Energy Week #311, 2019-04-04

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, March 28:

Glacier (Joe Raedle, Getty Images Europe, Getty Images)

• “Greenland’s Most Critical Glacier Is Suddenly Gaining Ice, But That Might Not Be A Good Thing”
  Greenland’s largest and most critical glacier, Jakobshavn, is gaining ice, according to NASA researchers. This might sound like good news, but the reason for the ice accumulation might spell disaster in the long run. [CNN]
• “Trump’s Clean Car Rollbacks Would Cost Drivers More Money, Finds Surprised Bush-era Official”
  A study by President George W Bush’s anti-regulatory czar found that the current fuel efficiency and emissions standards are good for the economy as a whole, mostly due to the significant savings American drivers would see at the pump. [DeSmog]

Tesla Model 3

• “Electric Vehicles Are Driving Rates Down: How Do EVs Impact Electricity Rates?”
  Some people believe that charging EVs will necessarily stress the electric grid, resulting in costly upgrades that drive up electric rates. Analysis conducted by Synapse Energy Economics found the opposite has been observed in the real world. [CleanTechnica]

Friday, March 29:

• “Florida Charges Ahead With 400-MW Mega-Battery”
  Florida Power & Light is building the world’s largest solar-powered battery, four times the capacity of the world’s largest operating battery in South Australia. The 409-MW facility, to be commissioned in late 2021, will be charged by an existing FPL PV plant in Manatee County. [reNEWS]

Waterfall in the Amazon rain forest (Getty Images)

• “The Young Minds Solving Climate Change”
  People of the younger generations understand that there are solutions to the problems of climate change. “The climate crisis has already been solved. We already have all the facts and solutions. All we have to do is to wake up and change,” said Nobel Prize nominee Greta Thunberg. [BBC]
• “It Took Just Two Summers For Renewables To Replace Hazelwood”
  For CO₂ pollution, Hazelwood was the worst coal power station in Australia, but it was very important for power supplies. The AEMO said it would take eight years to replace it with a coal plant. But it took two summers to replace it with wind and solar. [RenewEconomy]

Saturday, March 30:

PDPU (Wikipedia image)

• “PDPU To Rope In Oil Companies To Harness Geothermal Energy” 
  After a successful pilot project in the Indian state of Gugerat, Pandit Deendayal Petroleum University plans to tap a large geothermal source for commercially viable electricity production. It is looking to help from oil companies for drilling and exploration. [ETEnergyworld.com]
• “Deutsche Telekom Tees Up New Renewable Energy Targets” 
  Deutsche Telekom said that it plans to cover all of its electricity needs with renewable sources by 2021. The renewable energy goal also includes T-Mobile in the US. It revised a previous target by DT to reduce its emissions by 20% by 2020 compared to those of 2008. [FierceTelecom]

Walney Extension (Emissions fell 3% in 2018)

• “UK Renewables Generate Record Levels Of Electricity In 2018” 
  Provisional figures published by the UK Government show that renewable energy sources generated a record 33% of electricity in 2018, increasing by 11.8% over 2017 levels, led by a record year for wind energy generation which provided 17.1% of the UK’s electricity. [CleanTechnica]

Sunday, March 31:

• “Judge Rules Trump Executive Order Allowing Offshore Drilling In Arctic Ocean Unlawful” 
  A federal judge in Alaska ruled an executive order by Pres Trump allowing offshore oil drilling of millions of acres in the Arctic Ocean is “unlawful and invalid.” The ruling means a drilling ban protecting Arctic waters will go back into effect. [CNN]

Kuwait oil field fire (Jonas Jordan, US Army Corps of Engineers)

• “The Massive Cost And Burden To Society And The Environment Of The Internal Combustion Engine” 
  The internal combustion engine has transported us for more than one hundred years. But with all its convenience, has the ICE and its necessary companion fossil fuel come to burden us more than it benefits us? [CleanTechnica]
• “Renewables Prove Their Power”
  The electricity industry is changing. In 2017, global investment in renewable energy was $310 billion, more than double global investment in fossil-fuelled and nuclear electricity combined. Numerous detailed studies suggest that 100% renewable electricity is technically and economically feasible. [Brisbane Times]

Monday, April 1:

