Energy Week #303, 2019-02-07

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.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.

Energy Week #303, 02/07/19

Thursday, January 31:

Solar trackers in South Burlington (Photo: Toby Talbot | AP)

• “The Key To Winning Victories Against Big Oil? Perseverance”
  Vermont’s Middlebury College announced that it was divesting its fossil fuel holdings. That might not seem so newsworthy, as Middlebury is just one of many divesting colleges, but it is one of the first to reverse course. Six years ago the college flatly rejected divestment. [The Guardian]
• “EDF Signs Contract With NYSERDA For Morris Ridge Solar Project”
  EDF Renewables North America signed an agreement with the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority for its Morris Ridge Solar Project. The 212-MW DC (170-MW AC) project also includes a 20-MW energy storage component. [Power Technology]

GE wind turbine (Taylor Weidman | © 2016 Bloomberg)

• “GE ‘Created The Energy Industry’, Now Its Cementing A Place In Its Future”
  GE is rebuilding its clean energy business by combining its renewables, energy storage, and grid infrastructure units. The reorganization that it is pursuing makes so much sense that one of the few questions the announcement raises is why did it take so long? [Forbes]

Friday, February 1:

• “Powering The World’s Largest Telescope”
  The Square Kilometre Array’s thousands of dishes and million antennas in the deserts of Australia and Africa will revolutionize radio astronomy, as long as they can be supplied with electricity. Renewable resources offer a way to provide that power inexpensively. [Physics Today]

Temperatures and the polar vortex (NASA image)

• “If The Earth Is Warming, Why Is It So Cold In Chicago?”
  The record cold temperatures have prompted the alleged leader of the free world to tweet America could use some good old-fashioned “global waming.” The thing The Donald is incapable of comprehending is that weather and climate are two separate and distinct things. [CleanTechnica]
• “Taiwan’s Government Affirms Commitment To Abolish Nuclear By 2025”
  Taiwan will maintain its goal of abolishing nuclear power by May 2025, despite the vote in last November’s referendum, which required the removal of an article of legislation calling for all six nuclear reactors on the island to be shuttered. [The News Lens International]

Saturday, February 2:

Flooding in Queensland (Reuters image)

• “Monsoon Rains Cause Floods In Queensland”
  Exceptional monsoon rains have caused severe flooding in parts of Australia’s north-eastern state of Queensland. The area normally has monsoon rains from December to April, but such flooding is rare. Meanwhile, parts of southern Australian are in the grip of a severe drought. [BBC]
• “Zap&Go’s Carbon-Ion Battery Delivers Ultra-Fast Charging & Zero Degradation”
  Zap&Go’s new Carbon-Ion battery combines the fast charging benefits of supercapacitors with the energy storage characteristics of a battery. The carbon-based battery does not use any rare earth metals or toxic chemicals, and it can last thirty years. [CleanTechnica]

Offshore oil rig

• “BP Will Link Bonuses For 36,000 Workers To Climate Targets”
  BP has pledged to align its business more closely with global climate goals and link the bonuses of 36,000 employees to greenhouse gas reduction targets. The company said that it would support a resolution from the activist investor group Climate Action 100+. [CNN]

Sunday, February 3:

• “Indiana Is A Top 10 Coal State – And It’s Waving Helloooo There! To Renewable Energy”
  Indiana ranks among the top 10 in the US for coal production. Coal also factors heavily into energy consumption in Indiana. That has begun to change since Trump took office. Now, utilities, businesses, and customers are switching to renewables. [CleanTechnica]

Converted by personal experience (Massimo Rumi | Barcroft Images)

• “How To Change The Minds Of Climate Deniers”
  Recent polls have found the number of people who believe climate change is real has increased considerably. What convinced them? To learn more about climate change converts, researchers at Yale and George Mason crunched the numbers from a blend of responses to surveys. [The Guardian]
• “Opposition To Tri-State Brews Among Electric Cooperatives”
  In a first-of-its-kind meeting, over fifty member-owners, trustees, and activists from New Mexico and Colorado rural electric cooperatives discussed renewable energy and their co-ops’ working relationship with Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association. [Rio Grande Sun]

Monday, February 4:

Kirkwall, Orkney (RNZ | AFP)

• “Orkney’s Sustainability Revolution”
  Orkney used to be a study in how to use energy unsustainably. The archipelago off the northern tip of Scotland bought and imported all its power from coal and gas plants on the Scottish mainland. These days it generates more electricity than it needs from wind turbines and tidal energy. [Noted]
• “First Draft Of Concord’s Renewable Energy Plan Focuses Big On Efficiency, Electricity”
  In New Hampshire, the Concord Energy and Environment Committee has a plan that would have the city’s municipal energy generated locally, houses would be built with rooftop solar in mind, and public transportation would be electric. [Concord Monitor]

