Opinion:
¶ “Even Trump Can’t Stop the Tide of Green Jobs” • With a policy of climate denial, Trump promised to boost coal and oil jobs and dismantle the Clean Power Plan. But green jobs are a key hope for revitalizing communities, and experts say he isn’t to stop the growth of clean energy jobs entirely (or efforts by unions to organize its workers). [Truth-Out]
Green jobs are rising. (Photo: alfre32 / Flickr)
¶ “Man Who Moved Oil With His Words Won’t Talk About It Anymore” • Now that he’s done with his near 21-year stint as Saudi Arabia’s oil minister, during which his utterances could move markets worldwide, al-Naimi says he doesn’t want to talk about the oil market anymore. Now, he is focused on solar power and solar panels. [Bloomberg]
World:
¶ Enthused by the world’s biggest solar power project in Rewa, which is set to produce India’s least costly power, the Union government wrote to all states to have them incorporate initiatives taken by Madhya Pradesh, so the target of generating 100 GW of solar power is achieved quickly and at affordable rates. [ETEnergyworld.com]
Solar array
¶ Renewable energy will fill the demand for power in India in the next seven to eight years. According to an estimate by The Energy and Resource Institute, power produced by renewable energy sources will increase from 5.6% to 34% by 2030 whereas production share of coal based energy will decrease from present 73% to 56%. [Web India]
¶ In 2019, a program designed to buy back solar power flowing from rooftop panels at above-market rates will start becoming less enticing, potentially leaving homeowners who signed up with excess power on their hands. Osaka-based Panasonic is anticipating that installations of energy storage systems for solar panels will rise. [The Japan Times]
House in the Fujisawa Sustainable Smart Town (Bloomberg)
¶ The Australian Government says Labor’s renewable energy policy is increasing power prices. Power prices for Queensland small businesses have doubled over the past decade, but despite Queensland having about 4.4% of its power supply coming from renewables, it has the highest average wholesale electricity prices in the country. [Courier Mail]
¶ A new study by energy experts from the Australian National University suggests that a 100% renewable energy electricity grid, with 90% of power coming from wind and solar, will be a less expensive future option than a coal or gas-fired network in Australia. Most of the current fleet of coal generators are due to retire before 2030. [RenewEconomy]
Windy Hill Wind Farm (Carole Mackinney, Wikimedia Commons)
¶ Buoyed by drop in tariff to record low of ₹3.46 per unit (5.2¢/kWh) in the first auction of wind power, the Indian government is mulling putting on the block more such projects next fiscal year. The auction assumes significance because India has set an ambitious target of having 60 GW of wind power capacity by 2022. [ETEnergyworld.com]
US:
¶ Tesla announced that its SolarCity solar panel factory in Buffalo is expected to begin production of the solar roofing tiles soon so that the flagship products can hit the market by the end of the year. The solar roof will be offered in four styles: Textured Glass Tile, Slate Glass Tile, Tuscan Glass Tile, and Smooth Glass Tile. [The Urban Developer]
House with solar roof tiles
¶ In Apple Valley, California, the town will become its residents’ default energy provider on April 1, a move officials say will result in lower rates and an approximate $21 million revenue surplus by 2026. In the lead-up to implementation, the Town Council has made several approvals related to the Apple Valley Choice Energy program. [Hesperia Star]
¶ With electricity prices depressed, Public Service Enterprise Group, based in Newark, New Jersey, has been quietly lobbying policymakers to help its nuclear plants, much the way New York has approved subsidies to keep reactors in the state operating. PSEG, which owns three units in South Jersey, is in discussions with policymakers. [NJ Spotlight]
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