Prescott’s Climate Links #6

Every week Prescott Allen Hazelton, one of my team members who lives up in New England, sends me 20-50 links on climate change. I read through these and handpick just three. This time around I have selected articles about renewable energy. There is a race to develop new technologies and use existing ones so that we can meet our energy needs without burning greenhouse gases. Electricity is essential for most people in the world, well, except maybe my Amish neighbors.

I used to think that if we switched to wind and solar, our energy needs would be completely met by clean renewables, but I didn’t understand about intermittence–the need to fill in the gaps when the wind is not blowing and the sun is not shining. Natural gas has been filling in some of these gaps, but we need to discover ways to store more energy and find alternative ways of addressing the alternative energy downtimes. (You can learn more here: Intermittent Energy Source)

Although wind and solar are not yet 100% clean sources because of the intermittency issue, they are still a whole like cleaner than burning coal, which is what has been the standard fuel source for many power stations globally. Everyday more and more alternative energy options are expanding. Here are three stories about renewable energy in the US, Denmark, Germany, India, and beyond.

Three Renewable Energy Links

 ——————————————————————

Onshore Wind Power is Now the Cheapest Form of Energy in Denmark

CREDIT: FLICKR/ VILLE-MATTI KAARTINEN

A new analysis from the government of Denmark found that wind power is by far the cheapest new form of electricity in the country. New onshore wind plants coming online in 2016 will provide energy for about half the price of coal and natural gas plants, according to the Danish Energy Agency (DEA), and will cost around five cents per kilowatt hour.

-snip-

Half of all New Energy Capacity in the US This Year is Renewable

According to the latest  Energy Infrastructure Update from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, solar and wind energy constituted more than half of the new generating capacity in the country for the first half of 2014.  Solar and wind energy combined for 1.83 gigawatts (GW) of the total 3.53 GW installed from January to June.

from EcoWatch / By Brandon Baker   

And check out the spreadsheet included in the article. Coal is going nowhere. Biggest increases are in Wind, Solar, and Natural Gas.

New generation in-service (new build and expansion). Graphic credit: FERC

 ——————————————————————

The World is Going Solar by Thom Hartmann of EcoWatch

The world is going solar. According to new data released by the Fraunhofer Institute, in the first half of 2014, renewable energy, like solar power, accounted for almost 31 percent of allelectricity produced in Germany. In fact, solar power generation was up 28 percent during the first half of 2014, compared to the same time last year. 

-snip-

Right now, there are nearly 400 million people across India without electricity, with the majority of those people living in rural areas of the country. They’re forced to rely on candles, kerosene and burning wood to light their homes and to do basic things like cooking. The stunning lack of reliable energy production in one of the world’s fastest growing countries led the new Indian Prime Minister, Narenda Modi, to call for every home across India to be able to run at least one light bulb by 2019 with the help of solar power. He didn’t call for more coal to be burned, or for more oil wells to be dug. He called for solar power. 

The solar sunship is in the solar village Vauban in Freiburg, Black Forest, Germany. Photo credit: Shutterstock

 ——————————————————————

Thanks to Prescott for supplying the links.

If you want to see more of Prescott’s Climate Link click here.