In Germany's Hunsrück village of Schorbach, numerous photovoltaic systems are installed on house roofs, on Sept. 19, 2019. Thomas Frey / Picture Alliance via Getty Images
Germany's target for renewable energy sources to deliver 65% of its consumed electricity by 2030 seemed on track Wednesday, with 52% of electricity coming from renewables in 2020's first quarter. Renewable energy advocates, however, warned the trend is imperiled by slowdowns in building new wind and solar plants.
<p>The federal BDEW energy and water federation and Baden-Württemberg state's ZSW solar and hydro research center observed a 7% percent renewables jump from 44.4% in the same period last year, in comparison to <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/fossil-fuels" target="_self">fossil fuel</a> consumption.</p><p>Wind, especially offshore wind turbines, solar panels and other sources generated 77 billion kilowatt-hours (kWh) compared to 67 kWh in the first quarter of 2019.</p><p>Using the standard EU's electricity consumption measurement, Germany's total, also from conventional <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/coal" target="_self">coal</a>, <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/natural-gas" target="_self">gas</a> and <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/nuclear" target="_self">nuclear</a> plants, amounted to 148 billion kWh.</p>
<p><br>The 7% jump in renewables came despite conventional plant closures and pandemic impacts on industry, officials said, while also noting "special effects" such as record winds in February and plentiful sun in March that benefited turbines and voltaic panels.</p><p>That trend could, however, not be extrapolated for the whole of 2020, warned the BDEW and ZSW, pointing to local objectors and current investor indecision.</p><p>Some residents, arguing on health and scenic grounds, resist the building of more wind turbines and the laying of extra arterial power lines to transmit electricity captured at North Sea wind farms to Germany's industrial south.</p>
<p>The record figures stand in contrast to investment deterrents, which if not quickly removed would make Germany's target of 65% self-sufficiency unreachable, said BDEW head Kerstin Andreae.</p><p>Germany's pandemic-induced economic woes compounded the situation, Andreae added.</p><p>Given the current downturn, ZSW executive board member Frithjof Staiss contended that investors would turn to renewable energy projects that were less fraught with risk than the current "volatile share market."</p><p>The renewables record, noted the BDEW and ZSW, was achieved despite the shutdown of Germany's Philippsburg 2 nuclear power plant at the end of 2019 and the placing of brown coal power plants on standby to cover emergencies.</p><p>Using another measure, gross electricity produced, the two groups calculated that with exported electricity included in their calculation, renewable sources made up 49% of Germany's gross electricity production in the first quarter of the year.</p>
<p><em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/renewables-make-up-over-half-of-germanys-power-mix/a-52986924?maca=en-VAM_volltext_ecowatch-28485-html-copypaste" target="_blank">DW</a>.</em></p>
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Solar panel installations and a wind turbine at the Phu Lac wind farm in southern Vietnam's Binh Thuan province on April 23, 2019. MANAN VATSYAYANA / AFP via Getty Images
Renewable energy made up almost three quarters of all new energy capacity added in 2019, data released Monday by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) shows.
<p><br/></p>
<p>That's a record breaking figure, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/apr/06/new-renewable-energy-capacity-hit-record-levels-in-2019" target="_blank">The Guardian reported</a>. As is the fact that more than one third of global power is now provided by renewable sources like <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/wind" target="_self">wind </a>and <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/solar" target="_self">solar</a>. But IRENA Director General Francesco La Camera warned that governments must not backtrack on this progress as they work to jump start their economies in the wake of the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/coronavirus" target="_self">coronavirus</a> pandemic.</p><p>"In responding to today's crisis, governments may be tempted to focus on short-term solutions," he said, according to The Guardian. "Yet distinctions between short-, medium- and long-term challenges may be deceptive. The pandemic shows that delayed action brings significant economic consequences."</p>
<p>Overall, the report found that renewable energy added slightly less overall capacity in 2019 compared to 2018, at 176 gigawatts (GW) compared to 179. However, the amount of new fossil fuel power added also declined, The Guardian pointed out. Renewables also grew 2.6 times more than <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/fossil-fuels" target="_self">fossil fuels</a> and made up 72 percent of new energy capacity added, the report found.</p><p>"Renewable energy is a cost-effective source of new power that insulates power markets and consumers from volatility, supports economic stability and stimulates sustainable growth," La Camera said in a press release. "With renewable additions providing the majority of new capacity last year, it is clear that many countries and regions recognise the degree to which the energy transition can deliver positive outcomes."<br></p>
<span style="display:block;position:relative;padding-top:56.25%;" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="faf754a5956580fd7dede349f06403d6"><iframe lazy-loadable="true" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/2mw7Ohm_3Ng?rel=0" width="100%" height="auto" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;"></iframe></span>
<p>Renewable energy grew by 7.6 percent in 2019. On a regional level, 54 percent of that growth occurred in Asia. When it comes to power sources, 90 percent of the growth was driven by solar and wind, which increased by 98 GW and around 60 GW respectively.</p>
<div id="01e09" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="a8723fd1b1635524d4e6ecc457763ad1"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1247194856730046469" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">#Renewableenergy capacity additions in 2019 took #renewables share of all global power capacity to 34.7%, up from 3… https://t.co/dW1lUHsBzH</div> — IRENA (@IRENA)<a href="https://twitter.com/IRENA/statuses/1247194856730046469">1586189400.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p>However the 2020 outlook may be less bright, <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2020/04/06/the-coronavirus-is-hitting-renewable-energy-supply-chains-factories.html" target="_blank">CNBC reported</a>. There are concerns that the coronavirus pandemic and the plummeting of oil prices may decrease renewable energy investments, and there are already signs that the virus is interfering with renewable energy supply chains.</p><p>For example, Wood Mackenzie projected on Monday that 3 GW of wind and solar installation in India could be delayed because of the coronavirus lockdown and noted that the solar sector in India was heavily dependent on photovoltaic imports from China, which were impacted by the virus.</p><p>Meanwhile, the Global Wind Energy Council said in late March that wind's previously projected growth over the next five years would "undoubtedly be impacted by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, due to disruptions to global supply chains and project execution in 2020."</p><p>WindEurope said 18 manufacturing sites in hard-hit Spain and Italy are now closed, though the majority of the continent's wind turbine factories remain open.</p><p>"As an existential threat, the multi-faceted fallout from coronavirus … now sits alongside climate change as a defining challenge of our time," La Camera wrote, as CNBC reported.</p>
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Clear skies are seen above Kathmandu Valley during the nationwide coronavirus lockdown on March 29, 2020 in Kathmandu, Nepal, one of the most polluted cities in the world. Narayan Maharjan / NurPhoto / Getty Images
By Stephanie Hanes
Earlier this month, health care experts from across the United States gathered to address hundreds of journalists and policymakers by webinar. But their focus was not testing, nor vaccines, nor "herd immunity." It was not even COVID-19, really. Instead, their focus was climate change.
