Wednesday, January 31, 2018

Monday, January 29, 2018

Friday, January 26, 2018

The Brooklyn Microgrid - Blockchain-enabled community power

A local marketplace enabling communities to choose where their power comes from - is the microgrid the future for consumers? DNV GL discusses the Brooklyn Microgrid project with Belinda Kinkead, Director of LO3 Energy, Australia, and discovers how it will transform the way that we interact with our power supply.  In this thought-provoking episode, DNV GL talks to Belinda about the creation of LO3's Brooklyn Microgrid project. Belinda explains how it is both a virtual and a physical microgrid, an

* Duration: 21:05, Played: 4:56

* Published: 1/5/18 3:26:52 AM

* Episode Download Link (19 MB): http://media.blubrry.com/dnvgltalksenergy/http://feeds.soundcloud.com/stream/379072832-user-472000333-the-brooklyn-microgrid-blockchain-enabled-community-power.mp3

* Show Notes: https://soundcloud.com/user-472000333/the-brooklyn-microgrid-blockchain-enabled-community-power

* Episode Feed: DNV GL Talks Energy - http://feeds.soundcloud.com/users/soundcloud:users:281729011/sounds.rss
Monty Bannerman
ArcStar Energy
Tel: +1 646-402-5076
www.arcstarenergy.com

First Solar Is Using Robots to Better Tap the Sun - These are the manufacturing jobs that are going to be created in the US, but this must and will be.

First Solar Is Using Robots to Better Tap the Sun https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-01-24/first-solar-is-using-robots-to-better-tap-the-sun
Monty Bannerman
ArcStar Energy
Tel: +1 646-402-5076
www.arcstarenergy.com

Maine Bans New Wind Farms First, Seeks Supporting Data Later - limiting wind exports to load centers including NY.

Maine Bans New Wind Farms First, Seeks Supporting Data Later https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-01-26/maine-bans-new-wind-farms-first-will-seek-supporting-data-later
Monty Bannerman
ArcStar Energy
Tel: +1 646-402-5076
www.arcstarenergy.com

Museum offers gold toilet to Trump instead of Van Gogh's work



Museum offers gold toilet to Trump instead of Van Gogh's work - report - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-42827291

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Monty Bannerman
ArcStar Energy
Tel: +1 646-402-5076
www.arcstarenergy.com

BBC News: Bombardier wins trade dispute in US

Solar Industry should have hired this lawyer.

Bombardier wins trade dispute in US - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-42825916

* Disclaimer *

The BBC is not responsible for the content of this email, and anything written in this email does not necessarily reflect the BBC's views or opinions. Please note that neither the email address nor name of the sender have been verified.
Monty Bannerman
ArcStar Energy
Tel: +1 646-402-5076
www.arcstarenergy.com

First Utility-Scale Solar Project in Western Canada Completed - Our colleagues at Elemental drag one across the finish line

EPA Ends Clean Air Policy Opposed By Fossil Fuel Interests

Duke customers spared higher bills after utility drops bid to recover $513M in Hurricane Irma costs - Orlando Sentinel

Wednesday, January 24, 2018

GTM: Trump's tariffs will reduce US PV installations by 11 percent over the next 5 years

GTM: Trump’s tariffs will reduce US PV installations by 11 percent over the next 5 years


© GTM Research

23.01.2018: According to new analysis by GTM Research, the tariffs on imported solar cells and modules set forth by the Trump administration will result in an eleven percent decrease in U.S. solar PV installations over the next five years. This represents a reduction of 7.6 GW of installed solar PV capacity between 2018 and 2022. The biggest impact will be reached in 2019. Projects under construction or with modules already in inventory will damper the effect on 2018 installations.
GTM Research notes that the tariffs result in an average $0.10/W increase of prices to modules in the first year, stepping down to a $0.04/W premium by the fourth year. According to the analysis, the utility-scale solar segment will be more heavily affected than the residential and commercial solar segments, taking 65 percent of the expected 7.6 GW of reductions over the next five years.
At the beginning of 2018 (before the President’s decision), the consultancy expected that the total installed US PV capacity will more than double over the next five years and by 2022, nearly 15 GW of PV capacity will be installed annually.

