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California lawmakers pass bill to phase out fossil fuels by 2045
Lawmakers in California have strengthened the state's commitment to clean energy by passing a bill to stop using fossil fuels entirely by 2045. The legislature passed S.B. 100 by 43 votes to 32, making California the second state to take such a step, following Hawaii. The bill now moves to a procedural vote in the Senate, and then to Governor Jerry Brown to sign it into law. Around 72 percent of the state's residents were in support of the move, according to polls cited by CBS.
Apple announces $300 million fund for clean energy in China
Tonight Apple announced a new partnership that will connect its suppliers in China to renewable energy sources. This isn't its first push to increase the use of clean energy in the country that has been called the world's most polluting, but it does increase the scale. Along with ten suppliers, the company will jointly invest "nearly $300 million" over the next four years in to the China Clean Energy Fund. The fund itself will be run by European asset management company DWS Group, with a plan to "give its participants the advantage of greater purchasing power and the ability to attain more attractive and diverse clean energy solutions." That's because even as clean energy project increase, Apple said that smaller companies may not have access to them. Just a few months ago Apple said that it is entirely powered by clean energy (when you include renewable energy certificates it has purchased to cover about 34 percent of its usage), and by 2020 it will, along with its suppliers "generate more than 4 gigawatts of new clean energy worldwide."
Tesla will sell solar panels and Powerwalls at Home Depot
Just how much is the average consumer interested in solar power? Tesla is about to find out, as it is bringing photovoltaic panels and Powerwall batteries to US retail giant Home Depot, Bloomberg reports. Elon Musk's company will install Tesla-branded selling spaces at 800 locations, with its own employees on hand to explain the benefits. Later on, sources say it may also bring the much-anticipated solar roof, which generates electricity but looks and costs like a regular (high-end) roof.
Microsoft plans a 75 percent reduction in carbon emissions by 2030
Microsoft has pledged to slash its carbon emissions by 75 percent by 2030, against a 2013 baseline. By pushing its carbon neutrality plans and renewable energy commitments, the target puts the company on track to meet the goals set in the Paris Climate Agreement, and of course puts a big tick in its corporate social responsibility box.
World’s first floating wind farm powers up in Scotland
The blades of five huge turbines have begun spinning on the world's first floating offshore wind farm, located over 15 miles off the coast of Peterhead, Aberdeenshire in Scotland. First Minister Nicola Sturgeon is cutting the ribbon on the renewable energy site today -- presumably in an on-land ceremony -- which is capable of pumping 30 megawatts of clean electricity into the grid. In more human terms, that's enough to power approximately 20,000 homes. The turbines of Hywind Scotland stand 253 meters tall in total (around 830 feet), with 78 meters (256 feet) of that bobbing beneath the surface, tethered to the seabed by chains weighing 1,200 tonnes.
‘Safer’ thorium reactor trials could salvage nuclear power
A Dutch nuclear research institute is conducting the first experiment in close to five decades on molten-salt nuclear reactors based on thorium. Long hailed as a potential "safer" nuclear power, thorium reactor research could provide clean, affordable and "large-scale energy production." That's according to scientists from the Nuclear Research and Consulting Group (NRG) in Petten, Netherlands. If successful, the trials could result in a switch to next-gen thorium reactors, which are less likely to suffer meltdowns in comparison to their current uranium-based counterparts.
San Francisco train service plans to run solely on clean energy
Commuter trains are already somewhat eco-friendly by their nature (you're less likely to need a car, after all), but the San Francisco Bay Area's train system is taking things one step further. BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) has unveiled a policy that will gradually move it to completely renewable energy. It starts off modestly by limiting CO2 emissions now through 2024, but the plans will be more aggressive after that. At least half of its energy will have to come from renewable sources by 2025, with 90 percent of it from low or zero-carbon sources. All of it will have to be zero-carbon by 2035, while complete reliance on renewable sources would come by 2045.
What Trump's budget would mean for NASA and climate change
President Donald Trump's proposed 2018 budget beefs up the Defense Department while removing funds from the Environmental Protection Agency, Department of Energy, NASA and many other government agencies. Congress still has to pass the budget, but if it's approved it will shut down a handful of programs designed to research and combat climate change. Despite overwhelming consensus in the scientific community, multiple members of the Trump administration have argued that climate change is not a man-made occurrence, including new EPA head Scott Pruitt. So, it's not surprising that Trump's proposed budget slashes climate change research programs and funding -- but it is concerning.
Obama: Clean energy has an 'irreversible momentum'
Listen to the rhetoric and you'd be forgiven for thinking that Barack Obama's presidential legacy will be torn apart in the next couple of months. But the 44th president believes that his work in pushing America toward a cleaner, greener future won't be undone as easily as his successor believes. That's the subject of a piece that Obama has written for Science entitled "The irreversible momentum of clean energy."
Tesla's new Roadster, and more in the week that was
Has Tesla succeeded in creating a vehicle that reacts faster than its driver? A recently-surfaced dashcam video appears to show Tesla's autopilot mode predicting an accident moments before it actually happens. It currently takes hours to charge an electric car - but Elon Musk just hinted that Tesla's next-gen superchargers will be able to juice up an eve in mere seconds. Musk also confirmed plans for a new Tesla Roadster, which is expected to debut in 2019. Uber recently launched a fleet of self-driving cars in California, but the state promptly shut the experiment down. Uber won't have to look far for a new testing grounds, though - Nevada is welcoming the company's self-driving taxis.
