Billionaires Influencing the Politics of Climate Change/Part 2

Obviously, the fight to balance the economy and environment, with goals of sustaining jobs and commerce while protecting natural resources, is fought on many levels and has incredible mix of influences.  Some are political, of course, or purely focused on short-term financial considerations.

This article, sent to us by Better World Club, is unsettling in some ways but instructive in many ways. We feel strongly that companies can, and most, be part of the solution.  We can't leave them out or lack their ardent support (see this link to the Environmental Defense Fund and their incredible work with companies:  http://edfclimatecorps.org/blog/2014/01/14/along-new-edf-climate-corps-hosts-new-project-offerings-2014).  Of course, some companies and individuals oppose our collective move to cleaner energy, renewables, energy efficiency, certainly government regulation to push new limits. That is OK...they make us think long and hard about the long-term implications of the changes we make today.  We love the discourse.

This is a fairly long article.  We finish it today.

Third Grader, Alice Bellwether, asks her Social Studies teacher if “checks and balances” is now talking about money.

Hush your valid concerns little girl.  Captain Planet has some work to do.

By Noah Grunzweig

"...As the New York Times reported, “Mr. Steyer [has already] poured tens of millions of dollars into a successful 2012 ballot initiative in California that eliminated a loophole in the state’s corporate income tax and dedicated some of the resulting revenue to clean-energy projects. He also has helped finance opposition to the Keystone XL pipeline, appearing in a series of self-funded 90-second ads seeking to stop the project.”

Perhaps you too are thanking the green gods of capitalism; mass accumulation of wealth has nothing to do with political/ideological affiliation.  In our current climate of big money making big policy happen, having some of the wealthiest Americans start to take on Climate Change is a really positive movement (especially considering the enviro-antecedents of said wealth).

Perhaps also, you’ve had the same thought democracy advocates have been losing sleep over since the Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision; our Representative Democracy is fast becoming a Representative Corporatocracy.  Well, we at the Better World Club want to ease those fears.  You should know, In a Corporatocracy, we will still have representatives making policies, only our representatives will be the men who own Kellogg, Nike, Google, Walmart, Lockheed Martin, Boeing, Bank of America, and Farallon Capital Management.  The good news is we won’t need to corporate campaign financing reform as we will all already be dumping billions of dollars into their campaign funds every year to live out various marketed lifestyles … I mean visions of a bright American future!

Does this make you nervous?  Do you want to give up on the massive potential of a Corporatocracy?  Of course not!  If everyone in America is willing to consistently support only companies that fit their social and economic values (occasionally “sacrificing” the feeling of convenience, low cost, status, or personal gain), a Representative Corporatocracy might work out really well!  If not, then we will continue to see a growing imbalance of political power – for better or worse - swaying with tides of corporate and wealthy individual interests. 

Besides, you don't have a stake in this fight anyways, right?"

Like it.  Share it.  Post it.  Know it. . . And Think Critically.

Billionaires Influencing the Politics of Climate Change.

Obviously, the fight to balance the economy and environment, with goals of sustaining jobs and commerce while protecting natural resources, is fought on many levels and has incredible mix of influences.  Some are political, of course, or purely focused on short-term financial considerations.

This article, sent to us by Better World Club, is unsettling in some ways but instructive in many ways. We feel strongly that companies can, and most, be part of the solution.  We can't leave them out or lack their ardent support (see this link to the Environmental Defense Fund and their incredible work with companies:  http://edfclimatecorps.org/blog/2014/01/14/along-new-edf-climate-corps-hosts-new-project-offerings-2014).  Of course, some companies and individuals oppose our collective move to cleaner energy, renewables, energy efficiency, certainly government regulation to push new limits. That is OK...they make us think long and hard about the long-term implications of the changes we make today.  We love the discourse.

This is a fairly long article.  We will finish it Monday:

Third Grader, Alice Bellwether, asks her Social Studies teacher if “checks and balances” is now talking about money.

Hush your valid concerns little girl.  Captain Planet has some work to do.

By Noah Grunzweig

"In the wake of the Supreme Court’s Citizen’s United decision, which allows businesses, unions, and wealthy individuals to fund, without limit, the political candidates and issues they value, the amount of money spent to influence campaigns has more than quadrupled to nearly $1 Billion dollars spent during the 2012 campaign season.  One billion dollars was spent not informing citizens about ideas but fostering the current bitterly divisive political system, tipping the balance of ideas away from democratic discussion to the dogmatic camps of red (mostly white) and blue.

