2018-2-1 Energy Week

Visitors Please Note: This blog is maintained to assist in developing a TV show, Energy Week with George Harvey and Tom Finnell. The post is put up in incomplete form, and is updated with news until it is completed, usually on Wednesday. The source is geoharvey.wordpress.com.

Within a few days of the last update, the show may be seen, along with older shows, at this link on the BCTV website: Energy Week Series.

Thursday, January 25:

Solar panels in the desert

• The recently announced 30% solar tariff could be offset and overwhelmed by new plans announced this week by the Rocky Mountain Institute and 35 solar energy industry leaders. They committed to developing an ultra-low-cost solar product to reduce costs to the point that fully installed costs would only reach $0.50 per watt. [CleanTechnica]
• French President Emmanuel Macron has pledged to shut all of his country’s coal-fired power plants by 2021. Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, he said, “We’ve also decided to make France a model in the fight against climate change.” Mr Macron’s speech stressed the economic benefits of innovation. [SteelGuru]
• Fluence Energy Storage is developing the world’s largest battery energy storage facility as part of a $2 billion repowering project in Long Beach, California. The battery will combine with efficient combined-cycle gas capacity to replace ageing natural gas peaking plants, meeting local reliability needs within the California’s environmental goals. [CleanTechnica]

Friday, January 26:

Six Flags Great Adventure

• Six Flags Great Adventure in New Jersey will soon be powered by a 23.5-MW solar development to be built by KDC Solar, making it the world’s first solar-powered theme park. The project will include solar carports over certain parking lots and 40 acres of ground-mounted solar panels. It is expected to be finished in 2019. [Power Engineering Magazine]
• The Northern Pass Transmission Line project that will bring up to 1.09 GW of hydropower from Quebec, Canada, to New England, has been selected as the sole winner of a huge Massachusetts clean-energy solicitation. The Northern Pass project envisages the construction of a 192-mile (309-km) power distribution network. [Renewables Now]
• The world’s biggest lithium-ion battery has absorbed excess electricity on the South Australian grid, and resold it on the power market for around $810,000. Tesla‘s Powerpack Project only came on stream in December, but on two occasions it has already stepped up to save the grid and helped its owners turn a quick profit. [Greener Ideal]

Saturday, January 27:

Solar panel installation (Shutterstock)

• “MSNBC & CNBC Miss The Key Points Of Trump Solar Tariffs Story” • The solar tariffs are not being applied because China or Chinese companies have done anything wrong. They are not a response to illegal dumping or Chinese subsidies on solar panels (that old case was resolved). And they will cost America many more jobs than they protect. [CleanTechnica]
• A white paper from Environment New York said the rapid growth of less expensive wind and solar energy and the falling costs of energy storage led to a six-fold increase in energy storage capacity (not including pumped hydropower) over the past decade. Concerns about variable power sources are fading away. [Windpower Engineering]

Brayton Point Power Station in Somerset, Massachusetts (Wikimaster97commons, Wikimedia Commons)

• Commercial Development Company Inc announced that it has purchased the closed Brayton Point power station in Somerset, Massachusetts. The Massachusetts Clean Energy Center recently identified Brayton Point as a potential site for the development of an industrial wind port to support the new wind energy for the state. [Windpower Engineering]

Sunday, January 28:

• Central Maine Power is forging ahead with plans to build a major transmission line in western Maine to bring wind and hydro power from Canada into New England’s electricity grid. This is despite losing its bid for a big renewable energy contract from Massachusetts, which was instead provisionally awarded to the Northern Pass project. [Bangor Daily News]

The ferry Assens Baagø (Image: Carsten Lundager)

• Danish ministry of industry, business, and financial affairs presented a plan, called The Blue Denmark, that covers 36 different initiatives to strengthen maritime development in the country. One of them is about modernizing the ferries that connect the many small populated islands to the mainland. Their primary power will be electric. [CleanTechnica]
• “Coal country at crossroads: Future shaky despite promises from Trump” • As ageing coal-fired power plants are shut, coal’s share of the nation’s power mix has plummeted from nearly half in 2008 to roughly a third today. Roughly 20 of 380 have closed or are in the process of shutting since Trump took office, and the future of coal is gloomy. [Longview News-Journal]

