QUICK NEWS, December 2: REAGAN’S SEC-STATE AFFIRMS CLIMATE FIGHT; THE LIFE CYCLE IMPACTS OF WIND; MICHIGAN ENERGY SHORTAGE COMING?

REAGAN’S SEC-STATE AFFIRMS CLIMATE FIGHT Reagan Man Gone Solar Is Hint of a Thaw in U.S. Climate Debate

Alex Nussbaum, Mark Chediak and Zain Shauk Decedmber 1, 2014 (Bloomberg News)

“As Ronald Reagan’s secretary of state, George Shultz faced off against Muammar Qaddafi, the Soviet Union and Chinese communists…His latest cause, though, is one few fellow Republicans support: fighting climate change…Shultz, now a distinguished fellow at Stanford University, said the reality was driven home for him…[when] Gary Roughead, the U.S. Navy’s retired chief of naval operations…shared a time-lapse video of the Arctic ice cap shrinking over the last quarter-century…Opinion surveys show…[37 percent of Republicans and 61 percent of all Americans] believe there’s solid evidence the earth is warming…Republicans who buck the climate view within their party say they’re motivated by signs that the greenhouse effect is no longer an abstract threat…

“The concerns make for a natural alliance between national-security hawks concerned about energy independence and climate activists who want to reduce heat-trapping pollution from fossil fuels, Shultz said…In June, he joined Maine Senator Olympia Snowe, a Republican, in signing onto a bipartisan report that said a warmer climate could cause hundreds of billions of dollars in economic losses. Hank Paulson, George W. Bush’s former treasury secretary, was another signatory…Shultz, a former University of Chicago economics professor, supports a system to reduce emissions through a revenue neutral tax on fossil fuels that would recycle the money collected back to citizens in the form of a carbon dividend check…The consequences of not acting could affect more than just the environment, he said. It could involve national security as well, creating new political, health and social threats globally…” click here for more

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THE LIFE CYCLE IMPACTS OF WIND Siemens’ Wind Farm Life Cycle Assessments

December 1, 2014 (Energy Matters)

“German wind energy company Siemens has published… Life Cycle Assessments (LCAs) of four defined Siemens wind power projects: two offshore wind plants with 80 wind turbines, and two onshore wind projects with 20 wind turbines…LCAs are a cradle-to-grave tool for calculating the energy payback time of a power generation system – the amount of time a plant must operate to produce as much energy as it consumes…An onshore wind farm featuring 20 Siemens SWT-3.2-113 wind turbines shows an energy payback time of 4.5 months. During its entire life-cycle it will produce 57 times more energy than it consumes and just four grams of carbon dioxide per kilowatt-hour (g/kWh) of electricity generated, compared to 865 g/kWh for a fossil fuel powered plant. This return includes all manufacturing, installation, operations, maintenance and dismantling of the wind farm over an estimated 25-year life cycle…Even greater savings are found in examination of an offshore wind project…[with] a CO2 emission of only seven g/kWh compared to the 865 g/kWh found with average global fossil power production.” click here for more

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MICHIGAN ENERGY SHORTAGE COMING? Utilities' report warns of energy shortage: Consumers, DTE urge building new power plants

Jay Greene, November 30, 2014 (Crain’s Detroit Business)

“Michigan's two largest utilities -- Consumers Energy and DTE Energy Co. -- are mounting a major public relations effort to make legislators and electric customers aware that a shortage of power generation reserve could occur in Michigan and the Midwest starting in 2016…[According to Electric Reliability in Michigan: The Challenge Ahead] the planned retirement of nine coal-fired power plants in Michigan over the next two years, reliability now also means the ability of power companies to provide adequate electricity to customers at peak demand…[The report explains] the difficulty that utility companies have in planning for future power generation…Although greater reliance on energy efficiency and renewable energy generation can increase electric supplies, DTE and Consumers officials say there is an urgent need to start planning to build new base load [natural gas] power plants…[that take] as long as six years to complete…[A] coalition of consumers, businesses and alternative energy suppliers…[argues that] allowing free choice of utilities or alternative suppliers would create competition that would force DTE and Consumers to reduce rates to keep their customers and market share…[and that more participation in regional grid operations will cut costs and increase reliability]…” click here for more

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