<p>"While many see issues like climate change and biodiversity loss as far from what's going on right now … I see this as the time to talk about it," said Aaron Bernstein, a pediatrician at Boston Children's Hospital and a professor at Harvard Medical School. "Climate solutions are, in fact, pandemic solutions."</p><p>A few days later, economists and policy experts with the World Resources Institute held their own panel discussion. The message was similar, and the audience one of the largest in the organization's history. The experience of and response to COVID-19, proclaimed expert after expert, was intricately tied to climate.</p><p>Indeed, increasing numbers of researchers and policymakers, scientists and health care practitioners, are looking at the coronavirus through an ecological lens. Whether they are focused on consumer behavioral shifts, changes in emission outputs, or policy decisions that might help or hurt long-term goals for green infrastructure, they are seeing in this moment a pivotal chance to address climate change.</p><p>"As we respond to the very imminent economic and health crisis, can we also tackle the climate and sustainability crisis?" asked Manish Bapna, WRI's managing director and executive vice president.</p>
<p>There have been a number of short-term environmental shifts connected with how the world is coping with the pandemic. China's carbon emissions dropped 18% between the beginning of February and mid-March, according to data compiled by the website CarbonBrief. Pollution over India has decreased dramatically, according to satellite images from NASA's Earth Observatory. And in the U.S., a dramatic decrease in air travel, as well as a drop in vehicular travel, has also lowered emissions. </p><p>But many of these changes are temporary, researchers say, and may barely register on any long-term analysis of global carbon emissions. The drop in China's carbon output, for instance, came alongside a lockdown over much of the country and a related plunge in factory operations. As the country reopens, says Fang Li, chief representative of the World Resources Institute in Beijing, emissions are expected to rebound along with the economy. After the global financial crisis of 2008 and 2009, Dr. Fang and others point out, global emissions grew rapidly. </p>
Renewing a Focus
<p>For many climate advocates, this is a reason to push green initiatives now. Environmentalists worry that unless policymakers focus on climate as part of their economic packages, the pandemic could lead to policy shifts that would undermine years of hard-won climate victories. Indeed, the Trump administration in late March announced that it would weaken Obama-era fuel standards that mandate increased fuel efficiencies for automobiles. It also announced last month that the Environmental Protection Agency will not enforce environmental regulations during the pandemic.</p><p>"What we have to worry about is whether ... policy changes are going to be long term or short term," says Christopher Jones, director of the CoolClimate Network at the University of California, Berkeley. "If we roll back standards and they remain in place when the economy comes back, we are going to have a real problem." </p><p>Researchers say that a green economic stimulus package could both help the U.S. ensure long-term sustainability and rebound from the crushing economic impact of the pandemic. (More than 26 million Americans have filed for <a href="https://www.csmonitor.com/Business/2020/0401/Faces-of-the-new-jobs-crisis-from-restaurants-to-real-estate" target="_blank">unemployment</a> benefits since March 15, according to the U.S. Labor Department.) Many environmentalists look at the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the stimulus package signed by President Barack Obama in 2009, as an example of how government initiatives can spur climate-friendly industry. That bill, which earmarked some $90 billion to promote green energy, is widely credited with launching the widespread renewable energy sector in the U.S. </p><p>"Economic measures should focus on climate as well as jobs and livelihood," Mr. Bapna said during the WRI panel.</p><p>But as Kenneth Gillingham, a professor at Yale University and a research fellow at the National Bureau of Economics Research, points out, the pandemic itself has slowed renewable energy efforts.</p><p>"There's a slowing down of building new solar farms, of new wind facilities," he says. "Some projects are hitting the pause button. Other projects may not happen for a long time."</p><p>And while there is hope for a green renewal, he suspects the future will be a good deal more nuanced.</p><p>"Entirely rebuilding our economy as a green economy? It's a wonderful vision, but I don't believe that's what we'll likely see," he says.</p>
Inequality, Exacerbated
<p>But a move toward environmental sustainability, says Dr. Bernstein, is going to be crucial not only for combatting a climate crisis, but for helping some of the people most impacted by the coronavirus. As he points out, both the pandemic and the impacts from climate change disproportionately affect people of color and other marginalized groups.</p><p>There is, he and others say, a hopeful lesson to be taken from the massive lifestyle and economic shifts seen across the globe in response to COVID-19. For years, popular wisdom has said that people simply would not engage in the sort of behavior changes necessary to fight climate change; that they wouldn't stop traveling, wouldn't stop consuming, wouldn't sacrifice material comforts and help save others who are most immediately at risk from climate change. Now, the response to the pandemic suggests otherwise. </p><p>"We are able to mobilize the entire global economy and population for an imminent threat," says Dr. Jones. "Both climate change and this pandemic both affect the most vulnerable. But everybody is willing to make personal sacrifices to protect the most vulnerable. I think that's quite new."</p><p>The question, he and others say, is whether people will be able to see climate change as a similarly "imminent threat," deserving of action. While climate researchers look at the world's increasingly frequent and severe natural disasters and see a direct connection to human behavior, research shows that most everyday people still feel disconnected from both the impacts and causes of climate change.</p><p>"We don't experience risk properly," says Katharine Hayhoe, professor and director of the Texas Tech University Climate Science Center. </p><p>But with the coronavirus, researchers say, there is a chance to shift.</p><p>"It can make people feel that what was previously unthinkable is plausible," Dr. Jones says. "They know what the experience feels like."</p>
<p class=""><em style="">This story originally appeared in <a href="https://www.csmonitor.com/" target="_blank">The Christian Science Monitor</a></em> <em>and is republished here as part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story.</em></p>From Your Site Articles
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Luxy Images / Getty Images
By Jo Harper
Investment in U.S. offshore wind projects are set to hit $78 billion (€69 billion) this decade, in contrast with an estimated $82 billion for U.S. offshore oil and gasoline projects, Wood Mackenzie data shows. This would be a remarkable feat only four years after the first offshore wind plant — the 30 megawatt (MW) Block Island Wind Farm off the coast of Rhode Island — started operating in U.S. waters.