Rusting Control room (Calla Kessler | The Washington Post)

• “Army To Dismantle Historic Nuclear Reactor In Virginia”
  The world’s first nuclear plant to supply energy to a power grid has been defunct for years. SM-1, for stationary medium power plant No 1, was dedicated in 1957. Now, the Army is preparing to break it up, check it for lingering radiation and haul it away piece by piece. [Stars and Stripes]

Tuesday, February 5:

• “Climate Change Will Melt Vast Parts Of The Himalayas, Study Says”
  At least a third of the ice in the Hindu Kush Himalaya region, an area that includes Mount Everest and K2, could melt by the end of this century, a study said. That is even if there is aggressive action to curb greenhouse gases and meet the Paris climate agreement goals. [CNN]

Nepal

• “Global Offshore Wind Capacity To Increase Sixfold, Predicts WoodMac”
  Global offshore wind power capacity is expected to increase almost sixfold over the next decade according to a report from Wood Mackenzie Power and Renewables, growing from being deployed in only 7 countries at the end of 2017 to 18 countries by 2027. [CleanTechnica]
• “Green New Deal Won’t Call For End To Fossil Fuels”
  Legislative text being crafted by Democrats calls for “net-zero greenhouse gas emissions” but does not explicitly call for phasing out oil, gas and coal. Rep Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Sen Ed Markey are expected to introduce a resolution outlining elements of the plan within days. [Politico]

Wednesday, February 6:

Pumpjack (Photo: Daniel Acker | Bloomberg via Getty Images)

• “Why Oil Companies Have Suddenly Gone Missing In The Bond Market”
  The US shale oil revolution was built on cheap capital from the bond markets. Frackers used tons of borrowed money to make enormous technological advances in drilling, and that sent oil output skyrocketing. But that trend has broken down in recent months. [CNN]
• “Ten Mind-Numbing Figures That Define PG&E’s Bankruptcy”
  The Pacific Gas and Electric process could take years, with the costs to the company, its consumers, and ancillary industries being almost mind-numbing. It could cost up to $150 billion for PG&E just to comply with court orders, and that’s only one outrageous figure. [Motley Fool]

Block Island wind project (Deepwater Wind image)

• “Vineyard Passes Muster With Massachusetts”
  The 800-MW Vineyard Wind offshore wind farm off the US east coast has passed the Massachusetts Environmental Policy Act review process, enabling it to proceed with state, regional and local permitting. The review process allowed the company to hear the concerns of stakeholders. [reNEWS]

 

Energy Week #302, 2019-01-31

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.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.

Energy Week #302, 01/31/19

Thursday, January 24:

Right whale and calf (Credit: NOAA Fisheries | Christin Khan)

• “Landmark Offshore Wind Agreement Protects Right Whales”
  Under an unprecedented agreement with three environmental groups, Vineyard Wind is to protect the highly endangered North Atlantic right whale during the construction and operation of an offshore wind farm it will build 14 miles south of Martha’s Vineyard. [Natural Resources Defense Council]
• “World’s Greenest Companies Are Consistently Outperforming Their Non-Green Peers”
  The greenest and most sustainable companies in the world were highlighted in two reports with the common thread. It showed the consistently superior economic performance of companies committed to addressing climate change and environmental issues. [CleanTechnica]

Renewable energy

• “An All-Renewable Grid Is Economically Superior To Mixed Generation”
  One of the arguments that those forces opposed to dealing with climate change make is that transitioning the grid entirely to renewables and away from fossil fuels would be economically devastating. It would not, and it is worth examining the reasons why. [CleanTechnica]

Friday, January 25:

• “Cigarette Filters Are The No.1 Plastic Pollutant … And Don’t Prevent Cancer”
  Plastic straws and bags have received widespread attention as pollutants. But another, even bigger, plastic problem has been slipping under the radar – cigarette filters. Cigarette butts containing plastic filters are the most littered item in the world. [CNN]

Skiers on a lift (Photo: EyesWideOpen | Getty Images)

• “Ski Resorts Turn To Renewable Energy To Cut Carbon Emissions And Costs”
  The ski industry is increasingly embracing new innovations in energy-efficient technology, combined with existing technologies such as wind and solar energy and LED lighting, to reduce its carbon footprint and improve its bottom line. [Axios]
• “Coal Ash Standoff Could Make Coal Power Plants Hit Kill Switch”
  Under Trump, US coal power plants have dropped like flies. Now it looks like those left standing could all wink out at the same time. A group of coal power stakeholders has threatened to turn off the lights, due to a regulatory clash over the storage of coal ash. [CleanTechnica]

