2018-08-02 Energy Week, Episode 274

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, July 26:

Beaver Creek wind farm

• MidAmerican Energy’s 2 Gigawatt Wind XI Barrels Forward In Iowa
  MidAmerican Energy’s 2-GW Wind XI project continues to roll out across Iowa with new announcements confirming another 341 MW of capacity in the Arbor Hill and Ivester wind farms. Last May, MidAmerican Energy announced that it intends to be the first investor-owned electric utility in the US to meet 100% of its demand with renewable power. [CleanTechnica]
• Beijing Bids to Extend its Global Clean Energy Lead
  China has firmly established itself as the world’s dominant manufacturer of clean energy technologies. It has been the largest producer of solar PVs for over a decade. Economically and strategically, China is well set to benefit from the global shift toward clean energy technologies. [The Jamestown Foundation]
• Enforcement of corporate wrongdoing declines – dramatically – in Trump’s 1st year
  Federal enforcement of corporate wrongdoing declined badly during Donald Trump’s first year in office, analysis from Public Citizen, a government watchdog, shows. A prime example is the EPA, where the report said penalties during Trump’s first year dropped 94%, from $23 billion in Obama’s last year to $1.4 billion in Trump’s first year. [Wisconsin Gazette]

Friday, July 27:

Grand Canyon (Credit: Stephanie Keith | Reuters)

• “Top Interior officials ordered parks to end science policy, emails show”
  Policy enacted in the final weeks of the Obama administration elevated the role of science for decision-making and emphasized that parks should take precautionary steps to protect natural and historic treasures. Newly released emails show how that policy was rescinded. [PRI]
• “State sitting in clean power top spot”
  Projections by the Green Energy Markets’ June Renewable Energy Index show that Tasmania will be producing 99.6% of the power it consumes with renewables in less than two years. If the projects in Tasmania’s pipeline are all built, it will produce over 120% of the power it needs and become an exporter. [The Advocate]

Grande Prairie Wind Project (Megan Farmer | The World-Herald)

• “OPPD partner’s wind power project will continue utility’s renewable energy growth”
  Once a new private wind power project in Nebraska comes online in late 2019, Omaha Public Power District’s renewable portion of its energy mix would make up 40%, a spokeswoman confirmed. The figure was less than 20% as in 2016. [Omaha World-Herald]

Saturday, July 28:

Tesla Powerwall at a home

• “Network Of Tesla Powerwall Batteries Saves Green Mountain Power $500,000 During Heat Wave”
  Green Mountain Power is using a virtual power plant including 2,000 Tesla Powerwall batteries in homes across Vermont to beat the heat. That system saved GMP $500,000 in just one week this month as temperatures soared into the 90s. [CleanTechnica]
• “Owner of Iowa’s lone nuclear plant plans to shutter it by 2020”
  NextEra Energy, owner of the Duane Arnold Energy Center, says it will retire the nuclear plant in late 2020, five years early. Alliant Energy, the plant’s largest customer, has agreed to pay NextEra $110 million to shorten its agreement so it can switch to wind power to save money. [DesMoinesRegister.com]

Santa Rita wind farm in Texas

• “US Wind Capacity Surpasses 90 GW As Record Construction Levels Continue”
  The US wind energy industry currently has a record amount of wind capacity under construction. It just came out of a second quarter which installed 626 MW of new capacity, pushing the country’s cumulative wind energy capacity total over the 90 GW mark. [CleanTechnica]

Sunday, July 29:

• “The precious metal sparking a new gold rush”
  Cobalt mining has not happened at any sort of scale in the US for decades, but a handful of mining companies are staking claims at sites in Idaho, Montana, and Alaska. Interest in cobalt is growing because it is a key component in the lithium-ion batteries that power electronic devices and electric cars. [BBC]

Carr Fire near Redding, California (Noah Berger | AP)

