Opinion:
¶ “Why Trump’s coal reprieve is unlikely to revive the industry” • The Trump administration’s rollback of the Clean Power Plan will increase the amount of carbon dioxide in the air and cause 1,400 premature deaths every year. What it’s unlikely to do, economists say, is stop the coal industry’s precipitous economic decline. [CBS News]
Power plant in West Virginia, 1973 (Harry Schaefer, EPA)
¶ “Climate Change Impacts Are Already Here” • Nearly $1 billion in property value in Connecticut has vanished due to rising sea levels according to the non-profit First Street Foundation. The organization found that Milford was the hardest hit city or town in the state with $127 million in lost property value between 2005 and 2017. [NBC Connecticut]
¶ “Research Shows That A Low-Carbon Future Will Be A Renewable Future” • Almost all existing fossil fuel and nuclear generation assets are coming to end-of-life by 2050. Academic studies show clearly that renewables will replace them close to 100% of the time. With grid integration and diversification, even storage is not necessary. [CleanTechnica]
Transition graphic
Science and Technology:
¶ “India’s devastating rains match climate change forecasts” • Once-a-century rains that pounded the Indian state of Kerala and displaced 1.3 million people are in line with the projections of climate scientists, and they warn that worse is to come if global warming continues. There has been a 3-fold increase in extreme rains since 1950. [Phys.org]
World:
¶ “Climate change is melting the French Alps, say mountaineers” • The mountaineers who climb among the snowy Alpine peaks know that it is far from business as usual. Due to a warming climate, the familiar landscape is rapidly changing. Permafrost is evaporating, making rocks unstable and prone to collapse, making trails unsafe. [The Guardian]
Mount Blanc (Philippe Desmazes | AFP | Getty Images)
¶ “Sweden to reach its 2030 renewables target 12 years early!” • Bloomberg reports that Sweden about to show how fast the deployment of cost-effective renewables is progressing. By the end of this year, Sweden will have added enough capacity to reach its 2030 target of 18 TWh of new renewable energy output 12 years early. [Treehugger]
¶ “European Onshore Wind Industry To Be Driven By Policy Incentives” • New policy research has shown that policy-based incentives are expected to drive the expansion of the onshore wind sector in Northern and Western Europe over the next decade, with capacity in excess of 70 GW expected through the next ten years. [CleanTechnica]
English wind turbines
¶ “Solar Energy in Mexico Benefits the Impoverished Most” • Recent reforms in Mexican law have made solar energy not only viable, but economically optimal. Mexico’s promotion of solar energy will not only benefit the Mexican economy as a whole, but it will also help the impoverished, both in Mexico and around the world. [Borgen Project]
¶ “Bosch Takes Aim At Zero-Emission Cities With Electrified eCityTruck Powertrain” • Bosch has taken the wraps off of its new eCityTruck powertrains for light commercial vehicles. It was developed to provide electrification solutions for vehicles to operate in urban environments where combustion engines are restricted or banned. [CleanTechnica]
Bosch eCityTruck vehicle
US:
¶ “Trump Power: Industry Analysts Say New Rule Will Not Fuel Coal Comeback” • The president thinks his new rules are fueling a “coal comeback.” But industry experts and even the DOE’s own analysts see little evidence that the policy changes will alter the downward course for coal as it faces stiff competition in the energy market. [Ohio Valley ReSource]
¶ “Amid relaxed coal restrictions, NIPSCO keeps plan to retire plants” • A spokesman for Northern Indiana Public Service Co, the region’s largest supplier of electricity, said the utility does not anticipate altering its plans as a result of the Trump proposal. It plans to retire half of its coal-fired plants by 2030 and improve its environmental impact. [Chicago Tribune]
Coal plant at sunrise (Armando L Sanchez | Chicago Tribune)
¶ “Exxon Seeks Wind, Solar Power Delivery in Texas” • Exxon Mobil Corp, the largest US oil company, has requested proposals for 12, 15, or 20 year contracts for solar or wind power, according to a document obtained by Bloomberg. Exxon, based in Texas, is seeking at least 100 MW and would consider proposals for more than 250 MW. [BloombergQuint]
¶ “Tesla Powerpack moves Samoa toward 100% renewable energy” • American Samoa has long been dependent on diesel power for electricity generation. Now the American Samoa Renewable Energy Committee has a goal of getting 50% of the territory’s energy from renewable energy resources by 2025 and 100% by 2040. [Red, Green, and Blue]
Samoa
¶ “California Passes Bill Requiring Diablo Canyon Plant to Be Replaced With Carbon-Free Resources” • A bill now headed to Gov Jerry Brown’s desk would fund worker retraining and ensure that the Diablo Canyon’s 2.2 GW of baseload nuclear power will be replaced by electricity from a portfolio of greenhouse-gas-free resources. [Greentech Media]
¶ “New York State Bridge Authority nears 50% renewable energy” • The New York State Bridge Authority is in the process of building a solar farm at the Kingston-Rhinecliff Bridge that will provide 26% of the electricity it uses. The authority has also switched to LED lighting, and the combination accounts for 48% of its electricity. [Mid-Hudson News]
Have a fabulously cool day.
geoharvey 