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Fwd: [Coal Volunteers List] Fwd: Webinar Invite: Going Local: Efficiency for Local Governments & Muni Utilities
by Paul Wilson 22 Jan '13

22 Jan '13

it would be nice to have more of a lead time on these announcements, fyi, paul ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Jennifer Miller <jen.miller(a)sierraclub.org> Date: Mon, Jan 7, 2013 at 1:54 PM Subject: [Coal Volunteers List] Fwd: Webinar Invite: Going Local: Efficiency for Local Governments & Muni Utilities To: coal-volunteers-list(a)sierraclub.org Going Local: Efficiency for Local Governments & Muni Utilities Join us for > a Webinar on January 23 @ 3PM EST OR 7PM EST > > Updating streetlights, greening government buildings, and improving waste > water treatment facilities are surefire ways for local governments to > reduce energy waste, cut pollution from dirty energy, and to protect > taxpayers from high energy bills, making more room in the budget for city > services like schools and parks. Experts at the American Council for an > Energy Efficient Economy will highlight a number efficiency opportunities > for local governments and tools that activists can use to help push city > and county governments to prioritize efficiency. > > There are a number of Municipal Utilities making strides in energy > efficiency across the country. Our guests will also highlight some best > practices for Municipal Utilities as well as tools activists can use to > promote efficiency by Munis. > > *For the 3PM EST webinar, please register by clicking this link:* > https://www4.gotomeeting.com/register/972661567 > * > * > *For the 7PM EST webinar, please register by clicking this link: * > https://www4.gotomeeting.com/register/770729543 > After registering you will receive a confirmation email containing > information about joining the Webinar. > > *System Requirements* > PC-based attendees > Required: Windows® 7, Vista, XP or 2003 ServerMac®-based attendees > Required: Mac OS® X 10.5 or newer > Mobile attendees > Required: iPhone®, iPad®, Android™ phone or Android tablet > > -- > > Jen Miller > > (614)563-9543 > > Senior Campaign Representative for Energy Efficiency > > Sierra Club National Beyond Coal Campaign > <https://www4.gotomeeting.com/register/770729543> > > > > > > > > > > -- > > Jen Miller > > (614)563-9543 > > Senior Campaign Representative for Energy Efficiency > > Sierra Club National Beyond Coal Campaign > > > > pst....My work is now national in scope, but I'm still based in Columbus, > Ohio (the Eastern Time Zone)! > > > -- *Conservation Chair, Southern Nevada Group of the Sierra Club* *Energy Chair, Toiyabe Chapter of the Sierra Club* * * *Once you choose hope, anything's possible. -- Christopher Reeve* -- Jen Miller (614)563-9543 Senior Campaign Representative for Energy Efficiency Sierra Club National Beyond Coal Campaign pst....My work is now national in scope, but I'm still based in Columbus, Ohio (the Eastern Time Zone)! -- Jen Miller (614)563-9543 Senior Campaign Representative for Energy Efficiency Sierra Club National Beyond Coal Campaign pst....My work is now national in scope, but I'm still based in Columbus, Ohio (the Eastern Time Zone)! -- To access the Beyond Coal Campaign Resource Portal, go to: https://sites.google.com/a/sierraclub.org/beyond-coal-resource-portal/ --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "#Coal-Volunteers" group. To post to this group, send email to coal-volunteers-list(a)sierraclub.org. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to coal-volunteers-list+unsubscribe(a)sierraclub.org. -- Paul Wilson Sierra Club 504 Jefferson Ave Charles Town, WV 25414-1130 Phone: 304-725-4360 Cell: 304-279-1361 "There is no forward until you have gone back" ~Buddha "In all things of nature there is something of the marvelous" ~ Aristotle

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Fwd: comment re sierra club attorney request
by James Kotcon 18 Jan '13

