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       #Post#: 3319--------------------------------------------------
       Re: The Big Picture of Renewable Energy Growth
       By: AGelbert Date: June 17, 2015, 9:56 pm
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       [center] [img width=100
       height=100]
  HTML http://www.nexbay.com/sun_shining_solar_panel_hg_clr.gif[/img][/center]
       California Sets Record; Surpasses UK, France, Spain in Installed
       Solar Capacity
       Rhone Resch
       Think about this for a second: If California was a nation, it
       would rank 6th in the world in installed solar capacity. Wow.
       [center] [img width=75
       height=50]
  HTML http://www.createaforum.com/gallery/renewablerevolution/3-060914180936.jpeg[/img][/center]
  HTML http://blog.renewableenergyworld.com/ugc/blogs/2015/06/california_sets_reco.html
       #Post#: 3323--------------------------------------------------
       Re: The Big Picture of Renewable Energy Growth
       By: AGelbert Date: June 18, 2015, 6:45 pm
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       [move][i]More Truth in this comment than in the article it
       references.  [/i][/move]
       June 17, 2015
       Bruce McFarling says:
       The thesis that a carbon price is unwinnable seems to be based
       on a premise that winnable fights have to be on grounds that can
       be "bipartisan" ... and that is the premise that resulted in the
       politicizing of science and renewable energy policy, since you
       only have to turn it into a partisan issue to close the door on
       that bipartisan approach.
       [quote]  "At the national level, the effort by the extreme right
       to politicize science funding is a deep threat to progress in
       developing renewable energy technology. I think de-politicizing
       and increasing basic science funding and funding renewable
       energy research and development are winnable battles at the
       federal level."  [/quote]
       The threat to progress in developing renewable energy technology
       is a large point of the point of politicizing science funding.
       [size=12pt]If people reacting to reality  gives an answer that
       threaten the wealth of large, established and (by definition)
       wealthy interests, then the immediate pursuit of narrow and
       short term self interest calls for obscuring reality.
       De-politicizing basic science funding and funding renewable
       energy research and development are winnable battles, but its
       not likely that they will be won on a "bipartisan" model. There
       seems to be enough wealth at stake to guarantee dominance of at
       least one mainstream political party.
       So they will most likely have to be won the old fashioned way,
       of entrenching them in the platform of one mainstream political
       party, whether by gaining adherence from one or from shattering
       the current political alignment and rebuilding it anew (as in
       the 1850's in the US with the collapse of the Whigs over the
       slavery issue), and then winning that political fight..[/size]
       How the Transition to Renewable Energy Could Come
       by  Steven Cohen, Executive Director of Columbia University’s
       Earth Institute and a Professor in the Practice of Public
       Affairs at Columbia University’s School of International and
       Public Affairs.
       
       Posted June 16, 2015
  HTML http://theenergycollective.com/stevenacohen/2240131/how-transition-renewable-energy-could-come
       #Post#: 3325--------------------------------------------------
       Re: The Big Picture of Renewable Energy Growth
       By: AGelbert Date: June 18, 2015, 7:56 pm
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       Not Your Grandparent's Grid: 6 Reasons Why Penetrations of
       Renewable Resources are Becoming Attainable
  HTML http://www.freesmileys.org/emoticons/emoticon-object-077.gif
       
       Posted June 17, 2015
       SNIPPET:
       [quote]There are key differences between yesterday’s grid and
       tomorrow’s grid that should be forefront as we consider the
       ability of the system to integrate high levels of renewables.
       •Advanced communication and IT resources are being deployed to
       provide grid operators with the information and tools necessary
       to optimize system operations, markets, and planning.
       •The benefits of geographically broad and co-optimized operating
       and market footprints are becoming increasingly apparent and
       there are significant initiatives underway globally to leverage
       the benefits of regional collaboration to support the
       reliability and economic performance of the grid while also
       enabling the integration of clean energy resources.
       •Commercially available technologies including active power
       controls on wind turbines and advanced solar inverters are
       capable of supporting grid operations and reliability, and in
       some cases they are better equipped to do so than older or
       inflexible thermal generating units that do not respond well to
       automated signals.
