Opinion:
¶ “Meet Clean Energy Pioneers Hoping to Change the World” • Empowering rural women in the field of clean energy and providing electricity to more than 675,000 underprivileged people are just some of the feats achieved finalists for the Zayed Sustainability Prize. Winners will be announced during the Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week. [gulfnews.com]
Women from Maduma village in Tanzania
supported by Solar Sister (Supplied image)
¶ “The PRC Bets on Climate Diplomacy in the Caribbean” • China is bidding to brand itself as the world leader on climate change. Beijing has put up billions to fund initiatives aimed at reducing carbon, supporting green energy, and promoting climate resilience worldwide. One target of Chinese attention is the Caribbean. [The Jamestown Foundation]
¶ “Melting Arctic Sends a Message: Climate Change is Here in a Big Way” • Scientists are trained to be skeptics, but for those of us who study the Arctic, it is clear that a radical transformation is underway. The question is not whether the Arctic is warming, but how drastically it will change, and what the changes mean for the planet. [Red, Green, and Blue]
Warming erosion at Drew Point, Alaska (USGS image)
Science and Technology:
¶ “Tesla Gigafactory Tour Shows Where Tesla Continuously Drives Down Battery Costs” • Even Tesla’s detractors concede that the carmaker has a lead of at least a couple of years in battery technology. Its President of Automotive said, “There [are] more batteries produced here for electric vehicles than in the rest of the planet combined.” [CleanTechnica]
World:
¶ “China’s Population ‘To Peak’ in 2029 at 1.44 Billion” • China’s population will peak in 2029 at 1.44 billion before beginning a period of “unstoppable” decline, a government report says. The China Academy of Social Sciences study says the country must implement policies to handle a smaller workforce and an older population. [BBC]
Theme park in Shenzhen (Dmpendse, Wikimedia Commons)
¶ “Wind Energy Tenders Back in India, 1.2 GW Offered” • After technical concerns limited the size of tenders, the Solar Energy Corporation of India has one that will allow a single bidder to bid for as much as 600 MW, which is double the previously allowed maximum. The maximum tariff bid has been set at ₹2.85/kWh (4.11¢/kWh). [CleanTechnica]
¶ “India Announces 7.5 GW Solar Tenders in Jammu and Kashmir” • After a wait of around five years, the government of India has issued tenders to set up 7.5 GW of solar power capacity in the country’s northern-most state of Jammu and Kashmir. The plans to set up large-scale solar power projects were first floated in 2014. [CleanTechnica]
Solar plant in India (Sreejithk2000, Wikimedia Commons)
¶ “Senate Crossbench Gave Renewables $23 Billion Boost by Thwarting Abbott’s Plan” • The Senate’s decisions to stop Tony Abbott abolishing clean energy agencies between 2013 and 2015 helped create renewable energy projects worth A$23.4 billion ($16.67 billion), according to a report published by the Australia Institute. [The Guardian]
¶ “Dutch EV Sales: Tripled in 2018, 30% Market Share in December, Tesla Model S Took #1 Spot” • In 2018, 24,024 fully electric vehicles were sold in the Netherlands, three times as many as were sold in 2017, according to figures from industry associations. In December, 30.4% of cars sold in the country were fully electric cars. [CleanTechnica]
Tesla taxis arriving in Amsterdam
US:
¶ “Progress on Greenhouse Gas Emissions, but Not Quite What Minnesota Hoped ” • Minnesota has cut its greenhouse gas emissions steadily in recent years as its electric utilities reduced use of coal. But the state still lags a set of long-term climate change goals it set in 2007, and that is largely because of car and truck traffic. [Minneapolis Star Tribune]
¶ “Ramping Up Renewable Energy Remains Lawmakers’ Focus in 2019” • Connecticut Gov Dannel Malloy and lawmakers moved in 2018 to get contracts for over 1,000 MW from Millstone nuclear plant and to procure 300 MW of offshore wind power. But clean energy advocates are pushing lawmakers for more renewable energy in 2019. [theday.com]
Rendering of a port in New London proposed to
support offshore wind power (Connecticut Port Authority)
¶ “Jackson’s Shared Solar Farm Operating ” • Jackson, Wyoming’s new shared solar farm is online, and officials hope the state-of-the-art system will catch on elsewhere. It uses virtual net metering, a growing trend throughout the country that gives users access to renewable energy without installing their own solar panels. [Gillette News Record]
¶ “Confidence Grows that Proposed Burrillville Power Plant will be Denied” • Rhode Island’s Energy Facility Siting Board has much to ponder as the hearings on the proposed Burrillville gas-powered plant enter their fourth year. The leading opposition attorney is “reasonably confident” that the EFSB will vote to deny the $1 billion project. [ecoRI news]
Have a demonstrably peachy day.
geoharvey 