Why They Just Can’t Understand Climate Change

Why people can't grasp climate change

Phil Plait, August 29, 2016 (Dallas Morning News)

“…Global warming is real, and almost entirely caused by human activities…The vast majority of scientists who have dedicated their lives to studying the climate agree on this…[But a] vocal minority of people won't accept that. Why? Some are sponsored by fossil fuel companies…[S]ome are ideologically inclined to dismiss science, or progressive politics…[But] some people honestly question the existence of global warming and its effects on the climate…[It is partly because we] see what's immediately around us, and have difficulty extrapolating to the greater world…[The Earth is five hundred million square kilometers of surface area with five] quadrillion tons of air…[But] we do have an effect…[C]limate change is] slow and patient…[If we keep our eyes on the long view, we can see the temperature trend is clearly] up…What can we do? We can charge companies that put carbon into the air. We can rely on more renewable energies…[And we] can vote…[The official Republican platform and Donald Trump dismiss climate change. Hillary Clinton's climate change strategy is much more realistic]…It's not too late. If we choose wisely…” click here for more

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U.S. Offshore Wind Proves Doubters Wrong

The nation’s first offshore wind farm is ready to go, despite critics’ blowback

Brady Dennis, August 27, 2016 (Washington Post)

“…[The just-completed Block Island offshore wind project is about to go into service off the coast of Rhode Island. The modest five-turbine, 30-megawatt project is the] country’s inaugural foray into offshore wind power…But here’s what makes it momentous: It exists…[E]fforts to jump-start the industry have faltered…In part because of its deliberately small size, only the Block Island wind farm has successfully navigated the legal, regulatory and political hurdles that have tripped up others. Deepwater Wind, the Providence-based company behind the facility, views it as a steppingstone…There’s reason to believe offshore wind farms could soon see a U.S. boom…The federal government has awarded nearly a dozen commercial offshore wind leases…[Massachusetts now has a law requiring] 1,600 megawatts of offshore wind power…[and] Deepwater Wind already is angling to build a proposed 15-turbine wind farm off the eastern coast of Long Island, the first phase of what it hopes will be more than 200 turbines…” click here for more

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Where Used EV Batteries Can Go To Serve

Millions of used electric car batteries will help store energy for the grid. Maybe.

David Roberts, August 29, 2016 (VOX)

“…In four or five years, the batteries in the roughly one and a quarter million EVs currently on the road are going to start to wane. EV owners will either replace them, or replace the cars entirely…One possibility is repurposing the [batteries] to serve as grid-connected energy storage…Once a battery’s performance has degraded by around 30 percent, it could become available for stationary storage [according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF)]…[B]y 2018 these second-life batteries could cost as little as $49 per usable kilowatt-hour to repurpose, compared to the current new stationary battery price today of around $300 per kilowatt-hour. If so, they will further support the economics of both renewable energy and electric vehicles, acelerating the uptake of both…[But JB Straubel, battery expert and CTO of Tesla, questions the idea because there’s] no guarantee the economics will work out…Used batteries have lower energy density than new stationary-storage batteries and won’t last as long…[Also, stationary] storage is cheapest when its constituent battery cells are most uniform…By 2030 or so, 15-year-old batteries coming out of EVs will be competing with new custom-built stationary storage batteries that benefit from the intervening years of research, reduced costs, and increased performance…[But it] won’t be easy…” click here for more

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The History Of Climate Change

Humans Kickstarted Climate Change Nearly 200 Years Earlier Than Scientists Thought

Jasmine Solana, August 28, 2016 (Futurism)

“…Most experts agree that human activity has played a major role in making climate change happen, but the consensus is that it is a fairly recent trend. New research, however, has found…that global warming began during the early stages of the Industrial Revolution and is first detectable in the Arctic and tropical oceans around the 1830s…[D]irect measurements of climate were rare before the 1900s, which was why anthropogenic climate change was generally talked about as a 20th century phenomenon. But [using 500 years of data on tree rings, corals, cave decorations, and ice cores form a natural archive of the Earth’s temperatures throughout history], along with thousands of years of climate model simulations, [Early onset of industrial-era warming across the oceans and continents] pinpointed the early onset of warming to around the 1830s, and found the early warming was attributed to rising greenhouse gas levels…” click here for more

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To Buy Or To Finance Solar, That Is The Question