       •Electricity markets have the potential to provide investors and
       developers with appropriate economic signals to deploy advanced
       technologies that provide varying combinations of energy,
       capacity, and ancillary services. The development of market
       products beyond energy and capacity will increase the value
       propositions for renewable resources and there are an
       encouraging number of initiatives underway to augment existing
       markets and start new markets.
       •Increasingly sophisticated distributed resources, demand
       response, and storage technologies are in the queue to become
       essential components in a system that leverages the broad
       capabilities of a diverse set of resources.
       •The ongoing retirement of large coal generating units and the
       decentralization of generation assets are creating a grid that
       is more flexible, resilient, and better equipped to integrate
       renewables. [/quote]
  HTML http://theenergycollective.com/rebeccajohnson/2237676/isn-t-our-grandparent-s-electric-grid-six-reasons-why-very-high-penetrations-
       #Post#: 3347--------------------------------------------------
       Re: The Big Picture of Renewable Energy Growth
       By: AGelbert Date: June 22, 2015, 6:48 pm
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       [quote]Archbishop Pedro Barreto Jimeno of Huancayo, Peru warned
       that Francis “will have many critics, because they want to
       continue setting rules of the game in which money takes first
       place. We have to be prepared for those kinds of attacks.”
       The Pope took his critics into account—making it clear within
       the text of Laudato Si that his approach to the environment is
       firmly rooted in traditional Catholic views of the uniqueness of
       human life and the need for a non-market based common
       good—drawing a line clarifying that he is not preaching a “new
       age” form of Catholicism.[/quote]
       [center]
  HTML http://www.websmileys.com/sm/violent/sterb029.gif[/center]
       How Pope Francis’s Climate Encyclical Is Disrupting American
       Politics
  HTML http://ecowatch.com/2015/06/22/pope-francis-disrupting-american-politics/
       #Post#: 3380--------------------------------------------------
       Re: The Big Picture of Renewable Energy Growth
       By: AGelbert Date: June 29, 2015, 4:49 pm
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       06/29/2015 12:55 PM
       New York Releases Plan For Visionary Energy Policy
       SustainableBusiness.com News
       Last year, NY Governor Cuomo announced the state's visionary and
       groundbreaking plan to transition to distributed, renewable
       energy, "Reforming the Energy Vision," hailed as the most
       aggressive in the country.
       Now there's a path to make it reality.
       Under the NY State Energy Plan, by 2030:
       •cut greenhouse gas emissions 40% from 1990 levels by 2030, and
       80% by 2050 - from electricity, heating, industry, buildings and
       transportation
       •renewable energy supplies 50% of energy (up from 25% now,
       including hydro) from solar, onshore and offshore wind, biomass
       and hydro
       •energy efficiency in buildings 23% below 2012 levels
       Plan Components
       [quote]1. Transform utilities to market-based role: Rather than
       selling energy that's under centralized control, utilities will
       buy electricity from thousands of small generators  [img
       width=25
       height=30]
  HTML http://www.createaforum.com/gallery/renewablerevolution/3-080515182559.png[/img]<br
       />
  HTML http://www.createaforum.com/gallery/renewablerevolution/3-200714191456.bmp<br
       />that have, for example, solar on their roof. Utilities will ma
       ke
       money by linking them together and integrating the energy into
       the grid.
       Utilities must submit their plans to meet these goals by the end
       of this year.
       2. Clean Energy Fund: $5 billion over 10 years to support NY-Sun
       and K-Solar, NY Green Bank , plus $1.5 billion for large scale
       solar and wind projects.
       3. Building Efficiency: implement advanced building codes,
       raise efficiency in affordable housing, move to combined heat
       and power, and BuildSmart NY program.
       4. Minimize methane emissions from natural gas infrastructure
       5. Research, development and commercialization of energy storage
       technologies through NY-BEST and Brookhaven National Lab.
       6. Investments in electric vehicles and infrastructure - 3000
       charging stations across the state over the next five years.
       [/quote]
       Read our article, New York Sets California-Like Path for Solar
       Energy.