18 Jan '13

Anyone want to reply? JBK >>> Betty Wiley <betty.w304(a)gmail.com> 1/18/2013 10:11 AM >>> Jim, see the message below from Craig Segall, attorney working for Sierra Club apparently. He seems in a hurry for information and then says he checks email infrequently and to call him for a quick reply. I would interpret that as a poor way to get responses. Betty Wiley On Thu, Jan 17, 2013 at 12:19 PM, Craig Segall - Sierra <craig.segall(a)sierraclub.org> wrote: Hi all, We're working on comments on DOE's LNG export study. I'd like to raise the costs experienced by gas field communities in partial response. If folks can point me towards the latest, greatest studies on community impacts and on the treatment costs for gas wastes, I'd very much appreciate it. Thanks! Craig -- I check email infrequently. Please call me if you need a quick reply. Craig Segall Staff Attorney Sierra Club Environmental Law Program 50 F St NW, Eighth Floor Washington, DC 20001 (202)-548-4597 ( tel:(202)-548-4597 ) (202)-547-6009 ( tel:(202)-547-6009 ) (fax) Craig.Segall(a)sierraclub.org

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McKinley on Carbon taxes.
by James Kotcon 18 Jan '13

18 Jan '13

See article below on McKinley's carbon tax resolution. The reporter, David Beard, has asked to do a follow-up interview for a series on shale gas and fracking. Anyone want to chime in? JBK P.S. The only error Beard made was describing the spending on SuperStorm Sandy as "millions". The correct figure is "billions". McKinley reintroduces resolution on a national carbon tax sec=news;pos=top;sz=160x600;tile=2;ord=88732447;abr=!ie;abr=!aol"sec=news;pos=top;sz=160x600;tile=2;ord=88732447;abr=!ie;abr=!aol" width="160" height="600" border="0"&gt &lt/a&gt Copyright (C) 2013, The Dominion Post, Morgantown, W.Va. Jan 17, 2013 -- Rep. David McKinley, R-W.Va., has reintroduced his November resolution proposing to express Congress' opposition to a national carbon tax on fossil fuels. "A carbon tax would increase the cost of everything from driving a car to heating and cooling a home," he said in a Wednesday release. "It would be especially burdensome on middle class Americans and prevent our economy from recovering. Raising taxes on everyone from manufacturers to homeowners is not the way to improve our economy and Congress should reject this idea." McKinley introduced the resolution -- House Concurrent Resolution 8 -- on Tuesday. There is no active pro-carbon tax bill in Congress. The Library of Congress shows the most recent was the Save Our Climate Act of 2011, sponsored by Rep. Pete Stark, D-Calif. It proposed an annual excise tax on carbon-based fuels -- including coal, natural gas ( http://futures.tradingcharts.com/chart/NG_/M ) and petroleum -- until carbon dioxide emissions for a calendar year would not exceed 20 percent of the level of emissions for calendar year 1990. This bill died in the Ways and Means Committee. A carbon tax advocacy group, the Carbon Tax Center, sees the tax as a kind of economic sanction to force social and technological change. It says such a tax will reduce the use of fossil fuels and their attendant emissions of carbon dioxide. By driving the costs up, the tax will force energy suppliers to seek other forms of fuel. And it will force consumers to use lower-carbon products -- including home energy and vehicle fuels -- to save money. Sources speaking on background told The Dominion Post the White House has no plans to propose a carbon tax. White House Regional Communications Director Keith Maley said in an email exchange, "The President has made clear that he believes that climate change is real, that it is impacted by human activity and that we must continue to take steps to confront this threat. In the President's first term the administration has taken historic action including proposing the first national standard for harmful carbon pollution from new power plants, as well as establishing unprecedented standards for cars and trucks that will slash emissions of carbon pollution while, at the same time, saving consumers billions of dollars at the pump. The President