[GWSG] 2k MW of IA wind; 100 gw for the EU; est. C from melt; appeal to G20; electric plane; 100% renewable; Obama on cc

[Tilley, Al]

1.  A 2,000-megawatt wind farm has been approved for Iowa.  The project, the largest in the US, is scheduled to begin operation in 2019.  More than a third of Iowa's power is already generated by wind.  http://www.ecowatch.com/largest-wind-farm-1990963430.html



2.  The largest planned onshore wind farm is the Chinese Gansu 20,000 MW project due for 2020.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_onshore_wind_farms  More than 100 gigawatts of offshore wind projects are planned or under development in Europe.  China has set a goal of 30 GW of offshore wind by 2020.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Offshore_wind_power  The average cost of wind energy in the US is 2.35 cents per kilowatt-hour.  The first video on the linked site describes the use of 3D printing to design and manufacture turbine blades more quickly and more cheaply.  Bigger ones, too, than can be transported on public roadways to a site.  http://energy.gov/eere/next-generation-wind-technology



3.  Tweaking climate models of the last deglaciation provides a much more accurate picture of the effects of melting permafrost on the C content of the atmosphere, and therefore on temperatures.  The models suggest that melting permafrost and peat will add 10-40% to emissions, depending on how much we heat the atmosphere through our own additions.  Without our additions, the soil would sequester C and cool the earth slightly.  http://arstechnica.com/science/2016/08/climate-simulations-show-effects-of-releasing-permafrost-carbon/



4.  The G20 meets next month and will deal with a timetable to end the subsidies to fossil fuels.  Three large insurers, the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries, and the Sierra Club have called on the G20 to end fossil fuel subsidies by 2020.  The International Monetary Fund estimates such subsidies at $5.3tn a year, including costs incurred by damage to the environment and human health.  https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/aug/30/leading-insurers-tell-g20-to-stop-funding-fossil-fuels-by-2020



5.  NASA is working on an electric plane, the X-57 Maxwell.  One idea is to replace the batteries with the structure of the plane itself.  https://climatecrocks.com/2016/08/31/this-is-getting-real-nasa-working-on-electric-flight/



6.  For about four days last May Portugal ran entirely on renewable energy.  One of the players in its development is a solar energy cooperative.  In Denmark, 80% of the wind energy is generated by citizen-owned cooperatives.  http://www.cnn.com/2016/09/01/world/eco-solutions-renewables-spc/index.html



7.  In Hawaii President Obama addressed representatives from almost 200 countries on conservation and climate change as two hurricanes approached.  He said that he intends to continue work on climate for the remainder of his term as president, and after.  The tape is about twelve minutes long.  https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/sep/01/obama-climate-change-hawaii-nevada  ?

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