructing and running the electric grid, notes Ralph Cavanagh of NRDC. And thanks to efficiency, when coal plants shut down they often don't even need to be replaced.
Read our article, Which States Have the Cheapest Electricity? Those With the Most Renewable Energy. (http://www.sustainablebusiness.com/index.cfm/go/news.display/id/26211)
Here's the report:
Website: www.nrdc.org/sites/default/files/clean-up-energy-reap-benefits-ib.pdf
http://www.sustainablebusiness.com/index.cfm/go/news.display/id/26697
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(https://www.cleanenergywire.org/sites/all/themes/clew/logo.png)
Wednesday, 23 Nov 2016
News, studies and reports on the German energy transition.
Climate protection stimulates economy - study
#Business & Jobs #Climate & CO2
Federal Ministry for the Environment
“Climate Action Programme works like a stimulus package”
The German government’s Climate Action Programme 2020, started in 2014 to help the country reach its goal of reducing its greenhouse gas emissions by 40 percent by 2020, could in fact be called a stimulus package, according to federal environment minister Barbara Hendricks.
Her ministry (BMUB) published a PwC study on the economic and ecologic effects of the programme, saying that the economic benefits clearly outweighed the costs of the proposed measures. “The investments triggered lead to saving energy costs, more domestic added value, and more jobs,” said Hendricks in a press release.
In total, the programme will create 430,000 additional jobs and a GDP increase of 1 percent, by 2020, writes BMUB. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-200714183515.bmp&hash=4a3ad9d0a78a7e161f53ddd84f568082a5b0d2ad)
http://www.bmub.bund.de/presse/pressemitteilungen/pm/artikel/klimaschutz-zahlt-sich-aus-430000-zusaetzliche-jobs-durch-klimaschutzpaket/
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Though the U.S is more divided than ever, the world has already decided to go renewable. Even countries that have historically been more stubborn to change have already decided to try and fight climate change. Those resisting progress will quickly find themselves on the wrong side of history, so I certainly hope our President-elect wises up.
The looming energy battle between Elon Musk and Donald Trump
By Jacob Bayer - 12/04/16 08:30 AM EST
http://thehill.com/blogs/pundits-blog/energy-environment/308636-the-looming-energy-battle-between-elon-musk-and-donald
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12/09/2016 02:51 PM print story email story ShareThis
Cities, States Take the Lead on Climate Under Trump (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-200714191329.bmp&hash=4764bfbe6bb0e11ca61102efa97a932a824f47e0) Administration
SustainableBusiness.com News
Under Trump, cities and states are preparing to take the lead, charging ahead on energy efficiency, renewable energy and climate change, regardless of what his administration does.
They've got a great base to work from, having formed numerous pacts in the past few years that are having lots of success. And cities are the linchpin since they generate about 75% of global carbon emissions and 80% of GDP.
Since Trump was elected, 10 cities and a county joined the City Energy Project, bringing the total to 20. The Project focuses on energy efficiency of buildings - their largest source of greenhouse gas emissions.
They share best practices, such as Los Angeles's requirement for cool roofs:Cool Roof1
The cities are an eclectic mix: Boston; Providence; Philadelphia; Pittsburgh; Chicago; Atlanta; Orlando; Miami-Dade County; St. Louis; Kansas City; St. Paul; New Orleans; Des Moines; Houston; Denver; Fort Collins; Salt Lake City; Reno; Los Angeles and San Jose.
By focusing on these urban issues, the US can cut emissions up to 19% by 2035, according to the Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Lab (NREL):
•building energy codes and incentives
•rooftop solar
•public transitrooftop photovoltaics
•smart growth
NREL could be gone under Trump, of course, taking a plethora of supporting research and tools developed to tackle climate change.
On the international level, there's C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group and Carbon Neutral Cities Alliance (17 of the world's largest cities). Some cities are reaching for 100% renewable energy, like San Diego, Vancouver and Sydney, Australia. A "Global Platform for Sustainable Cities" launched this year to help cities use green planning processes as they grow and to integrate adaptations they will need to cope with climate change.
EU's Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate & Energy is on track to meet its goal of a 27% emissions cut by 2020. The coalition represents 600 million people - 8% of the global population.
In September, 70 cities participated in the inaugural Global Parliament of Mayors at The Hague, with the goal of taking on issues that aren't being addressed effectively at the national level. Top issues for the meeting were climate change and immigration/refugees.
Mayor van Aartsen of The Hague said: "Unlike in the 19th and 20th centuries, the international stage is no longer the preserve of nation states. In many cases, national governments are not even equipped to deal with certain matters."
State Action
On the state level, renewable energy has been leaping forward thanks to Renewable Portfolio Standards and this year, 17 states formed the "Governors' Accord for a New Energy Future." Representing 40% of US population, governors are working together to accelerate efficiency and renewables, modernize the grid, and expand clean transportation.
They can put the federal Clean Power Plan into action - and many are on track to meet its targets - by regulating their own power plants, investing in efficiency and renewables. Northeastern states have had cap-and-trade for years under the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative and Northwest states have banded together.
Internationally, 12 governments - mostly states - signed onto the Under 2 MOU, committing to joint action that keeps global temperatures from reaching 2°C.
The Compact of States & Regions, which tracks all efforts on climate change and provides a platform to measure and manage emissions, reports that "the vision set out in the Paris Agreement is within reach. Delivering on all 2020 targets will put these governments on track to stay below the critical warming threshold of 2 degrees C."
Backwards Federal Government
While cities and states can fill in much of the gap left by a disinterested federal government, it will be hard to battle big initiatives that expand fossil fuels again. TransCanada can't wait for Trump to approve the Keystone Pipeline and automakers are looking forward to the repeal of Obama's historic fuel economy standards for cars and trucks.
We can forget any new supportive measures for a green economy, and if Congress wants to do some heinous things to squelch progress, they can (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2Fpirates5B15D_th.gif&hash=32438e1ed2c4d1823d4ed2a193286525c840a605). How about repealing tax breaks for wind and solar?(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi1.wp.com%2Fgas2.org%2Ffiles%2F2013%2F05%2Fstupid.png&hash=03f34f8c94a314e127f3ee8c4872e721e1b04063) And forget government support for clean energy innovation, whether it's pushing our budding offshore wind energy industry forward or a strong R&D budget.
Too bad, because for every dollar spent on clean energy R&D, $1.60 is created in other parts of the economy - adding about $8.6 billion to US GDP this year, according to Pew Research.
Laughably, Exxon Mobil Corp (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-241013183046.jpeg&hash=51c9c4f17e747698c76c65c7c1814eff4f32c400) , says it hopes the Trump administration (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2Fgen152.gif&hash=d5b10968fe56c4cb95fae17cee3cb420a5f4e2da) will rely on "sound science" ::) on deciding which regulations will be dropped.
In the end, most people believe the transition to renewables will continue because it's too far along to be stopped. Coal is waning because of low natural gas prices and solar/ wind will be cheaper than both fossil technologies. They create lots of jobs, even in red states.
http://www.sustainablebusiness.com/index.cfm/go/news.display/id/26702
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Katie McChesney -350.org <350@350.org>
2:52 PM (1 hour ago)
Friends,
2016 has been a tough year. Devastating climate impacts and the reality of a dangerous, anti-climate federal government means holding onto hope is more important than ever -- so let's take a moment to recognize our movement’s successes and learn from our victories.
A new report released today with our friends at Divest-Invest shows that the divestment movement doubled in size since 2015.
688 institutions across 76 countries who represent more than $5 trillion worth of assets have committed to divest! (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2F19.gif&hash=3f9f2fc2285bc756137e21463bc2a4c420b15ac3)
And there’s more good news: (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2F128fs318181.gif&hash=eff6d5f3831782966c2ff2081f07bf7fc5b22a6b) New York’s American Museum of Natural History, one of the world's most respected science museums, just slashed fossil fuel investments from its $650 million endowment.
This is big! Today's news shows just how powerful divestment continues to be in the resistance against a rogue fossil fuel industry, and in shining a light on its devastating impacts. In times like these, it's important to take a moment to reflect on what the divestment movement has been doing right.
•We are organizing for the long haul: It’s more important than ever to organize our communities and grow our movement from the grassroots up. The fossil fuel divestment movement has always believed that it will take more than just governments to address climate change, and that remains as true as ever.
•We are powerful: The fossil fuel industry is fighting for its life against a growing climate movement. 688 institutions including faith groups, cultural institutions, pension funds, and universities have committed to divest from fossil fuels, and resistance to fossil fuel projects is taking root all over the world. This is what happens when we organize and fight, and we must continue to fight.
•We are keeping the pressure on: In the face of a dangerous and anti-climate federal government and intensifying climate impacts, it's more crucial than ever to push our institutions -- especially locally -- to step into their leadership and fight with our communities for climate justice. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-210614221847.gif&hash=54129e3b65760aaddc6f2d7f42b34a7d839d2f27)
The announcement today shows just how far the divestment movement has come. Share (https://www.facebook.com/login.php?skip_api_login=1&api_key=966242223397117&signed_next=1&next=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fsharer%2Fsharer.php%3Fu%3Dhttps%253A%252F%252Fwww.facebook.com%252F350.org%252Fphotos%252Fp.10154836882687708%252F10154836882687708%252F%26utm_medium%3Demail%26utm_source%3Dactionkit&cancel_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fdialog%2Freturn%2Fclose%3Ferror_code%3D4201%26error_message%3DUser%2Bcanceled%2Bthe%2BDialog%2Bflow%23_%3D_&display=popup&locale=en_US) this exciting news to show that our movement is strong and we will not back down.
Our work is not over, and there are many more challenges ahead. But the fossil fuel industry is weaker than it’s ever been and we remain strong on the side of climate justice.
Onward, (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2F170fs799081.gif&hash=ec7f929a28b215e9c00ec270a26b830d596920b2)
Katie for 350.org
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Emerging nations have taken the lead on renewable energy, in 2 charts
They moved ahead last year.
Updated by David Roberts@drvoxdavid@vox.com Dec 19, 2016, 8:30am EST
http://www.vox.com/science-and-health/2016/12/19/13979768/emerging-nations-lead-renewable-energy-two-charts
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December 19, 2016
When It Comes to Job Creation, Renewable Energy Outshines Fossil Fuels
Shifting from a brown to a green economy could reduce the unemployment rate and create jobs throughout the country, says PERI's Heidi Garrett-Peltier.
https://youtu.be/Fc_uKq3EmRI
biography
Heidi Garrett-Peltier holds a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst and works as an assistant research professor for Political Economy Research Institute (PERI). Her research focuses on the employment impacts of public and private investments, particularly in the realm of clean-energy programs. Heidi has written and contributed to a number of reports on the clean energy economy (see Recent publications, below). She has also written about the employment effects of defense spending with co-author Robert Pollin, consulted with the U.S. Department of Energy on federal energy programs and is an active member of the Center for Popular Economics.
transcript
When It Comes to Job Creation, Renewable Energy Outshines Fossil Fuels
KIM BROWN: Welcome to The Real News Network in Baltimore. I'm Kim Brown. So, climate change and catastrophic impact on the sustainability of the economy is a topic which we frequently cover here on The Real News. It was among the topics that influenced the recent elections here in the United States and many conservative groups argue that investments in clean and renewable will lead to a loss of jobs in the fossil fuel sector. So, what will be the balance when shifting to clean and renewable energy?
Well, to try to answer this very question, Heidi Garrett-Peltier's recently-published paper titled Green versus Brown, Comparing the Employment Impacts of Energy Efficiency, Renewable Energy and Fossil Fuels, Using an Input-Output Model. She offers a methodology for measuring the impact of this kind of investment on employment. And Heidi Garrett-Peltier is joining us today from Amherst, Massachusetts. She is an Assistant Research Professor in the Political Economy Research Institute, also known as PERI at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. She researches the impact of public and private investments on employment, especially investments in the low carbon economy. She has authored and contributed to many PERI studies and she is the author of the book, "Creating a Clean Energy Economy". And we want to thank you for being here, Heidi. We appreciate it.
HEIDI GARRETT-PELTIER: Thanks very much for having me.
KIM BROWN: So, Heidi, why is research on the trade-off between green jobs and jobs in the fossil fuel sector important?
HEIDI GARRETT-PELTIER: Well, I think there are a number of reasons it's important, but you know there's been this long-standing notion that there's some kind of a trade-off between the environment and the economy. And so, we wanted to dig into this question and see if we do something for the sake of the sustainability of the planet, could that also be good for the economy? And so, we needed to create a methodology to study the job creation effects of investing in renewable energy and investing in energy efficiency. And what would be the job losses when we shift out of fossil fuels?
KIM BROWN: So, Heidi the paper uses the term "synthetic industries". Can you explain that term to us?
HEIDI GARRETT-PELTIER: Sure. Well, so the national accounts that are used in the US and in most other countries track a number of different industries. In the US they're up to about 500 different industries that are in the national account. So, you can see how much out-put, how much employment, how much value-added is in every single one of those industries. But the problem is that the national accounts don't identify industries like the wind industry, the solar industry, energy efficiency installations, and things that we need to study from a policy perspective and then from an environmentalist's perspective. But since those aren't captured in the national accounts, we needed to figure out a way to use the information that's already in there and to recreate what we're calling a "synthetic industry" to represent what wind is. Because all of the components that go into wind, let's say the steel and the hardware and the trucking, and all of the services and all of the goods that go into the wind industry are captured somewhere in the national accounts. So, it's really a method to try to figure out where all of those components are and to create something that we can call the wind industry, to study it.
KIM BROWN: So, share with us the findings of your paper. How many jobs are created per, let's say, $1 million spent in the fossil fuel energy sector? And how many in the green sector?
HEIDI GARRETT-PELTIER: Roughly, it's about two and a half jobs created for each million spent on fossil fuels and about seven and a half in renewable energy. A little bit higher in energy efficiency, a little bit lower in renewable energy. But over seven jobs in clean energy versus two and a half jobs in fossil fuels. So, shifting and we're not necessarily going to shift dollar for dollar, from fossil fuels to clean energy, but if we think about the net effect of reducing fossil fuel spending and increasing clean energy spending, we'll create five jobs for every million dollars shift from brown energy to green energy.
KIM BROWN: So, do you think that these findings will convince policy-makers to shift public investment into the green sector in order to reduce unemployment?
HEIDI GARRETT-PELTIER: I certainly hope so. You know, when policy-makers make policy they, in general, like to have some evidence, some data to back their decision-making, so this is an opportunity to provide that data to provide the numbers for job creation. And to show that if we invested a significant but affordable amount, let's say $100 billion or $200 billion, there could be a significant impact in reducing the unemployment rate and in creating jobs throughout the country.
KIM BROWN: And what about the private sector? Aren't the findings that the green sector requires more jobs, actually means that clean energy is more expensive?
HEIDI GARRETT-PELTIER: Well, it's interesting, the costs of clean energy have been coming down dramatically. And most clean energy sources now are compatible, are comparable with natural gas and coal and oil, in terms of energy sources. And so, in terms of the effect on the consumer, and what we would spend on our electricity bills, there's not very much difference. And the other thing to remember is that the more we invest in efficiency, the less energy we need to use. So, even if it were slightly more expensive to go to renewables, we're going to be using less energy, if we also invest in efficiency. So our total energy bill can go down.
KIM BROWN: Well, as the clean energy costs come down and, I mean, in some areas they remain slightly higher than the traditional fossil fuel energy uses. So, are you concerned that your study discourages private investments in clean energy?
HEIDI GARRETT-PELTIER: Not at all, actually, because the study shows the job creation effects from spending on clean energy, whether that comes from private businesses or government funding. So, I think the paper makes the case for public support of clean energy because of the job creation effect and because of the environmental effect. That those are two reasons that public officials should want to support clean energy. But in terms of just the numbers and just the data, whether the million dollars is coming from the government or from a private business or from an individual, the job creation effects are the same.
KIM BROWN: Indeed. Well, we've been joined today with Dr. Heidi Garrett-Peltier. She has published a paper. You should check it out. It is going to be available right underneath this interview. The paper is titled Green versus Brown, Comparing the Employment Impacts of Energy Efficiency, Renewable Energy and Fossil Fuels, using an In-put, Out-put Model. It is fascinating stuff and we appreciate you joining us today, Heidi. Thank you so much.
HEIDI GARRETT-PELTIER: Thank you so much. I appreciate it.
KIM BROWN: And thanks for watching The Real News Network.
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http://therealnews.com/t2/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=31&Itemid=74&jumival=17873
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Clean energy will be a $50-trillion industry, but Trump policies (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2Fgen152.gif&hash=d5b10968fe56c4cb95fae17cee3cb420a5f4e2da) mean the U.S. won’t benefit
2016’s year in charts shows that clean energy revolution is unstoppable. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2Fballoons.gif&hash=a64bb5ff3e76c3e11999996c460fa02de1ee10f7)
https://thinkprogress.org/clean-energy-charts-of-the-year-2016-93d781b55adb#.9budx8b5y
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China Leaves U.S. in Dust With $361 Billion Renewable Energy Investment (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Felqahera-trading.com%2Fhome%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2012%2F04%2Fdollar-sign-thumbnail1.jpg&hash=e1962ecaa694d312d50a9984ee058a45aed1e860) (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-080515182559.png&hash=d4dfa952fa0f817bf30a8059a4c88d6fb05ee1bf)
SNIPPET:
Renewable industry leaders in China have also championed a plan for a global renewable energy grid, which is already garnering support from neighboring countries and the United Nations.
And the country is on track to peak and then taper its greenhouse gas emissions by 2025, notes West, five years ahead of the date promised in a 2014 U.S.-China treaty.
Meanwhile, president-elect Donald Trump (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-311013200859.png&hash=a7aaaa9f04c1e3e2c948723b5f8c13fe814dacd4) appears prepared to ignore economic realities and scientific research and to strip environmental regulations and double-down on coal and other dirty fuels—all while railing against solar and wind.
http://www.ecowatch.com/china-renewable-energy-investment-2180695528.html
(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-301216165623.jpeg&hash=1ccfee6aaf9d939cca294a849774cff11e462e59)
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Obama: Renewable Energy Revolution Is 'Irreversible', Will Outlast Trump
SNIPPET:
"But putting near-term politics aside," he wrote, "the mounting economic and scientific evidence leave me confident that trends toward a clean energy economy that have emerged during my presidency will continue and that the economic opportunity for our country to harness that trend will only grow."
First of these is that between 2008 and 2015, the U.S. economy grew by 10 percent while carbon dioxide emissions from the energy sector fell by 9.5 percent, an outcome that "should put to rest the argument that combating climate change requires accepting lower growth or a lower standard of living."
Renewable energy costs fell dramatically during his years in office:
41 percent for wind,
54 percent for rooftop solar photovoltaics and
64 percent for big solar-power installations.
Clean energy now attracts twice as much global capital as fossil fuels.
(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-200714183515.bmp&hash=4a3ad9d0a78a7e161f53ddd84f568082a5b0d2ad)
http://www.ecowatch.com/obama-clean-energy-trump-2187292905.html
Agelbert NOTE: Obama talks big, but he actually SLOWED the implementation of Renewable Energy by REFUSING to address the insane policy of subsidizing fossil fuel exploration, extraction and sales.
Had the subsidies been taken away from the fossil fuel welfare queens and given TOTALLY to Removable Energy (instead of the TOKEN pittance amount that Renewable Energy has received during the Obama Administration), we would have had MUCH MORE market penetration by Renewable Energy at this time. Obama deserves no credit for the advances in Renewable Energy, PERIOD.
(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-281014151757.png&hash=1be52df5a308d583e41527f4d215eb9a81d72676)
(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fgraysondemocrats.org%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2011%2F05%2Fend-oil.jpg&hash=a5cf685d87ceb0f3f17eab91155ebb790707cf10)
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(https://www.cleanenergywire.org/sites/all/themes/clew/logo.png)
Agora Energiewende
Renewable vs fossil power systems: a cost comparison (Germany 8))
By 2050, an electricity supply based on renewable energies could be either approximately as expensive as or even cheaper than a fossil-based electricity system, if the cost of a tonne of CO₂ is 50 euros or more, according to a scenario comparison by the Institute of Applied Ecology (Öko-Institut), commissioned by think tank Agora Energiewende.*
The analysis showed that the cost comparison depended mainly on future fuel and CO₂ prices, which were difficult to foretell, according to Patrick Graichen, director of Agora Energiewende.
Yet, the analysis made clear: “Not to carry out an energy transition does not mean one doesn’t have energy costs – but different ones. And those could be higher than originally expected,” said Graichen in the foreword.
A renewable energy power system would have the added value of “shielding the national economy as a whole from increasingly volatile price developments for fossil fuels,”
says the analysis. Climate protection targets cannot be reached with any of the fossil-based scenarios.
(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-130117144227.png&hash=a79fd4e93121756e16a4adb830a3e06c5ae8b35b)
Comparison of total system costs of predominantly renewable, coal and natural gas-based power systems with CO2 prices of 50 euros in 2050. Source - Öko-Institut / Agora Energiewende 2017.
https://www.cleanenergywire.org/news/greens-propose-coal-exit-roadmap-german-power-system-costs-2050
*Like the Clean Energy Wire, Agora Energiewende is a project funded by Stiftung Mercator and the European Climate Foundation.
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3 Midwestern States That Refuse to Abandon the Renewable Energy Revolution (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2F19.gif&hash=3f9f2fc2285bc756137e21463bc2a4c420b15ac3)
Natural Resources Defense Council
Jan. 18, 2017 04:13PM EST
SNIPPET:
By Susan Cosier
On the final day of the Illinois State Assembly's 2016 session, a bill was passed that environmentalists can celebrate—one that significantly increases incentives for renewable energy and energy-efficiency requirements.
Though the Democratic-led congress debated the Future Energy Jobs bill for months, legislators and Gov. Bruce Rauner worked together on a bipartisan compromise. And just in time. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2F47b20s0.gif&hash=cc48c9af9d29b8836023c7db21103e52d1ed439e)
http://www.ecowatch.com/renewable-energy-midwest-2197961674.html
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An average server draws 400 watts/ hour, ...
I stopped reading at that point because the author obviously doesn't know their watts from their elbow - or to be more accurate, Energy from Power, there's no such thing as watts/hour.
And 400 watts is a daft figure based on the maximum power rating of a desktop PC's power supply, used to power the computer, the GPU, the hard disc drives, optical disc drive, all the USB attached devices, the Ethernet connection. Servers don't have any of that crap, and go out of their way to use low power, about 3 watts.
So can we assume that you think the internet can (and will) be powered by renewable energy then?
What would your more enlightened calculations be for the amount of energy that the internet gobbles up?
Lucid,
The biggest energy hogs in human civilization are Oil Refineries. For example, the state of TEXAS uses 44% MORE electricity (because of OIL refinery DEMAND for electricity, whether coal, wind, nuke or gas sourced) than the next one in line (California, FAR more populous than Texas).
NO, the ERoEI of OIL DOES NOT adequately take into account that electrical energy use when figuring ERoEI of gasoline (OF COURSE! (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-311013201314.png&hash=0715eb72631014310634eb56176ff860c6d542f6)) or ANY OTHER OIL REFINERY PRODUCT. THAT is why the term they use cleverly has the word "invested" in it. The TRICK is to make people believe that the amount of ENERGY required to produce the fossil fuel product is LESS than the amount you GET from it. THAT IS A LIE.
However, until recently, since the fossil fuelers are massively "subsidized" (THEFT from taxpayers all over the WORLD) the MONEY you INVESTED provided a nice fat return.
Both PV and wind power, even with the pittance in subsidies given to them, NOW have a higher ERoEI in money.
When pollution remediation costs are figured (something NOT included in ANY fossil Fuel ERoEI figures that Palloy has quoted here from time to time. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-311013201314.png&hash=0715eb72631014310634eb56176ff860c6d542f6)), Renewable Energy ALWAYS had a higher ERoEI than fossil fuels or nuclear CRAP.
Germany gets all that. Here's some projections form Germany on comparable costs of different energy sources projected to 2050.
(https://www.cleanenergywire.org/sites/all/themes/clew/logo.png)
Agora Energiewende
Renewable vs fossil power systems: a cost comparison (Germany 8))
By 2050, an electricity supply based on renewable energies could be either approximately as expensive as or even cheaper than a fossil-based electricity system, if the cost of a tonne of CO₂ is 50 euros or more, according to a scenario comparison by the Institute of Applied Ecology (Öko-Institut), commissioned by think tank Agora Energiewende.*
The analysis showed that the cost comparison depended mainly on future fuel and CO₂ prices, which were difficult to foretell, according to Patrick Graichen, director of Agora Energiewende.
Yet, the analysis made clear: “Not to carry out an energy transition does not mean one doesn’t have energy costs – but different ones. And those could be higher than originally expected,” said Graichen in the foreword.
A renewable energy power system would have the added value of “shielding the national economy as a whole from increasingly volatile price developments for fossil fuels,”
says the analysis. Climate protection targets cannot be reached with any of the fossil-based scenarios.
(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-130117144227.png&hash=a79fd4e93121756e16a4adb830a3e06c5ae8b35b)
Comparison of total system costs of predominantly renewable, coal and natural gas-based power systems with CO2 prices of 50 euros in 2050. Source - Öko-Institut / Agora Energiewende 2017.
https://www.cleanenergywire.org/news/greens-propose-coal-exit-roadmap-german-power-system-costs-2050 (https://www.cleanenergywire.org/news/greens-propose-coal-exit-roadmap-german-power-system-costs-2050)
*Like the Clean Energy Wire, Agora Energiewende is a project funded by Stiftung Mercator and the European Climate Foundation.
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This post was moved to the following link:
http://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/nuke-puke/nuclear-power-industry-mendacious-propaganda/msg6426/?topicseen#new
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Dear Dave Pugner,
Nuclear Energy is not Renewable Energy. Any discussion of Nuclear Power belongs in the Nuke Puke board.
I have moved your post and my reply Here (http://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/nuke-puke/nuclear-power-industry-mendacious-propaganda/msg6426/#msg6426).
Examples of Renewable Energy:
(https://thumbs.dreamstime.com/z/renewable-energy-sources-vector-infographics-solar-wind-tidal-hydroelectric-geothermal-power-biofuel-66345627.jpg)
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(https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/527210744178167809/z6CbCdS5.jpeg)
Feb 9, 2017
Authors Jules Kortenhorst CEO
Applying Hope in Today’s Tumultuous Times
In May of 2011, Rocky Mountain Institute cofounder Amory Lovins started his commencement address at the College of Natural Resources, University of California at Berkeley, talking about applied hope. “Many of us here stir and strive in the spirit of applied hope,” Amory said. “We work to make the world better, not from some airy theoretical hope, but in the pragmatic and grounded conviction that starting with hope and acting out of hope can cultivate a different kind of world worth being hopeful about… Applied hope requires fearlessness. Fear of specific and avoidable dangers has evolutionary value… But pervasive dread, lately promoted by some who want to keep us pickled in fear, is numbing and demotivating. When I give a talk, sometimes a questioner details the many bad things happening in the world, all the suffering in the universe, and asks how dare I propose solutions: isn’t resistance futile? The only response I’ve found is to ask, as gently as I can, ‘I can see why you feel that way. Does it make you more effective?’”
Today more than ever, Amory’s words ring with wisdom and insight. Could he possibly have foreseen, more than 5 years ago, the current state of affairs, where many of us in the environmental movement are struck by fear and worry? How do we find comfort in applying hope to our current situation? How do we apply hope to the urgent agenda of the energy transition, when the new administration is creating so much uncertainty about the path to a sustainable energy future, which we have been plotting for the 35 years RMI has been in existence?
The first hopeful point is that so much of the transition is now global, broadly supported, cost-effective, and therefore more and more irreversible. In recent years, the progress of renewable energy, electric vehicles, and other sustainable energy technologies has made a sustainable energy future both technically feasible and commercially viable. The transition toward low-carbon energy now has the support of business leaders from around the world, and solar and wind power enjoy broad public support from across the U.S. political spectrum. Countries across the globe are starting to accelerate the decarbonization of their energy systems, with some of the boldest ambition coming from vulnerable and developing nations. As a result, it is hard to see how the U.S. would return to burning coal or wasting energy as the economic energy solution of the future.
Similarly, the agreement reached in Paris in late 2015 and ratified last fall is not buckling under the uncertainty raised by the new U.S. administration. In fact, countries around the world have underlined their commitment to the Paris agreement. At the 2017 World Economic Forum annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland, Chinese President Xi Jinping stated in his opening plenary address: “The Paris Agreement is a hard-won achievement which is in keeping with the underlying trend of global development. All signatories should stick to it instead of walking away from it as this is a responsibility we must assume for future generations.” And the consensus among nation states is undergirded by similar commitments and actions from cities and provinces, where so much of the regulations and implementation of the energy revolution actually take shape.
Even while the new administration may be equivocating on its commitment to the Paris agreement and on the facts of climate science, civil society, business leaders, and philanthropists are not confused at all. Our team at RMI is doubling down, defining new ways to scale our impact, and ensuring that our programs are robust in the new political context. Our business partners are standing with us, and are telling us that they are not changing their direction. In fact, at a recent conference for members of our Business Renewables Center, 67 percent stated that the election has no impact on their renewable engagements in the U.S., while 25 percent said that it will actually increase their engagement. And increasingly our donors are helping us out, finding new and increased ways to support our work and that of our colleagues across civil society.
So all is well? We can be optimistic? No! Clarity of direction in the energy transition is a powerful enabler for the investments that are needed. This government is not yet providing that clarity. Similarly, we are concerned that science, facts, and logical arguments are no longer valued. And above all, we are deeply worried that our planet cannot afford slowing down progress toward a clean, prosperous, and secure low-carbon future.
But we go back to Amory’s wisdom and we apply hope.
First, we will continue to speak truth to power, to let our arguments do the convincing, and to stick with our mantra: In God we trust, everyone else bring facts. And for the avoidance of doubt, our government leaders fall into the second category.
We will cherish diversity, we will continue to build our international presence, and we will treat all people with respect no matter their gender, race, religion, sexuality, political convictions, or nationality.
We will look after each other, we will back each other in the battles to come, we will stand together and prove that we are in fact that unrivaled team we seek to be. And we have made the commitment to our colleagues that as an organization, they can all count on us having their backs.
And above all, we will not back down; in fact we will double down. We will carry on with our work in the conviction that we have the truth on our side, and justice in our corner. That what we do matters now more than ever. We sincerely hope that in this experiment of applied hope we find you on our side. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fcliparts.co%2Fcliparts%2FBig%2FEgq%2FBigEgqBMT.png&hash=e7eec62f009cdd686ce795fad0a53c6befe748e9)
http://blog.rmi.org/blog_2017_02_09_applying_hope
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(https://www.cleanenergywire.org/sites/all/themes/clew/logo.png)
Deutsche Welle
What happens with German renewables in the dead of winter? ???
Dark and calm winter days have led some commentators to suggest that renewables are unsuitable for providing a secure energy supply, reports Tamsin Walker for Deutsche Welle. Utility association BDEW argues this weather pattern proves flexible gas and coal power stations are needed to integrate renewables into the power system.
But green energy provider Lichtblick told the author the problem is solvable because Germany is on the cusp of a whole new era in the way renewable power can be stored. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-200714183515.bmp&hash=4a3ad9d0a78a7e161f53ddd84f568082a5b0d2ad)
http://www.dw.com/en/what-happens-with-german-renewables-in-the-dead-of-winter/a-37462540
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Massachusetts Might Become America's First State to Commit to 100% Renewables ;D
SNIPPET:
"The federal government is moving backwards on clean energy. So, the states must lead," said S. David Freeman, a long-time utility executive at Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, the New York Power Authority and the Tennessee Valley Authority. "Massachusetts can show the way by enacting the 100 percent renewable bills and by so doing save consumers millions of dollars in the future with a free fuel energy supply."
Given the considerable resistance renewables are likely to face in Congress (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-241013183046.jpeg&hash=51c9c4f17e747698c76c65c7c1814eff4f32c400) and the Trump administration (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2Fpirates5B15D_th.gif&hash=32438e1ed2c4d1823d4ed2a193286525c840a605), clean energy proponents are looking to state and local governments, businesses and institutions to ensure continued progress. In addition to the campaign in Massachusetts, Environment America and its partners are planning campaigns to get other states to go 100 percent renewable. And, today they will launch an effort to persuade America's colleges and universities to make similar commitments.
http://www.ecowatch.com/massachusetts-renewable-energy-2261007001.html
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(https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/527210744178167809/z6CbCdS5.jpeg)
THURSDAY, February 16, 2017
FIVE REASONS YOUR COMPANY SHOULD BUY OFF-SITE RENEWABLES IN 2017 (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2F128fs318181.gif&hash=eff6d5f3831782966c2ff2081f07bf7fc5b22a6b)
Corporate interest in renewable energy is skyrocketing as companies realize that off-site projects can offer the flexibility and scale necessary to meet their needs. But despite growing interest, less than one-fourth of corporate renewable energy buyers in RMI’s Business Renewables Center network have completed an off-site transaction to date. Here are five reasons why your company should buy off-site renewables in 2017.
Read More.
http://blog.rmi.org/blog_2016_02_13_five_reasons_to_buy_off_site_renewables_2017
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February 24, 2017
India Doubles Down on Renewables (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-260116191529.png&hash=cbc70d3107f019cfbef88dc573223aefa7732476)
Carl Pope
After a week in India, despite crowding, intensity and poverty, there is an undeniable lightness from plunging into a country firmly fixed on its future, not its past, moving forward however jerkily and energized.
Here's the harvest of Thursday's headlines: the Government of India is doubling the scale of the country's solar parks, adding 20 gigawatts, more than total U.S. solar capacity; Great Britain's development finance institution, CDC, announced a major new solar initiative targeted at India's undeserved eastern states; India's largest network of vocational institutes, run by the Catholic church, pledged to shift to renewable energy; Jharkand, India's West Virginia and biggest coal producer, plans to build more solar capacity than its peak internal demand for power; the Indian Supreme Court stepped up its crack-down on water pollution from industrial facilities; analysts projected aggressive bidding Thursday for India's first reverse auction for wind power, with prices expected to set new records; and finally the government announced that starting next year it would prepare a special budget annex assessing the steps it is taking to deal with climate change.
That's one day. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fstatic.uglyhedgehog.com%2Fupload%2F2012%2F8%2F14%2F1344970546338-awesome_mc_ht_smiley.gif&hash=3ae7abfc4fed4417a941b6f116204b754f1e587f)
Meanwhile, traffic remains mind numbingly congested; but the future is being sketched out. Tide-hailing companies like Ola and Uber have grown so fast that they are beginning to drive up the wage scales for private chauffeurs. More and more Indians are leaving their personal cars at home as they brave grid-lock, prompting the government to schedule a high level strategy session Monday and Tuesday on whether India can move directly to a world of electric, shared passenger vehicles and skip the phase of mass personal ownership of cars altogether.
Volkswagen, as it plans its global recovery from the diesel cheating scandal, picked India's Tata Motors as its preferred strategic partner.
Air pollution is taking a devastating toll; but it has also emerged as a major issue as India's political parties contest a set of critical state elections across India's heavily polluted Gangetic plain.
India has decisively—if not irrevocably—bet its future on clean energy and low carbon innovation. Only if this disruptive pathway fails the country's aspirations to lift its masses out of poverty is India likely to revert to a fossil fuel reliant development model. This looks like the biggest opportunity clean energy has ever had.
Both the government and India's most prestigious (and caution) energy think tank, TERI, have declared that except for plants already in the pipeline, India will need no more coal power until after 2025, because planned renewable electricity will more than meet demand. The draft National Electricity Plan calls for installing renewable power capacity equal to 85 percent of peak demand, with no new coal at all.
Serious conversations are underway about how to jump start the needed investments in transmission. The grid must carry this enormous increase in renewable power to the load centers where it is needed which, as in most countries, are often distant from the prime wind and solar regions.
India is being smart. The record setting bids at the last solar auction (less than $0.05/kwh) were powered by some very smart auction design; setting up solar farms relieved developers of the risk and delays associated with obtaining land, the risk of transmission stranding was addressed by pledging to pay for electrons generated even if the grid to deliver them to customers had not yet been completed and hedging mechanisms allowed the projects access to low cost foreign borrowing. (Neighboring countries like Pakistan, Indonesia, Vietnam and Bangladesh pay far more, usually twice as much, for wind and solar, even when they have access to cheaper capital, because they have not gotten the policy basics right).
India's low carbon strategies are moving beyond the power sector. A goal of a 100 percent electrified vehicle fleet by 2030 is moving into the implementation phase. A senior academic from IIT Madras, Ashok Jhunjhunwala, has been given the lead oversight role and sees the problem as primarily one of industrial policy; if India can obtain and master the key electric drive vehicle technologies—solar cells, batteries and highly efficient vehicle cooling technology—electric drive vehicle's potential to displace imported and polluting oil will then create the necessary short-term policy support to end the era of oil powered combustion engines in India.
The Rail Ministry, led by Suresh Prabhu, a strong clean energy advocate, has been aggressively pursuing new strategies to enable India to shift a major share of its good traffic off of roads and trucks and onto climate friendly rail.
And, as mentioned above, India is placing competition for prowess in manufacturing low carbon equipment and infrastructure at the center of its economic development strategy.
India has always been better at thoughtful aspirations than at implementation; each one of these goals and steps faces multiple challenges. High domestic interest rates and foreign investor wariness of the security of long term loans to India, are probably the biggest threat—clean energy provides free fuel, but also demands more up front capital investment. Indian solar developers pay 50 percent more for the capital they use than those in the Persian Gulf. But those conversations are a lot more creative and energizing than the rehash of tired 1970's "environment vs. the economy" narrative that President Trump (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2Fgen152.gif&hash=d5b10968fe56c4cb95fae17cee3cb420a5f4e2da) and the Republican Congress (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-311013200859.png&hash=a7aaaa9f04c1e3e2c948723b5f8c13fe814dacd4) seem determined to rescue from the ash heap of history.
http://www.ecowatch.com/india-double-down-renewable-energy-2280743396.html
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(https://image.slidesharecdn.com/renewableenergysources-151025205927-lva1-app6891/95/renewable-energy-sources-2-638.jpg?cb=1445807680)
States Lead the Way Toward 100% Renewable Energy
Feb. 23, 2017 02:19PM EST
SNIPPET:
Lorraine Chow
Lawmakers in California and Massachusetts have recently introduced bills that would require their respective states to get all of its electricity from renewable energy sources.
California Senate leader Kevin de León (D-Los Angeles), who introduced SB 584 last Friday, would require the Golden State to have a carbon-free grid by 2045. It would also accelerate the state's current goal of hitting 50 percent renewables by 2030 to 2025.
De León actually helped pushed through the initial 50 percent by 2030 law two years ago, but as he told the Los Angeles Times the legislation did not go far enough.
"We probably should have shot for the stars," he said.
As InsideClimate News noted, California is already well on its way:
"The California Energy Commission says the state got about 27 percent of its electricity from renewables last year, slightly better than the 25 percent required by law. Capacity has more than doubled over the past decade. California's largest utilities have also said they are ahead of schedule for meeting their 2020 goal."
Massachusetts legislators have also announced similar clean energy efforts. HD.3357 and SD.1932 was introduced in the House of Representatives by Rep. Sean Garballey and Marjorie Decker and in the Senate by Sen. Jamie Eldridge.
The measure would require Massachusetts to get all of its electricity from renewable sources by 2035. All of its energy needs, including heating and transportation, would have to come from renewable sources by 2050.
So far, the only state that has an official 100 percent renewable energy standard is Hawaii. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2Fearthhug.gif&hash=3abcf70466f34337f2d702ebd9e02c650d5c4c20)Hawaii's aggressive clean energy mandate—requiring the state's electricity to come from renewable sources no later than 2045—was enacted back in 2015.
http://www.ecowatch.com/renewable-energy-jacobson-2278462825.html
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Agelbert NOTE: I placed this video here so you can settle in your mind, once and for all, whether or not it is possible to run our country on 100% Renewable Energy. WE CAN! Hard Boiled HONEST scientists have done the math. WE CAN!
Bill Nye And Bernie Sanders Discuss Climate Change (Full)
https://youtu.be/DCQdEvmWz1A
But Trump and the polluters that put him in the White House DO NOT WANT TO DO IT because it will kill their polluting gravy train. They KNOW the threat to our climate and they DO NOT CARE.
(https://collapseofindustrialcivilization.files.wordpress.com/2014/02/img_03911.jpg)
But IF we don't do it, we will NOT survive.
(https://collapseofindustrialcivilization.files.wordpress.com/2013/11/snap-2013-11-06-at-14-31-28.png)
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Energy Policies of IEA Countries - New Zealand 2017 Review
Thursday, 23 February 2017, 12:43 pm
Press Release: International Energy Agency
Energy Policies of IEA Countries - New Zealand 2017 Review
Since the last IEA in-depth review in 2010, New Zealand has further developed its energy policy, as reflected in its energy strategy to 2021 and new rules for more competitive electricity markets. With its unique resource base, New Zealand is a success story for the development of renewable energy ;D, notably hydro and geothermal, without government subsidies. Geographically isolated, New Zealand has developed robust policies for security of supply. Outside of its largely low-carbon power sector, managing the economy’s energy intensity and greenhouse gas emissions while still remaining competitive and growing remains a challenge.
The IEA review highlights the areas that are critical to the success of the energy policy agenda in New Zealand. To support sustainable growth in line with the Paris Agreement, the government should facilitate technology opportunities for renewable energy and energy efficiency, in buildings, industrial heat, transport and agriculture. The government has ambitious plans to boost the share of electric vehicles and renewable energy. The country has a flexible power system, but future growth requires fine-tuning of market rules in favour of even more flexibility, demand response, smart and effective electricity retail and distribution. While security of supply is well ensured by effective markets, an energy-constraint system can benefit from market-based risk managements tools, including a safety net for dry years as well as access to global LNG markets.
This review analyses the energy policy challenges facing New Zealand and provides recommendations to help guide the country towards a more secure, sustainable and affordable energy future.
Edition: 2017
243 pages
Download publication (http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO1702/S00261/energy-policies-of-iea-countries-new-zealand-2017-review.htm)
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The Good News
https://youtu.be/UTH3otcW_hs
We all know the bad news when it comes to climate change. What most people don’t know is that there is also a lot of good news. In this video we explore some of that good news, like the fact that real solutions exist and that we’re already seeing the benefits of them.
24 Hours of Reality: Field Report - India's Barefoot College
https://youtu.be/fuqWucWSh-E
Watch how harnessing human potential along with the sun is improving millions of impoverished lives.
Actor Ian Somerhalder is the man on the street in the Green Apple, interviewing New Yorkers about climate solutions and making the day of more than one teenager at link below:
http://www.climaterealityproject.org/video/24-hours-reality-man-street-ian-somerhalder-part-2
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Agelbert NOTE: It's good to know that others out there (see below) support the idea of a WWII style effort to transition to 100% Renewable Energy in order to lessen the damage from Catastrophic Climate Change. I started a petition to that effect about three years ago but it didn't catch on too well. :( However I did get nearly 400 signatures from people all over the world, so I hope that, in some small way, I helped get the ball rolling, so to speak, on the necessity for a wartime effort to do the right thing on behalf of future generations.
This is a summary of Delina's proposal:
Laurence L Delina (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2F19.gif&hash=3f9f2fc2285bc756137e21463bc2a4c420b15ac3)
Visiting Fellow at Harvard Kennedy School during the Spring of 2013 and Spring of 2016
Postdoctoral Associate at Pardee Center for the Study of the Longer-Range Future at Boston University
Rachel Carson Fellow at Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (email)
Citation:
Delina, L. & Diesendorf, M., 2013. Is wartime mobilisation a suitable policy model for rapid national climate mitigation?. Energy Policy , 58 , pp. 371-380. Copy at http://j.mp/Zf4x2h
2013_delinadiesendorf-article-is-wartime-mobilisation-a-suitable-policy-model-for-rapid-national-climate-mitigation.pdf 288 KB
Is wartime mobilisation a suitable policy model for rapid national climate mitigation? (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2F128fs318181.gif&hash=eff6d5f3831782966c2ff2081f07bf7fc5b22a6b)
Abstract:
Climate science suggests that, to have a high probability of limiting global warming to an average temperature increase of 2degC, global greenhouse gas emissions must peak by 2020 and be reduced to close to zero by 2040. However, the current trend is heading towards at least 4degC by 2100 and little effective action is being taken.
This paper commences the process of developing contingency plans for a scenario in which a sudden major global climate impact galvanises governments to implement emergency climate mitigation targets and programs. Climate activists assert that rapid mitigation is feasible, invoking the scale and scope of wartime mobilisation strategies.
This paper draws upon historical accounts of social, technological and economic restructurings in several countries during World War 2 in order to investigate potential applications of wartime experience to radical, rigorous and rapid climate mitigation strategies.
We focus on the energy sector, the biggest single contributor to global climate change, in developed and rapidly developing countries. We find that, while wartime experience suggests some potential strategies for rapid climate mitigation in the areas of finance and labour, it also has severe limitations, resulting from its lack of democratic processes.
link to article
Preprint: http://bit.ly/18VA2FD
Presented at the Earth System Governance 2013 Tokyo Conference: http://bit.ly/18Em3Bt
Presented at the Tyndall Conference on Radical Emissions Reduction at the Royal Society, 2013: http://bit.ly/1bXL2mj
Last updated on 11/18/2016
http://scholar.harvard.edu/laurencedelina/publications/wartime-mobilisation-suitable-policy-model-rapid-national-climate
Agelbert NOTE: I posted the following in June of 2014. It evidences that we CAN do the above, if we had a government that actually cared about future generations.
June 03, 2014, 02:17:04 am
It's time for Americans in the Service of Future Generations to GET WITH THE PROGRAM! We did it with the massive, industrial scale building of Liberty Ships in WWII. We can do it again with the massive, industrial scale building of Liberty Renewable Energy Machines.
Country of Origin: United States of America
(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.firstnetsource.com%2Famerican_flag_graphic%2Flarge_images%2Fflag_05.jpg&hash=b2f4e490efe6071401fa9ab8b553acb50b61f45d)
Manufacturers: Alabama Dry Dock Co, Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyards Inc, California Shipbuilding Corp, Delta Shipbuilding Co, J A Jones Construction Co (Brunswick), J A Jones Construction Co (Panama City), Kaiser Co, Marinship Corp, New England Shipbuilding Corp, North Carolina Shipbuilding Co, Oregon Shipbuilding Corp, Permanente Metals Co, St Johns River Shipbuilding Co, Southeastern Shipbuilding Corp, Todd Houston Shipbuilding Corp, Walsh-Kaiser Co.
Major Variants: General cargo, tanker, collier, (modifications also boxed aircraft transport, tank transport,
hospital ship, troopship).
Role: Cargo transport, troop transport, hospital ship, repair ship.
Operated by: United States of America, Great Britain, (small quantity also Norway, Belgium, Soviet Union, France, Greece, Netherlands and other nations).
First Laid Down: 30th April 1941
Last Completed: 30th October 1945
Units: 2,711 ships laid down, 2,710 entered service.
Despite being initially labelled an 'ugly duckling' by the newspapers, and intended to be expendable if necessary, the ships eventually caught the imagination of the public. They proved to be easy to build, reliable and versatile, exceeding even the most optimistic expectations for their overall contribution to the war effort.
It was a project on a massive scale, undertaken with great speed and efficiency. The first Liberty ship (the Patrick Henry) was launched on 27 September 1941 (and completed on 30 December 1941), which was an incredible feat considering that just seven months previously neither shipyard nor workforce existed to build her. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2Fmuscular.gif&hash=1ebeafc0e4589b9d38ab66d37aa940d757e830e9)
Average Liberty Ship deadweight = 12,500 metric tons. (33,875,000 metric tons of ships built!).
Convert short tons to metric tons by multiplying the number of short tons by 0.907184
On the GE 1.5-megawatt model the total weight is 164 tons. The corresponding weights for the Vestas V90 are 75, 40, and 152, total 267 tons, and for the Gamesa G87 72, 42, and 220, total 334 tons.
164 x 0.907184 = 148.8 metric tons
33,875,000 divided by 148.8 = 227,655 wind turbines X 1.5 MW = 341,482 MW = .3415 TW x 20% capacity factor = 68.3 x 24 hours X 365 days = 598.3 TWh/year.
2012 wind power production United States 140.9 TWh 26.4 % of world total wind power.
1 TWhour per year = 1,000,000 MW / 8765.8 hours in a year) 114 megawatts per hour.
USA total annual electric consumption = 3,886,400,000 MWh = 3,886,400 = GWh = 3,886 TWh.
3886.4 / 598.3 = 20 to 40% of US electrical demand just from Wind Turbines in less than five years of Liberty Ship scale manufacturing wind turbine tonnage.
Liberty Ship scale manufacturing wind turbine tonnage can provide 25 to 40% of US electrical demand in less than five years. Double that in ten years and add in Solar Panels, Geothermal, Tide and Undersea Current and we have MORE than 100% Renewable Energy! (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2F47b20s0.gif&hash=cc48c9af9d29b8836023c7db21103e52d1ed439e) (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2F128fs318181.gif&hash=eff6d5f3831782966c2ff2081f07bf7fc5b22a6b)(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.desismileys.com%2Fsmileys%2Fdesismileys_0293.gif&hash=b1af4868ed8f18c30e637f8cbcb79002f6f71039)
WE can use the excess to bioremediate the environmental damage done in the last 100 years. WE can rid ourselves of Planet Polluting Fossil Fuels and Nuclear Poison Plants in a decade and win the Climate Victory for Future Generations! (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fcliparts.co%2Fcliparts%2FBig%2FEgq%2FBigEgqBMT.png&hash=e7eec62f009cdd686ce795fad0a53c6befe748e9) We can set an example for all the nations on the Earth of the Proper Path to a Viable and Vibrant Bounty filled, harmonious Biosphere.
Let's GET IT DONE! Our children and grandchildren are counting on us! (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2F301.gif&hash=0291ed4abf2d80e420d1aa00d4eb3c5dd6bbfb53)
http://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/general-discussion/historical-documentaries/msg1214/#msg1214
May 25, 2014, 03:46:49 pm
https://youtu.be/x8RszOQwWGY
We can do this AGAIN, THIS TIME for renewable energy harvesting machines and sustainable technology. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2F128fs318181.gif&hash=eff6d5f3831782966c2ff2081f07bf7fc5b22a6b)
http://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/general-discussion/you-will-have-to-pick-a-side-there-is-no-longer-room-for-procrastination/msg46/#msg46
(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-270514231533.png&hash=4c0b0cf721d0884c4e77e29ff87aa166c50038a9)
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Want Middle Class Manufacturing Jobs? Look to Wind & Solar (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2Fballoons.gif&hash=a64bb5ff3e76c3e11999996c460fa02de1ee10f7)
SNIPPET:
Corporations love wind and solar. Besides, getting clean energy (they live on this planet too), they get stable, low-cost electricity. Making fossil fuels dominant again will not only raise prices, but make them much more volatile as we have seen in the past.
The average American is spending the Least Ever on energy, less than 4% of total annual household spending, thanks to great gains in energy efficiency (i.e. cars use much less gas; appliances use much less electricity), more renewables on the grid and low gas prices, says the 2017 Sustainable Energy in America Factbook,
◾Retail electric prices fell 2.2% in 2016; the average person pays 3.9% less per kilowatt-hour than in 2007.
◾Renewable energy is at record levels, with costs for wind and solar continuing to fall. In some states, like Iowa, wind is the cheapest form of electricity.
◾Incredibly, energy consumption is falling even with economic growth. GDP is up 12% since 2007, while energy consumption is down 4%. ;D
◾Natural gas prices are near or at record lows.
Because of these trends, the US beats China, India, Mexico and Japan for energy costs related to manufacturing. It’s one of the things that’s been attracting manufacturers back to the US.
And with all this, economy-wide greenhouse gas emissions are at the lowest levels in 25 years. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-080515182559.png&hash=d4dfa952fa0f817bf30a8059a4c88d6fb05ee1bf)
Read our article, Remember, Energy Efficiency & Renewables Mean Lower Electric Bills (http://www.sustainablebusiness.com/remember-energy-efficiency-renewables-mean-lower-electric-bills/)
Tell me again? Why is TRUMP(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2Fgen152.gif&hash=d5b10968fe56c4cb95fae17cee3cb420a5f4e2da) bringing back a fossil-fuel based economy? (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-301014182447.gif&hash=58fbc1dfd905f79b3d4bacde8e89a935c2b859ac) (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.desismileys.com%2Fsmileys%2Fdesismileys_6656.gif&hash=2038f9b45636a93e5c0f4ee508ce29778fe9e9b4) (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.desismileys.com%2Fsmileys%2Fdesismileys_1730.gif&hash=cdaf50326d98ff7b051a9c49e83d51c7bb687407) ???
http://www.sustainablebusiness.com/want-middle-class-manufacturing-jobs-look-wind-solar/
The Fossil Fuelers DID THE Climate Trashing, human health depleteing CRIME, but since they have ALWAYS BEEN liars and conscience free crooks, they are trying to AVOID DOING THE TIME or PAYING THE FINE! Don't let them get away with it! Pass it on! (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2F176.gif&hash=121533221905789c6b8d57a9603883266d349266)
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Mar. 10, 2017 04:35PM EST
Elon Musk Tweets Offer to Fix Australia's Energy Crisis in 100 Days :o (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-200714191258.bmp&hash=e4ed21caaca822f7445ccafd39f49a9f84be90ca)
Lorraine Chow
SNIPPET:
Tesla boss and prolific tweeter Elon Musk has made an audacious bet to solve South Australia's energy woes by building a 100-megawatt battery storage farm. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-080515182559.png&hash=d4dfa952fa0f817bf30a8059a4c88d6fb05ee1bf) If the system is not operational in 100 days, the AUD$33 million (USD$25 million) technology will be provided for free. :o ;D
It all started on Thursday when Atlassian CEO and Australian billionaire Mike Cannon-Brookes tweeted an article to Musk that cited a similar offer from Lyndon Rive, who heads Tesla's battery division.
Rive said he would "commit" to installing the 100-300 megawatt hours of batteries to help stop South Australia's recent string of blackouts.
"We don't have 300MWh sitting there ready to go but I'll make sure there are," he said. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-080515182559.png&hash=d4dfa952fa0f817bf30a8059a4c88d6fb05ee1bf) (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-080515182559.png&hash=d4dfa952fa0f817bf30a8059a4c88d6fb05ee1bf) (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-080515182559.png&hash=d4dfa952fa0f817bf30a8059a4c88d6fb05ee1bf)
Cannon-Brookes then tweeted to Musk asking him if he could really make this happen if the funds were available and the politics were sorted out. Incredibly, Musk didn't just cement the offer, he wagered that Tesla could do it in less than 100 days or else the whole installation would be given free of charge.
"That serious enough for you?" Musk added. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fcliparts.co%2Fcliparts%2FBig%2FEgq%2FBigEgqBMT.png&hash=e7eec62f009cdd686ce795fad0a53c6befe748e9)
http://www.ecowatch.com/elon-musk-australia-2309117728.html
Agelbert NOTE: Fossil Fuel Industry PRIVATE REACTION to the above: (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2Fwww_MyEmoticons_com__smokelots.gif&hash=094f88de6782c1cd03ed5321b387792046eb3cdd) QUICK! Get our bought and paid for front man in the White House to get our bought and paid for friends in Congress to pass a law increasing "subsidies" for fossil fuels/"National Security" ;), to be "funded", OF COURSE, with a TAX on all new Renewable Energy infrastructure a US Corporation sets up anywhere in the WORLD, not just the USA. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-311013200859.png&hash=a7aaaa9f04c1e3e2c948723b5f8c13fe814dacd4) That way, we can make sure those Australians don't get out of line. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2Fmocantina.gif&hash=d013c741bcf9a78776eec19c2c3aac449c35d75c)
(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2F4.bp.blogspot.com%2F_IPZX1n_gnIM%2FTBxKST8wgBI%2FAAAAAAAAFxM%2F52D2UaemhQE%2Fs400%2FGas-Oil-Petroleum385.jpg&hash=733743a5d6af9b5085d12db935373e34c5e356fd)(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-230117172434.jpeg&hash=f6a5f0c75dd5f4e3147d4da23ced0dac928aff0f)
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As Donald Trump (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2Fp8.gif&hash=34db9228a959b3b83fc65b38a1aa92a40d56f976) prepares to make his first major rollback of Barack Obama’s climate policies, corporations employing more than 1.85 million people are warning such moves put “American prosperity at risk”.
Businesses urge Trump to rethink climate bonfire(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Ffox.graphics%2Ffiles%2Fflame-icon-vector.jpg&hash=49a29f2de7e63d0eb664c00375c037082b2c535d)
Published on 15/03/2017, 2:48pm
SNIPPET:
The letter said a low carbon economy could be “cost-effective” if policies supported energy efficiency and the transition of the energy system.
“Failure to build a low-carbon economy puts American prosperity at risk. But the right action now will create jobs and boost US competitiveness. We pledge to do our part, in our own operations and beyond, to realise the Paris Agreement’s commitment of a global economy that limits global temperature rise to well below 2 degrees Celsius,” it said.
http://www.climatechangenews.com/2017/03/15/businesses-worth-1-2tn-urge-trump-rethink-climate-bonfire/
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21 Mar 2017
Countries Join Forces to Accelerate Global Energy Transition (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fus.cdn2.123rf.com%2F168nwm%2Flenm%2Flenm1201%2Flenm120100200%2F12107060-illustration-of-a-smiley-giving-a-thumbs-up.jpg&hash=2046bc6d662e09d3014a2c404a2af6ba17f8217c)
SNIPPET:
Berlin, Germany, 21 March 2017 — Ministers and representatives from frontrunner countries in energy transition met on the sidelines of the Berlin Energy Transition dialogue to discuss the urgency for the world to move onto a trajectory of sustainable low carbon economic growth while meeting increasing global energy demand and addressing climate change. They also emphasized that the technologies and business models to do so are available today.
At the meeting, ministers and high-level representatives from China, Denmark, Germany, Indonesia, Mexico, Morocco, and the United Arab Emirates, agreed to work together to establish an Energy Transition Coalition in the course of this year for accelerating the transition to a sustainable energy future. The Coalition will assemble countries leading in developing long term energy transition strategies to foster investments in a low carbon energy sector. Ensuring increased investor certainty for low carbon economic growth by developing energy transition strategies will be at the heart of the Energy Transition Coalition.
“Few people would have imagined the scale and pace of the energy transition which we are witnessing today. Renewable energy deployment has considerably expanded thanks to reduced costs and record new investments in power generation from renewables. Energy efficiency is picking up and we see important synergies emerging with renewable energy. Many countries are proving that the ongoing energy transition in fact has multiple positive social, economic and environmental impacts,” said International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) Director-General Adnan Z Amin. “By working together, we can hasten the transition to a sustainable energy future,” he added.
http://www.irena.org/News/Description.aspx?NType=A&mnu=cat&PriMenuID=16&CatID=84&News_ID=1485
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(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fnews.nationalgeographic.com%2Fcontent%2Fdam%2Fnews%2Frights-exempt%2Fnat-geo-staff-graphics-illustrations%2F2015%2F10%2FGermany-Green-Power%2Fchart1.jpg&hash=8304881aa770c828331ebf573edbb80d1c011c0e)
Agelbert NOTE: The Renewable Energy percentage for 2016 is much higher than 2014 (above chart) and continues to grow month by month.(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-080515182559.png&hash=d4dfa952fa0f817bf30a8059a4c88d6fb05ee1bf)
Der Tagesspiegel Online
We should lower the electricity tax
Germany’s electricity tax is no longer justified in its current form and should be lowered, Hubertus Heil, deputy chairman of the Social Democrats’ (SPD) parliamentary group, said in an interview with Der Tagesspiegel.
The tax was introduced by the SPD and the Green Party at the beginning of the century to support clean energy generation, Heil explained.
“But if power becomes more and more green, it doesn't make sense to tax this green power,” he said.
https://www.cleanenergywire.org/news/industry-head-questions-power-tax-green-power-revenues-could-decline/electricity-tax-no-longer-justified
(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-200317134631.png&hash=3ec83ab2cb9a9acaf485fff7312df6381c25c2fd)
Despite Trump (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2Fgen152.gif&hash=d5b10968fe56c4cb95fae17cee3cb420a5f4e2da) , more and more countries continue to ratify the Paris Agreement (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fcliparts.co%2Fcliparts%2FBig%2FEgq%2FBigEgqBMT.png&hash=e7eec62f009cdd686ce795fad0a53c6befe748e9)
Mihai Andrei March 27, 2017
Despite blatant climate change denial from the newly elected US administration, more and more countries understand the urgency of the issue and ratifying the Paris agreement. So far, 139 countries responsible for 82% of the world’s emissions have ratified the pact.
(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fcdn.zmescience.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2017%2F03%2Ftable_top_25_emitters-1.jpg&hash=bba7f48bca783e01c8113df123ac25ea01e1edac)
In 2015, world leaders gathered in Paris and decided on an international agreement to curb out carbon dioxide emissions and limit global warming. The agreement signed through a UN framework deals with greenhouse gases emissions mitigation, adaptation, and finance, starting in the year 2020. The agreement entered into force after it was ratified by 55 countries covering over 55% of global emissions.
The US was a key player in the Paris discussions, with then secretary of state John Kerry being one of the most active negotiators and supporters of the pact. But recently, the US did a U-turn and Trump has vowed to destroy Obama’s environmental legacy. Thankfully, countries aren’t falling for that. In the Trump era, 34 countries have formally joined the Paris Agreement. Out of the biggest 25 polluters, just three haven’t ratified the agreement: Russia, Iran, and Turkey.
Just stop and think about this for a moment that the Trump administration wants to pull the US out from the Paris agreement, and is taking steps in this direction.
Out of all the big countries, just Russia (the world’s largest natural gas producer, whose economy is directly tied to fossil fuel companies), Iran (one of the world’s largest oil producers), and Turkey, which is pretty much a dictatorship at this point, have not ratified the Paris agreement — and the US wants to join that list. But there is still hope.
Just last week, the Philippines formally joined the Paris Agreement, after the country’s leader initially called the deal “stupid.” Apparently, after coming into power he understood just how vulnerable his country is to climate change, just like most countries on the globe, and changed his mind. There is a lesson to be learned here, that even stubborn leaders can change their minds when presented with the reality of global warming, and even if Trump decides not to change his mind… the rest of the world is still moving in the right direction. China is taking concrete steps to tackle climate change, becoming the biggest investor in both wind and solar energy, Europe is well underway to achieve their climate goals, and overall, the world seems to be taking much-needed steps towards a sustainable future. Sure, you could argue that it’s not nearly enough, that ambitions are not matched by actions, but for the first time in human history, we have an international framework to tackle global warming — and sticking to it is crucial. (https://allthoughtsworkoutdoors.files.wordpress.com/2011/08/p9047017-030close-up.jpg)
http://www.zmescience.com/science/news-science/despite-trump-countries-continue-sign-paris-agreement/
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(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-301014182902.gif&hash=1dec33f3f6c520ffeac0082b58f46ffa3ed7cedb) Big Announcements on Renewable Energy (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2Fballoons.gif&hash=a64bb5ff3e76c3e11999996c460fa02de1ee10f7)
InsideClimate News April 17, 2017 | Rona Fried | Renewables & Efficiency
Thanks to continuing declines in solar and wind costs, the world added record amounts of renewable energy last year at the lowest prices ever (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-200714191258.bmp&hash=e4ed21caaca822f7445ccafd39f49a9f84be90ca), according to the United Nations. 55% of all new power came from renewables – one of the reasons emissions were flat in 2016 for the third year in a row.