has made clear that his administration will continue to build on this progress and climate change will be a priority in his second term." HCR8 is identical to McKinley's November resolution and is before the House Committee on Ways and Means. McKinley is a member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, and Energy Chairman Rep. Fred Upton, R-Mich., and Chairman Emeritus Rep. Joe Barton, R-Texas, are co-sponsors. McKinley's West Virginia colleagues, Democratic Rep. Nick Rahall and Republican Rep. Shelley Moore Capito, are also cosponsors. McKinley said again, "Given our current economic climate, this is the worst time to implement another tax on coal, oil ( http://futures.tradingcharts.com/chart/CL_/M ) and gas -- industries that fuel our economy. Affordable and abundant electricity ( http://futures.tradingcharts.com/chart/JM/M ) from coal and natural gas ( http://futures.tradingcharts.com/chart/NG_/M ) is essential to our way of living and a carbon tax would increase the cost of electricity ( http://futures.tradingcharts.com/chart/JM/M ) and put a financial burden on American families." McKinley's resolution notes several problems with such a tax, among them: A carbon tax will have a dramatic, immediate impact on transportation costs, with the greatest impact being felt by low-income Americans and their families who already spend the largest share of their income on energy and are least able to afford a carbon tax. A carbon tax is designed to result in substantial, immediate increases in the price of electricity, making electricity ( http://futures.tradingcharts.com/chart/JM/M ) less affordable for millions of Americans. A carbon tax would be punitive and harmful to the American people by artificially raising electricity ( http://futures.tradingcharts.com/chart/JM/M ) costs. A carbon tax will drive the unemployment rate even higher. A carbon tax is likely to have an uneven effect, hitting different regions of the country and segments of the economy much more severely than others. A carbon tax will have no impact on China, India, and other major sources of carbon emissions throughout the world, except to put United States exporters at a competitive disadvantage by increasing domestic manufacturing production costs. McKinley's is the first anti-carbon tax resolution of the new Congress, the 113th. There were two others, along with McKinley's in the 112th. Rep. Mike Pompeo, RKan., introduced HCR 144 in December. It had five bullet points, compared to McKinley's 10. Capito also co-sponsored this one. Pompeo is a co-sponsor of HCR8. On the Senate side, Sen. David Vitter, R-La., introduced a twin to HCR 144 in December. According to reports, a carbon tax has virtually no chance of moving forward in the House. The conservative group Americans for Prosperity reported last July that the entire House GOP leadership team has signed its "No Climate Tax" pledge. Sierra Club West Virginia Chapter Energy Committee Chairman Jim Kotcon said of the resolution, "We certainly understand his concern about the economic impact of a carbon tax on West Virginia. But Congressman McKinley has to recognize that West Virginia is already paying for climate change." He cited the millions spent on Superstorm Sandy recovery and more millions on other extreme weather events across the state. Real costs ensue from dependence on fossil fuels, Kotcon said, and Republicans should be finding new ways to address climate change. "And it is important we start immediately. If not a carbon tax, what will we do?" Kotcon said no single method can address climate change. We need to send the right market signal regarding carbon dioxide emissions, but in a way that provides economic justice for West Virginians. Energy efficiency is important, he said. "A more efficient economy has got to be good for business." And promoting clean sources -- solar, wind and biomass fuels -- will help begin the transition from rapidly depleting fossil fuels.___ (c)2013 The Dominion Post (Morgantown, W.Va.) Visit The Dominion Post (Morgantown, W.Va.) at www.dominionpost.com Distributed by MCT Information Services