<p>According to the Department of Energy (DOE), there are 28 US offshore wind projects in the planning stage, with the biggest clusters along the East Coast, from Massachusetts to Virginia. There are also 15 active commercial leases for offshore wind development in the U.S. and if they are fully built, there is the potential to support approximately 25 GW of offshore wind capacity.<span></span></p>
<p><em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/offshore-us-wind-power-blown-on-course/a-54121338" target="_blank">Deutsche Welle</a>.<a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/r/entryeditor/2646394500#/" target="_self"></a></em><em></em></p>
<p>Wind energy, both onshore and offshore, is now the US's top choice for new power, with 39% of new utility-scale power sector additions at 107 GW — enough to power 32 million homes. It is also the largest renewable energy source in the country, supplying over 7% of the nation's electricity.</p><p>The domestic offshore wind market is smaller than the onshore sector, where capacity is now over 100 GW, but growing. "The shift of investment towards offshore wind in the US is due to a decreasing amount of leasable space on land because an increasing number of landowners and communities are objecting to local siting," says Annie Hawkins, Executive Director, Responsible Offshore Development Alliance (RODA).</p><p>"From an environmental perspective, there is a limited amount of space that can reasonably be developed without significant impacts to ocean ecosystems and the existing ocean resource economy," Hawkins adds.</p><p><a href="https://www.dw.com/en/has-the-wind-been-taken-from-the-sails-of-europes-renewable-future/a-50886866" target="_blank">Europe has long been the global leader in offshore wind generation</a>, with the U.S. focused on developing land-based wind facilities. According to industry body WindEurope, overall offshore capacity for European nations is 22 GW, with 4,000 offshore wind turbines erected in the waters of 11 countries, with a combined power generation capacity of 15.8 GW, enough to supply around 15 mid-size cities.</p>
Corporates Shift
<p>Helping to drive offshore growth, U.S. corporate buyers <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/cities-leading-the-transition-to-renewables/a-42850621" target="_blank">are increasingly relying on wind energy to power their businesses</a>. Walmart and AT&T are the two top corporate wind buyers, while 14 newcomers entered the wind market in 2019, including Estée Lauder and McDonald's.</p><p>"Oil and gas companies have jumped into the U.S. offshore wind market, where they can transfer expertise in offshore fossil fuel development to clean energy investments," says Max Cohen, principal analyst, Americas Power & Renewable research at Wood Mackenzie. Many international oil and gas companies have already recognized this huge potential and entered the US offshore wind market, including Orsted, Equinor and Shell.</p><p>"Given the recent tumult in oil prices, fossil fuel companies may more and more be looking to diversify their portfolios, particularly with assets that are contracted or offer returns uncorrelated with oil and gas," Cohen says. "Offshore wind is an area where they may have a comparative advantage, and they can then leverage the experience with that technology to make the leap to onshore wind, solar, and other renewable technologies," he says.</p>East Coast leads the way
<p>"There is enormous opportunity, especially off the East Coast, for wind. I am very bullish," said former Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke. "Market excitement is moving towards offshore wind. I haven't seen this kind of enthusiasm from industry since the Bakken shale boom," he said.</p><p>Offshore wind initiatives require excessive upfront spending: a 250 MW venture costs about $1 billion, based on International Energy Agency data, but as costs fall the tipping point after which costs fall faster gets nearer</p><p>"The opportunity has been created by Northeastern states seeing the large price declines for offshore wind in Europe," says Cohen. Onshore wind is historically the lowest cost renewable resource, but is at its most expensive in the Northeast, he adds. "But costs are falling slower than for other technologies," he says.</p><p><a href="https://www.dw.com/en/german-firms-welcome-says-new-jersey-governor/a-45961888" target="_blank">In New England and New York the intense "Not-In-My-Backyard" culture</a> (NIMBYism) also makes offshore wind potentially easier to build, Cohen adds. States along the East Coast are aiming to develop over 28 GW of offshore capacity by 2035, with 16 GW of new targets announced in 2019 alone. To help meet these targets, states and utilities selected 4,404 MW of offshore wind capacity through state-issued solicitations in 2019.</p><p>Offshore wind has also benefited from targets set by east-coast states for electrical energy. New York state aims to have 9,000 MW of capability by 2035. New Jersey has dedicated to have 7,500 MW, while Virginia's governor in April signed the 'Clean Economy Act' which requires at the least 5,200 MW of offshore wind by 2034. Massachusetts is committed to purchasing 1,600MW of offshore wind by 2027.</p><p>"The US has a vast offshore wind energy resource with a technical potential of more than 2,000 gigawatts (GW), or nearly double the nation's current electricity use," says Samuel Brock of the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA).</p>
Jobs and Coastal Revitalization