• “Huge Global Study Just Smashed One Of The Last Major Arguments Against Renewables” 
  Here is news for those who believe that there are few sites suitable for pumped storage. Scientists have identified 530,000 sites worldwide suitable for pumped storage, capable of storing more than enough energy to power the entire planet. [ScienceAlert]
• “Global Lithium-Ion Battery Planned Capacity Grows 4% In A Single Month” 
  In just one month, the planning pipeline for 2023 battery factory capacity jumped by 43 GWh, adding over 4% to the global total (50% annualized growth). Planned annual output by 2023 will soon cross 1,000 GWh of capacity Over two-thirds of it will be in China. [CleanTechnica]

Solar array

• “Corporate Giants Target 60 GW Of US Renewable Energy” 
  Announced late last week (28 March), REBA has committed to creating 60 GW of renewables in the US by 2025. The Alliance will seek to accelerate the uptake of clean energy in the country from the 6.2 GW of corporate renewables deals that were issued in 2018. [edie.net]

Tuesday, April 2:

• “Plans For Grid To Operate On Zero Carbon Power By 2025” 
  The UK electricity system will be able to operate with 100% clean power by 2025, the company responsible for balancing the grid announced. National Grid Electricity System Operator balances the system and ensures that customers have sufficient power supplies available. [Energy Voice]

Shell oil rig

• “Big Oil Invested More Than $1 Billion On Misleading Climate Lobbying Since Paris”
  The globe’s five largest publicly traded oil and gas majors are ExxonMobil, Royal Dutch Shell, Chevron, BP, and Total. Together, they have invested over $1 billion in misleading climate-related branding and lobbying in the three years since the Paris Agreement. [CleanTechnica]
• “Breaking! Tesla Takes 31% Of Norway’s Total Passenger Auto Sales In March”
  Tesla sold about 5,700 vehicles in Norway in March, out of a total of 18,375 new passenger car sales for the month. That means Tesla got around 31% of the market. Fully electric cars as a whole amounted to over 58% of Norway’s total new auto market. [CleanTechnica]

Wednesday, April 3:

Climate strike

• “Shell Quits Major US Oil Lobby Over Climate Change”
  Royal Dutch Shell said that it would not renew its membership in the American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers lobby next year because of “material misalignment.” The energy company says it disagrees with the group’s policies, including those on climate change. [CNN]
• “Germany:Renewables Covered 54% Of Net Power Production In March”
  Germany set a new record in March as more than half of its power was generated from renewables, primarily solar and wind. In the first quarter, renewables accounted for 45.4% of net electricity generation, according to energy charts published by Fraunhofer ISE. [pv magazine International]

GE Haliade-X offshore wind turbine

• “GE Bets On Offshore Wind As Fossil Fuels Business Stumbles”
  At GE Power, which makes and services natural gas and coal-fired power plants, orders have fallen precipitously. Because of this, GE’s stock has lost two-thirds of its value since the end of 2016. So GE is turning to investing in offshore windpower and renewable energy. [CNN]

Energy Week #310, 2019-03-28

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 #310, 03/28/19

Thursday, March 21:

Real Fake (Cole Camplese, Wikimedia Commons)

• “Who’s Behind Trump’s Claim The Green New Deal Will Cost $100 Trillion?”
  President Trump’s claim that the Green New Deal would cost $100 trillion can be traced back to the Manhattan Institute, a think tank backed by fossil fuel investor Paul Singer and companies like ExxonMobil. The figure was a “guesstimate,” tweeted without cost analysis. [Truthout]
• “Smithfield Foods Adding Wind Turbines To Colorado Hog Farms” 
  Distributed wind developer United Wind has signed an agreement with Smithfield Foods Inc to power dozens of Smithfield hog farms in Colorado with on-site wind energy. The partnership involves more than 50 distributed wind turbines totaling 3 MW. [North American Windpower]

Energy Observer

• “Hydrogen, Wind, And Solar Powered Yacht ‘Energy Observer’ Calls On Antwerp” 
  The yacht Energy Observer, the world’s first oceangoing zero emissions catamaran, arrived in Antwerp. It is its 34th port of call since it began its around the world cruise in June of 2017. People can visit to learn more about the ship and its round the world voyage. [CleanTechnica]