       
       Website:
  HTML http://energyplan.ny.gov/Plans/2014.aspx
  HTML http://www.sustainablebusiness.com/index.cfm/go/news.display/id/26367
       #Post#: 3424--------------------------------------------------
       Re: The Big Picture of Renewable Energy Growth
       By: AGelbert Date: July 7, 2015, 10:34 pm
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       Renewables = 17% of US Electricity Production In April
       (Exclusive)
       Published on July 7th, 2015 | by Zachary Shahan
       25 comments
       Following my latest US electricity capacity report, let’s look
       at actual electricity generation. As the headline indicates,
       renewables accounted for 17% (or 17.1% if you want to be
       slightly more precise) of US electricity production in ... Read
       More &#8594;
  HTML http://cleantechnica.com/2015/07/07/renewables-17-of-us-electricity-production-in-april-exclusive/
       #Post#: 3456--------------------------------------------------
       Re: The Big Picture of Renewable Energy Growth
       By: AGelbert Date: July 13, 2015, 4:57 pm
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       07/09/2015 03:44 PM
       [b]Energy Efficiency Has Penetrated Business Psyche[/b]
       SustainableBusiness.com News
       Energy Efficiency is fast becoming part of the "business psyche"
       and energy management is considered an essential business
       strategy, according to a Deloitte survey.
       Industries leading the way are technology, media,
       telecommunications and healthcare.
       79% of businesses with more than 250 employees view reducing
       electricity costs as key to competitive advantage and 57% have
       formal energy reduction goals, up from 46% just last year.
       Almost all - 93% - invested in energy management during the past
       three years - 17% of capital budgets this year.
       They are moving toward energy independence, with 55% saying they
       generate some electricity on-site, [I]up from 44% last year.
       [/i]
       13% of the energy generated on-site comes from solar or wind, 9%
       from fuel cells, and 9% from combined heat and power.
       "Based on the results of the 2014 study, we found that energy
       was becoming a core business competency. The findings of the
       2015 study not only corroborate that result but further suggest
       a tipping point has been passed: thoughtful, deliberate energy
       consumption has permeated the business psyche, and companies, by
       and large, now consider energy management to be an essential
       aspect of corporate strategy."
       Read our article, World Is Moving to Distributed Energy: 165 GW
       by 2023.
       Manufacturers Can Do Much More
       Although manufacturers are much more efficient - they use 17%
       less energy than in 2001, they still consume 24% of US energy,
       according to "Barriers to Industrial Energy Efficiency," by the
       Department of Energy.
       The sector can cut energy use another 15-32% over the next 10
       years through demand response and by incorporating efficient
       equipment such as advanced electric motors, lighting, sensors,
       controls, and combined heat and power.
       In other words, most companies are still scratching the surface
       on efficiency.
       [img width=640
       height=480]
  HTML http://www.createaforum.com/gallery/renewablerevolution/3-130715174027.jpeg[/img]
       Why? Not surprisingly, economic constraints are cited as the
       main reason, but they also don't make it up on the priority
       list. Other reasons are perceived lack of returns and too much
       of a focus on short-term results.
  HTML http://www.createaforum.com/gallery/renewablerevolution/3-200714183337.bmp
       
       Efficiency has yet to become ingrained in corporate strategy for
       industrial manufacturing.   :(
  HTML http://www.sustainablebusiness.com/index.cfm/go/news.display/id/26375
       #Post#: 3463--------------------------------------------------
       Re: The Big Picture of Renewable Energy Growth
       By: AGelbert Date: July 14, 2015, 6:54 pm
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       [quote] He believes that in less than 10 years nearly all cars
       will be electric.  ;D Also he said bulk storage with batteries
       will grow faster than predicted. “Our view is that batteries are
       really going to win” over other energy storage technologies like
       pumped hydro, compressed air energy storage, even flow
       batteries, he said. “We are seeing price declines that make a
       lot of those technologies somewhat stranded,” he added.
       “So if we can have solar generation at $0.02-0.03 per kWh and if
       you can have a levelized cost of a battery that may fall below
       $0.10 per kWh you suddenly get to have energy that is 100
       percent firm and buffered from photovoltaics that is cheaper
       than fossil energy,” he said. That goal is in “grasping
       distance” according to Straubel.