<p>U.S. wind energy now supports 120,000 US jobs and 530 domestic factories. A study by the University of Delaware predicted that the supply chain needed to build offshore turbines to feed power to seven East Coast states by 2030 would generate nearly $70 billion in economic activity and at least 40,000 full-time jobs. An American Wind Energy Association's (AWEA's) March 2020 report estimated that developing 30,000 MW of offshore wind along the East Coast could support up to 83,000 jobs and $25 billion in annual economic output by 2030.</p><p>Having said that, not all of the jobs are American jobs. The offshore wind developers with commercial leases in the US are all foreign companies. There is growing interest from the shipbuilding sector in the Gulf of Mexico in partnering with offshore wind companies to provide services. As a result, some of the US oil trade associations have submitted comments supporting certain aspects of offshore wind. "However, it is unclear to what extent offshore wind developers plan to use US vessels and crew, and the existing projects did not incorporate US vessels or labor at all," Hawkins says.</p>From Your Site Articles
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Trump Admin Sits on $43 Billion Intended for Clean Energy Loans While Unemployment Soars
01 May
Politics
In September 2011, the DOE issued a $90.6 million loan guarantee to finance Alamosa, a 29.3-MW high concentration photovoltaic solar generation project in Colorado. The project started commercial operations in April 2012 and created 75 construction jobs and hundreds of supply chain jobs across several states. U.S. Department of Energy
While the nation struggles to find ways to put money in peoples' pockets and to ramp up the economy so people can get back to work, over $43 billion in low-interest loans earmarked for clean energy projects sits undistributed by the Trump administration, according to The New York Times.
<p>The president has long questioned the efficacy of renewable energy sources, has suggested that <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/wind">wind</a> turbines cause cancer, and championed <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/coal">coal</a> as a clean and efficient source of power. Despite his reluctance to champion green energy infrastructure, some lawmakers and energy experts think it is unacceptable that tens of billions of dollars that Congress long ago authorized, with bipartisan support, has not been dispersed.</p><p>"We're searching high and low all over Washington, DC, for money to put people back to work and here we have more than $40 billion," said Dan Reicher, executive director of the Steyer-Taylor Center for Energy Policy and Finance at Stanford University, who served at the Energy Department in the Clinton administration, to <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/30/climate/clean-energy-loans-coronavirus-trump.html" target="_blank">The New York Times</a>. "This is the moment to really put these programs back in gear."</p><p>The loans passed through Congress well before the coronavirus forced nearly 30 million people into unemployment. However, they have been held up by the Energy Department.</p>
<p>"They haven't put out any or almost any of these loans since he's become president," said Representative Frank Pallone Jr. of New Jersey, chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, as <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/30/climate/clean-energy-loans-coronavirus-trump.html" target="_blank">The New York Times</a> reported. "There's an ideological or political aspect to this. The president is not someone who seeks to promote the clean energy sector."</p><p>Holding up the loans during the pandemic seems particularly strange since the money could help many people to start working. Anne Reynolds with the Alliance for Clean Energy told <a href="https://www.politico.com/states/new-york/city-hall/story/2020/04/19/dead-in-the-water-new-yorks-clean-energy-sector-looks-for-a-jump-start-1277764" target="_blank">POLITICO</a> that energy efficiency companies have laid off between 40 and 50 percent of their workforce.</p><p>In New York, for example, the state saw layoffs to nearly 5,000 clean energy jobs in March. Congressman Pallone said that the renewable energy sector had created more than 3 million jobs.</p>
<p>"These utility-led programs could drive significant job and economic growth statewide as we step out of our current pause," said Reynolds, as <a href="https://www.politico.com/states/new-york/city-hall/story/2020/04/19/dead-in-the-water-new-yorks-clean-energy-sector-looks-for-a-jump-start-1277764" target="_blank">POLITICO</a> reported. "We are at risk of losing a skilled and trained workforce as work is stalled, and job losses and furloughs accelerate."</p><p>While an injection of capital would help restart green energy projects and allow companies to hire back employees, there is little reason to believe the Trump administration will issue any of the loans.</p>The last new project to be approved under the loan program was in 2016, under the Obama administration. To get the money out of the government's hands and into an investment in renewable energy infrastructure, Pallone said he plans to find a way to address the unspent loans in the next stimulus.
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Power to heat, to cool, to drive the world's industries. Renewables can supply it all. Jason Blackeye / Unsplash
By Paul Brown
Virtually all the world's demand for electricity to run transport and to heat and cool homes and offices, as well as to provide the power demanded by industry, could be met by renewable energy by mid-century.