 

Monty Bannerman

ArcStar Energy

+1-646-402-5076

www.arcstarenergy.com

 

Tuesday, January 23, 2018

Wall Street, Not American Solar, Stands to Gain From Trump Tariffs

Wall Street, Not American Solar, Stands to Gain From Trump Tariffs https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-01-23/jpmorgan-centerbridge-get-distressed-debt-help-from-new-tariffs
Monty Bannerman
ArcStar Energy
Tel: +1 646-402-5076
www.arcstarenergy.com

North American Clean Energy - Origis Energy USA Announces New 50 MWAC FL Solar Project for the Reedy Creek Improvement District

Despite Tarriffs Net 2018 module costs expected to decline over 2017 and reach $0.40/W

Corporations signed a record volume of 5.4 GW of PPA for green energy in 2017, BNEF | photon.info

Friday, January 19, 2018

Earth’s Relentless Warming Sets a Brutal New Record in 2017

Earth's Relentless Warming Sets a Brutal New Record in 2017 https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/hottest-year-on-record/
Monty Bannerman
ArcStar Energy
Tel: +1 646-402-5076
www.arcstarenergy.com

Thursday, January 18, 2018

Fwd: The climat burn continues and it is human caused NASA



Monty Bannerman
ArcStar Energy
Tel: +1 646-402-5076
www.arcstarenergy.com
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: "Climate Changed" <noreply@mail.bloombergbusiness.com>
Date: Jan 18, 2018 2:31 PM
Subject: The burn continues
To: <mbannerman@arcstarenergy.com>
Cc:

Bloomberg Climate Changed
FOLLOW US Facebook ShareTwitter ShareSUBSCRIBE Share with a friend
 

Last year was 1.51 degrees Fahrenheit warmer than the 20th century average, according to NOAA data released on Thursday. That makes 2017 the third hottest year on record. Seventeen of the 18 hottest years have come to pass in the 21st century. This is not normal.—Josh Petri

 

"We're warming up pretty much at the rate we anticipated a decade ago. Basically all of the warming of the past 60 years is attributable to human activities."

—Gavin Schmidt, director of NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies, announcing that 2017 was the third-hottest year on record.

 
 

Top stories

Dwindling snowpacks are worrying water managers around the world. Think of the snowpack as a natural reservoir. During the winter, it freezes in place. When temperatures rise in the spring, the water within is released gradually, filling reservoirs through the rest of the year. That pattern is fracturing around the world.

Bitcoin's power needs may be overblown. Last week, Morgan Stanley analysts said miners could use almost 1 percent of global demand. This week, Credit Suisse Group dumped cold water on the notion that the cryptocurrency would create "uncontrolled growth" in power demand. The bank's analysts recalled overly bullish predictions about demand from marijuana growers and data center operators who later found ways to curb their electricity use. Credit Suisse predicted a similar buzzkill for cryptocurrencies

Trump's tax plan made it harder to finance renewables. There are provisions in the new law that may constrain some multinational investors' ability to do renewables tax-equity deals. At least $3 billion in potential deals are on hold for this type of financing.

Saudi Arabia, on the other hand, expects to start up to $7 billion worth of renewable energy projects this year. The kingdom and other Middle Eastern oil producers are looking to renewables to feed growing domestic consumption that's soaking up crude they'd rather export to generate income.

In 2011, Hideo Tsurumaki watched a giant tsunami sweep away cars filled with people trying to escape. If the cars had been able to float, he thought, fewer people would have perished. Two years later, he started to build a small, watertight electric vehicle that can float in floods, or even cruise at low speeds. By 2020, Tsurumaki hopes to take the company public.

 

What we've been reading

A water crisis often precipitates some level of civic unrest—see Nigeria, Syria, Somalia, and Iran. Climate change is expected to make water stress, and therefore global unrest, even worse.

