Opinion:
¶ “Trump Resists Progress on Global Warming” • With many of the GOP’s bills being paid by petrochemical billionaires Charles and David Koch, it’s no wonder conservative policymakers are pushing hard to protect dirty fossil fuels against competition from clean, renewable energy. But entrepreneurial capitalists are fighting back. [Consortium News]
Crescent Dunes (Murray Foubister, Wikimedia Commons)
¶ “Solar Cell Tariffs Won’t Create A Significant Number Of Jobs For Americans, Will Eliminate Tens Of Thousands” • Analysis by Bloomberg suggests that only a few jobs may be created if tariffs are imposed on Chinese solar cells, but the number of jobs lost in the solar installation business would be huge, in the tens of thousands. [CleanTechnica]
Science and Technology:
¶ Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute For Solar Energy Systems experimented with 720 bi-facial solar panels covering about a third of a hectare of agricultural land high enough for farm equipment to operate under them. A year of trials showed that the dual use system increased the total productivity of the land by 60%. [CleanTechnica]
Farming under solar panels (© Hofgemeinschaft Heggelbach)
¶ A study by scientists at the National Center for Atmospheric Research gives details on how mesoscale convective systems, which are large, long-lasting storms, are likely to become more intense and more frequent by the end of the 21st century. This research and similar studies have captured the attention of some US military advisors. [KREM.com]
¶ Nearly a third of the carbon dioxide released each year into the atmosphere can be traced back to bacteria living in the soil, where they break down plant and animal matter for energy. New research shows that climate change and certain farming practices can alter the soil systems and shift the amount of CO2 released from the soil. [Phys.Org]
Soil (Credit: Shutterstock)
World:
¶ In a bid to exceed Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s climate pledges, the Indian government announced that it will tender enough renewable energy projects over the next three years to surpass 200 GW of green capacity construction by 2022. Its original target was to install 175 GW of clean-energy capacity within five years. [Livemint]
¶ Onshore wind energy costs have fallen again in Germany’s latest onshore wind auction, with 1,000 MW of capacity awarded at an average support price of €38/MWh ($45.35/MWh), and with a lowest bid of €22/MWh ($26.25/MWh). The auction was again significantly oversubscribed, with 210 bids submitted, totaling 2,591 MW. [CleanTechnica]
Wind turbines in Germany
¶ A report has found it would cost A$1.3 billion ($1 billion) more to keep the Liddell coal-fired power plant in New South Wales open five years beyond its use-by date, than to replace it with a mix of renewables and other sustainable energy solutions. If it is kept open, the Liddell plant would also emit 40 million tonnes of carbon dioxide. [Green Left Weekly]
¶ France added 500 MW of new wind power capacity in the third quarter, taking the amount of new wind capacity since the start of the year to 1,019 MW. This is 23% higher compared with same period a year ago, official data shows. The new additions take France’s installed wind capacity to 12.9 GW, according to the ecology ministry. [ETEnergyworld.com]
Offshore wind farm
¶ The French government is considering spinning off EDF’s nuclear power business, as part of a plan aimed at shifting its focus from nuclear to renewable energy and resolving debt issues. The country’s finance ministry has been tasked with the job of evaluating best strategies for the restructuring of the company. [Power Engineering International]
US:
¶ IBM and Xcel Energy announced that by late 2018 a large solar array will be running on 54 acres of IBM’s Gunbarrel facility in Boulder, Colorado. The solar system will provide six megawatts of solar energy to the IBM facility. It will be the largest solar array on any IBM campus worldwide and the largest in Boulder. [Left Hand Valley Courier]
Site of the new IBM array (Photo: Vicky Dorvee)
¶ South Dakota’s environmental regulator said the cleanup process for the recent 5,000 barrel oil spill along TransCanada Corp’s Keystone pipeline will probably take several weeks. The timeline for the restarting of pipeline operation is unclear for the present, but more will be known when the impacted section of pipe is exposed. [CleanTechnica]
¶ Traverse City, Michigan, could achieve its goal of powering all city operations with 100% renewable energy by 2020 ahead of schedule, thanks to proposals coming forward from multiple companies looking to sell the city renewable energy. The city has options to get power from both solar and wind projects to meet its goal. [Traverse City Ticker]
Wind turbines in Michigan
¶ In a seemingly confounding move, US Rep Matt Gaetz, who represents Florida’s 1st congressional district and turned heads in February by pushing to abolish the EPA, now sits on the Climate Solutions Caucus. The Earth, Gaetz asserted, is warming, and politicians should no longer waste time debating the validity of the issue. [Pensacola News Journal]
¶ California released its annual climate check-up. The good news is the electricity is getting much cleaner. But there is also bad news: emissions from cars and trucks have not changed. Even so, carbon dioxide emissions were 16 million metric tons lower than in 2015 – a “huge and unexpected drop,” according to economist Michael Wara. [89.3 KPCC]
One way to one help the people of Puerto Rico is to
donate at [Sunnyside Solar’s crowdfunding website].
geoharvey 
November 25, 2017 at 3:39 pm
Reblogged this on AGR Daily 60 Second News Bites.