Saturday, January 26:

Why did the crab cross the road? Because it could. (Bay Journal photo by Dave Harp)

• “Maryland Sea Level To Increase Dramatically, Report Says”
  A report by the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science warns that if emissions continue to rise, sea level in Maryland would likely increase 2.0 to 4.2 feet by 2100. There is also an outside chance the rise could exceed 5.2 feet, the report said. [MarylandReporter.com]
• “Vermont Says Charging Stations Shouldn’t Face Same Rules As Utilities”
  Vermont’s EV charging stations should not be regulated like electric utilities, state utility regulators concluded. The Vermont Public Utility Commission recommended that state law be clarified to allow charging station owners to set their own pricing. [Energy News Network]

Philippine church (Jes Aznar | Getty Images | AsiaPac | Getty Images)

• “Climate Change: The More We Know, The Worse It Seems”
  It should not be surprising that each new climate-related news headline seems to be worse than the last. The last time carbon dioxide levels were as high as they are now, sea levels were 30 meters higher. At that level all major coastal cities in the world would be drowned. [CNN]

Sunday, January 27:

• “Solar PV Installer And Wind Turbine Tech Are Fastest Growing Occupations In US”
  According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the fastest growing occupation in the US is solar PV installer, with a projected growth rate of 105% from 2016 to 2026. And the number two job for growth is wind turbine service technician. [CleanTechnica]

Lignite-burning plant in Brandenburg (Patrick Pleul | AP)

• “Germany To Close All 84 Of Its Coal-Fired Power Plants, Will Rely Primarily On Renewable Energy”
  Germany, one of the world’s biggest consumers of coal, will shut down all 84 of its coal-fired power plants over the next 19 years to meet its international commitments in the fight against climate change, a government commission said. [Hartford Courant]
• “The Burning Question: Climate Denialism Is (Almost) Dead, So What Do We Do Now?”
  A sea change is underway in the politics of climate change. It turns out that in global warming, as in grief, denial was just a phase. It is a destructive phase, to be sure, but one now coming to an end. And a President in denial does not alter that. [New York Daily News]

Monday, January 28:

Solar plant in Pakistan

• “How Pakistan Should Meet Clean Energy Challenges”
  Both wind and solar technologies produce electricity in ways that are intermittent with the former having a capacity factor in the range of 30% and the later 20%. Through installing wind/solar hybrid plants, however, the cumulative capacity factor can be increased up to 50%. [DAWN.com]
• “China’s End-2018 Renewable Power Generation Capacity Up 12% From 2017”
  China’s total renewable power generation capacity climbed to 728 GW in 2018, up 12% from the end of 2017, the country’s energy administration said. China connected 20.59 GW of wind power capacity and 44.3 GW of solar to its grid in 2018. [ETEnergyworld.com]
• “A Worrying New Report Has Revealed The Three Biggest Threats To The Global Population”
  Obesity, malnutrition, and climate change are the three biggest threats to populations globally, a report by the Lancet Commission on Obesity said. Funding and strategies targeting food policy and production are needed urgently. [NEWS.com.au]

Tuesday, January 29:

Coal-burning power plant

• “Virginia Committee Approves Bill Halting Construction Of Fossil Fuel Power Plants After 2020”
  The House Commerce and Labor Committee approved a bill to halt construction of power plants that burn fossil fuels and the fuel pipelines after 2020. The bill requires a plan for switching to 100% renewable electricity by 2036. [Blue Ridge Outdoors Magazine]
• “Corporate Clean Power Purchases ‘Soar'”
  Corporate clean energy purchases hit record levels last year, more than doubling to over 13 GW, according to research from BloombergNEF. BNEF said a total of 13.4 GW of corporate power purchase agreements were signed last year, a figure that is up from 6.2 GW in 2017. [reNEWS]

Offshore wind turbines

• “Renewables Overtake Coal In Key European Markets”
  Coal-based power generation was overtaken by wind and solar for the first time in five key European markets last year, according to research by Wood Mackenzie Power & Renewables. The five markets are Germany, France, Italy, Iberia (Spain & Portugal), and the UK. [ETEnergyworld.com]

Wednesday, January 30:

• “Major Utility Implicated In More Than A Dozen Wildfires Files For Bankruptcy”
  California utility Pacific Gas and Electric has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. It faces billions of dollars in potential damages and fines stemming from liability in 2017 and 2018 wildfires. PG&E has secured $5.5 billion for operations while it restructures. [Ars Technica]

