SD aims for 100% renewable energy
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An additional 520 megawatts of new wind power have been added in the country just in the first quarter of 2016 according to The American Wind Energy Association U.S. Wind Industry First Quarter 2016 Market Report.
The report states that an additional 2,000 megawatts of project are now under construction which raises the amount of wind capacity that is currently in construction to more than 10,000 megawatts.
The first quarter of 2016 had been the most productive for the wind industry since the first quarter of 2012.
According to AWEA’s report there are now more than 48,800 wind turbines operating nationwide across 40 states, Puerto Rico and Guam. These turbines are estimated to generate power for 20 million homes.
During the latest quarter Oklahoma led the way in wind development, having installed 270 megawatts followed by Iowa with 154, Utah 62 and New Mexico with 32.
“Our productive first quarter reflects the strength of American wind power entering 2016” said Tom Kiernan, chief executive officer of AWEA to Renewable Energy magazine. “We have a low-cost product that’s in high demand. As the wind business builds momentum, we’re prepared to double wind’s contribution to America’s electricity supply in the next five years.”
San Diego aiming for 100 percent
Last week one of the United Kingdom’s largest publications The Guardian featured the ongoing efforts the city of San Diego is making to cut carbon emissions and to transition into renewable energy.
The city of San Diego passed the Climate Action Plan last December which aims to use 100 percent renewable energy citywide by 2035, cut vehicle trips in designated transit areas by 20 percent within next five years and by 50 percent within two decades, boost the urban tree canopy by 15 percent in five years and by 35 percent within two decades, recycle or compost 75 percent of all solid waste within five years and by 90 percent within two decades, increase zero-emission vehicles in city government’s fleet to 50 percent in five years and 90 percent within two decades.
Despite the fact that some presidential candidates have called climate change a hoax, the efforts in San Diego have been by partisan and have Republican Mayor Kevin Faulconer playing an important role in the adoption of the Climate Action Plan.
Faulconer told The Guardian last week, “This isn’t a partisan issue. I’ve said from the very beginning there’s enough partisan politics at the national level. I was a volunteer for our parks before becoming mayor; I love our natural resources, our beaches and landscapes. I feel strongly about protecting them.”
A victory for fracking
On Monday the Colorado Supreme Court overruled local bans on fracking that had been locally passed in Fort Collins and Longmont.
According to the Coloradoan, in its decision regarding local fracking bans and moratoriums, the court called both laws “invalid and unenforceable” because they’re preempted by state law.
“Today’s decision is deeply unsettling. The Colorado Supreme Court has now ruled that corporate polluters’ profits outweigh the will of Coloradans who have said ‘no’ to fracking and ‘yes’ to a safe environment for their communities,” Sierra Club Executive Director Michael Brune said in a statement.