Clinton Rejects Koch – ‘Not Interested’ in Climate Deniers’ Support

Clinton snubs Koch endorsement over climate change denial; Democrat frontrunner rejects faint praise from oil billionaire, saying ‘not interested in endorsements from people who deny climate science’

Megan Darby, 25 April 2016 (ClimateHome)

“…Speaking of his disgust with the Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, oil billionaire Charles Koch told ABC News Democrat frontrunner Hillary Clinton might] make a better leader…Clinton, who has been attacked by Democrat rival Bernie Sanders for taking campaign contributions from oil interests, rebuffed the quasi-endorsement…‘Not interested in endorsements from people who deny climate science and try to make it harder for people to vote,’ she tweeted.” click here for more

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Pentagon Turns To New Energy To Cut Costs

Pentagon looks to reduce $4 billion energy bill

Rebecca Kheel, April 25, 2016 (The Hill)

“An average soldier on the battlefield in 2009 carried about 14 pounds of batteries to power radios, GPS, night vision systems and other electronics…These days, that’s closer to 9 pounds…[Though politicians continue polarizing debates about New Energy, it is a key to reducing the weight soldiers carry in batteries. The Pentagon’s programs are aimed at the climate change threat, but] officials say their efforts are more focused on reducing costs and improving capabilities…[A]fter fuel convoys in Iraq and Afghanistan were attacked…the military changed out some generators to be more energy-efficient, started using microgrids to net generators together and installed solar panels…Another major change is that dismounted soldiers now use rechargeable batteries [that can be recharged with solar blankets or any energy source they find in the field, such as discarded car batteries] instead of disposable AA batteries…[that leave] a trail for the enemy to follow…” click here for more

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The Utilities-And-Solar Debate

Solar Energy War: Utilities Set Their Sights on Rooftop Solar; There's clearly a war on rooftop solar, but it may not be as simple of a debate as you might think.

Travis Hoium, April 24, 2016 (Motley Fool)

“…The core disagreement between utilities and solar companies is over the price homeowners are credited for solar electricity they export to the grid…[I]n most states customers are credited with their full retail rate, known as net metering…Companies like SolarCity, Sunrun, and SunPower…can sell electricity to homeowners for less than their retail rate…offering savings to go solar…But utilities argue that they can buy solar electricity from large solar farms at a more cost-effective rate…[The Warren Buffett/Berkshire Hathaway-owned NV Energy] has signed contracts in the last two years with First Solar and SunPower to buy solar energy for $0.039 per kWh and $0.046 per kWh, respectively -- far below [the $0.114 per kWh credit it would give to a rooftop solar owner…[I]t's hard to argue that the utility doesn't have a point…Customers have the choice to go solar, but in most cases they're also reliant on compensation from the grid to make their solar choice work. And that tension between choice and compensation is the battle between solar companies and utilities…[Rooftop solar companies] have a good point that they bring choice to a market…I just wouldn't expect them to win the argument that net metering will make sense forever given the low-cost solar alternatives and potential cost shift to non-solar customers in high-penetration markets…” click here for more

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The Meat Of The Climate Debate

The link between climate change and meat consumption is harrowingly real; Adjusting our diets will greatly reduce the costs associated with global warming. The public just needs to buy in

Annick De Witt, April 16, 2016 (Salon)

“…[T]he media have slowly but steadily fed the public information about the staggering impact of our meat-eating habits on the environment, and on climate change in particular…[Research shows] low-meat diets could reduce the costs of climate change mitigation by as much as 50 percent by 2050…[But new research shows] most people are still not aware of the full extent of meat’s climate impacts…[M]eat reduction as an effective option for addressing climate change] was only clear to 6% of the US population, and only 12% of the Dutch population…[T]he outstanding effectiveness of reducing meat consumption could be a game-changer: knowing that it makes such a big difference may motivate people to change. This is particularly so, because the research results also show a direct relationship between this knowledge and people’s willingness to consume less meat as well as their actual meat consumption…The inspiring and empowering narrative about climate change and the impact of our diets could be:] eat a little less meat and get healthier…” click here for more

