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Greenland ice sheet set to raise sea levels by nearly a foot, study finds
Human-driven climate change has set in motion massive ice losses in Greenland that couldn’t be halted even if the world stopped emitting greenhouse gases today, according to a study published Monday. The findings in the journal Nature Climate Change project that it is now inevitable that 3.3 percent of the Greenland ice sheet will melt — equal to 110 trillion tons of ice, the researchers said. That will trigger nearly a foot of global sea-level rise.
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Solar Energy
First Solar to Invest $1.2 Billion in U.S. Plants, Spurred by Climate Law
The biggest U.S. solar-panel maker said it plans to spend as much as $1.2 billion to boost manufacturing capacity at home by around 75%—the latest in a surge of domestic clean-energy investments spurred by the recently passed climate and healthcare legislation. The new investment plans are a reversal for First Solar, the only major American-owned makes of solar panels. First Solar Chief Executive Mark Widmar had said until recently that although the company was eager to boost its manufacturing footprint, high costs and a lack of policy support meant it was considering adding capacity in Europe or India rather than at home. [ read more … ]
First Solar says it will spend up to $1.2 billion to expand U.S. production
First Solar, a big solar panel manufacturer, said on Tuesday that it would invest up to $1.2 billion to build its fourth factory in the United States, in large part because Congress this month passed a major energy and climate bill that expands incentives for renewable energy. The company, which is based in Tempe, Ariz., will build the factory somewhere in the Southeast, its first one outside Ohio. The new plant would produce almost as much power-generating capacity on an annual basis as the total capacity put to use at solar farms and rooftops in the first three months of the year nationwide. [ read more … ]
States
Here Are the Challenges Ahead for California’s Ban on Gas Cars
Whether the rule works in practice will depend on whether consumers embrace electric cars and how rapidly automakers can ramp up production of cleaner vehicles, which could prove challenging. There is also the widespread expectation of legal challenges that could hinder the policy, and some experts said those challenges might have a decent chance of success because of the unusual process by which California is allowed to set some of its own pollution laws. [ read more … ]
Climate
After Deadly Fires and Disastrous Floods, a Canadian City Moves to Sue Big Oil
Vancouver’s City Council took preliminary steps in July toward suing major oil companies, seeking damages for the local costs of climate change. The move, in a city that has been a leader of the environmental movement in Canada and was the birthplace of Greenpeace, would be the first lawsuit of its kind in the country against the fossil fuel industry, whose carbon emissions contribute to global warming. [ read more … ]
EVs
This Remote Mine Could Foretell the Future of America’s Electric Car Industry
In this isolated town of about 100 people, dozens of employees are at work for Talon Metals, drawing long cylinders of rock from deep in the earth and analyzing their contents. They liken their work to a game of Battleship — each hole drilled allows them to better map out where a massive and long-hidden mineral deposit is lurking below. The company is proposing to build an underground mine near Tamarack that would produce nickel, a highly sought-after mineral that is used to power electric vehicles. It would be a profitable venture for Talon, which has a contract to supply nickel for Tesla’s car batteries, and a step forward in the country’s race to develop domestic supply chains to feed the growing demand for electric vehicles. [ read more … ]
Soon electric vehicles could charge faster than your iPhone
In a report released this week, government researchers said they have found a way to charge electric car batteries up to 90 percent in just 10 minutes. The method is likely five years away from making its way into the market, scientists said, but would mark a fundamental shift. “The goal is to get very, very close to [times] you would see at the gas pump,” said Eric Dufek, a lead author of the study and scientist at the Idaho National Laboratory, a research center run by the Department of Energy. [ read more … ]
Note: News clips provided do not necessarily reflect the views of coalition or its member governors.