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| 'Clean Energy 4 All' - Buffalo Rally, Sept. 2015 Photo: Nathan MacFarlane |
Excerpts from News Reports:
Clean Energy Driving Economic Growth in States - Forbes Great news for good-paying jobs and for reducing carbon pollution that causes climate change
A growing number of states are embracing the promise of a low-carbon economy, both by setting ambitious renewable energy goals and expanding programs that encourage energy efficiency. In the states of California, Colorado, Hawaii and Minnesota, the largest utilities are sourcing 20 to 35 percent of their electricity from carbon-free wind, solar and other renewable sources.
This is obviously good news for reducing the carbon pollution that is causing climate change. But there’s another big plus stemming from state-driven efforts: tailwinds for their economies through good-paying jobs, stable energy costs and attracting new businesses.
Click Here to read more at Forbes.
A detailed report documenting clean energy jobs in New York is Here.
Energy and Human Health
Even Small Investments In Clean Energy Could Save Millions Of Lives
A new report from the International Energy Agency paints both a dreary and optimistic picture of the dangers of air pollution. On the one hand, air pollution is linked to an estimated 6.5 million deaths per year — a number that is expected to rise in coming decades. On the other hand, even small investments in technology could help curb the number of annual deaths attributed to air pollution.
The report states that reducing air pollution would help spur the transformation of the energy sector mandated by the Paris climate agreement, which requires countries to keep global warming to well below 2 degrees Celsius. Industrial and power sector emissions standards, for instance, could help curb both particulate pollution and greenhouse gas pollution. Policies that support renewable forms of energy also help avoid both air pollution and greenhouse gas pollution — and this could be applied to both outdoor pollution, with solar electricity, and indoor pollution, with things like solar stoves.
Click Here to read more at ThinkProgress.
Integration of 100% Renewable Energy into the Power Grid is Possible Without Natural Gas, Biofuels, Nuclear Power, or Stationary Batteries, Study Finds
This study addresses the greatest concern facing the large-scale conversion to 100% wind, water, and solar (WWS) power for all purposes (electricity, transportation, heating/cooling, and industry). This conversion is currently inhibited by a fear of grid instability and high cost due to the variability and uncertainty of wind and solar.
The study uses a new grid integration model and finds low-cost, no-load-loss, non-unique solutions to this problem on electrification of all U.S. energy sectors. Solutions are obtained by prioritizing storage for heat (in soil and water); cold (in ice and water); and electricity (in phase-change materials, pumped hydro, hydropower, and hydrogen), and using demand response.
Click Here to read more at the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Additional Information: Studies on Grid Reliability With High Penetrations of Wind, Water, and Sunlight (WWS) - Click Here
The World Is Nearing Peak Fossil Fuels (Especially The Developed World)
Oil, coal, and gas aren't running out. But they are going out of style as renewables get cheaper.
Worldwide use of fossil fuels will peak in 2025. Solar will be the least expensive form of electricity by 2030. And, by 2040, zero-emission forms of power will represent 60% of the global mix. Solar will account for 43% of all new generating capacity by 2040. These are some of the predictions of a new report from Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF).
By 2040, BNEF expects EVs to make up a quarter of the global car fleet and to add a total of 8% to total electricity demand as a result. Better batteries for cars will in turn lead to better batteries for grid and household power storage, thus allowing us to use more of power generated by solar and wind.
One surprise is that natural gas plays a relatively small part of the picture. Despite the fracking boom, and talk of gas being a "bridge fuel," it makes up little more of the mix than it does now.
The report is good news for renewables, but not necessarily for climate change. It predicts a staggering $7.8 trillion of investment in clean energy by 2040. But it says another $5.3 trillion would be needed if the world is to stay within the two degree global warming limit deemed relatively safe by climate scientists.
Read more at FastCoExist.com
Click Here to read a press release on the new report from Bloomberg New Energy Finance.
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