• “Hottest Four Years Ever? 2015. 2016. 2017. 2018?”
  “The impacts of climate change are no longer subtle,” the director of the Earth System Science Center at Penn State University told CNN. “We are seeing them play out in real time in the form of unprecedented heat waves, floods, droughts and wildfires. And we’ve seen them all this summer.” [Common Dreams]
• “EPA reverses Pruitt-era rule on diesel emissions”
  The EPA will now enforce an Obama-era rule that limits diesel truck emissions, reversing one of the final decisions of the Pruitt era. In a memo, acting administrator Wheeler listed problems with Pruitt’s replacement rule, but did not say whether a different replacement was to come. [CNN]

Monday, July 30:

Flooding in Iowa (Jim Slosiarek | The Gazette)

• “Latest climate change projections ominous for Iowa”
  In 1991, climate scientists believed that climate change in the Midwest would lead to a warmer, wetter climate, including warmer winters and more rain in spring and early summer. They were right. New climate projections for Iowa may make you sweat – and build a dam around your home! [The Gazette]
• “Renewables beat fossil fuels, and are getting cheaper”
  A study by Bernstein documents the persistent drop in the levelized cost of electricity from renewable generation with projections of future cost potentials. It argues that the cost of wind and solar power is likely to be well below the cost of fossil fuel generation nearly everywhere. [RenewEconomy]
• “The EV Safety Advantage”
  Electric cars are now known for being quick. They are known for being clean. They are known for being quiet and smooth to drive. However, one of their biggest benefits is something seldom discussed or even acknowledged. Major independent government agencies rate EVs as the safest cars to drive. [CleanTechnica]

Tuesday, July 31:

Cooling towers at a nuclear plant (Sean Gallup | Getty Images)

• “Nuclear power is ‘ridiculously expensive’ compared to solar, says longtime nuclear advocate”
  A longtime nuclear industry advocate and former head of the International Energy Agency now says nuclear is too expensive compared to solar. Meanwhile, Bloomberg has repeatedly shown existing US nuclear power plants are “bleeding cash.” [ThinkProgress]
• “GHG worsens just as climate commission releases report”
  The Vermont Climate Action report sets forth goals for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and dealing with the effects of climate change. It also contains discouraging news about the rise of GHG emissions in Vermont, which will make achieving ambitious goals challenging. [Vermont Biz]

Solar array in China

• “Solar panel glut is muting effect of Trump tariffs on imports: SunPower”
  A steep global decline in the price of solar modules is nearly offsetting the effect of the Trump administration’s 30% tariff on imported panels, the chief executive of SunPower said. The module price has dropped 12% since China reduced internal incentives. [ETEnergyWorld.com]

Wednesday, August 1:

• “Massachusetts passes compromise clean energy bill”
  A compromise clean energy bill was passed by Massachusetts lawmakers, though it is less ambitious than the bill the state Senate passed in June. The legislation, which is now going to the governor’s desk, “falls far short” of the Senate’s version, the Sierra Club said. [Renewables Now]

Biodegradable plastic tableware

• “Demand For Biodegradable Plastics Expected To Surge”
  Biodegradable plastics is a double-digit growth industry coming into its own from increased regulations and bans against plastic bags and other single-use plastic items. Concerns about plastic waste in the environment are contributing to worldwide demand for biodegradable plastics. [CleanTechnica]
• “UK Clean Electricity Surpassed 50% In 2017 As Renewables Soar”
  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. Clean energy is defined as renewables plus nuclear. [CleanTechnica]

2018-07-26 Energy Week, Episode 273

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, July 19:

Stockpiles of rocks containing uranium ore (Photo: Martin Divisek)