       [/quote]
       Tesla CTO: Bulk Energy Storage Will Grow Much Faster Than People
       Expect  :o
  HTML http://www.createaforum.com/gallery/renewablerevolution/3-200714191258.bmp<br
       />
       
       Much ado about energy storage at the Intersolar 2015 opening
       keynote.
       July 14, 2015
       By Jennifer Runyon, Chief Editor
  HTML http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/articles/2015/07/tesla-cto-bulk-energy-storage-will-grow-much-faster-than-people-expect.html
       #Post#: 3473--------------------------------------------------
       Re: The Big Picture of Renewable Energy Growth
       By: AGelbert Date: July 17, 2015, 12:53 pm
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       07/16/2015 01:26 PM
       Five Seismic Shifts In Energy On the Way
       SustainableBusiness.com News
       Calling it "5 Seismic Shifts" in global power generation,
       Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF) outlines the dominant trends
       we'll see over the next 25 years.
       The big news is the scale of renewable energy investment we are
       about to see, especially in distributed solar energy. The bad
       news is that without more radical policies, continued fossil
       fuel emissions will prevent the world from reaching climate
       goals.
       Solar, Solar Everywhere! Costs keep coming down in solar PV,
       driving a $3.7 trillion surge in solar investment, both
       large-scale and small-scale.
       Power to the People: $2.2 trillion of that will go to rooftop
       and community-based solar systems, giving individuals and
       businesses electricity independence by storing it in batteries
       and giving billions in the developing world access to power for
       the first time.
       Small solar and building-integrated solar will soar from 104
       gigawatts in 2014 to nearly 1.8 terawatts in 2040, a 17-fold
       increase. Prices will drop another 47% per megawatt,  conversion
       efficiencies will improve and the industry will move to new
       materials and more streamlined production methods.
       Solar on House
       "Up to now, small-scale solar investment has been dominated by
       wealthy countries such as Germany, the US and Japan. By 2040,
       developing economies will have spent $1 trillion on small PV
       systems, in many cases bringing electricity for the first time
       to remote villages," says Jenny Chase, chief solar analyst at
       BNEF.
       Utility-scale solar PV will grow 24-fold to 1.9 terawatts,
       onshore wind will reach 1.8 terawatts (up five-fold) and
       offshore wind will grow 25 times to 198 gigawatts. Smart grid
       capacity will grow 17-fold to 858 GW.
       By 2030, solar will be the cheapest energy resource and by 2040,
       the cost of wind projects will have dropped another 32%.
       In fact, 78% of the $12.2 trillion invested in power generation
       will be in emerging markets. Renewables will account for two
       thirds of that, with $1.6 trillion still in coal, $1.2 trillion
       in gas and $1.3 trillion in nuclear.
       For every 1 GW of new build in the Americas, 3.4 GW will be
       installed in Asia Pacific nations. China alone will attract $3.3
       trillion, nearly double that for the Americas, BNEF says.
       [b]
       Solar Becomes Top Energy Source in 2018[/b]
       Looking at the shorter term, GTM Research finds 2018 will be
       the tipping point for solar, when it achieves grid parity
       worldwide and becomes the energy of choice. By 2020, the world
       will be installing 135 gigawatts a year, triple the current
       pace.
       The top countries will be China, US and Japan, and Africa, Latin
       America and the Mid-East will jump from 1% solar today to 17%.
       Demand Undershoots: at the same time, ever-increasing energy
       efficient technologies of all kinds will limit   energy demand
       growth to 1.8% a year, down from 3% a year from 1990-2012. In
       OECD countries, electricity demand will be lower in 2040 than in
       2014.
       Gas Flares Briefly: Natural gas will not be the world's
       "transition fuel" away from coal, except in the US. Many
       developing nations will opt for a twin-track of coal and
       renewables.
       Climate Peril: Despite $8 trillion in renewable energy
       investments, there will still be enough fossil-fuel plants to
       keep world carbon emissions rising until 2029, and in 2040,
       emissions will still be 13% above 2014 levels. Fossil fuels will
       still be used for 44% of electricity production, down from 67%
       in 2014).