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Fwd: WVNS story: New Analysis: Evidence of Climate Change Stronger Than Ever
by Paul Wilson 18 Jan '13

18 Jan '13

---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Public News Service <wvns(a)newsservice.org> Date: Fri, Jan 18, 2013 at 3:35 AM Subject: WVNS story: New Analysis: Evidence of Climate Change Stronger Than Ever To: PaulWilson <pjgrunt(a)gmail.com> New Analysis: Evidence of Climate Change Stronger Than Ever Dan Heyman, Public News Service-WV http://www.publicnewsservice.org/index.php?/content/article/30358-1 Join the discussion: facebook.com/PublicNewsService<http://www.facebook.com/PublicNewsService> Twitter: @pns_news <http://twitter.com/#!/pns_news> @pns_WV<http://twitter.com/#!/pns_WV> Google+: plus.to/publicnewsservice <http://plus.google.com/106260479325451709866> (01/18/13) CHARLESTON, W.Va. – Climate experts say the evidence is stronger than ever that climate change is happening, and that it comes with devastating consequences for West Virginia and the rest of the nation. A new draft of the National Climate Assessment, released this week, says the impacts of climate change, including extreme weather events, are becoming more apparent. Carol Browner, former White House director of Climate and Energy, says those impacts will increase as global emissions continue to rise. "This new assessment really confirms what the scientists have been telling us and what our eyes are telling us. It's getting hotter. We're seeing more violent, more frequent storms. We're seeing impacts on the economy and we're seeing impacts on public health." The report <http://ncadac.globalchange.gov> comes as 2012 made the record books as the hottest year in U.S. history. It presents a grim outlook for future extreme weather events. Browner says we need to do more to reduce greenhouse gases. The assessment is issued every four years, and the current draft is available for public comment until April 12th. The Obama administration has implemented several regulations to curtail emissions of carbon dioxide. Last year, the Environmental Protection Agency proposed the first-ever carbon pollution standard for new power plants. That provoked harsh criticism from the coal industry and it's political allies, but Browner says there is much more work to be done. "The administration has already taken some important steps, but we've got to really continue, as a country, to take this issue seriously. That's what this report is telling us." Many of West Virginia’s most important business and political leaders maintain climate change is unproven and some even charge that it's a hoax. Jim Sconyers, chair of the West Virginia chapter of the Sierra Club, says people need to get their heads out of the sand, especially given the dramatic damage West Virginia has suffered during recent climate events. "Climate change is real. People like to keep saying there's this side of the story and then there's the other side of the story. Well, there's no 'other side' of the story. I was just out walking in the forest today. Where I was walking the devastation is just on a scale that I have never seen before." Click here to view this story on the Public News Service RSS site and access an audio version of this and other stories: http://www.publicnewsservice.org/index.php?/content/article/30358-1<http://www.publicnewsservice.org/index.php?/content/article/30358-1> --- To be removed from this list please send an e-mail to remove(a)publicnewsservice.org <remove(a)publicnewsservice.org?subject=remove>and put the word "remove" in the subject line. -- Paul Wilson Sierra Club 504 Jefferson Ave Charles Town, WV 25414-1130 Phone: 304-725-4360 Cell: 304-279-1361 "There is no forward until you have gone back" ~Buddha "In all things of nature there is something of the marvelous" ~ Aristotle

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e-mail messages lost
by Frank Young 16 Jan '13

16 Jan '13

Friends, I have had a serious crash of my e-mail handling system. Apparently I have lost all "Inbox" messages from about February 1, 2012 up to about January 14, 2013- almost a year of e-mail messages. Messages that I had set aside into designated "folders" appear to all be intact. But stuff in my Inbox received during that time period- some maybe 5000 messages- are gone. So if some of you are waiting for me to respond to messages you sent within that time period- especially for about the past 3 weeks- I have likely lost your messages. So if it is still important you might want to re-send your message(s) to me. These past two days I have changed to a new e-mail handling system- Microsoft Outlook. So far it seems to be working well. (Yeah, Gary Z. - it's OK to say "I told you to do that a couple years ago", because you did. I just didn't listen then! :-( Frank Young fyoung(a)mountain.net aka: frankly(a)mtparty.org

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How Long will We let Coal Plants Mercury-Poison Us?
by William V. DePaulo, Esq. 14 Jan '13

