Opinion:
¶ “Taxpayers Should Not Fund Bill Gates’ Nuclear Albatross” • Even Bill Gates cannot make the numbers work for nuclear power. It is so uneconomical that existing US nuclear power plants are bleeding cash, and in many places it’s now cheaper to build and run new wind or solar farms than to run an existing nuclear power plant. [ThinkProgress]
German nuclear plant (Photo: Sean Gallup | Getty Images)
¶ “Why Disney World Is Betting On Clean Energy” • Climate change is bad for business. But companies that invest in clean energy, engage customers in sustainability efforts and leverage their influence to drive smart policies can turn a downside risk into tangible cost-savings, customer retention and global leadership. [Environmental Defense Fund]
Science and Technology:
¶ “Earth’s Oceans Are Routinely Breaking Heat Records” • Two recently published peer-reviewed studies make clear that the planet’s oceans are continuing to set hottest-yet temperature records nearly every year and, secondly, that the rate of ocean warming is in virtual lockstep with what modern climate models have projected. [Yale Climate Connections]
Argo float measuring ocean conditions (Photo: NASA)
¶ “Climate Change Will Shift The Oceans’ Colors” • By 2100, the ocean as we know it is likely to change color, said a study in the journal Nature Communications that modeled how phytoplankton will change as oceans warm. Unless climate change is addressed, subtropical oceans will be bluer, and oceans in colder regions will be greener. [National Geographic]
¶ “Climate Change Will Melt Vast Parts Of The Himalayas, Study Says” • At least a third of the ice in the Hindu Kush Himalaya region, an area that includes Mount Everest and K2, could melt by the end of this century, a study said. That is even if there is aggressive action to curb greenhouse gases and meet the Paris climate agreement goals. [CNN]
Nepal (Neville Gillette)
World:
¶ “EDF Renewables And SITAC Group Sign Pact For 300 MW Wind Energy Project In India” • EDF Renewables, based in North America, announced its Indian arm signed an agreement to develop 300 MW of wind project along with the UK-based SITAC Group. The agreement arose from a competitive tender process. [ETEnergyworld.com]
¶ “Global Offshore Wind Capacity To Increase Sixfold, Predicts WoodMac” • Global offshore wind power capacity is expected to increase almost sixfold over the next decade according to a report from Wood Mackenzie Power and Renewables, growing from being deployed in only 7 countries at the end of 2017 to 18 countries by 2027. [CleanTechnica]
London array
¶ “Acciona Dials Up Green Power In Spain” • Renewables developer Acciona agreed to supply Spain’s Telefonica with 345 GWh of clean power in 2019. This is equal to 23% of the telecom giant’s total electricity consumption. According to the contract Acciona will supply 72 points located in Telefonica facilities in the country. [reNEWS]
¶ “Elliott Green Power Opens Susan River Solar Farm, Two More Being Built” • Elliott Green Power has opened its 95-MW Susan River solar farm in Queensland, and the company has two mores solar farms coming this year. Two years ago, the state had only rooftop solar systems and one large renewable project; now it has twenty large projects. [RenewEconomy]
Susan River solar farm (Photo: Supplied)
¶ “UK Turns Away From Nuclear As Poland Prepares To Embrace It” • Nuclear power is touted by many as a clean alternative to coal and natural gas for a world that must dramatically reduce carbon emissions quickly or face the consequences of a warming environment. The history of nuclear power in the UK suggests it will not do. [CleanTechnica]
US:
¶ “Volkswagen’s Electrify America To Install Hundreds Of New Tesla Powerpacks” • Electrify America, a Volkswagen subsidiary created as part of the “dieselgate” settlement, announced plans to fit more than 100 of its electric car charging stations with Tesla Powerpack batteries over the course of this year to avoid overloading the grid. [Inverse]
Tesla Powerpack and Electrify America charge point
¶ “New York Power Authority Makes Its First Transaction In Large-Scale Renewables” • The New York Power Authority has awarded a power purchase agreement for a 290-MW wind project to be constructed in Steuben County to procure and accelerate renewable energy and advance New York’s clean energy goals. [Windpower Engineering]
¶ “Michigan’s New Governor Puts Climate Change at Heart of Government” • Governor Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan signed orders to revamp the state’s environmental policy apparatus, becoming the latest newly elected Democratic leader in an industrial swing state to pick up the reins of action on climate change. [InsideClimate News]
Wind turbines in Michigan (NOAA, Wikimedia Commons)
¶ “City Of Warwick Debuts Its Second Solar Array, Via Southern Sky Renewable Energy” • Southern Sky Renewable Energy RI and the City of Warwick, Rhode Island, recently flipped the switch on the City’s second solar array. The array on West Shore Road hosts 2,628 panels that are now producing 1 MW of electricity. [Solar Builder]
¶ “Green New Deal Won’t Call For End To Fossil Fuels” • Legislative text being crafted by Democrats calls for “net-zero greenhouse gas emissions” but does not explicitly call for phasing out oil, gas and coal. Rep Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Sen Ed Markey are expected to introduce a resolution outlining elements of the plan within days. [Politico]
Have an exultantly gleeful day.
geoharvey 