Breaking Down Solar Energy Options

Cathy Allen, August 26, 2016 (AFRO)

“…Solar power systems can cost $15,000 to $30,000 before any rebates and incentives. Once installed, the owners receive rebates, tax credits and/or state renewable incentives that can reduce the total cost by 50 percent. Most solar installation companies will manage all the paperwork and adjust the purchase price to reflect the net amount…[Owners are responsible for maintenance of the system but the] equipment is very durable [comes with warrantees] and can withstand the elements…[Maintenance is primarily] cleaning panels…Many banks are now offering tailored solar systems loans to homeowners with FICO scores 640 or above…[with 10-to-20-year terms and] interest rates ranging from 3 percent to 8 percent…Typically, a solar system will save between 40 percent to 70 percent on electricity over about 20 to 25 years…[With leasing and power purchase agreements (PPA)] the solar company owns and maintains the system. There is little to zero cost for installation [but electricity savings are only] 10 percent to 30 percent…[and the homeowner does] not get the benefits of tax credits or renewable incentives or rebates…[Using solar energy through any financial arrangement is a step forward] in protecting our wallets and the environment.” click here for more

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Wind Fits The National Power Mix

Wind power keeps the lights on and lowers costs

Michael Goggin, August 26, 2016 (The Hill)

“…An electricity grid drawing power from different types of generation protects consumers against both fuel price fluctuations and outages at specific plants…[W]ind energy has proven critical to maintaining a cost-effective, reliable electric grid. During 2014’s Polar Vortex weather event, demand skyrocketed as buildings ran their furnaces at full output during the extreme cold. Supply was also reduced, as the frigid temperatures unexpectedly knocked many conventional power plants offline, in some cases due to fuel supply constraints…[W]ind turbines kept turning…[and] saved consumers across the Great Lakes and Mid-Atlantic regions over $1 billion in just two days…[Technological advances now allow wind turbines to reach stronger, steadier winds and generate 90% of the time and this] number increases even further when grid operators aggregate the output of all wind plants, and all sources of supply and demand, over large regions…Coal, nuclear and natural gas plants don’t generate electricity 100 percent of the time either…[and] often experience outages from unforeseen events. When these things happen, other plants on the electric grid [like wind installations] step in, illustrating the importance of a diversified energy mix…Wind power’s greatest contribution to a reliable, diverse electricity mix is its ability to produce energy with no fuel cost or fuel price risk…while creating cleaner air.” click here for more

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The Climate Change Fight Will Boost The Economy

How a War on Climate Change Could Restore Economic Growth in America

Wade Roush, August 23, 2016 (Xconomy)

Editor’s note: Lots of valuable history and economics in this one.

"…[Slow economic growth and climate change are likely the biggest challenges facing the U.S. right now and] both problems pose a threat to our way of life, so we can’t prioritize just one…It would be fruitless to fixate on growing the economic pie, and/or slicing it up more equitably, if we knew that whole pie was about to be charbroiled…[But] the two problems have a common solution…[T]he massive investments needed to blunt the effects of climate change—in areas like zero-carbon energy and transportation technology and climate-change adaptation—are exactly the same kinds of investments we would make if we wanted to restore our aging infrastructure, strengthen manufacturing, provide millions of people with new skills, put them to work in rewarding jobs, and boost overall productivity…[T]echnological change does not regress—it only goes forward. The question is whether we’re smart and level-headed enough to tackle both of our scariest threats at once…” click here for more

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Solar Shingles Versus Solar Panels

The company that offered integrated solar roofs before Elon Musk

Lacy Cooke, August 17, 2016 (inhabitat)

“…[SolarCity is working on a solar roof that would replace solar panels with solar shingles or tiles integrated into the building’s structure and wiring but] SunTegra Solar Roof Systems (formerly Integrated Solar Technology) has already installed integrated solar systems in the northeastern United States and California…Their tile can produce 67 watts, and their shingle can produce 100 watts. Additionally, the SunTegra shingles utilize ‘50 percent fewer parts’ than traditional rooftop solar panels, and can be rapidly installed in ‘half the time.’ Their systems are lighter than racked panels too. Ventilation built into SunTegra’s units help them stay cool…While SunTegra’s units are around 15 percent more expensive than traditional rooftop panels, if homeowners need a new roof, pricing can be competitive. None of SunTegra’s roofs have leaked, and the company notes they’ve received ‘exceptional wind, snow, and fire ratings…’” click here for more