Electricity from renewables rose 9% (139 gigawatts), while the cost to install all that dropped 23%.
Renewables now provide 11.3% of the world’s electricity, preventing 1.7 gigatons of carbon emissions a year.
“More for less” was the story of renewable energy in 2016. Global investment in renewables (excluding large hydro) fell by 23% to $241.6 billion, the lowest total since 2013, but there was record installation of renewable power capacity worldwide in 2016,” says the report.
Key Findings:
◾Investment in renewables was roughly double that of fossil fuels for the fifth consecutive year.
◾Costs to install solar PV, onshore wind and offshore wind were down 10%
◾Record investments in offshore wind, up 53% to $25.9 billion in Europe and China
◾Solar and wind prices reached record lows at power auctions – prices “that would have seemed inconceivably low only a few years ago.”
(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.sustainablebusiness.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2017%2F04%2FGlobalPowerTrends.png&hash=290fa6fce62eb3140f4f685dedb13c58c955df86)
In 2017, about 85 gigawatts (GW) of solar will be added around the world, more than double that of 2014, and China is expected to add 30 GW of that. The US, China, Japan and India will dominate the market in 2017, with India overtaking Japan as the third-largest market, according to GTM Research.
For the first time, offshore wind will be built without any subsidies, as DONG Energy won an auction to build two offshore wind farms in Germany’s North Sea at super-low prices. The price to construct offshore wind farms is down 46% in the last five years – 22% in 2016 alone- reports Bloomberg.
China’s emissions WENT DOWN for the first time last year, dropping 1% even as the economy grew 6.7%, says the International Energy Agency. The US had the biggest drop in emissions at 3%.
US Renewables
Thanks to energy efficiency and renewables, US carbon emissions are 14% lower than 2005 levels – we are back to 1992 levels. ;D
“Wind and solar are increasingly the lowest-cost resources getting connected to the grid, changing the investment calculus for utilities and dominating new capacity builds. Electricity demand nationwide continues to fall, even as millions more square feet of buildings are constructed. And in states across the country, distributed solar is decimating load growth,” says GTM Research.
56 GW of coal plants could close in the Midwest because the average cost of wind is $10/ megawatt-hour cheaper, according to Moody’s Investor Services.
San Diego slid past Los Angeles in 2016 as the most active solar market. Installations rose 60% to 303 megawatts (MW) – enough to power 76,000 homes. LA is in second place, followed by Honolulu and San Jose. The top 20 cities have nearly 2 GW of solar PV installed – about as much as the entire US at the end of 2010, says Shining Cities 2017: How Smart Local Policies are Expanding Solar Power in America.
California got 13% of its electricity from solar in 2016, according to the US Energy Information Agency.
Read our article, US Solar Grows 95% in 2016, In Best Year Ever.
Big Announcements
Chicago‘s mayor announced that all government buildings will run on 100% renewable energy by 2025, the most aggressive goal of any US city to date. For perspective, those buildings consume as much energy as 295,000 households. Two of the dirtiest coal plants in the country are also closing.
Florida is finally about to be a solar leader! ;D Utility Florida Power & Light plans to install an incredible 2.7 GW of solar across the state in the next seven years – enough to power 420,000 homes. After it closes a second coal-fired power plant, solar will be the primary electricity source after natural gas.
New York State committed to 2.6 GW of offshore wind – the first major installation in the US. By 2030, wind will supply energy for 1.25 million homes.
Facebook announced it’s building another 100% wind-powered data center, this time in Nebraska on 144 acres – at least two 450,000 square-foot buildings.
The world’s largest beer-maker, Anheuser-Busch, announced it will run completely on renewables by 2025. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2F2.gif&hash=e8f8c104b70e8c8b4b4c9981bcb36ed1cfbab01c)
It joins 90 other companies and 25 U.S. cities – large and small – that have made this commitment. Cities range from Madison, Wisconsin to Abita Springs, Louisiana. Pueblo, Colorado is doing it to bring electric rates DOWN and get more reliable energy and Georgetown, Texas says wind and solar power are more predictable and lack the volatile prices of oil and gas – a contract signed today sets prices for the next 25 years. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2Fmaniac.gif&hash=9ecf389a7da25db958f3f63461cbb45a4b316c4e)
Tesla’s Nevada Gigafactory started manufacturing in January, bringing back battery production to the US, in addition to making the Model 3 electric car.
By 2018, the Gigafactory, which is a third complete, will double the world’s production capacity for lithium-ion batteries and employ 6,500 people. Besides building batteries for its vehicles – which could soon include trucks – Tesla is making batteries for homes and as back ups to the electric grid. 95% of components will be made in the US, including the enormous 70 MW solar array on the roof! (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fus.cdn2.123rf.com%2F168nwm%2Flenm%2Flenm1201%2Flenm120100200%2F12107060-illustration-of-a-smiley-giving-a-thumbs-up.jpg&hash=2046bc6d662e09d3014a2c404a2af6ba17f8217c)
http://www.sustainablebusiness.com/big-announcements-renewable-energy/
(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fstatic.uglyhedgehog.com%2Fupload%2F2012%2F8%2F14%2F1344970546338-awesome_mc_ht_smiley.gif&hash=3ae7abfc4fed4417a941b6f116204b754f1e587f)
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(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fgeothermalexpo.org%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2016%2F06%2FREW-logo-new.jpg&hash=7d8fc0fe077063b22ad6ea5565b7366c128b757b)
Listen Up: Westinghouse Nuclear Energy Killed by Gas, Solar and Wind (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2Fza4.gif&hash=2db0a6001703f4089cb64dc38159bb3d467e1bff)
May 1, 2017
By The Energy Show on Renewable Energy World
Video killed the radio star — just as natural gas, wind and solar are slowly but surely killing the nuclear power industry (we’re already saying good bye to coal). Unfortunately, the venerable Westinghouse Electric Company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on March 29, 2017, dragged down by huge losses in their nuclear power plant construction business. But the story about the demise of Westinghouse is more nuanced, read on to find out how and why solar killed nuclear.
George Westinghouse founded the Westinghouse Electric Corporation in 1886. He teamed up with Nikola Tesla to develop and promote AC power, instead of the DC power infrastructure preferred by Thomas Edison. By using transformers to step up voltages for long distance power distribution and then step down voltages again for home use, the economics of AC power turned out to be much more favorable than DC power (the geeky reason is explained by Ohm’s Law and conductor sizes). To this day the world’s electrical system is still almost exclusively based on AC power. Over a 100-year period the Westinghouse Electric Corporation expanded into appliances, locomotives, entertainment — and even solar power (for many years Westinghouse held the record for solar cell efficiency).
Fast forward to the 1990s when the Westinghouse Electric Corporation came to the conclusion that their broadcasting subsidiary — the Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) — had the potential to be more profitable than their manufacturing businesses. So they sold off all of their manufacturing operations, renamed the parent company as CBS, and licensed the Westinghouse name to leading companies in related market segments. Their nuclear business, which was named the Westinghouse Electric Company, eventually ended up as a subsidiary of Toshiba.
Toshiba expected to benefit from a renaissance (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2Fugly004.gif&hash=c56db4280057389afd154a1cb4057410151579c8) in nuclear power, leveraging less expensive reactor designs and the need for carbon-free electricity. But three developments prevented this nuclear renaissance. First, the actual construction of these new reactor designs ended up being very expensive and time consuming. Second, nuclear power is still plagued by safety (Fukushima), nuclear waste and proliferation issues. And the final nail in the nuclear coffin is economic: electric power plants fueled by natural gas, solar and wind are much less expensive to build and operate, and can be constructed in several years — as opposed to several decades for a new nuclear plant. For more about the fate of the nuclear power industry and how solar killed nuclear energy, Listen Up to the Energy Show on Renewable Energy World.
http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/articles/2017/05/listen-up-westinghouse-nuclear-energy-killed-by-gas-solar-and-wind.html
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(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fgeothermalexpo.org%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2016%2F06%2FREW-logo-new.jpg&hash=7d8fc0fe077063b22ad6ea5565b7366c128b757b)
Listen Up: Westinghouse Nuclear Energy Killed by Gas, Solar and Wind (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2Fza4.gif&hash=2db0a6001703f4089cb64dc38159bb3d467e1bff)
May 1, 2017
By The Energy Show on Renewable Energy World
Video killed the radio star — just as natural gas, wind and solar are slowly but surely killing the nuclear power industry (we’re already saying good bye to coal). Unfortunately, the venerable Westinghouse Electric Company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on March 29, 2017, dragged down by huge losses in their nuclear power plant construction business. But the story about the demise of Westinghouse is more nuanced, read on to find out how and why solar killed nuclear.
George Westinghouse founded the Westinghouse Electric Corporation in 1886. He teamed up with Nikola Tesla to develop and promote AC power, instead of the DC power infrastructure preferred by Thomas Edison. By using transformers to step up voltages for long distance power distribution and then step down voltages again for home use, the economics of AC power turned out to be much more favorable than DC power (the geeky reason is explained by Ohm’s Law and conductor sizes). To this day the world’s electrical system is still almost exclusively based on AC power. Over a 100-year period the Westinghouse Electric Corporation expanded into appliances, locomotives, entertainment — and even solar power (for many years Westinghouse held the record for solar cell efficiency).
Fast forward to the 1990s when the Westinghouse Electric Corporation came to the conclusion that their broadcasting subsidiary — the Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) — had the potential to be more profitable than their manufacturing businesses. So they sold off all of their manufacturing operations, renamed the parent company as CBS, and licensed the Westinghouse name to leading companies in related market segments. Their nuclear business, which was named the Westinghouse Electric Company, eventually ended up as a subsidiary of Toshiba.
Toshiba expected to benefit from a renaissance (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2Fugly004.gif&hash=c56db4280057389afd154a1cb4057410151579c8) in nuclear power, leveraging less expensive reactor designs and the need for carbon-free electricity. But three developments prevented this nuclear renaissance. First, the actual construction of these new reactor designs ended up being very expensive and time consuming. Second, nuclear power is still plagued by safety (Fukushima), nuclear waste and proliferation issues. And the final nail in the nuclear coffin is economic: electric power plants fueled by natural gas, solar and wind are much less expensive to build and operate, and can be constructed in several years — as opposed to several decades for a new nuclear plant. For more about the fate of the nuclear power industry and how solar killed nuclear energy, Listen Up to the Energy Show on Renewable Energy World.
http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/articles/2017/05/listen-up-westinghouse-nuclear-energy-killed-by-gas-solar-and-wind.html (http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/articles/2017/05/listen-up-westinghouse-nuclear-energy-killed-by-gas-solar-and-wind.html)
Stupid me thought Nukes were DOA in Texas, with all the alternative energy that's already online, but apparently they are not:
Several energy companies are planning to build nuclear power plants to meet electricity demand in a way that is cost effective and protects air quality. In Texas, Exelon, Luminant and NRG Energy have filed license applications with the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission to build at least five reactors in Victoria County, Glen Rose and Matagorda County. Plans for expansion in Matagorda were put on hold after the March 2011 earthquake in Japan caused a nuclear disaster at the Fukushima Nuclear Power plant, 155 miles north of Tokyo. Amarillo Power/UniStar is planning to build one additional reactor near Amarillo, but plans there have also hit delays. Upon completion, the plants could provide enough electricity to serve 6.8 million homes annually.
https://stateimpact.npr.org/texas/tag/nuclear-energy-in-texas/ (https://stateimpact.npr.org/texas/tag/nuclear-energy-in-texas/)
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I sure am sorry to see this happening. I don't expect Rick Perry to do anything to stop it.
Eddie,
Yes, the nuke pukes are busy doing what they do in Texas. Yes, the nuclear waste problem is the gift that keeps giving for those who want to pollute poor neighborhoods and make the public pay for it based on "national security". This has been their M.O. for over half a century. None of that nuclear power stuff was EVER cost effective at producing energy, never mind the radionuclide pollution, Uranium mine pollution (still mostly NOT addressed because the hundreds of abandoned mines are in Native American lands) and other "externalized" costs we-the-people are STUCK with for about 100,000 years, more or less. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-311013201314.png&hash=0715eb72631014310634eb56176ff860c6d542f6)
It's over for them, Eddie. You will have die hard bastards trying to make wind and solar "illegal" or "too polluting" LOL! in order to keep nuclear white elephants alive. But I'm confident that Renewable Energy has a strange bedfellow ally here called the frackers. The frackers have ZERO intention of allowing the nuclear power people to make a comeback. Consequently, it's all out rug pulling time for nuclear power.
Here's the deal, Eddie. There is only ONE reason nuclear power reactors currently get subsidized over and over and over despite them not making any sense economically: Nuclear Submarines and nuclear weapons! That's right. As strange as it sounds, the M.I.C. has a welfare program for nuclear submarine commanders and Universities that teach nuclear physics.
Yep, the university nuclear physics studies are funded by we-the-people BECAUSE TPTB want to maintain a current level of people (when the old nuke puke farts retire) that understand nuclear physics so that our subs and carriers and BOMBS are kept up to date.
Recently, that came out in England. The ONLY reason they are trying to build the Hinkley nuclear power white elephant (which FORCES the English to pay electricity rates for the next FORTY YEARS ABOVE, FAR ABOVE!, what it NOW costs to get juice from wind and solar) is because they want JOBS for their submarine crews and a REASON for people to study to make nuclear bombs and other nuclear fun and games stuff. Scotland has been trying to give England the finger on nukes for over a decade (unsuccessfully - England won't pull their submarine bases out). So Texas is sort of in the same bind that Scotland is.
Texans are creative. Especially when they have to fossil fuelers helping them be creative, if ya know what I mean. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-311013201314.png&hash=0715eb72631014310634eb56176ff860c6d542f6) They'll figure something out that makes economic sense eventually. For now, if your utility tries to sweet talk you into the same crapola they are doing in Georgia (the utility building the nukes that apparently will never open CAN, and DOES, charge CURRENT customers monthly fees for losses on the construction of the nukes WITHOUT ANY TIME LIMIT), I suggest you politely remind them that for profit corporations are not supposed to stiff people for losses that their customers did not incur. ;)
We are DONE with nukes in Vermont. I hope you Texans can soon stop those money pit disasters soon as well.
Moving right along , here's an article that pretty well covers the sorry ass political situation in this country. I think you and I can find common ground in this article:
Here’s Why We Shouldn’t Laugh at Donald Trump’s 100-Day Faceplant
Jon Schwarz
April 29 2017, 11:52 a.m.
https://theintercept.com/2017/04/29/heres-why-we-shouldnt-laugh-at-donald-trumps-100-day-faceplant/ (https://theintercept.com/2017/04/29/heres-why-we-shouldnt-laugh-at-donald-trumps-100-day-faceplant/)
(https://blogs.ancientfaith.com/orthodoxbridge/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2014/11/obrazek_1idiommmmsmm.jpg)
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There are now more than 9.4 million people working in the renewable energy sector (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-260116191529.png&hash=cbc70d3107f019cfbef88dc573223aefa7732476)
ast updated on May 2nd, 2017 at 8:31 pm by Mihai Andrei
According to a new report released by an environment and energy consultancy, 9.4 million people globally work in renewable energy, more than at any other point in history. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-200714191258.bmp&hash=e4ed21caaca822f7445ccafd39f49a9f84be90ca)
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Image via Pexels.
The report was released by Allen and York, and it states that 2.8 million people work in solar PV, 1.6 million in liquid biofuels, and 1 million in wind, reflecting a “5% increase in 2015 and confirms the strength of this relatively new industry.”
Despite Trump’s best efforts, the US is still one of the leaders in renewable energy, alongside China, Brazil, India, Japan, and Germany. This relatively new industry has been more effective in creating jobs than coal or oil in the United States, and previous research has suggested that in terms of job generation, the overall potential of the renewable energy sector is much higher than that of the fossil fuel industry. This is easily visible in existing figures, as more and more Americans work in and support renewables. The report states:
“Exciting developments across US solar and wind has seen a 6% increase in renewable energy employment in 2016, reaching a total of 769,000 people working across the industry. According to figures published by the US Department of Energy (US DOE), the solar workforce increased by 25% in 2016, while wind employment increased by 32%.Driven by plummeting costs and growing consumer appetite, the renewable energy sector in the US looks set to thrive, despite their climate-sceptic President.”
This is not limited to the US or a specific area of the world. In Morocco, for instance, the market could soon yield over half a million new jobs, mostly in the solar industry (something which Morocco is already famous for). Despite highly questionable leadership, one in five Australian homes use solar energy, China has already cemented their dominance in terms of renewable energy generation, and Europe as a whole is also taking strides in the right direction, though with a slightly different twist. Residential solar energy is growing in popularity, especially in Germany, where ambitious tariffs facilitated great development in rooftop solar. Despite a natural trend, the role of good governance is extremely important, in more than one way.
Interestingly, the report also underscores the significance of education for the future of renewables. As more and more jobs emerge and diversify, having well-educated, qualified professionals is vital. Referring to the UK specifically, the report states:
“Digital skills should be included in the government’s future definition of basic skills and a comprehensive programme of upskilling developed in partnership with industry and training providers to ensure that the UK workforce at all levels” the report states. “A much greater, targeted focus is needed on promoting STEM subjects and engineering careers to under-represented groups (including women, people from BAME communities and those from lower socioeconomic backgrounds) to fully unlock the talent potential in the UK.”
No matter how you look at it, the future appears bright for renewable jobs. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2F47b20s0.gif&hash=cc48c9af9d29b8836023c7db21103e52d1ed439e) Renewable energy technologies are getting cheaper, installations are growing almost exponentially year after year. For such a new industry, the results are indeed stunning. Hopefully, the world will embrace it instead of clinging to the past. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.emofaces.com%2Fpng%2F200%2Femoticons%2Ffingerscrossed.png&hash=d56f8009d18b55f4cea7be68284c0521be92fc5d)
http://www.zmescience.com/ecology/renewable-energy-ecology/renewable-energy-jobs-02052017/
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California legislative leaders call for 100 percent renewable energy (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2Fearthhug.gif&hash=3abcf70466f34337f2d702ebd9e02c650d5c4c20)
Greg Alvarez
May 3, 2017
Yesterday, the leader of the California Senate, Kevin de Leon, proposed a bill that would transition California to 100 percent renewable retail electricity.
That would improve upon the state’s existing renewable energy standard, which calls for 50 percent renewables by 2030. Under the new legislation the state would hit that target five years early, and would achieve its 100 percent renewable goal by 2045.
“I realized that the investor-owned utilities are going to hit 50 percent by the early-to-mid 2020s without breaking a sweat (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-141113185047.png&hash=384024358ff8d5e7133d19b6e6638da4584a8154),” de Leon said. “So, we should accelerate this process and demonstrate to the entire world that we can actually generate 100 percent of our electricity with clean energy and put people to work.” (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.desismileys.com%2Fsmileys%2Fdesismileys_0293.gif&hash=b1af4868ed8f18c30e637f8cbcb79002f6f71039)
Danielle Osborn Mills, Director of AWEA’s California Caucus, praised the move:
“The wind industry stands ready to create jobs and provide affordable, reliable, clean energy to Californians. Wind energy is already a no-regrets alternative to fossil fuels, and it is a key component of a diverse, balanced, low-carbon grid. Accelerating our renewable energy targets to get to 50% renewables by 2026 can help Californians capture significant savings from the declining federal tax incentives for renewable energy, and will promote significant additional direct investment in California.
“This bill isn’t just about a long-term vision, it is about near-term action. We cannot afford to delay. SB 100 will ensure continued economic growth, improved environmental quality for all, and resilience in the face of uncertainty.” (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2Fcomputer3.gif&hash=cd6007945e9cbaabf029ebaef6ad36b8505bc341)
http://www.aweablog.org/california-legislative-leaders-call-100-percent-renewable-energy/
Agelbert NOTE: Trump and his fossil fuel based wrecking crew will, of course, try to sabotage these CommonFuckingSense efforts in California. My advice to them and all their buddies from the Kochtopus is to bring a sandwich.
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We California Kitties understand the Fossil Fuel Industry MO in general and that of the Koch Brothers in particular. They've been at it for many years (see 2011 videos below). But NOW, at least in OUR state, it's OVER for them and their hired liars and crooks!
The Koch Brothers & Their Amazing Climate Change Denial Machine
https://youtu.be/IaKm89eVhoE
Uploaded on Jun 13, 2011
A short animation detailing the effort of billionaires oil barons Charles & David Koch to undermine belief in climate change and prevent legislation that threatens their profits. By pouring money into bogus scientific studies and funding third parties such as Think Tanks and Front Groups (posing as everything from Seniors groups to Women's groups) the public is led to believe a genuine scientific debate is raging. In truth, as one climate denier candidly admits, those doubting the science are just a small, if brilliantly coordinated, minority.
The piece was made by Australian filmmaker Taki Oldham and incorporates footage from his 55 min. documentary The Billionaires' Tea Party (2011).
Attack of the Kochtopus! (Original)
https://youtu.be/mbXPP7WwZ74
Published on Mar 2, 2011
See more at http://www.zinasaunders.com
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Top Five Reasons Fossil Fuel Companies Should Diversify into Renewables Now
And why one expert believes they need to step up the pace.
May 8, 2017
By Jennifer Runyon
Chief Editor
SNIPPET:
2. The transition to renewables is happening faster than expected.
Lovins pointed out the dramatic fall in renewable energy prices for electricity. Dong energy’s recent bid for offshore wind at the market price for electricity is just one of many examples he gave.
“The EU wind power price in 8-9 months last year fell by 43 percent,” he said.
Just as the transition from horse and buggies to automobiles took just over a decade (In only 13 years, the Easter Day parade in New York City went from one dominated by horses and buggies to one in which there we no horses of any kind to be seen), the transition to renewable energy could be much swifter than companies realize. Lovins predicted that there will be more EVs on the road than internal combustion engines in 10 years. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-200714191258.bmp&hash=e4ed21caaca822f7445ccafd39f49a9f84be90ca)
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http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/articles/2017/05/top-five-reasons-fossil-fuel-companies-should-diversify-into-renewables-now.html
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Renewable Energy Is Unstoppable, Declares Financial Times :o ;D
May 19th, 2017 by Steve Hanley
SNIPPET:
With more then 2.2 million readers a day, the Financial Times is the newspaper of record for economists, business leaders, and government policy makers worldwide. Think Progress claims FT, as it is known to its readers, is the “most important business read” and “the most credible publication in reporting financial and economic issues” for global professional investors, business leaders, and policy makers according to surveys.
On May 18, its lead story was entitled: The Big Green Bang: How Renewable Energy Became Unstoppable. It begins with a question, one that should leave fossil fuel industry leaders feeling glum — “Is the 21st century the last one for fossil fuels?” Before we start rejoicing, keep in mind there are still 83 years left to go in this century and the fossil fuel industry intends to extract and sell every molecule of fossil fuels it can find before the end times for oil, natural gas, and coal arrive. By the time 2101 gets here, the earth may have been unalterably changed to the point where human existence as we know it is no longer possible.
Bill McKibben, in his insightful book, Oil And Honey, makes the case clearly. The environment can withstand perhaps another 565 gigatons of carbon emissions before the environment tips over into unsustainability. After that, most of the species presently alive will simply disappear, the oceans will rise by an average of 12 feet, and global temperatures will increase to the point where traditional agriculture becomes impossible. Our children’s children may not roast to death but they very well might die of starvation.
McKibben then drops the other shoe. The world’s fossil fuel companies have reserves which, if consumed, will release 2,795 gigatons of carbon emissions into the world’s already overloaded ecosystem — five times more than the environment can possibly absorb. If the fossil fuel companies dropped nuclear bombs on society, they would be vilified as monsters. But 2,795 gigatons worth of carbon may be worse than a nuclear attack. Radiation begins to abate after a few hundred years. It may be a million years of more the earth is able to recover from the fossil fuel bomb the Koch Brothers and their ilk have in mind.
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https://cleantechnica.com/2017/05/19/renewable-energy-unstoppable-declares-financial-times/
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22 May 2017 | Sören Amelang, Benjamin Wehrmann, Julian Wettengel
Germany & China appeal to US on climate / Swiss vote for Energiewende
Germany, China call on US to remain in Paris Agreement
Germany and China reiterated their calls on the US administration to commit to international climate protection efforts and stay in the Paris Agreement at a climate conference in Berlin. Germany is currently trying “on all levels” to persuade the US administration to stay in the agreement, said environment minister Barbara Hendricks at a press conference ahead of the 8th Petersberg Climate Dialogue, held 22 – 23 May in Berlin. China's Special Representative on Climate Change Xie Zhenhua said that “no country, no people” could stop the global trend towards climate protection.
The Petersberg Climate Dialogue gives countries the opportunity to informally exchange experiences on international climate policy.
Follow the public segments of the Petersberg Climate Dialogue via livestream here and find the programme in English here. (http://www.bmub.bund.de/en/service/events/details/event/petersberg-climate-dialogue-vii/)
G20 must promote climate protection
G20 countries must promote climate protection and the implementation of the Paris Agreement, said the Federation of German Industries (BDI), Germanwatch and Mercator Research Institute on Global Commons and Climate Change (MCC) in a joint press release ahead of the 8th Petersberg Climate Dialogue. The meeting in Berlin today and tomorrow should provide the necessary tailwind for the G20 summit in Hamburg in July, they said. BDI deputy managing director Holger Lösch called on G20 governments to lay the groundwork for a CO₂ price at the Hamburg summit.
Swiss give green light for renewables and nuclear phase-out
A clear majority of voters in Switzerland have opted for a new energy law that aims to promote renewable energy, bans construction of new nuclear plants and fosters greater energy efficiency, Urs Geiser writes on swissinfo.ch. About 58 percent of Swiss voters in a referendum on Sunday backed the government’s Energy Strategy 2050 programme, which had been debated for six years, Geiser writes. Swiss energy Minister Doris Leuthard said the vote opened “a new chapter in Switzerland’s energy policy,” but there was “still a lot of work to do.”
Read the article in English here. (https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/vote-opener/43190762)
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Joshua D. Rhodes, Ph.D. is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in The Webber Energy Group and the Energy Institute at the University of Texas at Austin. His current research is in the area of smart grid and the bulk electricity system, including spatial system-level applications and impacts of energy efficiency, resource planning, distributed generation, and storage. He is also interested in policy.
Are Solar and Wind Really Killing Coal, Nuclear and Grid Reliability? (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2F1.bp.blogspot.com%2F-TzWpwHzCvCI%2FT_sBEnhCCpI%2FAAAAAAAAME8%2FIsLpuU8HYxc%2Fs1600%2Fnooo-way-smiley.gif&hash=b8545bd420b1e2f2c7b9f665d2093523e4ad2251)
SNIPPET:
May 25, 2017
By Joshua D. Rhodes, Michael E. Webber, Thomas Deetjen and Todd Davidson
U.S. Secretary of Energy Rick Perry in April requested a study to assess the effect of renewable energy policies on nuclear and coal-fired power plants.
Some energy analysts responded with confusion, as the subject has been extensively studied by grid operators and the Department of Energy’s own national labs. Others were more critical, saying the intent of the review is to favor the use of nuclear and coal over renewable sources.
So, are wind and solar killing coal and nuclear? Yes(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2Fmaniac.gif&hash=9ecf389a7da25db958f3f63461cbb45a4b316c4e) ;D , but not by themselves and not for the reasons most people think. Are wind and solar killing grid reliability? No, not where the grid’s technology and regulations have been modernized. In those places, overall grid operation has improved, not worsened.
To understand why, we need to trace the path of electrons from the wall socket back to power generators and the markets and policies that dictate that flow. As energy scholars based in Texas — the national leader in wind — we’ve seen these dynamics play out over the past decade, including when Perry was governor.
Wrong Question (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.desismileys.com%2Fsmileys%2Fdesismileys_0293.gif&hash=b1af4868ed8f18c30e637f8cbcb79002f6f71039)
There has been a lot of ink spilled on why coal is in trouble. A quick recap: Natural gas is plentiful and cheap. Our coal fleet is old and depreciated. Energy use in the U.S. has flatlined, so there’s less financial incentive to build big new power plants.
Part of Perry’s review ;) is aimed at establishing how wind and solar, which are variable sources of power, are affecting so-called baseload sources — the power plants that provide the steady flow of electricity needed to meet the minimum demand.
Posing the question whether wind and solar are killing baseload generators, including coal plants, reveals an antiquated mindset about power markets that hasn’t been relevant in many places for at least a decade. It would be similar to asking in the late 1990s whether email was killing fax machines and snail mail. The answer would have been an unequivocal “yes” followed by cheers of “hallelujah” and “it’s about time” because both had bumped into the limits of their utility. How quickly 1990s consumers leaped to something faster, less impactful and cheaper than the older approach was a sign that they were ready for it.
Something similar is happening in today’s power markets, as customers again choose faster, less impactful, cheaper options — namely wind, solar and natural gas plants that quickly boost or cut their output — as opposed to clinging to the outdated, lumbering options developed decades before. Even the Department of Energy’s own analysis states that “many of the old paradigms that govern the (electricity) sector are also evolving.”
Wind and solar are making older generators less viable because their low, stable prices and emissions-free operation are desirable. And they aren’t hurting grid reliability the way critics had assumed because other innovations have happened simultaneously.
Texas Pioneer
Let’s use the case study of Texas to illustrate. Since Texas has its own grid, known as the Electricity Reliability Council of Texas or ERCOT, and has installed more wind capacity than the next three wind-leading states combined, the Texas experience shows what variable renewables like wind power do to the grid.
In competitive markets like ERCOT, companies that run power plants place bids into an auction to provide electricity at a certain time for a certain price. A bid stack is jargon for “a stack of bids” — or the collection of all these bids lined up in order by price — in auction-based markets (such as Texas).
Markets use bid stacks to make sure that the lowest-cost power plants are dispatched first and the most expensive power plants are dispatched last. This market-based system is designed to deliver the lowest-cost electricity to consumers while also keeping power plant owners from operating at a loss. Throughout the day, the market price for electricity (in $/MWh) changes as demand changes.
Full EYE OPENING article (though Palloy's eyes will continue to be tightly shut :P) with irrefutable animated charts and hard data proving that Renewables make the Grid MORE RELIABLE (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fcliparts.co%2Fcliparts%2FBig%2FEgq%2FBigEgqBMT.png&hash=e7eec62f009cdd686ce795fad0a53c6befe748e9), not less:
http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/articles/2017/05/are-solar-and-wind-really-killing-coal-nuclear-and-grid-reliability.html
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Is the Fossil Fuel Industry Actually Dying?
https://youtu.be/cxNmEq2h_Vw
May 23, 2017
Thom talks about a piece speculating on the imminent death of the fossil fuel industry. It could happen sooner than we think! (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2F128fs318181.gif&hash=eff6d5f3831782966c2ff2081f07bf7fc5b22a6b) (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.desismileys.com%2Fsmileys%2Fdesismileys_0293.gif&hash=b1af4868ed8f18c30e637f8cbcb79002f6f71039)
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New Solar Projects In India Are Cheaper Than 92% Of All Thermal Power Plants In The Country ;D
May 25th, 2017 by Saurabh Mahapatra
SNIPPET:
According to the data for 2014-15, there are 248 thermal power plants in India based on a variety of fuels including coal, lignite, imported coal, diesel and different forms of petroleum-based fuels. The new low of solar power tariffs — Rs 2.44/kWh — is less than the tariff of 227 of the 248 thermal power plants. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-200714191258.bmp&hash=e4ed21caaca822f7445ccafd39f49a9f84be90ca)
Most of the cheaper 21 thermal power plants are based on domestic coal while a few are based on lignite and one uses imported coal. Another thermal power plant that is not listed among the 248 is India’s largest thermal power plant, Sasan Ultra Mega Power Plant which has an installed capacity of 3,960 megawatts. This is also among the cheapest thermal power plants in India.
https://cleantechnica.com/2017/05/25/new-solar-projects-india-cheaper-92-thermal-power-plants-country/
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Top 10 States Leading the Renewable Energy Revolution(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.bativert.ma%2Fimages%2Fimage3.jpg&hash=7c7c27d838504cb1d5c5a4c1efac44e790a39265)
05 June, 2017 By Ralph Cavanagh
SNIPPET:
California continues to lead the way on clean energy, but energy efficiency and renewables are gaining major ground across the country, a new ranking of states and cities shows. Six states now get at least a fifth of their power from non-hydro renewable sources such as wind and solar—further confirmation that regardless of the Trump administration's efforts to promote fossil-fuel interests, clean energy is making undeniable inroads.
The Golden State and Massachusetts lead the eighth annual U.S. Clean Tech Leadership Index from the research firm Clean Edge for a fifth year in a row, the latter bolstered by its strong record of energy efficiency and private investment in clean tech. Vermont, Oregon and New York round out the top five.
The ranking scores each state on the policies, capital (both financial and human), and technology each has deployed to scale up clean energy. California, of course, has long been a leader in all three areas, with more solar energy generation than any other state, 1.2 million electric and hybrid cars on the road and $9.5 billion in clean-tech venture capital funding over the past three years.
San Francisco, San Jose, Washington, DC, San Diego and Portland, Oregon, top the cities ranking, based on criteria including green buildings and transportation. "There are no weak spots in the City by the Bay's performance," the report said, highlighting San Francisco's strong adoption of clean vehicles and an increased commitment to measuring, reporting and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Washington rose two spots in the ranking this year in part on the strength of its building stock and public transit ridership.
The adoption of clean energy across the U.S. is a trend that supersedes politics. The top 10 list for renewable electricity generation as a share of the total is split evenly between red states and blue states, with Iowa showing large gains in wind since 2009 and Nevada adding geothermal power.
Overall, wind and solar accounted for 61 percent of the new electric capacity added in 2016, the report said. And while the clean energy sector helps the nation cut planet-warming carbon emissions and clear the air, it is also creating jobs, an indicator that Clean Edge added to its analysis this year for the first time.
In Vermont, which fell to third in the rankings overall, clean energy jobs accounted for the largest share of total jobs (four percent) compared to other states.
Full article with encouraging graphics:
https://www.ecowatch.com/renewable-energy-state-index-2428109809.html
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Renewables Transition: Just How Much?
The US electric grid can reliably handle up to 80% renewable energy by 2030, according to new research that pushes back against claims from the Trump administration that renewables are a threat to the grid’s reliability. The study from over 20 researchers published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences also functions as a rebuttal to a 2015 paper claiming the US can reach a 100 percent renewable grid by 2055. Both studies argue for an aggressive increase in US energy use. Lead author of the PNAS study Chris Clack told the Washington Post that “a peer reviewed piece to highlight some of the mistakes [of the 2015 study]” was necessary to “have a broader discussion about what we really need to fight climate change.” Lead author of the 2015 paper, Stanford professor Mark Jacobsen, has pushed back aggressively against the new paper (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2Fswear1.gif&hash=87347674f9297191f3f8a447208170617da4caf6) on Twitter and in the press.
https://insideclimatenews.org/news/19062017/100-percent-renewable-energy-climate-change-targets
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Experts Conclude Shifting US Power Mix Does Not Endanger System Reliability (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-020617175335.png&hash=4a5c251d405bf9d4b949b9b72f14a0afffb47df7) (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.desismileys.com%2Fsmileys%2Fdesismileys_0293.gif&hash=b1af4868ed8f18c30e637f8cbcb79002f6f71039)
June 20th, 2017 by Joshua S Hill
SNIPPET:
Back in April, Energy Secretary Rick Perry penned a memo (PDF), directing his Chief of Staff to “initiate a study to explore critical issues central to protecting the long-term reliability of the electric grid” and using the full resources of the Energy Department. Secretary Perry ordered the report to be completed 60 days from April 19, which means we’re now right on top of expecting the report to drop.
A month later, four national business groups representing US renewable energy interests submitted materials to the Energy Secretary in an attempt to inform him of the importance and value of renewable energy sources and their contribution to protecting electricity reliability in the United States.
The four groups — Advanced Energy Economy (AEE), American Council on Renewable Energy (ACORE), American Wind Energy Association (AWEA), and Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) — each penned a separate report and expressed their regret that the Department of Energy had ignored calls for “an open and transparent process for the review of reliability and electricity markets.”
In the cover letter penned by the four groups, they write,
“It is in the spirit of common purpose that we express our disappointment that the Department has apparently chosen not to make this review — which as outlined in your memo has the potential to upend energy markets around the country — public and open to input from industry, grid operators, state regulators, and other key stakeholders.”
Shares of Total US Net Generation by Fuel: 2005 vs. 2016
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https://cleantechnica.com/2017/06/20/experts-conclude-shifting-us-power-mix-not-endanger-system-reliability/
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Renewables to Grab $7 Trillion of Global Power Investment, Says BNEF (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2Fballoons.gif&hash=a64bb5ff3e76c3e11999996c460fa02de1ee10f7)
June 15, 2017
By Kelvin Ross (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2F19.gif&hash=3f9f2fc2285bc756137e21463bc2a4c420b15ac3)
Renewables will account for almost three quarters of global investment in power generation between now and 2040, according to a new report from Bloomberg New Energy Finance.
In its New Energy Outlook 2017, Bloomberg estimates that $10.2 trillion will be spent on power generation technology in the next 22 years, with clean energy grabbing $7.4 trillion.
“This year’s report suggests that the greening of the world’s electricity system is unstoppable, thanks to rapidly falling costs for solar and wind power, and a growing role for batteries, including those in electric vehicles, in balancing supply and demand,” said Seb Henbest, lead author of the report.
Of the $7.4 trillion Bloomberg expects to be invested in new renewable energy plants by 2040, solar will account for $2.8 trillion, which will provide a 14-fold jump in capacity, while wind gets $3.3 trillion and sees a fourfold increase in capacity.
“As a result, wind and solar will make up 48 percent of the world’s installed capacity and 34 percent of electricity generation by 2040, compared with just 12 and 5 percent now,” said Henbest.
The report states that the levelized cost of electricity from solar PV, which is now almost a quarter of what it was in 2009, is set to drop another 66 percent by 2040. “By then a dollar will buy 2.3 times as much solar energy than it does today. Solar is already at least as cheap as coal in Germany, Australia, the U.S., Spain and Italy,” said Henbest. “By 2021, it will be cheaper than coal in China, India, Mexico, the U.K. and Brazil as well.”
Meanwhile the report forecasts that offshore wind levelized costs will “slide a whopping 71 percent by 2040, helped by development experience, competition and reduced risk, and economies of scale resulting from larger projects and bigger turbines.” It predicts the cost of onshore wind will fall 47 percent in the same period, on top of the 30 percent drop of the past eight years, thanks to cheaper, more efficient turbines and streamlined operating and maintenance procedures.
In terms of countries leading the way in investment, China and India dominate, accounting for what Bloomberg calls “a $4 trillion opportunity for the energy sector.” The report states China will account for 28 percent and India 11 percent of all investment in power generation by 2040. Indeed, the Asia Pacific region sees almost as much investment in generation as the rest of the world combined. Of this, just under a third goes to wind and solar each, 18 percent to nuclear and 10 percent to coal and gas.
The report finds that the reach of renewables will be boosted by the rise of battery technology. “We expect the lithium-ion battery market for energy storage to be worth at least $239 billion between now and 2040,” said Henbest. “Utility-scale batteries increasingly compete with natural gas to provide system flexibility at times of peak demand. Small-scale batteries installed by households and businesses alongside PV systems will account for 57 percent of storage worldwide by 2040. We anticipate renewable energy reaching 74 percent penetration in Germany by 2040, 38 percent in the U.S., 55 percent in China and 49 percent in India.”
Electric vehicles are also predicted to play a role in bolstering electricity use and balancing the grid. In Europe and the U.S., Bloomberg estimates that EVs will account for 13 and 12 percent, respectively, of electricity generation by 2040. “Charging EVs flexibly, when renewables are generating and wholesale prices are low, will help the system adapt to intermittent solar and wind. The growth of EVs pushes the cost of lithium-ion batteries down 73 percent by 2030,” explained Henbest.
The sharp rise in renewables investment is of course predicted to impact on fossil fuel generation. “Coal-fired power collapses in Europe and the U.S., ;D” says the report. “Sluggish demand, cheap renewables and coal-to-gas fuel switching will slash coal use by 87 percent in Europe by 2040. In the US, coal use in power drops 45 percent as old plants are not replaced and others start burning cheaper gas. Coal generation in China grows by a fifth over the next decade but reaches a peak in 2026. Globally, we expect 369 GW of planned new coal plants to be cancelled, a third of which are in India, and for global demand for thermal coal in power to decline by 15 percent over 2016-40.”
And Bloomberg stresses that gas will be a transition fuel, “but not in the way most people think.”
The report states that gas-fired power will see $804 billion in new investment and 16 percent more capacity by 2040. “Gas plants will increasingly act as one of the flexible technologies needed to help meet peaks and provide system stability in an age of rising renewable generation, rather than as a replacement for baseload coal,” said Henbest. “In the Americas, however, where gas is plentiful and cheap, it plays a more central role, especially in the near term.”
Despite a pro-coal stance taken by U.S. President Donald Trump, the report indicates that “the economic realities over the next two decades will not favor U.S. coal-fired power, which is forecast to see a 51 percent reduction in generation by 2040. In its place, gas-fired electricity will rise 22 percent and renewables 169 percent.”
http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/articles/2017/06/renewables-to-grab-7-trillion-of-global-power-investment-says-bnef.html
Kelvin Ross is Editor of Power Engineering International magazine and its associated publications – Middle East Energy and the Global Power Review. Previously, Kelvin was News Editor at UK online news site Energy Live News, Production Editor and Head of Design on daily international shipping newspaper Lloyd’s List, Deputy Editor for a group of weekly London newspapers and has worked as a freelance sub-editor on UK national newspapers.
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JULY 11, 2017 / 3:07 AM
Electricity investment overtakes oil, gas for first time ever in 2016: IEA (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-200714183515.bmp&hash=4a3ad9d0a78a7e161f53ddd84f568082a5b0d2ad)
PARIS (Reuters) - Investments in electricity surpassed those in oil and gas for the first time ever in 2016 on a spending splurge on renewable energy and power grids as the fall in crude prices led to deep cuts, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said on Tuesday.
Total energy investment fell for the second straight year by 12 percent to $1.7 trillion compared with 2015, the IEA said. Oil and gas investments plunged 26 percent to $650 billion, down by over a quarter in 2016, and electricity generation slipped 5 percent.
"This decline (in energy investment) is attributed to two reasons," IEA chief economist Laszlo Varro told journalists.
"The reaction of the oil and gas industry to the prolonged period of low oil prices which was a period of harsh investment cuts; and technological progress which is reducing investment costs in both renewable power and in oil and gas," he said.
Oil and gas investment is expected to rebound modestly by 3 percent in 2017, driven by a 53 percent upswing in U.S. shale, and spending in Russia and the Middle East, the IEA said in a report.
"The rapid ramp up of U.S. shale activities has triggered an increase of U.S. shale costs of 16 percent in 2017 after having almost halved from 2014-16," the report said.
The global electricity sector, however, was the largest recipient of energy investment in 2016 for the first time ever, overtaking oil, gas and coal combined, the report said.
"Robust investments in renewable energy and increased spending in electricity networks, made electricity the biggest area of capital investments," Varro said.
Electricity investment worldwide was $718 billion, lifted by higher spending in power grids which offset the fall in power generation investments.
"Investment in new renewables-based power capacity, at $297 billion, remained the largest area of electricity spending, despite falling back by 3 percent," the report said.
Although renewables investments was 3 percent lower than five years ago, capacity additions were 50 percent higher and expected output from this capacity about 35 percent higher, thanks to the fall in unit costs and technology improvements in solar PV and wind generation, the IEA said.
Investments in coal-fired electricity plants fell sharply. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.desismileys.com%2Fsmileys%2Fdesismileys_6869.gif&hash=f94938471d343a09155d1f60eefacdb2ceab2457) Sanctioning of new coal power plants fell to the lowest level in nearly 15 years, reflecting concerns about local air pollution, and emergence of overcapacity and competition from renewables, notably in China. Coal investments, however, grew in India.
"Coal investment is coming to an end. At the very least, it is coming to a pause," Varro said.
The IEA report said energy efficiency investments continued to expand in 2016, reaching $231 billion, with most of it going to the building sector globally.
Electric vehicles sales rose 38 percent in 2016 to 750,000 vehicles at $6 billion, and represented 10 percent of all transport efficiency spending. Some $6 billion was spent globally on electronic vehicle charging stations, the IEA said.
Spending on electricity networks and storage continued the steady rise of the past five years, reaching an all-time high of $277 billion in 2016, with 30 percent of the expansion driven by China’s spending in its distribution system, the report said.
China led the world in energy investments with 21 percent of global total share, the report said, driven by low-carbon electricity supply and networks projects.
Although oil and gas investments fell in the United States in 2016, its total energy investments rose 16 percent on the back of spending in renewables projects, the IEA report said.
Editing by Susan Thomas
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-tesla-service-idUSKBN19W1GS
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China Achieves 7.2-GW New Solar Capacity Milestone in 1Q17
July 20, 2017
By Liu Yuanyuan Director of Operations solar
China has installed 7.21 GW of new solar capacity in the first quarter of 2017, achieving another renewable energy milestone with growth maintaining the same pace as during 1Q16. Of that total, 4.78 GW came from utility-scale solar, with the remaining 2.43 GW originating from distributed solar PV, bringing the country’s cumulative solar PV capacity up to almost 85 GW. The country generated 21.4 billion kWh of electricity during the quarter, up 80 percent over the same period of a year earlier, according to statistics from China’s National Energy Administration (NEA).
The lion’s share of new solar PV capacity was located in the central and eastern regions of the country, accounting for 6.39 GW or 89 percent of the total new capacity added. China’s key PV market is gradually transitioning from the country’s western and northern interior to the center and along the eastern coast, with the 2.43 GW of new distributed solar PV overwhelmingly located in just four provinces: Zhejiang, Shandong, Anhui and Jiangsu.
However, curtailment issues continued to plague various regions during the quarter. While abandonment figures for Ningxia and Gansu dropped by 10 percent and 19 percent respectively, Qinghai, Shaanxi, and Inner Mongolia all saw time outs due to a curtailment increase of 9 percent, 11 percent, and 8 percent respectively, with the amount of time that Xinjiang’s wind plants sat idle remaining at an astronomically high 39 percent. :(
Following an in-depth analysis of the industry and the leading industry players, the China National Renewable Energy Centre predicted the country’s newly-added installed solar capacity for the first half of the year would reach 24 GW, including roughly 17 GW from utility-scale solar.
The remaining 7 GW came from distributed solar PV, nearly three times what was added during the same period in 2016. During the second half of the year, the distributed solar PV sector is expected to maintain rapid growth, with anticipated newly added installed capacity reaching more than 7 GW, driven by the country’s favorable policies to drive development of the sector. For the full year of 2017, the country’s total newly added installed solar capacity has a good chance of exceeding 40 GW, the center predicted.
But ambitious targets do not necessarily translate into results. To achieve those goals, China would need to overcome chronic problems in its energy sector. The sector remained hobbled by severe overcapacity. Slowing demand for electricity due to the economic downturn and the slashing of energy intensive industries has caused widespread under-utilization of existing power generation capacities which are seeing their lowest utilization hours since 1978. :o
Yet, consolidation and restructuring across China’s solar PV sector is expected to lead to stability in terms of the sector’s further development. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fus.123rf.com%2F400wm%2F400%2F400%2Fyayayoy%2Fyayayoy1106%2Fyayayoy110600019%2F9735563-smiling-sun-showing-thumb-up.jpg&hash=09b45642ec6d7943d30b5b87548676e3ee7dbe3d)
http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/articles/2017/07/china-achieves-7-2-mw-new-solar-capacity-milestone-in-1q17.html (http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/articles/2017/07/china-achieves-7-2-mw-new-solar-capacity-milestone-in-1q17.html)
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(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.haleakalasolar.com%2Fimages%2Findex-infobox2.jpg&hash=c49806321315171df0f26c7f0f47adb61cf632eb)
“Drawdown” — The Definitive Guide To Combating Climate Change
July 29th, 2017 by Steve Hanley
SNIPPET:
Drawdown Surprises :o
We here at CleanTechnica, we focus heavily on the electrification of the transportation sector. That is critically important, of course, but would you care to guess what the one area is that we as a people have total control over and that has the potential to keep more carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere than making every car and truck on the planet run on electricity?
#1 is something we have touched on here only briefly — refrigerant management. Read more about it on page 164. The authors estimate that this one area could keep nearly 90 gigatons of carbon dioxide from entering the atmosphere. Electric cars? About 4 gigatons. :P
Here are the other 9 items on the Top 10 list and their carbon reduction potential:
Wind Turbines (Onshore) — 84.60 gigatons
Reduced Food Waste — 70.53 gigatons
Plant-rich diet — 66.11 gigatons
Tropical Forests — 61.23 gigatons
Educating Girls (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.coh2.org%2Fimages%2FSmileys%2Fhuhsign.gif&hash=3732d0427be65896527fc3805c5be54a33cffd3b) (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2F128fs318181.gif&hash=eff6d5f3831782966c2ff2081f07bf7fc5b22a6b) — 59.60 gigatons
Family Planning — 59.60 gigatons
Solar Farms — 36.90 gigatons
Silvopasture — 31.19 gigatons
Rooftop Solar — 24.60 gigatons
There are 80 items on the list. Total cost if all were fully implemented? $27.4 trillion. That’s a lot of cash, right? (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fs3.amazonaws.com%2Frapgenius%2F1375371542_tumblr_m7jevgcaFm1qzqdem.gif&hash=1a2fe8d9567770e89661ad82a4e03b115e0f5358)
However will we pay for all that? (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-301014182447.gif&hash=58fbc1dfd905f79b3d4bacde8e89a935c2b859ac) (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.desismileys.com%2Fsmileys%2Fdesismileys_6656.gif&hash=2038f9b45636a93e5c0f4ee508ce29778fe9e9b4) (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.desismileys.com%2Fsmileys%2Fdesismileys_1730.gif&hash=cdaf50326d98ff7b051a9c49e83d51c7bb687407) ???
With savings, people — or deferred costs. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2F129fs238648.gif&hash=bbf8ad9cbaff9e7d3097c40c21a931e6649a237f) (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fcliparts.co%2Fcliparts%2FBig%2FEgq%2FBigEgqBMT.png&hash=e7eec62f009cdd686ce795fad0a53c6befe748e9) The authors estimated total economic savings at just under $74 trillion.
Deferred Gratification (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2F19.gif&hash=3f9f2fc2285bc756137e21463bc2a4c420b15ac3)
The trick, of course, is that the costs come up front. The savings often come later. Human beings seem genetically incapable of making hard choices today that will have extraordinary benefits later. Deferred gratification could be the death knell for the capitalist model prevalent in most countries today. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.clker.com%2Fcliparts%2Fc%2F8%2Ff%2F8%2F11949865511933397169thumbs_up_nathan_eady_01.svg.hi.png&hash=599691109af22b33f1d59dd61eb97448a9427020)(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-141113185047.png&hash=384024358ff8d5e7133d19b6e6638da4584a8154)
Pie-in-the-sky projections about future savings are discounted. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2Fgen152.gif&hash=d5b10968fe56c4cb95fae17cee3cb420a5f4e2da) Either they are treated as irrelevant or derided as #FakeNews. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-120716190938.png&hash=01feab1c7345a4e98764e0f9d24b2d69171b93c2)
The world operates on what I like to call the Wimpy Theory. Wimpy was a character in Popeye cartoons (some of you may be old enough to remember watching cartoons on television on Saturday mornings). Wimpy had one line that he used all the time. It went like this: “I will gladly pay you Tuesday for a cheeseburger today.” It’s the “kick the can down the road” theory of global management and it will kill us all if we don’t stop — all except the lucky few who can escape to Mars aboard Elon Musk’s magic carpet. ::)
(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimg10.deviantart.net%2F7b01%2Fi%2F2012%2F261%2F1%2F0%2Fwimpy_tells_to_pooch_to_pay_hamburger_for_tuesday_by_ozzyguy-d5f6m99.png&hash=f162f3805a42808e4c1ce7560570dcf822338c79)
Full article: (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2Freading.gif&hash=63e3e644b39258d4c4eedbcdaf322315b1856723)
(https://c1cleantechnicacom-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/files/2017/07/Drawdown-cover.png)
https://cleantechnica.com/2017/07/29/drawdown-definitive-guide-combating-climate-change/ (https://cleantechnica.com/2017/07/29/drawdown-definitive-guide-combating-climate-change/)
Agelbert NOTE: I have a couple of things to say.
First of all, the contents of this article should be required reading for everyone that can read, not just students.
The issue of Deferred Gratification is not new. t is called Common Sense and every religion out there advocates it. Only the SCAM called "greed is good" Capitalism actually labels deferred gratifcation as a "weakness". That explains why Capitalism has been so morally destructive to human society and environmentally disastrous to the biosphere.
Theresa Morris wrote an excellent Essay that fleshes out what we must do. The article here deals with nuts and bolts economic realities. Theresa goes further and explains specifically WHY we should opt for deferred gratification as a matter of ethics, not just survival. I added graphics to underline the importance of her essay and some comments at the end. But the work is hers and it deserves to be broadcast far and wide, just like the article here.
I am posting here two of the graphics I included in my comments on Theresa's Essay in order to explain to readers how TPTB, who are well aware of the dangers inherent in climate change (though they won't admit it), plan to make all the rest of us pay for what those actually DOING over 90% (about ONE percent of the world population) of the damage are liable for (i.e. environmental damage through government policies subsidizing polluters actively and passively through mendacious happy talk propaganda born of corporate corruption). (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-120716190938.png&hash=01feab1c7345a4e98764e0f9d24b2d69171b93c2)
IOW, those responsible for the damage plan to spread the cost to further enrich the oligarchic polluters that got us into this mess in the first place. The operative phrase is "Fragmentation of Agency".
The "Agency" definition here is the responsibility for harm and the consequent responsibility to pay for mitigating said harm.
"Fragmentation" refers to what percentage of all those with Agency in doing the harm are responsible to pay to mitigate and eventually repair said harm.
Since, according to the U.N., the richest 20% of the world's population uses 80% of the resources, the 'Fragmentation of Agency' pie chart for the damage done to the biosphere should look like this:
(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-240915212016.jpeg&hash=47c78d80b3447e15bc4cadf79725cd2b1ad0c926)
The fossil fuel industry, and almost half of the world’s 100 largest companies, want that 'Fragmentation of Agency' pie chart to look like is as follows:
(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-240915212425.png&hash=474f51564604f10ac8a8653c5e6d181e37afbfa8)
The above graphic is how TPTB polluters will try to pass most of the buck away from themselves and onto we-the-people.
We either take to heart what this Cleantechnica article makes very clear and also adopt the common sense ethical recommendations of visionaries like Theresa Morris, or we are toast.
What it Means to be Responsible - Reflections on Our Responsibility for the Future by Theresa Morris, State University of New York at New Paltz (http://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/climate-change/future-earth/msg7563/#msg7563)
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On One Fine Day in May, 87% of Italy’s Electricity Came From Renewables
Posted on Jul 30, 2017
By Juan Cole / Informed Comment
SNIPPET:
https://youtu.be/9D4DZw_Gpsw
* On one day in May, Italy met 87% of its electricity production needs from renewables. This statistic was a fluke, since ordinarily renewables supply less than a fifth of Italy’s electricity. Still, that on especially bright and windy days renewables can perform at this level is a harbinger for the future. There were no disruptions of the power lines. With enough investment, Italy could get most of its electricity from renewables
Italy is attractive as a market for solar energy, in part because it is a sunny country and solar is a much cheaper alternative to oil, gas and coal. Italy has high electricity rates, impelling a rush to renewables. Solar energy production was up 22% in 2016, and installations continue.
Renewables like wind and solar are up to 17% of Italian electricity production. (They only account for 10% of US electricity production).
An Italian firm also won the right to install solar panels in Bushehr, Iran. Iran generates some electricity with petroleum, which is a loss since it could be sold on the world market. It thus is interested in renewables. Each kilowatt hour brought to Iran by solar equates with more money that can be made by selling the oil abroad instead of wasting it domestically.
If you want to see the future, you don’t look at existing power generation mixes, you look at source of new power.(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.desismileys.com%2Fsmileys%2Fdesismileys_0293.gif&hash=b1af4868ed8f18c30e637f8cbcb79002f6f71039) In 2016, 90% of new power generation in Europe was renewables.
Read more: (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-060914180936.jpeg&hash=5e39d70fafe4e7190a6eebce34b740c58721de3f)
http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/on_one_fine_day_in_may_italy_got_87_electricity_renewables
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(https://www.cleanenergywire.org/sites/all/themes/clew/logo.png)
95 percent of Germans want more renewable energies (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2F19.gif&hash=3f9f2fc2285bc756137e21463bc2a4c420b15ac3)
Ninety-five percent of Germans say that increased use and expansion of renewable energy is important or very important, according to a representative survey by Kantar Emnid, commissioned by Renewable Energies Agency (AEE). It also found broad support (65 percent) for renewable energy installations in respondents’ direct neighbourhoods (5km radius), which increased further if they already had experience with such installations in their area.
https://www.cleanenergywire.org/factsheets/polls-reveal-citizens-support-energiewende
(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-310517125550.jpeg&hash=d06642600f3b99f0e3933e485766e704610364bb)
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Energy Democracy In 4 Powerful Steps
August 14th, 2017 by John Farrell
SNIPPET:
(https://ilsr.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/us-power-plant-capacity-2017-0224.jpg)
There’s no question that the energy system is undergoing change. One need look no further than the 1 million solar rooftops in the US or — for the wonky — the source of new power capacity in the US over the past 15 years. In 2003, just 20% of new electric capacity came from renewable power plants. In the last eight years, it’s been at or over 60% almost every year. In the first three quarters of 2016, 16% of our new power capacity came from distributed solar alone (such as home rooftop solar arrays).
(https://ilsr.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/from-energy-monopoly-to-energy-democracy-illustration.jpg)
But few people realize that the change from fossil fuels to renewable sources is just a harbinger for a phase of massive disruption in energy markets. The disruption will remake how the energy system serves its users and offer unprecedented choices for customers. It may go further than choice. As the energy system shifts away from the outdated utility monopoly model, the four Ds of energy democracy — distributed power, decentralization, democracy from ownership, and disruptive technology — have the potential to put those users in charge and allow them to reap the economic benefits.
Full MUST READ article on how Energy Democracy will come about! (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2Fcowboypistol.gif&hash=2dc97f743dffca22404e6e4e0822765e60b33f38) (https://cleantechnica.com/2017/08/14/energy-democracy-4-powerful-steps/)
(https://ilsr.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/4-Horsemen-of-the-Utility-Apocalypse-ILSR.png)
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(https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/527210744178167809/z6CbCdS5.jpeg) (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2Fcomputer3.gif&hash=cd6007945e9cbaabf029ebaef6ad36b8505bc341)
Rocky Mountain Institute celebrated our 35th anniversary on August 3, 2017. RMI and special guests, friends, and supporters gathered to recognize 35 years of transforming global energy use at our award-winning Innovation Center, in Basalt, Colorado.
https://youtu.be/CZHZodNh_zw
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The 6 Countries Leading on Renewable Energy, But Could Improve on Incentives, Regulatory Support
September 1, 2017 By Jennifer Delony Associate Editor
Recently released heat maps from Sustainable Energy for All identify countries and regions where improvements would increase the share of renewables in the global energy mix to 36 percent of total final energy consumption by 2030.
https://youtu.be/xDg0_DKcgg0
More Data
Top 5 Countries Planning for Renewable Energy Expansion
United States
Brazil
Spain
United Kingdom
Italy
Top 5 Countries in Incentives and Regulatory Support for Renewable Energy
Canada
Iran
Italy
United Kingdom
Mexico
Top 3 Countries for Carbon Pricing and Monitoring
France
Japan
Republic of Korea
Source: Sustainable Energy for All
http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/articles/2017/09/the-6-countries-leading-on-renewable-energy-but-could-improve-on-incentives-regulatory-support.html
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Global Warming Tipping Points and Renewable Energy Explosive Growth (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.coh2.org%2Fimages%2FSmileys%2Fhuhsign.gif&hash=3732d0427be65896527fc3805c5be54a33cffd3b)(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-250817121424.gif&hash=384c17a4d2be4831084933b91808f8a60f73f7f5) (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.emofaces.com%2Fpng%2F200%2Femoticons%2Ffingerscrossed.png&hash=d56f8009d18b55f4cea7be68284c0521be92fc5d)
https://youtu.be/kdsipNdZ_5w
Peter Carter EGU 2017 Climate Emergency
Peter Carter (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2F19.gif&hash=3f9f2fc2285bc756137e21463bc2a4c420b15ac3)
Published on Jul 16, 2017
Peter Carter of the Climate Emergency Institute at the European Geoscience General
Assembly April 2017
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Hurricanes Clear The Way For Tesla To Power Puerto Rico & The Caribbean (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-250817121649.png&hash=4554f7e59701d12857946aece16bceb973c997b3)
October 2nd, 2017 by Steve Hanley
Natural disasters create destruction and pain, but also open doors to opportunity. The tsunami that destroyed the Fukushima nuclear power plant in Japan changed that country’s mind about relying on nuclear energy to create electricity. The devastation visited upon Puerto Rico and several other islands in the Caribbean this year has left their electrical grids in ruins. While that has created hardships for the residents, it has opened the door to discussing whether renewable energy companies like Tesla can and should be part of the rebuilding process.
A Once In A Lifetime Opportunity
Full article:
https://cleantechnica.com/2017/10/02/hurricanes-clear-way-tesla-power-puerto-rico-caribbean/
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(https://d2v9y0dukr6mq2.cloudfront.net/video/thumbnail/2czqMab/washington-dc-beautiful-dramatic-lightning-on-monument-4k-003_vklcf_da__S0007.jpg)
The Political Storm About To Hit US
October 6th, 2017 by George Harvey
SNIPPET:
Looking out my window here in Vermont, I can see the storm clouds are gathering, and they are not pretty. There are two storms that I see, but they are are not weather. I hope they will not hit here too badly. I expect one will hit Washington D.C. pretty hard. And with it, I expect the Republican Party will be hurting.
The first is economic, and it relates to the energy industries. It is already well underway.
Full well written and logically sound article: (https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/304fa75d7ed32d56ae1ff3a796933cb65eac738511bb960bc4a77bb2f67c0af6.gif)
https://cleantechnica.com/2017/10/06/political-storm-hit-us (https://cleantechnica.com/2017/10/06/political-storm-hit-us)
(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-070817214841.gif&hash=d17961689b0d96b1ffc75389a5d1282158e244ab)
Stoli Cat • 2 hours ago
I'm afraid this storm will get much worse before it gets better. The Republican Congress has no intention to impeach a man who still has sizable support from their base. Why would they? He's removing business, social and environmental rules that suit them just fine. Meanwhile, extremist judges keep getting appointed. North Korea and Iran could turn into a real nightmare. Republicans don't have the balls to step back from their deal with the Orange Devil. Democrats continue to be corporate-owned, nice and spineless.
It's going to get much worse before it gets better. Apparently this is what stupid and lazy American voters need.
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Dan > Stoli Cat • 2 minutes ago
If the tax breaks for the rich fall apart the GOP will find itself unfunded. The donners have been very out spoken about that fact. I was just looking for a story I saw on that the other day. I think it was on TYT but I didn't see it on their you tube page. Anyway the video I saw had quotes from GOP donners which where very much along the lines of quid quo pro statements about wanting results. They are getting very in your face about the fact that they bought the government and I wonder how long the courts can turn a blind eye to it.