The majority of money contributed is coming from affluent, white individuals like the Koch brothers who have dumped millions into campaigns to lower personal and corporate taxes, minimal social services and less oversight of industry - in particular environmental regulation.  Millions have gone to fund and support organizations that contribute significantly to Republican candidates, and that lobby against universal health care and climate change legislation.  Millions have also gone into more traditionally Democratic issues, but it wasn’t till recently that anyone has focused entirely on environmental issues AND, more specifically, on climate change.

When thinking of the Koch brother, you may be imagining two short villains on a wacky bus wearing black trench coats and bowler hats, sporting evil curly mustaches and sly, impish smiles. And maybe you imagine fists full of cash as their super power and the Koch brothers bribing and buying their way to world domination; and you’d be pretty close – only these guys don’t ride the bus.

Fortunately, billionaire and former Hedge Fund manager, Tom Steyer (the most successful hedge fund manager to date, worth more than $1.5 billion), is planning to spend at least $100 million during the 2014 election season.  The focus of Steyer's political organization, NextGen Climate Action, will be to push climate change not just to the forefront of election issues, but to put it above typically divisive issues.

Steyer and NextGen will pump money into political races to unseat climate change deniers and supporters of the Keystone XL Pipeline – regardless of political/issue affiliation.  They don't care if a candidate is pro-life or pro-choice, for or against gun control.  What they are focusing on is trying to put politicians in office who want to tackle the most important national and global challenge of our time - Climate Change.  One of five candidates targeted for removal is Democratic Senator Mary L. Landrieu of Louisiana, who has close ties to the oil and gas industries and has been an outspoken supporter of the Keystone pipeline..."

Cape Wind and Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ Add Natixis and Rabobank to Lead Senior Debt Financing

Great follow up to a recent radio show we did chronicling the incredible long journey Cape Wind has taken to generating clean power for the Cape.  This is good news.

If you would like to listen to that segment, here's the link:  http://renewablenow.biz/peter-arpin-remewable-now.html

March 26, 2014 

 

BOSTON, MA - Marking another major Cape Wind financing milestone, Cape Wind and The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, Ltd. (BTMU) today added Natixis and Rabobank to serve as the project's Lead Arrangers, to work with BTMU to structure and arrange the syndication of the senior debt financing to additional lenders.

 

The Lead Arrangers are expected themselves to make significant commitments which, together with EKF, would provide more than $1 billion to Cape Wind's debt financing upon satisfactory completion of the banks' approval process.

 

"This is one of the key steps in completing the financing package for the construction of the Cape Wind Project," said Ted Roosevelt IV, Managing Director at Barclays, Cape Wind's Financial Advisor.

 

"We are pleased that Natixis and Rabobank will join us in this landmark transaction," said Takaki Sakai, Project Finance Director of BTMU. "Further, there is considerable interest in Cape Wind among other commercial banks active in project financing, and we expect to complete the commercial bank syndication in the near future," Sakai continued.

 

"Cape Wind is a good fit for Natixis considering our prior participation in other offshore wind projects and we believe the market is strong for additional commercial banks to participate," said Olivier Delay, Managing Director & Head of Aviation, Export and Infrastructure, Americas for Natixis Wholesale Banking. "Cape Wind is a carefully sited project that minimizes weather risks," Delay added. Natixis, part of Groupe BPCE, the second largest banking group in France, has helped finance offshore wind projects in the Netherlands and Germany.

 

"Rabobank is pleased to take this step forward in the financing for the Cape Wind project," said Thomas Emmons, Managing Director and Head of Project Finance for Rabobank in the Americas. "We have closely followed Cape Wind for some time and are enthusiastic about moving forward with the mandate to line up financing commitments," Emmons added. Rabobank, a Netherlands-based global financial services provider, is a leading financier in the North American and European renewable energy sector and has financed numerous offshore wind projects in the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, and the United Kingdom.

 

Cape Wind President Jim Gordon welcomed the news, "New England urgently needs the jobs and clean energy that Cape Wind will produce," Gordon said. "We are pleased that these experienced offshore wind lenders are supporting our efforts to diversify our region's energy mix and helping to launch the U.S. offshore wind industry," Gordon added.

 

Earlier this month Cape Wind and the Federal Government successfully won the four legal cases in Federal Court that were challenging Cape Wind's permit from the Department of the Interior.

 

Following financial closing, Cape Wind will commence construction activities. Cape Wind will begin onshore cable route construction by the end of this year and begin ocean construction in 2015. Cape Wind expects to commence commercial operations in late summer, 2016.

