QUICK NEWS, March 7: RELIGIOUS FAITH TRUMPS CLIMATE SCIENCE – POLLS; SOLAR’S BIG YEAR COMING; NEW WIRES FOR TEXAS WIND BOOM

RELIGIOUS FAITH TRUMPS CLIMATE SCIENCE – POLLS More Minnesotans Believe In God Than Climate Change

Mike Mullen, March 4, 2016 (City Pages)

“…A new poll from the Pew Research Center ranks Minnesota in the bottom half of American states in self-proclaimed faith…[Minnesota's] 56 percent belief in God stands 39th [in the U.S.], and the 47 percent daily prayer rate comes in 43rd…The South has a stranglehold on the top of the leaderboard...Mother Jones dug out the shameful fact that a majority of respondents in 10 of the 14 states voting in…[the] Super Tuesday primaries do not believe climate change is "mainly caused by humans." Those results, from a 2014 study by Yale, capture a bunch of the southern states that voted…[But only 48%] of Minnesotans believe in man-made climate change, tying…[with Georgia and] one point below Texas…[Over 95% of scientists accept humans are] to blame for most global warming observed since the 1950s…[Minnesotans] are 8 percent more likely to believe in God than to believe the scientists…” click here for more

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SOLAR’S BIG YEAR COMING Solar energy is poised for an unforgettable year

Chris Mooney, March 2, 2016 (Washington Post)

“…[I]n the coming year, the booming solar sector will add more new electricity-generating capacity than any other — including natural gas and wind…EIA reports that planned installations for 2016 include 9.5 gigawatts of utility-scale solar — followed by 8 gigawatts (or 8 billion watts) of natural gas and 6.8 gigawatts of wind. This suggests solar could truly blow out the competition, because the EIA numbers are only for large or utility-scale solar arrays or farms and do not include fast-growing rooftop solar, which will also surely add several additional gigawatts of capacity in 2016…U.S. solar seems poised for not just a record year but perhaps a blowout year…[Solar Energy Industries Association numbers, expressed in direct current (DC) versus alternating current (AC), are] 11.8 gigawatts of utility-scale solar photovoltaic installations [and 4 gigawatts of residential and commercial solar additions, for over 15 gigawatts in total, consistent with the EIA AC numbers. The main driver of this yerar’s boom is the extension of the 30% federal] investment tax credit…” click here for more

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NEW WIRES FOR TEXAS WIND BOOM Wind energy boom spurs $77.4M expansion

Kevin Welch, March 3, 2016 (Amarillo Globe-News)

“…[After already building an over $1 billion transmission projectto deliver Panhandle winds] to the more populated areas of Texas…[Sharyland Utilities filed a request for a $77.4 million project] to double its capacity…[I]it would string a second high-voltage line on the towers it installed for the first line, which covered about 300 miles in the western and central Texas Panhandle and into the South Plains at a cost of about $630 million…[The Public Utility Commission of Texas agreed that because of] the dramatic and continued expansion of wind generation in the region, Sharyland should proceed with installation of the second circuit…” click here for more

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