Renewables eclipse nuclear in the US

Renewable energy sources – including wind and solar – now provide a greater share of the US energy supply than nuclear power. According to the Energy Information Administration, both production and consumption of renewable energy were higher than nuclear power in the last nine months of 2011. The shift came despite a tough year for renewable energy which saw the implosion of solar manufacturer, Solyndra. In the equivalent periods in 2009 and 2010, nuclear held a significant lead over renewables but declined in 2011.

More than half of Germany's renewable energy generation is owned by citizens

In 2010, 51% of the more than 50,000 MW of renewable energy capacity in Germany was owned by farmers or individual citizens. This represents a staggering $100 billion in private investment. German farmers alone have installed 1,600 MW of biogas plants and 3,600 MW of solar photovoltaics (solar PV). For comparison, in 2010 there was only 60 MW of biogas plants and 2,200 MW of solar PV in the entire USA. Thanks to passage of the feed-in tarrif law, farmers, individuals and community groups could, for the first time install their own wind turbines and sell the resulting electricity for profit.

"Citizen Power" Conference to be held in Historic Chamber Where World's First Feed-in Law Was Enacted International Community Power Conference Set for 3-5 July in Bonn, Germany 51% of German Renewables Now Owned by Its Own Citizens January 5, 2012 By Paul Gipe Germany, a country where 51% of the renewable energy generation is owned by its own citizens, will be hosting an international conference on community power 3-5 July, 2012 in Bonn, the former capital. The conference will be held in the historic chamber where the world's first feed-in law was enacted, the former home of the Bundestag, Germany's parliament. The Stromeinspeisungsgesetz, literally the "law on feeding in electricity" (to the grid) was introduced by conservative Bavarian farmers frustrated with their utility's intransigence to connecting their small hydro plants with the grid. The "feed-in" law was passed overwhelmingly by the conservative government of Helmut Kohl, and quickly ushered in a revolution in the way electricity was generated in Germany, spreading rapidly from Bavaria in the south all the way to the Danish border in the north. Farmers, individuals and community groups could, for the first time, emulate their Danish neighbors by installing their own wind turbines and selling the resulting electricity at a hoped-for profit. These electricity rebels, Stromrebellen as they're called in German, began appearing all across the country, even in the former communist East Germany. The Bonn conference is timely. Interest in community ownership of renewable energy generation is increasing not only in Europe but also in North America, following the launch of Ontario's groundbreaking feed-in tariff program of 2009. Ontario's policy specifically encourages community and aboriginal ownership of renewables. Currently 800 MW of projects, a full 20% of all projects in the Ontario program, are under contract, though not yet built. Nevertheless, potential community ownership in Ontario and the existing 300 MW of community wind in Minnesota pale in comparison to community-owned renewables in Germany. In 2010, 51% of the more than 50,000 MW of renewable energy capacity in Germany was owned by farmers or individual citizens. This represents a staggering $100 billion in private investment.

Wind power taking off big time in NW OH and SE MI

In an article entitled "NW Ohio, SE Michigan wind power is churning up cash: Area farmers reap rent, utilities add power sources," the Toledo Blade reports that many hundreds of millions of dollars on investment in wind power is happening or planned in the very neck of the woods that hosts both the Davis-Besse and Fermi 2 atomic reactors. The article reports:

"According to the American Wind Energy Association, Ohio has 3,683 megawatts of potential wind-generated electricity 'in queue,' waiting for either regulatory approval or economic conditions, and Michigan has 2,518 megawatts in the same status."

Even dividing that 6,201 megawatts-electric by three, to account for wind's "intermittancy," is still 2,067 megawatts-electric. That's more than twice Davis-Besse's 907 megawatts-electric. It's actually more than Davis-Besse's and Fermi 2's (1,122 megawatts-electric) output combined: 2,067 megawatts-electric from wind power, versus 2,029 megawatts-electric from nuclear power.

Beyond Nuclear, along with Citizens Environment Alliance of Southwestern Ontario, Don't Waste Michigan, and the Green Party of Ohio, have intervened against a 20 year license extension at the problem-plagued Davis-Besse atomic reactor near Toledo. The environmental coalition's top contention is that wind power alone could replace Davis-Besse's output. In addition, the coalition has contended that wind power plus solar power could easily replace Davis-Besse, especially in combination with compressed air energy storage -- which Davis-Besse owner and operator FirstEnergy already owns, at the Norton [Ohio] Energy Storage Project. Al Compaan, an emeritus professor of physics at the University of Toledo, serves as expert witness for the coalition on its renewable energy contentions. Terry Lodge, Toledo based attorney, serves as the coalition's legal counsel.

Denmark striving for 100% renewable energy by 2050

Reuters reports that Denmark, already a world leader in wind power, will entirely phase out fossil fuels from its energy sector by 2050, replacing them with renewables. Denmark is already nuclear-free. Denmark will ascend to the European Union presidency in January for six months, and pledges to prioritize energy efficiency and climate action. 

Danish Minister for Climate, Energy and Building, Martin Lidegaard, said that Denmark faced three global crises which will hit it "with a force that is so far absolutely unheard of" -- an economic and financial crisis, a climate crisis and a resources crisis. "This proposal will address all three crises."

Likewise, Germany last year announced its goal of 100% renewables by 2050.

"Military spearheads clean-energy drive"

On Sept. 25, 2011, the Washington Post reported that, ironically, as Congress rejected legislation that could have advanced renewable energy sources to address the worsening climate crisis, the Pentagon is seeking to expand the use of "alternative fuels" in order to achieve energy independence needed for national security. However, the raging political controversy caused by the "Solyndra solar loan guarantee scandal" likely influenced the Energy Department's decision to turn down a separate solar loan guarantee, which Energy Secretary Steven Chu had previously bragged would be “the largest domestic residential rooftop solar project in history.”

Not mentioned in the article is the fact that the Nuclear Navy has no plans whatsoever to phase out atomic reactors from its submarines and aircraft carriers. Nor does the U.S. government appear ready to live up to its Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty commitments to abolish its nuclear weapons arsenal any time soon, either.