 

Cape Wind will be America's first offshore wind farm and will help catalyze a domestic offshore wind industry and related supply chain. Cape Wind has long term Power Purchase Agreements with National Grid and NSTAR, the two largest electric utilities in Massachusetts. Cape Wind is the first U.S. offshore wind project to be fully permitted, and to have been issued a commercial lease and received approval for its Construction and Operations Plan by the U.S. Department of Interior. Cape Wind is currently in its financing phase. For more information please visit: www.capewind.org"

 

Will frackers cause California’s next big earthquake?

Wow, fracking is garnering so much news, attention, vacillating wildly--positive/negative--depending on your viewpoint, where you live, your environmental sensitivity.   Recently we heard a report on NPR that credited available, cheap natural gas as the primary reason that the US--at the expense of Europe, primarily, grew their economy by billions of dollars.  Fracking is credited with producing much of that cheap gas.

However, as this article points out, that exploration, pumping millions of water into the ground to crack shale and release gas, is fraught with risk.  No doubt this industry has grown, created jobs, a expanded tax base, has reduced our dependence on foreign imports and has been a boom to that segment of the economy?   Will all that reward get eclipsed by a natural disaster such as portended here?

Thanks to Grist Mill for this look at the business side of green:

The Ring of Fire, an earthquake-prone area around the edges of the Pacific Ocean, might not be the best spot for earth-rumbling fracking practices. But fracking is exploding in the ringside state of California, raising fears that the industry could trigger the next “big one.”

More than half of the 1,553 active wastewater injection wells used by frackers in California are within 10 miles of a seismic fault that has ruptured within the past two centuries, according to a jarring new report. The fracking industry’s habit of injecting its wastewater underground has been linked to earthquakes. (And Ohio officials are investigating whether fracking itself was enough to trigger temblors early this week.)

From the report:

shakyground.org

“Some of California’s major population centers, such as Los Angeles and Bakersfield, are located in regions where high densities of wastewater injection wells are operating very close to active faults,” according to the report, which was conducted by Earthworks, the Center for Biological Diversity, and Clean Water Action. It further notes that California has “no plan to safeguard its residents from the risks of earthquakes” induced by injection wells or drilling and fracking operations.

“This isn’t rocket science,” said report coauthor Jhon Arbelaez. “We’ve known for decades that wastewater injection increases earthquake risk. … [O]ur only option to protect California families is to prevent fracking altogether.”

shakyground.org

Click to embiggen.

John Upton is a science fan and green news boffin who tweets, posts articles to Facebook, and blogs about ecology. He welcomes reader questions, tips, and incoherent rants: johnupton@gmail.com.

Find this article interesting? Donate now to support our work.

Rhode Island Leading SmartPower's Energy Challenge

Don't miss going to our main site this week--http://renewablenow.biz/main.html.  Not only do we have a great on RI's progress on their clean energy challenge, put on by our terrific DC-based, partners, Smart Power, but we also have a wonderful interview with Maureen Hart, Ex-Dir of The International Society of Sustainability Directors.   We hope to bring them on as a partner soon as well, and you'll be hearing much more from Maureen and her global group.

Here's more:

Rhode Island may be the smallest state in the United States, but when it comes to leading the way in saving energy, RI may be the biggest state for setting the pace for the rest of the country to follow.

On Tuesday, March 18th, a gathering of energy minded people gathered together in possibly one of America's most recognized community centers, theBoys and Girls Club, in the Norwood district of Warwick, Rhode Island. Present at the gathering was the nationally recognized energy outreach organization SmartPower out of Washington, D.C., represented by their presidentBrian Keane. Along with Mr. Keane was National Grid, the regional power supply utility. Representing National Grid was their Community Outreach Director Nick Corsetti.  With them were dignities from throughout the state of Rhode Island, all there to honor the town of North Smithfield for achieving their goal in the Find Your Four Energy Challenege, which was to enlist five percent (5%) of the community to take the energy challenge.

During this ceremony, the town of North Smithfield was given, along with their award, a check of $7,500.00 by National Grid for reaching their goal. This celebration was also being used to help launch the next Energy Challenge, which will be happening in the city of Warwick.

For a full report and behind the scenes look at this great day, please view the video. In the report, we hear first hand what this meant for the Town of North Smithfield, as  Administrator Paulette Hamilton discusses how the challenge was embraced. We also hear from Warwick's Mayor Scott  Avedisian regarding how the city is going to prepare and take on the Find Your Four Energy Challenge, and how they have already begun by educating the youth in the community..

