Justice Delayed — New Sources of Carbon Pollution and the Clean Power Plan
October 27, 2016
By Joel B. Stronberg


...On Oct. 13, plaintiffs challenging the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s authority to issue New Source Performance Standards (NSPS) offered oral arguments to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit in the case of North Dakota, et. al. v USEPA, et. al. Don’t be fooled by the name; the challengers in this instance are basically the same crew of states, industry and organizations challenging the EPA’s authority to regulate CO2 emissions from existing power plants in the Clean Power Plan case West Virginia v EPA.

Technically the latest challenge is not a direct shot at the CPP. Finalized last August by EPA, the new source standards limit carbon emissions from four types of electric generating units (EGUs): new and modified fossil steam EGUs; reconstructed EGUs; and, new combined-cycle combustion turbines.

The two rules, however, are inextricably linked in the Clean Air Act (CAA/Act). According to the Act, EPA can neither require existing generating units under section 111(d) to meet stricter requirements than new units nor can they regulate existing sources before new or modified plants under section 111(b).

Stated simply, EPA is prohibited by the Act from regulating existing plants before new/modified ones. Practically speaking, even if the limits under 111(d) are found constitutional, a successful challenge of the NSPS would prevent EPA from ever enforcing the CPP.

Plaintiffs’ Argument

......

Florida utilities spend millions to make case to limit rooftop solar
BY MARY ELLEN KLAS Herald/Times Tallahassee Bureau

Lost in the tumultuous presidential election and the down-ballot fears, something big has been happening quietly in Florida this year: Electric companies have dropped $29.3 million into political campaigns.

Since January 2015, $20 million of the industry’s profits went to finance and promote Amendment 1, the ballot initiative that attempts to frustrate the expansion of consumer-owned rooftop solar in Florida. And another $9.3 million more went to fuel the campaigns of a select group of powerful legislative leaders in an effort to prepare for a prolonged war against rooftop solar. (Note this number is updated after a significant miscalculation of the total in initial reports.)

The bulk of the money is being used to promote Amendment 1 but, if that effort fails, the industry is also investing heavily into the Legislature to create favorable conditions in Florida, as utilities have in other states, to push back against the proliferation of rooftop solar. (The money the companies are allowed to use to finance campaigns does not come directly from consumer bills but from utility company profits, which are guaranteed as regulated monopolies.)

In other states, that effort has included attempts to make solar less economically feasible by reducing the amount the utility spends to reimburse customers for generating excess electricity to the grid through “net metering,” imposing new fees on solar users and pre-empting local governments from opening the door to more solar competition.　

Former Florida U.S. Sen. Bob Graham blasted the amendment on Tuesday as “deceptive” and unneeded...

Advanced Module Technologies Moving onto the Main Stage
October 31, 2016
By Roberto Labastida

....

...The main players in the market have been announcing small capacity expansions since early 2014, but these announcements have soared since November 2015. As they expand capacity, manufacturers are starting to introduce new technologies that could differentiate them from the competition.

The dramatic reduction in solar module prices during the past few years has exposed the importance of the balance-of-system (BOS) costs. Module and inverter manufacturers are increasingly finding themselves squeezed by the growing number of grid requirements, customer demands for increased functionality, and the need for solar to keep reducing costs to achieve grid parity in most of the world.

According to the latest U.S. Solar Photovoltaic System Cost Benchmark: Q1 2016 report published by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, non-equipment-related costs were $1.91/W, while the module plus inverter cost was only $0.85/W for a residential installation in the U.S. in 2015. For utility-scale projects, these costs vary significantly depending on the size of the installation, but non-hardware-related costs usually represent between 45 percent and 55 percent of the final cost of a project.

Manufacturers have targeted high-efficiency module technologies that allow them to keep module prices similar to current levels while simultaneously reducing other costs in the value chain. Passivated emitter rear cell (p-type PERC or simply PERC) modules and negative type (n-type) semiconductor modules have been the favored technologies for capacity expansion.

Tough Market to Test the Value of New Technologies

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PERC Solar Cell Technology Gaining Ground in 2014

Passivated emitter rear contact solar cells are at 20% efficiency today—but price premiums are steep.

by Jade Jones
August 14, 2014

Over the course of the last year, progress in the manufacturing of passivated emitter rear contact (PERC) solar cells has begun to reveal the full technological and commercial potential of this new cell architecture. There have been developments in equipment and manufacturing processes, as well as research, summarized in the following graphic....

Legal marijuana is finally doing what the drug war couldn’t
By Christopher Ingraham March 3

Legal marijuana may be doing at least one thing that a decades-long drug war couldn't: taking a bite out of Mexican drug cartels' profits.

The latest data from the U.S. Border Patrol shows that last year, marijuana seizures along the southwest border tumbled to their lowest level in at least a decade. Agents snagged roughly 1.5 million pounds of marijuana at the border, down from a peak of nearly 4 million pounds in 2009.



The data supports the many stories about the difficulties marijuana growers in Mexico face in light of increased competition from the north. As domestic marijuana production has ramped up in places such as California, Colorado and Washington, marijuana prices have fallen, especially at the bulk level.

"Two or three years ago, a kilogram [2.2 pounds] of marijuana was worth $60 to $90," a Mexican marijuana grower told NPR news in December 2014. "But now they're paying us $30 to $40 a kilo. It's a big difference. If the U.S. continues to legalize pot, they'll run us into the ground."