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How Very Much Oil & Gas Don't Need Their Tax Breaks

The Impact of Removing Tax Preferences for U.S. Oil and Gas Production

Gilber Metcalf, August 2016 (Council on Foreign Relations)

“…Reform advocates argue that eliminating tax preferences for producers of oil and gas could increase government revenues by billions of dollars each year while defenders of the existing tax regime contend that changing it would lead to large declines in domestic oil and gas production and to significant job destruction…[This report] models firm behavior in response to the potential loss of each of the three major tax preferences in the United States. The potential losses are measured as equivalent price impact (EPI), the percentage drop in the price of oil or gas that would reduce the profitability of drilling a well as much as tax reform would…

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“…[It finds] that removing tax preferences would increase the global price of oil by only 1 percent by 2030. Domestic oil production could drop 5 percent and global consumption could fall by less than 1 percent in that timeframe. Meanwhile, domestic natural gas prices could rise between 7 and 10 percent, and both domestic gas production and consumption could fall between 3 and 4 percent…[It concludes] none of the three preferences directly and materially improve U.S. energy security or mitigate climate change. If eliminated, however, they could enhance U.S. influence to advocate for international climate action and generate fiscal savings.” click here for more

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Having Children In A Time Of Climate Change

Should We Be Having Kids In The Age Of Climate Change?

Jennifer Ludden, August 18, 2016 (National Public Radio)

Editor’s note: This is a deeply thoughtful piece worth taking a full-length look at.

…[Because of climate change, philosopher Travis Rieder of the Johns Hopkins University Berman Institute of Bioethics is suggesting to college students that they think hard about having children, about how many they should have, and about adoption because they have] a moral duty to future generations that will live amid the climate devastation being created now…[His wide Sadiye] wanted a big family…But by the time Sadiye began feeling ready for motherhood, Travis' research had delved into the morality of adoption, which led to the ethics of procreation and to its impact on the climate…By midcentury, possibly before, the average global temperature is projected to rise by more than 2 degrees Celsius, the point scientists and world leaders agree would trigger cataclysmic consequences. Last year's historic Paris climate agreement falls short of preventing that…Adding to that challenge, the world is expected to add several billion people in the next few decades…[Without dramatic action], the world is on track to hit 4 degrees Celsius of warming by the end of the century, and worse beyond that…[But can you actually expect people to forgo something as deeply personal as having children? To deny the biological imperative that's driven civilization? …” click here for more

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Tips On Picking Solar Panels

To be Solar, or not to be? Part 2: What solar panels should I choose?

John Fitzgerald Weaver, August 21, 2016 (electrek)

“…That solar panels allows us to collect photons from the skies and drive – literally if it’s an electric vehicle – our modern world is almost magical…[After considering a house’s structural readiness for a rooftop array, it is necessary to decide what hardware you want to include – solar panels, inverters and racking are the three main components to a system…[The solar panel decision comes down to how much electricity you want and how much up front money] you want to spend…Premium manufacturers like SunPower, Kyocera and SolarWorld have products that have been steadily generating electricity for 30 years and more. Any panel in the top ten list by volume is probably a safe investment…The most efficient product that you and I have access to is SunPower’s 21.5% X Series…[but] they cost 2.5 times the best priced Tier 1 panels on the market…The end argument for efficiency comes down to a dance between need and price…[There should also be a warranty on power production and hardware but there is no reason to] wait for the latest and greatest technology that is just around the corner…” click here for more

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4 Things To Think About Before Buying An EV

Thinking about buying an electric car? A 4-point decision guide; A 4-point decision guide; A decision’s got to be made. Is an electric car the right choice?

John O’Dell, August 14, 2016 (Christian Science Monitor)

“…If you are considering either a battery-electric vehicle (BEV) that runs on electricity only, or a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) that has a shorter all-electric range and then switches to using a mix of electric and gasoline powertrains…[Think about what] driving green worth…[as well as noneconomic reasons like air quality and] dependence on oil…[Next, think about how far you need to drive. But] having to drive long distances is the exception for most drivers. AAA in 2015 found that the average motorist drives 29.2 miles per day…[Then, think about what the car will be used for because a] plug-in hybrid might be a better choice as a family car...An all-electric car can fit into a one-car lifestyle if you use it primarily as a commuter car. If you want to go on a road trip, you can always rent a car…[Finally, think about charging because charging can take up to 17 hours with a normal 120-volt household outlet but] about four hours to charge at 240 volts if it has a 24 kWh battery pack…” click here for more