Monday, January 29:

Powerful storm

• Tiny airborne particles can have a stronger influence on powerful storms than scientists previously predicted, a study published in the journal Science found. Scientists have known that aerosols may play an important role in shaping weather and climate, but the study shows that the smallest of particles have an outsized effect. [Daily News & Analysis]
• “Natural gas killed coal – now renewables and batteries are taking over” • Over the past decade, coal has been increasingly replaced by cheaper, cleaner energy sources. US coal power production has dropped by 44%. It has been replaced by natural gas, which is up 45%. But in the same time, renewables are up 260%. [The Guardian]

Air inversion at Salt Lake Valley (Photo: Steve Griffin | AP)

• According to the Utah Department of Environmental Quality, 48% of the air pollution in the Wasatch Front region comes from vehicles. In response, Rep Patrice Arent filed HB101, a bill that would require emissions testing on diesel vehicles in Utah. Diesel exhaust, though it is not a huge portion of emissions, is still significant. [Universe.byu.edu]

Tuesday, January 30:

• Offshore wind developers say Trump administration support for offshore wind has been strong during its first year in office, but states are providing the biggest push for new development, especially Massachusetts, Maryland, and New York. More than 4,000 GW of offshore wind power potential exist off US coastlines. [Bloomberg BNA]

Deepwater Wind (Screenshot via NYSERDA)

• New York State has cooked up an elaborate offshore wind energy master plan, according to a story in Newsday. If all goes well, New Yorkers are looking at hundreds of turbines with a capacity of 2,400 MW, and a $6 billion industry employing 5,000 people. Currently, New York has only one offshore wind farm in the works. [CleanTechnica]
• New Jersey Gov Phil Murphy officially announced that New Jersey is rejoining the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative program, the landmark, bipartisan effort to reduce carbon pollution from electric power plants in the Northeast region. Former Gov Christie pulled New Jersey out of the program nearly seven years ago. [Environment America]

Wednesday, January 31:

• Swiss outfit ABB has successfully tested the 500-MW HVDC Maritime Link enabling the exchange of electricity between Newfoundland and the North American grid in Nova Scotia. The project includes two 230-kV AC substations in Newfoundland, one 345-kV AC substation in Nova Scotia and two cable transition stations. [reNews]

US Naval Air Station in Italy (Michael Lavender, US Navy | Flickr)

• About half of the US military’s infrastructure has been affected by climate-related risks, according to a Pentagon report obtained by a nonpartisan climate think tank. The report surveyed over 3,500 US bases worldwide. It found that about 50% of them reported effects from events like storm surge flooding, wildfire, drought and wind. [Science Magazine]
• King Coal’s reign in India is about to come crashing down. Coal supplied 80% of India’s total power mix in 2016-2017, but new wind and solar is now 20% cheaper than the average wholesale power price of existing coal-fired generation, and 65% of India’s coal power generation is being sold at higher rates than new renewable energy. [Forbes]

2018-01-25 Energy Week

Visitors Please Note: This blog is maintained to assist in developing a TV show, Energy Week with George Harvey and Tom Finnell. The post is put up in incomplete form, and is updated with news until it is completed, usually on Wednesday. The source is geoharvey.wordpress.com.

Within a few days of the last update, the show may be seen, along with older shows, at this link on the BCTV website: Energy Week Series.

Thursday, January 18:

A red-tailed hawk rests at a solar farm in Michigan. (Photo: Deb Nystrom, Wikimedia Commons)

• Residents in 30 towns across Vermont, including Brattleboro, Dummerston, Londonderry, Marlboro, Newfane, Putney, and Weston, are petitioning to put climate change on their respective Town Meeting Day agendas and ballots. Vermont has a goal to power the state with 90% renewables by 2050, but is far from meeting this mark. [Commons]
• As the founder and CEO of BlackRock, Laurence D Fink controls over $6 trillion in assets. On January 16, the chief executives of most of the major business corporations in the world received a letter from him telling them they have to develop a social conscience if they wish BlackRock to continue investing in their businesses. [CleanTechnica]
• A boom in solar power could wipe out $1.4 billion a year of summertime revenue for Texas fossil-fuel generators. Almost 15 GW of solar power may be installed in the coming years, and every GW stands to reduce peak summer wholesale electricity prices by about $2.76/MWh, analysis by Bloomberg New Energy Finance shows. [BloombergQuint]