• “Extreme Cold Gripping Midwest Does Not Debunk Global Warming, Experts Say”
  President Trump may believe that a cold snap proves that climate change is not happening, but climate authorities, including those inside his government, said the record-setting cold does nothing to contradict the consensus on climate change. [NBC News]
• “Renewables Shine, Fossil Fuels Suffer As Australia Swelters In Record Heat”
  In Australia’s most recent heat wave, fossil fuel powered generating plants failed to deliver. In Victoria, 1.8 GW of capacity was lost when two fossil fueled generating stations went off-line in the record heat. Solar, wind, and battery power kept losses to a minimum. [CleanTechnica]

Energy Week #301, 2019-01-24

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.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.

Energy Week #301, 01/24/19

Thursday, January 17:

Coffee harvest (Getty Images)

• “World’s Coffee Under Threat, Say Experts”
  The first full assessment of risks to the world’s coffee plants shows that 60% of 124 known species are on the edge of extinction. Though only two species are used for the coffee we drink, scientists say the figure is “worrying”, because wild coffee is critical for sustaining the global coffee crop. [CNN]
• “Climate Is The Biggest Risk To Business (And The World)”
  Companies and investors are waking up to the dangers of climate change. Business leaders and experts surveyed by the World Economic Forum said extreme weather, migration caused by climate change, and natural disasters are the three risks they are most likely to face in 2019. [CNN]

Governor Andrew Cuomo (Credit: Governor Andrew Cuomo)

• “New York Governor Cuomo Announces Mammoth Offshore Wind And Distributed Solar Increases”
  In his annual State of the State address, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced plans to significantly upgrade the state’s renewable energy targets, including quadrupling its offshore wind target to 9 GW by 2035. [CleanTechnica]

Friday, January 18:

• “Ford Says An Electric F-150 Is Coming”
  Speaking to the press at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, Ford’s president of global markets, said, “Here’s what’s going to happen next to future-proof that global juggernaut of commercial vehicles. We’re going to be electrifying the F-Series, both battery-electric and hybrid.” [CleanTechnica]

Wind turbine (Christopher Furlong | Getty Images)

• UK Signals Shift From Nuclear To Renewables”
  The UK’s government has signalled a big shift away from nuclear energy and towards renewables after Hitachi announced it was scrapping work on a new reactor because of the plummeting costs of offshore wind and solar power. Only one nuclear plant is still being developed in the UK. [The Week UK]
• “Energy Dept Tackles Challenge Of Rooftop Solar & Income Inequality”
  Economic justice advocates are taking note that rooftop solar power deployment in the US has a taken on a racial tinge, with significantly more penetration in predominantly white neighborhoods. The DOE is acting to take on part, though not all, of that issue. [CleanTechnica]

Saturday, January 19:

Fall foliage

• “Keene, NH, Commits To 100% Renewable Energy Goal”
  The city council of Keene, NH, voted 14-1 to adopt a goal of moving to 100% renewable energy, the Sierra Club has announced. Keene joins four other New Hampshire communities, Concord, Cornish, Hanover, and Plainfield, that have established the 100% renewable goal. [North American Windpower]
• “Idaho’s New Governor: ‘Climate Change Is Real’”
  Idaho Gov Brad Little has broken with Republican Party leaders on climate change, declaring unequivocally that the phenomenon is real. He said, “I’m old enough that I remember feeding cows all winter long in deep snow … boy, back in the old days when I was a kid, we had winters.” [High Country News]

ECHO Leahy Center for Lake Champlain

• “Vermont’s Largest Solar Canopy Comes Online”
  Vermont’s largest solar canopy, Encore Renewable Energy’s 156-kW solar carport in Burlington, has begun producing electricity at the ECHO Leahy Center for Lake Champlain. Built in 2003, the science and nature center was the first LEED-certified building in Vermont. [CleanTechnica]
• “Coal Ash Is Contaminating Groundwater In At Least 22 States, Utility Reports Show”
  A clear picture of coal ash contamination in the US is emerging, as utilities report serious groundwater contamination in at least 22 states. In many cases, immediate environmental action has been required, and several states are moving on this. [InsideClimate News]

Sunday, January 20:

Small solar system (Shutterstock image)

• “Iran To Construct 3000 New Small-Scale Solar Plants In Rural Areas”
  Iran’s Deputy Energy Minister said 3000 new small-scale solar plants are going to be constructed in the country’s underprivileged and rural areas by the end of the current Iranian calendar year (March 20, 2019). He said this adds to 2000 plants already operating. [Al-Bawaba]
• “Frustration Over Feed-In Tariff Pushes Tasmanian Solar Producers Towards Batteries ”
  There are about 28,500 Tasmanians with home PV systems. Over half of them installed their PVs before September 2013, when the feed-in tariff was about 28¢/kWh. Now that the FIT is dropping to 8.5¢/kWh, many are getting batteries. [ABC News]