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The Texas Template For Wind

The Mystery of Wind Energy in Texas

Kyle Downey, April 10, 2016 (Law Street)

“…[Texas] has a longstanding reputation for supporting the interests of the fossil fuel industry…and politicians there fiercely deny the scientific validity of climate change…In 2001, Texas received only 1 percent of its energy from wind. Only 15 years later, wind provides almost 10 percent of the state’s energy…[and its 17,713 MW of installed wind capacity is almost three times the 6,212 MW] of the second place state, Idaho…[After the 1999 Renewable Electricity Standard (RES) revealed wind] to be a reliable and affordable source of electricity…[T]he legislature updated it in 2005…[and the Public Utility Commission created Competition Renewable Energy Zones (CREZ) and fund to build gigantic transmission lines connecting the windy zones] to the highly populated urban areas…[I]mplementing renewable energy is rarely as easy as being a pro-clean energy state…[but on] December 20, 2015, wind turbines generated a record high of 40 percent of Texas’s energy for 17 hours of the day…[showing] the extreme potential of wind within the region..[and proving] the newly built transmission lines are capable of handling almost an entire day’s worth of wind energy without malfunction, contrary to the arguments of many fossil fuel advocates…” click here for more

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The Threat Of Solar Value Deflation

How cheap does solar power need to get before it takes over the world?

Brad Plummer, April 18, 2016 (VOX)

“…[Solar is growing at double-digit rates each year but] still has some hard economic obstacles to overcome before it can become a major energy source and provide (let's say) one-third of our power…[According to Solar power needs a more ambitious cost target, value deflation causes the electricity generated by solar to be less valuable as more comes online so its installed cost must drop from today’s $3 per watt to $0.25 per watt by 2050]…That's a mind-bogglingly low number, and it could require thinking about solar innovation in a radically new way…[The authors said] we're still many years away from value deflation becoming a crippling problem. But that's why it's dangerous to get complacent…[Batteries and utility load shifting can help fend off value deflation — but only partly…Achieving the $0.25-per-watt goal…[will require] not just ruthlessly cutting costs for existing technology but also plunking down money on future ideas…” click here for more

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The Clinton-Sanders Climate Change Exchange

The Clinton-Sanders exchange on climate change was a dumpster fire

David Roberts, April 17, 2016 (VOX)

Editor’s note: It is worth clicking through to read all of this lengthy debate summary.

“…[C]limate change finally got a decent chunk of time in Thursday night's Democratic primary debate…It was not particularly substantive…What it revealed, for the most part, are the candidates' flaws — Clinton's defensiveness and inability to articulate a broad vision; Sanders's monomania about money in politics and propensity to back whatever the left wants, even when it is mutually contradictory…[It included Clinton’s] long, complex, and not always pretty [history with the oil and gas industry and Sanders’ implication that the small difference in the donations they have received is] de facto evidence that the fossil fuel companies already think she's on their side…Next, Sanders pressed Clinton on whether she supports a [probably politically untenable] carbon tax, now widely seen as the sine qua non of serious climate policy…Then the discussion turned to fracking, which, for reasons unclear, has become a kind of stand-in for climate seriousness…

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“Clinton remains temperamentally averse to absolutes and simple prescriptions, so she always ends up sounding lawyerly. She seems unable to mount a convincing case for incrementalism, unlike the current president, who can make incrementalism sing. She is the anti-Obama, all notes and no music…[Incrementalism] has accumulated for Obama into a serious climate legacy…Clinton wants to build on Obama's progress. Sanders wants to go for another grand legislative solution. She remains unable to articulate a compelling larger vision; he remains unable to explain how he would overcome the obvious political obstacles…When they grapple honestly with those differences — that will be the climate debate I've been waiting for.” click here for more

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Solar To Dominate By 2030 – Futurist

Ray Kurzweil: Here's Why Solar Will Dominate Energy Within 12 Years; Growth is exponential—just like processing power.

