QUICK NEWS, April 13: THE NEW DEBATE WHEN DENIAL ENDS; NEW ENERGY NEEDS A NEW GRID; BROADWIND AND BUILDING WIND

THE NEW DEBATE WHEN DENIAL ENDS What will happen after people stop ignoring the evidence on climate change

Chris Mooney, April 7, 2015 (Washigton Post)

“…[T]he conservative-leaning American Legislative Exchange Council is stressing…[it does not deny climate change and is more welcoming to divergent views]…Southern Company, a major utility, will cease funding the climate ‘skeptic’ scientist Willie Soon later this year…The apparent shift here is…to the question of] whether proposed regulations cost too much, weaken reliability or are illegal…[I]t’s possible that we’re living through a moment that will later be remembered as a key marker in the decline of climate change doubt…[M]any signs of a turn in the debate are already there, mainly in the form of huge political momentum developing on climate this year — an expected encyclical from the Pope, and a major international meeting in Paris in December to bring the world together around new carbon cuts…[T]hen we would fight over the policy of emissions reductions measures…with major implications for the tone of debate…” click here for more

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NEW ENERGY NEEDS A NEW GRID Want More Wind And Solar Energy? Invest A Lot More In The Grid

Ken Silverstein, April 13, 2015 (Forbes)

"Want to increase the use of green energy and reduce the level of harmful emissions? Invest heavily in the grid to both modernize and expand it, which will accomplish such aims while also building the US economy…[according to energy and utility experts at the recent Public Utilities Fortnightly conference]…A smarter and more extensive grid that is able to distribute greener power is expensive. But the benefits of creating a modern infrastructure are huge…For every $1 invested in the nation’s [bulk power system made up of 10,000 power plants, 170,000 miles of high-voltage transmission lines, nearly 6 million miles of low-voltage distribution lines, and 15,000 substations], as much as $6 is returned, not to mention the 47,000 new jobs since 2012…[Also, t]hose who run electricity systems can now apply algorithms to tell operators which units to run and where to avoid congestion on the lines, all of which favors wind and solar energy that is variable in nature…The pressure to increase the use of renewables will only intensify, in part because of EPA’s proposed Clean Power Plan to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 30 percent by 2030…[Network expansion will be necessary but] it is an effort and an investment that will pay off…” click here for more

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BROADWIND AND BUILDING WIND Can this wind power company ever make money?

Michah Maidenberg, April 4, 2015 (Crain’s)

“…Six years after Broadwind began trading on the Nasdaq stock market, the company has yet to turn an annual profit and its stock has…[slumped] to $4.89 on April 2, down 80 percent since touching $24.30 in January 2011…[Broadwind is one of a clutch of manufacturers, including S&C Electric, Winergy, and ZF Services], that depend at least in part on the development and operations of wind farms. Like the others, the company stands to gain if wind becomes a bigger part of the energy mix around the country—a recent U.S. Department of Energy report predicts that the U.S. could derive 20 percent of its power from wind by 2030, up from 4.5 percent in 2013…But then there are those headwinds: a recent slowdown in the growth rate for electricity, subsidies for other energy generation such as nuclear power, competition from bigger U.S. and foreign manufacturers, and the expiration of a federal tax credit for wind farms and other renewable energy…The vast majority of [Broadwind’s] revenue last year, $184.9 million, came from sales of towers…” click here for more

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