And it's not just price — Mexican growers are facing pressure on quality...

French nuclear problems shake European power market, boost prices
* French nuclear fleet restricted, causing tight supply

* Prices up across Europe's medium-, long-term curve

* Germany, others to plug gaps, see their prices rise

* Problems increase importance of winter weather

By Vera Eckert and Oleg Vukmanovic

FRANKFURT/MILAN, Oct 27 Deepening setbacks to France's nuclear reactors have shaken confidence in Europe's wholesale electricity markets as traders push winter prices to new highs in anticipation of fresh outages and tight supply.

The month-long rally intensified this week after French nuclear safety watchdog ASN warned its sprawling probe into forged quality control reports on reactor parts would turn up more irregularities. .

This leaves traders guessing as to how many more reactors could be shut.

The scale of forced closures in nuclear power-reliant France - 19 reactors offline and 12 more due to shut - is the biggest since the Fukushima disaster in 2011 crippled Japan's entire nuclear sector....

Brexit sees UK drop to new low in global renewable energy league table
The Government’s decisions to scrap the Department for Energy and Climate Change and approve a new nuclear power station at Hinkley Point also hit investor confidence in green energy

Ian Johnston Environment Correspondent Thursday 27 October 2016


The UK has fallen to its lowest position on an international league table of the best countries to invest in renewable energy following Brexit and Theresa May’s decision to scrap the Energy and Climate Change Department.

Analysts EY, part of financial giant Ernst & Young Global, put Britain, normally a regular in the top 10, in 14th place on the Renewable Energy Country Attractiveness Index, just behind Morocco.

The UK energy industry has complained that numerous and sudden changes in Government policy are putting off potential investors in any kind of electricity generation, threatening what could be a “golden age” of cheap and green power.

In a report, EY said: “Uncertainty caused by Brexit, the closure of the Department of Energy & Climate Change and the approval of [nuclear power plant] Hinkley Point C all dealt a sizeable blow to the UK renewables sector....

When Soda Makers Fund Studies, Links to Obesity Weaken
Biased research muddies the health harms of sugary drinks, researchers contend
Monday, October 31, 2016

MONDAY, Oct. 31, 2016 (HealthDay News) -- If you come across a study claiming that sugary drinks don't cause obesity or diabetes, check to see who's paid for the research.

Most likely the study has financial ties to the beverage industry, according to a new review of the scientific evidence.

Every experimental study that found no link between sugary drinks and obesity or diabetes has received financial support from the beverage industry, said lead researcher Dr. Dean Schillinger. He's a professor of medicine and founding director of the University of California, San Francisco's Center for Vulnerable Populations.

On the other hand, nearly all experimental studies that establish a direct link between consuming sugary drinks and developing obesity and diabetes have not received funding from beverage makers, Schillinger and his colleagues reported.

"The industry seems to be using the scientific method to sow doubt about the truth related to their products," Schillinger said....

Lititz firm’s solar-powered farm cart makes for easy pickins’
JON RUTTER | LNP Correspondent 4 hrs ago (0)

BLAINE SHAHAN | Staff Photographer
Autumn Lehman, 11, picks strawberries from a solar-powered Picking Assistant.

In a sunny Manheim Township field, Stephen Lehman is picking everbearing strawberries.

But this usually grueling job is no sweat for the 13 year old.

On this recent afternoon, Stephen is shielded from the strong October rays. And his back doesn't hurt because he's not stooped over the rows.

There's no punch line here. Just a device named the Picking Assistant, a self-propelled cart with a white, all-weather canopy.

The machine literally lets farmers lie down on the job while working in the field.

"I think it is easier" to work with the Picking Assistant, says Stephen.

Stephen's....

Warming to lithium-ion, Toyota charges up its battery options


...While rivals including Tesla Motors and Nissan Motor Co began adopting lithium-ion battery technology nearly a decade ago, Toyota has largely held back due to concerns over cost, size and safety.

...Having Toyota endorse lithium-ion will be a fillip for the developing technology, and gives the automaker the option to produce for an all-electric passenger car market which it has avoided, preferring to put its heft behind hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles (FCVs).

Toyota says its Prius Prime, a soon-to-be-launched plug-in electric version of the world's top-selling gasoline hybrid, will use lithium-ion batteries, with enough energy to make the car go around 60 kms (37.3 miles) when fully charged before the gasoline engine kicks in. Because of different methodology in measuring a car's electric mode range, the Prime's 60 km range will be listed in the United States as around 25 miles (40.2 kms).

<snip>

While Toyota sees FCVs as the ultimate 'green' car, the United States and China are encouraging automakers to make more all-electric battery cars as they push alternative energy strategies. <snort>

Fatal Measles Complication Killed Patients Years Later
by MAGGIE FOX

A deadly measles complication that kills kids years after they seemingly recover may not be as rare as doctors thought, researchers said Friday.

...

They say they're afraid the condition is far more common than anyone thought, and say it strongly reinforces the need for vaccinating every single child who can be.

...

The victims all had a condition called subacute sclerosing panencephalitis or SSPE. It's caused when the measles virus stays in the brain, usually for years, after a young child is infected and has recovered.

Once thought very rare, a recent study in Germany and now the California study suggest SSPE is far more common than previously believed. Original estimates suggested it affected 1 in 100,000 kids, but in the California cases 1 in 600 people who got measles as infants developed SSPE, the researchers said....