QUICK NEWS, January 19: DON’T TELL THE GOP BASE – CONGRESS SPENT ON CLIMATE; HERE COMES SOLAR; WHAT MONTANA CAN GET FROM WIND

DON’T TELL THE GOP BASE – CONGRESS SPENT ON CLIMATE Congress Actually Dealt with Climate Change in the 2016 Budget Bill. Really; It flew under the radar, but the approval of a new flood standard for federal projects means the federal government took a big step.

Katherine Bagley, January 19, 2016 (Inside Climate News)

“President Obama's plan to safeguard the nation from increasing flood risk due to climate change was quietly green-lighted by Congress last month in the 2016 omnibus budget bill…[It was] one of the only actions Congress took on global warming in all of 2015, and it came as a surprise considering the longstanding opposition from Republicans. And it is a critical one…It will impact billions of dollars of federally funded construction projects across the country, from highways and bridges to hospitals and housing complexes, at a time when flooding in the U.S. is getting worse every year because of climate change…Obama's plan, executive order No. 13960, mandates that all federally funded projects located in a floodplain be built higher and stronger than previously required [to the standard of a 500-year event]. It is the first update to the Federal Flood Risk Management Standard since the policy was created 38 years ago. It applies to both new construction and rebuilding following a disaster…[Congress approved the program in a roundabout way by saying no federal funds can be used] but then adds the qualifier statement "other than for—", and lists nearly all of the activities in Executive Order 13690…Now that the standard has funding, government agencies will develop guidelines for implementing the new policy…” click here for more

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HERE COMES SOLAR Why Solar Energy Is Such A Threat To Other Energy Sources

Sneha Shah, January 14, 2016 GlobalWorldInvestor via Seeking Alpha)

“Solar Energy is growing at a tremendous pace globally, with the demand growth surprising even the most optimistic analyst. The biggest reason behind the growth has been the sharp reduction in costs and prices (75% in the 5 years)…Solar energy is already competitive with gas and coal in many regions…[and] will become cheaper than coal and gas in the coming 10-15 years. Solar energy will also threaten the oil industry as solar energy starts penetrating the transport sector (through electric vehicles)…[The main drivers will be a fall] in polysilicon prices…More efficient usage of silicon…Reduction in non-silicon costs…Improvement in cell-to-module power Ratio…Improvement in Cell Efficiency levels…[S]olar energy could increase to 40% of electricity production by 2050…Solar plus storage is expected to be a huge threat to the utility industry, as energy storage costs are also expected to see >50% cost reduction in the next 5-10 years. By 2020, solar plus storage costs are expected to reach parity with retail electricity prices in a number of places. Solar energy is all set to bring about a paradigm change in the global energy industry…” click here for more

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WHAT MONTANA CAN GET FROM WIND Wind energy among fastest, cheapest ways to cut costs, grow Montana economy

Tom Darin, January 18, 2016 (The Montana Standard)

“…All energy forms receive federal support. Over the last 100 years, American taxpayers have paid over $500 billion and counting to subsidize the fossil fuel and nuclear industries. Many of these incentives are permanent and thus make it very difficult to create a level playing field for renewable energy, which does not receive this type of generous treatment…[T]he performance-based federal tax incentive for wind power has helped make the U.S. a global leader in wind production…[and] led to a 66 percent drop in costs in just six years…Over time, these savings will increase because wind power isn’t subject to fuel price volatility…[New data from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) shows] new investments in wind power can yield over $650 million in potential savings through 2050 for Montana ratepayers…[And] wind power actually makes the utility system more reliable…Wind now supplies Iowa with nearly 30 percent of its electricity; Kansas and South Dakota rely on windpower for more than 20 percent. At one point in November wind met over 66 percent of the electricity demand on the main Colorado grid…[Finally, wind] already supports hundreds of well-paying jobs in [Montana] while paying rural landowners $2 million a year to host wind turbines on their land…and those land-lease payments could grow to over $10 million a year by 2030.” click here for more

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