Friday, January 19:

• Norway is aiming to be the first country in the world to switch to 100% electric planes for short-haul flights, the country’s airport operator Avinor has announced. The company wants all of the country’s short-haul airliners to be electric by 2040, in what is the most goal yet adopted for the embryonic electric aviation sector. [www.businessgreen.com]
• A new ISO-NE report finds that New England’s grid is vulnerable to a season-long outage of any of several major energy facilities, such as the 688-MW Pilgrim nuclear plant, which recently went offline when a cold snap caused the loss of a power line to the plant. The most concerning trend is increased reliance on natural gas. [RTO Insider]
• Capital Stage AG, a Hamburg-based solar and wind park operator, has announced a partnership with the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund to co-invest in a Power Capital portfolio, consisting of more than 20 solar farms with a total generating capacity of 140 MW. The investment is ISIF’s first for solar park developments in Ireland. [Independent.ie]
• UK house-holders can cut their domestic energy bills by up to 66% by turning their homes into mini-power stations, according to Japanese car giant Nissan. Excess energy collected via solar panels on sunny days and stored in a fridge-sized home-battery during off-peak times could be sold back to the national grid when demand for it is at its highest. [This is Money]

Saturday, January 20:

Sugar maples, threatened (Photo: Muffet, Wikimedia Commons)

• Climate change threatens the sugar maples in northern hardwood forests. As global temperatures rise, drought could stunt their growth, a decades-long study found. The number of sugar maple trees will decrease, diminishing the amount of maple syrup available and eliminating the stunning colors of these forests during autumn. [Newsweek]
• Despite initiating a slew of regulatory rollbacks allegedly aimed at helping the struggling coal sector regain jobs, the entire sector grew by just 771 jobs during President Trump’s first year in office. Moreover, several key coal-producing states like Ohio, Kentucky, Montana, and Wyoming lost more coal jobs than they gained in the year. [ThinkProgress]

Sunday, January 21:

Pine on Mount Olympus (Photo: Greg King)

• A team of researchers led by a University of Arizona associate professor of dendrochronology examined lines of hundreds of tree rings to reconstruct the last 290 years of climate history. They found increases in extreme summer weather events in the last 50 years, which related to increased changes in the jet stream from climate change. [Arizona Daily Star]
• Omaha-area economic development officials are looking to get a piece of Apple’s $30 billion-plus expansion plan announced last week. Apple will build data centers, and it also plans to build a new corporate campus. Apple will power its new facilities with renewable energy, and Nebraska has a lot of wind power to offer. [Omaha World-Herald]

Monday, January 22:

Not enough snow at Washoe Lake (Benjamin Hatchet, Desert Research Institute)

• There is a term for what’s going on right now in the Sierra Nevada and the mountains that feed the Colorado River. It is called a “snow drought,” and Nevada climate scientists warn that periods of below-average snowpack have become increasingly common, and more frequent snow droughts are likely as global temperatures rise. [Las Vegas Review-Journal]
• A report says New England could see rolling power blackouts within years without more stable fuel supplies. ISO-New England is an independent nonprofit that manages the six-state power grid. The group studied how fuel supply and demand might play out in those states in the hypothetical winter of 2024 to 2025. [New England Public Radio]

Hurricane Katrina

• “The challenges driving microgrids into the mainstream” • Five years ago, in the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy, the potential of microgrids became quite clear when widespread disruption caused power outages in several states. Buildings with their own microgrid systems stood out like beacons against a backdrop of blackouts. [Power Engineering International]

Tuesday, January 23:

• President Donald Trump has announced steep tariffs on imported washing machines and solar panels, giving a boost to Whirlpool Corp and dealing a setback to the renewable energy industry in the first of several potential trade restrictions. The tariff on solar panels is intended to protect two foreign-owned manufacturers. [The Guardian]