My advice is get to a point where you are as self reliant as possible. If things get ugly on a global scale the avg person on the streets will feel the pain. I think the great depression might look good compared to what is ahead of us. My grandfather always said the depression wasn't bad here on the farm they grew all their own food and only needed a few stables like flower and sugar which they could bater for so they got by ok. But alot of other people in town who couldn't raise their own food where not so lucky. Looking forward I think about that lesson alot and think how can I limit my dependency on purchased goods.
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agelbert > Stoli Cat • 14 minutes ago
Yes, it is going to get uglier and uglier. The polluters go away or humanity perishes.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr: In the next decade there will be an epic battle for survival for humanity against the forces of ignorance and greed. It’s going to be Armageddon, represented by the oil industry on one side, versus the renewable industry on the other. And people are going to have to choose sides – including politically.
They will have to choose sides because oil and coal, they will not be able to survive – they (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-311013200859.png&hash=a7aaaa9f04c1e3e2c948723b5f8c13fe814dacd4) are not going to be able to burn their proven reserves. If they do, then we are all dead. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-070814193155.png&hash=144ce9330e49ee84060db8753a8db69c39a14913) And they are quite willing to burn it.
We’re all going to be part of that battle. We are going to watch governments being buffeted by the whims of money and greed on one side, and idealism and hope on the other.
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(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.alternativeenergysourcesinfo.com%2Fimages%2FiStock_000016886240Small-resize.jpg&hash=0facd76a936bacffc014afb0810a37763308a26c)
Alternative Energy: Love the Environment, Save More
The buzzword for the last 10 years is "alternative energy." A lot of environmentalists, economists, and home owners are labeling it as the last-ditch effort to protect Mother Earth, as well as boost a country’s economy.
Seriously, what’s with renewable energy sources that make them very popular and controversial all at the same time?
The Numerous Advantages
There are indeed so many reasons to love alternative energy. Topping the list is the fact that it is highly economical, and, despite its expensive installation cost, practical.
The word “alternative” is just another term for “renewable.” This means that the source of your energy can be replenished for all eternity. For example, the energy from the sun will never run out unless it becomes a black hole. The wind will always be present as long as there will be cold and hot air. The inner cores the earth are constantly boiling, making them good sources for geothermal energy. The kinetic energy they produce can then be converted into electrical power.
At an economic standpoint, you will never run out of sources for your electricity. This is in contrast with fossil fuels and coals that are now constantly being depleted that they will soon become very rare commodities. This will then further increase their price in the market, and consumers have to pay more for their usage.
Moreover, since home owners and businesses no longer have to completely depend on conventional sources for electricity, they can now reduce their utility bills to as much as 90 percent every year.
Second, there are already a lot of countries that are adapting alternative forms of energy for sustainability, and they are inviting their citizens to patronize them by offering tax breaks and tax credits. That spells more savings for families and businesspersons. The government is also able to save since they don’t have to spend a lot of money on importation.
For the past few years, there is the emergence of green jobs. These are positions that have been created due to the need of expertise and skills in running and managing these forms of energy. In the process, clean energy is able to generate jobs for plenty of individuals. The wind industry alone already employs 2,000 people in the United States. These renewable types of energy also opened plenty of doors for those who want to go into business. They can manufacture parts in producing wind turbines, hybrid cars, or solar panels. They may also be tapped to sell renewable energy kits to residences and small businesses.
A lot of communities are now able to sustain themselves economically. For instance, they can develop their own wind farm and sell electrical power to households in the area.
These energy sources are also considered to be very environment friendly. This is because they don’t give off carbon emissions that would only further damage the earth’s atmosphere and promote global warming. They don’t pollute the rivers or seas, destroy the forests, or cause health hazards to people.
Types of Energy Sources
The good thing about alternative energy is that there are so many of them that you can choose from—and there will be more in the coming years as technologies and science continue to improve. You can opt for the most ideal one based on a number of factors or learn to combine them to generate full electricity for your property.
One of the most popular is the solar energy. As its name implies, the power actually comes from the sun. To collect the energy, they make use of photovoltaic cells with silicon, boron, and other materials. These cells are then grouped together into frames or solar panels. They are the ones that absorb a certain amount of power from the sun that allows electrons in the cells to move freely and create current.
The panels are sometimes attached to a battery, which is then used as an energy saving device. Whenever there is not enough sunlight, the stored power can be used to generate electricity.
Another alternative energy will be wind power, which can be converted into electricity by means of an alternative energy source called turbine. Wind is simply defined as air movement. The cold air goes down just as the hot air rises. Because wind has its own mass and motion, it develops kinetic energy, which can then turn the blades found in these turbines. The blades are then controlled by the rotor. You will also find an enclosure composed of gear box, which speeds up the rotation and help produce more wind energy, and the generator, which converts wind power to electricity.
Then you have the alternative energy called hydroelectric power. More than 1 billion people all over the world are taking advantage of water energy for electricity. The way they function is very similar to wind power. The only difference is that the source of the kinetic energy will be the strong flow of water.
Though hydroelectric power plants are stable since they have been around for several years, they can also be pretty unpredictable. This is because they are highly dependent on the bodies of water of the earth as well as the rain that falls to the ground. If the weather is going to be too hot, the amount of water in these plants will drop, making it harder for them to generate enough kinetic power that can be converted into electricity.
A unique form of alternative energy will be biomass. The energy is derived from plants, even while they are still alive, to materials that are derived from them such as dead wood, food crops, and alcohol fuels. Though both fossil fuels and biomass give off carbon dioxide, new plants are able to absorb the element from the dead living things; hence, they can help lessen global warming. There are many ways on how to utilize biomass energy.
Then you have geothermal energy. This alternative energy is derived from the inner core of the earth, which is usually hot, and the heat that comes from the sun and touches the land’s surface. There are many uses of geothermal power. One of these is the production of electricity. But its efficiency is quite low, just less than 25 percent, and there could be a significant wasted exhaust heat. Hence, most plants would also use geothermal energy for heating buildings and greenhouses
The Growing Potential and Significance of Wind Energy
Wind Energy: Its Significance Today.What is the importance of wind energy? Why are there so many countries that are now shifting their electrical source from the conventional fossil fuel to wind?
More info and several links: (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-020617175335.png&hash=4a5c251d405bf9d4b949b9b72f14a0afffb47df7)
http://www.alternativeenergysourcesinfo.com/
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China committed to making world green again (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.haleakalasolar.com%2Fimages%2Findex-infobox2.jpg&hash=c49806321315171df0f26c7f0f47adb61cf632eb)
By Wee Kean Fong | China Daily | Updated: 2017-10-25 07:35
SHI YU/CHINA DAILY
China's pursuit of modernization is aimed at establishing total harmony between human beings and nature, said General Secretary Xi Jinping in his holistic report at the opening of the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China on Oct 18.
Adding that more efforts are needed to boost green growth, reduce pollution, protect the ecosystem and reform the ecological supervision system, Xi said China's ecosystem will see fundamental improvements between 2020 and 2035. That goal is in line with the country's pledge to cut carbon emissions per unit of GDP by 60-65 percent from the 2005 level by 2030. It also honors the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement and manifests China's inclination to build an ecological civilization.
Over the past five years China has been scrupulously developing an eco-friendly economic growth model, by adapting a green, low-carbon approach, and its efforts seem to be paying off.
During the 12th Five-Year Plan period (2011-15), the country reduced its carbon dioxide emissions per unit of GDP by 20 percent, which is roughly 2.34 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide, according to World Resources Institute.
China's industrial sector, which accounts for 70 percent of its total carbon emissions, is expected to see major improvements as progress has been made in nourishing the service sector and reducing the industry's dependence on energy, especially fossil fuels. For example, the service sector accounted for 51.6 percent of China's GDP in 2016, about 11.8 percentage points higher than the industrial sector.
Consumption of fossil fuels, particularly coal, has shrunk accordingly as the country taps into renewable resources. By 2015, China had an installed non-fossil fuel energy generation capacity of 1,525 gigawatts, almost three times more than in 2005. By the end of last year, it had an installed capacity of 77 gigawatts of photovoltaic power; the figure for 2011 was just 2 gigawatts. And coal accounted for 63.7 percent of total energy consumption in 2015, 8.7 percentage points lower than in 2005.
Since 2011 at least 87 low-carbon pilot cities across the country have been working on green development. Most of them aspire to reach their peak carbon emissions before 2030; cities including Beijing and Guangzhou in South China's Guangdong province even intend to achieve that goal by 2020.
China also aims to become the world's largest market for carbon emission permits, which refers to the buying and selling of carbon permits and credits to emit carbon dioxide. The seven pilot cities traded permits for 120 million tons of carbon dioxide worth 3.2 billion yuan ($492 million) by last September, and a nationwide carbon trading market is underway.
The Paris Climate Agreement is aimed at keeping the average global rise in temperature below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, and preferably below 1.5 C. That said, global greenhouse gas emission is expected to peak by 2020, and China, one of the world's largest greenhouse gas emitters, is likely to make a big difference to it with its emission-reduction endeavors at home and abroad.
The 20 billion yuan South-South Cooperation Fund on Climate Change marks a historic move for Beijing, which has also promised to help developing countries build low carbon demonstration areas, provide personnel training and donate energy-saving renewable energy facilities. And the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative, which shares the low-carbon ambition, will help the country to keep contributing to global green growth now that the United States(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2Facigar.gif&hash=dc9dccf92c6c88c99611b06c86d92629d69f2978) (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2Fgen152.gif&hash=d5b10968fe56c4cb95fae17cee3cb420a5f4e2da) has withdrawn from the Paris agreement.
The author is the China Climate Program Lead, World Resources Institute.
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/opinion/2017-10/25/content_33677580.htm
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Two Steps Forward
RMI @ 35: A conversation with Amory Lovins
Joel Makower
Monday, October 23, 2017 - 2:11am
SNIPPET 1:
Amory Lovins is co-founder and chief scientist of the Rocky Mountain Institute, arguably the world’s most influential energy think tank that this year is celebrating its 35th anniversary. Over those 3.5 decades, RMI has provided the vision and intellectual firepower for what now is commonplace: ultra-efficient vehicles; healthy and efficient buildings; utility business models that decouple energy sales from profitability; and other things. And, above all, illuminating a path toward cheap, ubiquitous and nonpolluting energy, growing economies and creating opportunities across the globe.
Much of this began well before RMI was created, in 1982. In the wake of the 1970s energy crisis, Lovins wrote a landmark article for Foreign Affairs, Energy Strategy: The Road Not Taken? in 1976. It described the two energy choices: the hard path, continuing to rely on dirty centralized energy generation; and the soft path, combining energy efficiency with a shift to renewable supply. The article became the journal’s most reprinted article and led President Jimmy Carter to invite Lovins to the Oval Office to have a discussion that helped form the president’s energy policy.
Over the years, RMI, which began in Lovins’ home in Snowmass, Colorado, now operates out of a net-zero-energy building (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-080515182559.png&hash=d4dfa952fa0f817bf30a8059a4c88d6fb05ee1bf) in nearby Basalt, along with offices in Boulder, New York City, Washington, D.C., and Beijing.
On the occasion of RMI’s 35th, I spoke to Lovins about his unwavering vision and the challenges and opportunities he sees going forward. The conversation has been edited for clarity and length.
SNIPPET 2:
(Lovins):We found in "Brittle Power" that a handful of people could turn off two-thirds of the oil and gas supplies to the eastern states in one evening without leaving Louisiana. But we also found the grid was more vulnerable than that, and it still is. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2F34y5mvr.gif&hash=835b3a3f26d5d1b7f0acc379ad8ebd3fe9eea488)
Makower: So now that some of those chickens are coming home to roost — in Puerto Rico, in wildfires of northern California, in Texas and Florida and many other places around the world — are you seeing this as a teachable moment?
Lovins: Very much so — if those making the decisions care to listen. I've had, of course, many unsuccessful attempts to raise the energy security and resilience issues over the last 36 years. And other than the Department of Defense, most audiences have not been very receptive, because it contradicts their view of what they want to build.
To give an example of why this matters in the, say, Puerto Rican and Caribbean context, we've had a quite extensive effort with Carbon War Room, now part of RMI, and Richard Branson, to switch from diesel to distributed renewables on the islands.
I wrote an essay for the theater commanders in Iraq and Afghanistan in 2010. The title is Efficiency in Micropower for Reliable and Resilient Electricity Service: An Intriguing Case-Study from Cuba. I've not been to Cuba, but I had good information from people who know it well about how in 2005, Cuba had 224 serious blackout days. In 2006, it had three. In 2007, it had zero. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2F19.gif&hash=3f9f2fc2285bc756137e21463bc2a4c420b15ac3) And in 2008, two hurricanes in two weeks shredded their eastern grid, but they still sustained vital services, just as they did in recent weeks when the same things happened again. There was immense destruction, but things like hospitals kept working. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.clipartbest.com%2Fcliparts%2Fxig%2Fojx%2Fxigojx6KT.png&hash=6706182c9f1427099a77e10d1758e61d9cadb701)
What did they do to create this extraordinary increase in resilience? Well, they started with efficiency, with a shipload full of Chinese export, credit-financed, very efficient appliances, comparable to good Energy Star models — things like lights, fans, refrigerators, rice cookers, pressure cookers and pumps. Those were mandatorily deployed all over the country. They switched to a steeply inverted tariff. They had a major public education campaign about Revolución Energética.
Most importantly, they switched the architecture of the grid from extremely centralized, based on 11 geriatric, Soviet heavy-oil plants, to much more distributed. They shut roughly half those plants and connected as netted islandable microgrids. That means that each locality normally interchanges electricity freely through the big grid with other areas, but if the big grid fails, then each locality isolates fractally, meets critical loads as best it can with local resources, and will then later detect, rethink and reconnect if the grid comes back.
In other words, it's exactly what the Pentagon doctrine has now said we should do for all our military bases so that their stuff works. And the misfortune Cuba had when they were doing this in 2005, 2006 and 2007, is that they couldn't get into the long waiting list for wind and solar, which at the time was still quite expensive because everybody else was ahead of them in the queue.
So they bought a bunch of mainly Caterpillar diesel generators. They weren't worried about the oil because Hugo Chavez would give them Venezuelan oil in exchange for doctors. That arrangement, of course, is now fraying with events in Venezuela, and they are now gradually switching to wind and solar, which is where they wanted to be in the first place.
But the combination of efficiency, some demand response and especially the resilient grid architecture produced the kind of result that we could and should have had in the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fcliparts.co%2Fcliparts%2FBig%2FEgq%2FBigEgqBMT.png&hash=e7eec62f009cdd686ce795fad0a53c6befe748e9)
Excellent lengthy article outlining many truths (with supporting stats and data) the fossil fuel polluters do not want you to know about:
https://www.greenbiz.com/article/rmi-35-conversation-amory-lovins
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How to Keep the Lights On After a Hurricane
By RICHARD BRANSON and AMORY B. LOVINS OCT. 23, 2017
(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2Freading.gif&hash=63e3e644b39258d4c4eedbcdaf322315b1856723)
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/23/opinion/hurricane-puerto-rico-electricity.html
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(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-191017143841.jpeg&hash=21f142befe4ed82f10ef0bdba11c22bbd3051289) Excellent Informative and Accurate Infographic:
What does the appetite for renewable energy investment look like in the wake of the United States' withdrawal from the Paris Climate Agreement? We received responses from 94 US companies and institutions - over 40 of which are in the Fortune 500 - to learn about their attitudes and practices in renewable energy post-Paris.
This infographic to gain insights on the seven key findings from this landmark research.
Infographic: 7 key trends in corporate RE sourcing (https://www.smartenergydecisions.com/upload/sed_files/post-paris_infographic.pdf)
https://www.smartenergydecisions.com/blog/2017/10/30/infographic-7-key-trends-in-corporate-re-sourcing
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100% Global Renewable Electricity No Longer Flight Of Fancy, More Cost-Effective Than Current System
November 9th, 2017 by Joshua S Hill
SNIPPET:
Making a global transition to a 100% renewable electricity grid has long been a dream of many, but new research published this week by the Lappeenranta University of Technology has proven it is no longer just a dream but a viable reality — a reality that is more cost-effective than the current fossil fuel-reliant system. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2F47b20s0.gif&hash=cc48c9af9d29b8836023c7db21103e52d1ed439e)
Presented on Wednesday during the Global Renewable Energy Solutions Showcase event (GRESS) on the sidelines of the United Nations Climate Change Conference COP23 in Bonn, Germany, the new study — Global Energy System based on 100% Renewable Energy – Power Sector — was conducted by the Lappeenranta University of Technology (LUT) and the Energy Watch Group (EWG).
Full article:
https://cleantechnica.com/2017/11/09/100-global-renewable-electricity-no-longer-flight-fancy-cost-effective-current-system/
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New Zealand’s prime minister wants to go fully renewable by 2035 (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-080515182559.png&hash=d4dfa952fa0f817bf30a8059a4c88d6fb05ee1bf)
LAST UPDATED ON NOVEMBER 9TH, 2017 AT 4:51 PM BY MIHAI ANDREI E-mail author
SNIPPET:
After defying all odds and becoming New Zealand’s leader at only 37, Jacinda Ardern wants the country’s electrical grid to be powered fully by renewable energy.
Full article:
https://www.zmescience.com/ecology/climate/new-zealand-renewable-energy-09112017/
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There's a New Push to Bring Solar to Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands
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Brian Kahn
November 9, 2017 Filed to: HURRICANE MARIA
SNIPPET:
Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands continue to suffer through the worst blackout in U.S. history after Hurricane Maria rocked the region more than seven weeks ago. But some of the brightest spots in the otherwise slow, scandal-plagued recovery have have come from solar. And there’s a new push to turn the sun into energy.
On Wednesday, the Solar Foundation announced that it’s sending $5 million in donated equipment to the battered U.S. territories as part of the Solar Saves Lives initiative.
Full article:
(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2Freading.gif&hash=63e3e644b39258d4c4eedbcdaf322315b1856723)
https://earther.com/theres-a-new-push-to-bring-solar-to-puerto-rico-and-the-1820256651
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Trump(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-270117175421.png&hash=cf39e823dd9156833bfa885808a876bf518bd0d6) Or Not, Electricity Customers Want Renewable Energy (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2F47b20s0.gif&hash=cc48c9af9d29b8836023c7db21103e52d1ed439e)
November 12th, 2017 by Tina Casey
SNIPPET:
One good example of the strength of the consumer choice movement is CleanChoice Energy (https://cleanchoiceenergy.com/), which reached out to CleanTechnica last week to draw attention to its #2 slot in the “energy tech” category of Deloitte’s new Technology Fast 500 report.
Full article:
https://cleantechnica.com/2017/11/12/trump-not-electricity-customers-want-renewable-energy/
Agelbert Comment: GMP (Green Mountain Power) of Vermont continues to try to get its customers to pay a HIGHER rate for Renewable Energy, even though I am certain it costs them less. Instead of fostering the use of Renewable Energy, GMP is pretending to do so while trying to gouge customers such as myself for using it.
Hey GMP, WHEN are you going to get with the Renewable Energy Program and start LOWERING your rates for Renewable Energy use so more customers will request it?
Yeah, I know, that offends your CAPITALIST 'greed is good' religion. So it goes. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-120716190938.png&hash=01feab1c7345a4e98764e0f9d24b2d69171b93c2)
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EcoWatch
Renewable Energy Isn’t Perfect, But It’s Far Better Than Fossil Fuels (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2F47b20s0.gif&hash=cc48c9af9d29b8836023c7db21103e52d1ed439e)
By David Suzuki
December 2, 2017
In their efforts to discredit renewable energy and support continued fossil fuel burning, many anti-environmentalists have circulated a dual image purporting to compare a lithium mine with an oil sands operation. It illustrates the level of dishonesty to which some will stoop to keep us on our current polluting, climate-disrupting path (although in some cases it could be ignorance).
The image is a poor attempt to prove that lithium batteries and renewable energy are worse for the environment than energy from oil sands bitumen. The first problem is that the "lithium mine" is actually BHP Billiton's Escondida copper mine in Chile (the world's largest). The bottom image is of an Alberta oil sands operation, but it's an in situ underground facility and doesn't represent the enormous open-pit mining operations used to extract most bitumen.
ithium is used in batteries for electric cars, cellphones, computers and other electric devices, as well as power-grid storage systems, because it's light and highly conductive. Most lithium isn't mined. More than 95 percent comes from pumping underground brine into pans, allowing the liquid to evaporate and separating out the lithium using electrolysis.
Any real comparison between oil sands and lithium batteries shows that oil sands products, from extracting and processing to transporting and burning, are by far the most destructive. Extraction and production destroy habitat, pollute air, land and water and produce greenhouse gas emissions. Burning the fuels causes toxic pollution and wreaks havoc with Earth's climate.
Does that mean batteries are environmentally benign? No. All energy sources and technologies have some environmental impact—one reason energy conservation is crucial. A 2010 study comparing the environmental impacts of electric cars to internal combustion vehicles found the latter are far more damaging, taking into account global warming potential, cumulative energy demand and resource depletion. Battery components, including lithium, can also be recycled, and used electric car batteries can be repurposed to store energy for homes, buildings and power grids.
Lithium wasn't found to be a major environmental factor for electric car batteries, but copper, aluminum, cobalt and nickel used in the batteries have high impacts. Materials used to make other car components, for electric and internal combustion vehicles, also come with environmental impacts.
The energy sources used to charge car batteries also determine the degree of environmental impact. If coal is the main source, negative effects are much higher than if the power comes from hydroelectric or renewables such as wind and solar. But the impacts are still lower than fueling cars with gas.
One study found using lithium for a rapidly expanding electric vehicle market, as well as numerous other products and devices, could cause supplies to become scarce. As with fossil fuels, this means more destructive methods, such as mining, would be required. But these arguments are more against private automobiles than batteries. Electric vehicles are part of the short-term solution, but reducing environmental damage from transportation, including climate disruption, will require shifting as much as possible to better alternatives such as public transit, cycling and walking.
We still need batteries, though. Storage systems are essential to making the best of renewable energy. They make power available when the sun isn't shining or the wind isn't blowing. Finding ways to make them—and other renewable energy components such as solar panels and wind turbines—with minimal environmental impact is a challenge. Some components in electric vehicles and solar panels use "rare metals," which are often mined in ways that damage the environment and endanger miners. But these materials are frequently used in newer internal combustion vehicles, too.
Part of the solution is to improve labor and environmental standards in mining operations—a challenge considering many materials are mined in Africa by Chinese companies that put profit above human health and the environment.
The good news is that renewable energy and storage technologies are advancing rapidly, with attention paid to the environmental impacts of materials used to make them. The ability to recycle batteries and their components is also improving, but it needs to get better.
Renewable energy is already far better environmentally than fossil fuel energy. It's time to shift from current massive fossil fuel support and subsidies to making renewable energy as clean and available as possible.
By David Suzuki with contributions from David Suzuki Foundation Senior Editor Ian Hanington.
https://www.ecowatch.com/renewable-energy-suzuki-2514182227.html
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Hurricane Maria Windfield at 11:00 AM September 20, 2017
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Multi-Billion Dollar Plan to Re-Power Puerto Rico Includes DERs, Renewables
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December 12, 2017
By Jennifer Runyon Chief Editor
If Hurricane Sandy, during which millions of New Yorkers lost power and damage to the electric grid was substantial, was the spark that ignited New York’s “Reforming the Energy Vision, aka REV” then perhaps Hurricane Maria will be the spark that ignites a new energy vision for Puerto Rico.
Read: Hurricane Sandy Uncovers Strength and Simplicity of Renewable Energy Systems (http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/articles/2012/11/hurricane-sandy-uncovers-strength-and-simplicity-of-renewable-energy-systems.html)
On Tuesday, December 12, Governor Andrew M. Cuomo and Governor Ricardo Rosselló announced a plan to rebuild and transform Puerto Rico's electric power system with modern grid technologies and control systems. The new system will have increased renewable generation, such as wind and solar; incorporate new distributed energy resource (DER) technologies, such as energy storage and microgrids; reduce dependency on fossil fuels; and enable energy to become abundant, affordable and sustainable for the people of Puerto Rico, according to the Governors.
The plan was created by the Puerto Rico Energy Resiliency Working Group established by Governor Cuomo to aid the island in its damage assessment and power grid rebuild planning. Member of the working group include the organizations heavily involved in the energy transformation such as the New York Power Authority, DOE, ConEd, EPRI, SEPA, NREL and others.
The group released a 63-page report, “Build Back Better: Reimagining and Strengthening the Power Grid of Puerto Rico,” which offers its vision for the future of the transmission and distribution system, system operations and generation and includes damage assessments and cost estimates. An implementation roadmap is also included in the report.
The total estimated costs, including a 30 percent scope confidence escalator, come in at a whopping $17.6 billion. Of that $17.6 billion, $1.4 billion would support the development of DERs including microgrids and solar PV. Another $97 million would go to rebuild hydro and renewable power plants.
The envisioned system will be more resilient, efficient, advanced, and less dependent on fossil fuel imports that cost Puerto Ricans more than $2 billion annually, said the Governors in a press release.
Read: Microgrids, Solar, Energy Storage Could Be Foundation of Puerto Rico’s Energy Recovery (http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/ugc/articles/2017/10/06/microgrids-solar-energy-storage-could-be-foundation-of-puerto-ricos-energy-recovery.html)
The working group's rebuild recommendations are based on experience implementing power system recovery, rebuilding and hardening in the aftermath of hurricanes encountered on the U.S. mainland over the last decade. The recommendations include the use of modern technology and incorporate lessons learned from the successful rebuild efforts in other regions after natural disasters, such as Superstorm Sandy in New York. Additionally, the plan's recommendations align with the U.S. Department of Energy's recommendations for power system hardening and resiliency.
"After Superstorm Sandy, Governor Cuomo saw firsthand the real hardships of New Yorkers without electricity and heating for days and even weeks on end," Richard Kauffman, Chairman of Energy and Finance, New York State. "The Governor immediately put into action a strategy to rebuild the grid of the past with the grid of the future under Reforming the Energy Vision, or REV, for a cleaner, more resilient and affordable energy system. I'm proud to be part of the plan to ensure Puerto Ricans will benefit from New York's experience and knowledge as we help the U.S. territory rebuild their grid."
"In the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy in New York, a plan was immediately put into place to harden and enhance the power grid to ensure storms would not damage our communities in the future — and now is the time to implement a similar plan to ensure these upgrades are also completed in Puerto Rico," Governor Cuomo said. "We need to act now to transform the island's power grid and provide the people of Puerto Rico with a modern and reliable electric system."
The development of the plan was undertaken in parallel with New York State's post-hurricane assessment and restoration support to Puerto Rico that began in September. Currently, more than 450 New York State utilities workers are on the ground in Puerto Rico, working diligently to repair the island's power grid.
http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/articles/2017/12/multi-billion-dollar-plan-to-re-power-puerto-rico-includes-ders-renewables.html (http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/articles/2017/12/multi-billion-dollar-plan-to-re-power-puerto-rico-includes-ders-renewables.html)
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World Bank Puts Fossil Fuels On Notice
December 13, 2017
By Jennifer Delony Associate Editor
The World Bank Group (WBG) yesterday during the One Planet Summit in Paris said that, as of 2019, it will no longer finance exploration for and production of oil and gas. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.clker.com%2Fcliparts%2Fc%2F8%2Ff%2F8%2F11949865511933397169thumbs_up_nathan_eady_01.svg.hi.png&hash=599691109af22b33f1d59dd61eb97448a9427020)
The One Planet Summit, which was organized by the United Nations (UN) and WBG, brought together local, regional and national leaders from around the world, along with public and private finance entities to identify ways to accelerate global efforts to fight climate change.
WBG said that it will make exceptions in its stance on gas financing in the poorest countries where it benefits energy access for the poor.
In addition, WBG said that it will present a “stock-take” of its Climate Change Action Plan, which includes targeting 28 percent of its lending for climate action by 2020, and announce new commitments and targets for after 2020 at COP24 in Poland next year.
In related news, leaders from select regions in North and South America signed a “Declaration on Carbon Pricing in the Americas” during the One Planet Summit.
According to the UN, the initiative will apply a cost of carbon to guide public investment decisions in relevant jurisdictions, and encourage private companies to do the same through internal carbon pricing.
Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, and Mexico, as well as the Governors of California and Washington and the Premiers of Alberta, British Columbia, Nova Scotia, Ontario and Quebec, launched the “Carbon Pricing in the Americas” cooperative framework.
http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/articles/2017/12/world-bank-puts-fossil-fuels-on-notice.html (http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/articles/2017/12/world-bank-puts-fossil-fuels-on-notice.html)
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European Utilities Commit To 100% Carbon-Neutral Electricity “Well Before” 2050 … Because It’s Cheaper (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-200714191258.bmp&hash=e4ed21caaca822f7445ccafd39f49a9f84be90ca)
December 8th, 2017 by Steve Hanley
SNIPPET:
The members of Eurelectric have unanimously agreed to a Vision Declaration that commits them to an ambitious program of making all electricity generated in Europe carbon neutral by 2050. “Our industry sees a great opportunity on the path towards a progressively decarbonized and fully sustainable European energy future.
Electricity is playing a growing role in making this vision happen and Eurelectric is determined to accelerate the energy transition through a progressive electrification of Europe’s energy consumption while making the European power sector carbon-neutral well before mid-century,” says Francesco Starace. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fus.cdn2.123rf.com%2F168nwm%2Flenm%2Flenm1201%2Flenm120100200%2F12107060-illustration-of-a-smiley-giving-a-thumbs-up.jpg&hash=2046bc6d662e09d3014a2c404a2af6ba17f8217c)
(https://c1cleantechnicacom-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/files/2016/04/Solar-price-v-capacity.jpg)
full article:
https://cleantechnica.com/2017/12/08/european-utilities-commit-100-carbon-neutral-electricity-well-2050-cheaper/
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Latin America, A New Leader in Renewable Energy
December 12, 2017
By Katherine Olalla
Katherine is a Masters candidate at New York University Center for Global Affairs, with a concentration in Energy Policy and Environment. She is interested in sustainable development and renewable energy investment projects.
Latin America’s progress in tackling climate change is excelling and showing that its ambition plans are positioning this region as a new leader in renewable energy. In response to the threats of climate change, Latin America is taking bold climate actions to invest in renewable energy projects and adopting new energy policies to mitigate climate change impacts. As one of the most vulnerable regions to the effects of climate change, many Latin American countries showed their desire for a greener world at the recent United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP23) developing strategic plans to increase the deployment of renewable energy and reduce greenhouse emissions.
First, investment in renewable energy is on the rise as a result of the frequency of natural disasters in the region. In 2017, Latin American countries experienced catastrophic floods, droughts, and storms. Hurricanes like Irma and Maria caused major impacts on the Caribbean islands like Cuba and the Dominican Republic. Hurricane Irma devastated Cuba, 158,554 were displaced from their homes, 980 health facilities were affected, and 95,000 hectares of agriculture land was damaged. Hurricane Maria hit the Dominican Republic dropping 20 inches of rain flooding hundreds of houses. In countries like Peru and Colombia, the number of fatalities caused by natural disasters linked to climate change was even higher than previous years. In Peru, more than 100 people have died as a result, of the magnitude of this year’s floods. In October 2017, Colombia faced the deadliest flood in South America where at least 254 people died in Mocoa town.
Second, many Latin American countries like Uruguay are increasing the deployment of solar and wind energy supporting the reduction of global emissions of carbon dioxide. Scientists predict that greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuels will rise by 2 percent by the end of this year. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-120716190938.png&hash=01feab1c7345a4e98764e0f9d24b2d69171b93c2) The rise in use of coal in China this year has been a contributor to this problem. According to National Geographic, there are positive trends showing that Mexico and other Latin American countries are decreasing their emissions. Costa Rica was the first Latin American country to run entirely on renewable energy for more than 250 days, leading by example as the greenest countries in the region.
Read: How Uruguay Became a Wind Power Powerhouse (http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/articles/2016/03/how-uruguay-became-a-wind-power-powerhouse.html)
Third, Latin America demonstrated leadership at the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP23) in Bonn, Germany. Countries like Brazil, Mexico and Chile are heavily investing in solar and wind energy. Brazil invested 7.1 billion in renewables in 2015 demonstrating its high potential to transit to a low-carbon economy. While Chile is proudly leading solar energy with the implementation of the biggest photovoltaics plant (El Romero) in the region that has the capacity to produce energy for 240,000 Chilean homes. Chile is also promoting renewable energy at the commercial level as Google Chile gets 100 percent of its energy from this solar power plant. Argentina and Mexico showed their interest in being part of a meaningful change by setting renewable energy targets, adopting support policies and providing fiscal incentives. Mexico excelled by being the first developing country to submit a climate pledge to the Paris Climate Agreement in 2015 and the first one to address adaptation to climate change in its pledge. Mauricio Macri, President of Argentina expressed his support to renewable energy and issued a decree at the beginning of this year to make Argentina generate 8 percent of their electricity from renewable sources for the entire current year.
At the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP23), main Latin American cities such as Rio de Janeiro, Buenos Aires, Quito, Caracas, Mexico City, and Santiago de Chile participated in global alliances among 25 global cities, where they committed to work harder and implement projects to address climate change impacts before 2020. Colombia and Ecuador were awarded at COP23 for their thriving initiatives. Colombia won the Momentum for Change award for its work with young scientists from the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT), and Ecuador received the Impulse for Change award for the initiative, Sustainable Agriculture with Inclusion and Participation of Gender.
Latin America’s actions are showing to the rest the world that it is a regional leader for scaling up the use of renewable energy. Latin America appears to be home for some of the most promising renewable energy projects. Brazil, Colombia, and Mexico are already taking advantage of green funds. As we see the world being impacted more frequently by natural disasters caused by climate change, we will see more pro-renewables actions from Latin America.
http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/ugc/articles/2017/12/01/latin-america-a-new-leader-in-renewable-energy.html
Agelbert NOTE: I'm happy for Latin America but what they are doing to transition will probably not be enough to avoid more frequent and more intensely deadly catastrophic climate change damage.
WHY? Because the fossil fuel industry worldwide is in a production binge! Did you know hat there are massive LNG carrier ship traffic jams in the newly expanded Panama Canal? The Canal authority is not allowing more than one natural gas ship a week.
Just a few years ago there weren't ANY of those ships going through the Canal. Now they are backed up there because of all the putput from Frackers from the USA that are exporting all they can. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2Facigar.gif&hash=dc9dccf92c6c88c99611b06c86d92629d69f2978) (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.smilies.4-user.de%2Finclude%2FSpiele%2Fsmilie_game_017.gif&hash=e8548890f80af23241a1d43a1ab1ca8031301f20)
Yes, readers, instead of reducing the polluting, planet heating emissions, the fossil fuel industry worldwide has opened the production flood gates.(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-200714183337.bmp&hash=fd5a6df63c32bd65dda7b6d93e788647ca3829df) Russia is producing more oil and gas than ever as it continues plans to extract all types of fossil fuels from the Arctic as the ice melts. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2Fpirates5B15D_th.gif&hash=32438e1ed2c4d1823d4ed2a193286525c840a605)
Goldman Sachs is saying Big Oil in the USA and Europe had a fantastically profitable year! The pollution business is BOOMING! (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frealsociology.edublogs.org%2Ffiles%2F2010%2F08%2F460_0___30_0_0_0_0_0_shell_skull_colour.jpg&hash=a4c0baea5ec89328a16e21f3820975938465eadf)
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What this massive production spike of oil and gas means to the biosphere is that the radiative forcing level from the RCP 8.5 (Representative Concentration Pathway), considered the "Business as Usual" scenario by he IPCC, is WELL BELOW the actual emissions in 2017. That's right, folks. BUSINESS AS USUAL is now producing MORE than 8.5 W/m2 of radiative forcings. IOW, they are going to have to come up with a NEW "Trump and Putin Business as Usual" Global Warming scenario called the RCP 9.0 (or greater). (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-250817134648.gif&hash=d24c66a26329a19150a175d576b631d10f631ee8) (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-070814193155.png&hash=144ce9330e49ee84060db8753a8db69c39a14913)
The graphic below was our new reality as of 2016. Now at the end of 2017, it has only gotten WORSE.
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EcoWatch
World's Largest Solar-Wind-Storage Plant Planned for India (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2F19.gif&hash=3f9f2fc2285bc756137e21463bc2a4c420b15ac3)
By Lorraine Chow
Dec. 15, 2017 11:33AM EST
SNIPPET:
A wind, solar and battery storage plant is being planned for the southeastern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, which has faced power woes in recent months due to grid failure.
The renewable energy facility will consist of 120 megawatts of solar, 40 megawatts of wind, 20-40 megawatt-hours of battery backup and will be spread over 1,000 acres :o in the district of Anantapur.
According to CleanTechnica, such an installation will be the world's largest once commissioned.
The estimated $155 million project was jointly developed by Solar Energy Corporation of India, the renewable energy agency of Andhra Pradesh, NREDCAP and Andhra Pradesh Transco.
Significantly, the plant will receive funding through a loan from the World Bank (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-080515182559.png&hash=d4dfa952fa0f817bf30a8059a4c88d6fb05ee1bf), which announced this week that it would stop financing oil and gas projects ;D (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-080515182559.png&hash=d4dfa952fa0f817bf30a8059a4c88d6fb05ee1bf) (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-080515182559.png&hash=d4dfa952fa0f817bf30a8059a4c88d6fb05ee1bf) (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-080515182559.png&hash=d4dfa952fa0f817bf30a8059a4c88d6fb05ee1bf) to help the global shift to cleaner energy sources. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fcliparts.co%2Fcliparts%2FBig%2FEgq%2FBigEgqBMT.png&hash=e7eec62f009cdd686ce795fad0a53c6befe748e9)
As CleanTechnica noted, the bank's support is good news for the project:
"The fact that the World Bank has agreed to fund the project means that the tariffs would likely be extremely competitive, even with the existing thermal power plants in the country. The World Bank had offered debt funding for a 750 megawatt solar power park in the state of Madhya Pradesh earlier this year. The auction for that solar park broke the record for the lowest solar power tariff in the country at that time."
Full article:
https://www.ecowatch.com/solar-wind-storage-2517664506.html
Agelbert NOTE: It's not enough to put much of a dent in the fossil fuel corporations' current profit over planet worldwide rampage of oil and (fracked) gas unrestrained and unregulated production, but it is better than nothing.
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Germany Predicted To Set Renewable Energy Record In 2017
December 20th, 2017 by Steve Hanley
SNIPPET:
The share of renewables among all electricity produced in Germany this year was actually closer to 36%, since Germany exports power to other European countries. The nation’s power system is “decarbonizing itself in big steps,” Kapferer says. According to his organization’s calculations, coal has fallen from 40.3% of total electric production last year to 37% this year. “The reduction of coal-fired power production is in full swing,” he told the press in Berlin recently. He added that the trend is bound to continue in coming years, as “nobody will invest in hard coal plants any longer,” due to changes in the marketplace.
Full article:
https://cleantechnica.com/2017/12/20/germany-predicted-set-renewable-energy-record-2017/
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(https://www.cleanenergywire.org/sites/all/themes/clew/logo.png)
January 5, 2018
Renewables cover German power need for 1st time (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-200714191258.bmp&hash=e4ed21caaca822f7445ccafd39f49a9f84be90ca)
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Germany's power production and consumption on 1 January. Source - Federal Network Agency 2018.
Germany has crossed a symbolic milestone in its energy transition by briefly covering around 1… (https://www.cleanenergywire.org/news/renewables-cover-german-power-need-1st-time-grid-stability-risk)
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South Australia Approves World’s Largest Single-Tower Thermal Solar Plant
January 12th, 2018 by Joshua S Hill
The state of South Australia has announced approval for the construction of the world’s largest single-tower solar thermal plant to be built near Port Augusta, a 150 megawatt beast that, in the wake of the successful development of the world’s largest Li-ion battery, serves to solidify South Austalia’s role as a world leader in renewable energy.
Announced on Wednesday by South Australia’s Acting Energy Minister, Chris Picton, the State Government has approved SolarReserve’s $650 million (USD$512 million) Aurora solar thermal plant. Set to be developed 30 kilometers north of Port Augusta, Aurora will be made up of a single tower surrounded by more than 12,000 heliostats, and will be able to provide approximately 500,000 megawatt-hours (MWh) of electricity production annually. More specifically, Aurora will boast 1,100 MWh of energy storage in its integrated molten salt energy storage system, which is enough to provide 8 hours of full load power after dark. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-141113185047.png&hash=384024358ff8d5e7133d19b6e6638da4584a8154)
(https://c1cleantechnicacom-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/files/2018/01/SolarReserve-Aurora-Solar-Thermal-1.jpg)
Image courtesy of SolarReserve
The $650 million Aurora Solar Energy Project will therefore be able to generate electricity and collect and store energy during the daytime and provide 100% of the electricity needs of all of South Australia’s schools, hospitals, police stations, and government buildings. And though there are larger solar thermal projects, this will be the world’s largest single-tower solar thermal project.
“It’s fantastic that SolarReserve has received development approval to move forward with this world-leading project that will deliver clean, dispatchable renewable energy to supply our electrified rail, hospitals, schools and other major government buildings,” said Acting Energy Minister, Chris Picton. “This approval triggers an investment of about $650 million, will create a total of about 700 construction and ongoing jobs in Port Augusta and will add new competition to the South Australian market, putting downward pressure on power prices.
“South Australia is fast becoming a global centre for the development of renewable energy with storage, with a range of other projects set to come online over the next few years.”
(https://c1cleantechnicacom-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/files/2018/01/SolarReserve-Aurora-Solar-Thermal-2.jpg)
Rendering of the Aurora Solar Energy Project, Image courtesy of SolarReserve
Aurora will also serve to create about 4,000 direct and indirect jobs as well as 650 full-time local jobs during construction, and 50 ongoing positions during operation. The project has already had enormous support from Port Augusta locals, as well as the wider South Australian community, and is expected to begin construction sometime this year. SolarReserve, the California-based developer behind the project, will also seek to focus equipment and service purchasing in South Australia, supporting an entirely new industry and develop a new supply chain in the state which will be able to to support other such projects in and around the region.
“This important milestone is a significant step in the development of the Aurora solar thermal power station, which will bring SolarReserve’s world-leading clean power generation technology to South Australia,” added SolarReserve CEO Kevin Smith. “The remarkable story of the transition of Port Augusta from coal to renewable energy — which won a competitive tender against fossil fuel — is also a preview of the future of power generation around the world.” (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fmedia.giphy.com%2Fmedia%2FHjPbLbmep2aJO%2Fgiphy.gif&hash=3c7f7703f00cb341d3e9bdba607208d4204a294c)
https://cleantechnica.com/2018/01/12/south-australia-approves-worlds-largest-single-tower-thermal-solar-plant/
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Staying updated on the latest solutions, policy changes, and actions by our leaders to end the climate crisis isn’t easy. With our planet’s future at stake, it’s important to be armed with the truth about our movement’s progress.
We’ll keep you informed by sharing facts like:
֍ In 2000, analysts at the International Energy Agency projected the world would have 30 gigawatts of wind energy capacity installed by 2010. As it turned out, wind power clocked in at 200 gigawatts of capacity in 2010, exceeding the analysts’ projections by nearly seven times. In 2016, the world exceeded the analysts’ mark by over 16 times!
֍ Experts projected in 2002 that the world would install 1 gigawatt of solar power per year by 2010. That projection was beaten by nearly 17 times when 2010 rolled around. And we beat that figure 73 times over in 2016!
֍ The cost of utility-scale solar has fallen 85 percent between 2009-2016 alone. We're getting closer to grid parity in more and more markets around the world, which means solar power increasingly costs as much as or less than electricity from fossil fuels!
READ OUR BLOG (https://www.climaterealityproject.org/blog) (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2Freading.gif&hash=63e3e644b39258d4c4eedbcdaf322315b1856723)
Every week, we share valuable resources and facts like these to help citizens better understand how our climate is changing and the solutions that exist. We also make it easy for you to share this content with your friends and family.
Visit our blog to stay educated and empowered on the movement for climate solutions and to learn ways to get involved. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-250817121424.gif&hash=384c17a4d2be4831084933b91808f8a60f73f7f5)
Get started today. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2Fballoons.gif&hash=a64bb5ff3e76c3e11999996c460fa02de1ee10f7)
- Your friends at Climate Reality
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Australia Poised For Renewable Energy Breakout (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.haleakalasolar.com%2Fimages%2Findex-infobox2.jpg&hash=c49806321315171df0f26c7f0f47adb61cf632eb)
January 16th, 2018 by Steve Hanley
High electricity costs make renewable energy more attractive. That’s why Bloomberg thinks Australia is poised to have a renewable energy bonanza. “The payback period for residential solar is now as low as it was in 2012, when super-generous feed-in tariffs and subsidies drove a massive boom in installations,” says Annabel Wilton, an analysts for Bloomberg New Energy Finance in Sydney.
Solar Growth In Australia(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimages.ame4u.com%2FAnimated_Clipart%2FAnimated-Solar%2Fsun_shining_solar_panel_hg_clr__st.gif&hash=f244a42c405966e333bd5533ae540330a95e63ee)
By 2040, up to 45% of Australia’s electrical power is predicted to come from “behind the meter” systems consisting of solar panels and battery storage located on private property. If that prediction comes true, Australia will lead all other countries in renewable energy production.”We will see I think a boom over the next decade in battery storage and also solar thermal, we’re starting to see that play out now in South Australia,” says Andrew Stock of Australia’s Climate Council.
renewable energy forecast BNEF
Warren Hogan, an independent economist, says the forces behind the trend toward more renewable power include the highly publicized failures of the electrical grid in the southeastern part of the country last year together with the high cost of electricity brought on by higher prices for coal and natural gas. “The key is probably the price of electricity and energy in the domestic market, is elevated and has remained that way for a couple of years,” Hogan says, according to a report by MSN. “So that’s made the economics of these big capital investments more favorable and they are big initial capital outlays.”
Shifting Political Winds (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-250817124926.gif&hash=19239c1de105aba8c59dd4d25b4f33d4c6f2f81d)
The political winds have shifted in favor of renewables as well, Hogan says. “There is a strong support for traditional energy sources, such as coal and gas in the current Federal Government — but even in some parts of the government you’re seeing support when renewables come through. It’s being backed up by policy and support, particularly from state governments. It’s a big shift in the domestic energy scene.”
French company Neoen was the developer for the Tesla 100 MW battery storage project in South Australia last year. It is now considering a much larger storage project capable of supplying the energy needs of 57,000 homes in Queensland near its Kaban Green Power Hub southwest of Cairns. Garth Heron, Neoen’s head of wind development for Australia, tells Bloomberg that Queensland has “a lot of need for electricity storage.”
The project with Tesla “opened up [Neoen’s] thinking with respect to large-scale storage,” he says, according to a report by Forbes. Although Tesla has not yet become involved in the Queensland project, the fact that it worked well with Neoen in South Australia suggests both companies would be willing to work together again if the opportunity arises.
The Largest Solar Power Plant In Australia
The Sydney Morning Herald reports this week that the University of New South Wales has signed a 15-year power purchase agreement with Maoneng Australia, whose Sunraysia solar power plant near Balranald will provide 530,000 MWh of electricity annually — more than any other solar installation in the country. The university has contracted to buy about a quarter of that supply — 124,000 MWh — which is enough to meet virtually all of its electrical energy needs. “We are seeing a strong trend amongst corporate energy users turning to PPAs as a way to hedge against future pricing movements and to meet their green energy objectives,” says a spokesperson for Australia’s Energy Action. People in Australia use words like “amongst” and “whilst” frequently.
“Over the past six months, UNSW has collaborated with our contract partners Maoneng and Origin to develop a Solar PPA model that leads the way in renewable energy procurement and reflects our commitment to global impact outlined in our 2025 strategy,” says Ian Jacobs, vice chancellor for the university. The PPA will be a major part of its commitment to become energy carbon neutral by 2020.
“This agreement reflects the thought leadership coming from UNSW on climate change,” Jacobs told Fairfax says. “It’s a highly competitive agreement financially [that will] allow UNSW to secure carbon emission free electricity supplies at a cost which is economically and environmentally attractive when compared to fossil fuel-sourced supplies.”
Business Is Business (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fs3.amazonaws.com%2Frapgenius%2F1375371542_tumblr_m7jevgcaFm1qzqdem.gif&hash=1a2fe8d9567770e89661ad82a4e03b115e0f5358)
There are plenty of politicians around the world who are in thrall to fossil fuel companies. But business is business, so they say, and nothing gets the attention of business people like the opportunity to slash costs. The trend toward renewables in Australia proves once again that if the people will lead, their leaders will follow — eventually.
https://cleantechnica.com/2018/01/16/australia-poised-renewable-energy-breakout/
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54 Gigawatt :o Chinese Solar Boom Drives Global Clean Energy Investment To New Highs, Overshadowing Australian & Mexican Momentum (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fthumbs.dreamstime.com%2Fz%2Fchinese-emoticon-22648577.jpg&hash=e5f417f773692d246a108dcc451657cb8b2c6e05)
January 17th, 2018 by Joshua S Hill
With solar PV installations in China expected to have reached 54 gigawatts in 2017, new figures from Bloomberg New Energy Finance show that global clean energy investment totaled $333.5 billion last year, up 3% and the second highest annual figure ever, coinciding with impressive momentum in both Mexico and Australia.
Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF) published its annual clean energy investment figures this week, and it was good news almost all around. The mammoth year China had in terms of solar PV installations — which are expected to come in at around 54 gigawatts (GW) when all is said and done — helped push global clean energy investments to its second highest level ever, $333.5 billion, which is only 7% short of 2015’s record $360.3 billion.
China unsurprisingly led the way with a record $132.6 billion worth of clean energy investment in 2017, accounting for 40% of the global total — $86.5 billion of which was spent on solar investments, making up just over half of the world total spent on solar in 2017.
“The 2017 total is all the more remarkable when you consider that capital costs for the leading technology — solar — continue to fall sharply,” explained Jon Moore, chief executive of BNEF. “Typical utility-scale PV systems were about 25% cheaper per megawatt last year than they were two years earlier.” In other words, the decrease in solar costs has been well and truly offset by a massive increase in solar spending.
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Electrical and Mechanical Services Department Headquarters Photovoltaics
“China installed about 20GW more solar capacity in 2017 than we forecast,” added Justin Wu, head of Asia-Pacific for BNEF. “This happened for two main reasons: first, despite a growing subsidy burden and worsening power curtailment, China’s regulators, under pressure from the industry, were slow to curb build of utility-scale projects outside allocated government quotas. Developers of these projects are assuming they will be allocated subsidy in future years.
“Second, the cost of solar continues to fall in China, and more projects are being deployed on rooftops, in industrial parks or at other distributed locales. These systems are not limited by the government quota. Large energy consumers in China are now installing solar panels to meet their own demand, with a minimal premium subsidy.”
The second largest clean energy investor in 2017 was the United States, which spent $56.9 billion, up only 1% on its 2016 total — which doesn’t seem like much progress, until you take into account the almost preternatural opposition to clean energy that has taken hold of the White House.
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Australia wind farm
There were of course a number of countries leading the way, but two countries which deserve special attention are Mexico and Australia, which saw clean energy investment increase by 516% to $6.2 billion and 150% to $9 billion respectively, thanks in part to large wind and solar project financing.
Unfortunately, there were a few countries which also saw their levels fall in 2017. Japan saw investment drop by 16% in 2017 to $23.4 billion, Germany dropped 26% to $14.6 billion, and the UK’s level dropped by an unhealthy 56% to only $10.3 billion. When looked at as a whole, Europe’s clean energy investment dropped 26% to only $57.4 billion.
“2017 was a breakout year for the Australian Clean Energy sector,” said Leonard Quong, a Senior Analyst with Bloomberg New Energy Finance in Sydney. “Total investment in clean energy in Australia rose to a record $9 billion, smashing the previous record of $6.2 billion set in 2011. However 2017 will likely mark a peak — investment will begin to taper over the coming years unless there is a significant change in government policy.”
It is unsurprising that solar was the leading recipient of clean energy investment in 2017 with a total of $160.8 billion, or around 48% of the global clean energy investment total. Wind was the second biggest sector with $107.2 billion, down 12% on 2016 levels — a disappointment offset slightly by record-breaking project financing deals for both onshore and offshore. Specifically, American Electric Power backed the 2 GW (gigawatt) Oklahoma Wind Catcher project at $2.9 billion, while Ørsted reached final investment decision on the 1.4 GW Hornsea 2 project worth an estimated $4.8 billion.
The third biggest sector receiving clean energy investment was energy-smart technologies — such as smart meters and battery storage, energy efficiency and electric vehicles — which took in $48.8 billion in 2017, up 7%. However, the remaining sectors fell far behind with the next closest, biomass and waste-to-energy, down 36% to only $4.7 billion.
https://cleantechnica.com/2018/01/17/54-gw-chinese-solar-boom-drives-global-clean-energy-investment-new-highs-overshadows-australian-mexican-momentum/
Agelbert NOTE: (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-301014181553.gif&hash=c09667beb656b25086c168adcdaddcba59abf858) The Renewable Revolution is an UNSTOPPABLE TIGER! (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-280917164227.png&hash=67b47a6a2c29f13507ed2ee30cdba12743fb859e)
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Climate Nexus Energy Desk mmiceli@climatenexus.org
Companies sign record clean energy contracts ✨, France to double wind power, and more
January 24, 2018:
Companies signed a record number of clean energy contracts last year, with big technology firms leading the way. France announced a ten-point plan to double the amount of wind power by 2023 by simplifying administrative procedures.
The upcoming surge of solar power in Texas threatens $1.4 billion worth of fossil fuels. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-141113185047.png&hash=384024358ff8d5e7133d19b6e6638da4584a8154)
Puerto Rico plans to get 30 percent of its power from renewables, as part of a move to privatize its utility and modernize its grid. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-221017161839.png&hash=7d34712243960aa20883775dad728bc2115ed6fe)
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MULTIMEDIA
Charts & graphs: (https://www.utilitydive.com/news/10-trends-shaping-the-power-sector-in-2018/515235/) 10 trends shaping the power sector in 2018
ENERGY GANG PODCAST
Greentech Media: (https://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/electric-airplanes-are-the-future-of-aviation#gs.UZlSylU) Electric Airplanes Could Remake Aviation
Companies signed a record 5.4 gigawatts of clean energy long-term contracts last year -- the equivalent of at least 10 coal-fired power plants. Big tech companies like Apple and Facebook are leading the charge on these investments, even as the administration rolls back policies in support of clean energy. The U.S. led the globe, accounting for 57 percent of total company clean energy contracts. (Bloomberg)
France unrolls its ten-point plan to double wind power capacity by 2023. The plan will halve the time it takes-- currently seven to nine years-- to get wind projects up and running by simplifying administrative procedures. Globally, wind power capacity has grown by an average of 22 percent a year since 2006. The International Energy Agency estimates that in five years global renewable energy will be 30 percent of the power mix. (Reuters)
Nissan is moving into the residential solar-plus-storage business. The company has been looking into how decommissioned batteries from its fleet of Nissan Leaf electric vehicles can be repurposed for energy storage. The Nissan Energy Solar system will include a home energy management system which allows users real-time control over where their power comes from. The systems will initially only be sold in the UK, and will save users as much as 66 percent on their electric bills. (CNET)
An expected boom in solar power is threatening $1.4 billion worth of fossil-fueled electricity generation in Texas. Hefty additions of renewables to the grid are changing the economics of power markets. With an additional 15 gigawatts of solar power expected in the coming years, the increase in power supply to the grid will send wholesale electricity prices down during peak summer demand. Many fossil fuel plants rely on peak demand hours to make their profits for the year. In related news, , construction will begin this week on Texas’ largest utility-scale solar project, a 236 megawatt installation that can power the equivalent of 50,000 homes. (Bloomberg)
Puerto Rico is looking at plans for its grid that include getting 30 percent of its power to come from renewable energy. The goal is part of the governor’s plan to privatize the island’s troubled utility, the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority. Prior to Hurricane Maria the power authority was running the grid on an outdated system that was 28 years older than the average U.S. electric utility. Months later, less than 64 percent of Puerto Rico’s homes and businesses have power. (Reuters)
Solar advocates are urging regulators in Michigan to reject DTE Energy’s proposal to build a new natural gas plant. Instead, comments filed suggest the utility should look to a combination of solar, wind, energy efficiency and demand response to replace the generation lost from coal plants slated to retire between 2020 and 2030. The coalition of solar advocates estimates that DTE customers could save between $339 million and $1.2 billion from a clean energy portfolio. The filing opposing the proposal also suggests DTE Energy distorted its analysis and underestimated the risks of building a combined-cycle natural gas plant. (Greentech Media)
The Trump Administration 🦀 ruled to place a 30 percent tariff on imports of solar cells and modules (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-200714183337.bmp&hash=fd5a6df63c32bd65dda7b6d93e788647ca3829df) . The tariff amount will decline over a four-year period, dropping to 15 percent on year four, and the first 2.5 gigawatts of solar imports annually will be exempt. Solar is the fastest growing new power source worldwide, and employs between 260,000 and 374,000 people in the U.S. The ruling will likely harm solar installers, who rely on low-cost hardware, and could cost the industry thousands of jobs. (Vox)
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
“The main driver is there are so many more companies demanding it. Large financial institutions have entered the space, and they’re big buyers,” said Kyle Harrison, a corporate energy strategy analyst for BNEF, on historic levels of company procurement of clean energy.
Make Nexus Clean Energy News part of your week: Click here (http://climatenexus.us4.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=d1f5797e59060083034310930&id=3bd0ef8779) to subscribe.
Send updates or feedback to Samuel T. Frank, Ph.D., at sfrank@climatenexus.org.
Copyright Climate Nexus 2016.
Climate Nexus · 171 Madison Ave., Suite 901 · New York, NY 10016 · USA
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✨ 5 Reasons Why The Clean Energy Future (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-301014181553.gif&hash=c09667beb656b25086c168adcdaddcba59abf858) Can’t Be Stopped
January 22, 2018 | By Kevin Haley
Energy used to be a boring industry—no pun intended. For over a century, the proven formula for success was to drill, mine, generate, and consume more energy than the year before. But in 1976, a young energy analyst named Amory Lovins decided to question that paradigm in an article titled “Energy Strategy: The Road Not Taken?” This line of questioning kicked off a 35-year shift in the energy sector, giving rise to incredible innovation and a fundamental move away from legacy fuels and toward clean, cheap, low-carbon electricity and energy efficiency.
Out of this shift has emerged a new, exciting industry that’s poised to make energy cleaner and cheaper than ever before. In fact, no longer must we wonder whether renewable energy resources can power our future economy, but rather, “how quickly can we reach a truly low-carbon future?”
Simply put, it’s now safe to say that clean energy isn’t just winning—it has officially won. As we focus our efforts on accelerating the adoption of clean energy, here are five compelling reasons why the clean energy future can’t be stopped.
Follow the Money
Perhaps the most surefire proof of a global transition to clean energy is to follow the money. The research teams at Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF) report that “Renewable energy sources are set to represent almost three quarters of the $10.2 trillion the world will invest in new power generating technology until 2040.” Even more significantly, across the Asia Pacific region (including the Chinese and Indian economies), BNEF reports that renewables will account for more than 60 percent of new energy investments, versus just 10 percent for coal and gas generation. That sounds like a ratio that could make a difference!
(https://d231jw5ce53gcq.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/5reasons.png)
Source: Bloomberg New Energy Finance
Meanwhile, the market for green bonds—investment securities that generate money to be used for projects with environmental or climate benefits—has soared to record heights. Green bond issuance reached $155.5 billion worldwide in 2017, up 78 percent from the previous year on strong backing by the United States, China, and France. Finance experts predict additional exponential growth in 2018 and are optimistic that green bonds could be a $1 trillion market by the end of 2020.
When faced with the overwhelming amount of money flooding the sector, it’s hard to argue that the future will be anything but renewable-powered.
Renewable Energy’s Biggest Myth Goes Bust ;D
The “expensive” renewables myth is dead and we killed it. In late December 2017, RMI announced that construction began on a 3 MW solar project in New Mexico that will sell its power below 4.5 cents per kilowatt-hour. This price is officially the lowest reported contract for distributed photovoltaic solar energy across the entire U.S., beating coal prices that average 6 cents and up per kilowatt-hour and competing with natural gas prices averaging 4.2 cents and up, according to Lazard.
(https://d231jw5ce53gcq.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/5reasons2.png)
Source: Lazard
But wait, there’s more. In January 2018, Colorado utility company Xcel Energy received “shockingly low bids” for electricity from renewable sources. How shocking? Wind power bids had a median average price of 1.8 cents per kilowatt-hour, and solar’s median bid was 2.95 cents per kilowatt hour. Even with storage technology costs included—allowing renewables to generate 24/7 just like fossil fuels—the average wind price was 2.1 cents per kilowatt hour and the average solar price was 3.6 cents per kilowatt hour. According to the Denver Post, if wind bids come in at 2 cents per kilowatt hour, customers would save $175 million versus building new fossil fuel plants.
If there’s one thing these stories tell us, it’s that the bogus myth of “expensive renewables” is well and truly dead. Not only will the low-carbon economy be better for the environment, but it will be better for electricity customers as well.
Big Business is All-in on Renewables
(https://d231jw5ce53gcq.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/5reasons3.png)
Source: RMI’s Business Renewables Center
In 2017 corporate renewable energy buyers reached a cumulative 10 gigawatts (GW) of new renewable energy projects. This milestone means that corporate-backed renewable projects now power the equivalent of more than 7 million homes. And as more companies make the choice to buy renewable energy to power their operations, the market is responding to enable smaller, more diversified companies to transact as well.
In the past year, companies buying renewables ranged from high-tech players like Google and Facebook to heavy industrials like Cummins and auto manufacturers like General Motors. Even beer giant Anheuser-Busch InBev got in on the action with not one, but two renewable energy purchases including a massive wind farm in Oklahoma. Combined, these businesses and their peers contracted for 3.11 GW of power last year, the second-best year ever for corporate renewable energy buying.
It’s important to realize that these companies buy renewables not because they have to, but because it’s good for business. With more than 10 GW of new renewables coming online due to corporate buyers, the tide is turning against naysayers who believe renewables are only viable due to government intervention.
Dead Man Driving (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.clker.com%2Fcliparts%2Fc%2F8%2Ff%2F8%2F11949865511933397169thumbs_up_nathan_eady_01.svg.hi.png&hash=599691109af22b33f1d59dd61eb97448a9427020)
The days of internal-combustion-powered transportation appear to be coming to a rapid close. Over the past year or so, governments in China, India, France, Britain, and Norway all announced that they are considering bans on gas and diesel cars. In addition to the proposed internal combustion engine (ICE) bans, a number of countries are creating official sales targets for electric vehicles (EVs), including Ireland, Japan, Korea, and Spain.
And as we see with corporate renewable energy buyers, the private sector is primed to play a major role in catalyzing the shift to low-carbon EVs. At the 2018 Detroit Auto Show, Ford Motor Co. announced that it plans to grow its investment in EVs to $11 billion by 2022—nearly a 250 percent increase over initial plans to spend $4.5 billion by 2020. Analysis from Reuters shows that this commitment brings the overall EV investment pipeline from global automakers to $90 billion. General Motors alone plans to bring 20 new battery and fuel-cell electric models to market by 2023.
