Water Will Keep Rising; It’s Time To Care

Harvey Is What Climate Change Looks Like; It’s time to open our eyes and prepare for the world that’s coming.

Eric Holthaus, August 28, 2017 (Politico Magazine)

“In all of U.S. history, there’s never been a storm like Hurricane Harvey…[but we] knew this would happen, decades ago…and we didn’t care. Now is the time to say it as loudly as possible…Harvey is what climate change looks like in a world that has decided, over and over, that it doesn’t want to take climate change seriously…Harvey is the third 500-year flood to hit the Houston area in the past three years, but Harvey is in a class by itself…So much rain has fallen already that the National Weather Service had to add additional colors to its maps to account for the extreme totals…

click to enlarge

Harvey is now the benchmark disaster of record in the United States…[and] gives us an opportunity for an inflection point as a society…[W]hat happens next is critically important for all of us…One recent study showed that by mid-century, up to 450 million people worldwide will be exposed to a doubling of flood frequency. This isn’t just a Houston problem…A warmer atmosphere enhances evaporation rates and increases the carrying capacity of rainstorms. Harvey drew its energy from a warmer-than-usual Gulf of Mexico, which will only grow warmer in the decades to come…Adapting to a future in which a millennium-scale flood can wipe out a major city is much harder than preventing that flood in the first place…

click to enlarge

…[T]he built world we have right now wasn’t constructed with climate change in mind. By continuing to pretend that we can engineer our way out of the worsening flooding problem with bigger dams, more levees and higher-powered pumping equipment, we’re fooling ourselves into a more dangerous future…If we don’t talk about the climate context of Harvey, we won’t be able to prevent future disasters and get to work on that better future…” click here for more

click to enlarge

Tweet

New Energy Moving Past Nuclear In U.S. Power Mix

Electricity From Renewables And Nuclear Power In Statistical Dead Heat; Renewables Grow 16.3% In First Half 2017 As Nuclear Power Falls 3.3%

Ken Bossong and Tim Judson, August 28, 2017 (Sun Day Campaign)

“The latest issue of the U.S. Energy Information's (EIA) "Electric Power Monthly" (with data through June 30, 2017) reveals that renewable energy sources (i.e., biomass, geothermal, hydropower, solar - inc. small-scale PV, and wind) remain in a statistical dead heat with nuclear power vis-à-vis their respective shares of the nation's electrical generation, with each providing roughly 20% of the total…During the six-month period (January - June), renewables surpassed nuclear power in three of those months (March, April, and May) while nuclear power took the lead in the other three. In total, according to EIA's data, utility-scale renewables plus small-scale solar PV provided 20.05% of U.S. net electrical generation compared to 20.07% for nuclear power…[R]enewables may actually hold a small lead because while EIA estimates the contribution from distributed PV, it does not include electrical generation by distributed wind, micro-hydro, or small-scale biomass…” click here for more

click to enlarge

Tweet

Grid Study Points To Power Market Redesign

Breaking: The U.S. Power Market Is Cracking

Liam Denning, August 24, 2017 (Bloomberg News)

“…[The most important point in the just-released DOE grid study is] on the first of 181 pages: ‘The U.S. electricity industry is facing unprecedented changes’…[There was a repeated emphasis on the need to shore up struggling ‘baseload’ coal and nuclear plants] for the sake of resiliency…[But] the mix of U.S. power from different sources is more diverse than ever…The report will no doubt push the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to at least hold hearings on potential reforms to wholesale power markets…There is a legitimate discussion to have about how to optimize power pricing to send the right signals to the market…[because it was] never designed for job creation, tax preservation, politically popular generation, or anything other than reliable, affordable electricity…More than anything else, the grid study reaffirms that the first era of the U.S. electricity market, lasting roughly a century, is over and that the market mechanisms have fallen way behind the times…In a world of cheap gas, flat demand and falling prices for renewable-power technologies, building large-scale, rather than scaleable, power sources is a massive, multiyear, multi-administration gamble. Price accordingly.” click here for more

click to enlarge

Tweet

Feds Dig Deeper Into Climate Denial

US government burying head deeper in sand on climate change; An apparently widespread effort to ignore reality by the federal government.