Floating solar plant in China (Sungrow)

• China’s National Energy Administration published its official solar statistics for 2017, revealing that the country had installed a total of 52.83 GW worth of new solar capacity in 2017. This represents a 54% increase from the 34.2 GW of new solar PV capacity China installed in 2016, a figure that had been thought enormous. [CleanTechnica]
• Australia’s Clean Energy Regulator announced that the 2020 renewable energy target has effectively been met, three years ahead of schedule. The earlier 42,000 GWh target had been cut to 33,000 GWh by the Abbott government under the pretext that it would cause prices to rise and the lights to go out, a prediction that proved absurd. [RenewEconomy]
• Puerto Rico Gov Ricardo Rosselló announced that he will privatize the island’s crippled, broke, and decrepit electric energy authority, which he said has become a heavy burden to residents and has been hampering economic recovery. The bankrupt company has outdated, inefficient, and polluting generating and transmission systems. [NBCNews.com]

Wednesday, January 24:

Wind power (Photo: Gabriel C Pérez | KUT)

• “How The US Government Is Underestimating The Global Growth Of Renewable Energy” • Dan Cohan, a professor at Rice University who uses numbers provided by the US DOE’s Energy Information Administration, came to question some of them. On examination, he found the numbers on renewable energy were often wildly inaccurate. [Houston Public Media]
• Budweiser said it has switched all its US brewing to renewable electricity and is adding a clean energy logo to its labels as part of a global shift to green power by its parent Anheuser-Busch InBev, the world’s biggest brewer. A “100 percent renewable electricity” symbol will be added to US bottles and cans, Budweiser said, [Reuters]
• Renewables are becoming the energy source of choice for corporate electricity users, with electricity generation owned by companies increasing more than twelvefold in Europe in 2016, a report says. The report tracks progress made by companies committed to 100% renewable power as part of the RE100 initiative. [Renewable Energy Magazine]

2018-01-18 Energy Week

Visitors Please Note: This blog is maintained to assist in developing a TV show, Energy Week with George Harvey and Tom Finnell. The post is put up in incomplete form, and is updated with news until it is completed, usually on Wednesday. The source is geoharvey.wordpress.com.

Within a few days of the last update, the show may be seen, along with older shows, at this link on the BCTV website: Energy Week Series.

Thursday, January 11:

Beijing, December 4, 2017 (Photo: VCG via Getty Images)

• China is seeing signs of success in its fight against smog as pollution levels slump dramatically in the capital region Beijing. Concentrations of PM2.5 plunged 33% from a year earlier in the fourth quarter in 26 cities around Beijing, according to a Greenpeace East Asia report. Levels in the capital alone tumbled 54%. [Bloomberg]
• Scientist at the National University of Singapore report they have discovered a new way to cool air to as low as 65° F without using any chemical refrigerants or compressors. The system depends on a membrane that removes water from the air, which it then cools by evaporation. It could reduce the amount of average global warming appreciably. [CleanTechnica]
• In a short press conference after meeting with Norway’s Prime Minister Erna Solberg for just over an hour, President Trump said the US could consider reentering the Paris Climate Accord that he pulled out of last summer, and spoke wistfully about Norway’s hydroelectric capacity. “So, we can conceivably go back in,” Trump said. [Quartz]

Friday, January 12:

Wind farm in Portugal (StockPhotosArt | Shutterstock.com)

• Renewable power met about 44% of Portugal’s electricity demand in 2017, data from the Portuguese Association of Renewable Energy shows. In 2017, thanks to renewable power plants, the average price of electricity in the wholesale market fell to €18.3/MWh (US 2.18¢/kWh), for savings to the consumer of €727 million. [Renewables Now]
• A report released by the National Institute of Building Sciences, found that every $1 the federal government spends on so-called mitigation projects, such as elevating homes at risk of flooding, improving stormwater management systems, or strengthening buildings against earthquakes, reduces future costs by an average of $6. [Insurance Journal]
• The Trump administration’s proposal to open vast portions of US coastline to oil drilling was met with ferocious opposition from a number of the coastal governors it would affect. At least one governor, Florida’s Rick Scott, a Republican, asked for and received a waiver from the administration. The waiver drew accusations of favoritism. [CNN]

