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Spain declares a national climate emergency

by John Bowden, Bloomberg, January 21, 2020 Highlights Spain has declared a climate emergency and intends to write legislation to be sent to parliament in the next 100 days.  The European Union Parliament declared a climate emergency in November and Spain is following their lead by setting a goal of carbon neutrality by 2050 Spain is … Read more

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Corporate clean energy buying leapt 44% in 2019, sets new record

Solar Panel Power Generation. by mrganso found on https://www.needpix.com/photo/1123513/photovoltaic-system-solar-solar-energy-solar-panel-photovoltaic-renewable-energy-revolution-power-generation-solar-field

by BloombergNEF Highlights: Corporations bought a record amount of clean energy through power purchase agreements, or PPAs, in 2019, up more than 40% from the previous year’s record. The majority of this purchasing occurred in the United States. BloombergNEF’s 2020 Corporate Energy Market Outlook found that approximately 19.5GW of clean energy contracts were signed by … Read more

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New policy roadmap to combat wildfires, prevent power shutoffs and increase community resilience

Oakland, CA — Climate and clean energy experts released a new policy roadmap today to guide California state policymakers who want to use clean energy to combat wildfires and power outages. The roadmap details proposals that would accelerate the clean energy transition, transform the outdated investor-owned utility business model, and modernize the power system. “The 2020 wildfire season might … Read more

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PG&E’s fossil fuel-powered microgrids

Workers install portions of the 8.5 megawatt-per-hour battery system at Fort Carson, Colorado. Huntsville Center’s Energy Savings Performance Contracting program coordinated the project designed to reduce peak electricity use costs, especially during the summer cooling season. (Photo by Scott Clark) found on by Scott Clark, found on https://www.hnc.usace.army.mil/Media/Images/igphoto/2002081389/

by Kavya Balaraman, Utility Dive Highlights: The towns of Angwin, Calistoga, Placerville, and Grass Valley are part of PG&E’s effort to build a network of “resilience zones” and temporary microgrids in portions of its service territory that are especially vulnerable to fire-related outages. PG&E deployed 23 MW of temporary generation from fossil fuel power (diesel) … Read more

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Wind, solar to dominate new power plants in 2020

Rooftop PV installation on the Forest County Potawatomi Tribe administration building

Highlights: As of January 1, 2020, new houses in California are required to install rooftop solar. “One utility, Sacramento Municipal Utility District, has asked regulators to approve a plan that says builders in its territory can comply with the solar mandate by subscribing to the utility’s community solar programs instead of putting solar on every … Read more

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Rhode Island becomes the first US state to commit to 100% renewables by 2030

by Carolyn Fortuna, Clean Technica, January 20, 2020 Highlights: The littlest state in the US has set the biggest goals for renewable energy.  Democratic governor Gina Raimondo of Rhode Island signed an executive order this month calling for an end to fossil fuel dependence in Rhode Island by 2030 The governor outlined her goal of … Read more

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World’s consumption of materials hits record 100bn tonnes a year

by Damian Carrington, The Guardian, January 22, 2020 Highlights: The report highlights that every person’s ecological footprint equates to 13 tonnes of materials per year Half of the 100.6 billion tonnes of material consumed in 2017 were sand, clay, gravel, and cement Only 8.6% of the material consumed is recycled and this percentage is falling … Read more

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NASA has broken down all the disturbing ways 2019 smashed records

The sun sets on the Building 29 High Bay. Credit: NASA/GSFC/Michael Weiss

by Carly Cassella, Science Alert, January 21, 2020 Highlights: According to data from more than 20,000 weather stations and Antarctic research stations, 2019 was the second-hottest year ever recorded, beaten only by 2016 The earth has continually warmed since the 1960’s Since 1750, the global annual mean CO2 level has gone up by 46 percent Rapid … Read more

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World Economic Forum makes sustainable aviation fuel available for first time

Plane View Over Mountain Range

by Alyssa Danigelis, Environmental Leader, January 20, 2020 Highlights: The World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland is providing sustainable aviation fuel for its arriving business jets Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) has an 80% smaller carbon footprint compared to normal aviation fuel The use of the SAF is meant to demonstrate that the fuel is available, … Read more

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Survey: 58% of Americans are now alarmed or concerned about climate change

No Planet B Protest

by Matthew Goldberg, Abel Gustafson, Seth Rosenthal, John Kotcher, Edward Maibach, and Anthony Leiserowitz, Climate Change Communications, January 16, 2020 Highlights: A study was performed to collect data on Americans’ belief in global warming ‘Nearly six in ten (58%) Americans are now either “Alarmed” or “Concerned” about global warming From 2014 to 2019, the proportion … Read more