| Wind Sets New Record In Lone Star State: Texas hit a new milestone on Sunday by using more than 15,000 megawatts of wind-generated electricity, representing 45 percent of total electricity demand at that time, according to grid operator ERCOT. The current record for percentage of load served — different than this new output record — was set in March this year. From January through October of this year, wind has served 14.7 percent of the region’s energy needs, solidifying Texas’ position as a leader in wind energy generation. (Greentech Media, CBS Local)
Big Day for Tar Sands: Canadian PM Justin Trudeau announced Tuesday that the Canadian government would approve two major tar sands pipeline projects, including expansion of the controversial Kinder Morgan Trans Mountain pipeline. The Kinder Morgan pipeline has come under fire from activists and aboriginal groups, and Reuters reportsthat the opposition has “drawn inspiration” from the the current Dakota Access protests and stalled Keystone XL project. Speaking of Keystone, senior Trump transition adviser Kellyanne Conway will reportedly tour the tar sands region in Alberta a week before the president-elect’s inauguration, which may signal that the incoming administration will prioritize the pipeline’s approval. (Kinder Morgan: Reuters, AP, Bloomberg, CBC News, New York Times $, CNBC, Huffington Post, Houston Chronicle, Wall Street Journal$, Financial Times $, Mashable, Climate Home. Conway Visit: Washington Post$, Washington Examiner, Grist, Huffington Post, Toronto Star, Calgary Herald. Commentary: Vancouver Sun, Karen Mahon op-ed)
Trump Transition Updates: Sources close to the Trump transition team told Politico that Oklahoma governor Mary Fallin is the frontrunner for the Interior secretary position. Fallin, who is a climate change denier and was one of the first governors to oppose the Clean Power Plan, met with Trump last week in New York, where their conversation focused on the energy industry and Native tribes. Meanwhile, Trump announced Elaine Chao, former labor secretary under Bush II, as his pick for secretary of transportation; Chao, who is married to KY Sen. Mitch McConnell, left the board of Bloomberg Philanthropies in early 2015 after the charity announced it would be increasing its donations to the Sierra Club’s Beyond Coal campaign. (Politico, USA Today, AP, CityLab, New York Times $, NPR, Washington Post $, Guardian, PBS, Christian Science Monitor)
Less Coal = Safer Tuna: Closing coal-fired power plants may mean safer sushi, according to a recent study showing that a 19 percent decline in mercury levels in fish caught in the Gulf of Maine between 2004 and 2012 is parallel to coal plant closures since 2008. “It appears that the fish are responding almost in real time. We thought that was pretty exciting,” says Nicholas S. Fisher, lead author of the study. (Washington Post $) |
