Greta's Secret Power

Greta Thunberg’s enemies are right to be scared. Her new political allies should be too; Liberal leaders line up to praise her, yet their inaction on the climate crisis shows they are not really listening to her message

Stephen Buranyi, 30 September 2019 (UK Guardian)

“…[Greta Thunberg] only asks world leaders to] listen to the scientists…[Her argument is simply that carbon moves the crisis] forward, and anything that facilitates that must be bad. She judges long-touted paradigms of ‘green growth’ and market-based solutions as failures…[She describes her supporters as ‘mocked’ and ‘lied about’ by] the elite…This framing releases ordinary people from complicity in the climate crisis…It isn’t just that Thunberg has made climate politics popular, she has – for the first time since the early days of the climate justice movement – made them populist on a large scale…A good reactionary recognises the potential vehicle for real change, and they hate it…

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It’s not clear where Thunberg’s politics lie, or where they will go in the future, but her rhetoric mirrors the left of the environmental movement…[She is] visibly angry…[and] her main rhetorical targets are not denialist wingnuts, but the same mainstream politicians who invite her to speak and praise her activism…[They] don’t appear to hear her when she says it’s their fault her life is ruined. It’s the reaction of a group who have long considered themselves on the correct side of the climate divide, and thus, of history…Thunberg’s great contribution is to convince the wider public of the bankruptcy of that outlook, and to indict years of missed targets as the failures that they are. Politicians don’t appear to take this shift, or her, very seriously…For the moment she and the movement she has invigorated are in a strange place, commanding immense popular support for a radical cause, and simultaneously praised by the very people they identify as the problem.” click here for more

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5 New Energy Companies Driving Change

Top 5 Energy Companies that Are Changing the Face of Renewable Energy in 2019; Because renewable energy is the future!

Kashyap Vyas, September 29, 2019 (Interesting Engineering)

“…Countries like Paraguay and Iceland are 100% on renewable energy while Norway is 98.5 and Costa Rica is 99…Schleswig-Holstein and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern in Germany…[and] Quebec and British Columbia in Canada are also 100% entirely on renewable energy sources…[The leading New Energies are] solar, wind, hydropower, or geothermal… [Currently, 25% of global] energy comes from renewable sources…[and the International Energy Agency forecasts] 40% of Earth’s energy would come from renewable sources by the year 2040…[Five energy companies in the renewable sector have a] significant share in the renewable energy market…[Siemens Gamesa] is selected by Dow Jones Sustainability World Indices (DJSI World)…[It] is a pioneer in generating wind power…[GE Energy is] one of the largest wind turbine suppliers around the world…one of the largest generators of hydro turbines…[and is now focused on] hybrid energy storage systems…

...[Berkshire Hathaway Energy serves] almost 11.8 million customers…[with] almost 7800 megawatts of wind energy and…1,500 megawatts of solar capacity…[It also gets significant generation from] hydroelectric and] geothermal energy…[Cypress Creek Renewables is focused on] solar projects that can benefit communities…[It has built] more than 300 projects with 3.2 gigawatts of solar…[NextEra Energy is one of the world’s largest producers of wind and solar energy…[It has] a market capitalization of over $100 billion…[and] plans to invest additional $50-55 billion…[T]he role of these energy companies is critical as they are using innovative measures to improve the energy generation through renewable resources…” click here for more

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Climate Stike Makes History

‘We will make them hear us’: Millions of youths around the world strike for action; The strikes come three days before world leaders are set to gather at the United Nations for a much-anticipated climate summit

Sarah Kaplan, Laura Lumpkin, Brady Dennis, September 20, 2019 (Washington Post)

“In one of the largest youth-led demonstrations in history, millions of people from Manhattan to Mumbai took to the streets around the globe on Friday, their chants, speeches and homemade signs delivering the same stern message to world leaders: do more to combat climate change — and do it faster…From small island nations such as Kiribati to war-torn countries such as Afghanistan and across the United States, young people left their classrooms to demand that governments act with more urgency to wean the world off fossil fuels and cut carbon dioxide emissions…

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…[They called for transformative change] including a swift shift from fossil fuels toward clean energy, halting deforestation, protecting the world’s oceans and embracing more sustainable agriculture…Friday’s strikes, which spanned more than 150 countries, were largely planned by teenagers and arose as a grass-roots movement. They came three days before world leaders gather at the United Nations for a much-anticipated climate summit. U.N. Secretary General António Guterres has insisted that countries bring with them promises of meaningful action, such as vowing to reach net zero emissions by 2050, cutting fossil fuel subsidies and ceasing construction of coal-fired power plants…

