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Gov. Brown poised to sign 2030 climate targets
California will set a sweeping economywide carbon emissions target of a 40 percent reduction below 1990 levels by 2030, after lawmakers voted yesterday to approve a bill giving them more say in the state’s climate policies. The state Senate passed a bill to give lawmakers more oversight of the California Air Resources Board, the agency charged with writing regulations to achieve the targets. It was part of a package that also included S.B. 32, the actual target-setting bill, which passed the Assembly on Tuesday. Both measures now head to Gov. Jerry Brown (D), who has said he will sign them. [ read more … ]
Washington commits $12.6M to grid modernization effort
“Gov. Inslee and the state of Washington continue to champion clean energy innovation. Driving innovation is at the core of how our country maintains its leadership in developing clean, low-carbon energy technologies,” Moniz said. Inslee and Moniz made the announcement last week at the Northwest Regional Clean Energy Innovation Partnership Workshop. The event is jointly hosted by the University of Washington and the Pacific Northwest National Lab. [ read more … ]
Oklahoma on-pace to become No. 3 wind energy producing state
So much wind sweeps through Oklahoma’s plains that the state — while currently ranked fourth in its capacity to produce wind energy — is on pace to overtake No. 3 California in installed capacity by the end of the year. Data from the second quarter of 2015 shows Oklahoma has more than 1,000 megawatts of wind capacity under construction, said Hannah Hunt, a senior analyst with the American Wind Energy Association. [ read more … ]
How Will a Clinton or Trump White House Affect Renewable Energy?
Renewable energy has made significant inroads into the U.S. energy system and even in the era of low fossil fuel prices, costs for solar and wind installations are down dramatically. According to the Solar Energy Industries Association, the solar industry trade group, costs to install solar panels fell by more than 70 percent over the last 10 years and during that time, solar saw a compounded annual growth rate of nearly 60 percent. The trade organization for the wind energy industry, the American Wind Energy Association, said costs are down more than 90 percent since the early 1980s. [ read more … ]
Price for solar at all-time low — lab report
The purchase price of U.S. solar energy systems is at a record low, according to two new reports from the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. The “state of the market” reports examine both distributed solar photovoltaic systems, such as those commonly found on residential rooftops, and utility-scale solar. The median installed price of solar systems in the United States fell about 5 to 12 percent last year, according to the lab. For example, the price of utility-scale systems last year fell by roughly 12 percent from 2014. Prices for large nonresidential systems fell by about 9 percent.
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Calif. county rejects massive BLM-approved project
A Southern California county refused to authorize a sprawling solar power project yesterday, jeopardizing the contentious federally approved project. The San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors yesterday voted not to approve the county’s environmental review of the 287-megawatt Soda Mountain Solar Project, which has drawn widespread opposition for its location near the Mojave National Preserve.
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Solar power brings northern Mali much needed light
Residents in Kidal in northern Mali are finding it easier to work and study into the night thanks to a solar lighting project recently introduced to the area. About 1,500 households are now able to switch on their lights thanks to a 50,000 US dollar project funded by the U.N. Multidimensional Integrated Stabilisation Mission in Mali (MINUSMA). The government has been trying to promote renewable energy technologies since 2007, hoping they will reach 15 percent of the total national energy supply by 2020 [ read more … ]
Note: News clips provided do not necessarily reflect the views of coalition or its member governors.