David Z. Morris, April 16, 2016 (Fortune)

“…[Futurist Ray Kurzweil said solar] could become the dominant force in energy production in a little over a decade. That may be tough to swallow, given that solar currently only supplies around 2% of global energy—but Kurzweil’s predictions have been overwhelmingly correct over the last two decades, so he’s worth listening to…[His basic point] was that while solar is still tiny, it has begun to reliably double its market share every two years—today’s 2% share is up from just 0.5% in 2012…Many analysts extend growth linearly from that sort of pattern, concluding that we’ll see 0.5% annual growth in solar for the foreseeable future, reaching just 12% solar share in 20 years. But linear analysis ignores what Kurzweil calls the Law of Accelerating Returns—that as new technologies get smaller and cheaper, their growth becomes exponential…[Kurzweil says that if] the current 2% share doubles every two years, solar should have a 100% share of the market in 12 years…[but] Kurzweil’s prediction is only partially grounded in the real world…[because fossil fuel giants are definitely not going down without a fight…” click here for more

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MidAmerican Plans To Be ALL New Energy, 85% Wind

MidAmerican Energy aims for 85% wind power

Donnelle Eller, April 15, 2016 (The Des Moines Register)

“…[MidAmerican Energy took a giant, $3.6 billion step toward getting 85 percent of its energy from wind and 100 percent renewable energy with the buy of the 2,000 MW Wind XI project. Because of federal tax credits, the plan] won't increase consumers' energy bills…MidAmerican serves 752,000 electrical customers and 733,000 natural gas customers in Iowa, Illinois and South Dakota…[The company hopes to get approval from the Iowa Utilities Board] by mid-September…The project, with about 1,000 turbines, wouldn't be completely constructed until 2019…The company has spent $6.6 billion on wind generation over the past 12 years. It will get close to 60 percent of its energy from wind by year's end…[The utility will still need some fossil fuel generation back up until utility-scale battery storage and smart grid improvements are widely available and cost-effective]…” click here for more

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4 Graphics With The Lowdown On Climate Change and Human Health

The Impact Of Climate Change On Public Health, In Four Infographics April 11, 2016 (Clean Technica) “…The White House Climate and Health Assessment connects the dots between climate change and its consequences for American public health more clearly than ever before…[The product of three years of research by 13 federal agencies shows] climate change will continue to exacerbate existing threats to health as well as give rise to new ones…

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“1. Climate change is expected to cause more frequent and intense extreme weather events…Extreme weather events – like floods, wildfires, and drought – can be terrifying…but they can also lead to food and waterborne illnesses after the fact…The report is also one of the first of its kind to study how climate change impacts mental health, noting that people ‘exposed to climate- or weather-related natural disasters experience stress reactions and serious mental health consequences, including symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depressions, and general anxiety’…

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“2. Climate change and air pollution can aggravate asthma and allergies…[Fossil fuel-driven climate change indirectly affects] the quality of our air…[H]igher levels of air pollution like ground-level ozone that can ‘cause premature deaths, hospital visits, lost school days, and acute respiratory symptoms’…[More wildfires releasing more particles into the air raises] the threat of respiratory and cardiovascular diseases…[and] warming temperatures and rising levels of carbon pollution are expected to lead to higher levels of the allergens that contribute to asthma and other illnesses…

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“3. Climate change can help spread a whole host of vector-borne diseases…[They] are illnesses spread by insects or arachnids (the vectors) like mosquitoes, fleas, mites, or ticks…[Rising temperatures will change] precipitation patterns, and a higher frequency of some extreme weather events associated with climate change…[will allow] some vectors like the mosquitos that carry the West Nile virus…to range further north and have a longer breeding season…[increasing the] probability of Americans contracting this and other illnesses…

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“4. Climate change will cause rising temperatures, potentially leading to 150,000 deaths in the US by 2100…[S]cientists expect intense heat waves to happen more frequently, leading to more and more premature deaths…[It will likely hit] children, the elderly, and low-income communities the hardest…The bottom line? Healthy people need a healthy planet…Climate change poses an immediate and serious threat to human health not just in the United States, but around the globe. The good news is that how we respond to this threat – and how healthy a world we live in – is up to us...” click here for more

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Federal Judge OKs Kids' Lawsuit Against Climate Change