14 Jan '13

How Long will We let Coal Plants Mercury-Poison Us?<http://www.juancole.com/2013/01/plants-mercury-poison.html> Posted on 01/13/2013 by Juan Mercury is a nerve poison, steady exposure to which causes all kinds of neurological and mental problems, as well as heart problems. I keep hearing public service announcements that you should not eat fish more than twice a week. Think about that. In a natural, normal world, didn’t people on the coast eat fish every day? Why avoid fish? It is because fish big enough for us to eat with profit are high on the food chain, and so concentrate toxins like mercury. But why is there so much mercury in the environment, that it is getting concentrated in our salmon? Coal-fired power plants are responsible<http://www.ucsusa.org/clean_energy/coalvswind/c02c.html>for * half * of all human-caused mercury emissions annually in the US. The plants released 134,365 pounds of mercury in 2006 alone! Only 8% of plants have mercury-scrubbing capabilities in place. Concerned Scientists note that “Just 1/70th of a teaspoon of mercury deposited on a 25-acre lake can make the fish unsafe to eat.” A people with any self-respect would insist that all these coal-fired power plants be closed within 5 years: [image: coalmercury]<http://www.juancole.com/2013/01/plants-mercury-poison.html/coalmercury> Not only is burning coal the fastest route to catastrophic climate change, it emits mercury into our lakes and streams<http://www.southernstudies.org/2011/02/institute-index-coal-powers-mercury-…>, which then gets into our fish– as Sue Sturgis points out, citing Environment America<http://www.environmentamerica.org/reports/ame/dirty-energys-assault-our-hea…> Here are some statistics she has culled: There is * 10 times* more mercury concentration in fish now than in the 1930s * 15 % of US women of child-bearing age* have enough mercury in their bloodstream to put their offspring at risk from health effects. In 1999: percentage of women of childbearing age with inorganic mercury in their blood: 2 In 2006: that percentage * was 30 * I tear my hair out when I hear that people aren’t getting vaccinations for their children because they are afraid of autism. But emitting 134,000 pounds a year of mercury in our environment? That’s not a problem. The Union of Concerned Scientists<http://www.ucsusa.org/clean_energy/coalvswind/c02c.html>adds: “Coal plants are the nation’s top source of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, the primary cause of global warming. In 2011, utility coal plants in the United States emitted a total of 1.7 billion tons of CO21. A typical coal plant generates 3.5 million tons of CO2 per year2.” Close them down! Close them down now! If your electric utility depends on coal, contact your city council and urge it to put in wind turbines and solar and generate its own electricity, getting off the dirty, poisonous grid! Boulder, Co. is now playing hardball<http://www.energybiz.com/article/12/12/xcel-boulder-square-over-franchise-r…>that way, Sacramento created large numbers of jobs with its green energy<http://www.bizjournals.com/sacramento/news/2011/07/13/sacramento-region-nea…>commitments. We don’t want your dirty coal! -- William V. DePaulo, Esq. 179 Summers Street, Suite 232 Charleston, WV 25301-2163 Tel 304-342-5588 Fax 304-342-5505 william.depaulo(a)gmail.com www.passeggiata.com

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Mercury from Coal Plants, Goldmining, a Global Health Crisis: UN Environmental Program
by William V. DePaulo, Esq. 14 Jan '13

14 Jan '13

Mercury from Coal Plants, Goldmining, a Global Health Crisis: UN Environmental Program<http://www.juancole.com/2013/01/emissions-goldmining-environmental.html> Posted on 01/14/2013 by Juan A new study has found that 84% of all fish<http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-18563_162-57563739/study-finds-unsafe-mercury-l…>have unhealthy levels of mercury! Richard Gelfond, CEO of IMAX, the film company, has had his health permanently damaged simply from eating a lot of fish. The message to take away is not never to eat fish. It is that there is too much mercury in our environment. Half of all mercury emissions in the United States come from coal-fired power plants, and a quarter of mercury released into the environment globally is from coal. Some 1200 * new * coal plants are now planned around the world, and this must not be allowed. By the way, about 10% of mercury in our environment comes from burning natural gas and petroleum and refining petroleum. So not only are hydrocarbons causing calamitous global warming, but they are responsible for over a third of our present mercury poisoning globally, and for well over half of that in the United States. The United Nations Environmental Program has just issued its [pdf] 2013 assessment of the mercury threat<http://www.unep.org/hazardoussubstances/Portals/9/Mercury/GMA%20Report/Glob…> . It finds that human-caused “emissions and releases have doubled the amount of mercury in the top 100 meters [yards] of the world’s oceans in the last 100 years. Concentrations in deeper waters have increased by only 10-25%, because of the slow transfer of mercury from surface waters into the deep oceans. In some species of Arctic marine animals, mercury content has increased by 12 times on average since the pre-industrial period. This increase implies that, on average, over 90% of the mercury in these marine animals today comes from anthropogenic [human] sources.” And, the United Nations has been meeting in Geneva on a possible new global treaty limiting mercury emissions. There are some 600 coal plants in the United States, and they should all be shut down on grounds of mercury pollution<http://www.juancole.com/2013/01/plants-mercury-poison.html>alone, but they also are the major contributor to global warming. They can now all quickly be replaced by solar and wind installations, with some natural gas if absolutely necessary. People who complain about the ‘extra cost’ of solar and wind seem not to mind, like, neurotoxins all around them, or billions of dollars of climate change damage. Besides, wind and solar are just about at grid parity with coal in many markets,and will be able to undersell it, even ignoring the externalities in the true cost of coal, in this decade. Aljazeera English <http://youtu.be/JCQokbi8Kiw> reports: Mining, distributing and burning coal should be illegal. -- William V. DePaulo, Esq. 179 Summers Street, Suite 232 Charleston, WV 25301-2163 Tel 304-342-5588 Fax 304-342-5505 william.depaulo(a)gmail.com www.passeggiata.com

