Opinion:
¶ “How Teenage Girls Defied Skeptics To Build A New Global Climate Movement” • Greta Thunberg’s climate activism got her invited from her native Sweden to Davos, Switzerland, where she excoriated a room full of executives, telling them they were to blame for the climate crisis. She is not alone. Young women are rising in many countries. [CNN]
Greta Thunberg, world leader
¶ “Fighting Climate Change May Be Easier Than We Think” • Given the research and the rhetoric, it can be hard to feel at all positive about current efforts to address climate change. But there is good news. We can generate all the electric power we need without fossil fuels. And it may cost less than staying on our current path. [CNN]
¶ “Extinction Rebellion Is Calling You To Join The Nonviolent Civil Disobedience” • Extinction Rebellion is a new movement aligned with the same energy that is powering people led activism around the world, from children taking part in school strikes to young people holding their political elite to account on Capitol Hill. [CleanTechnica]
Extinction Rebellion
World:
¶ “Renewables Make Up 73.6% Of Guatemala’s Power Mix In Week 6” • Renewables accounted for 73.6% of Guatemala’s power mix in the sixth week of 2019, according to the country’s state power regulator Comision Nacional de Energia Electrica. In the first weeks of 2018, the share of renewables dropped below 70% just once. [Renewables Now]
¶ “Iberdrola Selects MHI Vestas As Preferred Supplier For 476-MW Baltic Eagle Offshore Wind Farm” • Spanish electric utility Iberdrola selected offshore wind manufacturing giant MHI Vestas as preferred supplier to supply its 9.5-MW wind turbines for the 476-MW Baltic Eagle project set to be built in German waters of the Baltic Sea. [CleanTechnica]
MHI Vestas 9 MW turbines
¶ “Eleven EU States Already Met 2020 Renewable Energy Target: Eurostat” • Eleven of the European Union’s 28 members have already achieved a 2020 goal of 20% or more of power needs coming from renewable resources, the latest data released by Eurostat show. The 2020 target is a stepping stone to the goal of 32% in 2030. [ETEnergyworld.com]
¶ “Clean Power Nears 75 GW In India” • India has installed just shy of 75 GW of renewables capacity, figures from the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy show. The country’s renewables capacity reached 74.79 GW at the end of 2018, including 35.14 GW of wind, 25.21 GW of solar, 9.92 GW of bioenergy, and 4.52 GW of small hydro. [reNEWS]
Wind farm in India (Siemens Gamesa image)
¶ “Networks Unveil New Plan That Signals Rapid Decline Of Coal And Gas” • Transmission network companies ElectraNet and Transgrid delivered their final report into their proposal to build a A$1.5 billion link between Robertstown in South Australia and Wagga Wagga in New South Wales. The link will facilitate closing NSW coal plants. [RenewEconomy]
¶ “Tonga On Track To Reach Renewable Energy Target” • Tonga’s aim to reach 50% of renewable energy by 2020 is on track, said Tonga Power Ltd CEO, Seti Chen. The 50% target relates to Tonga’s electricity production, to transition the country from imported diesel fuel to renewable sources. The transition will drive cost declines. [Matangi Tonga]
Dancers in Tonga (Tauʻolunga, Wikimedia Commons)
¶ “Kyushu Electric Power To Scrap No 2 Reactor At Genkai Nuclear Plant” • Kyushu Electric Power Co said it has decided to scrap its aging No 2 reactor at its Genkai nuclear plant in Saga Prefecture. The utility abandoned a plan to restart the unit, which has an output of 559 MW, in the face of the huge costs of safety enhancements. [The Japan Times]
US:
¶ “TVA Tells Trump And McConnell To Take A Hike” • Donald Trump and Mitch McConnell both castigated the Tennessee Valley Authority for its move to close two coal-fired generating stations. But the TVA said retiring both plants in the next 3 to 5 years will “facilitate TVA’s statutory mission to provide reliable power at the lowest system cost.” [CleanTechnica]
Paradise coal plant (TVA Web Team, Wikimedia Commons)
¶ “ISO New England Interconnection Queue Has More Offshore Wind Than Gas” • Currently, according to ISO New England’s Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, Vamsi Chadalavada, there are over 20,000 MW of resources seeking interconnection to the system including approximately 10,000 MW of offshore wind. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “EDPR Makes 104 MW Colorado Power Play” • Energy provider EDP Renewables will sell electricity from the 104-MW Crossing Trails wind farm in Colorado to Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association under a 15-year power purchase agreement, enabling the project to proceed. It is expected to come online in 2020. [reNEWS]
Wind farm (EDPR image)
¶ “Ørsted Partners With Eversource On Northeast Offshore Wind” • Ørsted announced that it is entering into a partnership with New England’s largest energy company, Eversource, to develop key offshore wind assets in the US Northeast, including two named offshore wind farms and two undeveloped New England lease areas. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “From Kaiser To Vail Ski Resorts, Companies Doubled Their Wind And Solar In 2018” • Across the nation, companies doubled the amount of wind and solar purchase agreements in 2018. One driver was federal tax credits, which are to expire soon. The key driver, however, is investor and customer preference for green energy. [Colorado Public Radio]
Have a resoundingly up-beat day.
geoharvey 