Monday, January 21:

Sunset Reservoir solar system (Gil Riego Jr | Special to The SF Examiner)

• “SF moves toward public power and a ‘local version of a green new deal’”
  San Francisco’s push to move to a public power system after PG&E said it will file for bankruptcy is not the only big energy plan in the making. Supporters of the city’s renewable energy program are calling for the city’s own “local version of a green new deal.” [San Francisco Examiner]
• “China Approves 24 Offshore Wind Projects”
  The Chinese government approved 24 offshore wind projects off Jiangsu Province. Local media reports that the projects will have a total capacity of 6.7 GW and will involve an investment of around $18 billion. The wind farms are expected to be operational by the end of 2020. [The Maritime Executive]

Installing a solar system (Durango Herald file photo)

• “Electric Co-op Sets Ambitious Goal To Cut Carbon By 50%”
  La Plata Electric Association set ambitious goals last week to cut its carbon footprint by 50% and keep costs lower than 70% of its peer cooperatives in Colorado. LPEA gets 95% of its electricity from Tri-State Generation and Transmission, which is heavily dependent on coal. [The Durango Herald]

Tuesday, January 22:

• “‘The Only Thing We Can Do Is Adapt’: Greenland Ice Melt Reaching ‘Tipping Point,’ Study Finds”
  Climate change is causing Greenland’s massive ice sheets to melt much faster than previously thought, a study found, and it may be “too late” to do anything about it. The findings could have dire implications for the planet’s low-lying islands and coastal cities. [CNN]

Back Bay neighborhood of Boston

• “Massachusetts Bill Would Set New Emissions Requirements”
  A bill filed at the Massachusetts Statehouse seeks to help speed the state’s transition to renewable forms of energy. The bill would update state emissions requirements: 50% below 1990 emissions levels by 2030, 75% below by 2040, and net zero emissions by 2050. [Electric Light & Power]
• “New York Governor’s Green New Deal Starts With 1 GW Of Large-Scale Solar”
  New York state has awarded 1 GW of solar and 614 MW of wind. Three of the 20 renewable energy projects commissioned are paired with energy storage. Invenergy, EDF, and NextEra are each set to build solar projects with capacities greater than 100 MW. [pv magazine International]

Wednesday, January 23:

agrivoltaic system (photo courtesy of hyperion systems)

• “Agrivoltaics: Solar Panels On Farms Could Be A Win-Win” • A dual-use solar installation is sometimes called agrivoltaics. The system uses a PV array raised far enough off the ground and spaced in such a way that some crops can still grow around and beneath the panels. It enables farmers diversify their income by generating renewable energy. [Civil Eats]
• “8minutenergy Boasts Solar + Storage Pipeline In Excess Of 10 GW” • The largest US private solar and storage developer, 8minutenergy, announced last week that it has entered into a joint venture with JP Morgan Asset Management to support 8minutenergy’s current 10.7 GW pipeline of solar + storage projects. [CleanTechnica]

Ghost forest created in Louisiana by salt intrusion
from rising sea levels (John Rubenstahl | CNN AIR)

• “Record Number Of Americans ‘Very Worried’ About Climate Change, Report Finds” • More Americans now say that climate change is a real threat to themselves and others. According to a climate report by researchers at Yale University and George Mason University, 29% are very worried, and 73% say they believe global warming is happening. [CNN]

Energy Week #300, 2018-01-17

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.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.

Energy Week #300, 01/17/18 

Thursday, January 10:

• “New Year Delight for Chinese Mega-Farm”
  Chinese energy company State Power Investment Corp has received approval for the first phase of a wind farm of up to 6 GW at the region of Siziwangqi, in the China’s Inner Mongolia region. Costing over €5 billion ($5.77 billion), the wind farm would be the largest onshore project in the world. [reNEWS]

Garona Spanish nuclear station

• “Spain Proposes Trading in Nuclear Permits for Others in Renewable Energy”
  As an incentive to close nuclear plants, the Spanish Government proposed giving their owners advantages for developing renewable energy. Connection rights for nuclear plants would convert to renewable energy permits for the same amount of power. [The Corner Economic]
• “Fiat Chrysler to Pay Hundreds of Millions to Settle Emissions Charges in the US”
  Fiat Chrysler will pay hundreds of millions of dollars in fines and civil penalties to settle charges that its diesel vehicles sold in the US violated emissions rules. A person familiar with the details told CNN the total amount will be roughly $800 million [CNN]