(https://d231jw5ce53gcq.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/5reasons4.png)
Source: Bloomberg New Energy Finance
Between governments seeking to control pollution and reduce carbon emissions from the transportation sector, and a rapidly evolving private sector eager to make money off the electrification transformation, it sure looks like the Tesla has left the garage for good on EVs.
Big Oil and Gas…And Renewables? (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2Fnocomment.gif&hash=e2062ee03ac013cc64a2d5285ec05dd9510c141b)
The renewables revolution is here to stay, but don’t take it from us. Take it from the likes of Shell, BP, and Exxon. These oil and gas giants are already planning for a low-carbon world with new investments in renewable energy companies and new climate initiatives in the wake of pressure from key shareholders.
In January 2018, Shell announced an investment of up to $217 million in a Nashville-based solar company. Shell’s VP of solar explained the decision by saying, “This joint venture partnership progresses our new energies strategy and provides our U.S. customers with additional solar renewable options.” Meanwhile, just one month earlier, BP announced its plans to invest $200 million in a major European solar developer.
While these are still relatively small clean energy bets compared to what these companies spend on their core business, this is a trend we’re going to watch closely.
Winning Isn’t Enough (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2F301.gif&hash=0291ed4abf2d80e420d1aa00d4eb3c5dd6bbfb53)
The evidence certainly suggests that renewables have won and a low-carbon future is all but inevitable. But unfortunately, that’s not good enough. Climate change still represents an existential threat to our way of life as we know it. While 2017 ranked as the second-hottest year since 1880, the Trump administration 🦀 continues “dismantling efforts to fight climate change.”
Needless to say, despite the good news on clean energy’s promises, now is the time to redouble our efforts and accelerate the transition to a low-carbon economy (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.haleakalasolar.com%2Fimages%2Findex-infobox2.jpg&hash=c49806321315171df0f26c7f0f47adb61cf632eb). To quote Amory Lovins in 1976, “We shall not have another chance to get there.”
https://rmi.org/news/5-reasons-clean-energy-future-cant-stopped/
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100% Renewable Electricity Worldwide Is A New Cost-Effective 🌟 Reality (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2F19.gif&hash=3f9f2fc2285bc756137e21463bc2a4c420b15ac3)
February 16th, 2018 by The Beam
By Hans-Josef Fell, Energy Watch Group, and Prof. Dr. Christian Breyer, Lappeenranta University of Technology
Last year, Costa Rica beat its own record. The Central American country ran 300 days on electricity generated solely from renewable energy. Following the steps of Norway and Iceland, Costa Rica is about to showcase to the world how an emerging country can succeed in transitioning to a fossil-free electricity system.
Renewable energy is increasingly a success story in emerging and developing markets. Last year, they were leading in green energy investments. China will have added around 54 gigawatts (GW) of solar PV capacity in 2017 — three times more than any other country has ever done, which tops China’s total amount to 120 GW of solar PV installed capacity. India is catching up too, as its government announced it would tender enough renewable energy projects to surpass 200 GW of new green capacity by 2022. According to financial analysts, by 2020 renewables will have become the cheapest form of power generation.
A global power system fully based on renewable energy is no longer a long-term vision, but a tangible reality. Yet critics of renewable energy and fossil fuels, as well as nuclear lobbyists, often use solar and wind fluctuations as their major argument to hold on to the old system.
A new groundbreaking study by the Lappeenranta University of Technology (LUT) and the Energy Watch Group (EWG) refutes this argument once and for all.
(https://c1cleantechnicacom-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/files/2018/02/beam-solar-farm.jpg)
The first of its kind study* simulates a global electricity system based entirely on renewable energy on an hourly basis throughout a whole year. Its results prove that the existing renewable energy potential and technologies, including storage, are able to generate sufficient and secure power supply worldwide by 2050. Under favorable political conditions, a full decarbonization and nuclear phase-out of the global electricity system can succeed even earlier than that.
The study proves that 100% renewable electricity is more cost effective than the existing system, which is largely based on fossil fuels and nuclear energy. Total levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) on a global average for 100% renewable electricity will decline to 52 €/MWh (megawatt-hour) by 2050 (including curtailment, storage and some grid costs), compared to 70 €/MWh in 2015.
Due to rapidly falling costs, solar PV and battery storage will increasingly drive most of the electricity system, with solar PV reaching some 69%, wind energy 18%, hydropower 8% and bioenergy 2% of the total electricity mix in 2050 globally.
(https://c1cleantechnicacom-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/files/2018/02/beam-graph-renewables.png)
Share of electricity generation from renewable sources in 2015 and 2050. Gas capacities in 2050 only use renewable based gas. In 2050, nuclear power still accounts for a negligible 0.3% of the total electricity generation, due to the end of its assumed technical life, but could be phased out earlier.
A 100% renewable global electricity system is also way more efficient. It can reduce global greenhouse gas emissions in the electricity sector from about 11 GtCO2eq in 2015 to ZERO emissions by 2050. The total losses in a fully renewable electricity system are significantly lower than in the current system. And the global transition to a 100% renewable electricity system will create 36 million jobs by 2050, in comparison to 19 million jobs in 2015.
(https://c1cleantechnicacom-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/files/2018/02/beam-lcoe-graph.png)
Total LCOE of global power supply in 2015 and 2050.
The global energy transition scenario is carried out in five-year time periods from 2015 until 2050 and provides handy roadmaps to 100% renewable electricity for major regions of the world: Europe, Eurasia, MENA, Sub-Saharan Africa, SAARC, Northeast Asia, Southeast Asia, North America and South America. These are unique roadmaps, also showing the way to fulfilling the Paris Agreement targets, signed by nearly all countries in the world.
The study shows that there is no reason to invest any single dollar in fossil fuel or nuclear power production. It also proves that energy transition is no longer a question of technical feasibility or economic viability, but of political will.
(https://c1cleantechnicacom-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/files/2018/02/beam-wind-turbines.jpg)
The science has proven that it is feasible. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fcliparts.co%2Fcliparts%2FBig%2FEgq%2FBigEgqBMT.png&hash=e7eec62f009cdd686ce795fad0a53c6befe748e9) It is now the turn of politicians, businesses and civil society to push for immediate actions, accelerating the transition.
Gaining public support is the first and most decisive prerequisite for a successful transition to renewable energy. Therefore, policy makers should adopt favourable political frameworks and instruments, promoting fast and steady growth of renewables on the one hand and phasing out all subsidies to fossil fuel and nuclear power generation on the other hand.
The German Renewable Energy Sources Act (EEG) with a fixed feed-in-tariff is one of the best-known and proven successful policies. We also need to implement new, innovative political measures encouraging investment in renewable energy, storage and network integration simultaneously. A reformed version of the EEG — a hybrid renewable power plant remuneration — enables just that.
On the economic side of the energy transition, sufficient flow of private investment in renewables and storage technologies needs to be ensured for a smooth, fast, and cost-effective transition to 100% renewable energy.
(https://c1cleantechnicacom-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/files/2018/02/beam-solar-plant.jpg)
Tendering procedures are most prominent nowadays when it comes to commissioning renewable power projects. Yet science also shows that tendering is reasonable only for renewable energy capacities above 40 MW. Otherwise they limit investors to large companies and exclude investment from decentralized actors, such as cooperatives. Tenders also limit the overall installations, whereas the feed-in-tariffs allow more and faster dynamics in the deployment of renewables.
Last but not least, research and education in the sphere of renewable energy and zero-emission technologies needs to be boosted. This will ensure more effective power generation in the future and new technological breakthroughs in the field of renewables.
The study is part of a larger study analyzing the entire energy system, including electricity, heat, mobility, desalination, and industrial demand. Lappeenranta University of Technology and the Energy Watch Group will publish the findings of the entire study in 2018.
*The study “Global Energy System based on 100% Renewable Energy” is co-funded by the German Federal Environmental Foundation (DBU) and the Stiftung Mercator.
Read more from The Beam (https://medium.com/thebeammagazine).
https://cleantechnica.com/2018/02/16/100-renewable-electricity-worldwide-new-cost-effective-reality/
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EcoWatch
Renewables 🌟 Now Contribute Nearly One-Fifth of U.S. Electricity Generation
By Lorraine Chow
Feb. 16, 2018 11:56AM EST
Renewable energy now makes up 18 percent of total electrical generation in the U.S., roughly double the amount a decade ago, a new report shows.
According to the sixth annual Sustainable Energy in America Factbook, which outlines key U.S. energy trends, renewable energy output in the power sector soared to a record high last year and could eventually rival nuclear.
The factbook, produced for the Business Council for Sustainable Energy by Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF), shows that renewable generation boomed 14 percent in 2017 to hit 717 terawatt hours (TWh). This increase was driven mostly by the West Coast's rebound in hydropower generation after years of drought as well as new wind and solar projects built in 2016 coming online in 2017.
Rachel Luo, senior analyst for U.S. utilities and market reform at BNEF and lead author of the report, told Greentech Media that 18 percent might not sound like a lot but it brings renewable energy "within striking distance" of nuclear, which contributes about 20 of total annual U.S. electricity generation.
"In 2017 it's a very significant story that renewables are making a lot of headway in pushing forward the decarbonization of the power sector, even as the natural gas share decreases," she said.
Indeed, as this chart below shows, natural gas slipped 2 percent last year, from 34 percent in 2016 to 32 percent in 2017. Coal, which used to dominate the U.S. energy landscape, has also shrunk to 30 percent.
2018 Sustainable Energy in America Factbook
Even though natural gas is still the number one producer of U.S. power, "[its] downtick could be from a variety of factors [such as] the increasing penetration of renewables, but load growth is also stalling and … natural gas prices have recovered a little," Luo told Greentech Media.
In summary, the factbook said: "The massive and historic transformation of the U.S. energy sector clicked into a higher gear in 2017, despite new policy uncertainties. Renewable deployment grew at a near-record pace, energy productivity and GDP growth both accelerated, and the U.S. became a serious player in the global liquefied natural gas market. All of this combined to squeeze U.S. greenhouse gas emissions to a 25-year low, while keeping costs in check for consumers."
Watch here to learn more:
https://youtu.be/p7QyBNegNTE
https://www.ecowatch.com/renewable-energy-us-2535432605.html
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Feast your eyes on the Virtual Power Plant ⚡💫 and other Renewable Energy Technoligies like Wave Power. 🌊
https://youtu.be/8D-XYtcpYHc
(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fstatic.uglyhedgehog.com%2Fupload%2F2012%2F8%2F14%2F1344970546338-awesome_mc_ht_smiley.gif&hash=3ae7abfc4fed4417a941b6f116204b754f1e587f)
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EcoWatch
100+ Cities Now Powered by at Least 70% Renewables ✨ 🎋 🎍
February 27, 2018
By Lorraine Chow
A growing list of cities and municipalities is leading a renewable energy revolution that their national governments either cannot—or will not—address.
More than 100 cities around the world now get at least 70 percent of their electricity from renewable sources such solar, wind, geothermal and hydropower, according to new research from the non-profit CDP. That's more than double the 40 cities reporting they were powered by at least 70 percent clean energy in 2015.
The list includes large cities with dense populations such as Auckland, New Zealand; Nairobi, Kenya; Oslo, Norway; Seattle, USA; and Vancouver, Canada.
Impressively, a remarkable 43 cities, including Burlington, Vermont; Reykjavik, Iceland; and Basel, Switzerland, are running on 100 percent renewables.
Burlington (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-141113185047.png&hash=384024358ff8d5e7133d19b6e6638da4584a8154) —Vermont's largest city, with a population of 42,000 people—became the first U.S. city to run entirely on renewable electricity back in 2015. The city gets all of its electricity ⚡ from wind, solar, biomass and hydropower and even has its own utility and citywide grid.
"We have seen first-hand that renewable energy boosts our local economy and creates a healthier place to work, live and raise a family," Burlington Mayor Miro Weinberger said. "We encourage other cities around the globe to follow our innovative path as we all work toward a more sustainable energy future."
CDP, formerly the Carbon Disclosure Project, holds energy information on more than 570 of the world's cities. The research was released ahead of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change conference in Edmonton, Canada on March 5, where city governments and scientific leaders will meet on the role of cities in tackling climate change.
In the U.S., roughly 58 cities and towns, including major metropolises like Atlanta and San Diego, are rejecting fossil fuels and have announced plans to run entirely on clean energy.
And with some 275 cities now reporting the use of hydropower, 189 generating electricity from wind and 184 using solar photovoltaics, CDP expects to see more cities around the globe join this important movement.
The CDP said that much of the drive behind city climate action and reporting comes from the 7,000-plus mayors that signed up to the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy and have pledged to act on climate change.
"Cities are responsible for 70 percent of energy-related CO2 emissions and there is immense potential for them to lead on building a sustainable economy," said Kyra Appleby, director of cities at CDP.
"Reassuringly, our data shows much commitment and ambition. Cities not only want to shift to renewable energy but, most importantly—they can. We urge all cities to disclose to us, work together to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement and prioritize the development of ambitious renewable energy procurement strategies. The time to act is now."
You can find CDP's complete list below and learn more about the project here. (https://www.cdp.net/en/cities/world-renewable-energy-cities)
Akureyri, Iceland
Alba-Iulia, Romania
Alcaldía de Córdoba, Venezuela
Angra dos Reis, Brazil
Aparecida, Brazil
Aracaju, Brazil
Arendal, Norway
Aspen, USA
Assis, Brazil
Asunción, Paraguay
Auckland , New Zealand
Bærum Kommune, Norway
Bangangté, Cameroon
Basel, Switzerland
Belém, Brazil
Belo Horizonte, Brazil
Birigui, Brazil
Bogotá , Colombia
Bolzano, Italy
Braga, Portugal
Brasília, Brazil
Brotas, Brazil
Brusque, Brazil
Burlington, USA (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-141113185047.png&hash=384024358ff8d5e7133d19b6e6638da4584a8154)
Cabreúva, Brazil
Cajamar, Brazil
Campinas, Brazil
Campos de Goytacazes, Brazil
Canoas, Brazil
Capivari, Brazil
Cascais, Portugal
Caxias do Sul, Brazil
Cerquilho, Brazil
Chorrera, Panama
Curitiba, Brazil
Dar es Salaam, United Republic of Tanzania
Estância Climática de São Bento do Sapucaí, Brazil
Estância Hidromineral de Águas de São Pedro, Brazil
Estância Turística de Guaratinguetá, Brazil
Estância Turística de ITU, Brazil
Eugene, USA
Extrema, Brazil
Fafe, Portugal
Fernandópolis, Brazil
Florianópolis, Brazil
Foumban, Cameroon
Gladsaxe Kommune, Denmark
Goiânia, Brazil
Harare, Zimbabwe
Hobart, Australia
Ibagué, Colombia
Inje , South Korea
Jaboatão dos Guararapes, Brazil
Kapiti Coast , New Zealand
Kisumu, Kenya
Lausanne, Switzerland
León de los Aldamas, Mexico
Limeira, Brazil
Ljubljana, Slovenia
Lorena, Brazil
Maceió, Brazil
Mairiporã, Brazil
Medellín, Colombia
Moita, Portugal
Montes Claros, Brazil
Montreal, Canada
Nairobi, Kenya
Nakuru, Kenya
Niterói, Brazil
North Vancouver, Canada
Nova Odessa, Brazil
Nyon, Switzerland
Oristano, Italy
Oslo, Norway
Palmas, Brazil
Porto, Portugal
Prince George, BC, Canada
Quelimane, Mozambique
Quito, Ecuador
Reykjavík, Iceland
Salvador, Brazil
Santiago de Cali, Colombia
Santos, Brazil
São Caetano, Brazil
São Gonçalo, Brazil
São João da Boa Vista, Brazil
São José do Rio Preto, Brazil
São José dos Campos, Brazil
Seattle, USA
Stadt Zürich, Switzerland
Stockholm, Sweden
Tatuí, Brazil
Temuco, Chile
Uberlândia, Brazil
Vancouver, Canada
Vinhedo, Brazil
Vitória, Brazil
Wellington, New Zealand
Winnipeg, Canada
https://www.ecowatch.com/renewable-energy-cities-2540308563.html
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Climate Nexus Energy Desk
mmiceli@climatenexus.org
April 4, 2018
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Connecticut’s first offshore wind farm, states & auto companies urge drivers to go electric & more
April 4, 2018: Two power companies -- one Northeastern and one Danish -- are putting together plans for what would be Connecticut’s first offshore wind farm. JinkoSolar becomes the first Chinese solar company to build a U.S. manufacturing plant since Trump’s tariffs went into effect. A $1.5 million advertising campaign between seven states and 16 automakers will encourage greater adoption of electric vehicles by focusing on their benefits. Natural gas is facing increased competition from solar and wind, which continue to drop in price.
MULTIMEDIA
Poll: Americans’ views of the environment, global warming and energy (http://news.gallup.com/poll/232028/energy-concerns-low-increasing-supply-not-priority.aspx)
ENERGY GANG PODCAST
Greentech Media: Trouble for Silicon Valley’s Top Car Companies (https://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/trouble-for-silicon-valleys-top-car-companies#gs.LFdY7nk)
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Connecticut may get its first offshore wind farm, a 200-megawatt project from Eversource Energy and Denmark’s Orsted. Known as Constitution Wind, the project would generate enough electricity to power 100,000 homes and would help Connecticut meet its clean energy goals and become a leader in offshore wind. In other offshore wind news, a recent analysis by Moody’s finds that a combination of factors including declining costs and favorable regulation will lead to rapid growth in the U.S. offshore wind market, particularly in the Northeast. (New Haven Register, New Jersey Spotlight)
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Chinese solar giant JinkoSolar made the first move into U.S. manufacturing, post Trump’s solar tariffs. Jinko will invest $50 million in a partnership with NextEra Energy Resources to build up to 2.75 gigawatts of solar panels at a Jacksonville, Fla. plant over the next four years. Other companies are reportedly considering similar moves. (Greentech Media)
A $1.5 million advertising campaign will urge U.S. drivers to go electric. The campaign, known as “Drive Change. Drive Electric,” includes seven Northeastern states and 16 auto companies and will educate customers on the benefits of electric vehicles. While EV sales rose 25 percent last year, they still only account for 1.2 percent of total U.S. car sales. Domestic automakers have announced at least $19 billion in EV investments to date, and are pointing to increased driving range, lower battery costs and increased charging infrastructure as among the many incentives to make the switch. (Reuters)
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The economic case for fossil fuels is rapidly decreasing as the cost of renewables continues to drop. A new report by Bloomberg New Energy Finance finds that the levelized cost of energy -- which accounts for equipment, debt servicing and operating costs -- of solar and wind will be cheaper than coal in most places by 2023. The plunge in costs of lithium-ion batteries by almost 80 percent since 2010 will increase the opportunities for energy storage over the coming years. China and India currently have the cheapest solar and wind costs. (Bloomberg)
Natural gas is facing increased competition from low-cost solar and wind. The shift is leading some utilities to abandon natural gas plans in favor of renewables. A recent report by Lazard found that power costs from utility-scale solar are now on par with those of natural gas, and that wind power has surpassed both to become the cheapest. In states like California, which has a goal of 50 percent renewable energy by 2050, regulation is further driving this trend. In 2017, natural-gas power generation decreased by 7.7 percent. (New York Times $)
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The Environmental Protection Agency has opened the door for federal fuel efficiency standards to be lowered. The agency ruled that the current greenhouse gas and fuel efficiency standards are too high, a move that could harm the production of fuel-efficient and electric vehicles by removing the need for the credits that companies receive for producing them. Honda, Toyota and Tesla all surpass the current standards and make money from selling these types of credits. (Vox)
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“It’s a very different world that we’re arriving at very quickly,” energy consultant Robert McCullough said in the above New York Times story on the increasing viability of renewables over fossil fuels. “That wind farm can literally be put on a train and brought online within a year. It is moving so fast that even critics of the old path like myself have been taken by surprise.”
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EcoWatch
Renewable Energy
By Olivia Rosane
Apr. 04, 2018 12:25PM EST
Mainland Portugal Generated More Renewable Energy ⚡ Than It Needed :o in March (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-200714183515.bmp&hash=4a3ad9d0a78a7e161f53ddd84f568082a5b0d2ad)
Renewable energy sources ⚡ made up 103.6 percent of mainland Portugal's electricity use this March, according to industry information released Tuesday and reported by Reuters.
Portugal has been a leader in renewable energy since before 2016, when it broke records for running on renewable sources for 107 hours straight.
March's milestone indicates how far renewable technologies and capacity have come in two years.
The report, issued by the Portuguese Renewable Energy Association and the Sustainable Earth System Association, suggested March's feat is a sign of things to come.
"Last month's achievement is an example of what will happen more frequently in the near future. It is expected that by 2040 the production of renewable electricity will be able to guarantee, in a cost-effective way, the total annual electricity consumption of mainland Portugal," the report said, according to Reuters.
Portugal did still draw power from fossil fuel plants during the month to fill in between gaps in renewable supply, but those gaps were more than made up for by moments of increased renewable production.
55 percent of March's energy came from hydropower sources and 42 percent came from wind power. The month reduced the country's carbon dioxide emissions by 1.8 million tons.
"These data, besides indicating a historical milestone in the Portuguese electricity sector, demonstrate that renewable energy can be relied upon as a secure and viable source with which to completely meet the country's electricity demands," the report said.
Portugal was an early adapter and innovator in the renewable energy sector. In 2008, it switched on what was then Europe's largest onshore wind farm while continuing to construct what was then the world's largest solar farm, The Guardian reported.
According to data published by AlterNet in 2017, Portugal runs behind other European countries when it comes to renewable energy use. It is ranked No. 12 on the continent for the amount of energy it gets from renewable sources overall: 30.50 percent. Iceland, Europe's leader, meets 76.42 percent of its energy needs with renewables.
However, March's news means that Portugal is once again inspiring its neighbors. According to EURACTIV, Green European Member of Parliament Claude Turmes of Luxembourg used the milestone to argue that the EU should increase its 2030 renewable energy goal of 27 percent.
"Impressive news from Portugal: #renewables produced more than 100% of the country's electricity consumption throughout the month of March! That shows how ridiculous a 27% target for 2030 is. Who will be the next country to follow that path?" he tweeted.
https://www.ecowatch.com/portugal-renewable-energy-wind-hydropower-2556245355.html
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Renewables Surged Ahead of Fossil Fuels in 2017
The world invested more in renewable energy in 2017 than in all fossil fuels combined, according to a new report from the UN and Bloomberg New Energy Finance.
A record 98 GW of solar energy was installed worldwide in 2017, with China leading the way with 53 GW of solar power installed. Globally, solar also generated $160.8 billion in investments, up 18 percent from 2016, while new coal and gas projects generated only $103 billion. Renewables combined added 157 GW ⚡ worldwide (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fcliparts.co%2Fcliparts%2FBig%2FEgq%2FBigEgqBMT.png&hash=e7eec62f009cdd686ce795fad0a53c6befe748e9), while all fossil fuels added only 70 GW.
https://www.carbonbrief.org/global-solar-capacity-grew-faster-than-fossil-fuels-2017-report
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Carbon Brief
TECHNOLOGY 12 April 2018 13:45
Explainer: These six metals are key to a low-carbon future🕊
SNIPPET:
The deployment of renewables and electric vehicles is expected to skyrocket as the world strives to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
These low-carbon technologies currently rely on a handful of key metals, some of which have been little-used to date. This raises questions over whether enough of these materials can be mined to ensure a large-scale rollout. Others are concerned that bottlenecks could appear, as metal output rises to meet demand, or that the environmental impacts of mining could undermine carbon savings elsewhere.
Carbon Brief takes a look at some of the metals attracting most attention and examines where they come from, the quantities available and whether they could pose risks to meeting the climate targets of the Paris Agreement.
Which metals are needed for low-carbon technology?
How much of these metals will be needed?
Where do metals for low-carbon tech come from?
Do price rises mean the world is running short of key metals?
Could shortages hold up decarbonisation?
What problems are caused by extraction?
https://youtu.be/igcnIF-nbtA
Full article with detailed graphics:
https://www.carbonbrief.org/explainer-these-six-metals-are-key-to-a-low-carbon-future
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California State Senator: 100 Percent Renewable Energy is ‘Within Reach’ ✨ (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-040716230142.jpeg&hash=e3e3e3018263d5b26d55382ceaec3f28aac961b9)
April 26, 2018
By John J. Berger
Whereas research reports by the world’s most eminent climatologists seem almost daily to bring foreboding climate news, renewable energy proponents who met at UC Berkeley in mid-April were decidedly upbeat about clean energy prospects.
The expert gathering, “Toward Electrification of All Sectors: Getting Across the Finish Line,” was all about getting to 100 percent renewable, affordable, and reliable electricity for all.
Convened by the Renewables 100 Policy Institute of Santa Monica, the day-and-a-half-long plenary was part strategy session, part victory lap, and part mustering evidence that speedily attaining 100 percent renewable power is feasible and practical.
Ken Alex, the governor’s senior policy advisor, began the meeting on a somber note by telling the audience that we will likely lose the late-summer Arctic sea ice cover by 2050.
Loss of the ice darkens the surface of the Arctic, increasing the absorption of heat and amplifying global heating. New unpublished research, Alex said, indicates that Arctic sea ice loss will have a substantially more powerful heating effect on the Earth than generally realized.
Supporters of clean energy were nonetheless buoyed by the rapid technological progress and steep price drops in renewable energy and electric vehicles. Both utility-scale wind and solar power have now become cheaper than coal and some natural gas power plants. More new wind and solar utility generation is now being built in the U.S. than fossil-fueled plants.
Related: Wind, Solar Provide 98 Percent of New US Generating Capacity in Jan/Feb (https://www.renewableenergyworld.com/articles/2018/04/wind-solar-provide-98-percent-of-new-us-generating-capacity-in-jan-feb.html)
In a keynote to the gathering, California State Sen. Kevin de Léon, until recently the Senate President pro tempore, shared his reasons for optimism about the transition to renewable energy.
Because the state’s environmental and energy policies have turned environmental challenges into economic opportunities, he said, Californians now enjoy cleaner air, healthier water, and billions of dollars in savings on energy bills, keeping “Californians’ energy spending among the lowest in the nation.”
Since the state’s cap-and-trade carbon bill, AB 32 passed in 2006, de Léon noted, the state’s per capita GDP “has grown by nearly twice the national average—and we’ve easily outpaced the nation in job creation.”
De Léon singled out the state’s decades long record of passing the nation’s toughest vehicle emission standards, coastal protections, and energy efficiency standards, along with some of the country’s most ambitious clean energy goals.
At the forefront of these efforts, de Léon last year introduced Senate Bill 100 which would require California to get 100 percent of its power from renewable sources by 2045. SB 100 is currently in the Assembly Utilities and Energy Committee awaiting a vote.
“All the evidence suggests 100 percent clean energy is within reach,” de Léon declared.
Whereas California is currently committed under SB 350 (also by de Léon) to getting 50 percent of its power from renewables by 2030, SB 100 would raise the 2030 requirement to 60 percent. It would, however, count existing hydropower toward the 100 percent goal. Since the state’s power mix was 15 percent hydro in 2016, by 2030 the state could already be getting at least 75 percent of its power from renewable and zero-carbon sources.
In addition, if carbon capture and sequestration could be done “in a way that is affordable and truly clean,” de Léon said, “that would count under this bill.”
Under Senate Bill 350, California in 2015 raised its 2030 renewable electricity goal to 50 percent. The state’s prior goal had been 33 percent renewables by 2020. California’s major utilities are already close to or above 40 percent renewable power and will soon be at 50 percent.
The bill also calls for a 50 percent increase in energy efficiency in existing buildings and seeks to accelerate the electrification of the state’s transportation sector.
Representative Chris Lee of Hawaii told the conference that Hawaii, now at 30 percent renewable power, has committed to 100 percent renewables and to phase out fossil fuel power in ground transportation by 2045.
Lee said that while the state is committed to 100 percent renewables by 2045, it will achieve it by 2040—and at a savings of $5 billion, which is 8 percent of Hawaii’s GDP.
“Saving the climate is to preserve our way of life,” he stated. “It is for our survival..These problems are soluble,” he added. “Having the vision of getting to 100 percent renewable energy is what we need.”
Like Hawaii, San Francisco has committed to getting 100 percent of its power from renewables by 2045. More than 50 other U.S. cities are also committed to 100 percent renewable power.
Much to the delight of renewable energy advocates, since electric vehicles can be powered by clean electricity, Gov. Brown on January 26, 2018 issued an executive order raising the state’s 2030 target from 1.5 million zero emission vehicles to 5 million.(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-200714191258.bmp&hash=e4ed21caaca822f7445ccafd39f49a9f84be90ca) The order will also boost the supply of charging and refueling stations for zero-emission vehicles, and it calls for the investment of $1.25 billion in cap-and-trade auction revenues in combatting carbon pollution from cars and trucks.
Assemblyman Phil Ting of San Francisco told conferees, “If you want clean air, you absolutely have to have clean cars.” (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fcliparts.co%2Fcliparts%2FBig%2FEgq%2FBigEgqBMT.png&hash=e7eec62f009cdd686ce795fad0a53c6befe748e9) According to the Governor’s Office, fifty percent of California’s greenhouse gases currently come from the transportation sector along with 80 percent of its smog-forming gases. Ting is sponsoring a bill in the Assembly to ban internal combustion engines in California by 2040.
China, France, the U.K., India, and Norway have announced similar or earlier deadlines for phasing out internal combustion engines.
California already has almost 400,000 electric vehicles, and many jurisdictions are converting diesel bus lines to electric buses. Ryan Popple, president and CEO of electric bus company Proterra, told the conference that business is booming and the technology is improving rapidly, with battery electric buses now capable of eliminating their fossil-fueled competitors. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-080515182559.png&hash=d4dfa952fa0f817bf30a8059a4c88d6fb05ee1bf)
Electric buses produced by 2020 will have a 225-mile range, he said, while most transit bus routes require less than 130 miles of travel per day. With electric drivelines now already cheaper than diesels, diesel and compressed natural gas bus market shares “are going to go to zero,” he predicted.
De Léon’s closing remarks were an outspoken rebuke to President Trump 🦀. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.desismileys.com%2Fsmileys%2Fdesismileys_6869.gif&hash=f94938471d343a09155d1f60eefacdb2ceab2457)
“If the President really wants to put people to work and make America the world’s energy super power, he should follow our lead…We didn’t grow into the world’s sixth largest economy and the epicenter of innovation by embracing ‘alternative facts,’ or pseudo-scientific nonsense.”
https://www.renewableenergyworld.com/articles/2018/04/california-state-senator-100-percent-renewable-energy-is-within-reach.html
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mmiceli@climatenexus.org
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Global renewable jobs reach record high, wind farms are boosting local taxes, India installed more renewables than coal and more.
May 9, 2018: U.S. solar and wind companies are increasingly supporting Republican candidates, and vice versa. Global renewable energy jobs hit an all-time high of 10.3 million last year. Wind farms are boosting local tax bases across the U.S., in some areas by as much as 30 percent. Universities that have long offered fossil-fuel related degrees are now offering diplomas in solar and wind amid growing demand. India installed more renewable energy capacity than coal last year for the first time.
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“Renewable energy has become a pillar of low-carbon economic growth for governments all over the world...” said Adnan Z. Amin, director-general of the International Renewable Energy Agency, on the growth of renewable energy jobs as detailed in their latest report.
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In a first, India installed more renewable energy capacity than coal last year. The country added almost 11,800 megawatts of renewables, more than double the amount of other fuels. The largest additions came from ground-mounted solar and wind, although these have not met national targets. While accounting for a smaller amount overall, rooftop solar, biomass, small hydro and waste-to-energy have surpassed target capacity additions. The government is aiming for 175,000 megawatts of added renewable power by 2022. (Quartz)
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Wind farms are giving a boost to local tax bases in the U.S., generating new revenue for needed capital expenditures. Almost half of total installed wind capacity is located in Texas, Iowa, Oklahoma and California. In one county in Iowa, the tax base grew nearly 30 percent due to new wind projects. Tech companies such as Apple and Facebook invested almost $10 billion in data centers in the state due to the abundance of wind power. Government incentives, clean energy requirements and strength of wind power all play a role in where wind gets built. (Reuters)
An increasing number of U.S. universities that offer fossil-fuels related degrees are now offering diplomas in wind and solar technology. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-311017193926.png&hash=135a7bcd2093b679e425bbd2086adb8ddfd2e7b5) Although the starting salary for clean energy jobs may not be as high as those in oil and gas, many students are opting for the renewable energy jobs because of the opportunities the growing field offers. While need for workers in the oil and gas industry decreases with automation, the renewable energy industry needs skilled workers now, and educators expect that these programs will increase in size as renewables become increasingly competitive with fossil fuels. (Wall Street Journal $)
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Domestic solar and wind energy companies have donated more money to Republicans than to Democrats in congressional races for the current election cycle. These industries are becoming more mainstream and receiving increasing Republican support as their economic benefits are realized. Solar and wind employ about 300,000 people across the country, almost six times more than coal mining. Polling shows that support for clean energy is widespread among voters. (Reuters)
Global renewable energy employment hit an all-time high of 10.3 million last year, according to a new report by IRENA. The total represents a 5.3 percent increase over 2016, with over 500,000 new jobs created. The solar industry accounted for the highest number overall, largely driven by China. Altogether, China, Brazil, the U.S., India, Germany and Japan accounted for 70 percent of the world’s renewable energy jobs. (CNBC)
An increasing number of Americans say their next car will be electric, according to AAA. Twenty percent of Americans now see themselves purchasing an EV when the time comes, a five percent increase from 2017. This is partially attributable to less concern about running out of battery power while driving, a fear that AAA finds to be largely unfounded. Lower maintenance costs for electric vehicles and increasing gas prices have also fueled this upward trend. While the vehicles still have higher upfront prices, credits can help offset the cost and the EV market is growing every year. (USA Today)
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The dissolution of Suniva continues as the company received approval to auction off its parts. Equipment controlled by both SQN Capital Management and Suniva Wanxiang America Corp. will be sold, although there doesn’t appear to be eager buyers for the equipment.. Suniva was one of two solar companies to petition the Trump administration to place a tariff on imported solar products, but the tariffs did not help revive the company. (Greentech Media)
https://mailchi.mp/climatenexus/global-renewable-jobs-reach-record-high-wind-farms-are-boosting-local-tax-bases-india-installed-more-renewables-than-coal-and-more
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GLOBAL CITIZEN
May 10, 2018
Costa Rica's New President Just Banned Fossil Fuels (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-130418194750.png&hash=33306d958aa508c856b37611a4bc53e8aba20d22)
By Joe McCarthy and Erica Sanchez
"We have the titanic and beautiful task of abolishing the use of fossil fuels.”
SNIPPET:
Costa Rica’s new president Carlos Alvarado announced a ban on fossil fuels Wednesday, establishing the small country as a major trailblazer in the global fight against climate change, according to Telesur TV.
More than 2,000 people crowded the Plaza de la Democracy in the capital San Jose to witness the historic announcement. Alvarado, who officially took office Tuesday, underlined his commitment by arriving in a hydrogen-powered bus.
"Decarbonization is the great task of our generation and Costa Rica must be one of the first countries in the world to accomplish it, if not the first," Alvarado said during the event.
"We have the titanic and beautiful task of abolishing the use of fossil fuels in our economy to make way for the use of clean and renewable energies,” he added.
Full article:
https://www.globalcitizen.org/en/content/costa-ricas-new-president-banned-fossil-fuels/
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CleanTechnica
Support CleanTechnica’s work via donations on Patreon or PayPal!
Or just go buy a cool t-shirt, cup, baby outfit, bag, or hoodie. (https://cleantechnica.com/shop/#!/)
Costa Rica: 1st Country To Achieve Independence From Fossil Fuels? (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-250817121424.gif&hash=384c17a4d2be4831084933b91808f8a60f73f7f5)
May 13th, 2018 by Steve Hanley
(https://c1cleantechnicacom-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/files/2018/05/Costa-Rica.jpg)
City in Costa Rica image via The Real Deal Tours
Costa Rica, nestled between Nicaragua to the north and Panama to the south, is making plans to be entirely free of fossil fuels in the very near future. New President Carlos Alvarado, age 38, told a cheering crowd at his inauguration last week, “Decarbonization is the great task of our generation and Costa Rica must be one of the first countries in the world to accomplish it, if not the first. We have the titanic and beautiful task of abolishing the use of fossil fuels in our economy to make way for the use of clean and renewable energies.”
(https://c1cleantechnicacom-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/files/2015/03/Geothermal-Energy-in-Costa-Rica-300x201.jpg)
Geothermal plant in Costa Rica
Costa Rica has made impressive strides in its campaign to rely strictly on renewable energy for its electricity. In 2017, it had 300 days in which renewables met its entire demand for electricity. It is at the forefront of geothermal energy and has taken a leading role in the world community when it comes to banning plastics.
Yet it suffers from the same curse as every other nation in the world — too damn many automobiles. On a percentage basis, Costa Rica’s new car market is growing faster than China’s, at about 25% a year, and the streets of its capitol city, San José, are choked with traffic that seems to grow worse by the day. As a result, while carbon emissions from electricity generation are falling, emissions from internal combustion engines are soaring.
Less than 2% of the cars in Costa Rica are electrics and hybrids. Last year, demand for gasoline was up 11% according to The Guardian. But president Alvarado has a plan to deal with the curse of fossil fuel powered cars. During his campaign, he announced a goal of ending fossil fuel usage by 2021. “When we reach 200 years of independent life, we will take Costa Rica forward and celebrate … that we’ve removed gasoline and diesel from our transportation,” he promised, according to a report in The Independent.
While that goal is laudable, it will be hard to reach, says José Daniel Lara, a Costa Rican energy researcher at the University of California-Berkeley who claims completely eliminating fossil fuels within just a few years is probably unrealistic, even though the plan will lay the groundwork for faster action towards that goal. “It must be seen by its rhetoric value and not by its technical precision,” Mr Lara said.
Bill McKibben
✔
@billmckibben
Costa Rica, which has no army, now plans to get off fossil fuel entirely in the next few years. This is what leadership looks like. https://www.independent.co.uk/environment/costa-rica-fossil-fuels-ban-president-carlos-alvarado-climate-change-global-warming-a8344541.html?amp …
3:59 AM - May 12, 2018
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Regular CleanTechnica collaborator Monica Araya, who is an economist and director of Costa Rica Limpia, says her country’s plan to wean itself off of fossil fuels in all sectors, including transportation, sends a powerful message to the world. As most of the world’s developed countries dodge and weave around the subject of fossil fuels and their impact on the COP21 agreements they all agreed to, Costa Rica is holding up a mirror and saying, “Look. If we can do this, so can you!”
View image on TwitterView image on Twitter
Monica Araya
@MonicaArayaTica
#Podcast by @Monocle24 talks about #CostaRica's vision to move beyond #fossilfuels. Here's a brief interview I did. Our (new) President's decision is an idea whose time has come. It was several years in the making. It is hard but doable! (Last 6-7 min)https://monocle.com/radio/shows/the-globalist/1705/ …
9:10 AM - May 12, 2018
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Araya is also a champion of the C40 Cities program, whose mission is to change the world, one city block at a time. Cities have been leaders of climate action in recent years, and Milan is now taking a leadership role by looking at a similar target to Costa Rica’s.
C40 Cities
✔
@c40cities
#Milan will have a zero-emission historical city centre by 2030, banning all fossil fuel vehicles from the city centre by 2029. By signing the C40 Fossil-Fuel-Free Streets Declaration, the pioneering city pledged to ensure that a major area of their city is zero emission by 2030.
7:00 AM - May 11, 2018
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Is there any guarantee that Costa Rica will succeed in banning fossil fuels by 2021? No, there is not. But establishing such a goal is an important step in moving Costa Rica and the world toward a future in which carbon emissions no longer threaten to destroy the world and all living things who depend on it for survival. If Costa Rica misses its goal by a few years or even a decade, at least it will be helping change people’s minds about fossil fuels. Attitudes change slowly, but as the Chinese saying goes, “A journey of a thousand miles begins with but a single step.”
Related: Busting Electric Car Myths In Costa Rica & Globally (CleanTechnica Video) (https://cleantechnica.com/2017/10/25/busting-electric-car-myths-costa-rica-globally-cleantechnica-video/)
https://youtu.be/fwCrFgXjBqM
https://cleantechnica.com/2018/05/13/costa-rica-1st-country-to-achieve-independence-from-fossil-fuels/
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Make Nexus Hot News part of your morning: click here (http://climatenexus.us4.list-manage1.com/subscribe?u=d1f5797e59060083034310930&id=7c84c08aaa) to subscribe.
May 15, 2018
INT'L RENEWABLES: Almost half of Australian big business moving to renewables (The Guardian), why a 100-year-old Indian company is investing billions into renewable energy (Quartz), solar power could save water in thirsty Middle East, North Africa, analysis says (Thomson Reuters Foundation), almost half of Australian big business moving to renewables (The Guardian), German offshore wind pioneer said to plan $1 billion stake sale (Bloomberg)
OIL & GAS: Arctic oil 'undrillable' amid global warming: U.N.'s ex-climate chief (Reuters), Statoil to become Equinor, dropping 'oil' to attract young talent (Reuters), Shell spreads its bets around as it prepares for a greener future (New York Times $), linguistic analysis shows oil companies are giving up on climate change (Quartz), Powder River Basin sees 10,000 permit drilling battle (AP), Shell faces shareholder outcry over incident that killed 200 (Bloomberg), investors urge fossil fuel firms to shun Trump's Arctic drilling plans (The Guardian)
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May 18, 2018
#Energiewende #Renewables
Karlsruhe Institute of Technology
(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-130418200018.png&hash=3956d547ef9dca7c073db857379c97e82faeb139) 100-percent renewable German energy system possible – study
Powering a large country like Germany entirely with renewable energy is possible, and could even be cheaper than conventional energy sources, according to a study by the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT).
Technical solutions for all of the well-known problems that come with “a full energy transition” already exist, says co-author and physicist Tom Brown in a KIT press release.
Blackouts are not a problem either, Brown says, as renewables could be used to create hydrogen or methane gas reserves stored for emergencies or times of low output from wind and solar power plants. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fcliparts.co%2Fcliparts%2FBig%2FEgq%2FBigEgqBMT.png&hash=e7eec62f009cdd686ce795fad0a53c6befe748e9)
Find the study in English here (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1364032118303307).
https://www.cleanenergywire.org/news/reactions-eu-air-quality-lawsuit-100-renewables-possible-study
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Agelbert NOTE: This article answers the question that has ALWAYS been in the category of "Do wild bears poop in the woods". (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-130418202709.png&hash=7503265ec59e4c28d735afb762bc39f4674bd838)
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Can we get 100% of our energy from renewable sources?
By Michelle Froese | May 18, 2018
This article comes from Science Daily, with materials provided by Lappeenranta University of Technology.
Scientists have demonstrated that there are no roadblocks on the way to a 100% renewable future.✨
֍ Is there enough space for all the wind turbines and solar panels to provide all our energy needs? (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-250817121424.gif&hash=384c17a4d2be4831084933b91808f8a60f73f7f5)
֍ What happens when the sun doesn’t shine and the wind doesn’t blow? 🤔
֍ Won’t renewables destabilize the grid and cause blackouts? (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-130418202548.png&hash=e826b35fcbeed154112b9cac6fdded08f76ee8e3)
In a review paper last year in the high-ranking journal Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Master of Science Benjamin Heard 🐉 and colleagues 🦕 🦖 presented their case against 100% renewable electricity systems. They doubted the feasibility of many of the recent scenarios for high shares of renewable energy, questioning everything from whether renewables-based systems can survive extreme weather events with low sun and low wind, to the ability to keep the grid stable with so much variable generation.
Now scientists have hit back with their response to the points raised by Heard and colleagues. The researchers from the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, the South African Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, Lappeenranta University of Technology, Delft University of Technology and Aalborg University have analysed hundreds of studies from across the scientific literature to answer each of the apparent issues.
They demonstrate that there are no roadblocks on the way to a 100% renewable future. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-250817121649.png&hash=4554f7e59701d12857946aece16bceb973c997b3)
“While several of the issues raised by the Heard paper are important, you have to realise that there are technical solutions to all the points they raised, using today’s technology,” says the lead author of the response, Dr. Tom Brown of the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology.
“Furthermore, these solutions are absolutely affordable, especially given the sinking costs of wind and solar power,” adds Professor Christian Breyer of Lappeenranta University of Technology, who co-authored the response.
Brown cites the worst-case solution of hydrogen or synthetic gas produced with renewable electricity for times when imports, hydroelectricity, batteries, and other storage fail to bridge the gap during low wind and solar periods during the winter. For maintaining stability there is a series of technical solutions, from rotating grid stabilisers to newer electronics-based solutions. The scientists have collected examples of best practice by grid operators from across the world, from Denmark to Tasmania.
Furthermore, these solutions are absolutely affordable, especially given the sinking costs of wind and solar power.
The response by the scientists (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-210614221847.gif&hash=54129e3b65760aaddc6f2d7f42b34a7d839d2f27)has now appeared in the same journal as the original article by Heard and colleagues.
“There are some persistent myths that 100% renewable systems are not possible,” says Professor Brian Vad Mathiesen of Aalborg University, who is a co-author of the response. “Our contribution deals with these myths one-by-one, using all the latest research. Now let’s get back to the business of modeling low-cost scenarios to eliminate fossil fuels from our energy system, so we can tackle the climate and health challenges they pose.” (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fcliparts.co%2Fcliparts%2FBig%2FEgq%2FBigEgqBMT.png&hash=e7eec62f009cdd686ce795fad0a53c6befe748e9)
https://www.windpowerengineering.com/business-news-projects/can-we-get-100-of-our-energy-from-renewable-sources/
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Grist
We know what the Kochs 🦕 want. What about major foundations?
By Nathanael Johnson on May 23, 2018
SNIPPET:
Big charitable foundations that shape the climate movement dole out cash for renewables and energy efficiency. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-311017193926.png&hash=135a7bcd2093b679e425bbd2086adb8ddfd2e7b5)
But where’s the love for nuclear power, carbon capture, and geoengineering?
It’s nonexistent. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-141113185047.png&hash=384024358ff8d5e7133d19b6e6638da4584a8154) That’s the finding of a new paper published this week by Matthew Nisbet, a professor at Northeastern University who studies climate change communication.
Full article:
https://grist.org/article/foundations-pour-money-into-tackling-climate-change-but-not-curbing-carbon/
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MAY 27, 2018 JUAN COLE
China’s Green Shift Positions It to Overtake U.S. in Energy, Security (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-250817121649.png&hash=4554f7e59701d12857946aece16bceb973c997b3)
SNIPPET:
The Guardian reports that air pollution in 62 Chinese cities fell by 30 percent between 2013 and 2016, according to the World Health Organization. Beijing, the capital, fell from a global fourth-place ranking on polluted air to 187th.
I was in Beijing in March 2015 for a conference, and did a jaunt out to the Great Wall, bringing my camera. I needn’t have bothered. That day, at least, you couldn’t see more than 50 feet away from your face, and my dreams of photographs of the wall stretching out into the distance were dashed. I was there for a week and my throat got sore from just breathing the air. Things are quickly improving, though. The smog in those 62 cities was largely being caused by burning coal, for household heating and industrial purposes. Coal is the worst emitter of carbon dioxide among the hydrocarbon fuels, but it also puts out, when you burn it, lots of particulate matter that causes lung problems, heart attacks, mercury poisoning and cancer.
Last year, the concentration of PM2.5, or tiny motes of particulate matter smaller than 2.5 microns, which can lodge in the lungs, was down about 40 percent in greater Beijing, compared with 2012.
China’s coal use has fallen enormously as a proportion of its electricity generation. It used to provide 80 percent of China’s electricity, but that is down to 65 percent and falling rapidly as a proportion. Even in absolute terms, despite a minor uptick in 2017, coal use has been declining since 2013.
A recent Brookings study by Wenjuan Dong and Ye Qi says,
“In 2017, renewable energy encompassed 36.6% of China’s total installed electric power capacity, and 26.4% of total power generation. According to Energy Production and Consumption Revolution Strategy 2016-2030, by 2030, 50% of total electric power generation will be from non-fossil energy sources, including nuclear and renewable energy.”
These are astonishing statistics for one of the world’s two largest economies.
Although nuclear energy remains important, most new electricity generation in China in the past six years has come from renewables, according to a just-published paper by John A. Matthews with Xin Huang in the Asia-Pacific Journal that a friend sent me this morning.
This is its key chart:
(https://www.juancole.com/images/2018/05/5141-01-1.png)
Matthews argues that massive Chinese adoption of solar panels is the major cause for the rapid decline in their price since 2012, and that this price drop will continue. Likewise, he argues that for all the hype about China building new nuclear plants, it has in fact put most of its eggs with regard to new energy generation in the wind power basket.
New solar power bids are now being occasionally let for less than 3 cents a kilowatt hour. Coal is at least 5 cents a kilowatt hour, if you don’t count its environmental damage. If you take that into account, it is likely closer to 80 cents a kilowatt hour. With regard to China, the Brookings study notes, “In the most recently concluded Third Photovoltaic venture base bidding in China, the bid price for electricity continuously came in new lows. For example, the last two bids for cities Golmud and Delingha, both in Qinghai, came in at 0.31 RMB per kWh, which is even lower than the 0.3247 RMB per kWh price for on-grid desulfurized coal-fired electricity.” Even today, Chinese solar is cheaper than coal, and the competitive advantage of solar will only increase over the next decade.
Matthews further makes an important set of arguments about China’s green shift and global power. By generating its own electricity through renewables and by switching in a big way to electric cars, China is preparing for a vast reduction in its imports of hydrocarbons. In turn, that move makes China less vulnerable to hydrocarbon blackmail or blockade and increases its energy security.
The United States uses about 20 million barrels of petroleum a day. Despite the new production enabled by hydraulic fracturing, its own oil production is about half that. Some oil produced in the U.S., especially in Alaska and the West, can be more cheaply exported abroad than sent to the East Coast where the demand is. You see pundits and Big Oil propagandists hype U.S. production and U.S. exports, but the fact is that the U.S. still imports nearly half of the oil it needs to run its economy, and some of those imports come from unstable places like Saudi Arabia and Venezuela. On transportation (the major use of petroleum), the U.S. is highly vulnerable.
China put 680,000 electric vehicles 👀 on the road last year, and plans to be doing 2 million a year by 2020. These EVs will increasingly be fueled by renewable energy, reducing Chinese dependence on Saudi Arabia and Iran.
Full article:
https://www.truthdig.com/articles/chinas-green-shift-is-positioning-it-to-overtake-u-s-in-energy-technology-and-security/
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June 6, 2018: Warren Buffett’s MidAmerican Energy says it will be the first investor-owned utility to get 100% of its power from renewables. A record amount of wind and solar capacity was installed globally in 2017 with new investment reaching nearly $279 billion. In a first, California’s grid got more power from solar than gas on a monthly basis.
✨ TEXANS LIKE TO DO THINGS BIG! (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-200714183515.bmp&hash=4a3ad9d0a78a7e161f53ddd84f568082a5b0d2ad)
Tallest Wind Turbine in the U.S. installed at West Texas A&M University (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-311017193926.png&hash=135a7bcd2093b679e425bbd2086adb8ddfd2e7b5)
https://youtu.be/wvwdjZF_a-o
WTAMU Graduate School
Published on May 18, 2018
Installation of the GW 3MW(S) Smart Wind Turbine at the UL Advanced Wind Turbine Test Facility at West Texas A&M University in Canyon, Texas.
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For the first time, California’s grid got more power from solar than gas on a monthly basis. In May, utility-scale solar provided nearly 17% of generation on the state’s grid, while gas provided around 15%. That data does not include rooftop solar or other distributed solar generation. While May is the third-sunniest month of the year, the long-term trend shows solar and other renewables replacing gas. (PV Magazine)
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Tesla has installed a gigawatt-hour of energy storage (that’s a lot), which has helped bring down costs. Industry-wide, the cost of battery storage fell 73% between 2010 and 2016, and it is predicted to continue to drop. In Australia, Tesla has installed the world’s largest lithium-ion battery, which is saving consumers millions of dollars. In Puerto Rico, the company has installed microgrids on more than 1,000 households. Tesla thinks its battery scale-up has increased public awareness of the technology. In other storage news this week, Arizona announced it is building the country’s first standalone battery peaker ;D outside of California. (Fast Company, Greentech Media)
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Iowa-based MidAmerican Energy is going 100% renewable, saying it will be the first investor-owned utility to meet that milestone. The utility plans to invest $922 million in new wind power, with the added capacity allowing the company to freeze consumer rates, potentially up to 15 years. MidAmerican owns 27 wind farms across Iowa. If the plan is approved by regulators, the company will have invested around $12.3 billion in wind in the state since 2014. This new project would create about 300 construction jobs, 28 permanent jobs, and add around $7 million more in state property tax payments. (Des Moines Register)
A record-breaking amount of wind and solar power was installed globally last year, a new report says, as the price of renewables continues to fall. An estimated 178 GW of renewable power was added worldwide in 2017 - representing 70% of net additions - according to a new report from the renewables policy organization REN21. New investment in renewables was nearly $279 billion, more than double what went to new fossil fuel and nuclear power capacity. Despite the progress, carbon emissions rose last year for the first time in four years, as population and energy demand grew. The authors of the report noted that while renewables are surging ahead in the electricity sector, they still have a ways to go when it comes to heating, cooling and transport. (Reuters)
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The Environmental Protection 👹Agency advanced its plan to weaken pollution standards for passenger vehicles, by submitting its proposal to the Office of Management and Budget for review. The new rules would roll back an Obama-era requirement that automakers nearly double the fuel efficiency of cars to an average of more than 50 miles per gallon by 2025, which would have significantly lowered emissions from the transportation sector. The proposal also calls into question California’s right to require tougher fuel standards than those set by the federal government - a right granted to the state under the 1970 Clean Air Act. California has said they will fight the new rules if they are approved. (New York Times $)
As many 100,000 jobs could be lost in Germany as the electric vehicle market grows, a new study says. The country’s automakers and IG Metall labor union commissioned the study, which found that the transition away from gas and diesel vehicles could affect more than half of the 210,000 workers in that country that develop and produce powertrains for cars. The head of the labor union said that despite the challenges, the transition can be managed with strategies from politicians and industry that address retraining and industrial employment policy. (CNN Money)
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"With wind, we don't need to buy fuel to make the energy ⚡," said Adam Wright, MidAmerican's CEO, on the utility’s plan to cover 100 percent of their consumer electricity demand with renewable energy. "This is a big reason why MidAmerican Energy's rates are 37 percent below the national average." (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fcliparts.co%2Fcliparts%2FBig%2FEgq%2FBigEgqBMT.png&hash=e7eec62f009cdd686ce795fad0a53c6befe748e9)
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CleanTechnica
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Reinventing Power Documentary Highlights Community Benefits Of Renewable Energy (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fcliparts.co%2Fcliparts%2FBig%2FEgq%2FBigEgqBMT.png&hash=e7eec62f009cdd686ce795fad0a53c6befe748e9)
June 11th, 2018 by Steve Hanley
Fear is one of the primary human emotions. Fear of the unknown. Fear of new ideas that disrupt conventional wisdom. Fear is a significant factor in the concerns people have about electric vehicles and renewable energy. Those who have a stake in the status quo🐉🦕🦖 play on our fears to protect their vested interests. They (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-311013201314.png&hash=0715eb72631014310634eb56176ff860c6d542f6) talk about range anxiety and grid resiliency to make us believe the way we did things years ago is the way we should continue doing things in the future.
Reinventing Power is a new documentary produced by Transit Pictures for the Sierra Club. It’s focus is not to preach about the morality of renewable energy — how it will save the Earth, polar bears, and piping plovers — but how renewables are helping people find new economic opportunities that benefit themselves and their communities. It is a film designed to extinguish the fears about renewables fostered by fossil fuel companies and replace it with an acceptance of the benefits that will flow from a transition to renewable energy.
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New Jersey Offshore Wind Tubines
“A lot of the arguments you hear about clean energy are moral — like it’s the right thing to do,” Brennon Edwards, head of Transit Pictures, tells Fast Company. “We wanted to go for something different, and show how renewable energy is revitalizing communities and revitalizing industries. There’s basically no political or celebrity attachment to it. These are just real Americans who are having this change affect their lives, and it’s happening all over the country.”
At present, there are more than 800,000 Americans working in the renewable energy sector of the US economy. One of them is Chris Bruce of Michigan, who lost his job in the auto industry in 2008. “After I lost my job, I had about three days of sulking, and then I got up and decided to listen to some of my co-workers’ advice to look into wind turbines,” he says in the documentary. Now he works as a wind turbine engineer.
“We’re telling the story of the clean energy revolution through the voices of the people who are benefiting from it,” says Mary Ann Hitt, director of the Sierra Club’s Beyond Coal campaign. “We wanted the viewers to be able to see themselves in these stories, because there’s still a lot of fear and anxiety around transitioning away from fossil fuels.”
The people in the film include Horace Pritchard, a farmer who lives near Elizabeth City, North Carolina. He was approached about installing wind turbines on his property a decade ago. Today, the lease he has with the wind energy company pays his bills and he is still able to farm most of the land the way he has always done. Pritchard says some of his neighbors also have wind turbines on their farms. Their only concern is that there aren’t enough of them because the turbines provide a more reliable income than farming.
https://youtu.be/MMlluuqMCdc
The film focuses on the first offshore wind project in the United States off the shores of Block Island. Power from that installation has allowed the island to shut down its diesel-powered generating plant, eliminating a source of noise and pollution that interfered with its main economic activity — tourism. In its place, new industries have emerged. Locals now take tourists out on the water to view the wind farm up close. Commercial fisherman report they are catching more fish near the turbines than they ever did before in that area. One segment of the documentary follows Bryan Wilson of Deepwater Wind, the company that built the offshore wind farm, as he tells how wind power has transformed Block Island.
https://youtu.be/IdhDPxcizhk
The current political rhetoric in America is that renewables are responsible for job losses and are weakening the industries that made America great decades ago. But those industries are dying of their own accord, says Mary Ann Hitt. Renewable energy benefits all Americans, especially those in so-called red states and rural areas, she adds.
“Renewables will require us to rebuild the entire energy infrastructure,” Brennon Edwards says. “Our energy infrastructure is crumbling and it has to be rebuilt one way or another. This is happening regardless of politics.”
The current administration relies on fear to advance its agenda, including its ill conceived and illegal plan to prop up coal and nuclear power with taxpayer dollars. Reinventing Power seeks to address those fears and show that a nation that aspires to true greatness must embrace the future, not the past. The documentary will be available June 27. You can contact the Sierra Club to learn more about how to screen the film for your friends, family, or members of your community.
https://cleantechnica.com/2018/06/11/reinventing-power-documentary-highlights-community-benefits-of-renewable-energy/
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Agelbert NOTE: "IEEFA" stands for the "Energy Finance Studies at the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis" in Sydney, Australia. 😎
India’s New 227 Gigawatt Renewable Energy Target Is Ambitious, Challenging, But Possible, Says IEEFA (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fcliparts.co%2Fcliparts%2FBig%2FEgq%2FBigEgqBMT.png&hash=e7eec62f009cdd686ce795fad0a53c6befe748e9)
June 12th, 2018 by Joshua S Hill
The announcement earlier this month from India’s power and renewable energy minister RK Singh that his country will increase its interim renewable energy target from 175 gigawatts (GW) by 2022 up to 227 GW has been heavily lauded, and though it “does look excessively ambitious,” according to Tim Buckley from the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis, he nevertheless believes it is possible.
India’s power and renewable energy minister RK Singh announced last week that his government believes it will overachieve on its existing interim renewable energy of having 175 GW worth of renewable energy by 2022. As such, the minister announced that India was increasing its 2022 target by 52 GW up to 227 GW, which he said would require an additional $50 billion worth of investments over the next few years.
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Siemens Gamesa India
Already the world’s fifth-largest country in terms of installed renewable energy capacity with 70 GW, and another 40 GW under tendering or construction, India has been one of the leading locations for solar development in the world. As a country designated as “emerging,” India’s economy is growing at a rate which requires significant energy capacity additions, but to remain in line with the Paris Climate Agreement, the country needs to cut down on its reliance upon fossil fuel sources like coal.
The big question, therefore, is not whether India has the ambition — India has repeatedly shown it has the ambition for huge renewable energy goals — but whether India has the means by which to pull off such a mammoth task, considering how far they have to go in under five years.
To answer this question I spoke to Tim Buckley, the Director of Energy Finance Studies at the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) in Sydney, Australia. The IEEFA have been closely monitoring India’s energy sector for years, now, and are regarded as some of the world’s leading experts on the sector and its future. As a whole, “IEEFA remains very confident in the impressively growing renewable energy installation trends evident across India, with the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) to-date delivering on its ambitious tendering targets that could see 30-40 GW of annual renewable energy tenders finalised in 2018 and 2019 in order to build a pipeline of projects to put India on track for its long-term vision of 275 GW of renewable energy by 2027 as articulated in the National Electricity Plan 2018 (NEP 2018).”
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However, the goal-posts under which these projects were awarded have now been extended. Can India deliver on its new target with the work it has already done?
“The suggestion that India will lift its interim renewable energy target for 2022 from 175 GW to 228 GW does look excessively ambitious relative to the installation activity of 16 GW annually in the last two fiscal years,” Tim Buckley explained to me. “But the level of ambition in India to deliver improved energy security, to wean itself off excessive and costly fossil fuel imports and to drive less polluting, more sustainable economic growth over the long term are clear and ambitious goals of the Modi government.”
According to Buckley, one of the biggest issues for India is going to be integrating so much new variable renewable energy into the country’s electricity grid.
“Grid integration is going to be serious challenge for India to achieve its variable renewable targets, no doubt,” Buckley explained. “Grid investment has been significantly accelerated, but even more will be needed to accommodate greater interstate transmission requirements. But India is currently moving domestic coal up to 1,500 km by rail to coal plants in Southern India – and rail capacity constraints are real and growing. Any suggestion that new non-mine mouth coal is cost competitive and sustainable is ridiculous, particularly given it takes over a decade to open up new interstate rail capacity.” (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-130418202709.png&hash=7503265ec59e4c28d735afb762bc39f4674bd838)
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Coal Mine Dhanbad India
Coal has already taken a hit from India’s renewable energy drive, with net new thermal power added in the last two years averaging only 6 GW annually, according to IEEFA, down two-thirds on the previous four years. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-080515182559.png&hash=d4dfa952fa0f817bf30a8059a4c88d6fb05ee1bf)
“If India were to more than double renewable energy installations to over 30 GW annually, India would have no need for any new thermal power capacity other than possibly some replacement capacity for the 48 GW of thermal power capacity coming to the end of its useful life by 2027,” Buckley explained. “With the average coal fired power plant’s utilisation rate averaging just 57% in 2017/18 across India, there is already excess thermal capacity in the system. With new low cost renewables, it is hard to see almost any financial institutions willing to fund new non-mine mouth coal fired capacity in India.”
Another important point worth making is the role that this new renewable energy target can play in achieving other goals and needs in India’s future. Beyond decreasing the country’s reliance on coal, the country is in need of new jobs, economic development and growth, and India is growing — India is expected to overtake China in terms of population by the middle of the next decade — and with that comes a natural growth of the country’s energy capacity, which the IEEFA expects to grow to 619 GW by 2027. While renewable energy will account for 44% of installed capacity (though less in terms of share of production), it will help to push thermal power generation down from 67% in 2017 to 43% in 2027.
“India has a need for some 20 million new jobs annually, so I would ask why can’t India deliver on this RE target to drive more sustainable growth?” Buckley asks.
