Excerpt from Common Dreams, July 2019 “Warning Lights Are Flashing” “The country’s economic foundation is fragile. A single shock could bring it all down,” Elizabeth Warren wrote recently. “And the Trump administration’s reckless behavior is increasing the odds of just such a shock.” Among the potential triggers she laid out is the level of household debt. Warren referenced recent data …
Labor supports a just transition to a greener, fairer economy
A greener economy can be a fairer economy too, says the Trades Union Congress. The TUC has published A just transition to a greener, fairer economy – a roadmap to meeting the needs of working people in the transition to a low-carbon economy. The launch event included speakers such as the Shadow Environment Secretary Rebecca Long-Bailey and Deputy Chair of the Committee on …
Distributed renewables and storage ‘very competitive on a price perspective with the bigger front-of-the-meter batteries’ to replace peaker plants
Whereas the 20-megawatt battery will literally replace the peaker turbines, the Sunrun deal will provide 2 megawatt-hours of energy storage (500 kilowatts with 4-hour duration) scattered throughout the service territory, but with an emphasis on West Oakland. The contract stipulates that Sunrun will pay prevailing wages to install the equipment on low-income single-family and multifamily homes within Alameda County. Instead …
Denver Initiative Would Raise Over $40 Million for Housing Efficiency, Retrofits, Training and Support of EJ and Low Income Communities
We have submitted our ballot language with suggested improvements to the City Council Referred Initiative drafters. We would also appreciate all of your input on where you feel changes/improvements should be made. Please provide changes on the document as comments only or send suggestions to me that I will include in the document. Thank you all for your help! Here are several equity …
8 Essential Steps to Radically Transform Our Economy: An economic system that serves everyone and the planet is necessary for our survival.
Here are some guiding principles to get us there. David Korten posted Jul 02, 2019, in YES! Magazine We’re running out of time. There’s spreading awareness of the institutional failure that is driving humans toward self-extinction, and related calls for a deep transformation of our economy. This is happening in every quarter, from college campuses to the Vatican to the U.S. …
Researchers In Switzerland Say Zero Emission Society Will Require Seasonal Energy Storage
July 9th, 2019 by Steve Hanley on Clean Technica.com, Researchers In Switzerland Say Zero Emission Society Will Require Seasonal Energy Storage Researchers Martin Rüdisüli, Sinan Teske, and Urs Elber of the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology (EMPA) have studied what will be needed to make Switzerland able to use only zero carbon energy. Among their main conclusions is that the …
Now and near term next steps in market transformation planning related to efficiency
Developing an overall policy and market transformation framework that can be used to assess specific alternatives and that serves as a lens for more detailed program plan evaluation Utility Dive, July 3, 2019 https://www.utilitydive.com/news/market-transformation-moving-beyond-traditional-energy-efficiency-programs/557985/ During the summit, participants identified several commonalities regarding the steps to successful market transformation program design and implementation: Understand your market Create a logic model Draft …
Energy Justice and Just Transition Research
A range of measures such as near-term employment and wage protections, medium-term retraining and investment in alternative industries, and long-term education and innovation investment are central to ensuring protection and prosperity for people and communities. It is therefore imperative that governments work closely with businesses, local communities and labor representatives to produce just transition plans. Other examples of energy transitions …
Getting (almost) all our energy from the sun by 2050: Solar could meet approximately 68% of global energy demand with other renewables making up the rest
Solar could meet approximately 68% of global energy demand with other renewables making up the rest, according to a new report. A 100% renewable energy system could also create 22 million solar jobs by 2050, the study claims. Keeping global warming below 1.5 degrees C, though, would require FITs for projects up to 40 MW in capacity, auctions for bigger …
Curtailment Is The Easy Answer (until you get cheap storage, or even after)
June 15th, 2019 by Barry A.F. , Clean Technica In a recent article, we found that curtailment of renewables may be cheaper than grid scale energy storage. Sometimes, the simplest solution is the best solution. However, given the complexity of electrical grids around the world, we should also look at all of the available solutions to make sure we are making the best choice …