• Trade War Spills Into Uranium as U.S. Weighs Import Tariffs
  The Trump administration began an investigation into whether uranium imports threaten national security, a move that may lead to tariffs on the nuclear power plant fuel. US uranium miners supply less than 5% of domestic consumption for the metal and say it’s increasingly difficult to compete with state-subsidized companies abroad. [Yahoo Finance]
• 100% Renewable Energy: UK carbon emissions have fallen below 1890 levels – the Victorian Era!
  Carbon Brief reports the UK’s greenhouse gas emissions are already 38% below 1990 levels and are now equal to emissions not seen in that country since Queen Victoria sat on the throne. It says the decrease is attributable to a sharp drop in the amount of coal used in the UK to generate electricity, along with an increase in renewables. [Red, Green, and Blue]
• Denver Pledges 100% Renewable Electricity By 2030
  Denver’s Mayor, now seeking a third term, pledged that the city will source 100% of its electricity from renewable sources by 2030. In doing so, Denver became the 73rd city in the US to commit to a 100% renewable electricity target. Nine other Colorado cities have made a 100% renewable electricity commitment, but Denver is the largest. [CleanTechnica]

Friday, July 20:

Rosatom icebreaker (Rosatom image)

• Rosatom as a Tactic in Russia’s Foreign Policy
  Russia has continued to supply record amounts of coal, oil, and gas to global markets, but it has also identified nuclear power generation as a new energy export option. Russian leadership has embarked on active nuclear power diplomacy globally, with Rosatom as its centerpiece. [International Policy Digest]
• A ‘fingerprint’ for anthropogenic climate change in a new place
  Adding to evidence attributing observed atmospheric changes to manmade influences, climate scientists used decades of satellite data to identify a human “fingerprint” on the troposphere, the lowest region of the atmosphere. In this space, say the authors, human-caused warming has significantly affected the seasonal cycle of the temperature. [EurekAlert]

Lower Manhattan (Eyone, Wikimedia Commons)

• Oil majors win dismissal of New York City climate lawsuit
  A US judge dismissed a lawsuit by New York City seeking to hold major oil companies liable for climate change caused by carbon emissions from burning fossil fuels. In dismissing the city’s claims, US District Judge John Keenan in Manhattan said climate change must be addressed through federal regulation and foreign policy. [Reuters]

Saturday, July 21:

• Pinnacle West files suit to block renewable energy vote
  The parent company of Arizona’s largest electric utility filed suit in a bid to block voters from deciding if they want to impose new renewable energy mandates on power companies. Attorneys hired by Arizonans for Affordable Energy, funded by Pinnacle West Capital Corp, claim a series of legal flaws with the petitions to put the issue on the ballot. [The Daily Courier]

Plasma fusion reactor

• Scientists Discover How to Keep Plasma In Fusion Reactors Stable
  Researchers made an enormous leap recently by moving one step closer to stable fusion nuclear energy. They discovered a way to stabilize plasma in fusion reactors to prevent temperatures and densities from oscillating. The process they discovered runs in simulations. If it runs in fusion reactors as expected, it may help bring them to reality. [Interesting Engineering]
• Republican Candidate Calls 18-Year-Old Climate Activist ‘Naive’. Her Response Is Perfect
  A Pennsylvania gubernatorial candidate called an 18-year-old naive when she questioned him on climate science. He believes that the Earth is warming because it is moving closer to the sun every year and because a larger population gives off more body heat. [ScienceAlert]

Sunday, July 22:

Deepwater Horizon (Credit: US Coast Guard, public domain)

• Oil industry plans to keep workers safe – by firing them and having robots do their jobs
  The oil and gas industry is finally acknowledging how dangerous conditions can be for its workers, after years of touting their safety record. This sudden honesty comes with a new safety solution, which is to fire the workers and replace them with robots. [NationofChange]
• A tenth of U.S. veteran coal miners have black lung disease: NIOSH
  More than 10% of America’s coal miners with 25 or more years of experience have black lung disease, the highest rate recorded in roughly two decades, according to a government study that showed cases concentrated heavily in central Appalachia. The study was by researchers from the government’s National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health. [Reuters]

Kayenta Solar Facility (NTUA photo)

• Navajo utility proposes solar project near Cameron
  In May of last year, the 120,000 PV solar panels at the Kayenta Solar Plant, the first utility-scale solar plant on the Navajo Nation, went operational. Now, the Navajo Tribal Utility Authority that owns the Kayenta plant is pushing ahead with two more solar projects on the reservation, with a combined capacity of 100,000 to 150,000 MW. [Arizona Daily Sun]