Energy Secretary Rick Perry hugged coal executive Robert Murray during a meeting. A photographer who captured the moment was placed on administrative leave after making the pictures public

Climate change predictions may be a lot less uncertain according to a new study in Nature. Researchers claim they've narrowed potential warming from a range of 3 degrees to a range of 1.2 degrees Celsius, which could have implications for how climate goals are set.

 
 
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Origis Energy USA announced a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) for a 50 MW solar project in Orange County, Florida

17.01.2018: Origis Energy USA, Inc, a Miami based solar development and construction firm, and Reedy Creek Improvement District announced a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) for a 50 MW solar facility to be constructed in Orange County, Florida. Once complete, the solar facility developed, built and owned by Origis Energy, will be located on approximately 270 acres and will generate approximately 120,000 MWh each year.
The Origis Energy designs call for the use of single axis tracking technology, approximately 518,000 solar panel modules and will interconnect to the Reedy Creek Improvement District power distribution system. The project is anticipated to start by late spring 2018 and be completed by year end 2018.

 

 

Wednesday, January 17, 2018

The U.S. solar industry's new growth region: Trump Country (despite or because of what an arse he is)

Fed Survey Finds Solid Growth And Rising Wages

RES Tier 1 Solicitations for Long-term Contracts - NYSERDA

https://www.nyserda.ny.gov/ces/RFP
Monty Bannerman
ArcStar Energy
Tel: +1 646-402-5076
www.arcstarenergy.com

REC and ZEC Purchases from NYSERDA - NYSERDA

Governor Cuomo Unveils 20th Proposal of 2018 State of the State: New York's Clean Energy Jobs and Climate Agenda - NYSERDA

Jeff Flake rips Trump in Senate speech - Every American Should Listen to What this Republican Said Publicly Today

utility-scale PV systems 25 percent cheaper per megawatt in 2017 than two years earlier

16.01.2018: The global clean energy investment totaled $333.5 billion in 2017, up 3 percent from 2016 and the second highest annual figure ever, taking cumulative investment since 2010 to $2.5 trillion, according to the latest findings of Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF). The US was the second biggest investor in clean energy after China at $56.9 billion, up one percent from 2016 »despite the less friendly tone towards renewables adopted by the Trump administration,« says the consultancy. Markets such as Australia, Brazil, Mexico and the UAE also saw increased investment in clean energy, whereas investment declined in Japan, Germany and the UK.
Typical utility-scale PV systems were about 25 percent cheaper per megawatt in 2017 than they were two years earlier. Solar investment globally amounted to $160.8 billion in 2017, up 18 percent on the previous year despite these cost reductions. China invested just over half of the world total in solar at $86.5 billion. This was 58 percent higher than in 2016, with an estimated 53 GW of PV capacity installed – up from 30 GW in 2016.
»China installed about 20 GW more solar capacity in 2017 than we forecast,« said Justin Wu, head of Asia-Pacific for BNEF. The cost of solar continues to fall in China, and more projects are being deployed on rooftops, in industrial parks or at other distributed locales. These systems are not limited by the government quota. Large energy consumers in China are now installing solar panels to meet their own demand, with a minimal premium subsidy, said Justin Wu.
Large wind and solar project financings pushed Australia up 150 percent to a record $9 billion, and Mexico up 516 percent to $6.2 billion. On the downside, Japan saw investment decline by 16 percent in 2017, to $23.4 billion, while Germany slipped 26 percent to $14.6 billion and the UK 56 percent to $10.3 billion in the face of changes in policy support. Europe as a whole invested $57.4 billion in renewables, down 26 percent year-on-year.
According to BNEF, the two biggest solar projects »of all to get the go-ahead« last year were both in the United Arab Emirates: the 1.2 GW Marubeni Jinko Solar and Adwea Sweihan plant, at $899 million, and the 800 MW Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum III installation, at an estimated $968 million.

