QUICK NEWS, April 27: THE POPE’S CLIMATE CHANGE MOVE; FIRST SOLAR GOES INTO COMMUNITY SOLAR; WHAT WIND CAN DO

THE POPE’S CLIMATE CHANGE MOVE Pope Francis poised to weigh in on climate change with major document

Michael Boorstein, April 27, 2015 (Washington Post)

“…[Pope Francis] is putting the final touches on what may be the most authoritative papal teaching ever on the environment, a topic bound up with economics, global development and politics and thus very controversial. Even though no one outside Francis’s inner circle has seen the document — called an encyclical — it’s already being lambasted by some religious and political conservatives and held up by environmentalists as a potential turning point in their movement…The encyclical is expected to be published in early summer and, church historians say, represents the first time in memory that such an important papal writing is being timed by a pope to influence a civil process — in this case, a major U.N. summit in December on climate change…[M]ost pope-watchers think Francis will raise urgent concerns about global warming and highlight human impact on climate change. More broadly, they expect Francis to frame with new emphasis the Earth’s health as a core Catholic social justice concern, up there with topics such as poverty and abortion…[Still unknown] is how, specifically, Francis will urge his church to respond…” click here for more

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FIRST SOLAR GOES INTO COMMUNITY SOLAR First Solar Set To Exploit The Changes In Distributed Generation Solar Industry

Casual Analyst, April 23, 2015 (Seeking Alpha)

“...First Solar, with its investment through Community Solar market leader CEC, is set to become an increasingly important DG player starting 2015…[Utility scale installations can be] deployed at below $1.50 a watt…[Residential rooftop solar is] being deployed at above $4 a watt by companies like] SolarCity and Vivint Solar…The current residential deployment, however, is unsuited to all but a limited set of potential US solar customers…The answer in many cases is alternative solar deployments such as community solar, microgrids, and nanogrids. These solutions are not limited by rooftop space, shading, and other factors that limit the scope of current residential and commercial solar deployments. Given the potential scale benefit of these projects, they are likely to have far superior economics compared to hosting a solar system on a rooftop. Larger community installations may even have a cost structure closer to that of utility solar and consequently, these deployments have the potential to offer cost effective alternatives…” click here for more

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WHAT WIND CAN DO Wind Energy’s Role

Michael Goggin, April 23, 2015 (NY Times)

“Wind energy plays a critical role in reducing carbon emissions while minimizing [water use and] land use. Wind turbines provide high ¬density energy production, as typically only 1 to 2 percent of the land within a wind plant is occupied by turbines, roads and electrical substations. The rest can be used for its original purposes; for example, farmers and ranchers benefit from wind lease payments while continuing to work the land around the turbines. A recent Energy Department report calculated that supplying 35 percent of America’s electricity from wind would use less land than just a third of our golf courses. Moreover, other energy sources consume fuel that must be continually mined or drilled, devouring new land over time, while wind plants produce energy from the same land in perpetuity. Most important, United States wind energy reduced carbon pollution by 125 million metric tons in 2014, the equivalent yearly emissions of 26 million cars. As the lowest cost zero¬ emission energy source, wind energy must play a critical role in tackling the most pressing challenge facing all of Earth’s lands: climate change.” click here for more

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