Monday, July 23:

Delaware and Lehigh Canal

• Northampton County agrees to go green with renewable energy project
  The New England Hydropower Company says it wants to place a small scale hydropower plant in Hugh Moore Park along the Delaware and Lehigh Historic Canal Corridor in Pennsylvania. It recently presented its plans to Northampton County Council, which voted to match a state grant for this project, in any amount up to $1.5 million. [WFMZ Allentown]
• Reverse power flow: How solar + batteries shift power from utilities to consumers
  For 100 years, the US electric grid has been controlled by electric utilities, public regulators, and grid operators. But the economics of coal and nuclear power plants, relying on operating at high capacities around the clock, are being undermined by PVs and batteries. [Red, Green, and Blue]

YouTube screen shot

• 10+ Million Fires, 19,000 Deaths, And 70,000 Injuries From Internal Combustion Vehicles
  Over 10 million highway vehicle fires caused about 19,000 deaths and over 70,000 injuries in the US from 1980–2015, the National Fire Protection Association says. But some mainstream news outlets ignore those fires and seem to report the rare Tesla fires obsessively. [CleanTechnica]

Tuesday, July 24:

• Trump to Seek Repeal of California’s Smog-Fighting Power
  The Trump administration will seek to revoke California’s authority to regulate automobile greenhouse gas emissions in a proposed revision of Obama-era standards, according to three people familiar with the plan. The proposal, expected to be released this week, sets up a high-stakes battle over the state’s ability to regulate air pollution. [CleanTechnica]

Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

• Inside Alaska’s battles over land, sea and life
  There is a gold and oil rush underway in Alaska. It began when Donald Trump set out to deregulate the environment. It has brought dismay to fishermen and wildlife guides, conservationists and native tribes who believe that Alaska’s true wealth lies in its wilderness and biodiversity. [CNN]
• Being A “B Corp” Also Benefits Green Mountain Power’s Bottom Line
  Since Vermont’s Green Mountain Power was certified as a benefit corporation (B Corp) in 2014, it has found financial success while maintaining social and environmental sustainability: a triple bottom line. Despite engaging in conventionally “poor” business practices, its net income is still growing, and even outpacing peers in the utility industry. [CleanTechnica]

Wednesday, July 25:

• China’s LONGi Solar Signs $600 Million Supply Agreement In The US
  Chinese solar manufacturer LONGi Solar announced that it has signed a $600 million supply agreement with an unnamed major US power plant developer for its high-efficiency monocrystalline modules. Mark Osborne, Senior News Editor at PV-Tech, believes that this is the largest module supply contract LONGi has signed with a US developer. [CleanTechnica]

Landscape with reflections

• New Department Of Energy Loan Guarantee Program Provides $2 Billion For Projects On Tribal Lands
  About 6.5% of the total US national renewable energy potential is on tribal land, a DOE source says. Historically this was not developed because of lack of access to capital. The Energy Policy Act of 2005 made loan guarantees available on tribal lands, but the program was not funded until the US Congress passed the Fiscal Year 2017 Omnibus Spending Bill. [CleanTechnica]
• South Australia on track to meet 75% renewables target Liberals promised to scrap
  South Australia’s energy minister says the state is on track to have 75% of its electricity from renewables by 2025. Because of the low costs of renewables, it is meeting a target that the current government does not support. Prime minister Malcolm Turnbull once described the Labor renewable energy policy as “ideology and idiocy in equal measure.” [The Guardian]

2018-07-19 Energy Week, Episode 272

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, July 12

San Gabriel Mountains and Los Angeles (AP photo)