“India’s electricity system requires production to grow 5-6% annually for at least the next decade, so this level of total capacity growth is entirely justified and needed. If international capital providers like SoftBank, Macquarie Group, Sembcorp and ENGIE and domestic power majors like Tata, Adani, Greenko, Renew Power, NTPC and Power Grid Corp are willing to provide the magnitude of investment required, India has the clear need for clean energy, and the world has a critical requirement for India to show an energy system transformation can be done successfully if the Paris Climate Agreement is to be achieved. Affordable clean energy will also underpin Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Make in India strategy.”
India has also set its renewable energy tariffs at 10% to 20% below the cost of existing domestic Indian thermal power generation which, according to Buckley, is “a key factor” making the new renewable energy target “entirely economically rational … One only has to see the latest 500MW wind tariff result for Gujarat in June 2018. A result of Rs2.43-2.45/kWh (US$36/MWh), equal to the record low tariff set in 2017. A fixed flat with no inflation indexation for 25 years. Brilliant and deflationary.”
With the necessary political ambition and economics, what else needs to happen for India to achieve such a mammoth renewable energy target?
“227 GW of RE by 2022 would be a truly herculean task, and probably should be only considered an aspirational direction on the path to the NEP 2027 plan,” Buckley told me.
“Beyond massive interstate grid upgrades, international export markets for Indian generated electricity would need to be created in Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan and Myanmar, and a significant step up in pumped hydro storage capacity would also be a must, given the lack of competitively priced domestic gas for peaking capacity.
“But India is transforming its grid, and the level of historic inefficiencies have seen industry build 51GW of captive thermal power capacity, and I’ve seen reports there are upwards of 70GW of backup diesel generators, so far better India invests in the on-grid lower cost alternatives of variable renewables supported by properly costed on-grid peaking generation alternatives.”
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http://www.dnaindia.com/business/report-gujarat-urja-vikas-nigam-can-buy-500-mw-wind-power-at-rs-243unit-2622190
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Support CleanTechnica’s work via donations on Patreon or PayPal!
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Scotland Hits Annual GHG Emissions Target Third Year Running
June 13th, 2018 by Joshua S Hill
Scotland’s Climate Change Secretary announced this week that the country met its statutory annual greenhouse gas emissions target for the third year in a row in 2016, which resulted in emissions being down 49% on a 1990 baseline.
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Wind Farm in Scotland
scotland wind energyScotland announced on Tuesday the publication of its latest report detailing the country’s progress on reducing greenhouse gas emissions, based on its most recent and complete data, 2016. According to the new Official Statistics report from the Scottish Government, greenhouse gas source emissions were down 49% from 1990 to 38.6 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (MtCO2e) in 2016, representing a 10.3% decline since 2015. When these figures are adjusted to account for Scotland’s participation in European Union-wide emissions trading, they are down 45.2% to 41.481 MtCO2e in 2016, and down 2.5% from 2015.
In comparison to other western European countries, Scotland is second only to Sweden which has decreased its emissions by 51%, and they stand ahead of Finland with 42%, Germany with 25%, and Denmark with 23%.
“These statistics are hugely encouraging and show we have almost halved the greenhouse gases emitted in Scotland – underlining our role as an international leader in the fight against climate change,” said Scottish Climate Change Secretary Roseanna Cunningham. “But we must go further and faster if we are to meet our responsibilities to our children, grandchildren, and future generations.
“Our ambitious Climate Change Bill will ensure we do exactly that – by setting a new 90% reduction target for 2050 and paving the way towards achieving net-zero emissions as soon as possible.”
Of the basket of greenhouse gasses monitored by Scotland, it is unsurprising that carbon dioxide accounted for 70.8% of the total. The next closest was methane, which only accounted for 16.8%.
The largest source of net emissions in 2016 was the Transport sector with 14.4 MtCO2e, followed by the Agriculture and Related Land Use sector with 10 MtCO2e. The only sector which was able to display a net emissions sink was the Forestry sector, with -12.7 MtCO2e.
(https://c1cleantechnicacom-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/files/2018/06/Scotland-Emissions-1.jpg)
Expanding the timeline out to 1990, the emissions from the Energy Supply sector (such as power stations) from 1990 to 2016 was 15.6 MtCO2e, a 68.5% reduction. Waste Management Emissions such as those from landfills worked out to be 4.4 MtCO2e, a 72.8% reduction, while the decrease in the Business and Industrial Process sector was 5.8 MtCO2e, a reduction of 40.5%.
“It’s fantastic to hear that Scotland has hit its annual climate change target for the third year in a row,” said Claire Mack, Chief Executive of Scottish Renewables, the country’s renewable energy trade body, speaking in response to the report’s release. “The announcement today shows that setting ambitious targets is the best way to achieve results.
“The energy supply sector has seen the largest reduction in CO2 emissions, with a 68.5% reduction since 1990. This demonstrates that phasing out fossil fuels in favour of clean, green alternatives is having the desired effect.”
“It’s great news that Scotland has hit the annual target and reduced its climate emissions by 45% compared to the 1990 baseline and is well ahead of the 42% 2020 target,” added Tom Ballantine, Chair of Stop Climate Chaos Scotland (SCCS). “Everyone who has played their part in achieving this reduction should be proud.
“Back in 2009, when Scotland’s first Climate Act was passed, there was no clear path to meeting the 42 per cent emissions reduction target and many were sceptical it could be achieved.
Today’s results show that setting stretching targets works by driving innovation and strong policy delivery. This success, along with support from the public, leading scientists and farming groups, should give the Scottish Government the confidence to aim high once again and set a net zero emissions target, by 2050 at the latest (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fcliparts.co%2Fcliparts%2FBig%2FEgq%2FBigEgqBMT.png&hash=e7eec62f009cdd686ce795fad0a53c6befe748e9), in the new Climate Change Bill.
(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.funny-emoticons.com%2Ffiles%2Ffunny-animals%2Fblue-bird-emoticons%2F801-listen-up%21.png&hash=f7fb2b5263a68b91c628fc597877983f813843e5) “2016 reflects the first full year since the closure of Longannet power station, showing the big impact you can have by phasing out dirty coal and switching to clean renewables.”
https://cleantechnica.com/2018/06/13/scotland-hits-annual-ghg-emissions-target-third-year-running/ (https://cleantechnica.com/2018/06/13/scotland-hits-annual-ghg-emissions-target-third-year-running/)
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Pumped Hydropower 💦 Plus Wind 💨, Solar 🌞 Is Path To 100 Percent Renewable Energy ✨
The muddled path to 100 percent renewable energy just got a little bit clearer.🌈
June 27, 2018
By Jennifer Runyon [Chief Editor]
The first grid-scale storage summit took place in Charlotte, NC in June 25-26, 2018.
If you want to build pumped storage hydropower plants, don’t talk about pumped storage hydropower. That was the message delivered by Adam Rousselle, president of Renewable Energy Aggregators (REA) during the first Grid-Scale Storage Summit, which took place on June 25-26 in Charlotte, NC.https://www.renewableenergyworld.com/articles/2018/06/pumped-hydropower-plus-wind-solar-is-path-to-100-percent-renewable-energy.html?cmpid=enl_rew_energy_storage_news_2018-06-28&pwhid=f38b2fe677b8fe8d4ae5dd34fd096ae59834ce647c289dc39f793c18f7092595493fa5cac5e646c06acf44a4d539d9f4d8c70b6f2664f259baa2fcbc9d77bd1e&eid=388097756&bid=2156441
Rouselle said his company, which develops pumped storage power plants, decided to approach the market differently than most hydropower developers, who are often stymied by what they perceive as a lack of market opportunities for the technology.
“We approached the business by asking a different question. ‘When could you do it? Under what geologic circumstances is it possible?’” he said.
His business set out to follow the money and he found an answer in the form of corporates and other entities committed to clean energy.
Related: Corporates #RocktheGrid by Driving Up Renewable Energy Demand (https://www.renewableenergyworld.com/articles/2017/12/corporates-rockthegrid-by-driving-up-renewable-energy-demand.html)
Rouselle cited a National Renewable Energy Laboratory study that indicated that customers are willing to pay a 1.837-cent premium for renewable energy and went straight to those customers, which include corporations like Anheuser Busch and cities such as Philadelphia, which have committed to using renewable energy.
“They want to buy renewables 24/7/365 and they can't have it,” he said.
Since wind and solar power depend on the sun shining and the wind blowing, one way to deliver 100 percent renewable energy to a customer is by pairing that energy with pumped hydropower storage.
“So the question is where can you site pumped storage electrically proximate to what we call renewable energy load centers?” he asked. Renewable energy load centers are regions in which renewable energy is in demand and the existing transmission grid is congested.
Rouselle said that with assistance from power flow software, his company set out to acquire renewables in congested areas and figure out where to site pumped storage near them to help alleviate that congestion.
“Our business model is to aggregate renewables and firm them and deliver [that energy] to those customers through a PPA,” he explained.
“It won't work everywhere,” he cautioned but there are lots of cases in which it will work.
Renewable Energy Aggregators is currently building two 500-MW pumped storage hydropower plants in Pennsylvania and FERC recently determined that the plants will not need a license from the government organization to operate.
According to a recent press release, the facilities will exclusively use renewable energy to pump ground water from abandoned and flooded coalmines. FERC was able to issue a favorable order because REA's design uses no surface or otherwise navigable waters.
The company has additional pumped-storage projects in development to which the FERC orders may also apply.
“We make pumped storage hydro, but I'm not in the pumped storage hydro business. It's not what we do,” said Rouselle.
“We deliver renewable energy to customers that want to write a check and the selected technology happens to be pumped storage hydro,” he said.
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https://www.renewableenergyworld.com/articles/2018/06/pumped-hydropower-plus-wind-solar-is-path-to-100-percent-renewable-energy.html
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Sweden Will Reach Its 2030 Renewable Energy Target This Year ✨ (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-141113185047.png&hash=384024358ff8d5e7133d19b6e6638da4584a8154)
JULY 5, 2018
By Joe McCarthy
Renewable energy can now viably replace fossil fuels. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-130418194750.png&hash=33306d958aa508c856b37611a4bc53e8aba20d22)
Why Global Citizens Should Care
Sweden is showing that renewable energy can viably replace fossil fuels, a transition that is necessary to protect the planet from the worst consequences of climate change. You can join us in taking action on this issue here.
Sweden is on pace to reach its 2030 target for renewable energy more than a decade ahead of schedule, according to Bloomberg — and wind energy 💨 is the driving factor.
For the past several years, windmill installations have soared throughout the country because of government subsidies, Business Day reports.
Sweden will have 3,681 windmills operating throughout the country by the end of 2018, and enough windmill capacity by 2020 for 12 gigawatts of energy, according to the Swedish Wind Energy Association.
In 2011, the country was only producing around 3 gigawatts of energy, Bloomberg notes.
The US, by comparison, has more than 52,000 windmills, but a population that’s more than 30 times greater than Sweden’s.
The other main source of renewable energy in Sweden is hydropower, which accounts for around half of its electricity production. Nuclear energy accounts for the bulk of the country’s remaining electricity supply, which, while not renewable, doesn’t release greenhouse gas emissions.
Read More: Fighting Climate Change Could Save the World $30 Trillion, Report Finds (https://www.globalcitizen.org/en/content/paris-climate-agreement-save-world-30-trillion/)
If Sweden reaches its renewable energy target ahead of schedule, it may set more ambitious targets and pursue a wholly renewable electricity grid by 2030.
Other countries are reaching their renewable energy targets early, fulfilling the Paris climate agreement’s vision of countries being able to update their goals every few years.
China, for instance, reached its 2020 emissions target 600 days ahead of schedule earlier this year and is investing three times as much as the US on renewable sources of energy.
Nordic countries, meanwhile, are transcending fossil fuels altogether. Both Iceland and Denmark can produce all of their electricity through renewables, according to the Independent.
Read More: Germany Produced Enough Renewable Energy in 6 Months for the Rest of 2018 (https://www.globalcitizen.org/en/content/germany-renewable-energy-records-2018/)
Elsewhere, Costa Rica gets nearly all of its electricity from hydropower, and Portugal generated 103% of its electricity from renewables in March. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fus.cdn2.123rf.com%2F168nwm%2Flenm%2Flenm1201%2Flenm120100200%2F12107060-illustration-of-a-smiley-giving-a-thumbs-up.jpg&hash=2046bc6d662e09d3014a2c404a2af6ba17f8217c)
These achievements show that renewable energy can viably replace fossil fuels 🦖. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-250817121649.png&hash=4554f7e59701d12857946aece16bceb973c997b3)
If investments continue to increase in clean energy alternatives, then the Paris climate agreement’s goal of keeping global temperatures from rising more than 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels may be within reach.
TOPICS Environment Finance & innovation Current events Wind power Renewable energy Hydropower Paris climate agreement Wind Nuclear energy Wind energy
https://www.globalcitizen.org/en/content/sweden-reach-renewable-energy-goal-this-year/
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July 9, 2018
#Energiewende
Bundesamt für Naturschutz
No change in support for energy transition – survey (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-280917164227.png&hash=67b47a6a2c29f13507ed2ee30cdba12743fb859e)
A majority of 61 percent of the German population think the transition to an energy system dominated by renewables is the right way to go, 30 percent are undecided and 7 percent 🦖 are opposed to the idea, the 2017 edition of the bi-annual survey on “nature awareness” conducted by the Federal Environmental Protection Agency (Bundesamt für Naturschutz) shows. The results were the same in 2015. In 2013 acceptance of the energy transition (Energiewende) was lower, at 56 percent. 😎
https://www.bmu.de/fileadmin/Daten_BMU/Pools/Broschueren/naturbewusstseinsstudie_2017_de_bf.pdf
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CleanTechnica
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Global Clean Energy Investment On Par With 2017, Hits $138.2 Billion In First Half (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fus.cdn2.123rf.com%2F168nwm%2Flenm%2Flenm1201%2Flenm120100200%2F12107060-illustration-of-a-smiley-giving-a-thumbs-up.jpg&hash=2046bc6d662e09d3014a2c404a2af6ba17f8217c)
July 10th, 2018 by Joshua S Hill
Bloomberg New Energy Finance has published its latest clean energy investment figures for the first six months of 2018 which reached $138.2 billion, down only 1% on the same six months a year earlier in 2017, while investment in the second quarter actually increased compared to a year earlier.
However, the real takeaway from these latest figures is not so much the overall picture, but the mixture of highs and lows, because while the overall picture is healthy, investment in the solar industry fell while wind power and energy smart technologies increased.
In the overall, clean energy investment rebounded in the second quarter as compared to the first quarter of 2018. Figures published in April by Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF) showed that the first quarter investment figures only hit $61.1 billion, down 10% on the previous quarter. The second quarter did much better, however, increasing year-over-year to $76.7 billion, thus helping bring the total for the first half of the year up to a respectable $138.2 billion, down only 1% on the same period a year earlier.
It was the sectoral picture, however, that is most important to look at. Solar investment was down 19% to $71.6 billion over the first half of 2018 as compared to the same half a year earlier. Meanwhile, wind investment was up 33% to $57.2 billion thanks to several mammoth large-scale project financing which were recorded in the first half of the year. These included the $1.5 billion taken in for the 731.5 megawatt (MW) Borssele 3 and 4 offshore wind farm in Dutch waters, $1 billion raised for the 478 MW Hale County onshore wind project in Texas, and $627 million for the 120 MW Formosa 1 project — which we have covered before and expands upon the first offshore wind farm in Taiwanese waters.
For the solar industry, however, BNEF analysts highlighted two main developments which caused the slippage in first-half investment figures — a drop in capital costs for solar PV projects, which therefore means fewer dollars are needed to build even more; and a drop-off in China’s solar installation boom, heralded by the country’s decision to cap solar installations.
“On June 1, the Chinese government released a policy document restricting new solar installations that require a national subsidy, with immediate effect,” explained Justin Wu, head of Asia-Pacific at BNEF. “We expect this to lead to sharp drop in installations in China this year, compared to 2017’s spectacular record of 53 [gigawatts (GW)].”
“It will also mean overcapacity in solar manufacturing globally, and yet steeper price falls,” added Pietro Radoia, senior solar analyst at BNEF. “Before the Chinese announcement, our team was already expecting a 27% fall in PV module prices this year. Now we have revised that to a 34% drop, to an end-2018 global average of 24.4 US cents per watt.”
Thus, while China invested $35.1 billion in solar in the first half of 2018, itself down 29%, that figure is expected to only fall further in the second half of the year.
However, looking back at the overall picture, it is not necessarily expected that the downturn in the solar industry’s investment figures will necessarily cause a similar downturn across the board. Beyond the growth in the wind energy sector, both offshore and onshore, smart technology industries such as electric vehicles and batteries are already running above levels seen in 2017, increasing by 64% to $5.2 billion.
https://cleantechnica.com/2018/07/10/global-clean-energy-investment-on-par-with-2017-hits-138-2-billion-in-first-half/
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Ireland Is Officially the First Country to Divest From Fossil Fuels (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.doomsteaddiner.net%2Fforum%2FSmileys%2Fdd1%2Fmultiplespotting.gif&hash=0a0698acaa7fe5323c8e712091175cc607d7e828)
By Yessenia Funes
July 12, 2018 Filed to: MONEY 💵 TALKS
The Irish 🍀 have beaten the rest of us to it. The Republic of Ireland is the first country in the world to move toward divesting from fossil fuels. The divestment process should be wrapped up in five years, per the Guardian.
First, the move to divest has to pass through parliament, though. The lower house of parliament passed a bill Thursday to sell off fossil fuel investments in its $9.3 billion national investment fund, including those in coal, oil, gas, and peat, which is organic plant matter extracted from swamps.
Now, the bill is expected to flow pretty easily through the upper chambers of parliament. If all goes smoothly, this bill should be law before the year ends. And the roughly $350 million currently invested in 150 companies can find a much more meaningful purpose in Ireland’s portfolio.
This amount is small potatoes compare to how deeply embedded the U.S. is in oil and gas profits. New York City’s pension alone has $5 billion invested in this corporate sector. Still, make no mistake: This is a big f u c k i n g deal. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-250817121649.png&hash=4554f7e59701d12857946aece16bceb973c997b3)
The divestment movement has been gaining momentum around the world with U.S. cities like New York pledging to keep their public money out of the pockets of our oil and gas overlords. Banks throughout Europe have also taken steps to break financial ties with specific fossil fuel companies, especially after the battle the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe put up against the Dakota Access Pipeline in 2016.
An entire country though? That’s unprecedented. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-200714183515.bmp&hash=4a3ad9d0a78a7e161f53ddd84f568082a5b0d2ad)
“The [divestment] movement is highlighting the need to stop investing in the expansion of a global industry, which must be brought into managed decline if catastrophic climate change is to be averted,” said Thomas Pringle, the independent member of parliament who introduced the bill, to the Guardian. “Ireland, by divesting, is sending a clear message that the Irish public and the international community are ready to think and act beyond narrow short-term vested interests.”
To a casual observer of Irish politics, this move may seem rather surprising. Ireland is known for its deeply conservative stances on many social issues, especially compared to some of its other European neighbors. Same-sex marriage was illegal in Ireland until 2015, and abortion is still a touchy topic. The country is finally going to reform its current policy, which is that a mother must keep the baby unless the mother’s life is at risk.
The country’s disdain for fossil fuel execs (or perhaps concern over climate change?) is less complicated, apparently.
Still, divesting its assets from these greenhouse gas-spewing corporations is one thing. Preparing for the hotter future is another. The country will see sea level rise, summer water shortages, and an increased risk of disease.
Solving those will take some serious action.
[h/t The Guardian]
https://earther.com/ireland-is-officially-the-first-country-to-divest-from-1827552460
Agelbert NOTE: Divestment is the sine qua non step that comes right before making the exploration for, eploitation of, refinery production and marketing for profit over planet of the burning of fossil fuels a criminal (i.e. ECOCIDE) offense. The sooner everybody gets with this program, the sooner the hydrocarbon hellspawn get fined out of business (and their CEOs go to JAIL!).
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The Renewable Revolution
Jul. 18, 2018 8:42 AM ET | ✨ Includes: ABB, AES, BP, DNNGY, FSLR, GCTAY, RDS.A, RDS.B, SBGSY, SIEGY, SPWR, TM, TOT, TSLA, VWDRY
Henry Miles
Long only, value, medium-term horizon, dividend
(586 followers)
Summary
With the migration from dirty to clean energy well underway, it’s time to consider whether we have entered the Renewable Revolution.
If so, given their leveragable advantage and resource capacity, I believe investment odds favor a few major renewable integrators that serve utility companies.
Other players in fossil fuels and clean energy will be defeated, acquired, or left to play zero-sum games within modified business models.
Lest anyone has forgotten, human-contributed global warming “got us here”. This reality and its destructive consequences have been demonstrated by a wide array of longitudinal studies conducted by thousands of scientists working almost everywhere. Moreover, people around the world embrace the Paris Climate Agreement. Support comes from public and private sector leaders through organizations such as the World Economic Forum. It also comes from everyday citizens as documented, for example, in the US by the research of Yale and George Mason University.
Public Opinion HaS Shifted
The effect is that the migration from dirty to clean energy is well underway and accelerating. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fcliparts.co%2Fcliparts%2FBig%2FEgq%2FBigEgqBMT.png&hash=e7eec62f009cdd686ce795fad0a53c6befe748e9) We know this from the conversion of coal-fired power plants to natural gas, from the rising sales of hybrid and all-electric vehicles, from the presence of more wind and solar farms, from the race to come up with new and improved batteries, and from invention in such areas as tidal turbines and hydrogen fuel cells. And, many believe that the trend to reduce carbon emissions will continue. We see it in the projections of government organizations such as the International Energy Agency, and in other forecasts including by Fred Lambert at Electrek who predicts that the lines for new BEV and ICE sales will cross in 20 years or so.
When I step back from all this, I see a transformation that resembles "The Industrial Revolution" and "The Information Revolution". If, indeed, we are witnessing the makings of "The Renewable Revolution”, it will lead to major dislocations but equally significant investment opportunities. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-250817121424.gif&hash=384c17a4d2be4831084933b91808f8a60f73f7f5)
https://seekingalpha.com/article/4187989-renewable-revolution
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Agelbert NOTE: Bill McKibben debunks the hydrocarbon hellspawn 😈 negative propaganda about Renewables.
The Renewable Energy Jobs Myth
July 18, 2018
by The Sanders Institute
https://youtu.be/pyDooIM4Eb0
One of the largest myths about addressing climate change is that transitioning to renewable energy from fossil fuels (especially coal) will create a net loss of American jobs.
However, renewable energy is doing the opposite of putting Americans out of work. The New York Times reported that in 2016 coal was responsible for 160,119 jobs. In contrast solar employed more than double that amount (373,807 Americans).
The number of renewable jobs is also expected to grow significantly in the coming years. Last year, Business Insider reported that “solar and wind jobs are growing at a rate 12 times as fast as the rest of the US economy and… 46% of large firms have hired additional workers to address issues of sustainability over the past two years.”
In addition to renewables' contribution to overall employment in the United States, there are a number of other economic benefits to American workers when we encourage growth in the renewable energy industry:
Geographic Distribution
While fossil fuel jobs tend to be concentrated in a few states (the vast majority of jobs in coal exist in West Virginia or Wyoming.), renewable energy jobs are spread out around the country. Program Director Liz Delaney at the Environmental Defense Fund points out that “These jobs [in the renewable energy sector] are widely geographically distributed, they're high paying, they apply to both manufacturing and professional workers, and there are a lot of them.”
Supporting and encouraging the renewable energy industry will help hundreds of thousands of Americans find jobs all across the country. These are not simply installation jobs either, maintenance is a large part of the renewable energy industry.
Small Businesses
Environmental Defense Fund Program Director Delaney also mentions that “70% of the 2.2 million Americans who work in jobs related to energy efficiency are employed by companies with 10 employees or fewer.” These are small businesses, hiring American workers, in one of the fastest growing sectors of the economy. In addition, according to Delaney these jobs are also more difficult to outsource because “many sustainability jobs involve installation, maintenance, and construction.” The renewable energy sector is encouraging small business development in America.
Ultimately, encouraging the development of the renewable energy sector is the best path forward for America. Concerns about lost jobs in the fossil fuel and coal industries are legitimate and important to recognize, but those lost jobs should not hinder progress towards a renewable future. This is why training programs should be encouraged to support fossil fuel workers move to other sectors or be trained in budding renewable technology. The New York Times reports that “In Wyoming, home to the nation’s most productive coal region by far, the American subsidiary of a Chinese maker of wind turbines is putting together a training program for technicians in anticipation of a large power plant it expects to supply. And in West Virginia, a nonprofit outfit called Solar Holler… is working with another group, Coalfield Development, to train solar panel installers and seed an entire industry.” These successful test cases demonstrate that America can work towards renewable energy while also supporting and training workers to transition from fossil fuels to renewables in the same way that America is transitioning.
The claim that renewable energy is a job killer or a drain on our economy is a myth, perpetrated by the fossil-fuel business 🦖 😈 👹 and the politicians 🐒 who do their bidding. Don't fall for it. Renewable energy is the path forward for American jobs and the future of our planet. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fcliparts.co%2Fcliparts%2FBig%2FEgq%2FBigEgqBMT.png&hash=e7eec62f009cdd686ce795fad0a53c6befe748e9)
https://www.sandersinstitute.com/blog/the-renewable-energy-jobs-myth
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Global Investments in Electricity ⚡ Beat Investments in Oil and Gas for Second Year in a Row
July 17, 2018
By Renewable Energy World Editors
[(https://aemstatic-ww1.azureedge.net/content/rew/en/articles/2018/07/global-investments-in-electricity-beat-investments-in-oil-and-gas-for-second-year-in-a-row/_jcr_content/leftcolumn/article/headerimage.img.png/1531836845367.png)
International Energy Agency's World Energy Investment Report 2018 Credit: IEA
The International Energy Agency (IEA) is out with its final 2017 energy investment numbers and, for the second year in a row, more money was invested in electricity than oil and gas. Electrification spending was driven by investments in the grid. More than US $750 billion went to the electricity sector while US $715 billion was spent on oil and gas supply globally.
IEA said that global energy investment totaled US $1.8 trillion in 2017.
Renewables Down :(
However, overall energy spending was down 2 percent over the previous year and renewables and energy efficiency investments combined fell 3 percent from 2016 numbers and the agency said that investments in energy efficiency and renewables could fall again this year.
For instance, investment in renewable power, which accounted for two-thirds of power generation spending, dropped 7 percent in 2017. Recent policy changes in China linked to support for the deployment of solar PV raise the risk of a slowdown in investment this year. As China accounts for more than 40 percent of global investment in solar PV, its policy changes have global implications, said IEA.
As Renewable Energy World has reported time and again, the renewable energy industry is largely driven by policy.
[(https://aemstatic-ww1.azureedge.net/content/dam/rew/article/2018/7/REW_GlobalSolar_f5.png)
Europe PV Industry Growth 2005-2015.
As countries launch feed-in tariff programs and then stop them, markets peak in response. Credit: Paula Mints, SPV Market Research
"Such a decline in global investment for renewables and energy efficiency combined is worrying," said Dr. Fatih Birol, the IEA's Executive Director.
"This could threaten the expansion of clean energy needed to meet energy security, climate and clean-air goals. While we would need this investment to go up rapidly, it is disappointing to find that it might be falling this year."
Electric Vehicles Enjoy Government Support
Though still a small part of the market, electric vehicles (EV) now account for much of the growth in global passenger vehicle sales, spurred by government purchase incentives. For electric cars, nearly one quarter of the global value of EV sales in 2017 came from the budgets of governments, who are allocating more capital to support the sector each year.
More Fossil Fuels, Less Nukes
The share of fossil fuels in energy supply investment rose 🤬 last year for the first time since 2014, as spending in oil and gas increased modestly, found IEA. Meanwhile, retirements of nuclear power plants exceeded new construction starts as investment in the sector declined to its lowest level in five years in 2017.
The share of national oil companies in total oil and gas upstream investment remained near record highs, a trend expected to persist in 2018.
Plans to build coal power plants in the coming years declined for a second straight year, reaching a third of their 2010 level. However, despite declining global capacity additions, and an elevated level of retirements of existing plants, the global coal fleet continued to expand in 2017, mostly due to markets in Asia.
And while there was a shift towards more efficient plants, 60 percent of currently operating capacity uses inefficient subcritical technology, said IEA.
The report finds that the prospects of the US shale industry are improving. Between 2010 and 2014, companies spent up to US $1.80 for each dollar of revenue. However, the industry has almost halved its breakeven price, providing a more sustainable basis for future expansion. This underpins a record increase in US light tight oil production of 1.3 million barrels a day in 2018.
"The United States shale industry 🦕 is at turning point after a long period of operating on a fragile financial basis," said Birol.
"The industry 🦕 appears on track to achieve positive free cash flow for the first time ever this year, turning into a more mature and financially solid industry while production ☠️ is growing at its fastest pace ever " 😟
The improved prospects for the US shale sector contrast with the rest of the upstream oil and gas industry. Investment in conventional oil projects, which are responsible for the bulk of global supply, remains subdued. Investment in new conventional capacity is set to plunge in 2018 to about one-third of the total, a multi-year low raising concerns about the long-term adequacy of supply.
https://www.renewableenergyworld.com/articles/2018/07/global-investments-in-electricity-beat-investments-in-oil-and-gas-for-second-year-in-a-row.html
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UK Clean Electricity⚡Surpassed 50% In 2017 As Renewables Soar
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July 31st, 2018 by Joshua S Hill
The latest figures published by the UK Government show that renewable and clean energy sources continue to skyrocket, hitting 29.3% and 50.1% respectively, and led by another strong year for wind energy generation.
The UK Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy published its annual Digest of United Kingdom Energy Statistics report last week — the energy sector’s “bible” — and it was good news for the renewable and clean energy industries. Depending on how you look at it and what you include, renewable energy accounted for 29.3% of all electricity generated in 2017, or clean power (renewables plus nuclear) accounted for 50.1%.
The strong year for renewable energy was led by the wind energy industry, which generated a record total of 50 terawatt-hours (TWh) for the year — half of all renewable energy generation. More specifically, onshore wind generated 29.1 TWh (or 8.6%) in 2017 and offshore wind generated 20.9 TWh (or 6.2%). Generation from hydro sources increased by 10% to 5.9 TWh, while solar generation increased by 11% to 11.5 TWh for the year.
Renewable energy capacity ⚡ for 2017 increased by 12.8% to 18,288 megawatts (MW), with wind capacity increased by 22.6% :o to 8,529 MW 👍 and solar capacity increased by 7.3% to 2,172 MW 👍. For all other renewable energy sources (all excluding hydro, wind, and solar), capacity increased by 6% to 5,964 MW.
Coal generation fell by 26.5% 👍 compared to 2016 levels and, compared to 2015 levels, decreased by 70.3% 👍. Gas generation actually decreased by 4.6% in 2017 compared to 2016, but this is only in comparison to the large increase seen in 2016, and gas still accounts for the majority of the UK’s electricity supply.
“Today’s record figures demonstrate how fast renewable energy is transforming the way we generate power to create an energy system fit for the future,” (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-250817121424.gif&hash=384c17a4d2be4831084933b91808f8a60f73f7f5) said Emma Pinchbeck, Executive Director of RenewableUK, the country’s trade body for the wind, wave, and tidal industries. “This is a radical shift, and we will see ever more low-cost renewables meeting flexible demand from homes, electric vehicles and new manufacturing processes and industries.”
“It’s great to see that the UK’s cheapest power source, onshore wind, is making such a significant contribution to the nation’s power needs. So it’s baffling that Government is still excluding new onshore wind projects from the market place. Opinion polls show that two-thirds of people think Ministers should change their current policy and allow onshore wind to go ahead where it has local support, and most Conservative voters agree with them.”
“As has been widely celebrated, we’ve seen record levels of renewable power generation,” said Léonie Greene, Director of Advocacy & New Markets for the UK Solar Trade Association. “However, behind the sunny generation statistics, the worrying detail on current solar deployment continues. DUKES data shows that overall annual solar deployment is at an eight-year low, and we are seeing annual markets of only around 200MW which is very worrying indeed.
“The data confirms the warnings from the Environmental Audit Committee yesterday that Government simply isn’t doing anything like enough to secure a policy framework that attracts decent levels of investment in clean energy. And let’s remember, when it comes to solar power, we are not asking for public support, we are simply asking for level playing fields on tax treatment and fair market access. That is not hard to deliver.” (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-130418202709.png&hash=7503265ec59e4c28d735afb762bc39f4674bd838)
https://cleantechnica.com/2018/07/31/uk-renewables-hit-29-3-in-2017-led-by-record-wind-output/
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Renewables reach 1 trillion ⚡ watts, corporations purchase record levels of clean energy, auto suppliers see money in EVs ⚡ and more (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F1%2F3-250718210628.gif&hash=a297e44320f13fa5f3eae64809a46139f5e2395a)
SNIPPET:
August 8, 2018: Giant wind and solar projects are powering energy-intensive mining operations in Chile’s Atacama Desert. Wind and solar installations have reached one trillion watts, drawing in $2.3 trillion in investment over the last 40 years. Corporate purchasing of clean energy so far this year has reached 7.2 gigawatts, surpassing the record set in 2017. Auto suppliers are adapting their efforts to take advantage of the rise of electric vehicles.
"Hitting one terrawatt is a tremendous achievement for the wind and solar industries, but as far as we’re concerned, it’s just the start," said Albert Cheung, BloombergNEF’s head of analysis in London on the two industries reaching one trillion watts this year.
Read more:
https://mailchi.mp/climatenexus/renewables-reach-1-trillion-watts-corporations-purchase-record-levels-of-clean-energy-auto-suppliers-see-money-in-evs-and-more
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August 15, 2018
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Investment in residential solar companies took off this year, as Trump’s tariffs drive Wall Street to be more discerning with their money. While solar panel manufacturers struggle with the impact of the solar tariffs, rooftop developers such as Sunrun and Vivint Solar are faring much better as investors take the time to understand the differences among companies in the maturing industry. Contributing to the rooftop solar investment boost are state-level policies such as California’s recent mandate that all new homes include solar panels by 2020, as well as the extension of federal tax incentives. (Bloomberg (https://climatenexus.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=d1f5797e59060083034310930&id=0f523407d6&e=0fd17c5b57))
The Midwest is a hotbed for clean energy, adding nearly 4,000 new jobs across the sector last year, according to a new analysis. While total U.S. clean energy jobs stalled, the Midwest saw five percent growth and now employs over 714,000 people in the sector — four times as many as fossil fuels. Michigan, Illinois and Ohio ranked in the top 10 nationwide for clean energy jobs, with more than 100,000 in each state. Nearly 12 percent of Midwesterners employed in the sector are veterans. (North American Windpower (https://climatenexus.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=d1f5797e59060083034310930&id=b8977d922b&e=0fd17c5b57))
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Midwest utilities are phasing out coal and investing in more wind and solar. State-mandated renewable portfolio standards are helping drive the trend, but an increasing number of utilities are setting voluntary emissions reduction targets. This month Wisconsin’s two largest public utilities raised their emissions reduction goals from 40 to 80 percent below 2005 levels by mid-century, and plan to meet the goal with more investment in renewables and natural gas. Despite these advancements, environmental advocates across the Midwest argue that utilities need to wean off of coal much sooner. (Greentech Media (https://climatenexus.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=d1f5797e59060083034310930&id=6fb773bbc9&e=0fd17c5b57))
Up to 40 million EV ⚡ charging points will be installed worldwide by 2030, according to a new forecast from GTM research. The report estimates that 11 percent of new vehicle sales will be electric by then. In the U.S., California’s favorable state policies have been driving investment in charging infrastructure and helped create a network that extends up to Canada. Buildout has been slower on the East Coast, but progress is ramping up. Last week Virginia announced it will work with EVgo to build a network of charging stations across the state, using $14 million from Volkswagen settlement funds. (Greentech Media (https://climatenexus.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=d1f5797e59060083034310930&id=14cceb63f3&e=0fd17c5b57))
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August 29, 2018
California Assembly Passes 100 Percent Renewables Mandate (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-130418203111.png&hash=e8f61baab9b9d36eaf1c4087927f321bf883250c)
California lawmakers have voted to mandate that 100 percent of the state's electricity come from renewable sources by 2045. The aggressive new bill passed by the State Assembly Tuesday also requires utilities to get half of their energy from renewables by 2026, four years ahead (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F1%2F3-250718204746.gif&hash=ef3006b22f07724d45868cab1dae91b1dff31327) of the current schedule.
If passed by Gov. Jerry Brown as expected, California would join Hawaii, the first state to pass an all-renewables mandate, and lawmakers say it could help influence Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York and DC, which are all currently considering similar mandates. "We have to be a leader. We have to show what can be done," said Assemblyman Bill Quirk told the AP. "If we can get to 100 percent renewables, others will as well."
https://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/capitol-alert/article217397360.html
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California Governor Brown Signs Law Requiring 100% Clean Energy By 2045 😀
September 11th, 2018 by Joshua S Hill
California Governor Edmund “Jerry” Brown on Monday signed Senate Bill 100 into law, setting in place a 100% renewable electricity target for the state by 2045, and doubled down on his clean energy commitment by issuing an executive order establishing a new target to achieve carbon neutrality over the same time frame.
Less than a fortnight after the California State Assembly passed Senate Bill 100 (SB-100) by a margin of 43 to 32, the State’s Governor has signed the bill into law, confirming the words of the bill’s author, State Senator Kevin de León, last month: “When it comes to fighting climate change and reducing our reliance on fossil fuels, California won’t back down.”
Given his past history in advocating for renewable energy and environmental policies, it is unsurprising Governor Brown acted so quickly in signing this bill into law. “This bill and the executive order put California on a path to meet the goals of Paris and beyond. It will not be easy. It will not be immediate. But it must be done,” said Governor Brown.
“In California, Democrats and Republicans know climate change is real, it’s affecting our lives right now, and unless we take action immediately – it may become irreversible,” added Senator de León on Monday. “Today, with Governor Brown’s support, California sent a message to the rest of the world that we are taking the future into our own hands; refusing to be the victims of its uncertainty. Transitioning to an entirely carbon-free energy grid will create good-paying jobs, ensure our children breathe cleaner air and mitigate the devastating impacts of climate change on our communities and economy.”
Specifically, SB-100 serves to advance California’s existing Renewables Portfolio Standard and increases the state’s targets to 50% by 2025, 60% by 2030, and 100% by 2045.
“California is committed to doing whatever is necessary to meet the existential threat of climate change,” said Governor Brown in his SB 100 signing message. “This bill, and others I will sign this week, help us go in that direction. But have no illusions, California and the rest of the world have miles to go before we achieve zero-carbon emissions.”
In addition to signing SB-100 into law, Governor Brown also issued an executive order directing the state to achieve carbon neutrality by 2045 and net negative greenhouse gas emissions after that.
“These actions are both visionary and pragmatic, and further cement California’s position as a national and global leader on climate change,” said Dan Lashof, Director, World Resources Institute for the United States. “Planning needs to start now to allow a smooth transition to a 100% clean electricity system, avoiding stranded investments and driving better outcomes for families and businesses across California. In addition, the legislation includes mandatory interim targets that will drive continued expansion of the renewable energy industry in the near term, which already employs more than 150,000 Californians. Governor Brown also upped the ante by setting a new statewide target to achieve zero net emissions by 2045. This is a great way to kick off the Global Climate Action Summit.”
“We applaud the governor for his support to make a 100% clean energy grid a reality for our great state, and demonstrating California’s global leadership for a secure, clean, affordable energy future,” said Amisha Rai, Senior Director of California Policy for the Advanced Energy Economy (AEE). “This clean energy bill is also a big win for our economy and jobs, as we have already demonstrated here in California that we can improve our energy resources while making a positive economic impact.”
“Good organizing pays off!” crowed Bill McKibben, co-founder of 350.org. “So much credit is due to community groups around California that turned the fires and droughts and floods into fuel for significant climate action. While some are talking about climate solutions and green jobs, California leaders like Senator Kevin de León are making solutions real.”
https://cleantechnica.com/2018/09/11/california-governor-brown-signs-law-requiring-100-clean-energy-by-2045/
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Fossil Fuels Divestment Reaches $6.24 Trillion(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-130418203111.png&hash=e8f61baab9b9d36eaf1c4087927f321bf883250c) (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F1%2F3-120818185039-1655102.gif&hash=1a13ffad2c8451cba6f45b04a1249447d50c3e73)
September 18, 2018
Fossil fuel companies own our governments, so the number one goal of the movement is to weaken their grip and and then to expose the failed business model of the industry. We want them to re-direct investments to renewables, says Ellen Dorsey, Executive Director of the Wallace Global Fund
https://youtu.be/TzV-K___0cU
Story Transcript (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F1%2F3-120818184310-1635923.gif&hash=5e2530db4748ed6c7163e1d478fdfa3cd1108668)
SHARMINI PERIES: It’s The Real News Network. I’m Sharmini Peries, coming to you from Baltimore.
Fossil fuel divestment has become a global phenomenon. This week, the Global Fossil Fuel Divestment Movement released a new report showcasing an incredible growth in scale and impact of the movement. According to this report, close to 1000 institutional investors with $6.24 trillion in assets have committed to divest from fossil fuels. This is up from $52 billion just four years ago.
This week we have been covering the protests of the environmental activists and the California Governor Jerry Brown’s Global Climate Action Summit. The protesters that are on the streets are demanding that their leaders play their role in accelerating policy efforts to curb global warming. To discuss all of this with me today is Ellen Dorsey. She is at the summit, and she’s joining us from San Francisco.
Ellen Dorsey is the executive director of the Wallace Global Fund, a private foundation focused on progressive social change in the field of the environment, democracy, human rights, and corporate accountability. Ellen Dorsey was awarded the 2016 inaugural Nelson Mandela and Graca Machel’s Brave Philanthropy Award. Ellen, I thank you so much for joining us.
ELLEN DORSEY: Thank you, Sharmini, for having me.
SHARMINI PERIES: Ellen, now, obviously you are celebrating the monumental achievements of the movement and the successes the divestment movement has had. And of course your role has been very important in all of this. So highlight for us the achievements of the movement, and what is actually logged in that report.
ELLEN DORSEY: Sure. So just this week movement leaders released a global state of the divestment movement report, announced new commitments by investors to move their assets out of fossil fuels as an ethical, financial, and fiduciary imperative, and into climate solutions, as well- investing as well as divesting- and issued a call to action to be carried out through the proceedings of the Global Climate Action Summit.
In short, four years ago we held the first press conference in September of 2014. And at that time it marked that there were $52 billion in assets under management that had already divested from fossil fuels as a result of advocacy begun by students just three years earlier. And now, four years later, this week we announced that nearly a thousand institutional investors have committed to divest from fossil fuels with $6.24 trillion in assets under management. That’s a nearly 12,000 percent increase from that first announcement.
SHARMINI PERIES: All right. Now, Ellen, you’re not talking about just divesting. You’re also talking about investing in good things. Tell us about that part of the report.
ELLEN DORSEY: Not all institutions that have committed to divest have made explicit commitments to investment, but many have. For instance, my sector, philanthropy, we organize something called Divest Invest Philanthropy. We now have over 175 foundations that have committed to divest from all fossil fuels and invest 5 percent of our investment portfolios in climate solutions, including what I think is very important, is investing in universal energy access to make sure that the billion-plus without electricity today are included in the energy transition and are reached with safe, clean, and affordable energy, and also to invest in the just transition. We should be putting our capital into extractive communities, and to support dislocated extractive workers.
On the call to action, the call to action that we released on Monday included a call for all investors to be putting 5 percent of their investments into climate solutions to rapidly scale renewables, which we must do to be able to reach that 2 degrees Celsius limit of warming. We also have to invest in the solutions, as well as divest from the problem.
SHARMINI PERIES: All right, Ellen, you were talking about universities and students engaged in this movement, which has been a critical part. Give us a sense of how this movement grew; how it started, and how it grew.
ELLEN DORSEY: Yeah, it’s a great story. In 2011, the first group of students working on fossil fuel divestment emerged at Swarthmore University. In the summer of 2011, students from about eight campuses, along with four or five environmental organizations, came together to plan campaigns on college campuses. Started with 8, grew to 40. In the interim, an organization called Carbon Tracker released its analysis about the impending carbon bomb, the kind of stranded asset risk analysis, and the idea that just like there was a tech bubble, there would be a carbon bubble.
And so Bill McKibben brilliantly linked these divestment campaigns with this new analysis by Carbon Tracker, and released an article called Do the Math in Rolling Stone. It lit a match. 40 campuses went to 400 overnight. And then the movement started spreading to faith, to cities, to pension funds, to philanthropy, my sector, health groups, hospitals, and now it’s reached the financial mainstream. Large-scale insurers, large-scale pension funds have all been committing to divest. Some for ethical reasons, some for ethical and financial reasons, some for purely financial reasons and to uphold their fiduciary duty. So it’s exploded, grown like wildfire around the world.
SHARMINI PERIES: Ellen, speaking of the global effect. Now, various city mayors and governors like Governor Brown has taken this issue up. Now Mayor of New York Bill de Blasio and London Mayor Sadiq Khan just published an op-ed in The Guardian calling on all cities to divest from fossil fuels. This is incredible, it’s having a domino effect all over the world, which is wonderful. Tell us more about it.
ELLEN DORSEY: It’s unbelievably exciting to watch. You know, I’ve been an activist for many decades. Hate to say how many. And I consider myself a little bit of a student of social movements. And this movement is now a fully- a full-blown global social movement. It’s hydra-headed. It’s not coordinated by any one institution. It’s made up of individuals that have called upon institutions that they have a relationship with, a university, their faith group, their pension fund, their retirement accounts, and advocated for those, you know, institutional investors to divest from fossil fuels. And it’s exploded globally. It’s in many countries in the world, North and South.
And what’s been fascinating is now to see how cities and governments are grabbing on as a result of advocacy and grassroots pressure, not doing this just on their own, or now committing to divest. The government of Ireland has committed to divest its national fund. And now the mayors of London and New York both committing to divest and invest are launching a new forum, a Divest Invest Cities forum, calling on mayors all over the world to join them to move their assets out of fossil fuels and invest in the clean energy economy that will produce jobs in their cities, in their- in their boroughs, and et cetera. So it has exploded. It’s like, just wildfire.
SHARMINI PERIES: All right, Ellen, here are some challenges that the movement is facing. Some progressive economists at the Political Economy Research Institute, PERI, which is a progressive-oriented research house at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, published a study in April that concluded that fossil fuel divestment campaigns have not been that effective at significantly reducing CO2 emissions, and that they are not likely to become more effective over time. Now, it also found that divestment does not have a major impact on stock market prices of fossil fuel companies. What is your response to that?
ELLEN DORSEY: Well, I’m open minded and respect different opinions and different ways of analyzing the problem. First I would say that this movement has a kind of complex theory of change, if you’ll let me break apart a bit.
First and foremost, it’s build- the purpose of the fossil fuel divestment movement initially was to build a global climate movement. Prior to the early days of divestment there was not a climate movement. There were pockets of advocacy around the world, but we didn’t have a people’s movement, nor did we have a global people’s movement. So calling for divestment and calling for institutions to divest their assets from fossil fuels is something of a tactic that any activists in any part of the world could do. And so it was first and foremost a way to build power and to focus on the problem.
Prior to the call for divestment, all of the activists around the world and environmental advocates in general were calling for policy change. The problem is that the fossil fuel industry owned governments, and prevented action on policy. So the number one goal of the movement was to take away the social license of the industry to operate, and to weaken its grip over the political process. And I think that is absolutely essential first and foremost, and it is starting to do that.
Secondly, it’s about exposing the failed business model of the fossil fuel industry. You know, really pulling back the black curtain on what the industry, on the worms inside, as it were, and the problems with the industry so that investors would begin to withdraw their capital.
And then third, it’s about capitalizing the solutions. We can’t actually get off of fossil fuels unless we grow the alternatives. And by growing the alternatives and making renewables cost competitive, that is hurting the the bottom line of the industry. And the industry is starting to hurt as a result of this. In fact, even Shell Oil in their annual report cited the divestment movement as a material risk to its investors. Now, to me that tells you that they know that this is threatening them, threatening their core business model. And as well it is threatening their grip over the political process, which will enable us to regulate that carbon, which is the thing that will bring the emissions down fastest.
So a complicated answer to that question, but I’m not surprised that we don’t see dramatic reductions in emissions right now, because we’re building a longer-term movement against the most powerful industry in the world.
SHARMINI PERIES: Ellen, now, the researchers recommended that the environmental activists, instead of directing their energy into divestment, should instead direct their efforts to drive down fossil fuel consumption and CO2 emissions. So what do you make of that?
ELLEN DORSEY: Well, first of all, divestment is not the only thing that’s going to get us to what we need. So absolutely, we should be driving down consumption. I don’t disagree with that at all. But reducing consumption is not going to change the problem, the core problem, that at this point the industry has been so powerful it has worked against regulation of carbon. And so we have to do- we have to drive down consumption where we can. We have to embolden politicians to take regulatory action. But we as individuals can use the lever of finance as a people’s lever of social change, and all those factors together will work hand in hand to help us transition off the dependence on the fossil fuels and into a clean energy economy.
That, too, is going to have its own challenges. We need to fight to make sure that the renewable industry isn’t creating environmental harms and human rights violations, as well. So you know, we’re always in struggle for a better world. But this struggle right now to get off of fossil fuels is absolutely urgent, and we have very very little time to waste.
SHARMINI PERIES: Ellen, you are in this unique position of being able to go to the protest, walk the streets with civil society actors and activists, and be a part of the movement, but you also spoke yesterday at the summit, and you also have access to the decisionmakers, the policymakers, those who are all positioned to make a real difference by way of policy and adopting good comprehensive plans for the world. But you are also up against corporations in these sites of, you know, talking about these very important issues for the world. How do you navigate all of that?
ELLEN DORSEY: Yeah, it’s a good question. And I would say that I was extremely pleased to be out in the streets, in the protest, in the marches. Many of the organizations that my foundations support were out in the streets. And they’re calling for both more rapid action, more authentic action, and climate action that respects those most at risk. And to ensure that the people who are in the streets are actually in the suites, as well. That you know, consultation with Indigenous groups and frontline EJ groups, et cetera. So I was proud to be part of that march.
And in turn, when you go into the meeting, I feel it’s a personal responsibility to bring those messages into the discussion in every way that I can, whether it’s in participating in forums, or in my own, you know, remarks about climate finance, and that we need to be thinking about not just getting awful fossil fuels, but we need to be investing in the just transition and we need to struggle over the questions of who will own the clean energy economy of the future? Who are the beneficiaries? And how do we do things better that respect human rights and the environment as we’re structuring basically the underpinnings of the global economy, our energy. We’re structuring a new global economy with this transition off of fossil fuels, and so much is at stake.
So it’s important to bring the leverage of the street and the organizing and the activists into those discussions, and also to speak truth to power when the corporations are sitting in the room with you, and the government officials that are slow walking this transition. It’s important to speak with authenticity and, and often courage.
SHARMINI PERIES: And Ellen Dorsey, thank you for doing that on our behalf and on behalf of humanity. I thank you so much for joining us today.
ELLEN DORSEY: Thank you.
SHARMINI PERIES: And thank you for joining us here on The Real News Network.
https://therealnews.com/stories/fossil-fuels-divestment-reaches-6-24-trillion
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The Key To A Successful Energy Transition
October 1st, 2018 by The Beam
SNIPPET:
We experienced three major development phases:
In phase 1, renewables played a niche role in our grids, below 10% of total consumption. To some extent we could just ignore the renewables — they integrated themselves. We still had to speed along a fast learning curve, since weather forecast instruments had to be developed and the company had to manage all billing and accounting data from new energy sources. But overall, it wasn’t very important whether or not some mistakes occurred because the overall amount of renewables in our electricity system was still comparatively small.
In phase 2, renewables became a major component of our electricity system. We moved up to 40% of the yearly consumption covered by renewables. We had in this second stage to review all our system control processes, to develop tailor-made and more accurate weather forecasts. We were faced with changing regulations, process changes to act closer to real-time and to start steering renewables infeed. We intensified the real-time cooperation with distribution grids and neighbouring grids. With the increase of decentralized production that is also often far away from consumer centers, in our case especially wind energy, electricity has to be transported over much longer distances. That’s why we had to start important grid reinforcement projects — inside our area and to interconnect us better with our neighboring regions. Grid reinforcement provides more capacity to exchange electricity and unleashes additional flexibility potential. That is another fundamental lesson.
In the third phase, above 40%, renewables become the dominant players. They now set the scene, new market products closer to real-time are needed, ancillary services have more and more to be provided by renewables, and finally a new market design is progressively needed. The demand side, the customers, become more important and can offer flexibility. In our control area, new types of large-scale storage become an issue when we are around 60–70% renewables. And we expect then also electricity, heat and gas sectors to converge progressively.
Full article:
https://cleantechnica.com/2018/10/01/the-key-to-a-successful-energy-transition/
Agelbert COMMENT:
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Germany is doing well. They could do better, but considering what the other highly industrialized countries are NOT doing, Germany is way ahead in the Transistion to Renewable Energy. ✨💫
My comment is about the USA but it applies to all countries on the planet.
The most important fact about fossil fuel energy products that the Hydrocarbon Hellspawn Corporations 😈 go out of their way to hide from we-the-customers is that their profit margin is based on volume sales. Yes, they get the subsidy welfare queen gravy train on top of that, but the margin is the "ball" you need to keep your eye on. 🧐
Renewable Energy is eating away at that slim margin the fossil fuelers rely on through demand destruction. What the fossil fuelers will never admit is that you do not need to destroy 100% of the demand for polluting energy products to bankrupt the polluters. Because the polluters absolutely MUST HAVE high volume in order to make a profit, all we need to do is enable Renewable Energy to destroy between 10% and 20% of the demand.
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Some will find that hard to believe. 👀 ⁉️ 🤔
Well, if you think that is baloney, I suggest you check out Amory Lovins at the Rocky Mountain Institute. Amory published "Reinventing Fire" (over 5 years ago), the peer reviewed road map to 100% Renewable Energy. In so many words backed by hard energy facts and decades of data, he makes that crystal clear. The hyped happy talk about fossil fuels has always disguised the reality that their business model is far more fragile than they let on. The RMI knows that and has worked tirelessly to let people and fossil fuel corporations know (yes, even saying that to Shell!) that Renewable Energy is the only option for a viable biosphere AND a sustainable energy business model.
Renewable Energy is running the polluters out of business. That is why the polluters spend so much money desperately trying to convince us that they are our "loyal servants just doing what we ask them to do".
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Look at this map of Federally owned land (and ocean areas). Imagine the VAST amount of Renewable Energy (geothermal, solar, wind, etc.) that can be tapped (FAR MORE than we actually need to supply all U.S. energy needs!) for the purpose of eliminating all fossil fuel use, but is, INSTEAD, reserved FOR Hydrocarbon Hellspawn 🦕🦖 PRIVATIZED PROFIT Corporate exploitation: 🤬
(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-111216161727.png&hash=ce90156081e530f533917fbf37b789c94ae1c8df)
This video will give you and idea of the vast amount of geothermal energy in those same areas waiting to be tapped:
https://youtu.be/YCvivdGmgPM
📢 The wind and solar potential in the same areas is off the charts as well. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-200714183515.bmp&hash=4a3ad9d0a78a7e161f53ddd84f568082a5b0d2ad)
Renewable Energy knocks out 10% to 20% of the demand for dirty energy and it is OVER for the Hydrocarbon Hellspawn.
(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-270317142022.png&hash=cc4dab8ff3e2d5b51acc393917751d9837eaf785)
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(https://cleantechnica.com/files/2018/06/Blockchain-x-Cleantech-Report-CleanTechnica-570x465.png)
October 6th, 2018 by Michael Barnard
SNIPPET:
Similarly, the entire blockchain concept is a solution to a computer science problem from the 1970s that was formalized in 1982 as the Byzantine Generals’ Problem. At heart, it’s a question of how a bunch of systems can collaborate with trust when malicious actors 😈 👹 are trying to disrupt the system. Proof-of-work and proof-of-stake are different solutions on top of blockchain to that problem.
Read more: (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F1%2F3-120818184310-1635923.gif&hash=5e2530db4748ed6c7163e1d478fdfa3cd1108668)
What Is Consensus? (Blockchain Report Excerpt) (https://cleantechnica.com/2018/10/06/what-is-consensus-blockchain-report-excerpt/)
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Optimistic Energy Source Use Projection prepared by Agelbert Five Years Ago:
(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-141213203245.png&hash=548eb0e6cb697279ade7f9e4c99a59c8681d1214)
(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-191017143841.jpeg&hash=21f142befe4ed82f10ef0bdba11c22bbd3051289) Agelbert Mea Culpa: The ice free summer did not occur in 2017. It seems that will occur a few years later than my original estimates.
Despite the lack of an ice free summer in 2017 (or 2018) to spur the governments of the world to mitigate global warming, I am heartened by the increasing pressure from the IPCC, which is finally getting real about how dire the Catastrophic Climate Change threat is, and how urgent it is to to GTF off of Hydrocarbons for energy by transitioning to 100% Renewable Energy.
If, and that is a mighty big if, the goverments of the world manage to follow the transition timeline on this graphic I prepared in 2013, humanity might just get through this. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-140216175259.jpeg&hash=128079ac7036df5bba09b5391709ac9c092d3ee7)
On the other hand, if they keep doing the bidding of the Hydrocarbon Hellspawn (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2Fthumb_3-070115205550.bmp&hash=954ecd048188876741ab48a48f4eee644baa39ec), we are done.
The Fossil Fuelers 🦖 DID THE Clean Energy Inventions suppressing, Climate Trashing, human health depleting CRIME, but since they have ALWAYS BEEN liars and conscience free crooks 🦀, they are trying to AVOID DOING THE TIME or PAYING THE FINE! Don't let them get away with it! Pass it on!
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Against the Odds: Climate Innovation on the Rise in Oil-Dominated 🦕 Regions
October 14th, 2018 by Sponsored Content
By Diana Zaharia
SNIPPET:
Bridging the Gap
The Paris targets show that we need to leave more than 80% of known fossil fuel reserves underground. However, few companies are truly committed to leaving the coal, oil, and gas in the earth, and next to zero nations are willing to make them do so. So how do green and cleantech entrepreneurs in these regions bring their solutions to market and solve the problem of energy access by using renewables?
Part of the solution is initiated by the world’s largest green business ideas competition, called ClimateLaunchpad*, and supported by EIT Climate-KIC, a body of the European Union. In recent years the platform opened up for entrepreneurs and green business enthusiasts in countries like Nigeria, Kazakhstan, India, Malaysia, and Azerbaijan. And the numbers are astonishing.
Every year, new countries join the global network, now reaching close to 4,000 green business ideas submitted globally over the past five years, currently running in 50 locations in 45 countries. This year the Global Grand Final will take place in Edinburgh, Scotland, on 1-2 November. On top of choosing the 2018 winners, it promises to unlock a global conversation with 700 people about fixing climate change.
Fertile Grounds for Green Tech Innovators
For the second year in a row, Azerbaijan has landed in the top three of countries to enter the highest numbers of green business ideas in ClimateLaunchpad. And by doing so they are outperforming countries like England, Germany, Norway, The Netherlands in Western Europe, and Australia.
Azerbaijan is one of the birthplaces of the oil industry, with a history strongly linked to the fortunes of petroleum. But these days the country also produces some of the brightest young entrepreneurs, green tech innovators, and game changers. ✨🌞
(https://c1cleantechnicacom-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/files/2018/10/Reyhan-Jamalova.jpg)
Reyhan Jamalova (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F1%2F3-111018132401-1686487.gif&hash=9c799f9f5ab2dfe2070b755850d7253683a6b1c0)
Take Reyhan Jamalova, the CEO and founder of Rainergy, the Azerbaijan start-up that produces electricity from rainwater. Reyhan is 15 years old and she was 14 when she joined ClimateLaunchpad. She was recently named one of the most promising entrepreneurs on the Forbes 30-Under-30 list.
Her technology is a smart generator that harvests energy from rain. Piezo electric crystals have the unique property to convert external pressure on the crystal into electric current. When the rain falls on the piezo electric crystals, the pressure of the raindrops generates small amounts of energy. The initial prototype of Rainergy produces 22W of power and feeds up to 22 LED lamps. While piezo electric rain generators produce only 25 micro-watts of power, the Rainergy model is much more efficient. Also it stores energy in the accumulator with the help of batteries, so that it can still be used when there is no rain. Moreover, Rainergy reduces the amount of CO2 emissions to 10 g per kWh during the production of the electricity. That is very low compared to the other current alternative energy solutions.
“I can say that as a 14 year old student I didn’t know anything about building a business. During ClimateLaunchpad I learned a lot about it, met amazing teams, and expanded my network,” says Reyhan. “We have applied for patent and the process continues. Also, we applied with The Republic of Azerbaijan State Agency on Renewable and Alternative Energy and we are still negotiating our conditions. Our main goal now is to increase the efficiency of the product and develop it further.”
Another example is CO2atalyser. This startup founded by Professor Yusif Abdullayev joined ClimateLaunchpad in Azerbaijan in 2017 to transform research into a business. Efficient conversion of CO2 being a key challenge for the chemistry community, but Prof. Abdullayev and his team developed a product that can save up to 85% in CO2 emissions for every factory using it. The technology is a unique catalyst that enables higher efficiency and long-term stability compared to traditional metal catalysts, such as nano-gold, platinum, and ruthenium.
Full article: (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F1%2F3-111018132401-1689625.gif&hash=31d44a761d963df1354e5ef55b63387c72033709)
https://cleantechnica.com/2018/10/14/against-the-odds-climate-innovation-on-the-rise-in-oil-dominated-regions/
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(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-040418201137.png&hash=65e7a4932fe458a3eeb5d01df13364b33e62246e)
Ocober 10, 2018
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
“We have made a very firm decision not to go forward with the coal power plant, because we’re required by our bylaws to go with the lowest-cost option, and renewables have now come below the cost of coal,” said (https://www.devex.com/news/world-bank-drops-support-for-kosovo-s-controversial-coal-project-93626)World Bank President Jim Kim on the financial institution’s decision to withdraw support from the controversial Kosovo coal plant.
(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-200714183515.bmp&hash=4a3ad9d0a78a7e161f53ddd84f568082a5b0d2ad)
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CleanTechnica
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Lies, Lies, & More Lies: Lawrence Solomon(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-040718162655-14231561.gif&hash=98b427175ee380f6d3c313520cc8668c10f2172a)🦕 Is Scared & So Is The Fossil Fuel Industry
October 21st, 2018 by Joshua S Hill
It should come as no surprise that the fossil fuel industry has many defenders 🐵 🐒 🦍 willing to step up to the plate and bat for them — it is, after all, a multi-billion-dollar industry with long-standing relationships and a desire not to collapse into infamy and oblivion.
(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-210316151047.png&hash=322a7c76731414f0f2ba44f8649e39de889b4bd6)(https://c1cleantechnicacom-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/files/2014/12/factory-emissions-570x380.jpg)
The simple reality is that, for a large part of the planet, the fossil fuel industry is on its last legs. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-250817121424.gif&hash=384c17a4d2be4831084933b91808f8a60f73f7f5)(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-250817121649.png&hash=4554f7e59701d12857946aece16bceb973c997b3) Developed nations are wholesale turning to renewable energy — either by federal impetus or through the work of sub-national players such as local governments and corporations — and developing nations are looking to renewable energy as a means to jump over the fossil fuel step altogether, avoiding the need to build up costly nationwide infrastructure and preventing further emissions increases.