Scott Wood Project Manager/Environmental Defense Fund

For an upcoming radio show.

"Scott is a project manager for Environmental Defense Fund’s Corporate Partnerships Program. He focuses on building lasting relationships with leading companies and organizations through EDF Climate Corps.

EDF Climate Corps is an innovative summer fellowship program that places specially-trained graduate students in companies, universities and other organizations to save money and reduce emissions by cutting energy waste."

INFO ON DEFENSE FUND:  How we work

We use a uniquely effective approach, drawing on science, economics, partnerships and bipartisan outreach.

We solve problems by bringing together insights from many disciplines and diverse groups of people.

For Today's show

Please tune in today on WARL 1320 and its worldwide stream as welcome co-host, Jim Murphy, from Rhode Island College back to the studio and talk to Brian Eisenhauer, from Plymouth State University, professor and sustainability director at the school, to the business side of green>

100% Renewable Energy Is Feasible and Affordable

This came from our friends at the Better World Club.  We've had other experts on the show who have insisted as well that we can get our grids to 100% renewables, using the same investment that the grid operators need to make to keep up with growing demand using fossil fuel, by 2050.

We agree the technology is getting better so quickly it is eclipsing government regulations and data on what is possible in terms of energy production and energy independence.  Stories like this will open their eyes.

We'll reach out to The Solar Solutions project for an interview.

Engineers find one flaw in the 2050 proposal: dusty wooden cogs in our social and political decision making.

Reposted

Written By: Cameron Scott
http://singularityhub.com/
Posted: 03/8/14 7:00 AM

One of the greatest promises of the high-tech future, whether made explicitly or implicitly through shiny clean concept sketches, is that we will have efficient energy that doesn’t churn pollutants into the air and onto the streets.

But here in the present, politicians and even many clean energy advocates maintain that a world run on hydrogen and wind, water and solar power is not yet possible due to technical challenges like energy storage and cost.

Yet Stanford University researchers led by civil engineer Mark Jacobson have developed detailed plans for each state in the union that to move to 100 percent wind, water and solar power by 2050 using only technology that’s already available. The plan, presented recently at the AAAS conference in Chicago, also forms the basis for The Solutions Project nonprofit.

“The conclusion is that it’s technically and economically feasible,” Jacobson told Singularity Hub.
The plan doesn’t rely, like many others, on dramatic energy efficiency regimes. Nor does it include biofuels or nuclear power, whose green credentials are the source of much debate.

The proposal is straightforward: eliminate combustion as a source of energy, because it’s dirty and inefficient. All vehicles would be powered by electric batteries or by hydrogen, where the hydrogen is produced through electrolysis rather than natural gas. High-temperature industrial processes would also use electricity or hydrogen combustion.

The rest would simply be a question of allowing existing fossil-fuel plants to age out and using renewable sources to power any new plants that come online. The energy sources in the road map include geothermal energy, concentrating solar power, off-shore and on-land wind turbines and some and tidal energy. All but tidal energy collectors are already commercially available.

“The greatest barriers to a conversion are neither technical nor economic. They are social and political,” the AAAS paper concludes.

Common political wisdom has it that, while clean energy is a nice idea, powering our economy with wind, water and solar power would require an enormous amount of land allotted to production and would push energy prices up beyond the reach of average consumers.

But according to Jacobson and his colleagues, the reverse is true. Less than 2 percent of United States’ land mass would support all of the wind, solar and hydroelectric power generation required to meet energy demand. That includes the space between concentrating solar arrays or wind turbines.

Clean energy would save an average American consumer $3,400 per year than the current fossil fuel regime by 2050, the study lays out. That’s because the price of fossil fuel rises regularly, but with clean energy — where raw materials are free — once the infrastructure is built, prices would fall.

For example, in California, the researchers found that it’s already possible to use wind, water and solar energy to meet demand 99.8 percent of the time. Similarly, in other states, it’s only the final percentages or fractions of percentages that would require technologies that are not yet mass produced, such as, in Louisiana, wave “mills” that turn the ocean’s power into electricity.

With the mercurial climate already causing major damage around the world, the plan claims it would save the U.S. economy $730 billion a year in climate-related costs. It would also avert roughly 59,000 lives deaths from air pollution every year and save $166 – 980 billion a year in health care costs.

Jacobson has previously mapped out a similar proposal for the global energy market, including China. A related plan with a greater emphasis on efficiency was recently released by the World Wildlife Fund.