• California meets goal for reducing greenhouse gases years early
  California greenhouse gas emissions fell below 1990 levels, meeting an early target years ahead of schedule and putting the state well on its way toward reaching long-term goals to fight climate change, officials said. The California Air Resources Board announced pollution levels were down 13% since their 2004 peak, while the economy grew 26%. [The Japan Times]
• Court backs Duke, FPL in class-action suit over nuclear costs
  A federal appeals court backed Florida Power & Light and Duke Energy Florida in a class-action lawsuit that sought to recover $2 billion in money paid by utility customers under a controversial 2006 nuclear-power law. The law, allowing utilities to collect money for nuclear projects that might never be built, was argued to be unconstitutional. [Citrus County Chronicle]

Paro Taktsang, Bhutan

• World’s only carbon-negative country Bhutan is giving us renewable energy goals
  Bhutan’s Prime Minister had the goal of making his country carbon neutral to make sure Bhutan does not contribute to the releasing carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Now he has added a new policy of maintaining a minimum of 60% forest coverage. [India Today]

Friday, July 13

• Tesla Passed 200,000 US Electric Car Deliveries In July, GM Will Pass This Year
  A Tesla spokesperson officially confirmed to CleanTechnica that the company had sold and delivered 200,000 EVs in the US. The phaseout period of the federal EV tax credit is set into motion when a manufacturer sells its 200,000th EV in this country. The amount of the tax credit will be cut 50% on January 1, 2019, with two further to follow. [CleanTechnica]

Australian energy (Coast Protection Board, South Australia)

• Ammonia—a renewable fuel made from sun, air, and water—could power the globe without carbon
  Australia boasts a renewable energy potential of 25,000 GW, one of the highest in the world and about four times the installed electricity production capacity of the entire planet. A chemist at Monash University says that energy can be captured and stored for later use by making ammonia, which can be used as a carbon-free fuel. [Science Magazine]
• Spain covers 45.8% of H1 2018 electricity demand with renewables
  A combination of good meteorological conditions in the first half of 2018 has led Spain to cover 45.8% of the electricity demand on its grid from renewable energy sources. Wind energy systems were the peninsula’s primary source of electricity, covering 22.6% of its electricity demand, followed by hydro power, with a 16.9% share. [pv magazine International]
• Researchers In Norway Claim Lithium Ion Battery Breakthrough
  Researchers at Norway’s Department of Energy Technology in Kjeller say they have perfected a way to substitute silicon for the graphite commonly used in the anodes of lithium-ion batteries. The discovery will lead to batteries that can power an electric car for 600 miles or more, the researchers claim. Pure silicon has ten times the capacity of graphite. [CleanTechnica]

Saturday, July 14

Dried up river in England (Photo: Matt Cardy | Getty Images)

• Heatwave sees record high temperatures around world this week
  High temperature records have been set across much of the world this week as an unusually prolonged heat wave intensifies concerns about climate change. The World Meteorological Organization said the rising temperatures were at odds with a global cyclical climate phenomena known as La Niña, which is usually associated with cooling. [The Guardian]
• The US Is Burning Up, But No One Wants to Talk About The Elephant in The Room
  In the last week of June, broad areas of the the US were hit by a powerful heat wave stretching across the country, breaking 227 US records in its first week alone. A new and distressing report from Media Matters reveals that most major broadcast TV networks are completely ignoring the link between unprecedented heat waves and climate change. [ScienceAlert]

Sunday, July 15

Azolla

• Tiny Azolla Fern Could Help Reduce Negative Effects Of Climate Change, Scientists Say
  In a study published in the journal Nature Plants, a multinational team of scientists discussed how they sequenced genomes for tiny ferns Azolla filiculoides and Salvinia cucullata. The research has implications in fields ranging from agriculture to climate science. It turns out that the ferns may be important tools to fight global warming. [The Inquisitr]
• Exxon leaving ALEC
  ExxonMobil announced it will leave the American Legislative Exchange Council, a corporate lobby group bankrolled by the Koch brothers and known for its attempts to block climate action. Campaigners cautiously welcomed the decision, though they said Exxon had to do more to prove it was committed to addressing climate change. [NationofChange]
• Former (Real) EPA Chief: Big Oil Is “Peddling Misinformation” About Electric Cars
  Christine Todd Whitman was head of the EPA under President George W Bush back in 2001–2003. Working intimately with (and regulating) the energy industries, she witnessed efforts from the oil industry to undermine clean energy solutions. Recently, she appeared on CNBC to discuss the misguided “misinformation” efforts of Big Oil. [CleanTechnica]