Fear & Ignorance
This new reality, however, is apparently difficult for some people to comprehend. Most recently, BP CEO Bob Dudley, speaking as the “Petroleum Executive of the Year” at the Oil & Money conference in London, raised his fears of the global divestment and disclosure movements that are impacting the fossil fuel industry, suggesting that they “could lead to bad outcomes.” His rationale, however, was based on faulty assumptions and blind ignorance of the realities.
(https://c1cleantechnicacom-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/files/2018/10/BP-CEO-Bob-Dudley-2-570x278.jpg)
BP 🦕 CEO Bob Dudley 😈
However, Dudley can at least be given credit for admitting the need for change, and presenting a path forward which he claimed was “not a call for business as usual” and one that “requires significant and rapid disruption to our industry.”
The same credit cannot be given to Lawrence Solomon, however, a columnist for Canada’s National Post section (which bears the name Financial Post after the business newspaper of the same name) and the Executive Director of Energy Probe, the consumer and energy research team of Canada’s Energy Probe Research Foundation.
Writing an op-ed recently for the Financial Post, Solomon set aside any dignity or professional integrity he may once have grasped to and penned what can only be described as a hit-piece on the renewable energy industry with all the internal consistency of a wet tissue. Solomon’s article — entitled “Trudeau stands alone as Canada — and the world — abandons green energy” — ran with the witty lede, “Wind and solar have become the fossils of the energy industry; oil, gas and coal remain the fuels of the future.” An entire fact-check article could be written about the opening paragraph on its own — not bad, considering it boasts only 109 words in four sentences.
Solomon’s article was brought to our attention here at CleanTechnica by a frustrated reader who asked that we investigate the claims Solomon made in his piece — described by the reader as “so untruthful and so far from reality that I think it deserves to be called out.” (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-130418202709.png&hash=7503265ec59e4c28d735afb762bc39f4674bd838)
More than simply “calling out” Lawrence Solomon, however, I think it’s worth being completely upfront and honest about Solomon and his opinions — and opinions they are, make no mistake about it, in the true spirit of the Oxford English Dictionary’s definition of the word — “A view or judgement formed about something, not necessarily based on fact or knowledge” — for, it would appear that Solomon’s opinions have never even heard of the concept of “facts” and “knowledge.”
Lies, Lies, & More Lies
To be fair, the issue is not so much with Lawrence Solomon in and of himself, rather, he is simply representative of a number of such pundits who occupy their own little space of real estate in magazines, newspapers, and on television the world over.
(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-100718163957-14481568.png&hash=f923ce4d7ef43213760bfe87c48477be898bb171)(https://c1cleantechnicacom-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/files/2017/07/Coal-Water-1-570x373.jpg)
Solomon is in no way particularly special for the absurdity of his views, but he serves as a convenient example of the types of lies that are spread, and the way in which people opposed to renewable energy and in denial about global warming make their arguments.
In his opinion article, Lawrence Solomon attempts to make the argument that renewable energy is not only on the back foot around the world, but that it is in full retreat. To support this argument, Solomon refers to several pieces of so-called evidence which he has pulled kicking and screaming out of context. I’ll handle them one at a time.
China
Solomon claims that China has “begun to throw in the towel by cutting subsidies to renewables, an augur of the demise of investment in its renewables sector.” Solomon also points to recent reporting from green campaigners CoalSwarm which claimed that 259 gigawatts (GW) of new coal capacity are currently under construction.
(https://c1cleantechnicacom-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/files/2018/10/Carbon-Tracker-China-Satellite-1.jpg)
Satellite visualization from Carbon Tracker
While Solomon accurately reported the findings from CoalSwarm’s new satellite imagery report — which showed construction ongoing at coal plants across the country, the result of a permitting surge between late-2014 and early-2016 — he incorrectly blames the reason for China’s decision to cut subsidies to renewables.
It’s important to remember the context of China’s current reliance on coal. The new capacity currently under construction is the result of local authorities approving new projects, and actually flies in the face of China’s Central Government’s decisions to halt construction of new coal-fired power plants. Toward the end of 2016 and over the first few months of 2017, China announced the cancellation of 30 large coal-fired power plants amounting to 17 gigawatts (GW), followed soon after by the cancellation of 104 more under-construction and planned coal projects amounting to 120 GW. In March of this year, a report showed that the development of new coal plants in 2017 had declined in China, thanks in part to the Central Government’s decision to suspend construction across hundreds of projects.
Unfortunately, CoalSwarm’s recent report might suggest that China’s Central Government no longer has the control it once had to make these sweeping cuts, but a report published earlier this month by Carbon Tracker shows that 40% of China’s coal plants are already losing money and that the country could save nearly $390 billion by closing plants instead of keeping them operational.
Further, it’s important to look at the whole of what is happening in China. In September, China’s National Development & Reform Commission (NDRC) wrote a draft policy that paved the way to increase the country’s renewable energy target from 20% to 35% by 2030.
Later that same month, China’s National Energy Administration (NEA) issued draft guidelines that would look to phase out power generation subsidies — just as Solomon highlighted, except, the intention of the decision was to provide the country’s renewable energy sector with further technological and policy support so that those technologies can compete against other technologies on their own. Specifically, the draft guidelines seek to incentivize renewable energy technologies in regions where they can operate without help from government subsidies.
“The reason China’s cutting subsidy is mainly because of the huge deficit in the national renewable subsidy fund,” explained Yali Jiang, a solar analyst with Bloomberg New Energy Finance, who spoke to me via email. “By the end of 2017, the deficit amounted around $19 billion including those for wind and solar projects. As a result, the government expects to, for instance, restrict new solar installations that require national subsidy immediately.”
“China’s solar installation contracted in 3Q due to the policy change,” Jiang added. “The grid-connected PV capacity halved in July and August compared with last year. But the country remains to be the largest investor in clean energy in 3Q ($26.7 billion), a fraction above the same period of 2017.”
Far from being “an augur of the demise of investment in its renewables sector,” as Solomon so dramatically put it, China’s decision to cut subsidies is actually based in a desire to minimize the financial strain caused by subsidizing new power generation, while at the same time providing technological and political support that will help renewable energy compete on its own — much as it does in other parts of the world, such as throughout Europe and North America.
Europe
Lawrence Solomon, far from being happy with one example, decided to add another to the mix, explaining that, “With the cutting of subsidies to renewables in the [European Union], investment last year dropped to less than half of its peak six years earlier.”
Again, Solomon correctly looked at the chart, sourced from Bloomberg New Energy Finance and highlighted by the World Economic Forum in May of 2018 — an article, mind you, which highlights the success of the investment in China’s renewable energy sector, and betrays Solomon’s contention that China has suffered a decline in investment in its renewables sector (made literally the sentence beforehand).
(https://c1cleantechnicacom-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/files/2018/10/Clean-Energy-Investment-1.png)
While it is true that investment in Europe’s renewable energy industry has fallen off in recent times, it’s doubly important to look at the region’s capacity installations over the same time. Between 2011 and 2017 — the six-year period Solomon highlighted — generation from renewable electricity across the 28 Member States of the European Union skyrocketed.
(https://c1cleantechnicacom-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/files/2018/10/Figure_5-Gross_electricity_generation_from_renewable_sources_EU-28_1990-2016.png)
Gross electricity generation from renewable sources, EU-28, 1990-2016 Image Credit: Eurostat
The share of renewable energy sources in the final consumption of energy has also steadily increased over the past decade, as can be seen in the table below.
(https://c1cleantechnicacom-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/files/2018/10/Table_2-Share_of_energy_from_renewable_sources_in_gross_final_consumption_of_energy_2004-2016.png)
Share of electricity from renewable sources in gross electricity consumption, 2004-2016 Image Credit: Eurostat
Complete renewable energy capacity additions for Europe are difficult to come by — unsurprising, given the nature of a supranational governing body — but we can mitigate that somewhat by looking specifically at the two dominant renewable energy technologies, wind, and solar.
Annual wind energy installations across Europe have steadily ticked up each year, declining only once since 2011, in 2013. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F1%2F3-111018132421-16902.gif&hash=deba9f0f91ecd7d65bbdeb78786bef4a98cb1a7e)
(https://c1cleantechnicacom-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/files/2018/02/WindEurope-2017-1.png)
It’s worth noting, though, that new capacity additions for 2018 are on a worrying downward trend, as seen by half-year figures published by WindEurope in July.
Europe’s solar industry has similarly suffered from recent investment figures, as can be seen in the graph below, published by SolarPower Europe in June (as part of a global outlook).
Evolution of Global Annual Solar PV Installed Capacity 2000-2017
(https://c1cleantechnicacom-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/files/2018/10/Solar-PV-2000-2017-SolarPower-Europe-1.png)
So while from a certain point of view, Lawrence Solomon can claim that Europe’s clean energy investment has fallen, resulting in lower solar capacity additions and moderate wind additions, it’s worth seeing this in light of the whole. Solar has begun growing again across Europe — with a total of 9.2 GW worth of new capacity added in 2017, a 30% increase on the year before — and offshore wind continues to increase its share. Europe was also one of the first regions to double-down on solar, and accounts for 28% of the global total, with a total of 114 GW worth of installed capacity.
Additionally, even though investments have decreased, this does not necessarily speak to a larger fall-off for the renewable energy industry. Rather, as technologies such as solar PV and onshore wind mature, their costs have decreased, which means that less money is needed to build even more capacity.
Lawrence Solomon may have struck closer to the mark with this particular example, but it does not serve to bolster his argument any, considering the impact of Brexit and the UK’s shift away from solar towards wind, the declining cost of mature technologies, and natural market dynamics and political malfeasance from politicians who share Solomon’s point of view.
Japan
Investment in Japan’s clean energy industry has indeed slowed since 2016 — essentially falling off a financial cliff at the end of 2015. Much like China, however, Japan’s situation is not as clear-cut as a graph might show.
(https://c1cleantechnicacom-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/files/2018/10/New-Investment-in-Clean-Energy-Japan-2004-2017-1.png)
“After years of record-breaking investment driven by some of the world’s most generous feed-in tariffs, China and Japan are cutting back on building new large-scale projects and shifting towards digesting the capacity they have already put in place,” said Justin Wu, head of Asia for BNEF, said in January of 2017.
“China is facing slowing power demand and growing wind and solar curtailment. The government is now focused on investing in grids and reforming the power market so that the renewables in place can generate to their full potential. In Japan, future growth will come not from utility-scale projects but from rooftop solar systems installed by consumers attracted by the increasingly favorable economics of self-consumption.”
It’s ironic, however, that Solomon decided to use Japan as throwaway proof of “a worldwide trend rejecting renewables.” If he had made the argument even a year ago, it might have held more weight, but given recent moves by Japan’s government, and corporations and utilities within Japan, it loses all importance.
In July, the Tokyo Electric Power Company, better known as TEPCO, announced that it intends to pursue the development of between 6 and 7 GW worth of renewable energy capacity worth tens of billions of dollars in an intentional move away from nuclear power. Speaking to Nikkei, TEPCO’s president Tomoaki Kobayakawa announced his company will look to develop 6 to 7 GW of renewable energy across Japan and overseas in a move expected to yield 100 billion yen ($8.98 billion) in profit. “We must gain a competitive advantage in renewable energy,” he said.
Meanwhile, in September, Japan’s Electric Power Development Co., better known as J-Power, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with French multinational electric utility ENGIE to collaborate on power projects, specifically offshore wind and floating offshore wind projects — a further sign of Japan’s turn away from nuclear, and specifically towards contending with Taiwan as an offshore wind hub. And only last week, the Fitch Group published a forecast which expected Japan to add 17 GW worth of new solar capacity by the end of 2020, before the sector begins to slow.
For Lawrence Solomon, Japan also does not prove his belief that renewable energy is on the back foot.
The UK, et al
I could go on. Solomon points to Germany, the UK, and Australia as further proof that the world is turning away from renewable energy. While both Germany and Australia serve as good examples of this, they are about the only two countries that do — and only from a national point of view, with sub-state actors serving to pick up where the nation’s governments left off (or, in Australia’s case, never picked up to begin with).
Solomon’s citing the UK as an example of a flagging renewable energy industry, however, truly beggars belief. Not only is the UK home to one of the world’s most persistent and dominant renewable energy countries, Scotland, but the UK is also the world’s offshore wind energy leader, boasting a portfolio of projects in operation, under construction, or in development, of 35.2 GW.
Agreed, the UK’s investment is likely to fall, a point made by the Green Alliance in January of 2017, analyzing the UK Government’s own numbers. The government has proven lackluster at best when it comes to preparing for a post-Brexit world, and it has thoroughly mishandled commitments to various technologies (onshore wind and solar, in particular). However, it’s important to look at the long-term — the Green Alliance’s analysis only looks to 2020, and a July announcement from the Department for Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy could mitigate some of these short-term losses, by setting a timeline for new offshore wind auctions starting from 2021.
“The renewables sector in the UK has seen pretty dire policy from government: solar and onshore wind projects have been effectively blocked, despite the fact that they’re now the cheapest form of new power,” explained Dustin Benton, Policy Director at Green Alliance. “By contrast, dirty power stations, supported by the UK’s flawed capacity market, have seen several hundred million pounds of government contracts over the past few years.”
(https://c1cleantechnicacom-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/files/2018/10/170504-MHI-Vestas-BBE-Aerial-14540-HR-AdobeRGB-1-570x380.jpg)
Image Credit: MHI Vestas
“The exception to this generally gloomy picture is in offshore wind: despite irregular auctions, the sector has reduced prices by two-thirds over the past two years, and the government has committed to procuring around 16 GW of new offshore wind during the 2020s, putting the country on track for 30 GW by 2030 – a level consistent with meeting the UK’s carbon targets.”
It’s also worth remembering that Great Britain currently boasts its lowest ever share of fossil fuels in its energy mix, accounting for only 41% of total generation, down from 71% only 7 years ago.
How Do You Solve A Problem Like Lawrence? Lie! (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-311013200859.png&hash=a7aaaa9f04c1e3e2c948723b5f8c13fe814dacd4)
An argument against renewable energy and climate change is not complete, however, without mentioning the biggest elephant in the room — the United States. Solomon reserves an entire paragraph for the US but barely manages to come close to the truth.
Solomon sets the scene — the Democrats are out of power and Donald Trump is in, and quickly moves to exit from the Paris Agreement. What did the country manage to do with this new paradigm shift?
(https://c1cleantechnicacom-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/files/2018/08/Strip_coal_mining-270x180.jpg)
Right out of the gate, Solomon … well, he pretty much rushes headlong into the gate. Solomon starts out by claiming that the US has revived its coal industry. One wonders exactly where to start on this. In January, Reuters obtained preliminary US government data which showed that the coal industry continues to shed jobs. In February, figures published by the US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) revealed that not only had there been no new coal capacity added during 2017 (and only 3 units in 2016) but that coal’s total share of generating capacity has declined by 17.83% over the past five years. In fact, according to figures published in June by the US Energy Information Administration, coal has dropped to providing only 27% of total electricity generation.
The cause for coal’s steep decline? According to researchers from North Carolina State University and the University of Colorado Boulder writing in May, the responsible party is not renewable energy but is in fact the decline in natural gas prices. And only this week, the White House — the very center of Donald Trump’s power — has reportedly shelved a plan to bail out the coal (and nuclear) sectors. ;D
The final point to make is, possibly, the most absurd. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-250817121649.png&hash=4554f7e59701d12857946aece16bceb973c997b3) Written and positioned as if it was the final nail in Solomon’s argument, he writes that “The once-powerful United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, formerly a fixture in the news, is defanged and forgotten, having lost its US funding and its relevance.” (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-250817122018.gif&hash=74d86c1f35e2f61ea38c9bfa392f84a92631b96e)
Solomon’s article was published on September 28, only 11 days before the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) published a report warning that limiting global warming to 1.5°C will “require rapid, far-reaching and unprecedented changes in all aspects of society.” Putting aside the fact that the IPCC works in long-term cycles and is not beholden to publish material regularly (nor has it ever), Solomon must have regretted that particular sentence.
Abandoning Truth
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It takes something special to be able to so blatantly and casually lie in public as Lawrence Solomon manages. To so clearly and repeatedly mishandle the facts and misconstrue the evidence requires either an almost champion level of ignorance, or a complete disregard for the truth. Solomon (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-250817135149.gif&hash=b4a8748d7cf56a31dd0a6aae5828ed2c1ac2815c) squeezes at least a dozen lies and half-truths into only 750 words — that’s at least one every 62 words.
Is the global renewable energy industry (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-130418203111.png&hash=e8f61baab9b9d36eaf1c4087927f321bf883250c) on the back foot? (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F1%2F3-250718211017.gif&hash=1b5b289486b9429bdbdcb938b21ef1a2b66d30fc)(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2F1.bp.blogspot.com%2F-TzWpwHzCvCI%2FT_sBEnhCCpI%2FAAAAAAAAME8%2FIsLpuU8HYxc%2Fs1600%2Fnooo-way-smiley.gif&hash=b8545bd420b1e2f2c7b9f665d2093523e4ad2251) No — in fact, in many parts of the world, it is progressing faster than ever before, and well above any other energy technology. The industry is maturing, however, and with that naturally comes some bumpy patches — stagnation, political intervention and misappropriation, and economic fluctuations; to think otherwise is naive.
(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-100718164155-14511755.jpeg&hash=1c62dd0525852ffbbcbc7f2459189db15d6435c6)(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fstyles%2Frenewablerevolution%2Ffiles%2F780_9adc777a0e08428257b76ece69d18ee52006bb5e39d60d966bb2440d29d17641.jpeg&hash=4d8f2f9ea7b952c63ad0441a4619e9b370ddcb0a)
But to think that these bumps in the road represent some global shift away from renewable energy is to ignore all common sense and historical evidence. Renewable energy (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-301014181553.gif&hash=c09667beb656b25086c168adcdaddcba59abf858) isn’t going away, nor is it declining in popularity. It is the future — not just because we need it to be, but because it is economically better. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-060518153110.png&hash=39d587c31b7f7e66b30d7e59bb560e2ad0662eee)
https://cleantechnica.com/2018/10/21/lies-lies-more-lies-lawrence-solomon-is-scared-so-is-the-fossil-fuel-industry/
(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F1%2F3-111018132400-1685431.gif&hash=770de9d7a4fd6b31ea7d9b45e544cc00777d8029)
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What is a half-cell solar panel? (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-301014182447.gif&hash=58fbc1dfd905f79b3d4bacde8e89a935c2b859ac) (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F1%2F3-210818163123-16662165.gif&hash=0c278af5ea445d20e48640c4f39f951df986eed6)
By Kelly Pickerel | October 24, 2018
Panel trends have a way of quickly becoming mainstream. IHS Markit predicted that passivated emitter rear cells (PERC) technology would go from a blip in the market in 2014 to mainstream by 2020—a prediction confirmed by anyone looking at panel models released this year. PERC is here to stay.
(https://3vq5kdns38e1qxlmvvqmrzsi-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/ITRPV-2018-half-cell.png)
Different cell dimensions. Source: ITRPV
The next technology on that mainstream path is half-cell designs. The ninth edition of the International Technology Roadmap for Photovoltaic (ITRPV) predicts the market share of half cells will grow from 5% in 2018 to nearly 40% in 2028.
Half-cell modules have solar cells that are cut in half, which improves the module’s performance and durability. Traditional 60- and 72-cell panels will have 120 and 144 half-cut cells, respectively. When solar cells are halved, their current is also halved, so resistive losses are lowered and the cells can produce a little more power. Smaller cells experience reduced mechanical stresses, so there is a decreased opportunity for cracking. Half-cell modules have higher output ratings and are more reliable than traditional panels.
“When considering a solar installation, the idea of ‘more’ is at the forefront—produce more energy, save (or earn) more money and do more good for the environment,” said Cemil Seber, VP of global marketing and product management for module manufacturer REC. “In the case of rooftops where there is a limited amount of space available, using solar panels with half-cut cell technology can help.”
REC is a half-cell pioneer, first introducing the design in 2014. The company’s TwinPeak half-cell module series effectively turns each panel into two twin panels. Since the cells are smaller, inter-cell spacing doesn’t have to be as wide and they can be placed closer together. This allows REC to separate the panel into two. Independent upper and lower module halves lead to improved shading response. If the bottom half of a module is shaded, the top half will still perform.
(https://3vq5kdns38e1qxlmvvqmrzsi-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/REC-half-cell-modules.jpg)
REC’s polycrystalline TwinPeak half-cell module (left) and its monocrystalline N-Peak half-cell module (right)
REC has pushed the boundaries with half-cell designs in polycrystalline modules. REC’s half-cell PERC polycrystalline modules have reached 300 W, and they can compete with full-cell modules in the more efficient monocrystalline class. The company has been so impressed by the advantages of half-cells, it is transitioning all its manufacturing lines to the new technology.
“Since 2014, REC has been continuously transferring its production lines to half-cut cell technology,” Seber said. “Today, all but one of our module production lines in Singapore have been equipped for half-cut cell technology.”
During the 2018 tradeshow swing, REC released its new N-Peak series of modules, the company’s first stab at monocrystalline half-cells for even higher efficiency and output—up to 330 W in a traditional 60-cell footprint.
Other manufacturers have also started half-cell designs in the monocrystalline class. LONGi Solar recently exceeded 360 W in testing with its 120-cell half-cut monocrystalline PERC module. Hanwha Q CELLS received the Intersolar Award 2018 Photovoltaics category for its Q.PEAK DUO-G5 solar module—a 120-half-cell, six-busbar monocrystalline module. The Hanwha module uses round wires instead of flat ribbons for busbars to reduce shading on the cells. Hanwha also has half-cut designs for the 72-cell market, although in polycrystalline. Its Q. PLUS DUO L-G5.2 is a polycrystalline half-cell module with a maximum output of 370 W.
(https://3vq5kdns38e1qxlmvvqmrzsi-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/hanwha-e1505183586618.jpg)
Half-cut cells (Photo from Hanwha Q CELLS SPI 2017 booth)
Since half-cell designs are the hottest trend right now, a manufacturer just has to update a few things on its lines to keep up. The two challenges with switching full-cell manufacturing to half-cell designs is the cell cutting and the stringing process. Since half-cells are usually PERC cells to begin with, the cell itself is quite fragile. Laser-cutting the cell down the middle without cracking it is a delicate process. Half-cells often use four or more busbars. Stringing these very narrow connection strips across a smaller footprint requires the use of precise equipment. Junction boxes are also different on half-cell modules. Most brands use multiple, smaller junction boxes so each module half can function as its own. Otherwise, half-cell module assembly is like full-cell production.
Since half-cell modules produce more power and are more efficient and reliable than their full-cell counterparts, their use can lead to time and money savings for the installer. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-141113185701.png&hash=615e3c1aa9c374cb1eab5bfc1e9494f2cb05e9f7)
“By delivering more power per square meter, fewer panels are required to generate the same power,” (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-080515182559.png&hash=d4dfa952fa0f817bf30a8059a4c88d6fb05ee1bf) Seber said. “This means quicker installation times and the need for fewer components such as clamps and racks—all of which reduces the overall costs.”
https://www.solarpowerworldonline.com/2018/10/what-is-a-half-cell-solar-panel/
(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F1%2F3-020818221610-1607296.jpeg&hash=372bed297059a182447c4cb001615d5e8346adcc)
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CleanTechnica
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Asia Pacific To See 355 Gigawatts Of Solar & Offshore Wind Boom✨🌞🌟 In Next 5 Years
October 26th, 2018 by Joshua S Hill
(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F1%2F3-120818184310-1635923.gif&hash=5e2530db4748ed6c7163e1d478fdfa3cd1108668)
https://cleantechnica.com/2018/10/26/asia-pacific-to-see-355-gigawatts-of-solar-offshore-wind-boom-in-next-5-years/
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India Records Highest Quarterly RE Share In Power Generation
November 12th, 2018 by Saurabh
(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-060914180936.jpeg&hash=5e39d70fafe4e7190a6eebce34b740c58721de3f)
https://cleantechnica.com/2018/11/12/india-records-highest-quarterly-re-share-in-power-generation/
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CleanTechnica
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The Doom Of Fossil Fuel Investments (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-141113185047.png&hash=384024358ff8d5e7133d19b6e6638da4584a8154)
November 18th, 2018 by Guest Contributor
By Nathanael Nerode
SNIPPET:
Summary
• There is a very short window of time to get out of pure-play oil & gas company investments without substantial losses. It is imperative to sell them now.
• It is already too late to get out of pure-play coal company investments without substantial losses. But they will lose even more money going forward.
• Utility companies which have a heavy reliance on fossil fuels are also in trouble.
Diversified companies will lose money on their coal, oil, and gas portfolios, although this may not be significant enough to warrant getting out of a diversified company.
• It will remain possible to do short-term swing trading in coal, oil, and gas companies with no future, but this is inappropriately risky behavior for a conservative investor.
The Reasons
✔ Oil demand is mostly for cars & trucks and will be destroyed by electric cars & trucks.
✔ Electricity will be primarily generated by solar and wind, as they will be cheaper than fossils.
✔ Coal demand is mostly for electricity, is already being destroyed by natural gas, and will be further destroyed by cheap solar and wind.
✔ Gas demand for heating will be destroyed by electric heat pumps, and for electricity by solar and wind.
✔ The residual demand (for airplanes, steelmaking, and plastics feedstocks) will not be enough to prevent the extraction and refining companies from losing enormous amounts of money over the next couple of decades.
✔ Utilities will do badly if they bet on fossil fuels and will do well if they invest in low-priced solar, wind, and batteries.
Full Analysis
► There are three major categories of fossil fuels: coal, oil, and gas. I will discuss oil first, with a detour to electricity, then coal, then gas, and finally a section on the fate of utilities.
► I will go through pricing calculations and comparisons to demonstrate that the alternatives to coal, oil, and gas are either already cheaper or guaranteed to be cheaper within the next 2 years for a sufficiently large percentage of consumers to cause huge drops in fossil fuel demand over the next 10 years.
(https://c7.alamy.com/comp/E7HDG6/orange-oil-drum-or-barrel-E7HDG6.jpg) Oil (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F1%2F3-020818220850-1595685.jpeg&hash=c3e65a5726b5c526a5f492545bc5db3014ac27bd)
The Empirical Evidence
I and my family were heavily invested in oil and gas stocks for many decades because they were highly profitable. It didn’t cost that much to punch a hole in the ground and get a Texas “gusher,” and then the oil spouted out of the ground practically for free – but everyone bought lots of oil because all the alternatives were impractical or too expensive. So, they were good investments at the time.
In 2008, I sold them all, including my personal $384,000 worth of Exxon stock.
This was a wise decision. XOM stock is now worth about what it was when I sold it at the peak in 2008. It hasn’t gained at all. True, it did issue dividends – at a dividend yield of about 3.24%. This is well below any reasonable benchmark.
The dividend is coming out of the capital of the company. Exxon paid out more in dividends than it earned in the third quarter of 2016 (earnings 63 cents per share, dividend 75 cents per share).
The other oil majors are in similar financial trouble. Chevron is recording losses. Shell and Chevron are also paying out dividends in excess of earnings. BP and Shell have introduced scrip dividend programs in order to avoid paying out dividends in cash. All of them, including BP, are borrowing large amounts of money. Upstream businesses are losing money or barely breaking even; refinery profits are dropping; only the chemicals business is stable and it’s quite small.
The majors are, of course, much more financially secure than second-tier oil companies like Anadarko and Devon, which lose money routinely.
So much for the empirical evidence that they’re bad investments. I can also explain why.
Full article: (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F1%2F3-120818184310-1635923.gif&hash=5e2530db4748ed6c7163e1d478fdfa3cd1108668)
https://cleantechnica.com/2018/11/18/the-doom-of-fossil-fuel-investments/
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EcoWatch
Bu Lorraine Chow
Nov. 23, 2018 11:01AM EST
Ireland 🍀 to Become World's First Country to Divest From Fossil Fuels (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F1%2F3-210818163125-16762116.gif&hash=dcf93619f3c0ebb651977b3dae2d1398f7705823)
SNIPPET:
Ireland's landmark Fossil Fuel Divestment Bill passed the Seanad, or upper house, on Thursday, putting the Emerald Isle on track to become the first country in the world to divest from fossil fuel-related funds.
The bill—which requires the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund to sell off about €318 million ($361 million) investments in coal, oil, gas and peat assets over a five year period—now heads to President Michael D. Higgins for signature, where it will likely become law by the end of the year, according to the Irish Times.
Alice-Mary Higgins, an Independent Senator and the president's daughter, was jubilant about the bill's "swift passage" in the Seanad.
Full article: (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F1%2F3-120818184310-1635923.gif&hash=5e2530db4748ed6c7163e1d478fdfa3cd1108668)
https://www.ecowatch.com/ireland-fossil-fuels-divestment-2621293680.html
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CleanTechnica
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Developing Nations Are Stepping Up Into Global Clean Energy Leadership
November 28th, 2018 by Joshua S Hill
A new report from Bloomberg New Energy Finance has highlighted the rising importance of developing nations in driving clean energy adoption worldwide, and finds they are seizing the mantle of global clean energy leadership from wealthier, more developed nations.
A combination of surging electricity demand, declining technology costs, and a surge in innovative policy-making have resulted in developing nations stepping up to seize the mantle of global clean energy leadership from wealthier nations, according to a comprehensive new report published by Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF) as part of its annual Climatescope project.
According to the report, emerging market nations surveyed by Climatescope accounted for the majorities of clean energy capacity added, and new funds deployed, globally in 2017. Specifically, developing nations added an impressive total of 114 gigawatts (GW) worth of zero-carbon generating capacity — including 94 GW worth of wind and solar. At the same time, developing nations brought online the least amount of new coal-fired power generating capacity since at least 2006 — with new build coal falling 38% year-over-year to 48 GW, half of what was added in 2015.
“It’s been quite a turnaround,” said Dario Traum, BNEF senior associate and Climatescope project manager. “Just a few years ago, some argued that less developed nations could not, or even should not, expand power generation with zero-carbon sources because these were too expensive. Today, these countries are leading the charge when it comes to deployment, investment, policy innovation and cost reductions.”
In addition to the increasing economic viability of clean energy technologies — specifically technologies such as wind and solar — which are further bolstered by the “exceptional” natural resources boasted by many developing nations, when combined with continually declining technology equipment costs, new renewable energy projects in developing nations are regularly outcompeting new fossil fuel projects on price. This has been most evident in the 28+ GW worth of generation contracted through tenders in emerging markets in 2017.
Financing for renewable energy projects in developing nations is similarly increasing, with 54 developing nations recording investment in at least one utility-scale wind farm, and 76 countries receiving financing for solar projects of 1.5 megawatts (MW) or larger (up from 20 and 3, respectively, a year ago). Further, development banks, export credit agencies, and other traditional backers are all combining to ensure investment and project backing continues to support the development of clean technology projects in emerging nations.
“European players, in particular, have moved aggressively to finance projects, particularly in Latin America,” said BNEF head of Americas Ethan Zindler, who helped found Climatescope. “While concessional capital is still clearly required in least developed countries or in others just beginning to adopt clean energy, elsewhere private funders appear quite comfortable deploying capital at volume.”
The report further highlights the growing trend that shows developing nations are skipping the fossil fuel stage of economic development which has so plagued their more developed brethren.
“I think it’s undeniable that for an equivalent level of economic development (GDP/capita), a number of emerging markets have a much higher penetration of solar and wind than their most developed peers had,” explained Dario Traum, who spoke to me via email.
“That’s a factor of technology change but also of course of cost. Emerging markets are where renewables most frequently undercut existing power procurement cost. In particular, Latin America has a number of countries that are amongst the countries with the highest level of solar + wind penetration, often facilitated by hydro and interconnection with neighbours.
“Caveat to all that is that big manufacturing and demographic hubs in Asia haven’t yet been able to get around coal as a cheap way to power industry around the clock. But they are seeing the consequences too, in particular air pollution. So a strong support for renewables there to.”
https://cleantechnica.com/2018/11/28/developing-nations-are-stepping-up-into-global-clean-energy-leadership/
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CleanTechnica
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Backstory: Macron To Close Multiple Nuclear Reactors, But Why Now?
November 30th, 2018 by Michael Barnard
President Emmanuel Macron of France depressed nuclear executives globally in late November 2018, announcing the planned retirement of 14 of 58 reactors by 2035. This was still less than was promised in his election campaign, but represents a major internal political battle, as well as a major change of France’s circumstances.
(https://c1cleantechnicacom-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/files/2018/11/nuclear-power-plants-in-france.png)
http://www.world-nuclear.org/information-library/country-profiles/countries-a-f/france.aspx
This has been an emerging story for several years.
France did a better job than most of building nuclear plants. They picked a single design and built a bunch of them over a relatively concentrated 20 years from about 1978 onward. It was a massive, state-funded, state-managed energy infrastructure initiative at a scale rarely seen. They dodged a bunch of the mistakes of other geographies somewhat by accident. They aren’t subject to earthquakes or tsunamis. They kept the technology highly standard. They developed a skilled workforce for building them and rewarded them well.
But the last nuclear reactor went live almost 20 years ago, the oldest ones are at end-of-life, and the skilled workforce only knows how to maintain and operate existing reactors now, not build new ones. The current President of France, Macron, used to be the Minister of Industry. He’s stated publicly that even he couldn’t find out how much the build-out actually cost, with the clear assertion that a bunch of actual costs were hidden.
“Nobody knows the total cost for nuclear energy,” he said. “I was minister for industry and I could not tell you.”
And France had to build nuclear to be load-following due to its over-reliance on a more usually inflexible form of generation. Nuclear is good for baseload up to 30–40%, but when it has to be turned on and off it gets a lot more expensive very quickly. France has the good fortune to have been able to export a lot of electricity to the rest of the EU for several years, but the energy mix on the continent is strongly favoring more flexible forms of generation.
And now, a few things have changed in the decades since France made its huge bet on nuclear generation in the Messmer Plan in 1974.
Renewables are dirt cheap, with Lazard’s latest figures bringing them in at 3–6 times cheaper than new nuclear. (Amusingly, Lazard still labels wind and solar as ‘alternative energy‘. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-130418202829.png&hash=a4ec201b97ad269ff59a6a1c0f1c19a04b57803a)(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F1%2F3-240718213433-14592370.png&hash=303e851c5feb196224d3a901ee609fed6437375d) ::) ) Europe is a leading geography for wind and solar, so skilled trades and supply chains all exist. Europe’s grid has strengthened and expanded over the past 30 years, so the need for a country to go it alone has diminished substantially.
The EU was founded in 1993 and France is an integral part of it, and that has two impacts. The first is that France’s energy independence policy that was part of the impetus for a massive nuclear fleet looks archaic in context of modern politics and economics. The second is that EU regulations forbid destabilizingly large governmental subsidies for energy, something which the Hinkley plant in the EU had to fight through. As Macron’s experience shows, it’s actually impossible for anyone to figure out how much any nuclear plant actually cost due to budget fudging. This last is true globally, by the way.
French attempts to build next-generation reactors are failing in multiple locations in France and elsewhere. The cost and budget overruns and construction failures are staggering.
And Chernobyl and Fukushima both happened since the French nuclear build-out began. Public support diminished substantially after those events, one on the same continent and one a world away.
France receives a greater percentage of its electricity from nuclear than any country in the world, at 72% close to 50% more than its nearest ‘competitor’, Slovakia. And it will diminish over the coming decades. Its last-built reactor will reach end-of-life in 2040 or so. It’s unlikely that it will be replaced. And it’s unlikely that more than a fraction of the aging reactors will be refurbished at all.
Wind, solar, a continent-scale grid, and open economic borders all contributed to the death of the French nuclear dream.(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-130418195803.png&hash=2ff05bac59ce8d16643fd4159b563943ac729a6f) (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F1%2F3-210818163126-16771578.gif&hash=60d3e7427efc846ae1733eff0803c25b5d5b7862)
It’s time for France to wake up and join the future, and it has. It voted in Macron, a politician who promised to reduce France’s nuclear fleet. He fought the entrenched bureaucracy and EDF, and while the new plans are slower than the promised ones, they are the right plans on a pragmatic timeline.
https://cleantechnica.com/2018/11/30/backstory-macron-to-close-multiple-nuclear-reactors-but-why-now/
Agelbert NOTE: Better late than never, I always say.
Let us not forget WHO PROFITED from these radioactive white elephants when the bill for decommissioning them comes due. Yes folks, that bill will be massive.
The logical thing to do is find every single person in every corporation that profited directly from building and maintaining these nuclear reactors and TAX THEM appropriately for the cost of decommissioning said nuclear reactors.
Yes, I know, ALL the French public will be billed for this while those who profited from the polluting energy will pay a pittance. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-130418193910.gif&hash=633dd399cd6006279afd7efb5ef953673b96bd78) That's how things "work" in CAPITALISM. 👎👎👎 😡🤬
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(https://insideclimatenews.org/sites/default/files/styles/icn_full_wrap_wide/public/article_images/wind-turbine-instal_robert-nickelsberg-getty.jpg?itok=9bW1CR6c)
DEC 7, 2018
BY DAN GEARINO
Clean energy jobs in the rural Midwest outnumber those in fossil fuels in ten out of 12 states (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F1%2F3-111018132401-1689625.gif&hash=31d44a761d963df1354e5ef55b63387c72033709)
According to a report by the Natural Resources Defense Council, clean energy employed roughly 158,000 people in 2017, with the majority of those jobs found in energy efficiency. In that year, 31 gigawatts of wind and solar were added in the Midwest.
While a larger amount of these clean energy jobs were located in urban areas, they accounted for a larger proportion of rural jobs.
(https://insideclimatenews.org/sites/default/files/styles/icn_centered_medium/public/image_large/Clean-Energy-Jobs-vs-Fossil-Fuel-Midwest.png?itok=kEI6mSDi)
Read more: (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F1%2F3-120818184310-1635923.gif&hash=5e2530db4748ed6c7163e1d478fdfa3cd1108668)
https://insideclimatenews.org/news/07122018/rural-jobs-clean-energy-wind-power-energy-efficiency-renewable-vs-fossil-fuels-climate-change
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December 12, 2018
Gov. Inslee is bullish on clean energy, clean energy jobs outnumber fossil fuels in rural Midwest, Daimler to spend $23 billion on batteries & more
(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F1%2F3-120818184310-1635923.gif&hash=5e2530db4748ed6c7163e1d478fdfa3cd1108668)
https://mailchi.mp/climatenexus/gov-inslee-is-bullish-on-clean-energy-clean-energy-jobs-outnumber-fossil-fuels-in-rural-midwest-daimler-to-spend-23-billion-on-batteries-more
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(https://www.cleanenergywire.org/sites/all/themes/cleanenergywire/logo.png)
December 12, 2018
Germany headed for 2018 renewable record – E.ON (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F1%2F3-210818163125-16762116.gif&hash=dcf93619f3c0ebb651977b3dae2d1398f7705823)
#Renewables
Renewable power generation in Germany is headed for a record this year, according to utility E.ON. “By year-end, we expect more than 200 billion kilowatt-hours (kWh) of renewable generation and feed-in – about five billion more than in 2017, and more than ever before,” said Victoria Ossadnik, head of E.ON Energie Germany. E.ON said this amount of renewable power could cover the annual consumption of 66 million households, equivalent to all households in Germany and Italy combined.
The company said, according to its calculations, the 2018 renewable generation to date will top the entire 2017 output sometime this week.
https://www.eon.de/de/pk/unternehmen/presse/pressemitteilungen/2018/2018-12-11-oekostrom-rekord--so-viel-strom-aus-erneuerbaren-wie-noch-nie.html
Find background in the article Germany headed for largest emission drop since 2009 recession. (https://www.cleanenergywire.org/news/german-co2-emissions-set-fall-strongly-2018)
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(https://gallery.mailchimp.com/d1f5797e59060083034310930/images/4df6945f-3bf9-4243-8b7e-9500c135df39.png)
December 19, 2018 🎄
(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-060914180936.jpeg&hash=5e39d70fafe4e7190a6eebce34b740c58721de3f)
RGGI for cars, D.C. passes big clean energy bill, offshore wind rakes in the $$ (https://mailchi.mp/climatenexus/rggi-for-cars-dc-passes-big-clean-energy-bill-offshore-wind-rakes-in-the)
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December 27th, 2018 by Joshua S Hill
IHS Predicts Global Solar Installations To Reach 123 Gigawatts In 2019 (https://cleantechnica.com/2018/12/27/ihs-predicts-global-solar-installations-to-reach-123-gigawatts-in-2019/) (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F1%2F3-111018132401-1689625.gif&hash=31d44a761d963df1354e5ef55b63387c72033709)
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(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-061217183404.png&hash=51932b5d38303829f7e7fe72cc20951ed138f3e6)
By Catie Keck
12/16/18 1:45pm Filed to: GREEN NEW DEAL
SNIPPET:
As the Green New Deal pioneered by Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez continues to gain momentum, the plan to wean the U.S. off of fossil fuels has now found support in more than 300 local and state government officials who called for the initiative in an open letter on Friday.
Full article: (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F1%2F3-120818184310-1635923.gif&hash=5e2530db4748ed6c7163e1d478fdfa3cd1108668)
Hundreds of Local and State Officials Just Endorsed (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-210614221847.gif&hash=54129e3b65760aaddc6f2d7f42b34a7d839d2f27) Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's Green New Deal 👍👍👍
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Agelbert
"We need more politicians to step up to the crisis of climate change, as has Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Life as we know it on earth depends on it." (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-060518153110.png&hash=39d587c31b7f7e66b30d7e59bb560e2ad0662eee)
(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fstyles%2Frenewablerevolution%2Ffiles%2F3076_Independence%2520from%2520Fossil%2520Fuels.png&hash=f0d4b7b582dbd6cc2137bda1e27e46464e1ef0d2)
(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-251117174622.jpeg&hash=c88507a51ced12d3dd0f41b367418348a76e9891)
freedomev > agelbert
So true and even the majority of repubs.
It is only the repub leaders in Congress and President whom keep the FF corporate welfare, $600B/yr in the US .
Now add these subsidies to the cost of FFs and not using them saves us about $1.2T/yr!!
So just how does not paying $1.2T/yr cost more than RE not paying it?
Fact is on just 5 yrs of FF costs, we could get of FFs. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-250817121649.png&hash=4554f7e59701d12857946aece16bceb973c997b3)
And then pay 50%-20% for RE once switched. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F1%2F3-120818180835-1624479.gif&hash=92c92575625c10582f9c1c6f9db969ad24bf62a8)
What is needed is clear signals from the government by making those whom use FFs pay their full costs instead
of foisting it on the taxpayers. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-130418202709.png&hash=7503265ec59e4c28d735afb762bc39f4674bd838) (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-060518153110.png&hash=39d587c31b7f7e66b30d7e59bb560e2ad0662eee)
And use that money to do the switch which can be as simple as tax and dividend going to the lower 80% of income.
One can do a PPA and sell it to poor people at a discount or free covering their cost for 20+ yrs for $3k.
Lightweight EVs can be made quickly and greatly increase employment locally by building, selling and maintaining
them locally. Especially ones you can bring or drive inside. These can be under $1k with 50+ mile range and cost
little for 20 yrs.
Insulation CHP, etc to lower their energy use.
A studio can be built for only $20k supplying them with shelter, energy, water, septic built in plus lightweight
transport plus the land for 20 yrs.
Fact is it is the lowest cost way as I know, it is how I live well on minimal SS with all monthly costs under $200
including food, transport.
Thus leaving me $550/month to live with plus income from various deals that become available allows me to slowly
build my all composite 63 Vette coupe looking EV. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-141113185047.png&hash=384024358ff8d5e7133d19b6e6638da4584a8154)
So it really isn't hard to live FF free. In fact living with FFs is what costs more not even including GHG effects.
agelbert > freedomev (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F1%2F3-111018132400-1685431.gif&hash=770de9d7a4fd6b31ea7d9b45e544cc00777d8029)
Freedomev ✨, You are 100% RIGHT! 👍🌞
💐 Thank you for your wisdom and your admirable life style. If your advice was followed by our governments
(local, state and national), we would have transitioned to 100% Clean Energy by this time.
We are almost out of time.
(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F2%2F3-251218183007-21071293.png&hash=2bb598440c38faf9845c15095d212f68037eb001)
(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F2%2F3-251218183109-21181506.png&hash=9ddc7adacd2c18228a6e07c128798cf79a63aa50)Zero Hour Platform and attacks on them by the Hydrocarbon Hellspawn 🦕🦖 (http://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/climate-change/global-warming-is-with-us/msg10488/#msg10488)
https://cleantechnica.com/2019/01/07/rep-alexandria-ocasio-cortez-on-60-minutes-push-our-technological-capacities-to-the-furthest-extent-possible/#comment-4275177388
The Fossil Fuelers 🦖 DID THE Clean Energy Inventions suppressing, Climate Trashing, human health depleting CRIME, but since they have ALWAYS BEEN liars and conscience free crooks 🦀, they are trying to AVOID DOING THE TIME or PAYING THE FINE! Don't let them get away with it! Pass it on!
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(https://ci4.googleusercontent.com/proxy/74reBar0ACVGj5738Lnq_lAkzpietHImCY7X5GsfPGarVyL3OGn4WI59g9Fzyffpi10lystDc4X0RHtWGSPEl3ewZn8QeJ9Q9mlGZcxHrfNl9BHs-Rhe4MubmbBdC22i23rxAI_LN30KQcbSKfqu3tpYGEeEQWv7s7k=s0-d-e1-ft#https://gallery.mailchimp.com/d1f5797e59060083034310930/images/7f7b2ee0-438b-4917-b3ad-70307d02ed77.png)
Renewables surpassed coal as Germany’s largest source of electricity production last year, accounting for over 40 percent of the mix.
This is up from about 38 percent in 2017 and 19 percent in 2010. Fraunhofer, the organization behind the data, expects that renewable energy output will remain above 40 percent in 2019 due to increased installation and weather patterns.
The country is aiming to have 65 percent of its energy come from renewable sources by 2030.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-germany-power-renewables/renewables-overtake-coal-as-germanys-main-energy-source-idUSKCN1OX0U2
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February 7, 2018
Green New Deal Resolution (https://assets.documentcloud.org/documents/5729033/Green-New-Deal-FINAL.pdf) (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-141113185701.png&hash=615e3c1aa9c374cb1eab5bfc1e9494f2cb05e9f7)
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(https://c1cleantechnicacom-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/files/2018/01/beam-editorial.jpg)
“The most important pillar of the climate protection strategy is not to reduce GHG, but to stop them altogether,” reminded Hans-Josef Fell. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F1%2F3-120818185040-1659929.gif&hash=0a9ca0c1f083655b821cbf024422e55e009a6d8d)
February 8th, 2019 by The Beam (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F1%2F3-120818184310-1635923.gif&hash=5e2530db4748ed6c7163e1d478fdfa3cd1108668)
Proven: 100% Renewable Energy Across Europe Is More Cost-Effective Than The Current Energy System (https://cleantechnica.com/2019/02/08/proven-100-renewable-energy-across-europe-is-more-cost-effective-than-the-current-energy-system/)
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POWER
Business & Technology for the Global Generation Industry Since 1882
02/17/2019
Video Shows Demolition of Old German Coal Plant (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-141113185047.png&hash=384024358ff8d5e7133d19b6e6638da4584a8154) (https://www.powermag.com/video-shows-demolition-of-old-german-coal-plant/?mypower)
https://youtu.be/324xyHiXXMY
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Clean Energy For All Governors (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F1%2F3-120818185038-16442135.gif&hash=52927992b43007fa5c5eb6ffcb453ae29948c356)
1,279 views
https://youtu.be/ztKvZdLryGk
League of Conservation Voters (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-130418203111.png&hash=e8f61baab9b9d36eaf1c4087927f321bf883250c)
Published on Feb 18, 2019
While the Trump administration attempts to halt clean energy progress at the federal level, these governors are taking bold moves to advance us toward #CleanEnergyForAll.
Category News & Politics
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February 19, 2019
Portland General Electric is working with NextEra Energy Resources to develop a 380-megawatt project in Oregon which will be the first of its kind to integrate wind, solar and energy storage. ✨
PGE says the project will allow the utility to produce half of its power from renewable sources and “serve as a model for integrating renewables with storage, while cost-effectively reducing emissions and maintaining a reliable grid.” The project will in part replace generation from PGE’s Boardman Coal Plant, which will retire in 2020. 😀 Oregon’s renewable portfolio standard requires half of the state’s power to come from renewables by 2040.
Read more: (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F1%2F3-120818184310-1635923.gif&hash=5e2530db4748ed6c7163e1d478fdfa3cd1108668)
https://www.powermag.com/solar-wind-storage-come-together-in-oregon-project/
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(https://media1.s-nbcnews.com/j/newscms/2019_09/2765891/190226-aoc-comic_book-1-al-1053_47453101f747dadd66a09a911531895f.fit-2000w.jpg)
(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F1%2F3-250718210628.gif&hash=a297e44320f13fa5f3eae64809a46139f5e2395a) (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F1%2F3-250718204746.gif&hash=ef3006b22f07724d45868cab1dae91b1dff31327) (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-141113185047.png&hash=384024358ff8d5e7133d19b6e6638da4584a8154)
In a recent column, Truthdig’s Ellen Brown explains why Ocasio-Cortez’s plan to fund the ambitious deal isn’t pie in the sky, but rather a sound economic proposal with plenty of historical data behind it: (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-130418200416.png&hash=15d789b29124aa5a1f1ea397ce630913734b20a4)
https://www.truthdig.com/articles/truthdigger-alexandria-ocasio-cortez-the-new-face-of-the-democratic-party/
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Agelbert NOTE: Check out this video with great news about JinkoSolar's new Solar Panel factory in the USA, exciting pumped storage news from Australia and more. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-250817121424.gif&hash=384c17a4d2be4831084933b91808f8a60f73f7f5)
(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fgeothermalexpo.org%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2016%2F06%2FREW-logo-new.jpg&hash=7d8fc0fe077063b22ad6ea5565b7366c128b757b)
The World's #1 Renewable Energy Network for News, Information, and Companies.
Renewable Energy News Wrap Up: Video (https://renewableenergyworld.brightcovegallery.com/detail/videos/solar/video/6008925296001/3-4-19-clarion-energy-newscast?autoStart=true&sort_by=PUBLISH_DATE:DESC)
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CleanTechnica
Support CleanTechnica’s work via donations on Patreon or PayPal!
Or just go buy a cool t-shirt, cup, baby outfit, bag, or hoodie. (https://cleantechnica.com/shop/#!/)
March 8th, 2019 by Steve Hanley
SNIPPET:
The fund will continue to own shares in major oil companies like Shell and BP that are making an effort to diversify into renewable energy. Still, people like Bill McKibben applauded the move.
Huge huge huge win–Norwegian govt (an oil state) is recommending that the world's largest sovereign wealth fund Fully Divest From All Fossil Fuel. Financial Times: "this will send shockwaves through the energy sector."https://t.co/PbVWPWOZrE
— Bill McKibben (@billmckibben) March 8, 2019
Full article: (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-130418200416.png&hash=15d789b29124aa5a1f1ea397ce630913734b20a4)
Norwegian Sovereign Wealth Fund To Divest From Oil & Gas Exploration Stocks (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F1%2F3-111018132421-16902.gif&hash=deba9f0f91ecd7d65bbdeb78786bef4a98cb1a7e)(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F1%2F3-111018132401-1689625.gif&hash=31d44a761d963df1354e5ef55b63387c72033709) (https://cleantechnica.com/2019/03/08/norwegian-sovereign-wealth-fund-to-divest-from-oil-gas-exploration-stocks/)
CleanTechnica
Support CleanTechnica’s work via donations on Patreon or PayPal!
March 9th, 2019 by Mark Z. Jacobson
(https://img.huffingtonpost.com/asset/5b329dc8200000f202b957dc.jpeg?cache=sy4mkzqkka&ops=scalefit_720_noupscale)
Why The Green New Deal Cuts Consumer Energy Costs & Unemployment (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F1%2F3-111018132422-1693180.gif&hash=8bc43ce7ebff6fb3a70224434834524068d3583c)(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F1%2F3-111018132401-1689625.gif&hash=31d44a761d963df1354e5ef55b63387c72033709)
SNIPPET 1:
Critics🐉🦕🦖😈 claim, though, that the Green New Deal is unaffordable and uneconomical and will sink the US into more debt. Having led the research team that developed science-based plans to transition each of the 50 states to 100% wind, water, and solar (WWS) in all energy sectors (electricity, transportation, heating and cooling, and industry), we conclude the opposite is true: the benefits of clean energy systems greatly exceed the costs. 10 other independent research groups similarly find that 100% renewable energy systems are low cost without fossil fuels with carbon capture or nuclear power.
SNIPPET 2:
(https://cleantechnica.com/files/2019/03/WWS-cost.png)
Thus, the critics 🐉🦕🦖😈 of the GND thus have it backwards: not transitioning to a clean energy system is unaffordable and uneconomical.(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F1%2F3-111018132421-16902.gif&hash=deba9f0f91ecd7d65bbdeb78786bef4a98cb1a7e)
Full article: (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F1%2F3-120818184310-1635923.gif&hash=5e2530db4748ed6c7163e1d478fdfa3cd1108668)
https://cleantechnica.com/2019/03/09/why-the-green-new-deal-cuts-consumer-energy-costs-unemployment
The Fossil Fuelers 🦖 DID THE Clean Energy Inventions suppressing, Climate Trashing, human health depleting CRIME, but since they have ALWAYS BEEN liars and conscience free crooks 🦀, they are trying to AVOID DOING THE TIME or PAYING THE FINE! Don't let them get away with it! Pass it on!
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If we redirected the trillions spent on fruitless wars, funding Medicare for All and a Green New Deal is perfectly realistic. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F1%2F3-210818180844.png&hash=d74cfbba22967e53f7eb6202dffdd50b3e520fe2)
(https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/bde53bdb20b897900cb67c058aa20770e838fdd6/0_272_4520_2712/master/4520.jpg?width=620&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=ed4f9425101aa2a35369ab673333aee8)
The Sunrise Movement organized a protest to pressure Senator Mitch McConnell to support the Green New Deal on 25 February in Washington DC.
At long last the political debate in the world’s richest country is vibrant with proposals that would help the most vulnerable in our society. And what do we hear in response? A growing chorus of naysayers.
“Just pipe dreams” – that’s how the Washington Post columnist Robert Samuelson referred to proposals for guaranteed jobs, Medicare for All, universal childcare, and the Green New Deal.
Like many other pundits and politicians, Samuelson says we can’t afford such luxuries. Taxing the rich wouldn’t raise enough money. We’d have no choice but to resort to deficit spending.
Funny how some politicians have no qualms about ballooning the deficit with tax cuts for the rich but balk at investing in the long-term health of our people and communities. Just as peculiar: the fact that military spending cuts are virtually never mentioned as an option for freeing up funds for social good instead of war.
This year the US military budget is $716bn – and boy is it ripe for slashing.
That military budget represents about 53 cents of every discretionary dollar in the federal budget and it’s one of the biggest reasons that people so often throw up their hands and shake their heads when they think about funding innovative ways to end poverty.
They don’t need to throw up their hands, though. The politicians and pundits should just start listening to children.
When young organizers from the Sunrise Movement recently challenged Senator Dianne Feinstein to support a Green New Deal, she told them “there’s no money to pay for it”. She probably didn’t expect those eight- and 10- and 11-year-old kids to respond immediately: “Yes, there is, there’s tons of money going to the military.”
Feinstein responded condescendingly that the military does “important things” with that money. Our never-ending wars say otherwise.
Last year saw the highest number of civilians killed in the Afghanistan war since the UN began keeping track – more than 3,800 people, 930 of them children. About a quarter of them were killed by US and Nato troops and their Afghan government allies – and most of those by US-Nato airstrikes and drone attacks. Thousands more were injured.
Committing such mayhem doesn’t come cheap. Last year alone, the war in Afghanistan, in its 17th year, cost about $45bn. And that’s just the immediate cost of fighting the war – it doesn’t include the costs of caring for injured US soldiers, let alone Afghan victims. It doesn’t include training more soldiers to replace the ones occupying Afghanistan now, or the enormous sums spent on the base Pentagon budget.
Most importantly, the war in Afghanistan hasn’t made us any safer, and isn’t making life better for the people of Afghanistan. (To take one grim measure, at the start of the war, Afghan babies faced the fourth-highest levels of infant mortality of any children in the world. Today, after almost 18 years of US war, Afghanistan is No 1.)
And those soldiers that have come back from the wars in Afghanistan, Iraq, and beyond? They still aren’t getting the care they need. They still struggle to access Veterans Administration clinics and hospitals, and they’re still killing themselves at rates advocates deem a “national emergency”. According to the VA itself, the Guardian reports, veterans aged 18-34, many of whom served in Iraq and Afghanistan, have “higher rates of suicide than any other age group”.
The human toll of these wars is staggering. And the financial costs are breathtaking. Neta Crawford, who co-directs the Cost of Wars Project at Brown University, estimated back in 2017 that total war spending in just Iraq, Afghanistan, and Pakistan was approaching $5tn since 2001.
When we’re talking about trillions of dollars – $2tn for Afghanistan and another $3tn or so for Iraq and beyond, Crawford calculates – it means there’s plenty of money to fund things that really do keep our people and our country safe.
For just a quarter of that $2tn we’ve spent on a fruitless, brutal war in Afghanistan, the National Priorities Project at the Institute for Policy Studies calculates we could instead fund more than 103,000 elementary school teachers, 112,000 clean energy jobs, 935,000 Head Start slots, and healthcare for 806,000 veterans and more than 2.3 million adults, and retrofit nearly 5.8m houses for solar electricity.
In fact, we could do all of that every year for 10 years.
Compared to all this, paying trillions for war isn’t an investment – it’s just a loss. It’s loss at a scale that, if it were reversed, would make a Green New Deal, Medicare for All, and all the rest perfectly realistic.
Which would make us safer?
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/mar/06/progressive-agenda-us-military-funding/
(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F1%2F3-250718210628.gif&hash=a297e44320f13fa5f3eae64809a46139f5e2395a) (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F1%2F3-210818163127-1680962.png&hash=405119a0c023346043f1dae6ab993a831a8cbb5d)
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March 20, 2019
U.S. renewable electricity generation has doubled since 2008👍 😎
(https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/images/2019.03.19/main.svg)
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Battery plant will bring jobs to Georgia, new solar roofs compete with Tesla, solar edging out wind, & more (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-141113185047.png&hash=384024358ff8d5e7133d19b6e6638da4584a8154) (https://mailchi.mp/climatenexus/battery-plant-will-bring-jobs-to-georgia-new-solar-roofs-compete-with-tesla-solar-edging-out-wind-more)
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(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-040418201137.png&hash=65e7a4932fe458a3eeb5d01df13364b33e62246e)
March 27, 2019 (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F1%2F3-120818184310-1635923.gif&hash=5e2530db4748ed6c7163e1d478fdfa3cd1108668)
Puerto Rico passes 100 percent renewables bill (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F1%2F3-120818185039-1655102.gif&hash=1a13ffad2c8451cba6f45b04a1249447d50c3e73), Equinor invests in battery fund, and more (https://mailchi.mp/climatenexus/puerto-rico-passes-100-percent-renewables-bill-equinor-invests-in-battery-fund-and-more)
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CleanTechnica
Support CleanTechnica’s work via donations on Patreon or PayPal!
Or just go buy a cool t-shirt, cup, baby outfit, bag, or hoodie. (https://cleantechnica.com/shop/#!/)
March 29, 2019 by Steve Hanley
Largest Tesla Battery Storage Installation In Asia For Japanese Railway
(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fstatic.uglyhedgehog.com%2Fupload%2F2012%2F8%2F14%2F1344970546338-awesome_mc_ht_smiley.gif&hash=3ae7abfc4fed4417a941b6f116204b754f1e587f)
Tesla has completed its largest battery storage installation in Asia in Osaka, Japan. The 4.2 MW / 7 MWh facility uses 42 Tesla Powerpack battery storage units, which were installed in just 2 days following their arrival onsite.
The customer is Kintetsu Railway, whose ⚡ electrified trains operate on 500 km (311 miles) of track.
(https://cleantechnica.com/files/2019/03/Tesla-railway-storage-Osaka-via-Tesla.png)
Tesla batterhy storage Osaka Credit: Tesla
Many of those tracks pass through tunnels which can hamper rescue efforts if there is a power outage. The Tesla batteries can provide enough electricity for stranded trains to operate for up to 30 minutes — enough for them to exit those tunnels and perhaps reach the nearest station, according to ArsTechnica.
The batteries may also help the railway to save money by storing energy when it is plentiful and providing it back to the system during times of peak demand when prices are higher. The system is expected to be activated on April 1.
1/ In the event of a grid outage, this Osaka Powerpack installation is designed to provide emergency backup power to safely move a train and its passengers to the nearest station – https://t.co/yS6VALjIbR https://t.co/2Ui6jUmGwo
— Tesla (@Tesla) March 27, 2019
Tesla’s Battery Business Is Growing
During the recent Model Y reveal, Elon Musk told his audience, “This is the year of the solar roof and Powerwall. Batteries were at a premium in 2018 because all resources had to be reallocated to Model 3 production — otherwise, we were going to die,” he said. “But now that Model 3 production is going well, we’re excited about the solar roof, solar retrofit, and Powerwall.”
According to Greentech Media, Tesla deployed a total of 1.04 gigawatt-hours of energy storage in 2018, triple the amount installed in 2017. In its year-end 2018 letter to investors, Tesla claimed “a better supply of cells and new manufacturing equipment” will allow it to install “over 2 gigawatt-hours in 2019.” Best of all, the profitability of its energy storage business is increasing as well. “It’s clear that there is a huge opportunity for us in large-scale energy storage,” Musk said recently.
While conservatives reactionaries 🦕🦖 continue bleating about how expensive battery storage is, the truth is that costs are plummeting. Most of those naysayers are paid agents of the natural gas 🦕 industry, which is quaking in its boots as it realizes it is on the verge of becoming irrelevant. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F2%2F3-231218145827.png&hash=8d3bbb761cf17fcddac83f24088d26e316b65e33) (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F1%2F3-210818163126-16771578.gif&hash=60d3e7427efc846ae1733eff0803c25b5d5b7862)
A report by Bloomberg New Energy Finance dated March 27 says, “the benchmark levelized cost of electricity for lithium-ion batteries has fallen 35% to $187 per megawatt-hour since the first half of 2018.” BNEF analyst Elena Giannakopoulou adds this insight: “Looking back over this decade, there have been staggering improvements in the cost-competitiveness of these low-carbon options, thanks to technology innovation, economies of scale, stiff price competition and manufacturing experience.”
Last year, Elon Musk told investors Tesla is capable of building batteries at the cell level for $100 per kilowatt hour and will soon be able to build battery packs at the $100 per kilowatt-hour level as well. “The rate of stationary storage is going to grow exponentially. For many years to come, each incremental year will be about as much as all of the preceding years,” he said.