 

Monty Bannerman

ArcStar Energy

+1-646-402-5076

www.arcstarenergy.com

 

Friday, January 12, 2018

Tuesday, January 9, 2018

»India proposes 70 percent duty on China, Malaysia solar imports«, Bloomberg | photon.info

FERC Rejects Trump Bid To Boost Coal, Nuclear Power, showing some agencies understand facts and reject absurd BS

Bloomberg: Oil and Gas Industry Raising Capital via Debt Markets

Bloomberg: U.S. energy companies keep raising money: U.S. oil and gas exploration and production companies, pipeline operators and liquefied natural gas firms have a knack for raising new money in the capital markets. For most of the past decade, that money has split fairly evenly between equity and high-yield bonds, with a few exceptions. But in 2016, energy companies raised money in equity almost entirely and then, in 2017, turned to debt. Last year, in a record 12 months for new capital, they raised 80 percent of their money — more than $50 billion — through debt.

 

Monty Bannerman

ArcStar Energy

+1-646-402-5076

www.arcstarenergy.com

 

FPL connected four PV plants to the grid and shut down coal-fired plant | photon.info

Monday, January 8, 2018

2017 Weather Disasters top $300B and 17 events in excess of $1B

New Report Shows Weather Disasters In 2017 Cost More Than $300 Billion http://n.pr/2FfvQCQ
Monty Bannerman
ArcStar Energy
Tel: +1 646-402-5076
www.arcstarenergy.com

Saturday, January 6, 2018

California Poised to Hit 50% Renewable Target a Full Decade Ahead of RPS Goal

Hyundai's new hydrogen SUV

McKinsey on Hydrogen in the Transportation Sector

Trump budget request has taxpayers footing $33 Billion in Capex and 10,000 new Federal employees for his Moronic Wall

In addition to the $18 billion in wall funding, the CBP also requested $8 billion for additional personnel and training, $5 billion for new border technology and at least $1 billion to build more access roads. The final price tag for the CBP spending plan would exceed $33 billion over the next decade, according to a copy of the document obtained by The Washington Post.

The $33 billion would not include what are likely to be additional funding requests for the other Department of Homeland Security agencies central to Trump’s plans for an immigration overhaul, including Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), which is looking to add 10,000 more officers and dramatically expand the number of beds it has available for immigration detention.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/trump-border-wall-gets-18-billion-price-tag-in-new-request-to-lawmakers/2018/01/05/34e3c47e-f264-11e7-b3bf-ab90a706e175_story.html?undefined=&utm_term=.1039addc0eaf&wpisrc=nl_most&wpmm=1

 

 

Monty Bannerman

ArcStar Energy

+1-646-402-5076

www.arcstarenergy.com

 

Thursday, January 4, 2018

Brookfield Buys Toshiba Nuclear Unit, Westinghouse Electric - proving to be the biggest, baddest vulture fund in our industry

Proposed Gas Generator to Replace Coal at Fl Seminole Electric Cooperative.

Seminole Electric seeks PSC approval to build new gas plant, shut down coal plant," by POLITICO Florida's Bruce Ritchie: Seminole Electric Cooperative Inc. is seeking approval from the Public Service Commission to build a new natural gas plant and shut down an existing coal-fired plant near Palatka. Seminole Electric is a Tampa-based wholesale electricity provider to nine rural cooperatives providing service to 1.6 million people in 42 counties. In a Dec. 21 determination-of-need petition filed with the PSC, Seminole Electric says it is losing power purchase agreements by 2021 that will create the need for 901 megawatts of power. The new gas-fired generating plant, proposed at the Seminole Generating Station near Palatka, will provide 1,050 megawatts of power and is expected to be completed on Dec. 1, 2022, according to the petition. The plant will cost $727 million, a Seminole Cooperative spokesman said Tuesday.

 

 

How Florida created — and killed — a nuclear building spree like South Carolina's | Business | postandcourier.com

Wednesday, January 3, 2018

NYC Commodity Nat Gas Price at City Gate

NYISO (Markets & Operations)- Real Time Electricity Market Price Market Data by Zone

Not just another storm: what’s unusual about the ‘bomb cyclone’ headed toward the East Coast



----
Not just another storm: what's unusual about the 'bomb cyclone' headed toward the East Coast // The Verge
https://www.theverge.com/platform/amp/2018/1/3/16846134/bomb-cyclone-winter-storm-east-coast

If you live in the eastern US, from northern Florida all the way to New England, you're in for some nasty weather: a massive winter storm called a "bomb cyclone" is hammering the coast, bringing snow, ice, flooding, and strong winds. That's not a made-up click-bait term; it's actually used by meteorologists to indicate a mid-latitude cyclone that intensifies rapidly — or as meteorologist Jon Martin at the University of Wisconsin-Madison says, they "just kind of explode."