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West Virginia Sen. Jay Rockefeller to retire after term ends
by James Kotcon 14 Jan '13

14 Jan '13

http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/ticket/west-virginia-sen-jay-rockefeller-retire… West Virginia Democratic Sen. Jay Rockefeller will not seek a sixth term in the Senate, he told Politico in an interview ( http://www.politico.com/story/2013/01/jay-rockefeller-to-retire-86054.html?… ). He will serve through 2014 after more than 25 years in the chamber, "I’m going to serve out my term,” the 75-year-old Rockefeller said. “It was a very hard decision for me. Once it’s made, like any hard decision, it eases up. But it was a very tough decision for me.”Rockefeller joined the Senate in 1985 after two terms as governor of West Virginia. He will make a formal announcement on Friday morning. The senator's retirement could lead to a fierce race in 2014. Democrats have had a lock on the seat since the Dwight Eisenhower administration, and an election without an incumbent could give Republicans a major opportunity in a deeply red state.

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TransAlta (Canada) gives up on carbon capture
by Jim Sconyers 11 Jan '13

11 Jan '13

A lesson here for WV? ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: DAVID E ORTMAN <deortman(a)msn.com> Date: Fri, Jan 11, 2013 at 1:00 AM Subject: [Coal Volunteers List] RE: TransAlta (Canada) gives up on carbon capture To: phred(a)sunlightdata.com, pjgrunt(a)gmail.com, coal-volunteers-list(a)sierraclub.org, cons-spst-globalwarm-forum(a)lists.sierraclub.org, cons-ficc-international(a)lists.sierraclub.org, Verena Owen < verena_owen(a)prodigy.net>, Robin Everett <robin.everett(a)sierraclub.org> FR: David E. Ortman, Seattle, WA TransAlta also owns the largest coal fired plant in Washington State. Former Governor Gregoire (who may be on a short list for EPA Administrator) cut a deal allowing TransAlta to run one of its coal-fired until until 2020 and the second until 2025 (12 years from now!!!). http://www.elp.com/news/2012/12/30/transalta-boss-says-economics-could-make… Electric Light and Power (Canada) December 30, 2012 TransAlta boss says economics could make carbon capture unfeasible for years; Power boss says carbon capture a no go for now Sponsored by CALGARY - With half of its electricity plants fuelled by coal, the head of TransAlta Corp. is a believer in how valuable carbon capture and storage could be for the company. But a decision in April to scrap Project Pioneer, a $1.4-billion project to capture carbon dioxide emissions from an Alberta coal plant and store them underground, has TransAlta (TSX:TA) president and CEO Dawn Farrell less optimistic about the technology's feasibility in the future. TransAlta was one of the companies backing the project. Enbridge Inc. (TSX:ENB) and Capital Power Corp. (TSX:CPX) were the others. The idea was to sell some of carbon dioxide to nearby energy producers, who would inject the gas into their fields as a means to get more oil out of the ground. The federal and Alberta governments have been banking on carbon capture and storage to reduce the carbon footprint of the power generation and the oil and gas industries. Project Pioneer, which would have been connected to the Keephills 3 coal plant west of Edmonton, received $779 million in backing from Ottawa and Edmonton. Although an initial study found the technology worked and the capital costs were in line with expectations, Farrell said things changed as planning moved forward and other methods of oil extraction improved. "What had changed was this horizontal drilling, which has changed the cost structure of finding gas and now oil," Farrell said, in an interview with The Canadian Press. "As a result of that the cost of taking oil out of the ground ... with CO2 is now being overtaken by the cost of horizontal drilling. "Effectively what happened is the ability of the oilfields to use CO2 moved out five or 10 years and we had federal funding we needed to put in place right away." Farrell said new federal legislation on carbon emissions means TransAlta's Sundance plant will reach the end of its first lifespan in 2019. Other plants will follow in the ensuing decade. Once a plant reaches the end of its life, the company can continue to operate it with a carbon-capture retrofit or shut it down. "So 2019 is the first big decision for TransAlta," Farrell said. "If they're coming to the end of their life at the end of this decade, in 2019, I don't think they have a very good chance for retrofit unless my team can discover some other way of dealing with it." Alberta has a 1,000-year supply of low-sulphur coal, but Farrell said it still gives off double the emissions of natural gas. The cost of coal at this point continues to make it an attractive alternative, but Farrell notes the high costs of carbon-capture and the lack of a market to sell the captured carbon could put coal "out of the money" as plants reach the end of their lives under federal rules. TransAlta has power plants in Canada, the United States and Australia. Farrell said the utility is looking at further expansion in the United States in 2013 and is hoping to make some acquisitions, possibly in California, related to wind energy. -- To access the Beyond Coal Campaign Resource Portal, go to: https://sites.google.com/a/sierraclub.org/beyond-coal-resource-portal/ --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "#Coal-Volunteers" group. To post to this group, send email to coal-volunteers-list(a)sierraclub.org. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to coal-volunteers-list+unsubscribe(a)sierraclub.org. -- Jim Sconyers jimscon(a)gmail.com 304.698.9628 Remember, Mother Nature bats last.