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…The summit will offer a key test of whether the world’s nations, which came together to sign the Paris climate accord in 2015, can actually muster the resolve to scale back carbon emissions as rapidly as scientists say is necessary to avoid the worst effects of climate change…‘We will make them hear us,’ climate strike originagtor GretaThunberg said, adding, ‘Change is coming. Whether they like it or not.’” click here for more

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Coal No Longer Competitive

The market has spoken: Coal is dying

Matt Egan, September 20, 2019 (CNN)

“…[The White House gutted regulations on the coal industry, falsely claimed that windmills cause cancer and installed a former coal lobbyist to lead the EPA…[but] America's aging fleet of coal-fired power plants continues to shrink. New coal plants are not getting built…Approximately 15% of America's coal fleet has been retired since 2017…Platts expects another 10% of the coal fleet will be shuttered between 2019 and 2020…Power companies that once relied on coal are promising to phase it out in favor of cleaner alternatives, including natural gas, solar and wind…

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…[Low-cost natural gas, the declining cost of renewables, and low interest rates] have paved the way for power companies to build natural gas, wind, solar, hydro and other more environmentally friendly plants…[and] cutting environmental rules hasn't tipped the scales…Natural gas and wind are expected to be the fastest-growing sources of US power generation through 2020…” click here for more

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History’s Moment – The Time To Fight

The Climate Crisis and the Case for Hope; Protesters and politicians are stepping up and fighting for the future we want. Will 2019 be remembered as a turning point?

Jeff Goodell, September 16, 2019 (Rolling Stone)

“…[A] decade or so from now, when the climate revolution is fully underway and Miami Beach real estate prices are in free-fall due to constant flooding, and internal combustion engines are as dead as CDs, people will look back on the fall of 2019 as the turning point in the climate crisis…[when] it became clear that people were not going to give up their future on a habitable planet without a damn good fight…It’s not easy to feel hopeful at this dark hour…Climate scientists tell us that nations of the world need to cut carbon pollution in half by 2030 to avert the worst impacts of the climate crisis. Yet in 2018, carbon emissions grew faster…[But] Greta Thunberg, a 16-year-old Swedish climate activist, has become a media star for calling CEOs and politicians liars and thiefs who have stolen her future – and the future of millions of other voiceless people…

…[T]ens of thousands of people will participate in a global climate strike on September 20th to demand action. CNN just devoted seven hours of coverage to climate change. In the U.S., a majority of registered voters now say climate change is an ‘emergency’…[Moral courage and financial panic are beginning to drive action because] it is blindingly obvious to anyone who thinks honestly about it that the beginning of the end of the fossil fuel era is nigh. It’s just a question of how much damage to the climate they will do before they topple over into the tar pit of history…[The lesson is clear: It is] up to us to choose the future we want…” click here for more

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Transportation Electrification Faces Off Against Oil

The oil industry vs. the electric car; Electric vehicles could make up nearly half the fleet of passenger cars and trucks by 2040. But oil and gas companies are striking back.

Gavin Bade, September 16, 2019 (Politico)

“The oil industry is trying to crush the booming electric car movement…[Oil-backed groups have challenged electric companies’ plans to expand charging infrastructure] in 10 states…The counterattack involves an array of trade associations and industry-funded political groups…[including the American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers, a trade group for gasoline makers, the American Petroleum Institute joined with the Koch-funded Americans for Prosperity. But consumer] advocates and some independent charging firms argue that utilities, which operate as monopolies, are using electric vehicle infrastructure to pad their balance sheets because their captive customers will have to pay for the investments…

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Utilities say the upfront cost of charging stations is minimal for ratepayers, and that customers' bills may actually drop as electric vehicle adoption grows because the cost of power grid infrastructure will be spread over a larger base of power demand…[T]he oil sector hasn’t seen much success combating utility plans…[but many expect oil companies to keep up the fight because electric vehicles are becoming cost-competitive, making the biggest hurdle to greater adoption the deployment of] enough chargers to fuel their growth…[In response, utilities and some automakers] have stepped up their electric vehicle lobbying…[and environmental groups] have come to view them as powerful allies to cut transportation pollution…[State regulators will increasingly be on] the front lines of the battle…” click here for more

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Things A President Who Cared Would Do About Climate

15 things a president can actually do to tackle the climate crisis

Zachary B. Wolf, September 4, 2019 (CNN)