Both domestically and internationally, transmission lines carrying energy between states or countries prove one of the greatest challenges. With natural energy sources, electricity needs to be more mobile in order to make sure that even when there’s no sun or wind, a city or country can import energy from somewhere were there is.

The biggest problem is who should pay to build and maintain the lines.

“I’m pretty sure the proposal will be adopted,” Jacobson said. “I’m just not sure it’ll be adopted by 2050. It has to be adopted in the sense that fossil fuels are limited and they’ll eventually run out, so what are the other options?”
Photos: Tom Grundy and Dabarti CGI via Shutterstock.com, infographic courtesy Mark Jacobson

Note: This article has been corrected. A previous version said that the proposal includes hydrogen made from natural gas. It does not.

Photos: Modified from images by Lance Cheung and Martin Pettitt via Creative Commons, infographic by Mark Jacobson

Article reposted: http://singularityhub.com/

Scotland Becomes One of the World's Wealthiest Nations with Renewable Energy

We are the business side of green and there's no better example of a monumental investment and return in green than what we see in this story.  Should it make other companies rue their lack of vision and commitment?   Yes, no doubt.  

The good news is, there's a model here to mimic.  Lots of people, and governments, do not like to be first.  So, now Scotland has proven that investment in clean energy bring incredible economic returns.

We'll be following up on this story with a detailed interview and report on the radio side.  Great news to enjoy:



"Scotland’s control over a quarter of Europe’s offshore wind and marine energy has helped it become one of the world’s wealthiest nations, according to new analysis released today.

The new figures from the Scottish Government show that Scotland with its broad base of economic strengths would be ranked as the 14th wealthiest nation per head within the OECD, the grouping of the world’s richest countries.

The updated research shows that including North Sea output, Scotland’s GDP per capita in 2012 was 11 per cent above that of the UK which is ranked 18th out of the 34 OECD countries. Both Scotland and the UK maintain their rankings compared to updated international comparisons for 2011.

The rankings are dominated by small independent countries with 7 of the top ten nations in the OECD in 2012 having populations of less than 10 million people.

The research complements work by the Financial Times which ranked Scotland as the 19th wealthiest nation in the world, compared to the UK in 23rd place and comes after ratings agency Standard and Poor’s confirmed an independent Scotland would qualify for its "highest economic assessment".

Scotland’s Finance Secretary John Swinney confirmed the figures in a speech to Edinburgh University on the economic opportunities of independence.

He said: “There is no doubt that Scotland can more than afford to be a successful independent nation. With our vast natural resources, skilled work force and broad-based industrial strengths, Scotland performs strongly against international competitors.

"This analysis shows that an independent Scotland would be the 14th wealthiest nation per head within the OECD compared to that of the UK which is ranked 18th and with the powers of independence we would be able to harness that wealth for the benefit of people in Scotland.

Seven of the top 10 countries in the OECD have populations of less than 10 million people, demonstrating what can be achieved by small independent countries with the powers to manage their own economies.

Scotland has five of the world’s top 200 universities, a booming food and drink industry worth over £13bn a year, a huge market for tourism, 25% of Europe’s offshore wind and tidal energy and growing potential in areas like life science, low carbon manufacturing and in our rural and island economies." - See more at: http://renewablenow.biz/renewable-business.html#sthash.vgcLXLeh.dpuf

More from Earth Policy Institute/Listen today live on WARL 1320

Some great stories and good links to look at before today's show:


Indian farmers getting solar-powered irrigation pumps in exchange for switch to water-efficient drip irrigation. Government projected to save "$6 billion in annual farm diesel and electricity subsidies." http://www.bloomberg.com/news/print/2014-02-07/solar-water-pumps-wean-farmers-from-india-s-archaic-grid.html; http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2014/02/07/3265631/india-solar-pump-swap/. 

First round, just approved, to be paid for by carbon tax on coal: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-03-06/india-approves-3-billion-rupees-in-solar-pump-subsidies.html

McKinsey, "Remaking the Industrial Economy"

http://www.mckinsey.com/insights/manufacturing/remaking_the_industrial_economy

"Could an industrial system that is regenerative by design—a “circular economy,” which restores material, energy, and labor inputs—be good for both society and business? If the experience of global automaker Renault is any indicator, the answer appears to be yes." --> Remanufacturing operation outside Paris uses "80% less energy and almost 90% less water than new production does, while producing 70% less oil and detergent waste, at higher operating margins than Renault as a whole."

-Also good stats on how one of Renault's suppliers improved efficiency, cut waste discharge by 90%, made the supplier more money, and saved Renault on costs.