"We would think of them as explosive events, they just instantly appear and get very strong," he says. This particular bomb cyclone could become one of the most intense off the East Coast in decades, according to The Washington Post.

Latest NWS key messages associated with the Eastern U.S. winter storm. More details at https://t.co/aypwjmpVBG pic.twitter.com/uUnFMrbxYy

— NWS WPC (@NWSWPC) January 3, 2018

A bomb cyclone happens when atmospheric pressure in the middle of the storm drops at least 24 millibars over 24 hours, quickly increasing in intensity. (The lower the pressure, the stronger the storm.) This particular bomb cyclone sweeping through the East Coast is forecasted to drop by 36 millibars, which is a lot. According to Martin, it means the storm is going to lose the equivalent of about 3.5 percent of the entire mass of the whole atmosphere, from the ground to outer space. "It's exceptionally intense," he says. "That's the most unusual thing about this storm." (Unlike hurricanes or tropical cyclones, winter storms don't get a name. Sorry, storm.)

This sort of winter hurricane formed because of the serendipitous convergence of several factors, including a blast of freezing air from the North Pole that, right off the southeast coast of the US, has come into contact with warm ocean waters carried by the Gulf Stream. That strong temperature contrast is what sparks and intensifies the storm so rapidly, says Andrea Lang, assistant professor of atmospheric and environmental sciences at University at Albany.

"It's exceptionally intense."

The other unusual thing about this winter storm is it's farther south than normal, according to Bob Oravec, lead forecaster with the National Weather Service. Typically, you don't see winter storm warnings in states like Georgia and South Carolina, Oravec says.

Why this is happening is complicated, but Martin says it can be attributed to how the air flows in the atmosphere. This year, we've had a giant ridge of high pressure sitting over the West Coast, which has brought warm air up all the way to Alaska and is in part to blame for the massive wildfires that have plagued California. The ridge also has consequences on the other side of the country. "If you wiggle the jet stream at one end, there's going to be a wave that propagates along it," Lang says. That wave has dragged freezing Arctic air down south into the eastern US, where then it got into contact with the warm ocean waters — sparking the bomb cyclone.

As hellish as the storm may seem to the poor souls on the East Coast, it's not unprecedented. "It doesn't happen every day, but it's not unheard of," says Oravec. "History is full of huge snow storms along the East Coast and history will continue to be full of huge snow storms along the East Coast going forward." Still, it's going to bring hazardous, blizzard conditions that people should take seriously. There might be power outages, and traveling could be dangerous.

The storm is moving very quickly, so it won't lead to record snow, Oravec says. Most of the snow will happen along the coast today and tomorrow, and then very cold winds will hammer the northeast US, possibly bringing record-shattering freezing temperatures on Friday and over the weekend. After that, we can expect a break from the big chill — but that won't last long.

By Tuesday and Wednesday, more Arctic air is going to sweep through the US all the way to the East Coast again — just the sort of "welcome back" from the holidays we've all been waiting for.


----

Read in my feedly.com
Monty Bannerman
ArcStar Energy
Tel: +1 646-402-5076
www.arcstarenergy.com

Trump War in Science Threat to National Health and Safety

New Mexico Utility Grapples With Costs Of Closing Coal Plant

Tuesday, January 2, 2018

January 1 2028 New ISO Tariff » AESO

Alberta REP Round 1 results » AESO

Fwd: Free Prescription Medications for Everyone Under 25

A veritable storm of such new legislation coming out of Ontario over the last weeks and months. Looks like either the Liberals are worried about their standings going into the next election or they are just going opposite of Trump in every possible way.