Just as it is driving structural changes in auto manufacturing, Tesla is also pushing mainstream actors in the electrical generation and distribution field to change their perceptions away from a “business as usual” mindset to one that incorporates more low and zero emissions solutions. Flowery speeches don’t affect change in the world of commerce but low prices certainly do. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-250817121424.gif&hash=384c17a4d2be4831084933b91808f8a60f73f7f5)
https://cleantechnica.com/2019/03/29/largest-tesla-battery-storage-installation-in-asia-for-japanese-railway/
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MAR 31, 2019
Scotland's Green Energy Strides Are Leaving Us in the Dust (https://www.truthdig.com/articles/scotlands-green-energy-strides-are-leaving-us-in-the-dust/)
https://youtu.be/8qtMQMY1nEc
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April 19, 2019 (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F1%2F3-120818184310-1635923.gif&hash=5e2530db4748ed6c7163e1d478fdfa3cd1108668)
GND in NYC 🌟, Clean Jobs Pay Well 🌞 (https://mailchi.mp/climatenexus/gnd-in-nyc-clean-jobs-pay-well)
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April 19th, 2019 by Zachary Shahan
This Is How It’s Gonna Go Down (With Tesla) (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-221017161839.png&hash=7d34712243960aa20883775dad728bc2115ed6fe)
SNIPPET:
To have a little fun and to have something to check on later to see how crazy I am, I decided to come up with a forecast on some major Tesla milestones. I have a feeling this is not a smart thing to do, but I’m going to do it anyway. Here’s my wild ass guess at how it’s gonna go down with Tesla:
• In 2018, Tesla Model 3 becomes one of the 5 best selling cars in the USA in the second half of the year and the 11th best selling car for the full year. (Easy one.)
• In second half of 2018, Tesla Model 3 becomes best selling vehicle in California. (Another easy one.)
• In 2019, Tesla Model 3 becomes best selling luxury vehicle (all classes) in USA. (Okay, the last “easy” one.)
• In 2019, Tesla Model 3 becomes best selling vehicle in Norway.
• In 2019, Tesla Model 3 is again one of the 15 best selling cars in the USA, and the best selling luxury car.
• In 2020, Tesla Model 3 reaches 500,000 sales in a year.
• In 2020, Tesla Model 3 is one of the 5 best selling cars in the USA.
• In 2021, Tesla Model Y is one of the 10 best selling vehicles in USA and Model is again one of the 10 best selling vehicles.
• In 2022, Tesla reaches 1 million vehicle sales in a year. (This is slightly behind Elon Musk’s forecast of 1.1 million sales in 2021.)
• In 2024, Tesla Model 3 and Model Y are two of the world’s 15 best selling vehicles.
• In 2025, Tesla is one of the world’s 5 best selling automakers.
What are your thoughts? (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F1%2F3-120818185039-1655102.gif&hash=1a13ffad2c8451cba6f45b04a1249447d50c3e73)(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F1%2F3-120818185038-16442135.gif&hash=52927992b43007fa5c5eb6ffcb453ae29948c356) Where do you think I’m crazy? (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2F1.bp.blogspot.com%2F-TzWpwHzCvCI%2FT_sBEnhCCpI%2FAAAAAAAAME8%2FIsLpuU8HYxc%2Fs1600%2Fnooo-way-smiley.gif&hash=b8545bd420b1e2f2c7b9f665d2093523e4ad2251) Where do you think I’m spot on? 🧐
Note: Some of these forecasts could get screwed up if certain Chinese automakers blow up in size and their hottest models take control of global sales charts.
Full article:
https://cleantechnica.com/2019/04/19/this-is-how-its-gonna-go-down-with-tesla-maybe/
Agelbert COMMENT: 👍🍀I would add a slight modification to the events of 2021😀.
► In 2021, Tesla Model Y is one of the 10 THE best selling vehicle in the USA due to the Electric Vehicle for Internal Combustion Engine Polluting Clunker Legislation passed by the Democratic Party controlled Senate and House of Representatives.
One month after being inaugurated, President Sanders signed this portion of extensive Green New Deal Legislation working its way through Congress to get the USA off of biosphere degrading hydrocarbon fuels.
A consortium of you know who (i.e. 🐉🦕🦖) corporations hired former Attorney General Barr 😈 to challenge this Legislation on the basis that it undermined National Security (i.e. 🐉🦕🦖) and was Super UnConstitutional. Barr stated that, "This energy sector (i.e. 🐉🦕🦖) and economy (i.e.💵🎩👹🍌) destroying Socialist/Communist evil gross attack on the freedom of all red blooded Americans (i.e.💵🐉🦕🦖🎩) will be overturned by the Supreme Court".
(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-180216185030.png&hash=078a5f0a85911d4cc4df42e46abaec6e972816cc)
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► December 2021: Four Supreme Court Justices, all of whom were named by Republican Presidents, abruptly resigned within days of President Sanders signing into Law the recent Legislation authorizing a new total of 15 Justices for the Supreme Court.
► December 25, 2021 🎄: According to Vice President Elizabeth Warren, the names of some of those being considered for the Supreme Court are Jay Inslee, Bill McKibben, Jill Stein and James Hansen.
(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F1%2F3-250718204746.gif&hash=ef3006b22f07724d45868cab1dae91b1dff31327)
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April 22nd, 2019 by John Farrell
Originally published at ilsr.org.
Host John Farrell talks with Marcel Castro Sitiriche, co-director of CoHemis at the University of Puerto Rico Mayaguez, about the challenges Puerto Rico faces in building a clean and resilient energy system. They also discuss:
✔ The impact of hurricane Maria and why it took nearly a year to restore power to some residents of the island after the storm.
✔ Using the framework of customer hours of lost electricity service to calculate the impact of hurricane Maria and compare it to other storms.
✔ How solar and storage can be instrumental in making Puerto Rico’s energy system more resilient.
✔ The impact of Puerto Rico’s colonial past on its present effort to build an energy system for everyone.
✔ Clean energy legislation in Puerto Rico and near term opportunities to create a more distributed energy system.
🔊 Rebuilding Puerto Rico’s Electricity System Democratically (https://cleantechnica.com/2019/04/22/rebuilding-puerto-ricos-electricity-system-democratically/)
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EcoWatch
GREEN NEW DEAL
By Olivia Rosane Apr. 29, 2019 06:34AM EST
Winning Party in Spain’s Election Campaigned on a Green New Deal
(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F1%2F3-250718210628.gif&hash=a297e44320f13fa5f3eae64809a46139f5e2395a) (https://www.ecowatch.com/spain-green-new-deal-2635822115.html)
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CleanTechnica
Support CleanTechnica’s work via donations on Patreon or PayPal!
Or just go buy a cool t-shirt, cup, baby outfit, bag, or hoodie. (https://cleantechnica.com/shop/#!/)
May 1st, 2019 by Steve Hanley
Renewables Including Hydro Expected To Surpass Coal In US This Spring (https://cleantechnica.com/2019/05/01/renewables-including-hydro-expected-to-surpass-coal-in-us-this-spring/)
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QUOTE OF THE WEEK
“The road to emissions-free transportation is going to be driven with battery-electric ⚡ vehicles. I believe the future is ⚡ electric,” said Roger Nielsen, CEO of Daimler Trucks. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F1%2F3-210818180844.png&hash=d74cfbba22967e53f7eb6202dffdd50b3e520fe2)
(https://ci6.googleusercontent.com/proxy/7Iwt1Obw1A9OF4rmgyl-UYRo4MEJDf68gFtbGNW6JHUtpykjdICNc8oASCFbrYsucF5Fg17XbLG86FfHFO8yE4EkX6gjGVlOvmRAD7s5dGscLlHcisQ_pzhkscbiV_-D4oBdJi6nkSe_a2el9qT1VJhzoNSsAEZvHHg=s0-d-e1-ft#https://gallery.mailchimp.com/d1f5797e59060083034310930/images/2f11cead-050f-4018-bfed-c12fb45691e5.png)
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May 1, 2019
Nat gas plants rejected (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F1%2F3-120818184311-16361805.gif&hash=06cada4f5692796721e0ef8a72f092fd6b4f4940), LA’s Green New Deal, wind power sees record growth, and more (https://mailchi.mp/climatenexus/nat-gas-plants-rejected-las-green-new-deal-wind-power-sees-record-growth-and-more?e=0fd17c5b57)
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May 2nd, 2019 by Joshua S Hill
Scottish Government Commits To Net-Zero ✨ By 2045 (https://cleantechnica.com/2019/05/02/scottish-government-commits-to-net-zero-by-2045/)
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(https://www.cleanenergywire.org/sites/all/themes/cleanenergywire/logo.png)
BRIEFING
Wednesday, 19 Jun 2019
(https://goldbecksolar.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/goldbeck-solar_5.jpg)
Open Field Solar Photovoltaic (PV) Park
SNIPPET:
Germany has to get rid of the 10 megawatt (MW) limit for open field solar photovoltaic (PV) parks, a 15 GW limit for offshore wind by 2030 and the 52 GW limit for PV installations not supported by the EEG, said BDEW head Stefan Kapferer.
Full article:
Massive renewables expansion needed, says energy industry (https://www.cleanenergywire.org/news/massive-renewables-expansion-needed-says-energy-industry)
(https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSVGFGWdH3_gxyhCRPeQAttgaiA9tZaqZ7dTRup4yKMBmxb3W7d)
SNIPPET:
Siemens plans to cut 2,700 jobs at its gas and power business over the course of several years in addition to the 10,400 it is already shedding in its core units, news agency Reuters reports. Siemens said last month it was spinning off its gas and power business, which has acted as a drag on the firm’s performance as the rise of renewable power hits demand for gas turbines. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-141113185047.png&hash=384024358ff8d5e7133d19b6e6638da4584a8154)
Full article:
Siemens to cut 2,700 jobs at gas and power unit, sells eAircraft business to Rolls-Royce (https://www.cleanenergywire.org/news/siemens-cut-2700-jobs-gas-and-power-unit-sells-eaircraft-business-rolls-royce)
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Clean Energy Becomes Dominant Power Source in U.K. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F1%2F3-210818163125-16762116.gif&hash=dcf93619f3c0ebb651977b3dae2d1398f7705823)
June 21, 2019 by Bloomberg
SNIPPET:
By Jeremy Hodges (Bloomberg) –The U.K. will generate more energy from low-carbon sources than from fossil fuels this year for the first time since the Industrial Revolution. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F1%2F3-210818180844.png&hash=d74cfbba22967e53f7eb6202dffdd50b3e520fe2)
Wind 👍, solar 👍, hydro 👍 and nuclear (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.emofaces.com%2Fen%2Femoticons%2Fn%2Fnuclear-emoticon.gif&hash=e4e4a2a7087fe69ad666bbc193626b4bf13857a8) (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-200714183337.bmp&hash=fd5a6df63c32bd65dda7b6d93e788647ca3829df) plants provided 48% of the nation’s electricity in the first five months of 2019, according to the U.K. network operator National Grid Plc. Coal, which made up more than 30% of the mix a decade ago, fed just 2.5% at the end of May.
Full article: (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F1%2F3-120818184310-1635923.gif&hash=5e2530db4748ed6c7163e1d478fdfa3cd1108668)
https://gcaptain.com/clean-energy-becomes-dominant-power-source-in-u-k/
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Puerto Rico is targeting 100% renewable energy. The Trump 🦀 administration 🦕🦖 has other ideas.
The island is undertaking one of the most aggressive turns toward clean energy in the United States.
By Umair Irfan Apr 17, 2019, 2:20pm EDT
SNIPPET:
Puerto Rico Gov. Ricardo Rosselló has placed a definitive bet on wind, water, and sunshine. Last week, he signed a bill, the Public Energy Policy Law of Puerto Rico, to power the island solely by renewable energy by 2050 👍. Along the way, the island must draw 40 percent of its electricity from renewables by 2025 (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-221017161839.png&hash=7d34712243960aa20883775dad728bc2115ed6fe) and give up coal by 2028.
Full article:
https://www.vox.com/2019/4/17/18306417/puerto-rico-renewable-energy-natural-gas
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(https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/527210744178167809/z6CbCdS5.jpeg)
June 26, 2019
(https://ci6.googleusercontent.com/proxy/OaJ7YN4lAGRfmubA0ZJiL7WvG3nfH5WN1v0ewCUBObyrRW5bnRsLJkcw4vK5yqF11IKEz44WlKlt5xlXOqwqyg4rp-e_RPt-kMbO0zwYhv9tovUHiKz1wflUVCA=s0-d-e1-ft#https://info.rmi.org/l/310101/2019-05-16/8wz5mn/310101/69463/JF0A4200.jpg)
Did you know that India is home to 22 of the world’s top 30 polluted cities, and four in 10 children in India's capital city of New Dehli suffer from a respiratory illness? Transportation is a major cause of air pollution, and RMI is helping India shift to a shared, clean, affordable, and connected transportation system. The program is designed to reduce India’s energy demand by 64% and CO2 emissions by 37% by 2030. We have partnered with the Indian government since 2017 to conduct workshops and public analysis on the country’s path toward new mobility—while also working with subnational actors and cities to test on-the-ground solutions. Most recently, RMI worked with NITI Aayog (the Indian government think tank) to analyze the recently released FAME II (Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Electric Vehicles) policy and make recommendations to the government and industry for continued actions moving forward.
If FAME II and other measures are successful:
(https://ci6.googleusercontent.com/proxy/-WbwAdccFXzOS-K0X-4ml5WcjEF5ywuBOPb5VHc9prlUJswgqsbcLa-4HxnWMZ-LyUjt27G4BMi60DxF__vGAc_GaDCeXqElctpJK6Ub8aEgOh33xQYQg7HvEKWxo3DQINfBF9nFA2k9R_v1tuA=s0-d-e1-ft#https://info.rmi.org/l/310101/2019-05-22/9447td/310101/69961/infographic_for_html_email.jpg)
Learn more:
(https://ci5.googleusercontent.com/proxy/idCcdyBGN5zDasfh99HI4jxWSVAsgbXFRSsa5aNqgStk1aefWEmC7Zniy1QnOm6YIOo5nqw-h_f1LM2jKV6PYGlm1xW6OtF9pVx8Ecs8JUfojVjhSOY6mC6ybmU8buW7HPuGDn291Plak-6Wiq1Wc3kRe8ZH3amhbI-0zmw=s0-d-e1-ft#https://info.rmi.org/l/310101/2018-09-18/3vpmrs/310101/44265/quarterly_impact_statement_EmailBanner_01.jpg)
The Biggest Energy Impacts From the Past Quarter (https://info.rmi.org/webmail/310101/374224975/dc7443a2c9a174d8201e6052f109e59493cd2decbdf91bb3b9ef3cf63e0c09e1)
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(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-040418201137.png&hash=65e7a4932fe458a3eeb5d01df13364b33e62246e)
“This is going to change the way every New Yorker lives,” said state Senator Todd Kaminsky, a sponsor of the climate bill New York passed last week. “We are going to be deriving our power from clean energy sources, running our cars on renewable energy and going to work in buildings that do not emit carbon.” (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-221017161839.png&hash=7d34712243960aa20883775dad728bc2115ed6fe)
June 26, 2019 (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F1%2F3-120818184310-1635923.gif&hash=5e2530db4748ed6c7163e1d478fdfa3cd1108668)
New York commits to net-zero carbon, offshore wind gets greenlight in New Jersey, solar booms in Georgia & more (https://mailchi.mp/climatenexus/new-york-commits-to-net-zero-carbon-offshore-wind-gets-greenlight-in-new-jersey-solar-booms-in-georgia-more?e=0fd17c5b57)
(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frobservations.ca%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2011%2F02%2Fhappy-cat1.jpg&hash=468b07d248f880b63fdda22e22561c5ce8d3ae29)
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(https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/A9JkX0N7pljzvb-QcpLeLeaO-Ss=/0x0:6000x4235/920x613/filters:focal(2520x1638:3480x2598):format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/64023326/shutterstock_581537176.0.jpg)
Despite all the progress, we’re still struggling to hit the climate emergency brake.
By David Roberts@drvoxdavid@vox.com Updated Jun 26, 2019, 9:42am EDT (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-130418200416.png&hash=15d789b29124aa5a1f1ea397ce630913734b20a4)
The global transition to clean energy, explained in 12 charts (https://www.vox.com/energy-and-environment/2019/6/18/18681591/renewable-energy-china-solar-pv-jobs)
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(https://ci4.googleusercontent.com/proxy/2_IN1MJGf4OkBesWZi77BP6Ylt6SRUMuCuRFL1jFtxyy4DlB1c6NRaAujgNNfEHFM2QayBJ0hPzksQrR3nr7kATqsmYlrsMXjsmJnS1l62I=s0-d-e1-ft#http://media.pennnet.com/designimages/REW-0262_Energy_375.jpg)
June 20, 2019
Bloomberg predicts wind and solar will power half the world and bag $9 trillion investment (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-311017193926.png&hash=135a7bcd2093b679e425bbd2086adb8ddfd2e7b5)
Wind or solar now represent the least expensive option for adding new power generation capacity in approximately two-thirds of the world. And further falls in technology will see the two leading forms of renewable energy powering nearly half of the global grid by 2050 and attracting $9.5 trillion in new investment between now and then.
Read more: (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-130418200416.png&hash=15d789b29124aa5a1f1ea397ce630913734b20a4)
https://www.renewableenergyworld.com/articles/2019/06/bloomberg-predicts-wind-and-solar-will-power-half-the-world-and-bag-9-trillion-investment.html
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(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/gallery/renewablerevolution/3-050616182206.jpeg)
Hat tip to MacNordic 👍 for showing me the following graphic:
MacNordic
As to the EIA forecasts- found the following slide in the NextEra investor presentation - enjoy!
(https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/bd7c054775035890079321e8138015fe9a5dc429f30e24d74108b8c92449e1b1.jpg)
https://disqus.com/home/discussion/im-cleantechnica/los_angeles_8minute_solar_announce_25_year_ppa_at_under_2_cents_per_kwh/#comment-4523221776
(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F2%2F3-010519192158-2201430.jpeg&hash=e912e1f5bdc041c35e217478b14ba3f7960e2037)
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How Quickly Would Julian Castro Transition the US to 100% Renewables?
July 15, 2019
At Netroots Nation 2019, we ask Democratic Presidential candidate Julian Castro about his plan to transition off of fossil fuels and take on the oil and gas industry
https://youtu.be/TdltXQJ_duw
https://therealnews.com/stories/how-quickly-would-julian-castro-transition-the-us-to-100-renewables
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July 17, 2019
SNIPPET:
All five members of the Public Service Commission--who are all Republicans--approved a final three-year plan for Georgia Power Tuesday that almost doubles the utility's solar capacity (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F1%2F3-250718210628.gif&hash=a297e44320f13fa5f3eae64809a46139f5e2395a) , adding enough solar power to power 200,000 homes. The PSC also approved plans to close five coal plants in the state. 👍
Read more: (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F1%2F3-120818184310-1635923.gif&hash=5e2530db4748ed6c7163e1d478fdfa3cd1108668)
Georgia makes big moves on solar, & more (https://mailchi.mp/ce1318038af9/climate-change-is-making-california-burn-georgia-makes-big-moves-on-solar-more)
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(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-040418201137.png&hash=65e7a4932fe458a3eeb5d01df13364b33e62246e)
(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F1%2F3-120818184310-1635923.gif&hash=5e2530db4748ed6c7163e1d478fdfa3cd1108668)
(https://www.indianz.com/News/2019/07/07/henryredcloud.jpeg)
https://www.indianz.com/News/2019/07/08/native-sun-news-today-lakota-visionary-h.asp
July 17, 2019
Tribal lands turn to solar, Scottish wind energy outstrips home energy demand, & more (https://mailchi.mp/climatenexus/tribal-lands-turn-to-solar-scottish-wind-energy-outstrips-home-energy-demand-georgia-power-to-nearly-double-its-renewable-capacity-more)
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(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-040418201137.png&hash=65e7a4932fe458a3eeb5d01df13364b33e62246e)
Jul 24, 2019, 3:59 PM (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F1%2F3-120818184310-1635923.gif&hash=5e2530db4748ed6c7163e1d478fdfa3cd1108668)
NY’s big offshore wind awards, CA cities look to ⚡ electrify buildings, and more (https://mailchi.mp/climatenexus/nys-big-offshore-wind-awards-ca-cities-look-to-electrify-buildings-and-more?e=0fd17c5b57)
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(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F1%2F3-111018132401-1689625.gif&hash=31d44a761d963df1354e5ef55b63387c72033709)
(https://www.greenoptimistic.com/the-global-transition-to-clean-energy-explained-in-12-charts-20190624/chart5/)
(https://www.greenoptimistic.com/the-global-transition-to-clean-energy-explained-in-12-charts-20190624/chart4/)
(https://www.greenoptimistic.com/the-global-transition-to-clean-energy-explained-in-12-charts-20190624/chart3/)
(https://www.greenoptimistic.com/the-global-transition-to-clean-energy-explained-in-12-charts-20190624/chart2/)
(https://www.greenoptimistic.com/the-global-transition-to-clean-energy-explained-in-12-charts-20190624/chart1/)
(https://www.greenoptimistic.com/the-global-transition-to-clean-energy-explained-in-12-charts-20190624/chart10/)
(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-120716190938.png&hash=01feab1c7345a4e98764e0f9d24b2d69171b93c2)
Learn more: (https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/304fa75d7ed32d56ae1ff3a796933cb65eac738511bb960bc4a77bb2f67c0af6.gif)
https://www.greenoptimistic.com/the-global-transition-to-clean-energy-explained-in-12-charts-20190624/
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CleanTechnica
Support CleanTechnica’s work via donations on Patreon or PayPal!
Or just go buy a cool t-shirt, cup, baby outfit, bag, or hoodie. (https://cleantechnica.com/shop/#!/)
August 16th, 2019 by Steve Hanley
Health Benefits Of Renewable Energy Far Outweigh The Costs, Say MIT Researchers (https://cleantechnica.com/2019/08/16/health-benefits-of-renewable-energy-far-outweigh-the-costs-say-mit-researchers/)
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8-year-old Mexican Girl Wins Nuclear Sciences Prize For Her Invention (https://www.wearelatinlive.com/article/13019/8-year-old-mexican-girl-wins-nuclear-sciences-prize-for-her-invention?fbclid=IwAR33ERKdip4gPY4Wt3SuY8uG-4Db7oMI8KPFNOOSHbPHRHpRtu6PJ8Rb2Yo)
A little girl from Chiapas was recognized by UNAM's Institute of Nuclear Sciences for her outstanding scientific achievement.
By O. DELGADO640946 views
At just 8 years old, Xóchitl Guadalupe Cruz has invented a device to help low-income families.
The little girl from Chiapas was recognized by UNAM's Institute of Nuclear Sciences for her outstanding scientific achievement.
In Xóchitl's community in Chiapas, Mexico, resources are scarce. "People don't have the money to buy heaters, so they chop down trees to get firewood [to heat the water]," she says.
The 3rd grader took it upon herself to do something about it.
A veteran of science projects - she's been competing in science fairs since she was four - Xochitl set about putting her knowledge and ingenuity to work. Using only discarded materials like bottles, wood, and plastics, she crafted a heating device that runs on a free and readily available energy source: the sun.
Her device not only functions to provide hot water to low-income families in her community, it also saves trees!
Xóchitl's family helped her set up the device on their roof and have been using it to heat water to bathe. Xóchitl says she always bathes quickly though, "so [the hot water] will last for my little brother."
The young inventor was recently recognized by the Nuclear Sciences Institute at Mexico's Autonomous University for her solar-powered water-heating device, which has the potential to improve lives and the environment not only in rural Mexican communities, but in countries around the world.
If this is what Xóchitl is doing at eight, we can only imagine what the future holds.
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(https://img.culturacolectiva.com/content/2019/02/21/1550779403122/nina-mexicana-gana-premio-ciencia-nuclear-por-invento-high.jpg)
(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-311017193926.png&hash=135a7bcd2093b679e425bbd2086adb8ddfd2e7b5)
8-year-old Mexican Girl Wins Nuclear Sciences Prize For Her Invention (https://www.wearelatinlive.com/article/13019/8-year-old-mexican-girl-wins-nuclear-sciences-prize-for-her-invention?fbclid=IwAR33ERKdip4gPY4Wt3SuY8uG-4Db7oMI8KPFNOOSHbPHRHpRtu6PJ8Rb2Yo)
A little girl from Chiapas was recognized by UNAM's Institute of Nuclear Sciences for her outstanding scientific achievement.
A veteran of science projects - she's been competing in science fairs since she was four - Xochitl set about putting her knowledge and ingenuity to work. Using only discarded materials like bottles, wood, and plastics, she crafted a heating device that runs on a free and readily available energy source: the sun. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F1%2F3-250718210628.gif&hash=a297e44320f13fa5f3eae64809a46139f5e2395a)
Her device not only functions to provide hot water to low-income families in her community, it also saves 🌲 trees! (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-130418203111.png&hash=e8f61baab9b9d36eaf1c4087927f321bf883250c)
(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F1%2F3-120818180835-1626482.gif&hash=068d5ba96cc9a0d9b824d58bf6e532eeee05b706) (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F1%2F3-120818185039-1655102.gif&hash=1a13ffad2c8451cba6f45b04a1249447d50c3e73)
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(https://assets.greentechmedia.com/assets/content/cache/made/assets/content/cache/remote/https_assets.greentechmedia.com/content/images/articles/Apple_Store_Corporate_Renewables_Shanghai_XL_721_420_80_s_c1.jpg)
Green power: giving the people what they want
KARL-ERIK STROMSTA AUGUST 21, 2019
Sizing Up the Corporate Renewables Market
Just how big could corporate wind and solar procurement get? ??? A new analysis from WoodMac and the American Wind Energy Association tries to find out.
(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F1%2F3-120818184310-1635923.gif&hash=5e2530db4748ed6c7163e1d478fdfa3cd1108668)
https://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/sizing-up-the-fluid-corporate-renewables-market#gs.xczs6d
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BY Daniel Ross, Truthout
PUBLISHED August 24, 2019
Can We Reach 100 Percent Renewable Energy in Time to Avert Climate Catastrophe?
(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-040817140651.png&hash=c43dc47dbb4ef892fb7c5680dba982b56fdad700)
DANIEL ROSS, TRUTHOUT
To prevent the worst climate scenarios, carbon emissions must be slashed to net zero by 2050, say experts. Reaching 100 percent renewable energy in just 30 years sounds like an unattainable goal for a culture headed in the opposite direction, but a road map already exists for becoming 100 percent reliant on energy generated by water, wind and sun -- if only we have the will.
Read the Article →
https://truthout.org/articles/can-we-reach-100-percent-renewable-energy-in-time-to-avert-climate-catastrophe/
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(https://ci6.googleusercontent.com/proxy/7Iwt1Obw1A9OF4rmgyl-UYRo4MEJDf68gFtbGNW6JHUtpykjdICNc8oASCFbrYsucF5Fg17XbLG86FfHFO8yE4EkX6gjGVlOvmRAD7s5dGscLlHcisQ_pzhkscbiV_-D4oBdJi6nkSe_a2el9qT1VJhzoNSsAEZvHHg=s0-d-e1-ft#https://gallery.mailchimp.com/d1f5797e59060083034310930/images/2f11cead-050f-4018-bfed-c12fb45691e5.png)
Make Nexus Hot News part of your morning: click here (http://climatenexus.us4.list-manage1.com/subscribe?u=d1f5797e59060083034310930&id=7c84c08aaa) to subscribe.
Aug 23, 2019, 8:42 AM
Sanders releases Green New Deal, 🦖 DNC denies debate, & more (https://mailchi.mp/ca40dced36ea/sanders-releases-green-new-deal-dnc-denies-debate-more?e=0fd17c5b57)
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CleanTechnica
Support CleanTechnica’s work via donations on Patreon or PayPal!
Or just go buy a cool t-shirt, cup, baby outfit, bag, or hoodie. (https://cleantechnica.com/shop/#!/)
Tesla 🌞 Providing Clean Energy To Places Around The World That Desperately Need It (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F1%2F3-120818185037-16412296.gif&hash=c8a4038d309a0f49ca4a7a464f30f9a340049cac)
September 4th, 2019 by Johnna Crider
SNIPPET:
(https://s.abcnews.com/images/US/ht_space2_dc_101517_4x3_992.jpg)
Puerto Rico
Not only did Tesla provide disaster relief after Hurricane Maria devastated this beautiful US territory, but Tesla is working on 11,000 projects in Puerto Rico. Tesla’s solar energy efforts are continuing to play a huge role in Puerto Rico’s rebuilding of its energy infrastructure. After Hurricane Maria, 51,000 (https://www.cnn.com/2018/04/18/us/puerto-rico-mass-power-outage/index.html) people were left without power.
(https://www.naturalnews.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/91/2017/09/Hurricane-Maria-Radar.jpg)
Phys.org (https://phys.org/news/2018-07-tesla-puerto-ricans-solar-power.html) published an article that interviewed a few residents of Puerto Rico and how they were inspired by Tesla to install solar and batteries. An electronics technician told PhysOrg, “This can pull us out of the mess we’re in. There’s nothing wrong with having a vision of the future. It’s time to start making changes.” (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F1%2F3-210818180844.png&hash=d74cfbba22967e53f7eb6202dffdd50b3e520fe2)
In June of 2019, Utility Dive (https://www.utilitydive.com/news/puerto-rico-energy-plan-introduces-minigrids-to-avoid-repeat-of-hurricane-m/556645/) reported that Puerto Rico was introducing microgrids to prevent a repeat of Hurricane Maria.
Full article with stories and some video on Australia, Zimbabwe and American Samoa: (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-130418200416.png&hash=15d789b29124aa5a1f1ea397ce630913734b20a4)
https://cleantechnica.com/2019/09/04/tesla-provides-clean-energy-to-places-around-the-world-that-desperately-need-it/
(http://)
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Greta Thunberg crossed the Atlantic in the Malizia 2 Clean Energy powered yacht pictured below. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F1%2F3-250718210628.gif&hash=a297e44320f13fa5f3eae64809a46139f5e2395a)
(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/gallery/renewablerevolution/2/3-050919152626.png)
Greta Thunberg crossed the ocean on a carbon-free sailboat. Can we do it too?
To build a transatlantic ferry that's cheap, clean, and quick, we'll need to, well, build a better boat.
By Steve Fletcher/The Conversation
August 29, 2019
SNIPPET:
Malizia 2 is fitted with solar panels and hydro generators making it one of the very few ships in the world allowing trips like this to be emission free. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F1%2F3-120818185039-1655102.gif&hash=1a13ffad2c8451cba6f45b04a1249447d50c3e73)
Malizia 2 also has an onboard lab 👨🔬 to measure ocean surface CO2 and water temperature in cooperation with Max Planck institute. pic.twitter.com/XKCDgaRYZt
Full article: (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F1%2F3-120818184310-1635923.gif&hash=5e2530db4748ed6c7163e1d478fdfa3cd1108668)
https://www.popsci.com/greta-thunberg-emission-free-voyage/
(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fstyles%2Frenewablerevolution%2Ffiles%2F3076_Independence%2520from%2520Fossil%2520Fuels.png&hash=f0d4b7b582dbd6cc2137bda1e27e46464e1ef0d2)
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Friday September 6, 2019
“Sharp falls in the cost of electricity from wind and solar over recent years have transformed the choice facing policy-makers,” said Jon Moore, Chief Executive of BloombergNEF, in a statement. “These technologies were always low-carbon and relatively quick to build. Now, in many countries around the world, either wind or solar is the cheapest option for electricity generation.”
Global Renewable Energy Has Quadrupled Over the Past Decade (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F1%2F3-120818185037-16412296.gif&hash=c8a4038d309a0f49ca4a7a464f30f9a340049cac)
BRIAN BIENKOWSKI, ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH NEWS
Renewable energy capacity has quadrupled across the planet over the past decade, with solar power leading the way, according to a recent international report. While this growth prevented 2 billion tons of carbon dioxide emissions last year, the report cautions that sustained renewable energy progression needs to continue for the planet to avoid the worst potential impacts of climate change.
Read the Article → (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F1%2F3-120818184310-1635923.gif&hash=5e2530db4748ed6c7163e1d478fdfa3cd1108668)
https://truthout.org/articles/global-renewable-energy-has-quadrupled-over-the-past-decade/
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CleanTechnica
Support CleanTechnica’s work via donations on Patreon or PayPal!
Or just go buy a cool t-shirt, cup, baby outfit, bag, or hoodie. (https://cleantechnica.com/shop/#!/)
September 9th, 2019 by Zachary Shahan
Image courtesy: Tesla 🎋
(https://cleantechnica.com/files/2019/07/Tesla-Gigafactory-3-Shanghai-China-by-Tesla.png)
(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F1%2F3-120818184310-1635923.gif&hash=5e2530db4748ed6c7163e1d478fdfa3cd1108668)
Tesla Kicks Off Construction Of Phase 2 At Gigafactory 3 In Shanghai (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F1%2F3-120818185037-16412296.gif&hash=c8a4038d309a0f49ca4a7a464f30f9a340049cac) (https://cleantechnica.com/2019/09/09/tesla-kicks-off-construction-of-phase-2-at-gigafactory-3-in-shanghai/)
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(https://ci6.googleusercontent.com/proxy/7Iwt1Obw1A9OF4rmgyl-UYRo4MEJDf68gFtbGNW6JHUtpykjdICNc8oASCFbrYsucF5Fg17XbLG86FfHFO8yE4EkX6gjGVlOvmRAD7s5dGscLlHcisQ_pzhkscbiV_-D4oBdJi6nkSe_a2el9qT1VJhzoNSsAEZvHHg=s0-d-e1-ft#https://gallery.mailchimp.com/d1f5797e59060083034310930/images/2f11cead-050f-4018-bfed-c12fb45691e5.png)
Make Nexus Hot News part of your morning: click here (http://climatenexus.us4.list-manage1.com/subscribe?u=d1f5797e59060083034310930&id=7c84c08aaa) to subscribe.
September 27, 2019 (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F1%2F3-120818184310-1635923.gif&hash=5e2530db4748ed6c7163e1d478fdfa3cd1108668)
SNIPPET:
High-level oil and gas executives have concluded that "the ship has sailed" on manipulating the public with climate denial, the Washington Post reports. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-141113185047.png&hash=384024358ff8d5e7133d19b6e6638da4584a8154)
In a recording of a closed-door June meeting of the Independent Petroleum Association of America obtained by the Post, Mark Barron, a chief energy litigator at Baker Hostetler, told gathered executives that everyone under the age of 40 thinks climate change is "an existential crisis that we need to address...
Full newsletter:
Tens of thousands take to NZ streets, could Big Oil admit denier defeat?, & more (https://mailchi.mp/65a84813c80f/tens-of-thousands-take-to-nz-streets-could-big-oil-admit-denier-defeat-more?e=0fd17c5b57)
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October 14, 2019
(https://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/c_scale,f_auto,fl_progressive,q_80,w_1600/onjti1osyfewbjdp6cuf.jpg)
SNIPPET:
While a 0.4 TWh difference between renewable- and fossil fuel-generated electricity may not seem that impressive, it represents the electricity needs of hundreds of thousands of customers. And the context of where the UK electric generating system was just 10 years ago makes the transition all the more amazing. In the third quarter of 2009, the country generated 60.4 TWh of electricity from fossil fuels and only 5.7 TWh from renewables.
The Carbon Brief analysis shows that, overall, 40 percent of electricity in the UK in the third quarter of this year came from renewables. The biggest chunk was from wind, clocking in at 20 percent, in part due to the aforementioned hugenormous (technical term, I believe ;D) Hornsea One wind farm that came online this summer. In addition, another 6 percent came from solar. But here’s the rub: 12 percent came from burning biomass and wood pellets. While the UK classifies biomass as renewable because the trees the pellets are made from can be replanted and suck up carbon dioxide from burning said pellets, there are a number of issues, includes whether forests are actually planted and allowed to regrow. Research suggests the timeframe to reap any benefits of wood pellets as “renewables” can be decades, according to an in-depth report from Climate Central.
Full article: (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-060914180936.jpeg&hash=5e39d70fafe4e7190a6eebce34b740c58721de3f)
The UK Just Got More Power From Renewables Than 🦕 Fossil Fuels, a First Since 1882 (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-040716230142.jpeg&hash=e3e3e3018263d5b26d55382ceaec3f28aac961b9) (https://earther.gizmodo.com/the-uk-just-got-more-power-from-renewables-than-fossil-1839034441)
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October 23, 2019 (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-060914180936.jpeg&hash=5e39d70fafe4e7190a6eebce34b740c58721de3f)
Virginia signs largest state renewable energy contract, renewables to grow 50% by 2025, Ford announces country’s largest EV charging network, & more (https://mailchi.mp/climatenexus/virginia-signs-largest-state-renewable-energy-contract-renewables-to-grow-50-by-2025-ford-announces-countrys-largest-ev-charging-network-more?e=0fd17c5b57)
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Renewables forecast from 2019 to 2024 (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-301014181553.gif&hash=c09667beb656b25086c168adcdaddcba59abf858) 🦕
1,662 views • Premiered Oct 21, 2019
https://youtu.be/pJmKzB7ILiQ
International Energy Agency
6.01K subscribers
Renewables 2019 is the IEA market analysis and forecast from 2019 to 2024 on renewable energy and technologies → www.iea.org/renewables2019
Category Education
Music in this video Song Inspiring Innovation Full Legnth-572 Artist Adi Goldstein
Licensed to YouTube by AdRev for Rights Holder; AMRA, Kobalt Music Publishing, UMPI, and 8 Music Rights Societies
(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F1%2F3-020818213436-15401143.jpeg&hash=ed6871fae2f3d2b8f00c6807f8df41f1d90906ce)
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(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/gallery/renewablerevolution/2/3-300919160019-22741031.png) (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F1%2F3-250718210628.gif&hash=a297e44320f13fa5f3eae64809a46139f5e2395a) (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-221017161839.png&hash=7d34712243960aa20883775dad728bc2115ed6fe)
(https://cleantechnica.com/files/2019/10/Jacobson-WWS-report.jpg)
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(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-040418201137.png&hash=65e7a4932fe458a3eeb5d01df13364b33e62246e)
“It’s critical that the 🎋 health benefits of cleaner air be included in considering the return on investment in renewable energy,” said Dr. Aparna Bole, an associate professor at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, on a new study that quantifies projected health benefits from renewable energy.
October 30.2019 (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F1%2F3-111018132401-1689625.gif&hash=31d44a761d963df1354e5ef55b63387c72033709)
SNIPPET:
Two new reports illustrate offshore wind’s potential (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/gallery/renewablerevolution/2/3-300919160022-2281531.png), showing prices have dropped 32 percent in the past year :o (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F1%2F3-120818185039-1655102.gif&hash=1a13ffad2c8451cba6f45b04a1249447d50c3e73) and that the industry could provide more than enough clean electricity to meet global demand. Replacing fossil fuels with wind and solar has quantifiable health benefits and the Midwest stands to gain the most, according to new research. Honda will stop selling gas-only vehicles in Europe three years earlier than planned and Volkswagen aims to produce 1 million electric cars annually by 2022. GE and BlackRock have raised $250 million to fund a portfolio of solar projects through 2020.
Read more:
New reports show offshore wind’s potential, the health benefits of renewables, EV plans ramp up and more (https://mailchi.mp/climatenexus/new-reports-show-offshore-winds-potential-the-health-benefits-of-renewables-ev-plans-ramp-up-and-more?e=0fd17c5b57)
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🦉 mysteryowl (1,821 posts)
📢 🦕 Fracking banned 🕊 in UK as government makes major U-turn (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/gallery/renewablerevolution/2/3-300919160019-22712315.png)
Source: The Guardian
The government has banned fracking with immediate effect in a watershed moment for environmentalists and community activists.
Ministers also warned shale gas companies it would not support future fracking projects, in a crushing blow to companies that had been hoping to capitalise on one of the new frontiers of growth in the fossil fuel industry.
The decision draws a line under years of bitter opposition to the controversial extraction process in a major victory for green groups and local communities.
The decision was taken after a new scientific study warned it was not possible to rule out “unacceptable” consequences for those living near fracking sites.
[snip]
The decision has been welcomed as a “victory for common sense” by green groups and campaigners who have fought for almost a decade against the controversial fossil fuel extraction process.
Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/nov/02/fracking-banned-in-uk-as-government-makes-major-u-turn
This is HUGE!! (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-250817121649.png&hash=4554f7e59701d12857946aece16bceb973c997b3)
https://www.democraticunderground.com/10142389963
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(https://ci4.googleusercontent.com/proxy/2_IN1MJGf4OkBesWZi77BP6Ylt6SRUMuCuRFL1jFtxyy4DlB1c6NRaAujgNNfEHFM2QayBJ0hPzksQrR3nr7kATqsmYlrsMXjsmJnS1l62I=s0-d-e1-ft#http://media.pennnet.com/designimages/REW-0262_Energy_375.jpg)
(https://www.renewableenergyworld.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2019/11/REW_EIB-Europa%CC%88ische_Investitionsbank-850x710.jpg)
HQ of the European Investment Bank
With more than half a trillion dollars (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F1%2F3-120818180835-1626482.gif&hash=068d5ba96cc9a0d9b824d58bf6e532eeee05b706) in outstanding loans, the EIB is the biggest multilateral financial institution in the world. Given the EIB’s market impact and influence over the lending strategies of investors, its decision could end up depriving polluting projects from other sources of financing as well. 👍
By Bloomberg News Editors | 11.15.19 (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-060914180936.jpeg&hash=5e39d70fafe4e7190a6eebce34b740c58721de3f)
EU bank takes ‘quantum leap’ to end fossil-fuel financing (https://www.renewableenergyworld.com/2019/11/15/eu-bank-takes-quantum-leap-to-end-fossil-fuel-financing/)
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(https://d38hokjm2drjyk.cloudfront.net/?url=static01.nyt.com%2Fimages%2F2018%2F04%2F23%2Fus%2F24trumpvoters%2F24trumpvoters-facebookJumbo.jpg&w=300&h=190&secure=yes&token=b16dbb64922aa1c1de33c847408ad0752bf39605)
(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F1%2F3-240718213433-14592370.png&hash=303e851c5feb196224d3a901ee609fed6437375d) Trump Voters Driven by Fear of Losing Status, Not Economic Anxiety, Study Finds (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F1%2F3-250718202127.gif&hash=acc63221521ebaf3f238088fd92d1ae3a08b6e48) (https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/24/us/politics/trump-economic-anxiety.html)
nytimes.com - In her study, Dr. Mutz sought to answer two questions: Is there evidence to support the economic anxiety argument, and did the fear of losing social dominance drive some voters to Mr. Trump? To find …
Read more Doomstead Diner Daily 11/30/19 (http://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/general-discussion/doomstead-diner-daily/msg14624/#msg14624) (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F1%2F3-120818180835-16281948.gif&hash=bde76e8c89cdf209aecaf236a316ba025ef35835) (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-130418200416.png&hash=15d789b29124aa5a1f1ea397ce630913734b20a4)
I see the NYT is going to repeat, repeat, repeat the scaremongering about "Trump supporters" (hidden message: Trump supporters = whites ;)) "losing status" until most Americans believe that society dividing and destroying propaganda, thereby enabling Trump's total FASCIST takeover of the USA. It just might work. I'm praying it won't.
Here's what a Sanders Presidency (with a supporting Congress) would bring (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-130418203111.png&hash=e8f61baab9b9d36eaf1c4087927f321bf883250c) to the USA, something the NYT flat refuses to repeat, repeat, repeat, which it should repeat, repeat, repeat, but won't because it would put the LIE to that "whites losing status" propaganda they plan to repeat, repeat, repeat until we are all convinced it's "okay" to support (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-301216165623.jpeg&hash=1ccfee6aaf9d939cca294a849774cff11e462e59) Trump's xenophobia and cruel, murderous racism:
(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/gallery/renewablerevolution/2/3-301119132444-2320647.png)
(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/gallery/renewablerevolution/2/3-301119132443-2293481.png)
(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/gallery/renewablerevolution/2/3-301119132447-23211123.png)
(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/gallery/renewablerevolution/2/3-301119132447-2322571.png)
https://thesolutionsproject.org/why-clean-energy/#/map/countries/location/USA
This web site has a 100% Renewable Energy Plan by 2050 for every country on Earth, plus plans for cities and US states. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-060518153110.png&hash=39d587c31b7f7e66b30d7e59bb560e2ad0662eee)
Check your state or city out if you have the chance. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F1%2F3-120818184310-1635923.gif&hash=5e2530db4748ed6c7163e1d478fdfa3cd1108668)
https://thesolutionsproject.org/why-clean-energy/#/map/countries/
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We're Blowing Past Carbon Emission Budgets (w/ Prof. Rob Jackson )
1,690 views•Dec 6, 2019
https://youtu.be/4i35UvncZq0
Thom Hartmann Program
200K subscribers
Carbon emissions need to decrease if we want to save the planet but they are going the other way!
🔴 Subscribe for more clips like this: https://www.youtube.com/user/thomhart...
How can we stop growing carbon emissions from exacerbating global warming and leading to a complete catastrophe on a global scale?
Professor Rob Jackson joined Thom.
⭐ Join our Membership and Support the Channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/thomhart...
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CleanTechnica
Support CleanTechnica’s work via donations on Patreon or PayPal!
Or just go buy a cool t-shirt, cup, baby outfit, bag, or hoodie. (https://cleantechnica.com/shop/#!/)
(https://cleantechnica.com/files/2019/12/US-renewable-energy-150x150.jpg)
December 15th, 2019 by Tina Casey (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-060914180936.jpeg&hash=5e39d70fafe4e7190a6eebce34b740c58721de3f)
All The Good (Under-the-Radar) News About Renewable Energy ✨👍 (https://cleantechnica.com/2019/12/15/all-the-good-under-the-radar-news-about-renewable-energy/)
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December 27th, 2019 by Joshua S Hill
UK Renewables Outperform Gas For First Quarter Ever (https://cleantechnica.com/2019/12/27/uk-renewables-outperform-gas-for-first-quarter-ever/)
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CleanTechnica
Support CleanTechnica’s work via donations on Patreon or PayPal!
Or just go buy a cool t-shirt, cup, baby outfit, bag, or hoodie. (https://cleantechnica.com/shop/#!/)
How Would Warren & Sanders Pay For A 🌞 Green New Deal? (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F1%2F3-120818185039-16521065.gif&hash=9eef5dcea9de04ac83b42acf07d77409f0493a81)
December 27th, 2019 by Carolyn Fortuna
In a recent CleanTechnica article, I wrote about Elizabeth Warren’s plan for defeating the climate crisis and transitioning the US economy to run on 100% clean energy. She stated explicitly that her plan to pay for a Green New Deal would require big, structural changes and would arise from $10.7 trillion in federal and non-federal funding. What are the financing tools Warren intends to tap to unlock state, local, and private investment? How would she direct it towards meaningful investments to mitigate climate change, produce jobs, and reduce inequality?
(https://cleantechnica.com/files/2019/12/Screenshot-2019-12-27-at-6.06.11-AM-e1577486691641.png)
And what about other plans out there for a national switch to clean energy? What does Bernie Sanders, for example, outline for funding ideas? Let’s survey these prominent and provocative voices today in the clean energy movement and see their fiscal visions for carbon-free power and 100% renewable energy.
How Warren Would 💵 Pay for a US Switch to Clean Energy
The transition to clean energy is “an opportunity to transform our economy, creating new industries, like in zero-emissions building construction, and greatly expanding others, like electric vehicle manufacturing,” Warren says. She argues that the transition creates “huge opportunities” for state, local and non-federal investment in the process.
A Warren administration would create new financing tools to unlock state, local, and private investment. She is firm that these investments to tackle climate change, produce jobs, and reduce inequality will flow to the “right places” — not just the wealthy and well-connected.
Okay, Senator Warren, how would you pay for it?
A Green Bank: A Green Bank, aka the National Climate Bank Act, could mobilize $1 trillion in climate and green infrastructure investments across the country over 30 years. She says it would:
✔ open up new markets for greater investment by working alongside existing federal authorities through direct spending, grants, and loans
✔ provide security for investors looking for climate-friendly investments in mid- to large-scale infrastructure projects
✔ increase the overall scale of clean energy investment and the pace of substitution of clean energy technologies for fossil-fuel based technologies
✔ protect consumers by keeping energy prices low and ensuring compliance with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s regulations
✔ expand opportunities for communities and the private sector by directing funds toward communities on the front lines of the climate crisis that have traditionally been left out of investment opportunities
A September report from the New York-based Coalition for Green Capital (http://coalitionforgreencapital.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/1T-investment-white-paper.pdf) found that such a bank could mobilize up to $1 trillion of investment over 30 years. The bank would recycle its capital, lending the same dollars repeatedly as loans are paid back and the funds re-used.
Fourteen states, including Michigan, New York, and Hawaii already have such banks, and other cities and counties have explored their own. Washington, DC, for example, approved one in 2018 and Baltimore’s Climate Access Fund (https://meetingoftheminds.org/social-equity-through-clean-energy-30837) seeks to help low-income and minority residents access more expensive solar energy. Small focus target investment on a local basis, and the national version would help mobilize investment on a required and faster scale.
Green Victory Bonds: Much like current state programs for land use projects, river and habitat preservation, and energy and water infrastructure, green bonds have also surged in popularity worldwide, with sales growing 46% last year to a total of about $460 billion. A lot like the World War II-era “Victory Bond” program, Green Victory Bonds would be sold at levels that allow Americans across the socioeconomic spectrum the opportunity to “own a piece of the climate solution and to benefit from the new green economy that we build together.”
Sanders on How to 💵 Pay for a Green New Deal
Embedded in many of Senator Bernie Sanders’ proposals for attacking the climate crisis are financing plans. Here are some of his fiscal visions that would usher in a Green New Deal.
Green Climate Fund: Sanders’ plan to halt the climate crisis centers on US investment of $200 billion in the Green Climate Fund (GCF) for the equitable transfer of renewable technologies, climate adaptation, and assistance in adopting sustainable energies. Since approving its first project in November, 2015, the GCF has grown to become the world’s largest climate finance fund through its readiness in 129 countries, including allocation of over $5.6 billion of its funding to build a project portfolio of over $20.6 billion. It is playing a key role in supporting the implementation of intended nationally determined contributions (NDCs), driving a shift to lower greenhouse gas emissions, and supporting action to adapt to the impacts of climate change in developing countries.
Significant US Military Reductions: While Warren’s plan alludes to decreasing military funding in order to pay for a Green New Deal — “We’ll pay for this with savings from my plan to transition the 🦍 military away from its dependence on 🦕🦖 fossil fuels and other internal 🦍 Department of Defense funding shifts, she says” — Sanders is much more explicit (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F1%2F3-120818185040-1659929.gif&hash=0a9ca0c1f083655b821cbf024422e55e009a6d8d) about redirecting military funds to mitigating the climate crisis. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-130418201112.png&hash=679f4583d6861313c256e8762c40929af1ac667e) (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/gallery/renewablerevolution/2/3-300919160022-2281531.png)
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He says that the major industrialized nations spend trillions of dollars “on misguided wars and weapons of mass destruction,” He proposes to combat the climate crisis by recognizing that the Pentagon is the largest institutional emitter of greenhouse gases in the world and that the US spends $81 billion annually to protect oil supplies and transport routes. “We are uniquely positioned,” Sanders explains, “to lead the planet in a wholesale shift away from (https://www.globalresearch.ca/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/Imperialism-supporters.jpg) militarism.” (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-080515182559.png&hash=d4dfa952fa0f817bf30a8059a4c88d6fb05ee1bf)
End Overseas 🦕👹🦖 Fossil Fuel Financing: The US federal government currently supports investments in fossil fuels through the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, OPIC, the Export-Import Bank, and other multilateral institutions. These international investments are inconsistent with a goal to curb the global climate crisis, and Sanders says these “must end.” His administration would lead these international financial institutions, instead, toward advancing the equitable adoption of sustainable energy across the planet. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F1%2F3-120818185038-16442135.gif&hash=52927992b43007fa5c5eb6ffcb453ae29948c356)
(https://cleantechnica.com/files/2019/12/butterfly-amidst-blooms-fortuna-1152x1536.jpg)
“Butterfly amidst Blooms,” by Carolyn Fortuna, CleanTechnica
By redirecting money from these and other sources like income taxes from 20 million new jobs, taxes on fossil fuels, and selling power via federal power marketing authorities, 🦅 Sanders will establish a Climate Justice Resiliency Fund. Funded at $40 billion, the EPA, together with a number of other agencies, would conduct a nationwide survey to identify areas with high climate impact vulnerabilities and other socioeconomic factors, public health challenges, and environmental hazards. Each community will then be eligible for Climate Justice Resiliency funding in order of most vulnerable to least vulnerable.
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Final Thoughts
The US is not alone in its quest to use financing to make the switch to clean energy a reality. A recent article in the Washington Post pointed out that the EU’s biggest climate weapon lies in the financial fine print. The EU is embedding environmental goals in standards for banks, money managers, and insurers, it seems, in the hope of directing trillions of euros to fund a radical revision of the region’s economy. Like most of the US Democratic field of candidates, the EU is committed to meeting the targets of the Paris Agreement. Some of the EU’s money management strategies are pointing toward:
֍ Disclosing how they incorporate sustainability factors into investment decisions
֍ Setting up low-carbon benchmarks, like indexes created to track companies with a low carbon footprint, to steer funds to environmentally friendly investments
֍ Lowering capital requirements to encourage green lending
֍ Scrutinizing the environmental risks that remain on balance sheets and possibly imposing extra capital demands to offset possible losses
֍ Assessing environmental risks facing borrowers before they lend
So there’s a lot about which to think when considering the funding necessary for climate action. In the next part of this series, we’ll look at the other Democratic presidential contenders — as well as a few insightful researchers and economists — and review their plans to fund climate action. Stay tuned. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/gallery/renewablerevolution/2/3-300919160021-22772252.png)
https://cleantechnica.com/2019/12/27/how-would-warren-sanders-pay-for-a-green-new-deal/
(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/gallery/renewablerevolution/2/3-241119204318.png) Agelbert NOTE: I trust Sanders, a consistent advocate of reducing military spending, eliminating fossil fuel subsides and funding Renewable Energy in the USA, to follow through on his Green New Deal promises far more than I trust Warren.
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January 22, 2020
U.S. renewable investment hits record high, Rhode Island commits to 100% clean power, Subaru will only sell EVs by 2030s, and more
January 22, 2020: Renewable energy investment in the U.S. hit a record high of $55.5 billion last year. Rhode Island Governor Gina Raimondo signed an executive order committing the state to 100 percent renewable energy by 2030. Subaru will only sell electric vehicles by the mid 2030s and Kia will release 11 new electric vehicle models by 2025. Arizona’s largest utility, Arizona Public Service, committed to provide 100 percent carbon-free power by 2050.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
"“It’s notable that in the third year of the Trump presidency, which has not been particularly supportive of renewables, U.S. clean energy investment set a new record by a country mile,” said Ethan Zindler, head of Americas for Bloomberg New Energy Finance."
Renewable energy investment in the U.S. hit a record $55.5 billion last year, second only to China, despite the Trump administration’s lack of support for clean energy. Part of the surge was driven by solar and wind companies scrambling to take advantage of federal tax credits before they started scaling back in the new year. Major offshore wind investments also boosted renewable capacity, which grew 13 percent globally in 2019. Worldwide, $282.2 billion was invested in renewable energy last year, but this figure remains below its 2017 peak of $315 billion. (Bloomberg)
Governor of Rhode Island Gina Raimondo signed an executive order committing the state to get all of its electricity from renewable energy by 2030 in order to fight climate change. The state plans to add energy storage projects, increase solar and wind power, and improve overall energy efficiency to meet the goal. Several other states have also set targets for 100 percent clean energy, including Hawaii, California, New Mexico, Maine, New York, Washington and Virginia. Rhode Island is ultimately aiming to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 80 percent below 1990 levels by 2050. (New York Times $)
Democratic presidential hopeful Michael Bloomberg released details of a climate plan that would require all buildings to be zero-carbon by 2025. As part of his goal to cut U.S. emissions in half by 2030, the plan would swap out fossil-fuel use in homes, including natural gas for heating and cooking, by switching to zero-carbon appliances and furnaces. The plan calls for providing financial assistance -- including tax credits, low-interest loans, and block grants -- for clean energy and energy efficiency measures. Bloomberg also unveiled another portion of his climate plan that would require all new vehicle sales in the country to be electric by 2035. (Washington Post, The Hill)
Tri-State Generation & Transmission, which includes 43 cooperative members, released its plan to generate 50 percent of its power from renewable energy by 2024. It calls for closing all of the coal plants operated by the cooperative, and includes details for eight new solar and wind projects that will help Tri-State reach over 2,000 megawatts of renewable energy capacity on its system. The plan comes amid pressure from its member co-ops, including those in New Mexico and Colorado, to transition to cleaner sources of energy. Tri-State also included details for electric vehicle charging station expansion, energy efficiency and demand-side management. (Utility Dive)
Subaru announced it will only sell electric vehicles by 2035 (https://www.reuters.com/article/us-subaru-ev/subaru-sets-mid-2030s-target-to-sell-only-electric-vehicles-idUSKBN1ZJ0BU), while Kia released plans for 11 electric vehicle models by 2025. The automaker recently strengthened ties with Toyota, following a global trend of automakers forging partnerships to cut the cost of producing new vehicle tech. Alongside Toyota, Subaru is developing a battery electric vehicle along with a “strong hybrid” that will debut later this decade. By 2030, the automaker plans for at least 40 percent of global sales to be battery electric or hybrid vehicles. Separately, Kia is planning for electric vehicles to account for 20 percent of sales in key regions by 2025, and wants to reach 500,000 annual electric vehicle sales by 2026. (Electrek (https://ww.electrek.co/2020/01/15/kia-sets-target-of-11-evs-by-2025-with-500k-electric-sales-per-year-soon-after/))
Arizona’s largest utility, Arizona Public Service, pledged to reach 100 percent carbon-free power by 2050. By 2030, the utility plans to reach 65 percent carbon-free power, with 45 percent coming from renewable energy -- leaving room for other sources of zero-carbon power. The utility also pledged to move completely off coal by 2031. It plans to replace natural gas with “dispatchable capacity”, although the utility is not yet clear on the exact pathway to carbon-free power. Arizona Public Service has been a leader in pairing solar generation with battery storage, and envisions growing market demand for more technologies that can help make the transition to carbon-free energy. (Greentech Media)
https://climatenexus.org/
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February 19, 2020
The renewable energy decade, solar job growth in 2019, Delta’s $1 billion pledge and more (https://newsletter.climatenexus.org/ev-chargers-coming-to-rural-america-renewables-keep-global-emissions-in-check-lime-goes-electric-and-more-1?ecid=ACsprvvMiL4zrthnECkHYPwCaopbNwTtfNKAofGxYiNt8pDpvP6pJ2OrgrmfjY5bTzbD9VtOzxD0&utm_campaign=Clean%20Energy%20News&utm_source=hs_email&utm_medium=email&utm_content=83607057&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-__-Dtc1GrbyVc0DatcYHiJjTWFpYYIYZyu7RuSN4QBU5CRWZiiGnoh1VCdb4tmag-FCHlm1QWYEGRzLg751vMk_e6yCw&_hsmi=83607057)
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“It seems that every part of the world can now find a system that edges 🦕 fossil fuels out in costs” (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-200714191258.bmp&hash=e4ed21caaca822f7445ccafd39f49a9f84be90ca)
(https://ci6.googleusercontent.com/proxy/-BOHCZfQSnsH3rQyPw36FkINOUNJOi7VSDdAS9inV7rqD7SbIIxMjjvKp2PYoYyhANCp13m8snrc2qCQBZG_rJV7LrwPPoeRORVIoYJX5_Cpnu5qDvfmDtZTx-JhcdldpUGnG2aXcP_isjSLcVMBHlrHGC92ZA=s0-d-e1-ft#https://mcusercontent.com/33602bebba8fb7dd6e71fb413/images/2ebf201a-8b3f-4372-9dde-06f3ef1ba242.jpg) Renewable Energy Could Power The World By 2050 (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F1%2F3-250718210628.gif&hash=a297e44320f13fa5f3eae64809a46139f5e2395a) (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-221017161839.png&hash=7d34712243960aa20883775dad728bc2115ed6fe)
By Paul Brown, Climatenewsnetwork.net
February 21, 2020 | CREATE!
London − Virtually all the world’s demand for electricity to run transport and to heat and cool homes and offices, as well as to provide the power demanded by industry, could be met by renewable energy by mid-century. This is the consensus of 47 peer-reviewed research papers from 13 independent groups with a total of 91 authors that have been brought together by Stanford University in California. -more- (https://popularresistance.org/renewable-energy-could-power-the-world-by-2050/) (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F1%2F3-120818184310-1635923.gif&hash=5e2530db4748ed6c7163e1d478fdfa3cd1108668) (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F1%2F3-120818185039-16561921.gif&hash=3f68a1883648321c76c6d3b5cd6885815cd673e8)
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March 28th, 2020 by Tina Casey
(https://cleantechnica.com/files/2020/03/reneweable-energy-electric-grid.png)
(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/gallery/renewablerevolution/2/3-241119204318.png) Off-The-Radar Renewable Energy Explosion 🚀 🌞 After COVID-19 Dust Settles — CleanTechnica Interview (https://cleantechnica.com/2020/03/28/off-the-radar-renewable-energy-explosion-after-covid-19-dust-settles-ct-exclusive-background-interview/)
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✨ Germany marks first ever quarter with more than 50 pct renewable electricity (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F1%2F3-120818185039-1655102.gif&hash=1a13ffad2c8451cba6f45b04a1249447d50c3e73)
#Climate & CO2 #Renewables
01 Apr 2020, 15:11 Rachel Waldholz
Germany produced more than half of its electricity with renewable power in the first three months of 2020, the first full quarter in which renewables covered the majority of the country’s electricity needs. The numbers were driven by record wind and high solar production in February and March and a dip in overall energy use tied to the coronavirus pandemic. Combined with high renewable power generation in 2019, the numbers put Germany on track to meet its 2020 green energy targets, despite an overall slowdown in the renewable energy expansion.
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Read more: (https://www.cleanenergywire.org/news/germany-marks-first-ever-quarter-more-50-pct-renewable-electricity?pk_campaign=daily_newsletter_2020-04-01&pk_keyword=germany-marks-first-ever-quarter-more-50-pct-renewable-electricity&pk_source=newsletter&pk_medium=email&pk_content=readmore) (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F1%2F3-120818184310-1635923.gif&hash=5e2530db4748ed6c7163e1d478fdfa3cd1108668)
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And So It Begins: World’s 11th-Biggest Economy Pitches Renewable Energy For COVID-19 Recovery (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-221017161839.png&hash=7d34712243960aa20883775dad728bc2115ed6fe)
April 5th, 2020 by Tina Casey
The COVID-19 outbreak has provided one last opportunity for fossil fuel stakeholders to beat back the renewable energy revolution. One especially interesting example is the notorious Keystone XL tar sands oil pipeline. The once-dormant project suddenly sprang into action last week, while protesters have been sidelined by the virus.
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That may be so, but the window for fossil fuels is already narrowing and it’s about to slam shut (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F1%2F3-120818185040-1659929.gif&hash=0a9ca0c1f083655b821cbf024422e55e009a6d8d). Key US states are already taking action to accelerate their renewable energy plans, virus or no virus.
World’s 11th-Largest Economy Hearts 🌞 Renewable Energy (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-221017161839.png&hash=7d34712243960aa20883775dad728bc2115ed6fe)
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One key state is New York State, which by some measures would be the world’s 11th-largest economy if it was an independent country. On Friday, April 3, New York announced the passage of enabling legislation for its new clean power plans. If that date rings a bell, April 3 is the same day that seven top 🦖 oil and 🦕 gas 😈 executives went to the (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-100718164155-14511755.jpeg&hash=1c62dd0525852ffbbcbc7f2459189db15d6435c6) White House to discuss the plight of their industry.