John Timmer, August 28, 2017 (Ars Technica)

“…[I]t has become increasingly clear that there's been extensive push back against climate change throughout the government…[The conclusions in] the long-delayed Department of Energy's evaluation of grid stability…were watered down in the final report…[It avoided] the use of the term ‘climate change’…[An email from researcher Jennifer Bowen revealed she had been asked to remove from submitted work] words such as “global warming” or "climate change"…[Bowen and the DOE were not available to comment but another news outlet] identified a second researcher who had received funding from the same DOE program and has also been asked to remove references to climate change… from his grant's abstract…[Funding was not renewed for a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)-led committee] to help the nation decide how best to act on the information contained in a scientific report…[and its peer-reviewed assessment is being blocked. It has become clear that DOE Secretary Perry and EPA Head Pruitt] are perfectly willing to overrule expert conclusions and scientific findings when it suits them…” click here for more

click to enlarge

Tweet

The Bipartisan Energy Bill’s Good And Bad

Bipartisanship? It's happening to secure America's energy future

Former Sens. Trent Lott (R-Miss.) and Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.), July 31, 2017 (The Hill)

“It seems that everywhere you look, America’s politics are dominated by divisiveness and polarization…[But] Sens. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) and Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) introduced a major bipartisan bill aimed at securing a prosperous and sustainable energy future for America. [The Energy and Natural Resources Act of 2017 — shaped by a rigorous, bipartisan process that actually began in the last Congress — has been placed directly on the Senate calendar for expedited floor consideration…[Though opponents say it avoids the hard issues, the bill would modernize energy laws and accelerate] innovation…The legislation builds on the collaborative and detailed work of the Energy Policy Modernization Act of 2015…[and includes] provisions from more than 80 senators…[T]his bipartisan bill reminds us what is possible if Congress can move beyond destructive rhetoric and work together…” click here for more

click to enlarge

Tweet

Businesses Can Save By Buying Batteries

Five Million Commercial Customers Could Cut Costs with Battery Storage; First public survey of utility rates details economic potential for commercial behind-the-meter battery storage market

August 24, 2017 (Clean Energy Group)

“…[An analysis of over 10,000 utility tariffs in 48 states found] that more than five million of the 18 million commercial customers across the country may be able to cost-effectively reduce their utility bills with battery storage technologies…[Researchers from the Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and Clean Energy Group (CEG)] looked at the number of commercial customers eligible for utility rate tariffs that included demand charges of $15 or more per kilowatt, an industry benchmark for identifying economic opportunities for behind-the-meter storage. They concluded that [over 25% of the approximately five million customers] were at or above this demand charge threshold…This represents a substantial market opportunity for behind-the-meter battery storage, which can be installed to control peak demand and lower electricity bills by reducing demand charges…” click here for more

click to enlarge

Tweet

Study Shows CA Climate Plan Works

A controversial California effort to fight climate change just got some good news

Chelsea Harvey, August 21, 2017 (Washington Post)

“…[A] controversial California climate program is successfully reducing the state’s greenhouse gas emissions and providing other environmental benefits on the side…[According to a study from Stanford University, the] California “carbon offset” program, which allows companies to pay to preserve carbon-storing forests instead of reducing their own emissions…is protecting imperiled forests and preventing the carbon they store from being released into the atmosphere…The program is built into California’s existing cap-and-trade system…[and] establishes a market for the buying and selling emissions permits, creating a financial incentive for companies to reduce their own emissions and sell the extra savings…[C]ompanies may also buy offsets from forest managers all over the country, guaranteeing that they’ll preserve their trees…By buying these offsets, companies can adhere to California’s emissions-cutting policies without reducing their own carbon output directly…Overall, about 25.5 million tons of carbon have been credited as part of the forest offset program [conserving forests, wild plants, and animals] that might otherwise have been destroyed…” click here for more

click to enlarge

Tweet

New Jersey’s Big Ocean Wind Opportunity

NJ still has hope on wind energy

August 21. 2017 (Daily Record/USA Today)