<p>This is <a href="https://web.stanford.edu/group/efmh/jacobson/Articles/I/CombiningRenew/100PercentPaperAbstracts.pdf" target="_blank">the consensus of 47 peer-reviewed research papers</a> from 13 independent groups with a total of 91 authors that have been brought together by Stanford University in California.</p><p>Some of the papers take a broad sweep across the world, adding together the potential for each technology to see if individual countries or whole regions could survive on renewables.</p><p>Special examinations of small island states, sub-Saharan Africa and individual countries like Germany look to see what are the barriers to progress and how they could be removed.</p><p>In every case the findings are that the technology exists to achieve 100% renewable power if the political will to achieve it can be mustered.</p>
<p>The collection of papers is a powerful rebuff to those who say that renewables are not reliable or cannot be expanded fast enough to take over from <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/fossil-fuels" target="_self">fossil fuels</a> and <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/nuclear" target="_self">nuclear</a> power.</p><p>Once proper energy efficiency measures are in place, a combination of <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/wind" target="_self">wind</a>, <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/solar" target="_self">solar</a> and water power, with various forms of storage capacity, can add up to 100% of energy needs in every part of the planet.</p><p>Stanford puts one of its own papers at the top of the list. It studies the impacts of <a href="https://climatenewsnetwork.net/green-new-deal-aims-for-triple-payback/" target="_blank">the Green New Deal proposals</a> on grid stability, costs, jobs, health and climate in 143 countries.</p><p>With the world already <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/environment/earth-1-half-degrees-global-warming-nine-years-climate-change-paris-agreement-a7726846.html" target="_blank">approaching 1.5°C of heating</a>, it says, seven million people killed by <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/air-pollution" target="_self">air pollution</a> annually, and limited fossil fuel resources potentially sparking conflict, Stanford's researchers wanted to compare business-as-usual with a 100% transition to wind-water-solar energy, efficiency and storage by 2050 – with at least 80% by 2030.</p><p>By grouping the countries of the world together into 24 regions co-operating on grid stability and storage solutions, supply could match demand by 2050-2052 with 100% reliance on renewables. The amount of energy used overall would be reduced by 57.1%, costs would fall by a similar amount, and 28.6 million more long-term full-time jobs would be created than under business-as-usual.</p>
<h3>Clean Air Bonus</h3><p>The remarkable consensus among researchers is perhaps surprising, since climate and weather conditions differ so much in different latitudes. It seems though that as the cost of renewables, particularly wind and solar, has tumbled, and energy storage solutions multiplied, every part of the world can now find a system that edges fossil fuels out in costs.</p><p>That, plus the benefit of clean air, particularly in Asian countries like <a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2019/03/7-of-the-world-s-10-most-polluted-cities-are-in-india/" target="_blank">India</a> and <a href="https://climatenewsnetwork.net/air-quality/" target="_blank">China</a>, makes renewables far more beneficial on any cost-benefit analysis.</p><p>The appearance of so many papers mirrors the consensus that climate scientists have managed to achieve in warning the world's political leaders that time is running out for them to act to keep the temperature below dangerous levels.</p><p>Since in total the solutions offered cover countries producing more than 97% of the world's greenhouse gases, they provide a blueprint for <a href="https://sdg.iisd.org/events/2020-un-climate-change-conference-unfccc-cop-26/" target="_blank">the next round of UN climate talks, to be held in Glasgow in November</a>. At COP-26, as the conference is called, politicians will be asked to make new commitments to avoid dangerous <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/climate-change">climate change</a>.</p><p>This Stanford file shows them that all they need is political will for them to be able to achieve climate stability.</p>
<p><em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://climatenewsnetwork.net/renewable-energy-could-power-the-world-by-2050/" target="_blank">Climate News Network</a>.</em></p>From Your Site Articles
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Apple and 10 of its suppliers in China are investing nearly $300 million to develop projects totaling 1 gigawatt of renewable energy. Photo courtesy of Apple
The computer and phone giant Apple pledged to be carbon neutral by 2030, following the lead of other tech companies dedicated to mitigating their impact on the climate crisis. Apple's commitment extends to its massive supply chain, which supplies computers, tablets and iPhones to customers around the world.
<p>Apple, which has already achieved carbon neutrality for its corporate operations, said the new commitment means that every iPhone, MacBook and iPad sold will have no climate impact, as <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2020/07/21/apple-pledges-be-carbon-neutral-by-2030/" target="_blank">The Washington Post</a> reported.</p><p>The company has several strategies for achieving its goal to wipe out its carbon footprint in the next decade. It will shift towards a low-carbon product design and use recycled materials as much as possible. It will develop new techniques in manufacturing, like a carbon-free aluminum smelting process, as <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2020/jul/21/apple-promises-to-become-fully-carbon-neutral-by-2030" target="_blank">The Guardian</a> reported.</p><p>Apple will also ramp up its use of <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/renewable-energy/">renewable energy</a> for projects funded by and built for Apple. The company will also remove carbon from the atmosphere through reforestation projects in Colombia, China, Kenya and the U.S., according to The Guardian.</p><p>That means Apple plans to reduce emissions by 75 percent by 2030 while developing innovative carbon removal solutions for the remaining 25 percent of its comprehensive footprint, according to a <a href="https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2020/07/apple-commits-to-be-100-percent-carbon-neutral-for-its-supply-chain-and-products-by-2030/" target="_blank">press release</a>.</p>
<p>"Businesses have a profound opportunity to help build a more sustainable future, one born of our common concern for the planet we share," said Tim Cook, Apple's CEO, in a <a href="https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2020/07/apple-commits-to-be-100-percent-carbon-neutral-for-its-supply-chain-and-products-by-2030/" target="_blank">press release</a>. "The innovations powering our environmental journey are not only good for the planet — they've helped us make our products more energy efficient and bring new sources of clean energy online around the world. Climate action can be the foundation for a new era of innovative potential, job creation, and durable economic growth. With our commitment to carbon neutrality, we hope to be a ripple in the pond that creates a much larger change."</p>
<p>In addition to the announcement about its plan to be carbon neutral in a decade, the company released its 2020 Environmental Progress Report on Tuesday. Apple said it slashed its carbon dioxide emissions by 4.3 million metric tons in 2019. That represents a 35 percent drop in absolute carbon dioxide emissions since the company's peak in 2015. It has achieved the reduction while still selling more products, as <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2020/7/21/21332461/apple-carbon-neutral-2030-climate-change" target="_blank">The Verge</a> reported. Apple has been able to cut back on its greenhouse gas emissions by using recycled materials and improving the energy efficiency of its products. Its products use 73 percent less energy on average now than they did 11 years ago.</p><p>"This is a moment not to move away from the great challenge of climate change," Lisa Jackson, Apple vice president of environment, policy and social initiatives, told <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/07/21/tech/apple-climate-change/index.html" target="_blank">CNN Business</a>. "We wanted to step up and show we should all move even faster if we can because the situation is urgent and continuing to be more urgent."</p><p>However, as CNN noted, the company has not actually shared that data with scientists for independent verification. And, as The Verge pointed out, Apple is still an energy behemoth. It did emit 25.1 million metric tons of carbon in 2019, the equivalent to running six coal-fired power for the entire year.</p>
<p>The commitment did win praise from environmentalists. It marks a "significant step up from what we've seen from Apple in the past," said Elizabeth Jardim, senior corporate campaigner for Greenpeace USA, as The Washington Post reported. Cutting carbon emissions will "help prevent further catastrophic climate change — the impacts of which will fall most on Black, Brown, and Indigenous communities," she said.</p><p>"The world's largest and most profitable companies must act swiftly to minimize their reliance on <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/fossil-fuels">fossil fuels</a> throughout their operations by 2030 at the latest," Jardim said.</p>
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Graphic image of a thin film of protein nanowires generating electricity from atmospheric humidity. UMass Amherst / Yao and Lovley labs
Imagine painting your home with a special paint that also powers your lights using renewable energy drawn from the air.
