[GWSG] Renewable jobs; Scotch tidal power; offshore wind; the reactionaries of the energy transition; plasma actuators

[Tilley, Al]

1.  There are more US jobs in solar alone than in oil, gas, and coal extraction.  Half a million Californians work in the renewable energy industry.  https://climatecrocks.com/2016/09/12/renewable-energy-a-jobs-creation-powerhouse/



2.  Scotland is launching a 49-foot turbine, the first of a large scale tidal power farm.  https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2016/sep/12/worlds-first-large-scale-tidal-energy-farm-launches-scotland



3.  The Obama administration has announced plans to develop 86 gigawatts of offshore wind power; the US has the potential to satisfy twice its electric power needs from offshore wind alone.  China has a target of 250 GW of wind by 2020.  (Keep scrolling down for the China story, and below that for Danish plans to build the world's largest offshore wind farm off the Yorkshire coast.  Below that is a story on Australia's success with wind power.)  http://inhabitat.com/obama-administration-aims-for-86-gigawatts-of-offshore-wind-by-2050/



4.  Fossil fuels are not retiring quietly.  The Koch brothers have just launched a new PR campaign to tell pleasant stories about their grisly merchandise.  https://cleantechnica.com/2016/09/12/new-us-offshore-wind-energy-plan-foresees-86-gigawatts-by-2050/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+IM-cleantechnica+%28CleanTechnica%29  The Obama administration continues to lease federal lands to oil and gas companies.  http://www.eenews.net/stories/1060042065   Big Oil, including the Koch brothers, have been funneling money to Republican attorneys general, Donald Trump, and the legislature, and have results to show for it.  Those results may come to bite the bought, or at least should, as climate effects accumulate.   https://www.theguardian.com/environment/climate-consensus-97-per-cent/2016/sep/14/trump-and-the-republican-party-are-doing-big-oils-bidding



5.  Plasma actuators on turbine blades (and aircraft wings) promise to deliver much greater efficiency as it smooths air flow.   Without allowing for the benefits of plasma, a survey of knowledgeable sources finds that the price of wind power is likely to drop 25% by 2030, both for onshore and offshore power.     https://climatecrocks.com/2016/09/14/wind-energy-to-benefit-from-high-tech-higher-turbines/  ?

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