"Offshore wind remains one of New Jersey’s great untapped resources…But advocates and energy companies continue to lay the groundwork for an industry that essentially doesn’t yet exist here…Gov. Chris Christie [signed a bill in 2010] that was specifically designed to enhance the state’s offshore wind prospects, setting a goal of 1,100 megawatts…[but] increasingly embraced his conservative side, scuttling any chances for meaningful pro-environment policies. As a result, offshore wind has languished…Studies have shown New Jersey’s coast to be particularly conducive to offshore wind because of prevailing gusty conditions, the state’s prime location on the energy grid, and the relatively shallow waters off our coast, which lowers the expense of building offshore turbines. But…New Jersey has to act fast to maximize its potential advantages because offshore wind offers an entire industry to develop, creating jobs and improving the state economy…” click here for more

click to enlarge

Tweet

Big Oil’s Valero Secret Fight To Stop Biofuels

Refiner Valero's secret campaign against U.S. biofuels mandates

Chris Prentice Reuters w/Erwin Seba, August 21, 2017 (St. Louis Post-Dispatch)

“U.S. biofuels regulations, which mandate mixing corn-based ethanol into gasoline, have lately drawn together a diverse cast of political opponents…Even the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA), a leading biofuels industry group, recently dropped its opposition to policy changes sought by this ad hoc coalition…[T]hey share one key connection — close ties to Valero Energy Corp., America's largest oil refiner…As part of an extensive behind-the-scenes lobbying campaign, Valero played a key role in bringing these people and groups together around a policy proposal that could save the refiner hundreds of millions of dollars each year in regulatory costs…Valero is a big loser under current regulations, which require refiners to either blend biofuels into their gasoline and diesel or buy government-issued credits from firms that do such mixing…Valero was forced to spend $750 million last year alone buying the credits…The policy overhaul favored by Valero would free refiners from the obligation to blend biofuels or buy credits, shifting that burden to firms further down the supply chain toward retailers…Such a change would amount to a multi-billion-dollar transfer of wealth to Valero…” click here for more

click to enlarge

Tweet

Gore’s ‘Inconvenient Sequel’ Is A ‘Teaching Tool’

An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power review – another climate change lesson from Al Gore; A necessary essay from the sharp end of the global warming crisis

Jonathan Romney, 20 August 2017 (UK Guardian)

“Davis Guggenheim’s An Inconvenient Truth (2006) was an effective consciousness-raising exercise, focusing on Al Gore’s ‘slide shows’…[and] the reality of climate change…The just-released sequel An Inconvenient Sequel; Truth to Power brings home the intensification of the crisis…[A]s the film’s timeline approaches the present, the spectre of Trump looms like an iceberg on a foggy Arctic night. As Gore visits the world’s environmental flashpoints, the footage of floods, storms and exploding glaciers adds ballast to the statistics. There’s a sliver of against-the-clock narrative at the 2015 Paris climate summit, although the film simplifies matters in suggesting that India’s coming on board was the result of Gore making a few well-placed phone calls behind the scenes…[In short, the film is another] teaching tool…” click here for more

Tweet

Target Targets Big Wind Buy

Target Will Buy 100MW of Wind Energy to Power 150 Stores

Brian Eckhouse, August 9, 2017

“…[Target Corp. will buy 100 megawatts of output from an Infinity Renewables wind project in Kansas…Power from the 474-megawatt Solomon Forks wind facility will help offset the energy used at 150 Target stores in the area…Terms weren’t disclosed…Construction is expected to begin and be completed next year…[Target’s first wind deal was 2016’s deal for] 40 megawatts of capacity from a wind project in Texas to meet the needs of 60 of its stores in the state.” click here for more

click to enlarge

Tweet

Michigan Grows Its Solar Garden

Community solar garden taking shape

Vicki Gerdes, August 20, 2017 (D-L Online)

“A three-year project to bring affordable solar power to Detroit Lakes residents has at last borne fruit…Two arrays, each containing 40 solar panels, were installed at the Detroit Lakes Public Utilities solar garden site…[There are] 12 subscriptions left…[A]ll DLPU customers are eligible to purchase those subscriptions, at a cost of $1,075 per solar panel…[C]ustomers who purchase the maximum six panels could see a significant savings…Six panels could produce close to 40 percent of a customer's yearly energy needs…Though the current site has room for at least a couple more arrays…[they] won't be added until the DLPU has signed up enough solar customers to make it financially feasible…” click here for more

click to enlarge

Tweet

New Forest To Offset Bad U.S. Climate Policies Has 120,000 Pledges

'Donald Trump forest' climate change project gains momentum

Matt McGrath, August 15, 2017 (BBC News)