-Ricoh GreenLine office copiers and printers, designed so components are easily disassembled and reused, with minimal new material used. "Now in 6 major European markets, where they account for 10 to 20 percent of Ricoh's sales by volume and earn margins that are as much as two times higher than those of the company's comparable new products--without a reduction in quality.

McKinsey, "Toward a Circular Economy: Philips CEO Frans van Houten"

http://www.mckinsey.com/insights/sustainability/toward_a_circular_economy_philips_ceo_frans_van_houten

"For business customers, we therefore now sell lighting as a service: customers only pay us for the light, and we take care of the technology risk and the investment. In many cases, we also take the equipment back when it’s the right moment to recycle the materials or upgrade them for reuse. Similarly, for municipal customers we now have streetlight installations in Singapore and, more recently, a contract in Buenos Aires to replace the majority of the 125,000 existing streetlights there with LED luminaires over the next three years. We install the equipment, maintain it, and make sure that it runs for a very long time.

The benefits are substantial: the energy savings are anywhere from 50 to 70 percent, depending on the installation, so customers can pay us out of the savings for the light output. The LEDs have five times the lifetime of normal lights—which, in turn, means much lower maintenance and operating costs for us."

"A second place we are using circular-economy principles is Philips Healthcare, where we establish leasing relationships with customers to take back equipment and upgrade it, then refurbish it and send it on to another customer. In the process, we might upgrade the first customer to a more state-of-the art technology, and in doing so we make both customers happy. This is already a €200 million business for us."

Tune in live tomorrow, 1-2p, EST, at WARL 1320 to listen to a great interview with J. Mathew Roney of the Earth Policy Institute.  Matt has started to contribute to RN.  We wet your appetite with his recent article on the wind's growing lead over nuclear as a source of energy in China.

Obviously, this is great news for China, and the rest of the world, as they try to pull their country out of an environmental disaster without totally turning off the economic engine.

Welcome EPI and Matt.  



Data Highlights
MARCH 04, 2014
Generation Gap: Wind Opens Big Lead over Nuclear in China
J. Matthew Roney


"In China, wind power is leaving nuclear behind. Electricity output from China’s wind farms exceeded that from its nuclear plants for the first time in 2012, by a narrow margin. Then in 2013, wind pulled away—outdoing nuclear by 22 percent. The 135 terawatt-hours of Chinese wind-generated electricity in 2013 would be nearly enough to power New York State.

Wind- and Nuclear-generated Electricity in China, 1995-2013

Once China’s Renewable Energy Law established the development framework for renewables in 2005, the stage was set for wind’s exponential growth. Wind generating capacity more than doubled each year from 2006 to 2009 and has since increased by nearly 40 percent annually, to reach 91 gigawatts by the end of 2013 (1 gigawatt = 1,000 megawatts). Over 80 percent of this world-leading wind capacity is now feeding electricity to the grid.

Wind generation in 2013 could have been even higher, by an estimated 10 percent, but for the problem known as curtailment—when wind turbines are stopped because the grid cannot handle any more electricity. To help reduce curtailment and reach the official 2020 goal of 200 grid-connected gigawatts, China is building the world’s largest ultra-high-voltage transmission system. The raft of projects now under construction will connect the windier north and west to population centers in the central and eastern provinces.

One of the reasons why nuclear power has not kept up with wind in China is the relative time it takes to get a project up and running. Whereas the typical Chinese nuclear reactor takes roughly six years to build, a wind farm can be completed in a matter of months.

Another factor was the interruption of China’s nuclear expansion after the 2011 disaster in Fukushima, Japan. The government suspended new reactor approvals until late 2012 and reviewed the safety of both operational and under-construction reactors over several months. Officials also deferred until at least 2015 plans for reactors in non-coastal provinces, where water needed for cooling is highly polluted and in increasingly short supply.

If all 28 gigawatts of nuclear capacity now under construction are completed by 2020, China will have reached 45 gigawatts—22 percent shy of the official capacity target of 58 gigawatts. Some of the more-advanced reactors now being built are seeing cost overruns and schedule delays of a year or more, so the nuclear fleet in 2020 may be even further from the official goal.

Despite its impressive recent growth, wind power still provides less than 3 percent of China’s electricity, well behind hydropower (which typically makes up about 17 percent) and coal, the leading electricity source (at more than 75 percent). But as wind power opens up an even greater lead over nuclear, it is showing the potential to emerge as the safe, scalable, water-sparing backbone of a low-carbon Chinese energy economy."



