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U.S. Wind-Power Installations Rose Sixfold in 2014: BNEF

February 8, 2015

Installations of wind power in the U.S. surged sixfold last year, making it the largest market for the technology worldwide after China.
 
The U.S. added 4.7 gigawatts of new onshore wind capacity in 2014 compared with 764 megawatts a year earlier, largely due to the extension of the Production Tax Credit in January 2013, Bloomberg New Energy Finance said today in a statement. Total U.S. onshore wind installations are now 64.2 megawatts.
 
China remains the biggest market for wind with installations rising a record 38 percent, or 20.7 gigawatts, from a year earlier, according to BNEF. China’s grid-connected wind-energy capacity now is 96 gigawatts, more than that of the entire U.K. power fleet. Wind energy is China’s largest power source after coal and hydropower.

Is Solar The Next Shale?

February 7, 2015

Will solar power transform electricity markets as significantly as shale transformed oil and gas?

That is the question posed in a new study by Wood MacKenzie, an international energy research and consulting company.

“Just as shale extraction reconfigured oil and gas, no other technology is closer to transforming power markets than distributed and utility scale solar,” writes Prajit Ghosh, an energy analyst at Wood MacKenzie and the study’s primary author.

Lawmakers take step toward fulfilling state climate change goals

February 7, 2015

State lawmakers are preparing a sweeping package of bills that would fulfill several of Gov. Jerry Brown's climate change objectives by increasing California's reliance on renewable energy and alternative transportation fuels.

The proposals would also require state pension funds, the two largest public systems in the country, to divest from coal companies. And they would create an advisory committee aimed at turning energy policies into new jobs.

The cost of wind and solar power keeps dropping all over the world

February 5, 2015

Many people have probably heard that it's getting cheaper to install rooftop solar panels in the US. But that's just part of an even bigger trend. Since 2010, the cost of renewable energy has been plummeting all over the world.

With climate change on the California Legislature’s agenda

February 4, 2015

Soon after Gov. Jerry Brown proposed expanding greenhouse gas reduction policies in his State of the State address, California’s influential utilities praised Brown’s agenda but moved quietly to craft a version that could be easier for them to meet.

The effort, outlined by the utilities in talks with lawmakers, state regulators and interest groups – including at a private gathering in Napa last week – focuses on a proposal by Brown to increase to 50 percent from one-third the proportion of electricity California derives from such renewable sources as wind and solar.

Instead of including the 50 percent target in the state’s existing regulatory framework, the utilities argue, California should require increased carbon reduction through other, more flexible means. They say other approaches could cost less while still achieving environmental goals.

Report: Wind and solar energy have tripled since 2008

February 4, 2015

We worry a lot about the problem of climate change. And we try to fix it — again, again and again — by changing how the country uses energy.

What we don’t stop and ponder enough, though, is that the country is changing how it uses energy. It’s certainly not enough to silence all environmental concerns. But nonetheless, the progress, when you sample it, is really impressive.

Such is the takeaway from a new report out by Bloomberg New Energy Finance, which has just released its 2015 Sustainable Energy in America Factbook, prepared for the Business Council for Sustainable Energy. Looking back over recent years, the report shows that on any number of metrics, progress in clean energy has really been immense.

Oil industry doubled spending on lobbying in California last year

February 4, 2015

The Western States Petroleum Association poured nearly $8.9 million into lobbying California government in 2014, according to new filings with the Secretary of State. That compares with almost $4.7 million the group spent on the effort in 2013.

Climate Change’s Bottom Line

January 31, 2015

It was 8 degrees in Minneapolis on a recent January day, and out on Interstate 394, snow whipped against the windshields of drivers on their morning commutes. But inside the offices of Cargill, the food conglomerate, Greg Page, the company’s executive chairman, felt compelled to talk about global warming.
 
“It would be irresponsible not to contemplate it,” Mr. Page said, bundled up in a wool sport coat layered over a zip-up sweater. “I’m 63 years old, and I’ve grown up in the upper latitudes. I’ve seen too much change to presume we might not get more.”
 
Mr. Page is not a typical environmental activist. He says he doesn’t know — or particularly care — whether human activity causes climate change. He doesn’t give much serious thought to apocalyptic predictions of unbearably hot summers and endless storms.

Renewable energy costs expected to drop 40% in next few years

January 30, 2015

The cost of generating power from renewable energy sources has reached parity or dropped below the cost of fossil fuels in many parts of the world, according to a new report from the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA).

IRENA's report, "Renewable Power Generation Costs in 2014, states that biomass, hydropower, geothermal and onshore wind are all competitive with or cheaper than coal, oil and gas-fired power stations, even without financial support and despite falling oil prices. The report was released at IRENA's annual conference in Abu Dhabi this month.

Solar photovoltaic (PV) power generation is leading the cost decline, with solar PV module costs falling 75% since the end of 2009 and the cost of electricity from utility-scale solar PV falling 50% since 2010.

Most Republicans Say They Back Climate Action, Poll Finds

January 30, 2015

An overwhelming majority of the American public, including half of Republicans, support government action to curb global warming, according to a poll conducted by The New York Times, Stanford University and the nonpartisan environmental research group Resources for the Future.
 
In a finding that could have implications for the 2016 presidential campaign, the poll also found that two-thirds of Americans said they were more likely to vote for political candidates who campaign on fighting climate change. They were less likely to vote for candidates who questioned or denied the science that determined that humans caused global warming.