“A campaign to plant trees to compensate for the impact of President Trump's climate policies has 120,000 pledges…The project was started by campaigners upset at what they call the president's ‘ignorance’ on climate science…Trump Forest allows people either to plant locally or pay for trees in a number of poorer countries…The organisers say they need to plant an area the size of Kentucky to offset the Trump effect…Based in New Zealand, the project began in March this year and so far has gained pledges from around 450 people based all around the world. In the first month, 15,000 trees were pledged - that's now gone past 120,000…Some people have paid for trees to be planted in forest restoration projects in Madagascar, Haiti, Ethiopia, and Nepal. Others have simply bought and planted a tree themselves and sent a copy of the receipt to the project…” click here for more

Tweet

Wind Becoming The Go-To Power

Interactive Map Shows You How Wind Power Is Taking Over America

August 14, 2017 (IFL Science)

"…[A new tool maps] every utility-scale wind project and wind-related manufacturing facility in the United States…In 2016, [wind provided over 6 percent of all energy used in the country, after 30 years] of rapid growth…[The tool’s time-lapse feature traces that growth…California took the lead, establishing the earliest modern wind projects in the early 1980s. Since then, several other states have upped their game, including Iowa, Kansas, Texas, and South Dakota, who get as much as 20 percent of their energy from wind…[Wind] supports more than 100,000 jobs across 50 states and the Bureau of Labour puts wind turbine service technicians at the top of its fastest growing occupations list…” click here for more

Tweet

88,000 Jobs And The Fight Over Solar Imports

Why 88,000 American jobs in solar energy are at risk

Charles Hernick, August 14, 2017 (The Hill)

“…[An August 15] hearing will determine the fate of 88,000 American jobs…The U.S. International Trade Commission must decide whether an influx of lower-cost solar panels, mostly produced in Asian countries, has an excessively harmful effect on domestic manufacturers that make comparable solar cells…[The outcome will have an immediate jobs impact and] set a precedent for how similar cases will be handled…The case was brought by Suniva and SolarWorld, which together employ a little over a thousand workers. [They] claim there are too many imported solar panels that are too cheap…The commission will assess whether there has been injury done and whether it was a direct result of the inexpensive imports, and it will then make a formal recommendation to the president if it has determined that a trade remedy — a tariff increase — is appropriate. The tariff the two companies have requested on imported cells would effectively double their cost, which would obviously be a disaster for the broader solar industry…” click here for more

click to enlarge

Tweet

Climate Is The Elephant In The Room

If you care about identity politics your priority has to be saving the planet; You expect to find climate change denial on the right. But from the left too, there is a strange silence about the single most pressing issue facing humanity

Matthew Todd, 14 August 2017 (UK Guardian)

“…[The climate crisis gets much less attention in the daily news than other stories even though it is] smashing temperature records, raising sea levels, driving diseases into places they’ve not been before, and which may lead, as Professor Stephen Hawking suggests, to a need for the human race to flee the planet…Partly it’s because of the tens of corporate millions spent by the biggest polluters to create doubt that stalls legislation…But what is surprising is that the left are not more fired up…[This is something] on which all other issues rest and rely…This is not a case of either/or – it is possible to campaign on multiple issues at the same time, but for too long, too many progressives have stayed silent over climate change…[We can start] by watching Al Gore’s new film An Inconvenient Sequel…The Earth itself could not be clearer…[I]n Iraq birds are falling from the sky as the country suffers through 50C heat. Spain has just broken its all-time temperature record, hitting a shocking 46C amid a European heatwave named Lucifer. We are on the verge of something literally unimaginable from which scientists say there will be no way back…” click here for more

Tweet

Long-Term, NatGas Is Not The Answer

Switching from coal to natural gas will not save our planet; If as little as 3 percent of natural gas leaks in the course of fracking and delivering it to the power plant through a pipe, then it’s worse than coal.