“…[Despite partisan differences, the climate crisis] is a worldwide issue, and solving it will take cooperation from countries like China and India…[T]he most important actions the US could take would require congressional approval, no easy task…Here are some things any president could do on Day One…1. Rejoin the Paris climate agreement…2. Declare a national emergency…3. Set a carbon-free goal…5. Set a zero-emission deadline for the US…6. Embrace energy-efficient light bulbs…7. Reinstate the Clean Power Plan…

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...8. Reverse Trump's plan to speed up oil and gas pipelines…9. Reimpose a moratorium on coal sales from public lands…10. Stop trying to push coal altogether…11. Undo Trump's efforts to increase offshore oil drilling…12. Accelerate production of renewable energy on public lands…13. Use the SEC to scrutinize banks and investors for climate risks…14. Tap into growing public sentiment and work with corporations…15. Finally, get Congress on board…” click here for more

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EVs Moving The Car Market

Electric cars are finally taking a (tiny) bite out of combustion engine sales

Michael J. Coren, September 14, 2019 (Quartz)

California’s car buyers are [slowly] shifting their loyalties from the internal combustion engine to electric batteries…Despite car sales declining in the Golden State since 2016, the number of electric and hybrid cars sold continues to rise. In the first half of 2019, sales hit 51,750 and 48,861, respectively. That’s a 40% increase for both over last year…[EVs of various kinds accounted for 13% of 2018 sales in California. It] plans to have 5 million zero-emission vehicles on the road by 2030 and accounted for about half of the 105,472 electric cars sold in the US in the first half of the year…

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[Automakers are] banking on explosive EV growth to justify their billions of dollars in new investments…[But growth] in EV sales has been anemic in most states (just under 1% of US new-car sales on average), and modest but steady only in those with generous incentives and eager customers such as New York and California…[Tesla’s Model 3] has proven to be a best-seller, outpacing standard sedans in its class such from the likes of BMW or Mercedes, and rocketing beyond the rest of the field…[It remains to be seen whether] other automakers can conjure the same magic…” click here for more

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Climate Crisis Left Out Of Hurricane News

New Report: ABC, CBS, NBC Covered Climate Crisis Connection to Hurricane Dorian Only Once in 216 Segments on Storm; "Climate change is fueling storms like Hurricane Dorian. But you wouldn't know that from watching broadcast TV news."

Eoin Higgins, September 7, 2019 (Common Dreams)

Even as Hurricane Dorian tore through the Bahamas and crept up the southeastern U.S. seaboard, broadcast news networks were loathe to connect the powerful storm's strength to the climate crisis in spite of the science linking warmer sea surface temperatures to increased frequency of strong hurricanes…[Though the hurricane consumed the newscycle,] only CBS aired a segment tying climate change to hurricane activity like Dorian's…The storm delivered a catastrophic near 48 hour sustained hit on the Bahamas on Sunday and Monday and made landfall on Thursday in North Carolina's Outer Banks region…

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Broadcast TV news shows aired 216 segments on Dorian from August 28 through September 5, according to Media Matters. CBS led with 84, followed by ABC with 73, and NBC with 59. The only segment that discussed climate in the context of the storm aired on the September 4 episode of ‘CBS This Morning’…ABC's only mention of climate change at all during this period was in a segment about Prince Harry's travel sustainability project, which continues the network's trend of prioritizing coverage of the British royal family over the climate crisis. CBS also aired a segment about Prince Harry that mentioned climate…” click here for more

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New Energy Needs New Finance Options – Wells Fargo

Wells Fargo’s Hopkins: As Renewable Tax Credits Phase Out, Industry Must Develop New Financing Structures

Betsy Lillian, September 5, 2019 (North American Windpower)

“…Earlier this year, Wells Fargo named Phil Hopkins to lead its renewable energy and environmental finance business…Wells Fargo made its first tax equity commitment to a wind project in 2006 and, shortly thereafter, began investing in distributed generation solar…[Its has since supported over 400 projects with] over $7.5 billion of tax equity financing…[It provided approximately $1.5 billion in tax equity financing to U.S. renewable energy projects in 2018…[That included its] first combined debt/tax equity financing…[This year, it expects to invest more and close its first fuel cell transaction and its] first utility-scale solar and storage project…[Wells Fargo has investments in 30 U.S. states and territories – from Hawaii to Maine to Puerto Rico – with heavy solar concentration in the Southwest and Northeast and wind investments concentrated in the Central states…