Saturday, January 13:

Frequency fluctuations on the European power grid showing regular variation every fifteen minutes due to the market trading system (Credit: Benjamin Schäfer, Max Planck Institute)

• Researchers at the Juelich Research Center and the Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization in Germany studied major electrical grids, and came up with surprising findings. The frequency and voltage variations caused by wind and solar power turn out not to be as great as those caused by the power trading system. [CleanTechnica]
• A target for English soil to be managed sustainably by 2030 was welcomed by the Anaerobic Digestion & Bioresources Association, which said AD can help achieve this objective with support from government. AD plants recycling biological waste can potentially meet 30% of the UK’s domestic gas or electricity demand. [Renewable Energy Magazine]

Sunday, January 14:

Flooding in Germany (AP image)

• Global warming will increase the risk of river flooding over the coming decades, endangering millions more people around the world, a study from the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research said. It found that flood defenses especially need to be improved in the United States, Indonesia, Central Europe, and parts of India and Africa. [Sun.Star]
• The Australian summer heat is fierce. A section of highway from Sydney to Melbourne started to melt. Heat-struck bats fall dead from the trees. In suburban Sydney, temperatures hit 47.3° C (117° F), though they cooled to 43.6° C (110.5° F) the next day. It is now hotter without an El Niño than it used to be with one. And it may be the new normal. [BBC]
• The Tesla Model 3 is now on show, and attracting huge crowds. One is being featured at the Stanford Shopping Center in Palo Alto and another at the Century City mall in Los Angeles. But a customer who orders a Model 3 today will have to be patient. There are approximately 400,000 people with reservations for them in line already. [CleanTechnica]

Monday, January 15:

GMP control room (Photo: John Herrick | VTDigger)

• Green Mountain Power suffered “several millions” of dollars of lost revenue over the past 18 months because the electric grid in northern Vermont is not robust enough, its director of power planning told the Public Utility Commission. The Washington Electric Co-op has experienced a similar setback for the same reason. [vtdigger.org]
• London’s air quality is within legal limits in mid-January for the first time in 10 years, City Hall has said. The capital breached limits for nitrogen dioxide by 6 January every year for the last decade, Mayor Sadiq Khan said. So far this year, London’s NO2 has not exceeded limits, although it is likely to do so later this month, Mr Khan admitted. [BBC]

Cape Town, South Africa (Getty Images)

• Cape Town, home to Table Mountain, African penguins, sea, and sunshine, is a world-renowned tourist destination. But it could also become famous as the world’s first major city to run out of water. Most recent projections suggest that its water could run out as early as March, after three years of very low rainfall and increasing consumption. [BBC]

Tuesday, January 16:

• Data from both the Energy Information Administration and Rhodium Group show that solar and wind power represented 94.7% of the US net new electricity capacity (15.8 GW out of 16.7 GW) added in 2017. However, that is mainly because fossil fuel power continued to fade away, as 11.8 GW of utility-scale fossil fuel plants closed. [Engadget]

Above average temperatures in Alaska

• The latest weather reports from Alaska are alarming. In December, 2017, the average temperature in Alaska was 19.4° F according to a report from NOAA. That average is 2.1º F more than the previous high temperature record set in 1985. For the month, Alaska was 15.7º F warmer on average, compared to data going back to 1925. [CleanTechnica]
• “Is An Oil Price Spike Inevitable?” • The oil glut is over, at least when it comes to US commercial inventories. Brent touched $70 last week, and discoveries continuing to sit at record lows, so there is a chance that $70 a barrel is only the beginning. One thing, however, is certain: The oil market is notoriously difficult to predict. [OilPrice.com]

Wednesday, January 17:

Scotrenewables Tidal Power SR2000

• Scotrenewables Tidal Power SR2000 tidal current turbine delivered impressive generation throughout heavy North Atlantic storms that battered the Orkney Islands in late autumn and early winter. The turbine showed it is capable of generating through around 99% of conditions experienced at the Orkney site. [Renewable Energy Magazine]
• At the Detroit auto show, Ford announced it is more than doubling its previous commitment to electric cars to $11 billion by 2022. By then, The Verge says, it will have 16 electric models in its product lineup, for a total of 40 models that are hybrid, plug-in hybrid, or fully electric. By comparison, GM says it will have 16. [CleanTechnica]

