QUICK NEWS, July 1: Climate Crisis, Health, And Economy Colliding; Remaking Power Markets For New Energy

Climate Crisis, Health, And Economy Colliding Climate crisis: Al Gore says global economy needs major upgrade, fast; Ex-US vice-president says only big solutions can offset impact of systemic shifts and avert disaster

Jillian Ambrose, 25 June 2019 (UK Guardian)

‘…[T]he global economy requires a fundamental upgrade to become more sustainable in order for the world to survive an environmental crisis and widening social divides…[According to Al Gore, the changes have the magnitude of the Industrial Revolution and the speed of the digital revolution and incremental] improvements to address these challenges are no longer enough…[The] economic system requires a fundamental upgrade to sustainability…[because, according to the Generation Investment Management annual report, the] world’s rising use of fossil fuels and unsustainable food and meat production is accelerating the climate crisis while driving a global healthcare breakdown…

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...90% of children now breathe toxic air, according to the report...Meanwhile, global obesity levels are rising in line with a growing global appetite for meat and packaged foods despite warnings that healthcare is an unsustainable cost for most governments...The dual impact of a health and climate breakdown could be made worse by a growing divide between rich and poor, which risks encouraging populist politics and global geopolitical instability. This political upheaval could spell bad news for global markets...[The good news is that] the cost of renewable energy and electric cars is falling, while meat substitutes and alternative proteins have broken through into the mainstream. Meanwhile, investors have divested more than $7tn from fossil fuels...[but a] sustainable economy would require even greater shifts..." click here for more

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Remaking Power Markets For New Energy U.S. Electricity Markets Aren't Designed To Handle 100% Clean Energy. Here's How To Fix That.

Silvio Marcacci, July 1, 2019 (Forbes)

“Wholesale electricity markets, which serve two-thirds of the United States, are at an evolutionary point as fading economics push coal and nuclear offline while state-level clean energy targets and fast-falling renewable energy prices push clean energy onto the grid…But these seven U.S. wholesale electricity markets were designed around fossil fuels, and without reforms, they will become increasingly ill equipped to handle the influx of renewable energy and flexible distributed energy resources (like battery storage)…Markets were originally designed to incorporate some demand-side flexibility in addition to their primary function of managing supply-side generation…

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…[R]egulatory, economic, and technological barriers have largely precluded demand resources like batteries and smart thermostats from participating in wholesale electricity markets…With limited participation from demand resources, the wholesale market has functioned primarily with grid operators dispatching large central station plants to meet unalterable demand…[With high penetrations of variable renewables, rules, products, and software for short- and long-term markets must allow shaping of] customer-side flexibility…Smart thermostats, water heaters, and the “internet of things” can turn electricity demand into a grid resource to soak up large amounts of variable renewables…” click here for more

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