Friday, January 11:

Walkway in Oslo

• “Oslo Booting Cars from City Center”
  Oslo is one of the top cities in the world for electric vehicles. That already makes it a clear leader in clean transport and more enjoyable, healthier air for citizens, but the city is taking things a step further. Oslo is moving to restrict car use altogether within certain areas of the city. [CleanTechnica]
• “‘As World Teeters on Brink of Climate Catastrophe,’ 600+ Groups Demand Congress Back Visionary Green New Deal”
  On behalf of their millions of members and supporters, 626 environmental organizations demanded that US policymakers “pursue visionary and affirmative legislative action” such as a Green New Deal. [Common Dreams]
• “DSM Holds Grand Opening for Largest Net-Metered Solar Installation in New Jersey”
  DSM North America opened its newly expanded solar field in Belvidere, New Jersey. The 20.2-MW solar project, located on 66 acres, is now the largest net-metered solar installation in New Jersey and the second largest on the East Coast. [Solar Power World]

Saturday, January 12:

Coal plant demolition (Nicki Kohl | Telegraph Herald | Associated Press)

• “Wind and Solar Are the Final Nails in Coal’s Coffin”
  During the 2016 campaign and in various rallies since, President Trump promised to save America’s coal industry and put the nation’s coal miners “back to work.” Trump continues to labor under the delusion that he can accomplish that, but fortunately, that is just delusion. [Natural Resources Defense Council]
• “Vermont Yankee Sale to NorthStar Completed”
  Entergy Nuclear completed the sale of the closed Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant to NorthStar Group Services, an industrial demolition company, after a two-year review. Demolition of the nuclear plant will be undertaken decades ahead of Entergy’s original time frame. [Bennington Banner]

Fire damage in Paridise California (© UPI Photo)

• “Trump Threatens Those Hurt by His Failure on Climate Change”
  As the federal government shutdown and the rancorous border wall dispute consumes much of our attention, President Trump reiterated his threat to withhold essential wildfire response funds from California. He may try to divert the funds to pay for the wall. [The Hill]

Sunday, January 13:

• “‘Green New Deal’ Isn’t Radical. It’s a Natural for Texas’ Wind, Solar Energy”
  A Green New Deal could expedite more solar and wind power usage, but first people need to know what a Green New Deal means. No state will be more impacted than Texas, with its rich oil and gas resources, and no city more than Houston. [Houston Chronicle]

• “Oceans Are Warming 40% Faster than Predicted”
  News Flash! The oceans are warming 40% faster than predicted just a few years ago. That finding is contained in a new study published January 11 in the journal Science. As the oceans warm, they will absorb heat less efficiently, and that means that with time, the land will get hotter faster. [CleanTechnica]
• “Democrats Looking to Finally Tackle Climate Impacts to Gulf of Maine”
  After years of inaction under the old administration, Maine may finally deal with the impacts of climate change along the coast, including ocean acidification, a byproduct of the use of fossil fuels that represents a potentially catastrophic threat to Maine’s marine harvesters. [Press Herald]

Monday, January 14:

Ardrossan, Scotland (Courtesy of Vincent van Zeijst)

• “ScottishPower: the Journey to Renewables”
  ScottishPower, one of the UK’s biggest utilities, announced it will switch to 100% renewable energy. The move is hailed as touchstone moment and a good example for any big utility seeking to shed its fossil fuel legacy, but does the move make economic sense, and if so will more utilities follow? [Power Technology]
• “Solar + Storage Half the Cost of Gas Peaker Plants”
  Prices for electricity from solar-plus-storage plants have had a precipitous fall. As prices continue to drop, Wood Mackenzie has forecast that as the market for solar plus storage matures, it could put over 6,400 MW of new natural gas-fired peaking capacity in the US at risk by 2027. [CleanTechnica]
• “All the Good News About Renewable Energy – From the US Department Of Energy”
  Trump pledged to revive the US coal industry, but during his tenure its growth prospects flatlined. The latest outlook on electricity generation from the DOE has bad news for coal, good news about renewable energy, and some so-so news for natural gas. [CleanTechnica]

Tuesday, January 15:

Wave (irabel8 | Shutterstock)

• “As the World’s Oceans Warm, Their Waves Are Becoming More Powerful”
  Scientists at the University of California, Santa Cruz have revealed that as the surface of the world’s oceans continues to warm, there is a direct association with increased wave energy globally. Their study was published in the journal Nature Communications. [IFLScience]
• “Antarctica Ice Melt Has Accelerated by 280% in the Last Four Decades”
  A pair of studies, one published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences and the other in the scientific journal Nature Geoscience, share a same ominous message: Our planet’s ice is melting at an alarming rate, which is bad news for global sea levels. [CNN]