For more information, see Earth Policy Institute’s latest Wind Power Indicator and the Plan B Update “Fukushima Meltdown Hastens Decline of Nuclear Power,” at www.earth-policy.org.


Copyright © 2014 Earth Policy Institute

HOW MONSANTO IS PLANNING TO PROFIT FROM CLIMATE CHANGE

Very interesting piece.  Looking forward to your comments:  Clearly, companies are shifting their products and markets.

Not everyone is either worried or skeptical regarding man-made global warming. Mother Jones on how Monsanto is eagerly banking on it:

"Data to help farmers grow crops in a changing climate. Climate Corporation, which Monsanto is acquiring, sells detailed weather and soil information to “help…manage and adapt to climate change.” Monsanto thinks the ag data business will be a $20-billion market. 

Insurance for when it’s too hot, cold, dry, wet, or otherwise extreme outside.Climate Corporation currently sells both federally subsidized crop insurance and supplemental plans. 

Drought-resistant corn. Monsanto lists the effects of climate change-related precipitation changes and droughts as a potential “opportunity.” This year, Monsanto started rolling out a new line of patented, first-of-its-kind genetically engineered corn seeds that are resistant to drought. 

Cotton that needs less water to grow. The company is piloting genetically modified cotton that that can grow while using less water and survive drought."



Cape Wind Signs Major Cable Contracts/Follow up to last week's radio show

This is a great follow up story to the radio show we did last week with the co-author on the book surrounding the saga of trying to get the Cape Wind Turbines approved.  Please go to renewablenow.biz to listen to the show with former editor from the Providence Journal and and reporter for the Wall ST Journal.

Cape Wind Signs Major Cable Contracts

 

BOSTON, MA, March 13, 2014 - Cape Wind announced today that South Carolina-based Prysmian Cables and Systems USA has been awarded the contract for the eventual supply of the intra array and export power cables for Cape Wind's offshore wind farm and New Jersey-based Caldwell Marine International has been awarded the contract for the installation of the underwater cables. The new contracts mark significant project milestones.

 

"I am pleased that Prysmian Cables and Systems USA and Caldwell Marine International will play important roles in helping build Cape Wind, they are capable companies that will help establish a domestic offshore wind supply chain," said Cape Wind President Jim Gordon.

 

The onshore transmission cables would be manufactured by Prysmian at its High Voltage manufacturing facility based in Abbeville, South Carolina and installed by its New Jersey based installation team in a series of duct banks between the point of landfall and the electric grid interconnection at the NSTAR Barnstable substation. The duct banks will constructed by Falmouth-based Lawrence-Lynch Corp. under an agreement Cape Wind previously announced.

 

New Jersey-based Caldwell Marine International will install the submarine intra array and export cables using specialized vessels and equipment. For Caldwell Marine International, which has 30 years of experience in the installation of specialized underwater cable, offshore wind represents a new growth area for their company.

 

"We are thrilled to be expanding into the offshore wind sector and we are proud to help build Cape Wind, America's first offshore wind farm," said Rolando Acosta, President of Caldwell Marine International. "This is an opportunity for our company to become part of the supply chain of this new domestic offshore wind industry," Acosta added.

 

"This announcement is a big step forward for Cape Wind and our members are looking forward to getting to work on constructing this important project," said Gerard Dhooge, President, Boston & New England Maritime Trades Council, AFL-CIO.

 

Cape Wind will be America's first offshore wind farm and will help catalyze a domestic offshore wind industry and related supply chain. Cape Wind is the first U.S. offshore wind project to be fully permitted, and to have been issued a commercial lease and received approval for its Construction and Operations Plan by the U.S. Department of Interior. Cape Wind has secured long term power purchase agreements with National Grid and NSTAR, the two largest electric utilities in Massachusetts. Cape Wind is currently in its financing phase; significant investments have already been announced. For more information please visit: http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001FAdBP_KVFbjEMy_qIUvsEd676Y9P9SA_Rj7ro1U3fTkE9UYVZy2fi7Ldv0uGZ-Tj7OgKqGCXHJrHUk5ab1uUj94h424jVITucM0YHleF2F_C-PBhamQ8QCpNhB_YCqCT-MUKUsuyOy39pt56_TkfiGfGxG5sDobL4N38F7Bh5B0FeXGbttzW0EkgdjDb-GYNSfx8cxMqZD1kG3nLcMxCBj3kEGkiKofdYAuEBOpM3BMey686maoEO-VcC_MeLEGkKSELfOqXAMhchxpyEc3MbuUnk1IkNgaFSRDwhYEyvsglZJ8t1pcLu0-NSqYu-rpFYq6VIMb5Mm035e8lpuCuSA==&c=Y7Hm0gfVgJYptTEDjmFuj7-pgTbO6Sq6QCTiC_8XuCKGNA-0ctBjHg==&ch=ouJvCLkPrDfoVGr_gsvaP1cqCVzd-maidhdz3dU8WV0EMFBQnzmqfQ==.

