[GWSG] Solar mtges.; $ for community solar; why not buy coal plants?; coordinating satellites; Alaska a C sink?

[Tilley, Al]

1.  Fannie Mae now issues a HomeStyle Energy Mortgage for residential solar installations.  The cost is low, and the homeowner closes the mortgage and then uses it buy an installation within 180 days.  It provides an easy alternative to leasing a system and attractive financing for local installers.  The mortgage can also be used for energy efficiency remodeling: water efficient toilets, home sealing and insulation, window replacement, and so on.  There is a special provision for low income, low down payment borrowers.  http://blog.rmi.org/blog_2016_06_01_fannie_maes_financing_for_solar



2.  The Australian Green Party will spend $265.2m to establish a fund to support community solar projects.  Such mid-size shared installations give people who cannot afford or, because they live in multi-unit buildings or have shaded roofs, cannot install pv systems an opportunity to generate their own solar power.  http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/jun/04/greens-to-spend-265m-on-community-owned-renewable-energy-projects



3.  Fossil fuel interests are stalling the Clean Power Plan in court.  The federal government could just buy and shut the existing coal plants and retrain the workers, saving money in the process, and get rid of the nation's coal plants within a decade.  https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/the-federal-government-should-buy-coal-plants-shut-them-down-and-pay-to-retrain-their-employees/2016/06/03/eb08ebf4-0bdd-11e6-8ab8-9ad050f76d7d_story.html



4.  Sixty nations with space programs have agreed to coordinate their efforts to monitor the climate.  http://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/science/spacefaring-nations-to-pool-resources-for-earth/article8691226.ece



5.  As Alaska heats up, wildfires pump carbon skyward and melting permafrost releases methane.  But vegetation also flourishes, and the net result is that Alaska is now a carbon sink and will be an even stronger one as the century progresses, according to a new US Geological Survey study.  They omitted some sources, such as methane emissions from lakes, which are not well understood but which could tip the sink into a source.  It is also not clear whether the survey measured carbon emissions without distinguishing between CO2 and CH4 in estimating whether Alaska is a net carbon sink, and CH4 is about a hundred times more damaging than CO2 in the short run.  Still, the emissions picture for Alaska is more benign than expected.   https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2016/06/03/alaskas-huge-climate-mystery-and-its-global-consequences/?postshare=4471464970653523&tid=ss_tw  ?

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