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Netherlands May Outlaw Combustion-Powered Cars

Climate change: Netherlands on brink of banning sale of petrol-fuelled cars; 'We need to phase out CO2 emissions and we need to change our pattern of using fossil fuels if we want to save the Earth,' says a Dutch Labour Party member

Jess Staufenberg, August 18, 2016 (UK Independent)

“…If the measures proposed by…[the Netherlands Labour Party to ban the sale of petrol- and diesel-fuelled cars banned by 2025]are finally passed, it would join Norway and Denmark in making a concerted move to develop its electric car industry…Germany saw all of its power supplied by renewable energies such as solar and wind power on one day in May as the economic powerhouse continues to phase out nuclear energy and fossil fuels…[B]oth India and China have demanded that citizens use their cars on alternate days only to reduce the exhaust fume production which is causing serious health problems for the populations of both nations…According to Quartz, sales of electric cars have surged in the Netherlands with an all-time high last December. Meanwhile, the country has one of the lowest levels of CO2 emissions from new cars in the European Union…Norway has hit its target of selling 50,000 electric cars three years ahead of its own target, in part owing to strong financial…One point of concern for the Netherlands will be ensuring the current design of electric cars can be adequately scaled-up for densely populated urban environments…” click here for more

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Wind Looking Ever Greater In Great Britain

Britain's vast national gamble on wind power may yet pay off

Ambrose Evans-Pritchard, 14 August 2016 (UK Telegraph)

“…Opposition to wind power from the conservative press, Tory backbenchers, and free market economists dates] to the 1990s and early 2000s when…[taxpayer subsidies went to undependable, low-output pre-modern turbines but the cost] calculus is starting to vindicate Britain's vast investment…The UK is already world leader in offshore wind. The strategic choice now is whether to go for broke, tripling offshore capacity to 15 gigawatts (GW) by 2030…Scale is the crucial factor in slashing costs, so [the gamble is worth taking. New] turbines are five times taller than their primitive 20th Century ancestors, reaching 720 feet and [reliably] generating seven or eight megawatts (MW) each…The biggest offshore companies have together vowed to cut costs to €80 per MWh - or £69 - by 2025…[which will be close to the UK] wholesale price of electricity…The industry's research arm Inwind is already drawing up plans for the next generation of 10-20 MW turbines. The Sandia National Laboratories in the US are exploring 50 MW monsters…that could in theory halve costs again…” click here for more

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China To Bring Sun To India

India’s solar dreams, too, are made in China

Soumya Sarker, August 17, 2016 (Quartz India)

“The Indian solar energy sector is in the middle of unprecedented growth, fed by rapidly declining tariffs, improved technology and a global oversupply of photovoltaic (PV) panels and other material, mainly in China…[Though smaller than the US, China or Japan, India’s market is expanding the fastest…India expects to add as much as 5.4 GW [to its 7.8 GW]of solar capacity in 2016, making it the fourth-largest solar market globally…[The US installed capacity] is 25 GW…The local industry cannot cope with the recent surge in demand so Chinese imports are inevitable…[A number of new plants are being planned but until] that happens, it is likely that the extraordinary growth of the Indian solar energy sector will be fuelled by imports, mostly from China…” click here for more

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Study Puts Costa Rica High In Global Geothermal

Costa Rica Ranks High In Geothermal Energy Production; Costa Rica ranked 3rd in America and 11th in the world for production of geothermal energy

August 15, 2016 (Costa Rica News)

"Costa Rica ranked third [among North and South America nations and eleventh globally on] production of energy using geothermal techniques [in a study by The International Geothermal Institution…[Costa Rica has] six geothermal plants located in two sites…Although many environmentalists maintain the belief that geothermal generation of energy in Costa Rica causes environmental harm in the country’s national parks, The Costa Rican Institute of Electricity has revived 19,398 hectares of jungle that were previously pasture deserts…The company hopes that by 2019 Costa Rica will open [another] new geothermal plant…[and by 2025] aspires to have built [up to nine]…” click here for more

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New Energy Reviving Ruined Land

Turning Trash Into Solar Treasure

Courtney McCormick, August 15, 2016 (NJ Spotlight)