Friday, March 22:

• “ExxonMobil Faces EU Parliament Ban After No-Show At Climate Hearing” 
  ExxonMobil faces losing its lobby privileges at the European parliament after it failed to show up for the first hearing into climate change denial. Previously, only Monsanto has ever lost access to European MPs, parliamentary meetings, and digital resources. [The Guardian]

US solar array

• “US Solar And Wind Firms Call The ‘Green New Deal’ Too Extreme” 
  Representatives of America’s clean energy companies are withholding their support for the climate-fighting plan, calling it unrealistic and too politically divisive. The solar and wind industries are keen to grow their businesses in both red and blue states. [Thomson Reuters Foundation]
• “Ford Announces Plans To Build Electric And Autonomous Cars In Michigan” 
  Ford announced it will invest $850 million to prepare its iconic Flat Rock assembly plant for building battery electric cars. And the company says it will spend an additional $50 million to equip that factory to manufacture autonomous vehicles. [CleanTechnica]

Saturday, March 23:

Research center at Aarhus University (Lars Kruse | AU Foto)

• “The Potential Of Ammonia As Carbon-Free Fuel – Major New Research Project At The University Of Aarhus”
  A major new research project at the Department of Engineering at Aarhus University could revolutionize production of ammonia. And ammonia has the potential to revolutionize the entire energy and transport sector. [CleanTechnica]
• “California In ‘Extreme Peril’ From Fire Threat, Gov Gavin Newsom Says, Declares Statewide Fire Emergency To Prepare”
  California Gov Gavin Newsom declared a statewide wildfire emergency, citing “extreme peril” to life and property. The declaration suspends environmental and bidding practices to speed forest clearing. [The Weather Channel]

Navajo Generating Station (Ross D Franklin | AP File Photo)

• “Navajo Nation Company Ends Bid To Buy Power Plant, Mine”
  One of the largest coal-fired power plants in the West will close this year as planned, as a Navajo Nation company ended its long-shot bid to acquire it. The Navajo Transitional Energy Company had looked into buying the power plant and the coal mine to save revenue and jobs. [Associated Press]

Sunday, March 24:

• “Wow: US Government Warns There’s A Spring Flood Risk For Two-Thirds Of The Lower 48”
  Historic floods have deluged vast swaths of the Midwest. But NOAA says the floods are not close to over. The agency’s 2019 Spring Outlook found that nearly two-thirds of the lower 48 states are at risk for flooding in the coming months. [Yahoo News]

Petra Vlhova (Hans Bezard | Agence Zoom | Getty Images)

• “How Climate Change Is Affecting World Cup Ski Racing Circuit”
  For those who compete in the snow, climate change is obvious. From shrinking glaciers and inadequate snow cover to tempestuous storms and too much of the white stuff, racers on the World Cup circuit have to adapt to conditions noticeably different than they were ten years go. [CNN]
• “New Hampshire Officials Unhappy With Neighbors’ Nuclear Option”
  The New England states have aggressive goals to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and adopt clean energy. But some New Hampshire officials fear that Connecticut’s decision to support the Millstone nuclear plant will increase costs for Granite State residents. [The Union Leader]

Monday, March 25:

Solar array in California (Pacific Southwest Region image)

• “California Solar Sets Record, But That’s Not The Big News”
  On March 16, California set a new solar energy record, when solar output peaked at 10,765 MW, breaking a record set last June and supplying 59% of grid demand for the state. That does not include distributed solar, however, which would bring the figure to nearly 16 GW. [CleanTechnica]
• “First Utility Rebrands As Shell Energy Retail”
  A year after Shell acquired First Utility it has rebranded the supplier as Shell Energy Retail and confirmed that it has switched more than 700,000 homes in Britain to 100% renewable electricity. SER said it will roll out a “range of smart home technology offers” throughout the year. [Utility Week]

Matt Gaetz (Alex Wroblewski | Bloomberg via Getty)

• “DC’s Trumpiest Congressman Says The GOP Needs To Get Real On Climate Change”
  Florida’s 36-year-old congressman Matt Gaetz was deemed by GQ “the Trumpiest Congressman in Trump’s Washington. Nevertheless, asked about climate change, he said, “We can believe the climate deniers or we can believe our eyes.” [VICE]