<p>That might sound too good to be true, but researchers at the University of Massachusetts Amherst think it could be one of many future uses for a new technology they have developed — a device called the Air-gen that can, as its name suggests, generate electricity from moisture in the air.</p><p>"We are literally making electricity out of thin air," Amherst electrical engineer Jun Yao explained in a <a href="https://www.umass.edu/newsoffice/article/new-green-technology-umass-amherst" target="_blank">university press release</a>. "The Air-gen generates clean energy 24/7."</p><p>The device, explained in a <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-020-2010-9" target="_blank">Nature article published Monday</a>, is a unique collaboration between engineering and biology, according to the press release. Its origins lie within a microbe called <em>Geobacter </em>that study coauthor Derek Lovley discovered in the mud of the Potomac River more than 30 years ago. After studying the microbe, Lovley realized that it could produce protein nanowires that conduct electricity. Lovley and Yao then joined forces to see if there were practical applications for the microbe's power.</p>
<img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMjc3NDE2OS9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY1NjczNTgxMX0.7Tyb3w0ogPNArV8vYokC7H43yrPd1CeT3V9WjFyZsrk/img.jpg?width=980" id="6363a" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="3b2d9554acf8e0f114a4aaa5934a9fad" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />
The current Air-gen device can power small devices. UMass Amherst / Yao and Lovley labs
<p>It was one of Yao's PhD students who discovered the key was moisture.</p><p>"I saw that when the nanowires were contacted with electrodes in a specific way the devices generated a current. I found that that exposure to atmospheric humidity was essential and that protein nanowires adsorbed water, producing a voltage gradient across the device," Xiaomeng Liu said in the press release.</p><p><a href="https://www.sciencealert.com/scientists-generate-electricity-out-of-thin-air-with-device-that-runs-on-humidity" target="_blank">Science Alert</a> explained how the device is designed:</p><blockquote>The Air-gen consists of a thin film of the protein nanowires measuring just 7 micrometres thick, positioned between two electrodes, but also exposed to the air.<br><br>Because of that exposure, the nanowire film is able to <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adsorption" target="_blank">adsorb</a> water vapour that exists in the atmosphere, enabling the device to generate a continuous electrical current conducted between the two electrodes.</blockquote><p>Currently, 17 of these devices linked together can generate enough electricity to power a cell phone, <a href="https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2020/02/electric-bacteria-create-currents-out-thin-and-thick-air" target="_blank">Science Magazine explained</a>. While it requires some humidity, it can work in places as dry as the Sahara Desert.</p><p>Guo Wanlin, a materials scientist at Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics who wasn't involved with the study, told Science Magazine it was a "milestone advance" in the study of hydrovoltaics, the molecular generation of electricity from water.</p><p>The researchers hope to develop commercial applications for their device, which, Lovley argued in the press release, has major advantages over other sources of renewable energy like <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/wind" target="_self">wind</a> or <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/solar" target="_self">solar</a> since it can be used anywhere, even indoors.</p><p>Shorter term uses would include an Air-gen "patch" that would power Fitbits or smart watches, or a device that would power cell phones, eliminating the need for re-charging.</p><p>"The ultimate goal is to make large-scale systems," Yao said.</p><p>These would include the power-generating house paint, or a generator that would produce off-the-grid electricity. All that needs to happen is to find a way to mass produce the wires, and Lovley is headed in that direction with his successful genetic engineering of the fast-growing <em>E. coli</em> bacteria to produce the nanowires, Science Magazine reported.</p>
<p>"Once we get to an industrial scale for wire production, I fully expect that we can make large systems that will make a major contribution to sustainable energy production," Yao said in the press release.</p><p>However, Dirk de Beer of the Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology, who was not involved with the research, expressed reservations. He told Science Magazine that the paper made him "a bit concerned" because he wasn't sure where the electrons powering the Air-gen were coming from.</p><p>"I think a deeper understanding… is needed," he said.</p>
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A newly developed catalyst would transform carbon dioxide from power plants and other sources into ethanol. DWalker44 / E+ / Getty Images
Researchers at the Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory have discovered a cheap, efficient way to convert carbon dioxide into liquid fuel, potentially reducing the amount of new carbon dioxide pumped into the atmosphere.