Gas platform against the rising sun (David McNeil | Hilton Archive | Getty Images)

• “What Warmer Oceans Mean for the Planet”
  Our oceans are much warmer and are heating up faster than we previously thought, driven by climate change caused by humans, according to a study published in the journal Science. Its authors said 2018 would be the warmest year on record for oceans. So what does that mean? [CNN]

Wednesday, January 16:

• “One Simple – But Really Hard – Solution to Stop Climate Change”
  The time to act on climate change and limit its human causes is now, as many studies have shown. A report in the journal Nature Communications maps out what it may take to get there. It is to phase out its “carbon-intensive infrastructure” at the end of its design lifetime. [CNN]

New York City

• “New York Gov Launches ‘Green New Deal’ with Accelerated Clean Energy Targets”
  New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced the launch of a “Green New Deal” initiative. Cuomo’s 2019 Justice Agenda calls for a ramp-up in renewable energy deployments as New York seeks to have 100% carbon-free electricity by 2040. [Greentech Media]
• “US Coal Retirements in 2018 Could Be as High as 15.4 GW”
  A total of 16.9 GW of US power capacity was retired in 2018, including 11.8 GW worth of coal-fired power capacity, figures from S&P Global Market Intelligence say. But data from other analyst figures suggest US coal retirements in 2018 could have been as high as 15.4 GW. [CleanTechnica]

Energy Week #299, 2019-01-10

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.com.

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Energy Week #299, 01/03/19

Thursday, January 3:

BYD bus built in California (Nate Pitkin, Wikimedia Commons)

• “New Zero Emissions Rules for Public Transportation and Shuttles in California”
  Every bus used for public transportation in California will be a zero emissions vehicle by 2040 as the result of a new initiative approved by the Air Resources Board. Transportation accounts for 40% of CO2 emissions and up to 90% of smog-causing pollutants. [CleanTechnica]
• “Tesla Crushes Records, Wall Street Expects More – Miracles?”
  Tesla crushed 2017’s numbers, solidly passed the 2018’s 3rd quarter numbers in the 4th quarter, and showed what was probably the most dramatic growth in the history of the auto industry. But Wall Street decided it wasn’t enough and the stock price declined. [CleanTechnica]

Gas-fired power station in Teesside (Photo: Alamy)

• “UK Power Stations’ Electricity Output Lowest Since 1994”
  The output of British power stations fell this year to levels last seen almost a quarter of a century ago, while renewables got a record share of the UK electricity supply. Electricity generation in 2018 was the lowest since 1994, when Tony Blair became the leader of the Labour party. [The Guardian]

Friday, January 4:

• “GM Passed 200,000 EV Milestone in Q4”
  The $7,500 federal EV tax credit will drop to $3,750 for General Motors on March 31, 2019, because GM recorded more than 200,000 EV sales in the 4th quarter of last year. The credit will be at $3,750 the following 2 quarters. Then it will drop to $1,875 for the next two quarters. And then, it will end. [CleanTechnica]

Dismantling a coal-fired plant (George Frey | Getty Images)

• “More Coal Plants Shut Down in Trump’s First Two Years than in Obama’s Entire First Term”
  Despite campaigning on a pledge to save the dirtiest of fossil fuels, President Donald Trump has presided over a faster rate of coal plant retirements in his first two years than President Barack Obama saw in his entire first term in office. [ThinkProgress]
• “Electric Vehicle Sales up 130% in 2018, 210% in Q4 2018 – US Electric Car Sales Report”
  EV sales growth has been uneven. Aside from the new models (Jaguar I-PACE and Honda Clarity EV), the only models that saw growth were the Tesla Model 3, Tesla Model S, Tesla Model X, and Nissan LEAF. But those models certainly grew a lot . [CleanTechnica]

Saturday, January 5:

• “Minnesota-Vermont Partnership Will Offer Solar to Low-Income Families”
  A Minnesota nonprofit has a community solar model they think could go national. The Rural Renewable Energy Alliance and Southeastern Vermont Community Action are partnering to get solar power to 50 low-income households in Windham and Windsor counties. [CleanTechnica]