Federal Court Rules On Climate Change In Favor Of Today's Children

James Conca, April 10, 2016 (Forbes)

“In the first lawsuit to involve a planet, [Oregon Federal Court Judge Thomas Coffin ruled] in favor of twenty-one plaintiffs, ages 8 to 19, on behalf of future generations of Americans in a landmark constitutional climate change case brought against the Federal Government and the Fossil Fuel Industry…The lawsuit alleges that the Federal Government is violating the Plaintiffs’ constitutional and public trust rights by promoting the use of fossil fuels…[Judge Coffin wrote that ‘Plaintiffs give this debate justiciability by asserting harms that befall or will befall them personally and to a greater extent than older segments of society…[T]he intractability of the debates before Congress and state legislatures and the alleged valuing of short-term economic interest despite the cost to human life, necessitates a need for the courts to evaluate the constitutional parameters of the action or inaction taken by the government…’ Most importantly, the judge unequivocally rejected all arguments raised by the Federal Government and the Fossil Fuel Industry in their Motions to Dismiss that sought to deny the youth their fundamental rights under the constitution and public trust doctrine…” click here for more

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Solar Even When It Rains

Graphene solar panels could create energy even when it’s raining

Mihai Andrei, April 11, 2016 (ZME Science)

“A new solar cell prototype [uses graphene layers to coat the solar panels and] may change the way we use solar panels…if it can also be efficient outside the lab…[Research from Ocean University of China created a solar panel] that can generate electricity when it’s raining, as well as when it’s sunny…[The key innovation is a one atom thick blanket of graphene that separates] the positively charged ions in rain (including sodium, calcium, and ammonium)…[and generates] electricity. This could happen because rain drops are never pure water (two hydrogen and one oxygen atom), but contain several types of salts in varying quantities…So far, they were able to generate 6.53 percent solar-to-electric conversion efficiency from their customised solar panel…[but graphene reduces the efficiency of the energy generation through solar light…[I]f they could create more energy from rain drops then what is lost this way, then the solar panels could become commercially viable. The durability of such a device will also have to be tested…” click here for more

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New Supports Emerge For EVs

Electric Vehicle Incentives

1Q 2016 (Navigant Research)

“Plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs) provide a number of advantages over conventional internal combustion engine-powered vehicles…[including cost reductions and avoiding] gas stations, oil changes, and emissions tests…[but] they have not yet been significant enough to justify the high premium that must be paid for the technology…PEVs also enable owners to minimize oil consumption to suit environmental and/or geopolitical concerns…Most global governments and the electric power sector benefit from these impacts…[so national, state, and local governments and utilities in developed and some developing regions have] established policies to ensure supply and demand for PEVs. Although supply-side policies have been fundamental to broad PEV market development, demand-side policies have been particularly effective at driving sales growth to specific markets…” click here for more

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NASA Goes Live With Climate Change Data

NASA’s new sea level site puts climate change papers, data, and tools online

Devin Coldewey, April 4, 2016 (Tech Crunch)

NASA just went live with it sea level tracking website. The free online resources make the all the proof of climate anybody could ever want just a click away…The Sea Level Change site provides space-based imagery as well as the history of sea level, ice reach, and other climate marker observing…It shows sea level now rising 3.4 millimeters annually…The Data Analysis Tool offers a world map with layers to analyze and animate that make it possible to watch sea level height and temperature changing over time. More datasets will be added…The database of published papers provides ample documentation…click here for more

Global Land and Sea Temperature Anomalies | WeatherDB

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Ivanpah Solar Power Tower Hits Its Marks

NRG Says Massive California Solar Plant Now on Pace to Meet Goal

Joe Ryan, March 29, 2016 (Bloomberg News)

NRG Energy, co-owner and operator of the three unit, 377 MW Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System, the world’s biggest concentrating solar power plant, provided new production numbers showing it is on pace to meet the output called for in its contract with Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E)…The project generated 67,260 MWh of electricity in February, more than twice its February 2015 output of 30,273 MWh and may generate as much as 102% of its March target output, according to NRG, which co-owns Ivanpah with BrightSource Energy and Alphabet’s Google…NRG just entered a forbearance agreement with PG&E because units 1 and 3 did not meet the contract’s production target for its first two years of generation. New 12 month trend data shows it came within about 97% of that production target, according to BrightSource Sr VP Joseph Desmond…click here for more

