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Obama Makes Urgent Appeal in Alaska for Climate Change Action
President Obama on Monday issued a global call for urgent action to address climate change, declaring that the United States was partly to blame for what he called the defining challenge of the century and would rally the world to counter it. “Climate change is no longer some far-off problem; it is happening here, it is happening now,” Mr. Obama said here at an international conference on the Arctic. “We’re not acting fast enough. I have come here today, as the leader of the world’s largest economy and its second-largest emitter, to say that the United States recognizes our role in creating the problem, and we embrace our responsibility to help solve it.” [ read more … ]
Brown seeks to broaden California’s clean-energy reach in the West
Gov. Jerry Brown is working on an ambitious plan for transmitting electricity across state lines and bolstering California’s role in the region, according to energy officials. The plan would integrate PacifiCorp, a utility serving six Western states, into the electricity grid run by the California Independent System Operator, which is based in Folsom. If successful, it could make solar and wind energy available more widely throughout the West — a potential victory for Brown, who has sought partnerships beyond California’s borders in his fight against climate change. [ read more … ]
Iowa has the blueprint for energy independence
Iowa’s renewable leadership goes beyond biofuels. Iowa became the first state to implement a renewable electricity standard when I signed it into law in 1983. That paved the way for Iowa’s leadership position in wind generation, which today generates nearly 30 percent of Iowa’s electricity and is expected to grow to 41 percent by 2020. In fact, wind energy observers believe Iowa could produce enough wind energy by 2030 to achieve complete energy independence and export excess energy to other U.S. states. And it doesn’t stop at wind, as solar energy shows great potential in Iowa as well. [ read more … ]
Fossil Fuels Losing Cost Advantage Over Solar, Wind, IEA Says
The cost of producing electricity from renewable sources such as solar and wind has dropped significantly over the past five years, narrowing the gap with power generated from fossil fuels and nuclear reactors, according to the International Energy Agency. “The costs of renewable technologies — in particular solar photovoltaic — have declined significantly over the past five years,” the Paris-based IEA said in a report called Projected Costs of Generating Electricity. “These technologies are no longer cost outliers.”
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If Only I Were Younger: Investing In Solar Energy
All this leads me to believe that the transition to renewables is well underway and offers not only investment opportunities for those with insight and patience, but also a response to the challenge presented by global climate change. With care being paid to where the investments are made, the financial returns should be quite impressive in the decades ahead. If only I were younger. [ read more … ]
Note: News clips provided do not necessarily reflect the views of coalition or its member governors.