 

###

 

Environmental Business Council of New England

For those in and around Boston, this looks like a good meeting.

We will reach out to the Environmental Business Council of New England for a radio interview as well.

More updates today to follow.

EBC Social Media Program: Utilizing LinkedIn as a Business Tool

Following on the popular EBC social media seminars in 2012 and 2013, this EBC Social Media Program will look at LinkedIn and where it fits into the social media marketing mix in the environmental industry. You will learn about LinkedIn for business development; technical tips and tricks for engagement in Groups, via Company Pages and Personal Profiles; and hear case examples of success. Our interactive panel format will give you the chance to ask questions and learn from the panelists and the audience.

Continuing Education Certificates are awarded by the EBC for this program (2.5 training contact hours). Please select this option during registration if you wish to receive a certificate.

Date & Time
Tuesday, March 18, 2014
7:30am - 10:30am

McLane, Graf, Raulerson & Middleton, P.A.
300 TradeCenter Suite 7000
Woburn, Massachusetts

Program Co-Chairs:

Angela Cincotta
Director of Marketing, TRC

Catherine Stanley
PR/Social Media Manager, TRC

Speakers:

• Susan Shelby, President and CEO, Rhino Public Relations
• Eric Wilson, Director of Social Media, New England Real Estate Journal
• Aurora Cammarata, VP of Business Development and Marketing, Timberline Construction Company
• Bill Mack, SVP, New England Construction, JLL Construction
• Bill Johnson, Client Development Manager, Terracon Consulting, Inc.

Draft Agenda

---

Registration and Continental Breakfast: 7:30am - 8:00am
Program: 8:00am - 10:30am

Registration Fees:EBC members: $50*
Non-Members: $80*
Government & Non-Profit Rate: $25

*After March 16 and at the door, add $20.

Cancellations must be received by 5pm on March 16 for a refund.
No-shows will be charged.

REGISTER NOW!

Sponsor this Program!

Check out the EBC's great sponsorship opportunities!

Subsidized Rates: Subsidized registrations are not accepted at the door.
Only 5 registrations available at each rate.

Job Seeker Rate: $25
  For attendees who are currently unemployed, NOT self-employed.

Young Environmental Professional Rate: $25
  For EBC Members only. Attendees who have worked in their field for less than 5 years.

Smart Power Event in Warwick RI

On yesterday's radio show, we talked with Matt Ray of Smart Power RI and reported on the excellent work they did in North Smithfield RI to help that community become an efficiency leader here in the State.  Next Tuesday in Warwick RI there will be a celebration of N. Smithfield's success and a hand off of the efficiency baton to Warwick to take the new energy challenge in RI.  We'll be there to speak and cover the event.

Keep in mind Smart Power works in many states in the US and would love to work in your community.  

Here's a link to the interview and information on Tuesday's event.  Please drop by if you in the region.  If not, look for an update report here and on our main site---renewablenow.biz:

LINK:  https://soundcloud.com/renewable-now/rnw-news-special-report-03-12?utm_source=soundcloud&utm_campaign=share&utm_medium=email

Matt Ray Director of Smart Power joined us in this very special report. 
SmartPower, the nation’s leading non-profit marketing firm is dedicated to promoting clean energy and energy efficiency. Matt took time to explain a little bit about what Smart Power is doing here in Rhode Island and to report on Tuesday March18th 2014 , In 2013 Smart Power challenged Rhode Island communities and businesses to take the Smart power challenge . They were looking for 5 to ten percent of employees or residents of communities to pledge that they will be more energy efficient . Smart Power is going to acknowledge the Town of North Smith Field Rhode Island which has reached their goal over 300 homes a day signed up and promised to be more energy efficient . The credit can be given mostly there to Town administrator Paula Hamilton . On Tuesday March 18th there will be a big celebration and the challenge will then be given to the City of Warwick . Our Own Peter Arpin will be on hand to speak at this exciting event . Stay tuned for more news and more special reports like this on Renewable Now .

LINK to Smart Power:  http://www.smartpower.org/