Opinion:
¶ “A price on carbon may be coming soon to the U.S.” • For years, US politicians have debated the question of imposing a price on carbon. The time may finally have come. That might seem hard for most people to understand, given the yearslong, seemingly intractable political deadlock on the issue in the US. But we may be at a tipping point. [Market Watch]
Time for a price on carbon in the US (Shutterstock image)
¶ “Here’s How To Build 100% Clean Renewable Energy In The US Before 2040” • There is a way for us to build our way out of the climate crisis in time to avoid the worst effects of global warming. We save money doing it, and side benefits include cleaner air, cleaner water, less disease, more jobs and a livable climate. [CleanTechnica]
World:
¶ Germany is inviting both local and Danish solar projects to participate in a 50-MW solar power capacity tender, the first cross-border auction in Europe. The winners will be selected based on the price they offered, regardless of the location of the solar PV park. Only projects no bigger than 10 MW may take part. [SeeNews Renewables]
Solar system in Denmark. Author: Peter Leth.
License: Creative Commons, Attribution 2.0 Generic.
¶ The price of oil will not have much of an impact when it comes to the planet’s transition to new, cleaner, sources of energy, according to the CEO of the Carbon Trust. He argued that oil price, as a single factor, will not make any difference compared to increasing energy efficiency and decreasing costs for solar and wind power. [Yahoo7 News]
¶ According to a preliminary report from the Australian Energy Market Operator, the South Australia blackout began with storm damage to three major transmission lines. After this, wind farms had to disconnect from the energy grid to protect themselves, causing a massive load spike on the interconnector to Victoria. [Mozo.com.au]
Wind farm in South Australia
¶ China’s wind energy developers are flying high, a report shows. The study by Bank of China International is predicting wind power related companies to see profits soar between 25 and 64 per cent in the rest of this year, on the heels of eight newly commissioned ultra-high-voltage power lines across the country. [South China Morning Post]
¶ A report from Queensland says the state can reach a renewable energy target, which the governing Coalition dismisses as expensive and reckless, with little subsidy, and no impact on reliability. At the same time, renewables can reduce costs to consumers, create jobs, add new industries and add to economic growth. [RenewEconomy]
¶ A nuclear and environmental specialist at the University of Oxford, has accused the UK Government of backing the Hinkley nuclear power plant “at almost any price” as a means of “hiding the true costs” of Trident nuclear weapons renewal, concealing the cost of nuclear weapons development within a private venture. [CommonSpace]
Picture courtesy of Auz
¶ A huge 15 GW of embedded power generation capacity is awaiting direct connection to four of the six distribution networks across England, Scotland and Wales, figures gathered by ICIS show. The capacity bypasses the transmission network, depressing demand. It is a mix of renewable, thermal, and storage units. [ICIS]
US:
¶ Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin wants God to help the state’s ailing oil and natural gas industry. Originally targeted at Christians, a new, interfaith version of the “Oilfield Prayer Day” proclamation calls on everyone to thank a deity, declaring that “people of faith acknowledge such natural resources are created by God.” [Huffington Post]
Governor Mary Fallin
(photo by Michael Vadon, CC BY-SA, Wikimedia Commons)
¶ Northern Power Systems Corp, a next generation renewable energy technology company based in Barre, Vermont, confirms the continued performance of its remote fleet with turbines performing through both Hurricane Matthew in the Caribbean, as well as Typhoon Chaba in the Jeju region of South Korea. [Your Renewable News]
¶ Despite the relatively slow uptake of renewable energy in the United States, replacement of fossil fuels with renewables is starting to have tangible results on emissions. According to the DOE’s Energy Information Administration in the first six months of 2016 fell to the lowest level for any first half of a year since 1991. [pv magazine USA]
Wyoming coal plant (Photo by Greg Goebel from Loveland CO, CC BY-SA, Wikimedia Commons)
¶ A panel of international wind power experts, in a study designed by the University of Massachusetts Amherst’s Erin D. Baker and others, says technology advancements are expected to continue to drive down the cost of wind energy. The survey anticipates cost reductions of 24% to 30% percent by 2030. [The Recorder]
¶ UK infrastructure company John Laing Group plc is investing in a 29.9-MW wind project in New Mexico in its first venture in the US renewable energy sector. The wind farm will feature 13 GE 2.3-116 turbines. It has a 15-year fixed-price power purchase agreement and is expected to be completed in the third quarter of 2017. [SeeNews Renewables]
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