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California Moves Toward Floating Offshore Wind

US Considers 800-MW Floating Wind Farm in California

Brian Eckhouse, March 24, 2016 (Bloomberg News via Renewable Energy World)

The U.S. Department of Interior (DOI) Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) ruled the Trident Winds application to development a floating offshore wind project off the California coast meets the legal, technical, and financial standards for a commercial lease on the Outer Continental Shelf…Trident’s unsolicited January application proposed an up to 1,000 MW wind project about 33 nautical miles northwest of Morro Bay off California’s coast. The project’s first phase would consist of 100 floating turbines with nameplate capacities of between 7 MW and 8 MW…BOEM will next determine whether a competitive or non-competitive bidding process for leases is needed and solicit input from the public…Two floating wind turbine designs are expected to be available to developers after 2020, Statoil’s Hywind and Principle Power’s WindFloat…click here for more

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Four Telling Facts About Climate Change

4 Climate Change Facts Everyone Should Know

Kirsten Silvan, April 3, 2016 (Inquisitr)

“…[An enormous body of data over many years reveals] certain facts about climate change…[One is that if] every country on earth lived the way we do in the United States, it would take at least five planets with equivalent resources to provide adequate resources…[A second is that 2015 was 0.75C warmer than the long-term average between 1961-1990 and data suggests that 2015 ‘shattered’ the temperature record by the widest margin ever recorded [due to a combination of El Niño and human-induced warming]…[Third, sea] levels are expected to rise up to 23 inches by the end of this century…[This] would displace up to half of the world’s population who live within 37 miles of the ocean, along with three-quarters of the Earth’s largest cities…[and sea levels are rising] up to four times faster along the eastern coast of the United States…[Finally, if the pattern is unchanged, the] majority of the Arctic basin will be ice-free in September 2040…” See the video below for the solution and click here for more

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The EV Is Coming On Fast

One dramatic chart shows why electric cars are about to become mainstream

Rebecca Harrington, March 29, 2016 (Tech Insider)

“One of the most expensive parts — if not the most expensive part — of an electric car is its battery…Researchers estimate that once EV batteries cost $150 per kilowatt hour (kWh), they'll be cost-competitive with gas vehicles…[A fully-charged Tesla Model S 90D can now] go about 270 miles on its 85 kWh battery, according to the company…EV batteries have dramatically dropped in price over the last five years, according to the [just-released United Nations-backed] Global Trends in Renewable Energy Investment 2016…In 2010, the global average was $1,000 per kWh. By last year, it had fallen to $350 per kWh…Tesla's highly anticipated Model 3will be priced at about $35,000. And the Chevy Bolt, expected for late 2016, will cost $30,000…If batteries keep decreasing in price at this rate, a report from Argonne National Laboratory predicts that electric cars will make up 58% of the light vehicle market by 2030. And by then, non-hybrid gas cars will comprise less than one-fourth of the market…” click here for more

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Landmark Hybrid Geothermal-Solar Plant for NV

Nevada Power Plant First in World With Solar-Geothermal Mix

Scott Sonner, March 29, 2016 (Associated Press via ABC News)

“…[The final piece of the 61 megawatt Stillwater Hybrid Power Plant, the only hybrid power plant in the world producing renewable energy by combining a 33 megawatt geothermal plant with two kinds of solar power, is now in place. Built by Enel Green Power North America, a subsidiary of Italy’s Enel, it] produces energy more efficiently through a complementary operation that relies on [a 26 megawatt capacity from] solar panels and a new [2 megawatt] solar thermal operation on the sunniest and hottest days when geothermal production is lower than average…[The original geothermal plant was built in 2009 and the] photovoltaic component powered by solar panels was added in 2012. The new solar thermal system, which produces energy from heat, rather than light, began operation last year…” click here for more

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