“By generating solar energy on old landfills and brownfields, PSE&G is helping to put historically ‘dirty’ spaces back to work in an environmentally friendly manner…Across the United States, there is a growing understanding that [if we install solar panels for the good of the environment, but sacrifice forests, farmland, or other open spaces to do it, the gain is compromised by the loss. That is one of the reasons] PSE&G’s Solar 4 All program has invested $550 million [over the last seven years to build 45 megawatts of grid-connected solar farms on old landfills and brownfield contaminated industrial sites.] In California, more than 100 megawatts of solar farms have been built on old landfills, industrial properties, federal Superfund sites — and even a mothballed weapons test site…In Massachusetts, dozens of old municipal landfills and brownfields now host nearly 131 megawatts of solar power…In Wyoming, a $500 million, 237-megawatt wind-power project was built on a depleted surface coal mine…” click here for more

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Feds Open No. Carolina To Ocean Wind

Interior Announces Milestone for Wind Energy Development Offshore North Carolina; Proposes Lease Sale for 122,405-Acre Kitty Hawk Wind Energy Area; Companies asked to respond to Proposed Notice of Sale

August 12, 2016 (Department of the Interior)

“…[The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) of the Department of the Interior plans to lease the 122,405 acre Kitty Hawk Wind Energy Area (WEA) off the North Carolina coast] for commercial wind energy leasing...[It was identified as suitable for development by BOEM in consultation with local stakeholders and the North Carolina Intergovernmental Renewable Energy Task Force made up of federal, state, tribal, and local government partners. The] Kitty Hawk WEA begins about 24 nautical miles from shore and extends about 25.7 nautical miles in a general southeast direction…[Pre-qualified and new potential bidders the BOEM-managed competitive auction for leases have 60 days to respond]… To date, BOEM has awarded 11 commercial offshore wind leases, including nine through the competitive lease sale process (two offshore New Jersey, two in an area offshore Rhode Island-Massachusetts, another two offshore Massachusetts, two offshore Maryland and one offshore Virginia). These lease sales have generated approximately $16 million in winning bids for more than a million acres in federal waters.” click here for more

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EV Range Anxiety Is Not What It Used To Be

‘Range anxiety’ is scaring people away from electric cars — but the fear may be overblown

Chris Mooney, August 15, 2016 (Washington Post)

“…[EV popularity is rising and still persistent ‘range anxiety’concerns that potential drivers have that [their battery could run out of charge and strand them may be overblown, according to] researchers from MIT and the Santa Fe Institute…[A vast data analysis of second-by-second U.S. driving patterns and other evidence finds that] 87 percent of vehicles on the road could be replaced by a low cost electric vehicle available today, even if there’s no possibility to recharge during the day…[though] the remaining 13 percent of daily car energy use that exceeds a single battery’s capacity could be enough to drive lingering resistance to electric vehicle adoption…[It’s hard to understate the importance of vanquishing this concern because recent] research has suggested that while there are a number of regional variations, it is currently greener to drive on electricity than it is to do so on gasoline…[Many limitations still prevent suddenly swapping out large percentages of current vehicles for electric ones which is] why the Obama administration recently laid out grand plans to greatly increase the number of charging stations across the country…” click here for more

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It’s Not LIKE A World War – It IS One

A World At War; We’re under attack from climate change—and our only hope is to mobilize like we did in WWII.

Bill McKibben, August 15, 2016 (The New Republic)

Editor’s note: This lengthy article deserves much attention.

“In the North this summer, a devastating offensive is underway…[With each passing week, enemy forces have seized] another 22,000 square miles of Arctic ice…In the Pacific this spring, the enemy staged a full-scale assault on thousands of miles of] the region’s coral reefs…[and reduced them] to white bone-yards…Day after day, week after week, saboteurs behind our lines are unleashing a series of brilliant and overwhelming attacks…[A firestorm forced] the total evacuation of a city of 90,000 in Canada…[Because of drought], southern Africans are literally eating their seed corn, and floods to threaten the priceless repository of art in the Louvre……Carbon and methane now represent the deadliest enemy of all time, the first force fully capable of harrying, scattering, and impoverishing our entire civilization…World War III is well and truly underway. And we are losing.