       Even with much slower energy demand growth, the world will use
       56% more electricity - too much of it from coal - as population
       and economies expand in developing countries.
       "The CO2 content of the atmosphere is on course to exceed 450
       parts per million by 2035 even if emissions stay constant, so
       the trend we show of rising emissions to 2029 makes it very
       unlikely that the world will be able to limit temperature
       increases to less than 2 degrees Centigrade," says Seb Henbest,
       head of Europe, Middle East and Africa for BNEF.
       "The message for international negotiators preparing for the
       Paris climate change conference in December is that current
       policy settings - even combined with the vast strides renewables
       are making on competitiveness - will not be enough. Further
       policy action on emissions will be needed," he adds.
       The analysis, however, leaves out key policies that have yet to
       be put in place, such as EPA's Clean Power Plan in the US or
       China's cap-and-trade systems, which starts official operations
       next year. In proceeding years, a worldwide cap-and-trade system
       will likely coalesce.
       Read our articles, World Emissions Can - and Must - Peak By 2020
       and Stabilizing Our Atmosphere Costs $44 trillion through 2050.
       Read BNEF's report, New Energy Outlook 2015:
       
       Website: www.bloomberg.com/company/new-energy-outlook/
  HTML http://www.sustainablebusiness.com/index.cfm/go/news.display/id/26383
       #Post#: 3497--------------------------------------------------
       Re: The Big Picture of Renewable Energy Growth
       By: AGelbert Date: July 22, 2015, 4:59 pm
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       07/20/2015 12:48 PM
       Milestone Passed: World Adds Over 100 GW of Renewables in 2014
       ;D
       SustainableBusiness.com News
       2014 was another big year for renewable energy worldwide - for
       the first time, over 100 gigawatts (GW) were installed in one
       year.
       The 103 GW added - mostly solar and wind -  equals the output
       of all US nuclear plants combined, and is a significant increase
       from previous years - 86 GW in 2013, 89 GW in 2012 and 81 GW in
       2011.
       Renewables are edging toward supplying 10% of the world's power.
       They contributed 9.1% of all electricity in 2014, up from 8.5%
       the previous year, and that doesn't include big hydro.
       The industry grew 17% with $270 billion invested, according to
       the 9th Annual Global Trends in Renewable Energy Investment
       2015, by the  United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) and
       Bloomberg New Energy Finance.
       Even sharply lower oil prices didn't stop the growth, thanks to
       major expansions of solar in China and Japan and record
       investments in offshore wind.
       "Once again in 2014, renewables made up nearly half of the net
       power capacity added worldwide" says Achim Steiner, UN
       Under-Secretary-General and Executive Director of UNEP.
       [quote]
       "There is now nobody who thinks the energy system of the future
       will look like the energy system of the past," says Michael
       Liebreich, advisory board chair for Bloomberg New Energy
       Finance. [/quote]
       Solar and wind continue to dominate with 92% of all
       investments. Solar jumped 25% to $150 billion - its second
       highest figure ever - and wind rose 11% to a record $99.5
       billion. 49 GW of wind and 46 GW of solar PV were added, both
       records.
       Seven $1 billion-plus offshore wind projects were approved in
       Europe, including the biggest one ever - the $3.8 billion 600
       megawatt Gemini project in the Netherlands. Geothermal grew 23%
       to $2.7 billion invested, but biofuels, biomass and small hydro
       declined.
       Renewable Energy Growth Worldwide 2014  (graphic at link below)
       China saw record investments of $83.3 billion (up 39% from 2013)
       and the US came in second at $38.3 billion, up 7% on the year.
       Japan is third at $35.7 billion, a 10% increase and its biggest
       year yet.
       Read our articles, World Wind Industry Grows 44% in 2014 and
       Solar Set To Soar Worldwide This Year, 36% Growth!
       Read UNEP's report:
  HTML http://fs-unep-centre.org/publications/global-trends-renewable-energy-investment-2015
  HTML http://www.sustainablebusiness.com/index.cfm/go/news.display/id/26384
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