This post was originally published on RenewEconomy. The latest auction of solar energy capacity in India has achieved a new record low price of 4.34 rupees/kWh, prompting the country’s energy minister Piyush Goyal to say that solar tariffs are now cheaper than coal-fired generation. The results of a reverse auction tender of 420MW of solar capacity conducted by the Rajasthan …
The Real Cost of Energy Storage
Originally published on RMI Outlet. By David Labrador In November 2015, financial advisory firm Lazard released its first-ever Levelized Cost of Storage Analysis (LCOS). Well known for its Levelized Cost of Energy Analysis (LCOE) analysis—now out in version 9.0—Lazard publishing an analysis of storage is a major sign that it considers battery energy storage a critical technology that’s here to …
Paths to 100% clean energy for 139 countries and all US states, based on electricity use and source by 15 min. interval
The idea of hitting 100% renewable energy (yes, energy, not just electricity) scares a lot of people. That is, a lot of people don’t think their cities or countries can achieve 100% renewable energy. However, a leading energy researcher at Stanford has led teams of researchers in order to practically show how 139 different countries could go 100% renewable. You …
Access to FEMA funds will require state hazard mitigation plans that address climate change
The Federal Emergency Management Agency is making it tougher for governors to deny man-made climate change. Starting next year, the agency will approve disaster preparedness funds only for states whose governors approve hazard mitigation plans that address climate change. This may put several Republican governors who maintain the earth isn’t warming due to human activities, or prefer to do nothing …
Sacramento Has the Most Net-Zero Buildings of Any City in America and California has half the net-zero buildings in the US
California is home to more than half of all the net-zero buildings in the U.S., according to a new survey from the Net-Zero Energy Coalition. The survey is the first effort to catalog all of the zero-energy buildings in North America. California announced last year that it wants to create a self-sustaining market allowing all new homes to be net …
Studies show CO2 concentrations that we are headed toward have a huge impact on cognitive functioning
In a landmark public health finding, a new study from the Harvard School of Public Health finds that carbon dioxide (CO2) has a direct and negative impact on human cognition and decision-making. These impacts have been observed at CO2 levels that most Americans — and their children — are routinely exposed to today inside classrooms, offices, homes, planes, and cars. …
What Will It Take For America To Go 100 Percent Renewable?
Cross-posted from Think Progress In 2013, Greensburg, KS — a town of less than 800 residents about 100 miles from Wichita — became the first city in the United States to go 100 percent renewable, powering their homes, businesses, and municipal buildings via wind power. In 2014, Burlington, VT joined Greensburg, becoming the largest city in the United States to …
Sec 115 of the Clean Air Act triggered when US emissions contribute to air pollution endangering public health or welfare in another country
There are provisions in the Clean Air Act that amount to, “If it’s in the air and it harms people, regulate it,” without specifying what “it” might be. Rather, the law allows for periodic scientific reviews to hone our understanding of human vulnerability to atmospheric pollutants. As scientists better understand the threats, administrators are empowered to update regulatory protections, without …
Government staff sued over differential impacts of mobile source emissions
UK environment ministers will be taken to court within weeks to make them speed up plans to reduce dangerous urban air pollution. Law firm ClientEarth, which last year forced the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) to come up with fresh plans to tackle illegal NO2 levels in British cities, warned that it would seek urgent court …
Cities showing the way
Cape Town – Water Conservation and Demand Management Program CREDIT: SHUTTERSTOCK Despite its location on the southern coast of Africa, Cape Town was built in a semi-arid area where water is a precious resource. At the same time, the city is experiencing rapid population growth, with its population expanding 30 percent between 2001 and 2011. In 2007, Cape town instituted …