Bill McKibben, August 8, 2017 (Seattle Times)

“…[The natural-gas industry recently claimed ‘the U.S. leads the world in absolute reductions in carbon emissions, due in large part to the increased availability and affordability of natural gas.’ This is true on the surface…[But methane, which is the scientific name for natural gas, traps heat about 80 times more effectively, molecule for molecule, than CO2…If as little as 3 percent of natural gas leaks in the course of fracking and delivering it to the power plant through a pipe, then it’s worse than coal…And, sadly, it’s now clear that leakage rates are higher than that. In January 2013, aerial surveys of a Utah fracking basin, for instance, found leak rates as high as 9 percent. Data from a Harvard satellite survey showed that between 2002 and 2014, U.S. methane emissions increased more than 30 percent…[Some experts] say that because of the boom in fracking and the conversion to gas, America’s total greenhouse-gas emissions may actually have gone up…” click here for more

click to enlarge

Tweet

Why Wind Is Such A Good Choice

5 Things You Should Know About Wind Energy

August 8, 2017 (U.S. Dept. of Energy)

“…From utility-scale wind farms to small distributed wind applications to the nation’s first offshore wind project, the U.S. wind industry continued to grow in 2016…Across all 50 states, wind energy powered more than 101,000 jobs in the United States in 2016, an increase of 32% from 2015…The first American offshore wind farm began operating off the coast of Rhode Island [in December 2016]…More offshore wind projects are anticipated in the near future, bringing with them the promise of new jobs and low-cost, carbon-free energy…Prices of wind turbines and their installation costs have plummeted over the past eight years…[Combined with the ongoing development of larger, more efficient wind turbines and record-low interest rates, land-based wind power prices] compare favorably to natural gas prices in 2017 and beyond…” click here for more

click to enlarge

Tweet

Govt. Study Finds White House All Wrong On Climate

Government Report Finds Drastic Impact of Climate Change on U.S.

Lisa Friedman, August 7, 2017 (NY Times)

“The average temperature in the United States has risen rapidly and drastically since 1980, and recent decades have been the warmest of the past 1,500 years, according to [Draft of the Climate Science Special Report,] which has not yet been made public…[It] concludes that Americans are feeling the effects of climate change right now…[That] directly contradicts claims by President Trump and members of his cabinet who say that the human contribution to climate change is uncertain, and that the ability to predict the effects is limited…‘Evidence for a changing climate abounds, from the top of the atmosphere to the depths of the oceans,’ [it reports]…‘Many lines of evidence demonstrate that human activities, especially emissions of greenhouse (heat-trapping) gases, are primarily responsible for recent observed climate change,’ [it adds]…” click here for more

click to enlarge

Tweet

Another Big Quarter For Wind

Wind industry development up 40% in strong second quarter; Kansas now fifth state with over 5,000 megawatts of wind installed

July 27, 2017 (American Wind Energy Association)

“Over 40 percent more wind power projects are under construction or advanced development in America than at this time last year, according to [the industry’s second-quarter market report]…Across the country, 29 wind projects, representing a combined 3,841 megawatts (MW), announced that they either began construction or entered advanced development in April through June 2017, for a total of 25,819 MW of wind projects currently underway. That is up more than 7,500 MW from the 18,279 MW underway as of one year ago, an impressive feat because nearly 10,000 MW of additional wind projects came online over that time period and therefore were subtracted from the under-construction total…[S]ix major commercial and industrial customers buying U.S. wind power for the first time, including Apple and General Mills…Strong wind power development continued in rural America this quarter, where wind has become a major source of new investment and jobs in many communities…Momentum behind offshore wind continued this quarter following last year’s completion of the first American offshore wind project off Rhode Island… During the second quarter, the Maryland Public Service Commission awarded offshore renewable energy credits (ORECs) to two planned offshore wind energy projects that will total 368 MW…[and] Massachusetts, in partnership with local electric distribution companies, issued a request for proposals for between 400 MW and 800 MW of offshore wind power…” click here for more

click to enlarge

Tweet

Eclipse To Clip Solar A Bit

Solar eclipse on August 21 will affect photovoltaic generators across the country

August 7, 2017 (U.S. Energy Information Administration)

“On August 21, a solar eclipse [over approximately 90 minutes] will obscure the sunlight needed to generate electricity at approximately 1,900 utility-scale solar photovoltaic (PV) power plants in the United States. However, relatively little solar PV capacity lies in the path of totality—where the sun will be completely obscured by the moon—and the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) does not anticipate the eclipse will create reliability issues for the bulk power system.