<p>The method, published in <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41560-020-0666-x" target="_blank">Nature Energy in late July</a>, uses a copper-based catalyst to transform carbon dioxide into ethanol, which is used in almost all U.S. gasoline.</p><p>"The process resulting from our catalyst would contribute to the circular carbon economy, which entails the reuse of carbon dioxide," study coauthor and Argonne senior chemist Di-Jia Liu explained in a <a href="https://www.anl.gov/article/turning-carbon-dioxide-into-liquid-fuel" target="_blank">press release</a>.</p>
<p>Catalysts are an important tool in industrial processes used to speed up chemical reactions, Argonne National Laboratory explained. In conventional energy, they are used to convert heavy <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/oil" target="_self">oil</a> into jet fuel and gasoline. The new catalyst would be put to less carbon-intensive purposes by converting the carbon dioxide emitted by <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/fossil-fuel" target="_self">fossil-fuel</a> plants or alcohol fermentation into ethanol that could be either recycled as fuel or used to make chemicals, drugs or cosmetics. Liquid fuel can also be used to store the output from <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/renewable-energy/" target="_self">renewable energy</a> for future use, the paper explained.</p>
<p>In a 2019 <a href="https://www.vox.com/energy-and-environment/2019/11/13/20839531/climate-change-industry-co2-carbon-capture-utilization-storage-ccu" target="_blank">deep-dive for Vox</a> on different potential uses of carbon dioxide, David Roberts pointed out that it is always better from a <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/climate-change/" target="_self">climate crisis</a> standpoint to electrify energy use directly rather than using that power to convert carbon dioxide into fuel. However, carbon-based fuels could be an important tool for reducing the emissions of sectors that are hard to decarbonize otherwise, like industry. They do not remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, but they do reduce the amount of planet-warming emissions relative to what they would have been if conventional fuels were burned.</p><p>"Carbon-neutral liquid fuels for sectors that are difficult to decarbonize are both a large market and a key piece of the decarbonization puzzle," Roberts wrote.</p>
<p>But turning carbon dioxide into a different molecule is typically both energy intensive and expensive because carbon dioxide is so stable, according to the Argonne National Laboratory: The new catalyst, however, is highly efficient.</p><p>The lab explained how it works:</p><blockquote>The team's catalyst consists of atomically dispersed copper on a carbon-powder support. By an electrochemical reaction, this catalyst breaks down CO2 and water molecules and selectively reassembles the broken molecules into ethanol under an external electric field. The electrocatalytic selectivity, or "Faradaic efficiency," of the process is over 90 percent, much higher than any other reported process. What is more, the catalyst operates stably over extended operation at low voltage.</blockquote><p>Because the process can work at low pressures and temperatures, it can be paired with renewable energy technologies. This is because it will be able to stop and restart easily in response to a changing power supply.</p><p>"We could couple the electrochemical process of CO2-to-ethanol conversion using our catalyst to the electric grid and take advantage of the low-cost electricity available from renewable sources like <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/solar-energy" target="_self">solar</a> and <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/wind" target="_self">wind</a> during off-peak hours," Liu said.</p>
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A mostly empty 110 freeway toward downtown Los Angeles, California on April 28, 2020. Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
The shelter in place orders that brought clean skies to some of the world's most polluted cities and saw greenhouse gas emissions plummet were just a temporary relief that provided an illusory benefit to the long-term consequences of the climate crisis. According to new research, the COVID-19 lockdowns will have a "neglible" impact on global warming, as Newshub in New Zealand reported.
<p>The severe measures that were taken on a global scale to stem the tide of the novel coronavirus pandemic did curb pollution in the atmosphere, but the researchers found the impact will cut global heating by just 0.01 degrees Celsius by 2030, as <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/aug/07/covid-19-lockdown-will-have-negligible-impact-on-climate-crisis-study" target="_blank">The Guardian</a> reported.</p><p>"The direct effect of the pandemic-driven [lockdown] will be negligible," said the researchers, whose analysis was led by Piers Forster at the University of Leeds in the UK, as The Guardian reported. "In contrast, with an economic recovery tilted towards green stimulus and reductions in fossil fuel investments, it is possible to avoid future warming of 0.3C by 2050."</p>
<p>The study was published in <em><a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41558-020-0883-0" target="_blank">Nature Climate Change</a></em>. To figure out the impact of the lockdowns, the researchers looked at mobility data from Google and Apple in 123 countries that covers 99 percent of <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/fossil-fuels">fossil fuel</a> emissions. The information gives real-time information on travel and work patterns, which allows researchers to use advanced computations to estimate emissions levels, according to The Guardian.</p><p>Professor Keith Shine, at the University of Reading and not part of the study team, told The Guardian: "It is deeply impressive to get such a near-real-time analysis of the climate impact [of the lockdowns]."</p><p>What they found was that emissions from people using transportation was at its lowest in April, with nitrogen oxide levels falling by 30 percent and carbon dioxide levels dropping by 25 percent, according to Newshub.</p>
<p>Professor Dave Reay, chair of carbon management at the University of Edinburgh who was not involved in the study, told Newshub that the results are not surprising "given the long lifetime of carbon dioxide and the massive pool of fossil carbon already swilling around in our atmosphere."</p><p>The declines show that swift and decisive changes in how people behave have the potential to dramatically impact the environment in the short term. That was evident in the cleaner skies and the suddenly visible animals in Venice's canals and the streets of various cities. In Wuhan, China, the epicenter of the outbreak, air quality improved so much that NASA satellite imagery showed the average density of tropospheric nitrogen dioxide – a toxic chemical that reduces immunity – dropped significantly below normal levels, as Newshub reported.</p>
<p>Of course, those lockdowns came with a steep economic price as people were put out of work and supply chains and distribution were severely disrupted. In other words, lockdowns of that scale are so damaging that they are impossible to maintain. Furthermore, once the lockdowns lifted, emissions levels started to rise again. That phenomenon means the world needs to transition to a zero-emissions economy by investing in <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/renewable-energy/">renewable energy</a> and burying CO2, according to the researchers, as The Guardian reported.</p><p>"It is now make or break for the 1.5 Celsius target," said Forster, as The Guardian reported. "This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to really change the direction of society. We do not have to go back to where we were, because times of crisis are also the time to change."</p>
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100% Renewable Energy in Virginia? It Is the First Southern State to Commit
13 March
Renewable Energy
Gov. Ralph Northam delivers the State of the Commonwealth address at the Virginia State Capitol on Jan. 8, 2020 in Richmond, Virginia. Zach Gibson / Getty Images
Virginia, which now has a Democrat as governor and Democrats in control of the statehouse, has followed the lead of several other blue states and committed itself to transition away from fossil fuels to a clean, renewable, carbon-free energy, as Vox reported. It makes Virginia the first state in the South to commit to 100 percent clean energy.