Monday, July 16

Babcock Ranch

• Babcock Ranch In Florida Is To Sustainable Living What Tesla Is To Sustainable Transportation
  Tucked into a corner of Southwest Florida about a half-hour from Fort Myers, Babcock Ranch is what developer Syd Kitson calls the most sustainable new community in America. It was designed from the start as a green development. [CleanTechnica]
• Tesla builds case for 250MW virtual power plant after first trial success
  The prospects for Tesla’s proposed 250-MW virtual power plant in South Australia look significantly brighter after the success of its first trial and an enthusiastic response from the South Australia government. So far, some 100 Housing SA homes have received their 5-kW of rooftop solar PVs and the 13.5k-Wh Tesla Powerwall batteries. [RenewEconomy]

Energy Observer (Gaël Musquet | Wikimedia Commons)

• The World’s First Autonomous Hydrogen Boat Takes a Trip Around the World
  We have seen news about a cruise ship, Energy Observer, which as caught the world’s attention as it sails around the world on a six-year voyage. It is going on this long trip powered entirely by solar, hydrogen, wind and water energy, without fossil fuels. One article has already appeared here on June 23, but now we have more. [Interesting Engineering]

Tuesday, July 17

• China, EU reaffirm Paris climate commitment, vow more cooperation
  China and the EU reaffirmed their commitments to the Paris climate pact and called other signatories to do the same, saying action against global warming is increasingly important. After President Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw the US from the agreement, China and the EU have emerged as world leaders on climate change. [ETEnergyworld.com]

UK rail transit (Image: DB Cargo UK)

• UK rail freight company on track to powered by 100% renewable energy
  A UK rail freight company said all its sites and offices will be powered by 100% renewable electricity. DB Cargo UK signed a three-year agreement with SSE Business Energy to supply its sites with green power. This is estimated to help reduce 5,000 tonnes of carbon emissions a year and equivalent to powering almost 4,000 homes. [Energy Live News]
• Energy minister dodges questions about cost of cancelling green contracts
  Ontario’s Energy Minister is refusing to say how much it will cost taxpayers to cancel 758 renewable energy contracts in an effort to save $790 million, as opposition parties accuse him of leaving Ontarians in the dark. “It’s still money out the door. The people deserve to know that,” said a Green Party Leader. “It’s very disturbing.” [Toronto Star]

Wednesday, July 18

Melting Arctic ice

• Climate Change Scenarios: An Updated Summary Of Climate Change, Seal Level Rise, & Carbon Bubble Predictions
  If we do not change, we’re headed down a dark path. The Global Carbon Budget 2017 says that in order to avoid 2°C of warming, “global CO2 emissions need to decline rapidly and cross zero emissions after 2050.” [CleanTechnica]
• Investment in renewable energy drops as fossil fuel use rises
  Global investment in renewable energy is on the decline, the International Energy Agency said. Governments are failing to keep Paris Climate Accord promises. Investment fell by 7% to $318 billion last year, but fossil fuels’ share of energy investment rose for the first time since 2014. [Engadget]

A few of Palau’s many islands (Dr James P McVey | NOAA)

• This island nation is making the fastest-ever shift to renewables
  Over the next year and a half, the Pacific island nation of Palau will shift to 100% renewable energy, at no cost to the government, in what is likely to be the fastest national transition to renewable energy ever to occur. In a new program, the partners behind the work in Palau plan to now help other small island nations do the same thing. [Fast Company]

2018-07-12 Energy Week, Episode 271

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, July 5:

Wind turbines in Sweden (Supplied image)