Tuesday, March 26:

• “Shutting Down Almost Every Coal Plant And Swapping For Renewables Would Save Money, Report Finds”
  Few reports make really clear how much US coal is a dead man walking. Energy Innovation analysis shows that it would cost less to tear down 74% of US coal plants and replace them with renewables than to let them keep operating. [Gizmodo]

Air pollution (Fred Dufour | AFP | AFP | Getty Images)

• “Slashing Fossil Fuel Use Could Save Millions Of Lives At Risk Due To Air Pollution, Study Says” 
  Air pollution causes many premature deaths, which can cause heart, lung and other diseases. Worldwide, 3.61 million people die each year due to outdoor pollution caused by fossil fuels, an international team of researchers estimates. [CNN]
• “Puerto Rico Has Just Passed Its Own Green New Deal”
  Puerto Rico has passed a bill to radically transform the island’s economy with renewable energy as the central pillar. Its legislature approved Senate Bill 1121, the Puerto Rico Energy Public Policy Act, which will set the island on a path to 100% renewable energy by 2050. [Forbes]

Wednesday, March 27:

Wind turbines (reNEWS image)

• “Battery And Offshore Wind Costs ‘Tumble’”
  Prices for lithium-ion battery storage as well as offshore wind have fallen more sharply than other clean generation technologies in the past year, according to BloombergNEF. The price for energy from lithium-ion batteries has fallen 35% since the first half of 2018, to $187/MWh. [reNEWS]
• “Germany’s Uniper Feeds Wind Power-To-Methane Into Gas Grid”
  German utility Uniper has started producing methane gas derived from wind power and feeding it into the gas pipeline networks at its Falkenhagen site as the country seeks wider uses for renewable energy. The green methane is a replacement for natural gas. [Reuters]

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

• “Green New Deal Stalls In Senate After Largely Political Debate”
  Senators had a spirited debate over the merits of the Green New Deal, a broad policy proposal from liberal Democrats to battle climate change and other social ills. But no one was willing to vote to advance the measure before final legislative language was written, and it stalled. [CNN]

 

Energy Week #310, 03/28/19

 

 

Energy Week #309, 2019-03-21

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 #309, 03/21/19

Thursday, March 14:

Air pollution (Fred Dufour | AFP |. AFP | Getty Images)

• “The ‘Ecological Foundations Of Society’ Are In Peril, A Massive UN Report Warns”
  Human activities are degrading the global environment fast enough to endanger the “ecological foundations of society” and human health, a landmark UN report says. By dealing with that, we can have less poverty and hunger while preserving the environment. [CNN]
• “Trump Administration Concedes Coal Is Collapsing On Its Watch As Renewables Soar”
  Coal production will drop nearly 8% in 2019 and 4.5% in 2020, a new analysis from the Trump administration says. But over the same two years, total renewable power generation will rise 30%, according to Energy Information Administration projections. [ThinkProgress]
• “SunPower And Sierra Club To Partner On Residential Solar Incentive Program”
  Grassroots environmental organization Sierra Club has partnered with one of America’s leading solar manufacturers, SunPower, on a new incentive and rebate program open to the organization’s more than 3.5 million members and supporters. [CleanTechnica]

Friday, March 15:

Climate strike in Wellington, New Zealand

• “Global Climate Strikes Are Happening Now. Young Environmental Activists Skip School In A Call To Action.”
  Tens of thousands of students in over 100 countries and 1,500 cities worldwide are walking out of class and piling into the streets, demanding that world leaders take action on a threat to their survival – climate change. [CNN]
• “New Fuel Cell Material Can Run Efficiently In Reverse, Storing Energy”
  Researchers have developed a fuel cell that can be run efficiently in both directions, either using hydrogen or methane to produce electricity or using electricity to produce these fuels. Their measurements suggest that they get 75% efficiency in a cycle. [Ars Technica]
• “Musk Adds New Model Y To Electric Car Line-Up”
  Tesla has launched its latest car, the Model Y, its second mass-market electric vehicle. The first release is a long-range version with a price tag of $47,000 (€41,500, £35,489). CEO Elon Musk said a standard-range model priced at $39,000 would be available in 2021. [BBC]

