Henry Harrell"s Blog: July 8 Green Energy News

Headline News:

In New Jersey, 25,000 homes – worth nearly $10 billion – will be at risk of chronic flooding by 2035. Those properties could flood 26 times or more annually, according to a recent study by the Union of Concerned Scientists, making New Jersey the state that will be hit the hardest in the contiguous US in terms of value of property at risk by 2035. [NJ.com]

Flooding in Sea Bright, New Jersey

“The roiled solar power market shows how Trump’s tariffs can disrupt an industry” • A 30% US tariff on imported solar panels should have caused prices here to jump. But when tariffs are unleashed, as businesses are learning, things don’t always go as expected. In the US, prices have not changed, but worldwide solar prices declined 35%. [Los Angeles Times]
China had 53% of the global new solar capacity in 2017, up from 45% in 2016. But its new solar policy reduces the amount of solar to be installed in China. Most forecasters project a downturn in PV production, but IHS Markit predicts that the global solar market will increase by around 11% to 105 GW in 2018 in spite of Chinese policy. [CleanTechnica]
The UK has already decided to ban the sale of new cars and vans with internal combustion engines by 2040 but some are calling for that ban to happen sooner to improve air quality near many roads and highways. The CEO of Royal Dutch Shell, told The Guardian he supports the calls to move up the effective date of the ban. [CleanTechnica]
Incoming EPA chief Andrew Wheeler said in a new interview that he believes humans have played a role in climate change, but the EPA will likely not change much under his leadership. He said that he will continue to pursue alternatives to the Clean Power Plan, which he has criticized for going “outside the four corners of the Clean Air Act.” [The Hill]

Henry Harrell"s Blog