click to enlarge

…[According to A Wide-Area Perspective on the August 21, 2017 Total Solar Eclipse, generators] outside of the path of totality will be less affected…The path of totality only affects 17 utility-scale solar PV generators, mostly in eastern Oregon. Hundreds of plants totaling about 4.0 gigawatts (GW) of capacity—mostly in North Carolina and Georgia—will be at least 90% obscured. Another 2.2 GW and 3.9 GW of capacity are in areas that will be at least 80% and at least 70% obscured, respectively…

click to enlarge

During the eclipse, electricity generators in the areas affected by the eclipse will have to increase output from other sources of electricity generation to supplement the decrease in solar power…[NERC] does not anticipate any impacts on the reliability of North America’s bulk power system attributable to the eclipse…Based on the amount of sunlight obscured for each of the state’s generators, the California Independent System Operator (CAISO) estimates that California will experience a reduction in solar generating capacity of almost 4.2 GW [of its 8.8 GW of utility-scale solar PV capacity] during the eclipse, which is estimated to partially darken the state from 9:02 a.m. to 11:54 a.m. local time…” click here for more

click to enlarge

Tweet

The Injustice Of Climate Change Impacts

In Sweltering South, Climate Change Is Now a Workplace Hazard; Workers laboring outdoors in southern states are wrestling with the personal and political consequences of a worsening environment.

Yamiche Alcindor, August 3, 2017 (NY Times)

“…[Galveston, TX, landscaper Adolfo Guerra’s co-worker vomited and convulsed after hours of mowing lawns in stifling heat. The man was quickly covered with ice and recovered. The landscapers spend] nine hours a day six days a week doing yard work…[The episode reveals] the dangers that exist for outdoor workers as the planet warms…[Instead of a polar bear, environmental justice advocates say, the climate change] icon should be a kid who is suffering from the negative impacts of climate change and increased air pollution, or a family where rising water is endangering their lives…[The seemingly small average warming of 2 degrees to 3 degrees Fahrenheit] leads to a much greater chance of extreme [weather and] heat waves, scientists say…[And the] unleashing of the fossil energy sector that Mr. Trump has championed could have [more immediate] repercussions…Communities surrounded by refineries and chemical plants, [face significantly increased levels of asthma and lung disease]…” click here for more

click to enlarge

Tweet

Welcome National Wind Week

Announcing the first ever American Wind Week; Nationwide event launches dedicated to U.S. leadership in wind power

August 7, 2017 (American Wind Energy Association)

“…[American Wind Week, the first annual celebration of U.S. leadership in wind power, will run] through August 12…[It is intended to recognize that] wind power is now the largest source of U.S. renewable energy capacity and supports over 100,000 U.S. jobs across all 50 states…Wind power has grown to be a mainstream source of affordable, reliable electricity in the United States. A standard two-megawatt (MW) wind turbine in the U.S. generates enough electricity to power more than 550 average American homes, nearly twice the productivity of wind turbines in China and Germany. Today there are over 52,000 wind turbines in 41 states, producing enough electricity for 25 million average American homes…Close to 99 percent of U.S. wind power capacity can be found in rural communities…[and, nationwide,] U.S. wind projects built over the last decade represent over $143 billion of investment…Wind jobs grew 9 times faster than the overall economy last year, and “wind turbine technician” is the fastest growing job in America, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics…” click here for more

click to enlarge

Tweet

Solar’s Fight Against Old Energy

Dirty energy's quiet war on solar panels

Basav Sen, August 5, 2017 (The Hill)

“…In statehouses all over the country, there's a growing movement by [fossil fuel] industry front groups to undermine net metering and other renewable energy incentives…These front groups include the Edison Electric Institute, the utility industry’s trade association, and outfits such as the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) and Americans for Prosperity, both of which are funded by the Koch brothers…These groups scored recent victories against net metering in Indiana and Maine, and have turned the renewable energy mandate for utilities in wind-rich Kansas — known in the industry as a Renewable Portfolio Standard — into a toothless voluntary goal…Industry groups and the politicians they effectively buy claim that distributed solar energy imposes costs on customers who don’t install solar panels, because solar users don't pay their fair share of the costs of maintaining the grid…[I]ndependent energy experts — even those who don't support net metering in all circumstances — argue that the practice can be a “reasonable proxy for the value of solar.” The case against the utility and Koch-led attack on renewables is strong on logic, but evidently weak on campaign cash, which is why the onslaught of anti-net metering and anti-renewables bills continues…The truth is the best antidote…When people learn the benefits of renewables, they push back against these policies, defying partisan political stereotypes…” click here for more

click to enlarge

Tweet