Saturday, March 16:

Plastic litter on a beach (Getty images)

• “UN Resolution Pledges To Plastic Reduction By 2030”
  One hundred and seventy countries have pledged to “significantly reduce” the use of plastics by 2030. The non-binding resolution was made over throwaway items like plastic bags. An initial proposal to phase out single-use plastic by 2025 was opposed by several nations including the US. [BBC]
• “Shell Rebukes Trump And Doubles Down On Electricity”
  Royal Dutch Shell has made it clear this week that, at least publicly, it has no interest in doing business as usual. It called on the US Trump administration to tighten methane restrictions and announced it plans to be the largest power company in the world by the early 2030s. [CleanTechnica]

Solar array

• “How Arkansas Eliminated Third-Party Solar Barriers In A Red State”
  A Republican-sponsored bill passed in Arkansas this week is seen as a major boost for solar power as it will allow third-party financing and increase project size limits in the state. The bill was passed in the Senate with a vote of 28-2 and in the House by 83-5. [Utility Dive]

Sunday, March 17:

• “Many In Germany Still In A Diesel-Fueled Daze, In Denial About EV Transition”
  The German auto industry has been through quite a scandal surrounding dieselgate. But that’s not stopping some from clinging to diesel. The Verge reports that diesel-energy enthusiasts are showing their frustration through weekly protests. [CleanTechnica]
• “SEC Charges Volkswagen And Martin Winterkorn With Massive Fraud”
  The Securities and Exchange Commission has charged Volkswagen and its former chief executive, Martin Winterkorn, with defrauding investors. The SEC says that Winterkorn was in on the whole diesel emissions cheating scheme as far back as 2007. [CleanTechnica]

Screenshot of a pre-scandal VW ad

• “Wyoming Coal Producer Had $718 Million Loss In 2018”
  A year-end financial report indicates that coal producer Cloud Peak Energy could be 30 days away from declaring bankruptcy following a $718 million loss and a failure to renegotiate with creditors. A media report says it cannot make interest payments on its debt. [Scottsbluff Star Herald]

Monday, March 18:

Windpower (Source: Getty)

• “The Answer To The UK’s Renewable Energy Future Is Blowing In The Wind”
  The UK’s offshore wind sector is booming. Auctions for new capacity held in 2017 resulted in deals at half the price of those signed just two years prior, while we are seeing a steady drumbeat of new records relating to clean power production. [City A.M.]
• “New Alternative To Trump’s Wall Would Create Jobs, Renewable Energy, And Increase Border Security”
  A group of scientists and engineers has proposed to several US members of Congress that the US and Mexico build a series of guarded solar, wind, natural gas, and desalination facilities along the entirety of the border, instead of a wall. [Big Think]

Stream in threatened salmon habitat (Associated Press)

• “Alaska Mine Seen As A Threat To Pacific Northwest, Salmon”
  Fishermen, business owners, Alaska Native organizations, and environmental groups have protested a proposed open-pit copper and gold mine at the headwaters a pristine salmon habitat for decades. Now the federal government is inching toward approving it. [The Spokesman-Review]

Tuesday, March 19:

• “Germany Renewables Share Jumped To 72.4% Last Week” 
  It seems to be something of a trend. In the tenth week of the year, Germany got 65% of its electricity from renewable resources. In the eleventh week, the figure rose to 67.6%. In the twelfth week, Germany the figure hit 72.4%, not including 10.9% from nuclear power. [RenewEconomy]

Turbine of the Walney Extension

• “Wind Generated 35% Of British Electricity Last Week”
  Wind energy accounted for 35.6% of Great Britain’s electricity generation for the week running March 8 to March 14, beating out all other generation sources. Further, offshore wind provided 21.4% of Great Britain’s electricity, beating out nuclear energy, which provided 21.3% [CleanTechnica]
• “Maine Renews Net Metering As Lawmakers Prep New Clean Energy, Utility Reform Bills”
  Maine lawmakers passed a bill to eliminate gross metering in the state and reestablish net metering for solar customers. Gov Janet Mills is thought to be likely to sign it. Other legislating to boost the state’s renewable energy is coming. [Utility Dive]