Monty Bannerman
ArcStar Energy
Tel: +1 646-402-5076
www.arcstarenergy.com
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: "Ontario News" <newsroom@ontario.ca>
Date: Jan 2, 2018 10:34 AM
Subject: Free Prescription Medications for Everyone Under 25
To: <mbannerman@arcstarenergy.com>
Cc:

Ontario Newsroom Ontario Newsroom
 

News Release

Free Prescription Medications for Everyone Under 25

January 2, 2018

Ontario Becomes First Province to Cover Prescriptions for Children and Youth

Prescription medications are now free for everyone under the age of 25 in Ontario. As of January 1, the province has made the biggest expansion to medicare in Ontario in a generation, providing drug coverage to over four million children and youth across the province. The launch of OHIP+: Children and Youth Pharmacare is a national milestone as Ontario becomes the first province to provide prescription drug coverage to children and youth.

Premier Kathleen Wynne was in downtown Toronto to celebrate this national milestone with some of the young people and parents who now have access to over 4,400 medicines, completely free of charge. Some of the now publicly funded prescriptions include depression and anxiety medications, insulin and diabetic test strips, antibiotics, asthma inhalers and birth control pills.

This expansion of medicare marks a turning point for Ontario families, who now have access to life-saving drugs without having to worry about affordability. Coverage will be automatic for children and youth with an OHIP card and a valid prescription. There will be no upfront costs, no co-pays and no strings attached.

The launch of OHIP+ is just one of the historic ways Ontario has changed with the new year. The government's plan to build a fairer, better province also includes a raise to the minimum wage to $14 an hour, effective January 1. The minimum wage will further increase to $15 per hour as of January 1, 2019.

Ontario's plan is creating fairness and opportunity during this period of rapid economic change. The plan includes a higher minimum wage and better working conditions, free tuition for hundreds of thousands of students, easier access to affordable child care, and free prescription drugs for everyone under 25 through the biggest expansion of medicare in a generation.

 

QUICK FACTS

  • Ontario is the first province to provide prescription medication coverage at no cost for all children and youth under 25 who are OHIP-insured.
  • An estimated 1.2 million people in Ontario without drug coverage will benefit from OHIP+. This is according to a recent report by the Conference Board of Canada that estimates a drop from 13.2 per cent to four per cent in the number of people not currently eligible for drug coverage under a public or private insurance plan in Ontario.
  • OHIP+ covers prescription medications listed on the Ontario Drug Benefit Formulary and additional medications eligible for funding through the Exceptional Access Program and prescribed by a doctor or nurse practitioner.
  • Ontario's public drug programs already help to pay for needed prescription medications for seniors, people with high drug costs and other vulnerable populations. It marks one of the many ways the Ontario government is leading a national discussion on the future shape of pharmacare in Canada.
  • Increasing the minimum wage is part of the Fair Workplaces, Better Jobs Act, 2017, which responds to the final report of the Changing Workplaces Review. The report estimated that more than 30 per cent of Ontario workers were in precarious work in 2014. Today part-time work represents nearly 20 per cent of total employment.
  • Since the global recession, more than 800,000 net new jobs have been created in Ontario. By 2020, Ontario is expected to create over 200,000 more net new jobs. The unemployment rate in Ontario is currently at a 17-year low.
 
 

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

 

QUOTES

"On January 1, people across Ontario woke up to a new year and a new province — one that is fairer and better for children and their families. When your child is sick, you press pause on life. I want every parent to know that, whatever health challenges may arise, finding the money for much-needed prescription drugs is one less thing for you to worry about — and an important way that we are fighting for fairness so that we all share in Ontario's economic success."
 — Kathleen Wynne, Premier of Ontario


"Cost should never be a barrier that prevents our young people from receiving the health care they need. We are protecting the health and lives of all children and youth in Ontario, 24 years of age and younger, by providing easy access to prescription medication at no cost that will also lift the financial burden off parents who are without coverage. We will not give up on our vision of a universal pharmacare system, so that one day all Ontarians will have access to free drug coverage to keep them healthy and strong."
 — Dr. Eric Hoskins, Minister of Health and Long-Term Care


 
 
 

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