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…[The 2015 legislation that established a gradual phase-out of the federal tax credits and other detailed provisions, Wells Fargo found] a more consistent supply of financing opportunities. And while tariffs have put upward pressure on both modules and steel prices, these cost increases largely have been offset by falling costs in other aspects of development, construction and financing…[It now sees wind and solar technologies as proven, but sees the] need to develop new and different financing structures…[Investment is needed for] energy storage, demand response programs and the other innovative technologies to be part of the solution…[As the sole leader of the renewable energy and environmental finance business, Wells Fargo wants] to continue providing the full spectrum of financial products and services…” click here for more

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The Dems’ Climate Crisis Conclave

10 key lines from CNN's climate crisis town hall

September 5, 2019 (CNN)

“…[When 10 of the 2020 Democratic candidates took questions directly from a live CNN studio audience September 4, this was] the key takeaway from each candidate'…[Julián Castro wants to address environmental racism because] too often times it’s people that are poor, communities of color, who take the brunt of storms that are getting more frequent and more powerful…[Andrew Yang wants to replace gross domestic product as a measure of national success and replace it with measures of] environmental sustainability…[Kamala Harris would] direct the Department of Justice to go after oil and gas companies who have directly impacted global warming…Amy Klobuchar called for a reversal to the Trump administration's move to rollback regulations on methane emissions…

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…[Joe Biden pledged to always prioritize the future] over big business…[Bernie Sanders committed to] roll back Trump administration plans to overturn requirements on energy saving lightbulbs…[Elizabeth Warren agreed and also committed to banning plastic straws and cutting down on red meat but said the focus must be the fossil fuel industry’s] impact on climate change…[Pete Buttigieg said combating climate change might be “more challenging than” winning World War II and] ‘the hardest thing we will have done in my lifetime’…[Beto O’Rourke] would spend federal dollars to help people in flood-prone areas move to higher ground…Vegan Cory Booker] won’t try to get other Americans to stop eating hamburgers…” click here for more

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U.S. New Energy Gains Market Share as Usage Dips

Why U.S. Renewable Energy Production Declined 1.1% in the First Half of 2019

Maxx Chatsko, September 7, 2019 (Motley Fool via Yahoo Finance)

“…[In the first half of 2019, zero-carbon energy production] declined 1.1% from the year-ago period…[but it should be only a short-term setback and the U.S. EIA data included] other promising details…[including the collapse] of coal-fired power plants…[The U.S.] generated 399 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of electricity from renewable sources in the first half of 2019, compared to 404 GWh in the same period of 2018…[but built] 8% more installed wind power capacity…

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…[The U.S. also] generated 11% more electricity from solar panels in the first half of 2019 compared to the year-ago period. Growth was about evenly split between utility-scale and small-scale installations…[In June 2019, U.S. coal generation was] just 78 GWh, a 23% decline from June 2018…Electricity from natural gas generation grew 6%, but it had grown] 14% this time last year…[Most significantly, the U.S.] generated 2.3% less total electricity in the first half of 2019…For those with a long-term mindset, headlines about the recent decline in renewable energy generation mean] relatively little…” click here for more

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Green Bonds And The Climate Crisis

Green Bonds Can Solve Our Climate Crisis

Miriam Tuork, August 28, 2019 (Forbes)

“…[T]he financial services industry still has a lot of work to do to assist in the global effort against climate change…[R]atings firm Moody’s announced that green bond issuance reached an all-time high in the second quarter of 2019. Investors are clearly aware of the challenges that we face from climate change, and green bonds have the power to finance our transition…Investment in renewable energy has increased by 55 percent in the last decade, but has stalled in recent years, even as energy demand has grown…[The first wave of renewable energy was easier to finance because it was in] large projects connected to large utility grids…[Today’s wave of renewable energy is] more distributed across sectors, geographies and industries…[N]ew business models and players are less easy for financial service companies…[Global demand for energy] is expected to grow by 25 percent by 2040.