Wednesday, March 20:

Flooding in Nebraska (Credit: Nebraska National Guard)

• “Climate Change Comes To American Heartland”
  Parts of the several states in the Midwest have been devastated by a wicked combination of frozen ground, accelerated snow melt, and 1 to 2 inches of rain. All of these can be attributed to some degree to changes in climatic conditions associated with a warming planet and climate change. [CleanTechnica]
• “S2A Modular Offers Affordable Net Zero Homes With Tesla Renewable Energy Components”
  S2A Modular is building a factory in California to build homes using net-zero energy. The best news is that with its modular approach, S2A Modular can provide a superior building for about 20% less money than a traditional structure. [CleanTechnica]

Flying Whales home delivery

• “Can We Go Back To A Clean Future With Hybrid Airships?”
  China is betting big on airships for freight with a partnership with French company Flying Whales. Better access to remote areas and big cost savings are the reason, but will airships open a path to cleaner air transport? There are a number of reasons to believe they can. [CleanTechnica]

Energy Week #308, 2019-03-14

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 #308, 03/14/19

Thursday, March 7:

Wind turbines in the Midwest

• “Minnesota And Wisconsin Join Movement To Shift To A 100% Carbon-Free Grid”
  Governors of the two states are pushing goals to have 100% of electricity be carbon free by 2050. A 2007 law required Minnesota’s electricity to reach 25% renewably sourced by 2025, but the state had already achieved that target by the end of 2017. [Greentech Media]
• “Statkraft’s Latest 1-GW Virtual Power Plant In The UK Combines Renewables, Storage, Gas” 
  Statkraft partnered with energy & meteorology systems to launch a 1-GW wind, solar, and battery storage virtual power plant in the UK. Statkraft operates Europe’s largest VPP, a 12-GW plant with over 1,400 wind and solar installs in Germany. [Energy Storage News]
• “Industrial Consumers Oppose Evolving Pennsylvania Nuclear Subsidy Proposal” 
  Industrial energy consumers in Pennsylvania are lining up to oppose an evolving proposal to support the state’s nuclear plants set to be released soon in the state’s General Assembly. They said the bill would increase rates, pushing them to cut jobs. [Utility Dive]

Friday, March 8:

Energy Storage (NextEra Image)

• “Wood Mackenzie Sees Utility Scale Battery Storage Doubling In 2019 And Tripling In 2020” 
  Wood Mackenzie’s latest report on utility scale battery storage forecasts strong growth this year followed by even stronger growth in 2020. One thing that is especially interesting is that the growth is based on simple economic considerations. [CleanTechnica]
• “Trump Again Seeks Deep Cuts In Renewable Energy Funding” 
  The Trump administration is said to be seeking deep cuts spending on renewable energy and energy efficiency research again. An official familiar with the plan said the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy would see the budget request for it cut by about 70%. [Bloomberg]
• “The US Is Responsible For 26% Of Global Warming Emissions And Is Morally Responsible To Help Solve It” 
  When you can get conservatives and libertarians to admit that global warming is real, serious, and caused by humans, they seem almost always to point fingers at India and China. They should look a little deeper at what is going on at home. [CleanTechnica]

Saturday, March 9:

Greenland ice

• “Winter Rain On Greenland’s Ice Sheet Is Not Supposed To Happen But It’s Becoming More Frequent, Scientists Say”
  It should not rain in winter in Greenland, but winter rain is becoming increasingly common on parts of its ice sheet. This leads to rapid ice melt events and is priming the ice for future melting, a study says. [The Weather Channel]
• “Why The Green New Deal Cuts Consumer Energy Costs And Unemployment”
  Critics claim that the Green New Deal is unaffordable. We conclude the opposite is true: the benefits of clean energy greatly exceed the costs. Similar findings that 100% renewable energy systems are low cost come from ten other independent research groups. [CleanTechnica]

North Sea oil platform

• “Norwegian Sovereign Wealth Fund To Divest From Oil And Gas Exploration Stocks”
  Norway’s Government Pension Fund Global is the largest sovereign wealth fund in the world, with investments totaling $1 trillion under management. It announced that it will phase out oil and gas exploration companies from its portfolio. [CleanTechnica]