• Sweden to reach its 2030 renewable energy target this year
  Swedish utilities and power generators have already installed so many wind turbines that the nation is on course to reach its 2030 renewable energy target this year. By December, Sweden will have 3,681 wind turbines installed, lobby group Swedish Wind Energy Association estimated. The turbines will supply enough power to meet the 2030 goal. [Business Day]
• Climate change SHOCK: Rising sea levels to wipe out £10 TRILLION in flood damage
  A study published by the UK National Oceanographic Centre warned that rising sea levels could cost the world economy £10 trillion ($14 trillion) a year by 2100. It argued that failure to meet the UN’s 2° C warming limits could have catastrophic effects. The findings were published in the science journal Environmental Research Letters. [Express.co.uk]

Coal plant in Utah (Photo: Arbryreed | Flickr.com)

• Sierra Club Study Indicates Lower Cost For Renewable Energy
  The cost of burning coal is rising, while the cost of renewable forms of energy is going down, according to a recent study commissioned by the Sierra Club. An independent company, Energy Strategies, was contracted for the study. Its analysis showed that wind and solar power tend to be less expensive for consumers than coal. [Utah Public Radio]

Friday,  July 6:

• Trump coal plan could lead to 1 pollution-related death for every 2 jobs
  A newly published study projects that a Trump administration proposal for propping up struggling coal and nuclear plants could lead to premature deaths from pollution. Resources for the Future found that for every 2 to 4.5 coal mining jobs the plan protects, there would be 1 human death due to emissions of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides. [The Hill]

Syrian wheat harvest (Amer Almohibany | AFP | Getty Images)

• “Syrian seeds could save US wheat from climate menace”
  A Kansas greenhouse has in it a buzzing horde of flies laying waste to 20,000 wheat seedlings. But as researchers watched, there was one species of growth that remained untouched. That species, grown from Syrian seeds, could end up saving US wheat from climate change. [The Guardian]
• A former coal lobbyist is the new leader of the EPA
  EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt resigned. Now, a former coal lobbyist will be the EPA’s new acting head. Andrew Wheeler was confirmed by the Senate in April to be the Deputy Administrator, though he was criticized by Democrats for his past ties to energy lobbyists. One client of the law firm where he worked was coal mining company Murray Energy. [CNN]

Saturday,  July 7:

Forest in Germany (Bob Ionescu, Wikimedia Commons)

• Forests ‘essential’ for the future, UN agriculture chief spells out in new report
  Time is running out for the world’s forests, warns a report by the UN agriculture agency. It urges fostering an all-inclusive approach to benefit both trees and those who rely on them. Halting deforestation, managing sustainably, restoring degraded forests, and adding tree cover all need action to avoid damaging consequences. [UN News]
• E.P.A. Drafts Rule on Coal Plants to Replace Clean Power Plan
  The Trump administration drafted a new proposal to regulate carbon dioxide emissions from power plants, but it is far less stringent than the climate plan formalized in 2015 by the Obama administration. The new proposal accepts, for now, the idea that CO2 is a pollutant, but it is likely to spur only small tweaks to the nation’s energy system. [The New York Times]
• EIA finds renewable energy gradually diminishing fossil fuel dominance
  Last year had the lowest share of total US energy consumption by fossil fuels in more than 100 years, but they still have an 80% market share. The Energy Information Administration found petroleum, natural gas, and coal use have been decreasing for the last three years. Coal especially has taken hits, the others are both down. [Daily Energy Insider]

Sunday,  July 8:

Flooding in Sea Bright

• 25K N.J. homes are at risk of chronic flooding by 2035. See if your town is in danger
  In New Jersey, 25,000 homes – worth nearly $10 billion – will be at risk of chronic flooding by 2035. Those properties could flood 26 times or more annually, according to a recent study by the Union of Concerned Scientists, making New Jersey the state that will be hit the hardest in the contiguous US in terms of value of property at risk by 2035. [NJ.com]
• The roiled solar power market shows how Trump’s tariffs can disrupt an industry
  A 30% US tariff on imported solar panels should have caused prices here to jump. But when tariffs are unleashed, as businesses are learning, things don’t always go as expected. In the US, prices have not changed, but worldwide solar prices declined 35%. [Los Angeles Times]

