[GWSG] China's solar; India's; CSP cost; water supply; tax on C; EPA on Hg and C; conversion a wash; euglena plankton

[Tilley, Al]

1.  China has increased its target for installed solar energy by 50% to 15 gigawatts in 2015.  It is fashioning a national feed-in tariff and transmission facilities to handle the new power.  Currently, China’s production capacity is 30-40 gigawatts of solar panels a year.  http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2011/12/asia-report-china-takes-sharp-turn-in-push-for-solar-energy?cmpid=WNL-Wednesday-December21-2011

2.  Two years ago India announced that they would increase their solar power production from about nothing to 20,000 megawatts by 2020.  They appear to be on track to meet or beat the target.  http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/29/business/energy-environment/in-solar-power-india-begins-living-up-to-its-own-ambitions.html?_r=1

3.  Concentrating solar power with power storage is more expensive than photovoltaic power.  When solar power is 10-15% of the grid, though, CSP in combination with pv becomes much more flexible and more cost competitive than pv alone because it provides more steady power.  http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2011/12/value-of-csp-increases-substantially-at-high-solar-penetration?cmpid=WNL-Wednesday-December21-2011

4.  Glaciers are melting more rapidly than anticipated, with severe implications for the water supply in many areas.  http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2011/12/1112-melting-glaciers-mean-double-trouble-for-water-supplies/

5.  As water becomes scarcer, ownership and water rights are becoming lively topics.  For example, large landholders in the northern parts of Florida could attempt to lay claim to the aquifer flowing to the south beneath their land.  http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/os-water-privatizing-fear-florida-20111224,0,3890883.story

6.  With the New Year the European Union will begin charging airlines whose flights originate or terminate in Europe for the carbon released during the entire flight.  The US and China had fought the rule and will continue to fight it.  http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/22/business/global/court-upholds-europes-plan-to-charge-airlines-for-carbon-emissions.html?_r=1

7.  A new EPA rule on emissions of mercury and other toxic pollutants will probably shut down several dozen coal plants.  The costs are far outweighed by the economic health benefits.  http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/12/21/us-usa-coal-mercury-idUSTRE7BK1DI20111221?feedType=RSS&feedName=environmentNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+reuters%2Fenvironment+%28News+%2F+US+%2F+Environment%29   The EPA has agreed to regulate carbon emissions from power plants and refineries by May 26, 2012 in accordance with a 2010 Supreme Court ruling and a subsequent suit brought by 11 states, the NRDC, the Sierra Club, and other parties.  http://www.epa.gov/airquality/ghgsettlement.html

8.  Cambridge physics prof David McKay, author of Sustainable Energy Without The Hot Air, is now a government energy advisor.  He has developed a calculator which indicates that it would cost about as much to do nothing as to meet England’s renewable energy goals for 2050—even ignoring the costs of increased global warming if the target is not met.  http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2011/dec/28/uk-switch-low-carbon-energy

9.  Euglena plankton, nutritious and easily grown, may play an important role in our food supply.  It can survive, fixing carbon and releasing oxygen, even in fossil fuel exhaust.  http://mdn.mainichi.jp/features/news/20111225p2a00m0na011000c.html
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