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By midcentury, most of that growth will be driven by developing countries including Africa and South America, but predominantly in Asia…This shift in demand will have a significant impact on our climate…[But] low-carbon investment would need to grow two-and-a-half times by 2030…[Legacy carbon stocks in fixed income in 401(k) and other portfolios must be replaced by] the green bond and investment industry… Globally, utility companies were among the largest issuers of green bonds in 2017 and 2018…[but U.S. utilities with easier access to conventional debt] tend not to be very active issuers…There is significant ‘untapped potential’ in the utility market…[Connecticut Green Bank, Duke Energy, and Dominion Energy have stepped up but] U.S. utilities have the potential to issue at least $250 to $500 billion in green bonds…” click here for more

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Guidance On New Energy Investing

3 Top Renewable Energy Stocks to Buy Right Now; These wind and solar power companies seem poised to outperform.

John Bromels, Rich Smith, And Travis Hoium, August 30, 2019 (The Motley Fool)

“…[Since many New Energy] companies are based on emerging technologies or are dependent on economic conditions and public policies that can change rapidly, it can be hard to pick top renewable energy stocks...[As starters, Motley Fool contributors recommended] SunPower (NASDAQ:SPWR), TPI Composites (NASDAQ:TPIC), and TerraForm Power (NASDAQ:TERP)…SunPower's high-efficiency solar panels are perfect for space-constrained home roofs, and that's really the company's bread-and-butter business. Residential solar systems were just 11% of the megawatts of solar panels deployed in the second quarter, but 36% of revenue…Over the next few years, SunPower will be upgrading to a manufacturing process that will make larger solar cells, which will cut its costs to be more in line with commodity-level competition. That should help push gross margins from the 8% last quarter to over 20%...SunPower isn't profitable, but it's heading in that direction, and if current trends continue, it could start turning profits by the end of 2019…

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… [Shares of windmill blade-maker TPI Composites crashed hard after its August earnings report, and its stock is] down 30% since the earnings report…[While it expands and retools its manufacturing capacity, it is] trading at an enterprise value of just 0.7 times its $1.2 billion in trailing sales…[But Aaccording to data from S&P Global Market Intelligence, the company has never closed out a quarter with a valuation this low…[While currently unprofitable, analysts predict that by 2022] the company will more than triple its annual EBITDA to nearly $300 million…[and] grow to earn more than $4 a share in just three short years…[TerraForm Power is one of the best yeildcos, currently yielding an annual return of] about 4.6%...[After parent Sun Edison went bankrupt, the well-managed Brookfield Asset Management took over] as TerraForm's majority shareholder and sponsor, and the company has experienced a dramatic turnaround… Management has targeted an annual dividend increase of 5% to 8% a year through 2022, and looks on track to achieve that goal…” click here for more

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Media Outlets Promise Boosted Climate Coverage

Scores of News Outlets Commit to Covering Climate Crisis

Spencer Feingold, August 30, 2019 (Cheddar)

Nearly 200 news outlets worldwide have pledged to increase their coverage of the ongoing climate crisis ahead of the United Nations' [September 23] climate change summit next month…Signatories to the Covering Climate Now campaign, which was organized by the Columbia Journalism Review and The Nation, include [major international outlets like El País, Agence France-Presse, The Toronto Star, BBC, and The Hindustan Times, and] major domestic outlets such as Bloomberg, CBS News, PBS NewsHour, Buzzfeed, and Teen Vogue…

[They will] maintain full editorial control over their content, but all agree to run a week's worth of climate-related stories during the lead-up to the UN summit…[The campaign started in response to the October 2018 UN report which] warned of historic floods, droughts, and other disasters unless major overhauls were made to the global economy in nearly every sector…[It is particularly important for the U.S. because downplaying and denial] of climate change continues to pervade political discourse…” click here for more

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New Energy Ready To Take Over

Department of Energy shows wind and solar power will dominate fossils; A Department of Energy report on wind energy showed nuggets of research on solar power – including a 280 GW interconnection queue and continued declines in pricing, as well solar’s encroachment on wind’s Midwest territory.

John Weaver, August 30, 2019 (PV Magazine)

“…[Wind, solar, and energy storage can move the U.S. power sector to very high levels of renewable penetrations. NextEra Energy, one of the biggest independent developers,] has 20 GW+ pipeline of wind+solar+storage potential…[It’s first project will be Oregon’s] 300 MW of wind, 50 MWac of solar, and 30 MW / 120 MWh of energy storage…[The next will be Oklahoma’s] 250 MW wind farm, 250 MWac solar farm, and 200 MW / 800 MWh of energy storage…[Research shows a mix of wind+solar+storage can now cost-effectively get the U.S.] to 80% renewables…

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…[Interconnection queues show an accelerating number of proposed large wind, solar, and storage project] sites, in various locales across the country…[The majority of this queue volume, not all of which will be built,] is schedule to come online before the end of 2023…[Low contract prices are reaching beyond the richest resource locations to places where wind and solar resources overlap and complement one another, making hybrid projects the most cost-competitive options in many more places]…” click here for more

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