Floating solar array

• China X Cleantech — End of Q2, 2018
  China had 53% of the global new solar capacity in 2017, up from 45% in 2016. But its new solar policy reduces the amount of solar to be installed in China. Most forecasters project a downturn in PV production, but IHS Markit predicts that the global solar market will increase by around 11% to 105 GW in 2018 in spite of Chinese policy. [CleanTechnica]

Monday,  July 9:

• ‘Unprecedented’: Solar panel installations soar, on track to triple 2017 record
  Australian rooftop solar panel installations soared by almost half in the first six months of 2018 as businesses eclipse residential take-up for the first time. In the January-June half, rooftop PV installations reached 701.9 MW, up 48.1% from the same time a year earlier, according to Green Energy Markets, a consultancy. [The Sydney Morning Herald]

Wind turbines in China (STR | AFP | Getty Images)

• China’s Sinovel, Part of Country’s Bid for Clean Energy, Fined for Stealing US Trade Secrets
  A US judge ordered Chinese wind turbine maker Sinovel Wind Group to pay a $1.5 million fine after the company was convicted of stealing key technology from the Massachusetts-based AMSC. The US Justice Department said Sinovel has already paid AMSC, formerly known as American Superconductor Corp, $32.5 million. [The Epoch Times]
• US DOE Funds Projects Aimed At Cutting Costs Of Solar Thermal Desalination
  Western states are running into critical water issues because of climate change. Desalination plants can address the issue, but they are expensive and use a lot of power. So the US DOE is putting $21 million toward fourteen projects aimed at developing technology to cut the cost of using solar energy to power thermal desalination. [CleanTechnica]

Tuesday,  July 10:

Mulan wind farm, China (Photo: Creative Commons)

• China and EU can lead on climate action
  When Donald Trump announced that the US would withdraw from the Paris Climate Agreement, he surrendered its influence. The upcoming EU-China summit in Beijing will be yet another moment when the world leaders can emphasise the successes in decarbonizing their respective economies. [Climate Home]
• Britain’s nuclear ambition must make way for renewable energy, warns commission
  The UK’s first independent infrastructure review poured cold water on plans to invest billions of pounds in a string of new nuclear power stations. It was in favor of cheaper wind and solar power. The National Infrastructure Commission warned ministers against deals for more than one follow-up to the Hinkley Point C project before 2025. [Telegraph.co.uk]
• 750 MW Rewa solar project starts supplying power
  The 750-MW Rewa solar power project, one of the world’s largest single-site solar power plants, has started operations. Located in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh, it is the first solar project in the country to supply power to an inter-state open access customer. It will supply electricity to the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation. [pv magazine India]

Wednesday,  July 11:

Wind farm

• Clean energy investment reaches $138 billion in 2018
  Investment in clean technologies is closely tracking last year and has already hit $138.2 billion, analysis by Bloomberg New Energy Finance shows. This is just 1% lower than for the first half of 2017, though the direction of investment is changing. Both windpower and smart technologies (including batteries) have seen increased investment. [Climate Action Programme]
• EVs could drive 38% rise in US electricity demand, DOE lab finds
  EVs could drive a 38% rise in US electricity demand, according to the DOE’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory. The NREL study indicates that rising electricity demand could lead to sustained absolute growth of 80,000 GWh per year over the next thirty years. This could add a growth of 1.6% per year over that period for utility companies. [Utility Dive]
• German coal trounced by renewables for first time
  According to data released by the German Association of Energy and Water Industries, wind, solar, hydropower, and biogas met 36.3% of Germany’s electricity needs between January and June 2018, while coal provided just 35.1%. This is the first time coal has fallen behind renewable power over such a long period of time in Germany. [EURACTIV]