Source: http://www.plansmartnj.org/policy-briefing-nj-solar-energy-legislation/

The New Jersey solar market hit a new milestone this week when it eclipsed the 1 gigawatt (GW) mark for total installed solar electric capacity. According to a new study released by SEIA this week, New Jersey now ranks third in the nation for solar energy installations, thanks to declining system prices and support from the state’s policymakers including its robust net metering policies and the U.S.’ first Solar Renewable Energy Credit (SREC) program, an innovative market-based incentive for solar generation. U.S. Solar Market Insight: Year-in-Review 2012, released by the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA®) and GTM Research, found that New Jersey was responsible for nearly one-third of the nation’s non-residential solar installations last year. In total, more than 415 megawatts (MW) of solar was added to the state’s power grid in 2012, a 33 percent increase over 2011 (313 MW). New Jersey’s solar industry is now providing both in-state jobs- on the order of more than 5,700- and much needed in-state electricity generation. Due in large part to the falling cost of solar for consumers, the market size of the U.S. solar industry grew 34 percent from $8.6 billion in 2011 to $11.5 billion in 2012. At of the end of 2012, there were 7,221 MW of PV and 546 MW of concentrating solar power (CSP) online in the U.S. — enough to power 1.2 million homes. New Jersey is now the third state in the nation to hit the 1GW solar mark and is the third largest state solar market by MW of PV installed in 2012, behind California and Arizona.

Source: SEIA news release- New Jersey Solar Market Hits 1 Gigawatt Milestone

Wind turbines on Tug Hill plateau in upstate New York

A new study, co-authored by Stanford researcher Mark Z. Jacobson, finds that it is technically and economically feasible to convert New York’s all-purpose energy infrastructure to one powered by wind, water and sunlight (WWS). The plan outlines a way to a sustainable and reliable energy supply that will create local jobs and save the state billions of dollars in pollution-related costs. The study is the first to develop a plan to fulfill all of a state’s transportation, electric power, industry, and heating and cooling energy needs with renewable energy, and to calculate the number of new devices and jobs created, amount of land and ocean areas required, and policies needed for such an infrastructure change.While WWS conversion may come along with increased capital costs, they would be made up for by the elimination of fuel costs and the switch would also create a net gain in manufacturing and technology jobs. The calculations of this study outline exactly what sort of technology and how much of it will be needed to meet New York’s 2030 power demand for all sectors. Also according to the study, if New York switched to WWS, air pollution–related deaths would decline by about 4,000 annually and the state would save about $33 billion in related health costs every year. Currently, almost all of New York’s energy comes from imported oil, coal and gas. Under the plan that Jacobson and his fellow researchers advance, 40 percent of the state’s energy would come from local wind power, 38 percent from local solar and the remainder from a combination of hydroelectric, geothermal, tidal and wave energy. The authors of this study  are also developing similar plans for other states, including California and Washington.

Source: Stanford researchers map out an alternative energy future for New York, March 12, 2013

source: treehugger.com

While the latest Energy Information Administration numbers show that there is a decrease in coal demand in the U.S., coal is being exported to other parts of the world where demand is going up. This recent trend is a good example of why the issue of global warming must be looked at for the planet as a whole, because what matters is the absolute amount of greenhouse gas from fossil fuel sources that we pump into it. Europe and Asia have shown the most dramatic upward trends in coal usage while the U.S. is the only region going down. The reason for the drop in demand for coal in the United States is due primarily to the availability of cheap gas. So while coal demand growth is slowing, coal’s share of the global energy mix is still rising, and by 2017 coal will come close to surpassing oil as the world’s top energy source. Coal needs to be at the top of the priority list for environmentalists and policymakers right now because it is the most carbon-intensive source of energy and has many other detrimental effects to our health and environment.

Source: Coal use declining in the U.S. (yay!) but going up everywhere else (boo!) by: Michael Graham Richard