QUICK NEWS, January 9: The Whole Climate Story In One Image; The Solar Deal Keeps Getting Better; U.S. Wind To Double By 2023

The Whole Climate Story In One Image All the risks of climate change, in a single graph; There are a lot of them

David Roberts, January 9, 2017

“…Since the atmosphere affects everything, everything will be affected by its warming — there’s no single risk, but a wide and varied array of risks, of different severities and scales, affecting different systems, unfolding on different timelines…One of the better-known and more controversial attempts to address this problem is a graphic from the reports by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. The so-called ‘burning embers’ graph attempts to render the various risks of climate change — ‘reasons for concern,’ or RFCs — in an easy-to-grasp visual form…[A group of 17 scholars examined it and found it ] is generally accurate (though it has key limitations). They offer suggestions for how the RFC framework could be extended…[There is a ton of information about the risks of climate change] so it’s worth unpacking…” click here for more

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The Solar Deal Keeps Getting Better The Declining Cost In Producing Solar Energy, Outlook For 2017; Lets explore a few trends in solar energy growth around the world as we observe the declining cost in producing solar energy and the outlook for 2017

Derick A. Lila, January 6, 2017 (PVMedia)

“…[S]olar power is now cheaper than coal in most parts of the world. Projections from various sources indicate that in less than a decade, solar power would most likely be the lowest-cost option almost everywhere…The solar supply chain is experiencing ‘a Wal-Mart effect’ from higher volumes and lower margins…[C]ountries from Chile to the United Arab Emirates broke records [in 2016] with deals to generate electricity from sunshine for less than 3 cents a kilowatt-hour, half the average global cost of coal power…[T]he U.S Energy Information Administration (EIA) expects solar capacity to continue growing, anticipating an increase of more than 30 percent in 2017…GTM Research expects some parts of the U.S. Southwest approaching $1 a watt today, and may drop as low as 75 cents in 2021…The U.S. Energy Department’s National Renewable Energy Lab expects costs of about $1.20 a watt now declining to $1 by 2020…[The International Energy Agency and The International Renewable Energy Agency anticipate further drops]…” click here for more

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U.S. Wind To Double By 2023 DOE Annual Energy Outlook projects doubling of wind energy; Strong U.S. wind power growth will continue according to a new report.

Michael Goggin, Janury 6, 2017 (Into The Wind)

“…[The Department of Energy (DOE) annual report projects] wind power capacity will double from 76 gigawatts (GW) today to 152 GW by the year 2023…[That will] result in wind supplying 12 percent U.S. electricity by that time…[based on updated Energy Information Administration (EIA)] assumptions for wind’s cost and better performance to include recent technological improvements…[Wind deployment is still strong even in EIA’s scenario without federal carbon policy in place, reaching 140 GW by 2023…[N]ew wind deployment drops off significantly in EIA’s scenarios after 2023…[because of incorrect assumptions] that wind energy’s cost will stop declining and remain roughly at its current level…even though the U.S. wind industry has achieved 66 percent cost declines over the last seven years. Further double-digit cost declines are expected over the coming years…” click here for more

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