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Fwd: WVNS story: Solar Cheap Enough To Compete Without Subsidies In Some States
by Paul Wilson 10 Jan '13

10 Jan '13

The Economist piece on Solar Energy costs made it on to WV Public News Service. fyi, paul ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Public News Service <wvns(a)newsservice.org> Date: Thu, Jan 10, 2013 at 3:48 AM Subject: WVNS story: Solar Cheap Enough To Compete Without Subsidies In Some States To: PaulWilson <pjgrunt(a)gmail.com> Solar Cheap Enough To Compete Without Subsidies In Some States Dan Heyman, Public News Service-WV http://www.publicnewsservice.org/index.php?/content/article/30252-1 Join the discussion: facebook.com/PublicNewsService<http://www.facebook.com/PublicNewsService> Twitter: @pns_news <http://twitter.com/#!/pns_news> @pns_WV<http://twitter.com/#!/pns_WV> Google+: plus.to/publicnewsservice <http://plus.google.com/106260479325451709866> (01/10/13) CHARLESTON, W.Va. - A sharp, long-term fall in the price of solar cells has led The Economist magazine and others to declare that in sunny areas with high electricity prices, solar power is now cheap enough to compete without government subsidies. Rory McIlmoil, program manager for the energy program at environmental consulting firm Downstream Strategies, says that applies to places such as California - but not West Virginia or the East Coast. "In those areas, solar is competing with other sources of energy that have higher electricity prices than we experience here, which makes it a lot more likely that solar can compete." The price of building a solar power plant is nearing where it would be competitive with a new coal plant of a similar size, he says. Both cost more than a natural-gas plant, but he says solar has the advantage of free fuel. "Natural gas peaker plants have other costs associated with their operation that solar power does not: High fuel and - depending on the size - high maintenance costs for your traditional power plants versus solar power plants." The solar industry still depends on significant federal subsidies, although overall, McIlmiol says, the much larger fossil-fuels industries actually receives more in tax breaks. Solar also is limited by the inconsistent nature of the sunshine, although he says power storage and flexible use of the grid are easing some of those issues. Thanks to cheap solar cells, he says, 2010 saw what was then a record level of solar power installed. "And just one year later, twice that was installed. Roughly 80 percent of the solar power that currently exists in the United States was installed just over the last three years." One central criticism of renewable-energy sources such as solar power is that they are too expensive. McIlmoil says that's rapidly changing, as solar's explosive growth shows. More from The Economist is online at economist.com<http://www.economist.com/news/21566414-alternative-energy-will-no-longer-be…>. At current growth rates, the magazine says, wind will surpass nuclear in 10 years. Click here to view this story on the Public News Service RSS site and access an audio version of this and other stories: http://www.publicnewsservice.org/index.php?/content/article/30252-1<http://www.publicnewsservice.org/index.php?/content/article/30252-1> --- To be removed from this list please send an e-mail to remove(a)publicnewsservice.org <remove(a)publicnewsservice.org?subject=remove>and put the word "remove" in the subject line. -- Paul Wilson Sierra Club 504 Jefferson Ave Charles Town, WV 25414-1130 Phone: 304-725-4360 Cell: 304-279-1361 "There is no forward until you have gone back" ~Buddha "In all things of nature there is something of the marvelous" ~ Aristotle

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