PVs in China (Image: Wikimedia Commons | WiNG)

• “China Is the New World Leader in Renewable Energy” • China is becoming dominant in the realm of renewable energy, a report from the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis says. And the US decision to withdraw from the Paris climate agreement was an important catalyst for the growth in China’s renewable energy leadership. [Futurism]

 

 

2018-01-11 Energy Week

Visitors Please Note: This blog is maintained to assist in developing a TV show, Energy Week with George Harvey and Tom Finnell. The post is put up in incomplete form, and is updated with news until it is completed, usually on Wednesday. The source is geoharvey.wordpress.com.

Within a few days of the last update, the show may be seen, along with older shows, at this link on the BCTV website: Energy Week Series.

Thursday, January 4:

Louisiana flood of 2016 (USDA photo)

• Climate change is causing the sea to rise. Mismanagement of water resources and pumping water and oil causes some land to subside. Now, the state of Louisiana is coming up with a plan that declare much of coast to be uninhabitable and aggressively force the abandonment of the region by offering buyouts and raising taxes on those who remain. [CleanTechnica]
• In November, 1959, the well-known physicist Edward Teller was the guest of honor at an American Petroleum Institute celebration to mark the 100th anniversary of the oil industry in America. In his remarks, he warned that climate change caused by carbon dioxide emissions would cause rising sea levels and destroy coastal cities. [CleanTechnica]

Cacao plant (Photo: Wikimedia)

• A NOAA study said cacao plants, which are the source of chocolate, face the threat of extinction as a result of climate change. The cacao plants require specific conditions including uniform temperatures, abundant rain, high humidity and a nitrogen-rich soil to thrive. But scientists at UC Berkeley hope to save them with genetic modification. [inUth.com]

Friday, January 5:

• “We are in trouble” • From an environment point of view, we are in serious trouble. Most people are entirely unaware of how bad things are. We cannot continue things as they are – nature will prevent that. We will have to provide for carbon-free power in the near future, including utility-scale solar and wind power. [Green Energy Times]

Crescent Dunes Concentrating Solar Power (Image: US DOE)

• The latest Energy Infrastructure Update from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission is packed full of good news for natural gas and renewables, but not for coal. FERC anticipates 20,650 MW of retirements of coal-fired power plants, with only 1,927 MW of new units planned. But natural gas and renewables are still growing fast. [CleanTechnica]
• A subsidiary of Canada’s Brookfield Asset Management Inc plans to buy Westinghouse, the bankrupt nuclear services company, from Toshiba Corp, for $4.6 billion. Brookfield Business Partners LP and institutional partners plan to use $1 billion of equity and $3 billion of long-term debt financing to buy Westinghouse. [The Japan News]

Saturday, January 6:

SWave crashing over a home in Scituate, Massachusetts (Photo by Scott Eisen | Getty Images)

• The winter storm moved out from the Northeast, and the winter cold moved in. A combination of winds, high tide, and a super moon produced the highest tide the area around Boston has ever seen. But the Boston area wasn’t alone in the misery. Up and down the East Coast, tens of thousands spent a frigid night without power. [CBS News]
• Germany crossed a symbolic milestone in its energy transition by briefly covering about 100% of electricity use with renewable energy sources for the first time ever on 1 January. In the whole of last year, the world’s fourth largest economy produced a record 36.1% of its total power needs with renewable energy sources. [Clean Energy Wire]

Satellite image of Winter Storm Grayson, the “bomb cyclone”

• “3 Questions Worth Answering in the Wake of Winter Storm Grayson” • My colleagues and I think about coastal flooding a lot, but the footage from yesterday had our brains buzzing with new unknowns and threats never considered. It is not simply how do we prepare for storms like this. It’s how do we prepare for a future. [Union of Concerned Scientists]

Sunday, January 7:

• “‘Bomb cyclone’ appears to stymie Perry’s argument for coal” • The winter storm was just the type of scenario Energy Secretary Rick Perry cited as a reason to subsidize coal and nuclear power plants. But so far, the region’s electricity grid has responded with little disruption, aside from a shutdown of the Pilgrim nuclear plant. [The Keene Sentinel]

Ocean

• Global warming is making the world’s oceans sicker, depleting them of oxygen and harming delicate coral reefs more often. In coastal water bodies, including estuaries and seas, low-oxygen sites have increased more than 10-fold since 1950. Scientists expect oxygen to continue dropping even outside these zones as Earth warms. [India Today]
• It’s fair to say that China is putting its money where its mouth is when it comes to pollution and climate change. Now China has announced a reforestation program that will plant enough trees in 2018 to cover an area the size of Ireland. Forests already cover 21.7% of the country. That figure is set to increase to 23% by 2020 and 26% by 2035. [CleanTechnica]

Monday, January 8:

Anchorage in Springtime (Wikipedia)

• Anchorage has yet to see an official temperature below zero for this winter; this makes it the fourth latest date for that to occur. In the winter of 2000-2001, no below zero temperatures were recorded at all. Including that year, all of the five latest dates for sub-zero temperatures in Anchorage have happened since 2000. [KTUU.com]
• 2017 was the second hottest year on record with regard to global average temperatures, after only 2016, according to a report from the Copernicus Climate Change Service. It was a year of extremes, with many wildfires, very low sea ice extent, and lots of drought. Now, of the 17 hottest years on record, 16 were in this century. [CleanTechnica]
• There are fears of an environmental disaster in the East China Sea as a tanker continues to leak oil two days after colliding with a cargo ship. Chinese officials have told state media the Sanchi is in danger of exploding and sinking. Rescuers attempting to reach the site were being beaten back by toxic clouds, according to the transportation ministry. [BBC]

Tuesday, January 9:

Minnesota hail storm (David Joles | Minneapolis Star Tribune | TNS)

• 2017 was the costliest year ever for weather and climate disasters in the United States, NOAA announced, totaling $306 billion. The previous record year, 2005, saw $215 billion in disasters. Last year saw 16 weather events that each topped a billion dollars in damage, including three record-breaking hurricanes. [CNN]
• The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission unanimously rejected Energy Secretary Rick Perry’s plan to subsidize coal and nuclear power plants by raising consumer energy bills. This was a major blow to the Trump administration’s effort to bring back coal power, especially since 3 of the 5 commissioners are Trump appointees. [ThinkProgress]
• Since the sexes of sea turtles are determined by the heat of sand incubating their eggs, scientists doing a survey expected that with climate change there would be slightly more females. But instead, they found female sea turtles from the Pacific Ocean’s largest green sea turtle rookery now outnumber males by at least 116 to 1. [National Geographic]

Wednesday, January 10:

An empty lot in Queens where a house damaged by Hurricane Sandy was demolished (Photo by AP)

• New York will be the first major city to be remapped by FEMA with climate change in mind, according to a report in the New York Times. Cartographers will take into account the new normal of rising sea levels and increasingly frequent 100-year (and 500-year) storms. FEMA’s maps represent the agency’s flood plain estimates. [Next City]
• Over 116 GW of new wind and solar capacity is expected to be installed in the US through the end of 2020, according to a Federal Energy Regulatory Commission projection. That total includes 72.5 GW of wind in 465 units and 43.5 GW of solar in 1,913 units. However, coal is expected to keep shrinking, losing 20.7 GW. [Power Engineering Magazine]

Wind farm in Idaho (From energy.gov, Wikimedia Commons)

• An Xcel Energy solicitation for 238 projects of renewable energy resources with battery storage drew 430 proposals with record low median prices. Wind with storage drew 5,700 MW of bids priced at 2.1¢/kWh ($21/MWh). Wind and solar with storage drew 4,048 MW at 3.06¢/kWh. Solar with storage drew 16,725 MW, at 3.6¢/kWh. [Energy Storage News]
  (Lazard’s LCOE for combined cycle natural gas is 4.2¢/kWh to 7.8¢/kWh.)