Sunday, March 10:

• “Study Finds Dumping Coal Would Bring US In Line With Paris Climate Accord Goals”
  A study by the physics, economics, and system science departments at Portland State University says that the US could meet the Paris Accord commitments it made in 2015 simply by eliminating coal as a source of electrical energy by 2024. [CleanTechnica]

Hispaniolan parakeet (Michael McGovern)

• “Haiti: The University Planning A Green Revolution”
  North Haiti Christian University is a place where students learn about sustainable agriculture. In a country where deforestation earns as many superlatives as poverty, it has had a generations-long ban on tree felling on its 19-acre campus. This produced a haven for rare, endemic birds. [BBC]
• “The Bogus Number At The Center Of The GOP’s Green New Deal Attacks”
  Republicans claim the Green New Deal would cost $93 trillion, a number that would dwarf the economic output of every nation on Earth. The number supposedly originated with a report by a conservative think tank, American Action Forum. But it is not there. [Politico]

Monday, March 11:

Solar array (© Getty Images)

• “The 100% Renewables Moonshot: We’re Closer Than You Think”
  Advocates for 100% renewable energy compare the effort needed to meet that goal to putting a person on the moon. But we are closer to 100% renewable energy today than we were to the moon in 1961, when President Kennedy made his famous pledge to get us to the Moon. [The Hill]
• “52,000 Still Displaced As Tohoku Marks Eight Years Since March 11, 2001, Disasters And Fukushima Nuclear Crisis”
  Japan marked the eighth anniversary of the devastating earthquake and tsunami in northeastern Japan that left more than 15,000 people dead and triggered a nuclear disaster that was one of the world’s worst. [The Japan Times]

Camp Lejeune after Hurricane Florence (Marine Corps)

• “Former Soldiers Battle Administration Over Climate Change”
  Hurricane Florence left approximately $3.6 billion of damage at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina. And a group of former military leaders and advisers will give testimony before congress, saying the partisan battle over climate change could harm our troops and national security. [Public News Service]

Tuesday, March 12:

• “Renewables Made Up Almost 65% Of Net Power Production In Germany Last Week”
  Renewable energy had a 64.8% share of electricity generation, according to solar research institute Fraunhofer ISE. The achievement was mainly due to strong production from wind facilities. Windpower supplied 48.8% of the electricity. [pv magazine International]

Seventeen years after the Canyon Ferry Complex Fire

• “Climate Change Will Make A Walk In The Woods A Much Rarer Pleasure”
  Fires and drought exacerbated by climate change make new growth difficult for some species, especially in low-elevation forests, a research study says. Some forests in the western US have crossed “a critical climate threshold for post-fire tree generation.” [CNN]
• “Largest Community Solar + Storage Installation In Massachusetts Is Now Open For Business”
  The largest community solar + storage farm in Massachusetts is in operation. The 7.1-MW Happy Hollow Community Solar + Storage Farm was built at a former gravel pit in Winchendon. It includes 3.3 MWh of battery storage. [CleanTechnica]

Wednesday, March 13:

Coal processing plant (Robert Nickelsberg | Getty Images)

• “Wyoming’s Coal Plants Are So Unprofitable Republicans Turned To A ‘Socialist Program’ To Save Them”
  Wyoming recently enacted a law that forces utilities seeking to shut down unprofitable coal plants to try to sell them first, and then to buy back the power from the new owner, even if cheaper power is available. [ThinkProgress]
• “Energy Bill’s Passage Portends End Of Coal Era In NM”
  New Mexico’s Legislature has moved to Gov Michelle Lujan Grisham’s desk a controversial bill designed to dramatically increase the amount of renewable energy used to produce electricity in New Mexico. The House passed the bill 43-22. It is supported by Gov Grisham. [New Mexico Political Report]

Ocean Sun floating solar array (Ocean Sun image)

• “Floating Solar Trampoline By Ocean Sun Tested By Statkraft”
  Statkraft’s Albania unit bought a uniquely designed floating solar trampoline manufactured by Norwegian startup Ocean Sun for deployment at the Banja reservoir in Albania. The 2-MW array consists of four floating units of 0.5 MW each, at a total cost of €2.3 million ($2.6 million). [CleanTechnica]