RREAL crew installing a solar system in Minnesota

• “ASLA Warns Landscape Architects Could Be Liable for Climate Impacts on Projects”
  During the 2018 annual meeting of the American Society of Landscape Architects, it was determined that landscape architects could potentially face liability due to climate impacts of their projects. This follows a Texas class-action lawsuit. [Total Landscape Care]
• “You Cannot Separate Health and Wellness from Climate Change”
  People seem to be less concerned about climate change, carbon emissions, and resilience than they are about health and wellness, as evidenced by the booming of the Well Standard and the KB Home pivot to wellness. Climate change, however, is a threat to health. [Treehugger]

Sunday, January 6:

Warming erosion at Drew Point, Alaska (USGS image)

• “Melting Arctic Sends a Message: Climate Change is Here in a Big Way”
  Scientists are trained to be skeptics, but for those of us who study the Arctic, it is clear that a radical transformation is underway. The question is not whether the Arctic is warming, but how drastically it will change, and what the changes mean for the planet. [Red, Green, and Blue]
• “The PRC Bets on Climate Diplomacy in the Caribbean”
  China is bidding to brand itself as the world leader on climate change. Beijing has put up billions to fund initiatives aimed at reducing carbon, supporting green energy, and promoting climate resilience worldwide. One target of Chinese attention is the Caribbean. [The Jamestown Foundation]

Tesla taxis arriving in Amsterdam

• “Dutch EV Sales: Tripled in 2018, 30% Market Share in December, Tesla Model S Took #1 Spot”
  In 2018, 24,024 fully electric vehicles were sold in the Netherlands, three times as many as were sold in 2017, according to figures from industry associations. In December, 30.4% of cars sold in the country were fully electric cars. [CleanTechnica]

Monday, January 7:

Cattle grazing in a silvopasture forest in Georgia (Photo: USDA National Agroforestry Center)

• “Silvopasture Can Mitigate Climate Change. Will US Farmers Take it Seriously?”
  Trees absorb and sequester large amounts of carbon over time. The sequestering process is rendered even more powerful when they are used together with grazing and planted on “marginal” land that is not great for growing crops, such as woodland edges. [Civil Eats]
• “Researchers Say Solar and Wind Energy Could Be the End of Coal in Texas”
  Texas is a renowned producer of fossil fuels, such as coal and oil, but researchers at Houston’s Rice University claim that increased solar and wind energy adoption could be all Texas needs to quit coal for good. Texas does not even need batteries for such a transformation. [Hydrogen Fuel News]

Camp Fire

• “Years of Shoddy Safety Policies Leave Pacific Gas and Electric Facing Bankruptcy”
  After being suspected a culprit of the last devastating Californian wildfires, PG&E is reportedly facing bankruptcy. The utility is not only facing severe criticism over its recurring lack of security prevention in recent years, but also gigantic lawsuits. [CleanTechnica]

Tuesday, January 8:

• “Guess what? US Carbon Emissions Popped Back Up in a Big Way” • A report by the Rhodium Group, a research institution that analyzes global economic and environmental trends, found that in 2018 CO2 emissions rose 3.4% from the prior year. It is the second largest gain in two decades, and it comes after three straight years of decline. [Yahoo News]

Washington, DC

• “DC and Nine States Collaborating on Carbon Emissions Reduction Policy” • The District of Columbia, Virginia, Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Vermont are working together to formulate a policy proposal to reduce transportation carbon emissions and air pollution. [CleanTechnica]
• “Supreme Court Blocks ExxonMobil’s Effort to Conceal Decades of Documents in Probe of Oil Giant’s Climate Deception” • The Supreme Court rejected ExxonMobil’s attempt to block Massachusetts’s demand for documents related to its investigation into allegations that it deceived the public and investors for decades about global warming. [DeSmog]

Wednesday, January 9:

Coal-burning power plant (Shutterstock image)

• “Colorado Could Save $2.5 Billion by Rapidly Shutting Down Its Coal Power Plants”
  According to PacifiCorp, which owns 22 coal plants in Colorado, its own analysis shows 13 of the 22 plants are currently losing money. Analysis commissioned by the Sierra Club showed that it would be cheaper to replace 20 of the 22 plants with windpower. [Vox]
• “Ambitious New York City Bill Aims to Replace Gas-Fired Power Plants with Renewables”
  A top councilman for New York City is preparing to introduce a bill mandating that the city come up with a plan by the end of the year to phase out nearly two dozen gas-fired power plants and replace them with renewable sources of electricity. [HuffPost]

Offshore wind farm (Beverley Goodwin, CC-BY 2.0 generic)

• “New Hampshire Eager to Join Northeast Offshore Wind Club”
  New Hampshire Gov Sununu has requested that the federal government set up an intergovernmental offshore renewable energy task force for the state to facilitate coordination between federal, state and local governments regarding commercial leasing proposals. [Renewables Now]