If that’s not a clapback, nothing is. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F1%2F3-111018132422-1693180.gif&hash=8bc43ce7ebff6fb3a70224434834524068d3583c)(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F1%2F3-111018132421-16902.gif&hash=deba9f0f91ecd7d65bbdeb78786bef4a98cb1a7e)
Along with the now-familiar goal of creating jobs and fighting climate change, the new clean power plan makes the connection between renewable energy and economic recovery from the COVID-19 crisis.
To that end, the so-named Accelerated Renewable Energy Growth and Community Benefit Act creates the nation’s first ever “Office of Renewable Energy Siting.” The idea is that more private sector investment will be attracted more quickly, by tailoring the state’s approval process to fit renewable energy projects. The legislation also provides for reducing financial risk, helping to attract more private sector dollars that might otherwise go elsewhere.
In addition, the legislation takes grid planning and transmission into account.
Renewable energy developers anticipating a willy-nilly land rush may want to hold their horses, however. The new legislation provides for environmental oversight and community benefits. It also incentivizes renewable energy projects that repurpose abandoned commercial sites, brownfields, landfills, former industrial sites, and other abandoned or underused sites.
Walking The Climate Walk & Chewing The COVID-19 Gum
In announcing the new plan, New York seems determined to prove that it can walk and chew gum at the same time — in other words, that the public health crisis is not an opportunity to move backwards on climate action.
“We continue to act aggressively to protect the environment and our communities through our ongoing programs to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to climate change,” said New York State Environmental Commissioner Basil Seggos, even as the state continues an all-hands-on-deck effort to stop the spread of COVID-19.
A Renewable Energy Model For Other States To Follow (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-250817121649.png&hash=4554f7e59701d12857946aece16bceb973c997b3)
Don’t be surprised if other states embark on a similar plan to speed up renewable energy development.
The problem is that conventional siting and permitting processes are primarily designed for large, centralized fossil fuel power plants (hydropower being a key exception). Today’s wind and solar industries, in contrast, are characterized by a wide range of outputs, applications, and siting opportunities.
The pump is already primed for the idea to spread. New York is on the advisory board of the newly launched 100% Clean Energy Collaboration, a state-based effort that includes California as well as New York and other clean power leaders. The new initiative was announced by the Clean Energy States Alliance on, you guessed it, April 3.
New York was also previously tapped by the US Department of Energy to lead a national consortium to accelerate wind energy development, so there’s that.
Speaking of the Energy Department and wind energy, New York and CESA were not the only ones trolling the oil and gas industry last week. The Energy Department also did its part, with not one but two separate press releases announcing new wind energy initiatives.
As for the Keystone XL pipeline, developer TC Energy (aka TransCanada) seems to have bitten off more than it can chew.
The company seemed on the verge of restarting construction last week, only to push the date back to the middle of April.
For that effort, all they got was this lousy downgrade from Moody’s (https://www.moodys.com/research/Moodys-changes-TransCanadas-and-most-subsidiaries-outlooks-to-negative-from--PR_421035), which cited significant “environmental, social and governance” issues that could bleed over from the Keystone XL project to impact the company’s financial stability as a whole.
Moody’s sour outlook is not an outlier. Leading global investors began dumping fossil fuel stocks before the COVID-19 outbreak and the hurt isn’t over yet.
If Keystone XL is the canary in the fossil fuel coal mine, it ain’t over until it’s over. But come on, it’s over.
https://cleantechnica.com/2020/04/05/and-so-it-begins-worlds-11th-biggest-economy-pitches-renewable-energy-for-covid-19-recovery/
About the Author
Tina Casey specializes in military and corporate sustainability, advanced technology, emerging materials, biofuels, and water and wastewater issues. Tina’s articles are reposted frequently on Reuters, Scientific American, and many other sites. Views expressed are her own. Follow her on Twitter @TinaMCasey and Google+.
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(https://cleantechnica.com/files/2013/09/perovo-solar-farm-6-150x150.jpg) Covid-19 Lockdown: India Moves To Ensure Renewable Projects Remain Unaffected
As India struggles with the Covid-19 outbreak and the resulting 21-day lockdown, the government has taken measures to insulate the renewable energy sector as much as possible
https://cleantechnica.com/2020/04/12/covid-19-lockdown-india-moves-to-ensure-renewable-projects-remain-unaffected/
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By Renewable Energy World Content Team | 4.28.20
(https://www.renewableenergyworld.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2020/02/wind-solar.jpg)
BNEF says solar and wind are now cheapest sources of new energy generation for majority of planet (https://www.renewableenergyworld.com/2020/04/28/bnef-says-solar-and-wind-are-now-cheapest-sources-of-new-energy-generation-for-majority-of-planet/?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=2020-05-06&utm_source=rew_weekly_newsletter) (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F1%2F3-120818184310-1635923.gif&hash=5e2530db4748ed6c7163e1d478fdfa3cd1108668)
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June 6, 2021
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By Ashley Curtin
‘We have the Power’ finds US has resources and technology to shift away from 🦕 fossil fuels
The study confirmed the U.S. has enough wind and 🌞 solar resources to meet the country's energy needs.
SNIPPET:
The study titled, We Have the Power: Reaching America’s Potential for Clean, Renewable Energy, concluded that “U.S. solar energy resources have the potential to meet America’s 2020 electricity demand more than 77 times over, and U.S. onshore and offshore wind resources could meet demand 11 times over,” according to EcoWatch. ... ...
According to the study, the four key strategies to build an energy system entirely that runs on renewables includes:
֍ build out renewable energy
֍ modernize the grid
֍ reduce and manage energy use
֍ replace direct use of fossil fuels with electricity
“Time is of the essence. Policymakers must do all they can to accelerate a shift away from fossil fuels to an energy system in which the vast majority of our energy comes from renewable sources like the wind and sun.”
The study said that a transition to renewable energy (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-251117174622.jpeg&hash=c88507a51ced12d3dd0f41b367418348a76e9891) will immediately help the environmental and public health challenges as well as the climate crisis the U.S. currently faces.
(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F1%2F3-030818181337.jpeg&hash=174ea31bb209b44f44ca4d20ddcd2af3900ac50d)
Full article: (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F1%2F3-120818184310-1635923.gif&hash=5e2530db4748ed6c7163e1d478fdfa3cd1108668)
https://www.nationofchange.org/2021/06/06/we-have-the-power-finds-us-has-resources-and-technology-to-shift-away-from-fossil-fuels/
(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fstyles%2Frenewablerevolution%2Ffiles%2F3076_Independence%2520from%2520Fossil%2520Fuels.png&hash=f0d4b7b582dbd6cc2137bda1e27e46464e1ef0d2)
The 🦕🦖 Hydrocarbon 👹 Hellspawn Fossil Fuelers DID THE Clean Energy Inventions suppressing, Climate Trashing, human health depleting CRIME. Since they have ALWAYS BEEN liars and conscience free crooks 🦀, they are trying to AVOID DOING THE TIME or PAYING THE FINE! Don't let them get away with it! Pass it on! (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/gallery/renewablerevolution/2/3-300919160023-2284203.png)
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Global decarbonisation: Lies, damn 🦕😈 lies, and (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F2%2F3-080419191019.png&hash=a449294ee6fe2dfdea44c1c501f4439b9ac69c26) statistics? (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-250817134648.gif&hash=d24c66a26329a19150a175d576b631d10f631ee8)
Jul 4, 2021
https://youtu.be/u9Lz1IACBf0
Just Have a Think 275K subscribers
Decarbonisation is the only way out of our climate emergency. The quicker we do it the less damage we will incur. But just about every mainstream agency and organisation around the world is advising policymakers not to move too quickly away from fossil fuels for fear of disrupting economies and societies. The real world statistics tell a very different story though, and now new research is suggesting we should actually be far bolder in our move towards renewable power. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-060518153110.png&hash=39d587c31b7f7e66b30d7e59bb560e2ad0662eee)
Video Transcripts available at our website
http://www.justhaveathink.com
(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F1%2F3-030818181337.jpeg&hash=174ea31bb209b44f44ca4d20ddcd2af3900ac50d)
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July 21, 2021
Sustainable sector means sustainable jobs (https://www.ecowatch.com/renewable-energy-jobs-coronavirus-2020-2653866190.html) (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-060518153110.png&hash=39d587c31b7f7e66b30d7e59bb560e2ad0662eee)
Jobs in the renewable energy and battery-related sectors have been much more resilient throughout the pandemic compared to the overall energy sector, according to the DOE's annual report. One in 10 U.S. energy workers lost their jobs in 2020 — oil and gas sectors lost the most jobs despite the billions in bailouts and substantial payouts to already wealthy executives. However, the wind energy employment grew by nearly 2% while jobs in the electric and hybrid-electric vehicle sectors grew by 8% and 6%.
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CleanTechnica
(https://cleantechnica.com/files/2021/07/solar-sister-women.jpg)
Reach For The Sun — New Report From Carbon Tracker
August 2, 2021 By David Waterworth
SNIPPETS:
With a myriad of very colorful charts, a new report from Carbon Tracker makes the point that the majority of new global generating power will be wind and solar. The authors predict a leapfrog effect in countries where there is no developed power grid. As power needs increase, people will simply install low-cost solar panels and a battery and will be self-sufficient. ... ...
📢 Peak 🦕 fossil fuel generation occurred in 2018 (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/gallery/renewablerevolution/2/3-020821163331.png). Almost 90% of electricity demand growth from now till 2040 will come from the emerging markets. ... ...
All the 👿🦖 barriers to change are soluble — countries further along the continuum of change have already solved them and are willing to share technology, expertise, and capital. The 😈🦖 corruption that exists in some states will be overcome by the economics. Domestic policy is the key.
Full article with pertinent links: (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F1%2F3-120818184310-1635923.gif&hash=5e2530db4748ed6c7163e1d478fdfa3cd1108668)
https://cleantechnica.com/2021/08/02/reach-for-the-sun-new-report-from-carbon-tracker/
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Agelbert NOTE: Originially posted July 29, 2017 (http://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/renewables/the-big-picture-of-renewable-energy-growth/msg7583/#msg7583), this continues to be required reading for humans that care about humanity. Please pass it on to your friends and family.
(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-251117174622.jpeg&hash=c88507a51ced12d3dd0f41b367418348a76e9891)
“Drawdown” — The Definitive Guide To Combating Climate Change
July 29th, 2017 by Steve Hanley
SNIPPET:
Drawdown Surprises :o
We here at CleanTechnica, we focus heavily on the electrification of the transportation sector. That is critically important, of course, but would you care to guess what the one area is that we as a people have total control over and that has the potential to keep more carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere than making every car and truck on the planet run on electricity?
#1 is something we have touched on here only briefly — refrigerant management. Read more about it on page 164. The authors estimate that this one area could keep nearly 90 gigatons of carbon dioxide from entering the atmosphere. Electric cars? About 4 gigatons. :P
Here are the other 9 items on the Top 10 list and their carbon reduction potential:
Wind Turbines (Onshore) — 84.60 gigatons
Reduced Food Waste — 70.53 gigatons
Plant-rich diet — 66.11 gigatons
Tropical Forests — 61.23 gigatons
Educating Girls (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.coh2.org%2Fimages%2FSmileys%2Fhuhsign.gif&hash=3732d0427be65896527fc3805c5be54a33cffd3b) — 59.60 gigatons
Family Planning — 59.60 gigatons
Solar Farms — 36.90 gigatons
Silvopasture — 31.19 gigatons
Rooftop Solar — 24.60 gigatons
There are 80 items on the list. Total cost if all were fully implemented? $27.4 trillion. That’s a lot of cash, right? (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fs3.amazonaws.com%2Frapgenius%2F1375371542_tumblr_m7jevgcaFm1qzqdem.gif&hash=1a2fe8d9567770e89661ad82a4e03b115e0f5358)
However will we pay for all that? (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-301014182447.gif&hash=58fbc1dfd905f79b3d4bacde8e89a935c2b859ac) ???
With savings, people — or deferred costs. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fcliparts.co%2Fcliparts%2FBig%2FEgq%2FBigEgqBMT.png&hash=e7eec62f009cdd686ce795fad0a53c6befe748e9) The authors estimated total economic savings at just under $74 trillion.
Deferred Gratification
The trick, of course, is that the costs come up front. The savings often come later. Human beings seem genetically incapable of making hard choices today that will have extraordinary benefits later. Deferred gratification could be the death knell for the capitalist model prevalent in most countries today. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.clker.com%2Fcliparts%2Fc%2F8%2Ff%2F8%2F11949865511933397169thumbs_up_nathan_eady_01.svg.hi.png&hash=599691109af22b33f1d59dd61eb97448a9427020)(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-141113185047.png&hash=384024358ff8d5e7133d19b6e6638da4584a8154)
Pie-in-the-sky projections about future savings are discounted. Either they are treated as irrelevant or derided as #FakeNews. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-120716190938.png&hash=01feab1c7345a4e98764e0f9d24b2d69171b93c2)
The world operates on what I like to call the Wimpy Theory. Wimpy was a character in Popeye cartoons (some of you may be old enough to remember watching cartoons on television on Saturday mornings). Wimpy had one line that he used all the time. It went like this: “I will gladly pay you Tuesday for a cheeseburger today.” It’s the “kick the can down the road” theory of global management and it will kill us all if we don’t stop — all except the lucky few who can escape to Mars aboard Elon Musk’s magic carpet. ::)
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Full article: (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-130418200416.png&hash=15d789b29124aa5a1f1ea397ce630913734b20a4)
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https://cleantechnica.com/2017/07/29/drawdown-definitive-guide-combating-climate-change/
Agelbert NOTE: I have a couple of things to say.
First of all, the contents of this article should be required reading for everyone that can read, not just students.
The issue of Deferred Gratification is not new. t is called Common Sense and every religion out there advocates it. Only the SCAM called "greed is good" Capitalism actually labels deferred gratifcation as a "weakness". That explains why Capitalism has been so morally destructive to human society and environmentally disastrous to the biosphere.
Theresa Morris wrote an excellent Essay that fleshes out what we must do. The article here deals with nuts and bolts economic realities. Theresa goes further and explains specifically WHY we should opt for deferred gratification as a matter of ethics, not just survival. I added graphics to underline the importance of her essay and some comments at the end. But the work is hers and it deserves to be broadcast far and wide, just like the article here.
I am posting here two of the graphics I included in my comments on Theresa's Essay in order to explain to readers how TPTB, who are well aware of the dangers inherent in climate change (though they won't admit it), plan to make all the rest of us pay for what those actually DOING over 90% (about ONE percent of the world population) of the damage are liable for (i.e. environmental damage through government policies subsidizing polluters actively and passively through mendacious happy talk propaganda born of corporate corruption). (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-120716190938.png&hash=01feab1c7345a4e98764e0f9d24b2d69171b93c2)
IOW, those responsible for the damage plan to spread the cost to further enrich the oligarchic polluters that got us into this mess in the first place. The operative phrase is "Fragmentation of Agency".
The "Agency" definition here is the responsibility for harm and the consequent responsibility to pay for mitigating said harm.
"Fragmentation" refers to what percentage of all those with Agency in doing the harm are responsible to pay to mitigate and eventually repair said harm.
Since, according to the U.N., the richest 20% of the world's population uses 80% of the resources, the 'Fragmentation of Agency' pie chart for the damage done to the biosphere should look like this:
(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-240915212016.jpeg&hash=47c78d80b3447e15bc4cadf79725cd2b1ad0c926)
The fossil fuel industry, and almost half of the world’s 100 largest companies, want that 'Fragmentation of Agency' pie chart to look like this:
(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-240915212425.png&hash=474f51564604f10ac8a8653c5e6d181e37afbfa8)
The above graphic is how TPTB polluters will try to pass most of the buck away from themselves and onto we-the-people.
We either take to heart what this Cleantechnica article makes very clear and also adopt the common sense ethical recommendations of visionaries like Theresa Morris, or we are toast.
What it Means to be Responsible - Reflections on Our Responsibility for the Future by Theresa Morris, State University of New York at New Paltz (http://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/climate-change/future-earth/msg7563/#msg7563)
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CleanTechnica
September 7, 2021 By Tina Casey
Floating 🌞 Solar Plus 🌊 Wave Energy Smackdown For (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-251117173905.jpeg&hash=3ee1f30d42d58a5d6488780f315a4177ea456938) Fossil Fuels (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/gallery/renewablerevolution/2/3-020821163331.png)
A sea monster of troubles is coming for fossil energy stakeholders, in the form of offshore floating solar panels with wind turbines and wave energy, too.
SNIPPETS:
Everybody is talking about a new EU clean power project that pairs floating solar with offshore wind turbines, but they’re missing half the story. Wave energy is also part of the project. The wave part is not getting much attention, probably because wave-to-electricity conversion has fallen behind wind and solar in the renewable energy race. Nevertheless, if all goes according to plan, the waters of the EU will be peppered with wave conversion devices as well as floating solar panels. ... ...
There Had To Be A Green Hydrogen Angle In There Somewhere… (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-141113185047.png&hash=384024358ff8d5e7133d19b6e6638da4584a8154)
Full article: (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F1%2F3-120818184310-1635923.gif&hash=5e2530db4748ed6c7163e1d478fdfa3cd1108668)
https://cleantechnica.com/2021/09/07/floating-solar-plus-wave-energy-smackdown-for-fossil-fuels/
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September 20, 2021 By Mike Schuler
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ITF: If Done Right, Zero-Carbon Industries Can Be Big Opportunity for Workers, Including Seafarers (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-280917164227.png&hash=67b47a6a2c29f13507ed2ee30cdba12743fb859e)
The International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) is backing a zero-carbon emissions target for shipping by 2050, saying that the energy transition can bring benefits to workers if done in the right way.
At the launch of the ‘Ocean Stewardship Coalition’ held in New York today, the ITF’s Stephen Cotton, as the newly-appointed labour representative on the board of the United Nations Global Compact, delivered a positive message on the benefits of tackling climate change for workers.
“We have a massive task in front of us, to arrest the climate crisis,” Cotton told business and government leaders, including top CEOs and Prime Ministers.
“But from a labour perspective, if done right, the transition to zero carbon industries can be a big opportunity for workers – for decent pay, for better jobs, and for safer workplaces,” said Cotton. “Let’s be ambitious, but let’s be positive and realistic about what this can mean for workers,” Cotton said.
In Cotton’s first public appearance as a UNGC board member, he also threw union support behind a zero carbon emissions target for shipping by 2050. The industry currently accounts for around 2.5 percent of global emissions – a figure that could be much lower, according to the ITF which represents the world’s seafarers.
“Global emissions targets will not be met without action in shipping. The industry needs to act, and governments need to set firm sectoral targets to reach zero emissions either multilaterally in the IMO or by including shipping as part of their own emissions caps committed to in Paris,” said Cotton.
But he also warned against a rush by the industry to cut emissions without considering the impact of new technologies on its workforce, particularly in relation to health and safety and training.
“A just transition must mean a planet safe to live on, and creating industries that are not only green, but also have safe, decent jobs for generations to come,” Cotton said.
“Workers must be at the table that determines their futures, because to transform our economy to tackle this challenge we need to bring every worker with us. This means workers represented at all levels from the workplace to international meetings like COP. Workers cannot be a climate afterthought.” (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-250817121649.png&hash=4554f7e59701d12857946aece16bceb973c997b3)
https://gcaptain.com/itf-if-done-right-zero-carbon-industries-can-be-big-opportunity-for-workers-including-seafarers/
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Make Nexus Hot News part of your morning: click here (https://climatenexus.org/climate-change-news/) to subscribe.
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September 28, 2021
Deniers Accidentally Confirm That Capitalism Stands In The Way Of Climate Solutions
A key plank of climate denial has been and continues to be that climate change is just a pretense for communism, and that climate policies are an assault on capitalism.
But two posts on Sunday show that, however unintentional, deniers agree that unchecked capitalism is getting in the way of successful climate action.
A NoTricksZone post by P Gosselin that was reposted to WUWT describes a new documentary called Headwind“21 that exposes how renewable energy projects also have environmental impacts, and that the business behind them are, in the words of a former London banker, “all about money.”
We’re not going to watch the entire feature-length 92 minute documentary available on YouTube, because even if it were totally 100% accurate in revealing how, as Gosselin describes, it’s all “about corporations making tonnes of money,” it wouldn’t change the fact that we need renewables to replace fossil fuels. The question is obviously how that happens, and as this doc might just show, when capitalism gets its dirty (invisible) hands on something, it doesn’t stay ethically clean for long.
Any evidence of what a former banker called “systemic corruption” is an indictment of the capitalist system that’s corrupting the rollout of renewables, not the technologies themselves.
Speaking of corrupt capitalists, Robert Bryce published a Forbes column Sunday that also accidentally showed how capitalism is botching renewable deployment, with his list of “317 wind energy rejections the Sierra Club doesn’t want you to see.”
As something like the evil twin of Sierra Club’s coal-plant-closing Beyond Coal strategy, the fossil fuel industry has been seeding local fights across the country to oppose wind projects, and Bryce wants you to think that these are organic grassroots uprisings that demonstrate that renewables are unpopular.
But of course they’re not: on average 86% of Americans support funding research into renewables and 77% support expanding wind farms. Instead, the arguments from the column come straight from the fossil fuel industry. For example, the concept of wind turbine sickness, that people experience health ailments as a result of wind turbines causing shadows or air pressure changes or noise issues, has been shown to be spread not by the turbines, but by people warning about how the turbines cause health ailments. It turns out that wind turbine sickness is, per Simon Chapman’s book “a communicated disease” that people mainly catch after hearing fearmongering about from anti-wind activists like Bryce.
And what cures it? Apparently “those paid to host turbines rarely complain” so Chapman suggests that “the drug ‘money’ may be a powerful preventive.”
Snark aside, the fact is that when impacted communities are brought into an energy project from the start and communities and experts are consulted from the planning stage through the life of the project, and are literally bought into the plan through socialized profits, it’s a lot less likely that any opposition will be successful in stopping it, because it will have already met their (environmental, etc) standards and provided a tangible financial benefit to the community.
As the energy transition requires a renewable buildout of incredible scale, putting it solely in the hands of the capitalists whose profits-over-public-good approach is what caused climate change in the first place would mean cheap products, hastily installed, and locally opposed for legitimate reasons.
It’s a recipe for disaster.
(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F2%2F3-280921141040.jpeg&hash=e216b7b6256f520c52c00629504f5d0f407ec918)(https://revisesociology.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/crimogenic-capitalism.jpg)(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F1%2F3-020818201645-1486464.jpeg&hash=bfa44b2ee2b1d6d1ea71a024b1bd6e9cf1328326)(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F1%2F3-161218193528.png&hash=638de94da4704f04462bf03a8a6af48a526382b3)
Plus, irony levels would be off the charts if after having opposed climate action because of socialism, the only criticism about renewables deniers get right is because they’re actually criticising capitalism, and the so-called climate alarmists supposedly pushing for global communism actually end up facilitating a massive capitalist (clean) power generation power grab.
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(https://www.nationofchange.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/logoretina.png)
By John Feffer - October 5, 2021
SOURCE: Tom Dispatch 🕊️
(https://i0.wp.com/www.nationofchange.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/CCPA-MonitorEvergreen-Climate-01.jpeg?w=1200&ssl=1)
Climate-change transition in the age of the 💰🎩😈 billionaire (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F2%2F3-200419205214.png&hash=4c5b9ca97c84607da003becdf6282716bcdf1800)(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-130418193910.gif&hash=633dd399cd6006279afd7efb5ef953673b96bd78)
A world of solidarity economics or climate profiteering?
SNIPPET:
A rising tide, it was once said, would lift all boats: economic growth would lead to general prosperity. But a “rising tide” now has a different meaning in a climate-changing world. The planet can no longer support that kind of growth, whatever its color.
Full article: (https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/304fa75d7ed32d56ae1ff3a796933cb65eac738511bb960bc4a77bb2f67c0af6.gif)
https://www.nationofchange.org/2021/10/05/climate-change-transition-in-the-age-of-the-billionaire/
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October 6, 2021: Across the auto industry, global automakers are staking their future on electric cars (https://www.ft.com/content/fb4d1d64-5d90-4e27-b77f-6e221bc02696?utm_campaign=Clean%20Energy%20News&utm_medium=email&_hsmi=167758036&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-9mtX7KXT41lTSOqtadzoAbbW3doGXBUnIYo8Y1aazXNLV10rMSwpGjb73UMtVzkUVHLWGuOYqf7hfKHWMo-atZIEzUOA&utm_content=167758036&utm_source=hs_email). Cities around the world are turning to diverse forms of electrified public transit (https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/03/climate/cities-public-transit-electric-tram-ferry-bus-cable-car.html?utm_campaign=Clean%20Energy%20News&utm_medium=email&_hsmi=167758036&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-8hFbRuIdjxbCGQHxgzYq8YAK9Xc8C28uMCqjnPCXXQWdBGJ5AQ7RDlVa56lAytwLQecHDLd1M_hlJ5MQIowTUgSo8UxA&utm_content=167758036&utm_source=hs_email) to cut emissions while improving mobility. Europe’s soaring energy prices underscore the need for more renewables (https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/more-renewables-best-answer-energy-price-surge-europe-power-lobby-hears-2021-09-29/?utm_campaign=Clean%20Energy%20News&utm_medium=email&_hsmi=167758036&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-_3dHEYQY8rcRkJJKumx9-blnuYjZXzQN86ItbZqaR5AZKO_KObWj-cQBQuaYScl8oK8H90BMOSbIurTdRH1pzCZYJy2Q&utm_content=167758036&utm_source=hs_email). The U.K. is pursuing 100% clean electricity by 2035 (https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-58792261?utm_campaign=Clean%20Energy%20News&utm_medium=email&_hsmi=167758036&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-_IXBDfiVFuphUmMoKG4moR5Gc0TKBBItwyyp5WID9Gr5b4sgD4Z-SuuAlFaQreyohNeDqIofqM54b3by-iSb5C4dPS0g&utm_content=167758036&utm_source=hs_email). 5 Midwestern governors have joined a bipartisan collaboration to develop a regional EV ⚡ charging network (https://www.npr.org/2021/10/01/1041987104/midwest-electric-vehicles-charging-evs-cars?utm_campaign=Clean%20Energy%20News&utm_medium=email&_hsmi=167758036&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-_Z0hrYWY4AMKdDbSykzoHu4W50Nqc5jl-9gxkJJmKlp5DLHJZPHpH5cbce6EGxenOhiyfQ0vDgq51pfMtBMws9ZiK_eQ&utm_content=167758036&utm_source=hs_email). Despite receiving 💵💰 billions in bailout funds, 😈 major utilities (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F2%2F3-200419205214.png&hash=4c5b9ca97c84607da003becdf6282716bcdf1800) (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-130418193910.gif&hash=633dd399cd6006279afd7efb5ef953673b96bd78) (https://www.theguardian.com/business/2021/oct/05/utilities-cut-power-us-customers-covid-tax-credits?utm_campaign=Clean%20Energy%20News&utm_medium=email&_hsmi=167758036&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-9qtCOOG6q1B9IqqL3KQMVSRPww-CJEU5A6pr4UKJ1IM-gMPQfHK6LN8r4lW8CzCGNsTGpfGYwFNesjqNlk6QJiUBnICg&utm_content=167758036&utm_source=hs_email)are still cutting power to customers.
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"We must keep investing in wind and solar to have more days when renewables are setting the price," said Lukasz Kolinski, the EU Commission's Head of Renewables & Energy System Integration. "Today's situation underlines that we have to limit our dependence on foreign 🦖 fossil fuels as soon as possible." (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F1%2F3-120818185040-1659929.gif&hash=0a9ca0c1f083655b821cbf024422e55e009a6d8d)
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October 5, 2021 By Kelsey Misbrener
FERC’s latest monthly “Energy Infrastructure Update” report
(with data through August 31, 2021)
SNIPPET:
Renewables now provide more than a quarter (25.22%) of total U.S. available installed generating capacity. By comparison, a year ago, their share was only 23.22%. Five years ago, it was 18.39% and a decade earlier it was 14.09%.
Wind and solar alone accounted for 98.52% of the 1,554 MW of new capacity additions in July and August with natural gas providing just 23 MW. Wind is now more than a tenth (10.48%) of the nation’s generating capacity while utility-scale solar has surpassed five percent (5.02%) … and that does not include distributed solar. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-060518153110.png&hash=39d587c31b7f7e66b30d7e59bb560e2ad0662eee)(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F1%2F3-111018132400-1685431.gif&hash=770de9d7a4fd6b31ea7d9b45e544cc00777d8029)
Read more: (https://www.solarpowerworldonline.com/2021/10/utility-scale-solar-generation-on-track-to-overtake-nuclear-power-in-three-years/?spMailingID=55561&puid=74219&E=74219&utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=55561) (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-130418200416.png&hash=15d789b29124aa5a1f1ea397ce630913734b20a4)
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Oct 17, 2021
Renewable Baseload Power from a single desert location. Enough for 7 million homes! (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/gallery/renewablerevolution/2/3-160921144626.png)
https://youtu.be/iJunxkln578
Just Have a Think 346K subscribers
Baseload renewable power is the holy grail of our sustainable energy future and, according to some naysayers, an impossible dream. One UK company begs to differ, and they've just announced a £16 billion project that will be generating 3.6GW of solar, wind and battery capacity in South Morocco for an average of 20 hours a day, transmitted directly into the UK via subsea HVDC cables, by 2027. Could this be the most ambitious renewable energy project yet? (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-250817121424.gif&hash=384c17a4d2be4831084933b91808f8a60f73f7f5)
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Agelbert NOTE: The following (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F1%2F3-250718204530.gif&hash=2e7c5022efc700a555c2e328644b7448b6dda789) discussion took place over the last 4 days. These comments are after a negative story about Hydrogen Gas as a replacement for hydrocarbon fuel based energy by Michael Barnard (Shrinking (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/gallery/renewablerevolution/2/3-070921161911.gif) Hydrogen Demand & Hydrogen Decarbonization Will Have Major Climate Benefits (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F1%2F3-250718211017.gif&hash=1b5b289486b9429bdbdcb938b21ef1a2b66d30fc) (https://cleantechnica.com/2021/12/07/shrinking-hydrogen-demand-hydrogen-decarbonization-will-have-major-climate-benefits/#comment-5641204190). I am surprised Cleantechnica allowed him to post it. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-200714183312.bmp&hash=02dafef2fe739676600fdc9bd56271f0f5ab3723)
That said, "No Planet B" and "TSW" did an excellent job of refuting Barnard's erroneous assumptions and projections, which you can read there if you like.
I have posted this (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-130418202144.gif&hash=428452d9f67a5253ca122e59a06c9b3c9434e50e) discussion here because it relates directly to the BIG picture in Renewable Energy GROWTH, as well as informing readers of who, exactly, is engaging 24/7 in Predatory Delay, no matter how much we-the people suffer (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-040718162656-14241872.gif&hash=6c39a3206e2b2a3d652adee626b5eee8ab5b15bf) from Catastrophic Climate Change (SEE: Mayfield, Kentucky TORNADO DISASTER December 11, 2021 (https://www.newsweek.com/tornado-photos-videos-show-severe-damage-mayfield-kentucky-weather-1658472)) DUE to the continued use of hydrocarbons for fuel.
Those who forsake the law praise the wicked, but those who keep the law strive against them. -- Proverbs 28:4
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Lee Jay
We currently store and retrieve about 500,000 gigawatt hours worth of natural gas each year for seasonal storage. That's 10,000 years of gigafactory battery output. How are you going to replace that seasonal storage without natural gas or underground storage of hydrogen?
agelbert > Lee Jay
A hydrocarbon "benefit" numbers guy, eh?
Your numbers are patently false. No, I'm not saying you are a liar; I am saying you are extrapolating incorrectly from present hydrocarbon product use towards the future.
No, I do not expect to convince you that you are wrong. I will let experience teach you that in the next 5 years or so.
In the meantime, enjoy your "natural" (even though the CH4 that comes out of living organisms, NOT the CH4 that comes out of Fracked hydrocarbon polluting wells, is the CH4 that is ACTUALLY NATURAL) gas "bridge" fuel.
(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F1%2F3-270718182509.png&hash=8110b0df1390c9a9c94421957777b40a38eb1cae)
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Agelbert NOTE: 🦕 Lee Jay's "We are all gonna die without our beloved fossil fuels.
(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/gallery/renewablerevolution/2/3-050921221152.jpeg)" baloney post repeated for clarity:
Lee Jay
We currently store and retrieve about 500,000 gigawatt hours worth of natural gas each year for seasonal storage. That's 10,000 years of gigafactory battery output. How are you going to replace that seasonal storage without natural gas or underground storage of hydrogen?
Slobodan Brčin > Lee Jay
Solar (there is always some light during the 24 hours cycle).
Wind (usually wind is moving)
Geothermal (working 24/7)
Tidal power
Rivers hydro
Reverse hydro
Car,home and utility batteries to soak excess of electricity. Energy price balancing based on dynamic price.
Existing nuclear / bah at least it is not CO2 emitter.
UHVDC around the continent/world (sun is always shining and wind is always blowing somewhere).
So why do you think that we need seasonal storages?
Lee Jay > Slobodan Brčin• 3 days ago
Why do you think we don't? We have it now to handle the differences in energy consumption between seasons that fossil fuel extraction can't adjust for (that's availableall the time too, you know). If you do it all with sources, you require huge curtailment. If you do it all with batteries, you require 10,000 years worth of batteries produced by a giga factory. Hydro isn't even 1% big enough. Pumped hydro is the biggest we have and it's less than 1% of what we need. Geographic distribution helps a lot with daily but very little with seasonal.
Slobodan Brčin > Lee Jay • 3 days ago
Again I'm telling you that you do not need batteries or any storage that can store more then few hours of worth of energy just to solve spikes.
Sun is working 24/7 and it is always noon somewhere.
Same with seasons, you always have summer somewhere.
So just move electricity around the world where it is needed.
Lee Jay > Slobodan Brčin • 3 days ago
Spikes is not the problem. The problem is producing, say, 30% less energy than you consume for, say, 4 months (winter).
Slobodan Brčin > Lee Jay • 3 days ago
US 2020 electric energy consumed 3660 billion kWh.
Let us say 10 billion kWh per day.
Let us say that you have at least 5 sunny hours a day in average.
So you need to maintain average power production of 2 billion kW.
Solar panels are ~$0.20 per watt. Let us say that you can install them for $1.00 for easy calculation.
You need like $2 trillion dollars to add PV system capable of covering all existing electricity needs on top of existing production that you already have.
This does not sound much considering how much money is spent on other things and that this solve many problems for people in US and for planet.
So let us subsidize fossil fuel industry (renewably) to the eternity .....
Lee Jay > Slobodan Brčin • 2 days ago • edited
Your overly simplistic analysis assumes solar output and demand are year around constants. They are not. Now do the math correctly assuming actual and seasonal variation in both load and source, add in ongoing efficiency improvements and transitions to new technologies (like heat pumps instead of furnaces) and then integrate to see how much difference there is in the integrated values of source and demand. Then figure out the most economic way to cover that integrated difference. Hint: It's not batteries and it's not over building sources and curtailing.
Slobodan Brčin > Lee Jay • 2 days ago
Only thing that I'm overlooking intentionally since it is not tech problem is willingness to make world power web due to geopolitical crap as TSW mentioned above.
It is easier to peddle electricity around the globe then to move oil or NG.
Build panels/grid on both hemispheres and your seasonal problems are gone.
Build panels/grid around the world and your day/night problems are gone.
If you think small about US as whole world then this can't work.
Lee Jay > Slobodan Brčin• 2 days ago
I'm sorry, but you don't know what you're talking about.
The hemispheres are not equal.
Building a global grid is unreasonably uneconomical. For underwater power lines, figure $2,000 per meter per gigawatt. Now do the math for being able to move terawatts of power around the planet to any of hundreds of terminals and see the error of your ways.
agelbert > Lee Jay
The only sorry one here is you. You are quite consistent in spouting a series of reasons why "we can't do this" and "we can't do that" in support of maintaning a horrendously polluting status quo. Slobodan Brčin, like everybody else out there who actually knows what they are talking about, which excludies you and your fossil fueler liar pals, accepts the fact that we cannot sustain the status quo. Your ad hominem attacks on him show your lack of objectivity in these matters as well as a totally uncalled for lack of respect. You obviously are quite comfortable with the current polluting energy status quo and feel threatened by the ease wih which we could stop burning ALL hydrocarbon fuels, so you resort to insults.
Your "support for Renewable Energy" is a mendacious pretense for the morally bankrupt purpose of convincing readers that Predatory Delay is a "rational" choice in the "real" world. The truth is that your agenda is to help the hydrocarbon fuel pushing crooks and liars further line their pockets with Profit over Planet money. Consequently, you cannot be reasoned with.
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Slobodan Brčin > Lee Jay • 2 days ago
I'm sorry for island called America, but to connect Europe,Asia,Africa should not require underwater cables.
Also sorry that you have to pay $2000 per meter, which would be $2 billion per 1000km per gigawatt.
Qinghai-Henan (running 1,500kms, 8GW capacity) $3.79 billion dollars.
Also you need to power deficit of other RE in parts of world that at given moment do not have enough production, and you are powering it from multiple sides and then you have/will have enough battery storage for daily need.
Lee Jay > Slobodan Brčin• 2 days ago
Your math is off by a factor of 1,000. Try again.
Lee Jay > agelbert
If you knew me, you'd laugh at yourself. I've spent my entire career on renewable energy research, a career I decided on when I was 8 years old. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-191017140758.jpeg&hash=8c0a35a928dcda3c1a8714ab03f4924a1a775851)
agelbert > Lee Jay
Talk is cheap, Predatory Delay is (Catastrophic Climate Change) expensive. It is a known fact that the hydrocarbon industry has, for about 4 decades now, paid many bean counters to study the EROEI of Renewables for the purpose of distorting the energy facts so that hydrocarbons appear to have a "higher" EROEI. From the gamed enthalpy numbers of hydrocarbons to the very deliberate exclusion of all the costs to the environment and the health of humans, it has been quite a disinformation ride for the fossil fuelers. Sure, they know energy math. They have to in order to spin it their way with lots of happy talk.
Maybe you are not one of those 🦖 energy 😈 "experts", but your comment was exactly the way they spin facts to support Predatory Delay for the sole purpose of slowing a full transition to a Renewable Energy powered Civilization.
(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fstyles%2Frenewablerevolution%2Ffiles%2F3846_Predatory%2520delay%2520guarantees%2520defeat.png&hash=8658b0e8f576e47c44875248e7db1ae4cfd3bc87)
We are out of time for the happy talk fun and games by the Profit Over Planet Hydrocarbon Worshippers.
(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/gallery/renewablerevolution/2/3-290819192222.png)
📢 THE BROWNING OF THE EARTH IS NO JOKE!
(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/gallery/renewablerevolution/2/3-290819164019.png)
We need hydrocarbon fuels like dog needs ticks!
https://youtu.be/K2h2gvYU_WI
(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F2%2F3-070119183832.png&hash=5f431e7095a9bdb0aff9f2a4b76caf441b37b37d)
Lee Jay > agelbert
Again, you're clueless.
Just figure out how to do seasonal energy storage without storing hydrogen underground for use in places other than returning the energy to the grid. Try to do it economically.
Good luck.
agelbert > Lee Jay
More Ad hominem, eh? You are quite consistent in spouting a series of reasons why "we can't do this" and "we can't do that" in support of maintaning a horrendously polluting status quo. Slobodan Brčin, like everybody else out there who actually knows what they are talking about, which excludes you and your fossil fueler liar pals, accepts the fact that we cannot sustain the status quo. Your ad hominem attacks on him, and now towards me, show your lack of objectivity in these matters as well as a totally uncalled for lack of respect. You obviously are quite comfortable with the current polluting energy status quo and feel threatened by the ease with which we could stop burning ALL hydrocarbon fuels, so you resort to insults.
Your "support for Renewable Energy" is a mendacious pretense for the morally bankrupt purpose of convincing readers that Predatory Delay is a "rational" choice in the "real" world. The truth is that your agenda is to help the hydrocarbon fuel pushing crooks and liars further line their pockets with Profit over Planet money. Consequently, you cannot be reasoned with.
But, I'll give you one thing. Your pals in the Oil and Gas Polluters 'R' US know how to corrupt government.
(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/gallery/renewablerevolution/3/3-101221155649.png)
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Lee Jay > agelbert
You're dumber than a sack of hammers, you know that?
I do renewable energy research for a living - for my whole career. I've contributed significantly to technology that produces billions of clean, renewable kWh per year. I've never worked a day in support of fossil fuel use.
Now, answer the questions I asked, because I've spent thousands of hours trying to answer them - without fossil fuel use.
agelbert > Lee Jay
Lee Jay said, "I've never worked a day in support of fossil fuel use.".
By repeatedlly stating that we "cannot" operate our civilization "economically" without horrendously polluting fracked well methane, you are working right now in support of CONTINUED hydrocarbon fuel use.
If that opinion by you is the result of your renewable energy research career, then you, in effect, do lies about Renewable Energy for a living.
Your definition of "economically viable" is so lacking in Social Cost of Carbon math as to border on insanity.
(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F2%2F3-010921155437.jpeg&hash=12a9dae2d899b723ffb13aac7848632c0cab6d86)
How's the "economics" of hydrocarbon fuel use CAUSED Catastrophic Climate Change working for (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fdl2.glitter-graphics.net%2Fpub%2F722%2F722242dwt3vpq0qd.gif&hash=e644c0351d73d3d5f1399e027685f7b47a9a6345) Mayfield, Kentucky, Mr. "Energy expert"? Oh, that is not part of your CH4 EROEI "math"? R-i-i-i-ight.
You are all about "fiduciary duty" to 🦕 corporate bottom lines. That is known as gaming (see: mens rea) hydrocarbon EROEI numbers to exclude the costs you can "socialize" (i.e. stick we-the-people with the health and environmental downsides).
All that "Social cost of Carbon" biosphere math is not, uh, "relevant", eh? You live in the "real" world. You know, the one who's 🦖 CEOs, with a straight face, calmly state that those hydrocarbons now leaking into the drinking water in Honolulu are "not their problem". Do you know what drinking even a tiny PPM amount of hydrocarbons in previously potable water does to human health? Probably, but you refuse to admit that is part of the COST of a hydrocarbon fueled civilization.
Which brings us to the point of this discussion. Slobodan Brčin provided reasonable suggestions based on Renewable Energy Technologies to get us permanently off ALL hydrocarbon fuel use. You, basing your allegations on your cherry picked definition of "economical", scoffed and derided. I challenged you and you hardened your position with more Ad hominem and a claim to being an "authority" in Renewable Energy Research. I maintain that, as I said in so many words in my first reply to you, your pro-CH4 energy math is flawed, to put it mildly. I have explained why (cherry picked CH4 EROEI cost exclusions).
NOTE: I have absolutely no problem with ethanol as a fuel during the transition to 100% Renewable Energy. ETHANOL, in an economically sane world not corrupted by hydrocabon government subsidy hand-outs, would be the ideal BRIDGE FUEL, not fracked "natural" (lol!) gas. Spare me all the disinformation on ethanol "negative impacts" to the environment and farm "use for fuel instead of food" peddled by the hydrocarbon hellspawn. It's all baloney. Ethanol has some problems but they are insignificant compared with the problem resulting from methane gas production and use. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F2%2F3-150921163747.png&hash=de288dbfc8337677dba7d346b2f11e1ba4267039)
Ethanol is, in addition to being a reality based viable bridge fuel, a product with many uses in medicine. Yes, drinking it can eventually kill you, but human vices are not the subject of this discussion.
Lee Jay said, "Now, answer the questions I asked, because I've spent thousands of hours trying to answer them - without fossil fuel use.".
Now, if I finally have your attention, I will explain, not just why, but how we certainly can replace ALL hydrocarbon based fuels with Renewable Energy Technologies.
You state that hydrogen gas for fuel is "not economically viable" as compared to CH4 because hydrogen gas, a very difficult to store gas, must be stored for several months (at least) for use in winter, like methane is now stored for winter use. That is true only if hydrogen is in the form of a gas. That is not necessary due to other Renewable Energy Technology chemistries that can easily, safely and cheaply store stable chemical compounds (I am NOT talking about the ridiculously energy wasteful negative EROEI CH4 process to get hydrogen that the fossil fuelers love.) that contain hydrogen (e.g. H2O, HHO+NaOH, etc.). The energy required to extract H2 on demand can come from water tanks, large battery banks, wind, solar, tide and geothermal sources. Of course a combination of these technologies must be working together for 24/7 on demand H2 generation. That is certainly not diffcult, though the fossil fuelers keep saying "it can't be done". It can be done and Lovins of the Rocky Mountain Institute has, for at least TEN YEARS now, explained how that can be done and why the current system is terribly inefficient, from the coal and CH4 grid energy sources to the CH4 and fuel oil furnace uses.
THIS is a hydrocarbon powered grid:
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How can you claim with a straight face that THAT is "sustainable"?
As to the "happy home furnaces" that the hydrocarbon cheerleaders claim are "more efficient" at heating your home than split system heat pumps or electrical resistance heaters/fans powered by electricty from a Renewable Energy powered grid, when you do most of the energy math, even BEFORE you do the biosphere COSTS math, LESS energy is used for this concentrated use of energy flowing through wires from exclusively Renewable Energy Sources.
Mr. Jay, do you know what it costs to maintain a furnace in maintenace costs for the life of said furnace? It's easily $200 a year (low balled estimate not including parts replacement). Now multiply that $200 by about 90% of 140 million homes (as of 2020). Is that in your EROEI CH4 math? NOPE! WHY!!? It SHOULD BE!
And NO, using ONLY electricity to heat and cool a home does NOT "add comparable maintenance costs" to heating and cooling, never mind the price gouging initial cost of a hydrocarbon powered furnace.
Furnaces aren't just inefficent, they malfunction. The malfunction is, granted, a low percentage overall, but the fact is that electrical resitance heating, while resulting annually in some fires that kill people who did not position said heaters properly, are insignificant compared to carbon monoxide and fire caused deaths from hydrocarbon fueled furnaces. Are those COSTS to human health and welfare included in your CH4 EROEI math? NOPE! WHY!!? They SHOULD BE!
I can go ON and ON about how other RE harvesting technology (e.g. wind, geothermal, tide wind, etc.) can be EASILY made available in base grid size amounts 24//7 by daisy chaining technologiy and computer controlled coordination. This is NOT rocket science. This is NOT that hard to do. The ONLY thing preventing a truly EFFICIENT energy powered civilization is the resistance of the hydrocarbon industry. If you ever decide to plug in to the CH4 EROEI formula all the actual enthalpy inefficiencies of the present use of hydrocarbons plus the Social Cost of using hydrocarbons for fuel, you will agree with the following statement I made several years ago.
"We do not need a 'new' business model for energy because we never had one. What we need, if we wish to avoid extinction, is to plug the environmental and equity costs of energy production and use into our planning and thinking. " -- A.G. Gelbert
J.R.R. Tokien knew what he was talking about...
"The most evil creation ever visited upon mankind is the internal combustion engine." -- Celebrated author of The Lord of the Rings J.R.R. Tokien
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The Hydrocarbon Fuel Powered Civilzation "Business Model" is Obsolete, PERIOD!
“You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete.” - R. Buckminster Fuller
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CleanTechnica
December 18, 2021 By John Rodgers (Guest contributer)
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2021 Year In Review: 5 Stories Of Clean Energy Progress
Originally published by Union of Concerned Scientists, The Equation.
Solar power, onshore wind, offshore wind — clean energy was rolling in 2021. Here’s an update from the Union of Concerned Scientists.
The end of the year can be a fine time for taking stock, and that’s true in the energy space just as in our personal lives. Lots of stories of clean energy progress caught my eye for 2021. Here are five of them — about renewable energy technologies and markets that seem particularly worthy of note and celebration.
1. Solar roars (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F1%2F3-111018132401-1686487.gif&hash=9c799f9f5ab2dfe2070b755850d7253683a6b1c0)
The year isn’t over, but it’s already clear that it will be another record breaker for US solar. By the end of the third quarter, the country had already chalked up another 16,000 megawatts (MW) of large-scale, commercial, community, and residential solar, according to energy research company Wood Mackenzie (WoodMac). Solar is on pace to far outperform even record-breaking 2020, during which 19,200 MW was installed.
Other metrics of solar’s soaring-ness in 2021: Total US solar installations sailed past the 100,000 MW mark this year. That means there’s enough US solar capacity to generate the equivalent of some 20 million typical households’ electricity use.
And, according to WoodMac, solar accounted for more than half — 54 percent — of new power generating capacity installed in Q1-Q3, Q3 was the first-ever quarter with over 1,000 MW in residential solar installations, and “{o}ne out of every 600 US homeowners is now installing solar each quarter.”
2. Wind soars (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F1%2F3-111018132401-1686487.gif&hash=9c799f9f5ab2dfe2070b755850d7253683a6b1c0)
Land-based wind in the United States is also having a fine year. Through Q3, installers had stood up another 7,300 MW, according to the American Clean Power Association (ACP). That makes the first three quarters of this year the best ever for US wind. And, as with solar, wind’s strong 2021 performance comes on the heels of a record-breaking 2020.
By the end of Q3, the total for US wind capacity had risen to almost 130,000 MW, or enough to meet well over 40 million households’ electricity needs.
3. Even more offshore (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F1%2F3-111018132401-1689625.gif&hash=31d44a761d963df1354e5ef55b63387c72033709)
Offshore wind, while still early stages in this country, has also been generating all kinds of positive signs and palpable progress in 2021.
The Biden administration threw some important weight behind offshore wind early on this year with its announcement in March of a goal of 30,000 MW by 2030. That’s more offshore wind capacity than Europe, the world leader, has installed so far, and five times what got installed globally during 2020. It also fits well the amount of offshore wind that states have already committed to; having a willing partner for that in the federal government is key.
The administration has demonstrated that willingness with important progress. That includes getting the first two project proposals through the federal permitting process (off Massachusetts and off Rhode Island/Long Island) and moving other projects into the environmental review stages. The administration has also announced seven new areas that they’ll be assessing for possible offshore wind leasing, off the East, West, and Gulf Coasts.
The progress led to the first groundbreaking (or at least sandshoveling) in November, on Cape Cod. Steel in the water (a ways offshore) should be following soon.
4. Renewables add up(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/gallery/renewablerevolution/2/3-300919160022-2281531.png) (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F1%2F3-120818185040-1659929.gif&hash=0a9ca0c1f083655b821cbf024422e55e009a6d8d)
The renewable energy progress in recent years is visible not just in the solar arrays on rooftops and wind turbines in fields, but in the electricity generation numbers.
As of September, generation from wind and solar across all sectors was a stunning 15 percent above the total for the same period in 2020, according to the Department of Energy’s Energy Information Administration (EIA). And that’s before all those new megawatts from 2021 have made their presence fully known.
A low year for hydroelectric power has somewhat offset gains in solar and wind, but the EIA is projecting that renewables in total will still account for 20 percent of US electricity supply for 2021, and 22 percent in 2022.
5. Worldwide progress (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-130418195803.png&hash=2ff05bac59ce8d16643fd4159b563943ac729a6f)🦖 (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/gallery/renewablerevolution/2/3-020821163331.png)
Progress here at home has been echoed in progress abroad, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA), which noted: “Despite rising costs for key materials used to make solar panels and wind turbines, additions of new renewable power capacity this year are forecast to rise to 290 gigawatts (GW) [290,000 MW] in 2021, surpassing the previous all-time high set last year…”
The IEA called out China, India, and Europe, along with the United States, in particular as markets to watch for serious near-term renewables expansion.
Eye on the horizon (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/gallery/renewablerevolution/2/3-300919160019-22712315.png)
It’s important to note progress; it’s also important not to ignore challenges. While December can be a good time for looking back, I’m also keeping an eye on what’s ahead, on what’s likely to keep the momentum in the right direction—and what threatens to push back.
Just a sampling of what’s worthy of attention: What Congress does (the half of Congress that’s actually willing to address climate change head-on) in the very near term via the Build Back Better Act (the budget reconciliation bill) will make a huge difference in the trajectory of clean energy in this country over the next decade. The bouncing-back-from-Covid supply-demand mismatch dynamics that have been hitting across the economy aren’t sparing clean energy. And we need new electric transmission, and electricity market reforms, to make sure we’re as welcoming as possible to all the renewables we’re counting on.
Through it all we need to pay serious attention to how the transition to clean energy happens at all levels and with each technology. We need to focus on how power sector decisions get made, for example. How costs and benefits get shared. How we focus not just on ramping up renewables but on getting rid of the air and water pollution from fossil fuel generation as quickly as possible. On who gets to be part of the solar revolution, and under what conditions. On what kinds of jobs get created and how we make sure we bring along those whose jobs are tied to the old ways of doing things in the energy sector.
We need a rapid transition to clean energy and we need to make sure we do it right, with a focus on people. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-060518153110.png&hash=39d587c31b7f7e66b30d7e59bb560e2ad0662eee)
It’s a lot to consider, and a lot to do. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-280614160021.gif&hash=c4232ef777279385681440205c65fed5025a6886) (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-280614160424.gif&hash=045353de8e174ded429612f3ba1ac76938d33d9b) (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-280614160150.gif&hash=fae88c89ced91c65521a3796eb2f5f7c3db4da4e)(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-280614155943.gif&hash=b17e40102e2e6be63d51c9aa473fc1e44d92c2ae)(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-280614160222.gif&hash=728b965d6d4048309d24d486b4121efb8be31a7c)(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-280614160049.gif&hash=bddf39202012cd4bf52744ef30c3df58ac1479d0)(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F1%2F3-111018132400-16842321.gif&hash=e2590f92501c5dd6149626bb0ab180ce9e1d5bd3)
But it’s worth taking a moment to note, and celebrate (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/gallery/renewablerevolution/2/3-301021140910.gif), the clean energy progress in 2021. Because if we get this right, there’s a whole lot more clean energy where that came from. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-221017161839.png&hash=7d34712243960aa20883775dad728bc2115ed6fe)
https://cleantechnica.com/2021/12/17/2021-year-in-review-5-stories-of-clean-energy-progress/
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BRIEFING
Tuesday, 11 Jan 2022
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Germany to launch emergency programme for “huge, gigantic” 2030 emissions target task (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/gallery/renewablerevolution/2/3-300919160019-22741031.png)
Faced with a “drastic backlog” of too high emissions left by the previous government and not enough measures in place to reach the 2030 climate targets, Germany’s new minister for the economy and climate, Robert Habeck, has announced the launch of climate emergency programmes that take effect quickly. The Green Party minister wants to accelerate renewables growth - in particular a new onshore wind boom - as well as industry decarbonisation and the electrification of transport and heating. Making it clear to people that drastic changes need to be accepted for the good of society is just one of many difficult tasks, Habeck said, adding that despite all this, the country was presented with an “enormous opportunity."
Environment minister says Germany prepares “clear no” on nuclear in EU taxonomy (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/gallery/renewablerevolution/2/3-020821163331.png)
The new German environment minister, Steffi Lemke from the Green Party, has said she will work towards a clear rejection by Germany of the inclusion of nuclear power in the EU taxonomy on sustainable investments, as part of the goverment's opinion on a draft by the European Commission. In an interview with public broadcaster ARD, Lemke said the government would send its contribution in the next days that contains “a clear no” regarding the European Commission’s proposal to include nuclear power in the taxonomy. “This is the government’s joint position,” Lemke said. Including nuclear would mean that the taxonomy failed at its core objective of providing a sustainable framework for investments of the future. “The sustainability label would then not mean that it guarantees sustainability,” she said. However, the ball would ultimately be in the European Commission’s court and the German government could of course not override the decision by itself, Lemke added. But even if Germany has little influence on the outcome, “a clear public position” that rejects nuclea r power would be an important statement that also is backed by chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) and finance minister Christian Lindner (FDP). Asked about the inclusion of gas, Lemke said the technology "does not need this sustainability label which is targeted at long-term developments", even as natural gas would be needed for a transition period.
An alliance of NGOs in Germany, meanwhile, has collected over 220,000 signatures within four days to protest against the inclusion of nuclear power as well as natural gas in the taxonomy. The alliance that includes Environmental Action Germany (DUH), Friends of the Earth Germany (BUND), Bürgerbewegung Finanzwende, Greenpeace, Nabu and others said the German government should not only reject the proposal but also seek legal action against it if necessary. “If climate-damaging and high-risk energy technologies are classified as sustainable, the entire label loses its meaning – which would be a very worrying signal to international observers,” the NGOs said.
Municipal utility association VKU, on the other hand, said the inclusion of natural gas as a bridge technology is justified (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-250817134803.gif&hash=27a64c4d2c644227b9d5197d345c7c2bf4305e4c). “Those who think the EU taxonomy is about to permanently label natural gas as sustainable are misled,” VKU head Ingbert Liebing said. New investments in gas infrastructure would make possible its later conversion for use with climate-neutral green hydrogen. Such investments are also needed to allow the transition away from coal towards an energy system fully based on renewables. “Those who bluntly criticise this should present alternative paths towards a secure and clean energy supply,” he added.
The 😈 European Commission has proposed including investments in nuclear power as well as in certain natural gas projects in the taxonomy. The inclusion of nuclear has been advocated by (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.emofaces.com%2Fen%2Femoticons%2Fn%2Fnuclear-emoticon.gif&hash=e4e4a2a7087fe69ad666bbc193626b4bf13857a8) France, whereas 😈 German politicians insisted that gas should be labelled sustainable (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-191017140758.jpeg&hash=8c0a35a928dcda3c1a8714ab03f4924a1a775851) as long as it can later be converted to green hydrogen use (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F1%2F3-250718202127.gif&hash=acc63221521ebaf3f238088fd92d1ae3a08b6e48). EU member states can comment on the proposal until 21 January, before the Commission might revise its proposal and passes it on to the member states and the EU parliament for approval. At the final vote in the EU Council, Germany might ultimately abstain from a decision, news agency Reuters reported.
Der Spiegel
Dutch economic affairs minister, Stef Blok, has expressed concern about Germany’s large appetite for natural gas sourced from the Netherlands’ northern Groningen province, where its continued exploitation has recently resulted in hundreds of small earthquakes, Claus Hecking reports for Der Spiegel. The Dutch government had planned to stop gas production at the Groningen field due to the continued quakes, but the site is now set to about twice as much as expected in the 2021/22 financial year due in part to high demand from Germany gas. Blok has nevertheless written a letter to his German counterpart, climate and economy minister Robert Habeck, complaining about the significantly higher demand registered by German customers for low-calorie gas from its neighbour country. In a statement to the House of Representatives in the Hague, Blok explained that he told Habeck he was “seriously worried about this development,” adding that he asked his German counterpart to check what measures Germany can take to limit its gas consumption “to a minimum." Due to the ongoing energy price crisis in Europe, Germany's utilities will likely have to order 1.1 billion cubic metres more of gas from the Netherlands this year than originally planned, according to the article
Natural gas accounted for 15.3 percent of Germany’s total energy sources last year, an increase of 4 percent over 2020 >:(. The government regards gas as a necessary (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F1%2F3-270718182509.png&hash=8110b0df1390c9a9c94421957777b40a38eb1cae) bridge technology (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/gallery/renewablerevolution/2/3-070921161911.gif) towards decarbonisation and the European Commission plans to classify it as a sustainable investment – a move that has nevertheless split Germany’s new government coalition. While finance minister 🦕 Christian Lindner of the pro-business Free Democratic Party (FDP) has welcomed the proposal to include gas as a transitional fuel towards climate neutrality (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-250817134803.gif&hash=27a64c4d2c644227b9d5197d345c7c2bf4305e4c), Green Party ministers have criticised the decision as “greenwashing”. The opposition Left Party, meanwhile, is pushing for the rapid certification of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline in order to increase gas imports from Russia. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F1%2F3-120818180835-16271224.gif&hash=c2a9bfbff23e2414975829eb4b3655af12eb02cc)
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BRIEFING
Tuesday, 01 Mar 2022
(https://ci6.googleusercontent.com/proxy/5C3yC9jr6FRO25qlSDW4MRZlEVx8RT2A7LYglLiwgHRq1KVHQ2KHA2qf5AmEUiomVi_YNTPFzXAE_4UAGGdXw3_Hhid8nWOPfnubOvTI_Eg2aLa-AWacuxRK7mFM5lzUQKDGoZWneXd6jSw7Z7eB4QOd0QmmMzjOcyWNfIU4368-d4HNV-75rgwtPh1CoE5LLgk2lJfkmi2EVVfC9nzEs3z4hgxIzcYQUot4zDTxyATTt125xIM=s0-d-e1-ft#https://www.cleanenergywire.org/sites/default/files/styles/newsletter_image/public/images/newsletter/rwe-helgoland-offshore-wind-farms-amrumbank.jpg?itok=a5QwzQqt)
100% green power by 2035 (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F1%2F3-120818185038-16442135.gif&hash=52927992b43007fa5c5eb6ffcb453ae29948c356) – high hopes for Germany's next renewables reform
Germany’s government has initiated the first steps of a wide-ranging renewables reform that should make the country’s power supply almost 100 percent renewable by 2035. In a draft paper seen by Clean Energy Wire, the economy and climate ministry proposes higher renewable capacity targets for 2030, aligning the German clean energy path with the 1.5°C warming limit. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-221017161839.png&hash=7d34712243960aa20883775dad728bc2115ed6fe)
In a novelty move, the ministry will legally oblige power suppliers to reduce bills for consumers after the levy for renewables on the power price is scrapped in July 2022. The ministry’s plans were well-received due to their potential for ridding the country of its dependency on imported fossil fuels and for accelerating the decarbonisation of all sectors, but questions were also raised as to how the government will actually put all the extra gigawatts of renewables capacity on the ground.
In a reaction to the possible reduction or stop of Russian 🦕 gas deliveries to Germany, minister Robert Habeck said that there would be no taboos when looking into supply security, but that using ☠️ imported coal for longer or letting existing nuclear (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.emofaces.com%2Fen%2Femoticons%2Fn%2Fnuclear-emoticon.gif&hash=e4e4a2a7087fe69ad666bbc193626b4bf13857a8) plants remain online (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F2%2F3-231021162042.gif&hash=00e4320679640dee23728d47c759036bfc6c91cb) were unlikely to be feasible solutions. Update: Adds details on planned renewables reform and reactions from industry.
Read more: (https://www.cleanenergywire.org/news/germany-aims-100-green-power-2035-will-present-gas-reduction-plan) (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F1%2F3-120818184310-1635923.gif&hash=5e2530db4748ed6c7163e1d478fdfa3cd1108668)
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March 28, 2022
Wind, solar and other renewables cover 54% of Germany’s power consumption in early 2022
Renewable power installations covered more than half of Germany’s power consumption in the first two months of 2022. Figures released by energy industry association BDEW and the Centre for Solar Energy and Hydrogen Research Baden-Wurttemberg (ZSW) showed that wind turbines, solar panels and other renewables contributed 54 percent of power consumption in January and February. These installations produced about 25 percent more electricity than in the same period one year before. “The increase is mainly due to favourable weather conditions for power production with wind and sunshine,” BDEW and ZSW said. With an output of 20.6 billion kilowatt hours (kWh), February 2022 also ended up being a new record month for wind power production in the country. In that month alone, renewables even covered 62 percent 🌞 of total electricity consumption.
However, the high renewables output “should not conceal the fact that the expansion of renewable power sources is happening much too slow”, said BDEW head Kerstin Andreae. She added that the war in Ukraine had highlighted the need for more energy autonomy, urging the government to make sure that licensing procedures are carried out faster and other hurdles for renewables expansion are removed.