ICYMI: Genetically-modified mosquitoes are coming
try{document.getElementById("aol-cms-player-1").style.display="none";}catch(e){}Today on In Case You Missed It: Voters in the Florida Keys may have passed a measure to use bioengineered mosquitoes to combat the Zika virus and Dengue fever, but it's still a battle to get a community to accept the insects. The FDA has approved use of altered bugs that are designed to mate, which would then result in offspring that would quickly die. You can get caught up on the back-and-forth, here.
Part of Scotland will soon be powered by kites
Name a method of generating power that's cheap, efficient, sustainable and sounds like something Mary Poppins dreamed up after downing 20 teaspoons of sugar. That's right -- kite power. One of the world's first non-experimental, kite-driven power stations will be established offshore in Southern Scotland, at the Ministry of Defence's West Freugh Range near Stranraer. UK company Kite Power Solutions plans to install a 500 kilowatt system that it expects will generate 'several hundred megawatts' of energy by 2025, Independent reports.
Tesla and Solar City agree to a $2.6 billion merger
Tesla has confirmed that it will buy SolarCity for $2.6 billion, a deal that unites two Elon Musk firms as one giant green company. The merged business will sell solar panels, Powerwall batteries to store the energy and electric cars that run on it. It's the "end-to-end clean energy" solution promised by Elon Musk in his "Master Plan Part Deux" just two weeks ago. SolarCity also revealed that it will introduce an "integrated solar and storage offering," and a solar product "focused on the 5 million new roofs installed each year in the US."
World's largest solar power plant experiences minor meltdown
A small fire temporarily shut down the generator at the Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System near the California-Nevada border Thursday. According to the Associated Press, some wires at the power plant melted and caught fire after a misaligned mirror zapped them with concentrated sunbeams.
Want Tesla's home battery soon? Go to Vermont
Tesla's upcoming Powerwall battery might be sold out through mid-2016, but you might get one as soon as January... if you live in the right state, that is. Vermont's Green Mountain Power will offer the home energy pack to residents who want to save the environment (and lighten the load on the electrical grid) by generating and storing their own electricity. If you share the battery with GMP, you can either get a $31.76 credit on your bill (if you buy the Powerwall for $6,500 outright) or pay $37.50 per month with no money down. You can also buy the Powerwall without sharing it, if you'd rather keep all that juice to yourself.
Bill Gates is launching a multibillion-dollar clean energy fund
Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates is set to reveal a massive clean energy project on Monday, during the first day of the United Nations climate change summit in Paris. According to Reuters, which originally reported the news, the French government has confirmed that the ex-CEO-turned-philanthropist will launch the Clean Tech Initiative, a push to commit countries to double their budgets on clean energy tech research and developments by 2020. But Gates won't be working on this multibillion dollar fund alone: The US, Australia, Canada, France, India, Indonesia, Norway, Saudi Arabia and South Korea will all be backing the plan, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters.
Clean energy is nearly as inexpensive as coal and gas
One of the biggest obstacles to adopting solar or wind power is simply the cost of getting started. However much an electricity company might save in the long run, that up-front expense is tough to swallow. Or rather, it was -- Bloomberg New Energy Finance study has found that the cost of clean energy has dropped so much that it's within spitting distance of dirty sources like coal and gas. The global average cost of onshore wind power has dipped to $83 per megawatt-hour, while silicon solar power now costs $122. Neither of those figures is trivial, but they're not much different than what firms pay for coal (which has risen to $75 per MWh in the Americas) or gas turbines ($82 per MWh). Some green tech is still expensive, such as offshore wind ($174) and marine ($400-plus), but prices have fallen there, too.
Facebook says renewables will power 50% of its data centers by 2018
Facebook is stepping up its commitment to renewable energy today. While announcing a new data center in Fort Worth (above), which happens to be entirely powered by wind energy, the social network also set a new goal of having 50 percent of its data centers relying on renewables by the end of 2018. That follows an earlier self-imposed goal to have 25 percent of its data centers powered by clean energy come the end of this year. Naturally, Facebook plans to have all of its operations powered by renewable energy eventually. It's also working together with Greenpeace -- which took today's announcement as a chance to shame Amazon for its data center energy usage -- to ensure that it's exploring new energy options properly. Facebook teamed up with Citi Energy, Starwood Energy, and Alterra Power to bring a 17,000 acre wind farm online for its new Fort Worth data hub, which should deliver around 200 MW of energy to Texas. Facebook plans to get that new data center online by the end of 2016.
Audi makes eco-friendly diesel from carbon dioxide and water
In an ideal, pollution-free world, everyone would be driving electric and hydrogen fuel cell cars. Audi knows society isn't quite there yet, however, so it has a stopgap if you still get around using conventional vehicles. The automaker recently produced its first batch of "e-diesel," a synthetic diesel based solely on carbon dioxide and water -- readily available chemicals that are far nicer than sulfur and other typical diesel elements. It's even relatively eco-friendly to make, as you use electrolysis to break down the water and merge it with the CO2 in a high-efficiency synthesis process.
Tesla will reveal a battery for your home at its April event
You don't have to wonder any longer as to what Tesla will unveil at its April 30th event -- the company just spoiled things in advance. In an email to investors, the company states that its shindig will reveal both a previously-teased battery for your home and a "very large," utility-oriented battery. Details aren't forthcoming (those are for the big show!), but there's a good chance that the hardware will build on the concepts behind existing home batteries, which are often used to store excess solar power and provide backups during outages. The real questions are whether or not Tesla can improve on personal powerplants like it did electric cars, and how much you'll pay versus the competition. You'll likely get the answers to both riddles in just over a week.