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“…[We’re used to war as metaphor but] climate change is the real deal: Carbon and methane are seizing physical territory, sowing havoc and panic, racking up casualties, and even destabilizing governments…It is a world war [aimed at us all and to win] we must look to the last one…[Pearl Harbor made] individual Americans willing to do hard things: pay more in taxes, buy billions upon billions in war bonds, endure the shortages and disruptions that came when the country’s entire economy converted to wartime production…[The next president must not wait for a climate equivalent of Pearl Harbor...[and must stop] drilling and mining on public lands and waters…slow the build-out of the natural gas system…[stop] new fossil fuel projects…[use federal funds to buy] power from green sources and rely exclusively on plug-in cars…Without the same urgency and foresight displayed [in World War II]—without immediate executive action—we will lose this war…” click here for more

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Solar Jobs To Unemployed Vets, Oil & Gas Workers

Declining energy sector jobs switching to solar power

August 14, 2016 (Associated Press via The Gazette)

“A program is underway in Colorado to retrain people who lost their jobs in the coal or oil and gas industry so they can get the skills they need to install solar panels…[The Colorado Department of Labor and Employment provided $400,000 to start Solar Energy International’s] Solar Ready Colorado, which promises to train unemployed miners, veterans and workers in the oil and gas industry…The goal is to recruit and train 350 people for various jobs in the solar industry. Students can take a single course as an introduction to solar power or more than 200 hours of training in the Solar Professionals Certificate Program…Colorado solar jobs are also expected to grow by 10 percent…” click here for more

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Buy New Energy Anywhere

Vote with Your Utility Bill for Wind Energy

Carolyn Fortuna, August 11, 2016 (Red, Green, & Blue)

“…[There is a social cost of carbon, or SCC, on everybody’s utility bill that is] the estimated price of the damages caused by each ton of carbon dioxide (CO2) released into the atmosphere…[One of the best ideas for getting] to a high renewables future without sacrificing affordability or reliability…[is] to move toward performance-based regulation of utilities. That rewards shifting to a cleaner and more reliable grid…Smart regulation combined with rapidly improving economics of solar and wind are making electricity systems more affordable and cleaner…[That is allowing utilities and private providers to offer] homeowners, renters, and businesses in all 50 states who pay a utility bill a simple way to choose clean energy [and the EPA’s Green Power Partnership provides all the details]…” click here for more

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Climate Change To The Money Men

Six ways businesses view climate change

MarkTrexler, August 8, 2016 (GreenBiz)

“…One line of argument holds that ‘business’ is responsible for climate change…Another line of argument holds that the private sector is our best hope for a stable climate, because policy-makers have not been able to adequately address the issue…[The Yale Project on Climate Communications has identified and tracks six distinct subsets of American public beliefs but there is no equivalent model] for how business decision-makers think about climate change…[A simple typology of private-sector climate change thinking includes] Decision-makers who see their company’s future as fundamentally threatened by any climate policy that substantially would slow climate change…Decision-makers who aren’t part of the ‘business and climate change’ conversation…Decision-makers who recognize climate change as a societal problem, but don’t see it as a serious business problem…Decision-makers who approach climate change as a business issue to be addressed through corporate social responsibility (CSR) efforts…Decision-makers in sectors likely to benefit from climate policy…Decision-makers who see themselves as being on the front lines of efforts to address climate change…” click here for more

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Corporations In Record New Energy Buys

In Corporate March to Clean Energy, Utilities Not Required; Instead of waiting for large utilities to go greener, companies are buying renewable energy directly, upending the traditional system. Jan Ellen Speigel, August 8, 2016 (Inside Climate News)

“…Some of the nation's largest corporations decided not to wait for utilities [focusing on cheap fracked gas, expensive nuclear power, what to do about coal, and how to fight renewable energy models that threatened their bottom line]…[The corporations] bought their own clean power…directly from the companies that produced it. No utility middleman needed…This clean power revolt, led by some of the biggest corporate energy consumers, is the latest threat to the [utilities’] power purchase and delivery system that's been in place since Thomas Edison invented it…

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Many experts say there is more of this to come, and that utilities will not sit back and let this market pass them by…The trend was spearheaded by the elite of the Fortune 500, especially those companies with electricity-guzzling data centers and manufacturing operations such as Google, Amazon and Walmart…Municipalities, universities, and other institutions are adopting the model…The windfall has been biggest for the wind power industry [but many corporations are investing in solar as well]…” click here for more

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