<p>Last September, Gov. Ralph Northam signed an <a href="https://www.governor.virginia.gov/media/governorvirginiagov/executive-actions/EO-43-Expanding-Access-to-Clean-Energy-and-Growing-the-Clean-Energy-Jobs-of-the-Future.pdf" target="_blank">executive order</a> for the state to run on 100 percent <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/renewable-energy/" rel="noopener noreferrer">renewable energy</a> completely by 2050. His order forced several state agencies to create a plan for meeting that goal and for moving 30 percent of the state's power to renewable sources in the next decade, <a href="https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/virginia-governor-sets-renewable-energy-goal-of-100-percent-by-2050" target="_blank">according to PBS</a>. The order also brought Virginia into the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), a nine state carbon-trading market. </p>
<p>However, Republicans had control of the state house and prohibited Virginia from joining the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative. Yet, in November, the balance of power shifted to Democrats. That led to last week's passage of the <a href="https://www.vacleaneconomy.org/" target="_blank">Virginia Clean Economy Act</a>, as Vox reported.</p>
<p>Virginia now joins seven other states — California, Hawaii, Maine, Nevada, New Mexico, New York and Washington — along with Washington DC and Puerto Rico, which have passed similar legal requirements. More states, <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/oregon-executive-order-climate-2645460120.html" target="_self">like Oregon</a>, will have similar laws enacted soon. </p>
<p>The bill actually pushed Northam's mandate up five years for Dominion Energy, one of the state's two power companies. It will run on clean energy by 2045, at the latest. The other, Appalachian Power, will have to 2050 to transition. </p>
<p>The bill also calls for setting targets for massive investments in energy efficiency, energy storage and in-state solar and wind power, according to <a href="https://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/virginia-100-clean-energy-by-2050-mandate-law" target="_blank">Green Tech Media</a>. It also brings the state back into the RGGI carbon-trading network.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.vacleaneconomy.org/" target="_blank">Virginia Clean Economy Act</a> will also hold costs down and protect low-income and vulnerable communities. It also requires the state's energy suppliers to boost power storage, increase their offshore wind energy generation and invest in rooftop solar panels, according to Vox. </p>
<p>"The cost of doing nothing is staggering," said State Sen. Jennifer McClellan of Richmond, as the <a href="https://www.virginiamercury.com/2020/02/11/virginia-clean-economy-act-passes-as-debate-reveals-deep-partisan-and-regional-divides/" target="_blank">Virginia Mercury reported</a>. "Yes, this is a big bill, but it does some very important things that Virginia is far, far behind in doing. … Sometimes change is necessary to meet a greater good."</p>
<p>While the bill faced criticism from Republicans who sounded the usual dog whistle of clean energy costing jobs and being expensive, it also faced Democratic defections, mainly from delegates who believed the bill isn't strong enough.</p>
<p>General Assembly Delegate Ibraheem Samirah of Fairfax did not cast a vote, saying in a statement that he abstained "because the legislation fails to rise to the level of urgency needed to tackle the climate crisis," according to the Virginia Mercury.</p>
<p>Unlike in Oregon, where Republicans fled the state to stop the state from establishing a cap-and-trade market, Virginia Republicans do not have the option of walking out and shutting down the legislature, as Vox reported.</p>
<p>Virginia has two major power suppliers, Dominion Energy and Appalachian Power. The two hold enormous lobbying power and have resisted progress toward clean energy. However, a broad coalition sprouted up to support the Virginia Clean Economy Act. </p>
<p>As <a href="https://www.greenbiz.com/article/how-companies-led-way-clean-energy-virginia" target="_blank">GreenBiz</a> noted:</p><blockquote>[A] broad coalition of clean energy businesses, environmental groups, grassroots groups and lawmakers came together to craft the bills, negotiate with the state's major utilities and shepherd them to final passage.<br>A number of businesses that are not tied to the energy sector also spoke up in support of these bills, helping state legislators understand that there is broad business support for decarbonizing the entire Virginia economy.<br></blockquote>
<p>Furthermore, a <a href="https://www.aee.net/articles/report-virginia-would-gain-from-transition-to-clean-electricity" target="_blank">study by Advanced Energy Economy</a> concluded that the bill would lower rates, create jobs and boost the state's GDP. Advanced energy, especially efficiency, is a huge and growing source of employment in the state, according to an <a href="https://info.aee.net/advanced-energy-jobs-for-virgina-0" target="_blank">AEE analysis</a>, as <a href="https://www.vox.com/energy-and-environment/2020/3/12/21172836/renewable-energy-virginia-100-percent-clean" target="_blank">Vox</a> reported.</p>
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