Bloomberg: Renewable power trumps fossil fuels for FIRST time!!!

[kpete]

Renewable power trumps fossil fuels for first time



Renewable energy is surpassing fossil fuels for the first time in new power-plant investments, shaking off setbacks from the financial crisis and an impasse at the United Nations global warming talks.

Electricity from the wind, sun, waves and biomass drew $187 billion last year compared with $157 billion for natural gas, oil and coal, according to calculations by Bloomberg New Energy Finance using the latest data. Accelerating installations of solar- and wind-power plants led to lower equipment prices, making clean energy more competitive with coal.


"The progress of renewables has been nothing short of remarkable," United Nations Environment Program Executive Secretary Achim Steiner said in an interview. "You have record investment in the midst of an economic and financial crisis."

The findings indicate the world is shifting toward consuming more renewable energy even without a global agreement on limiting greenhouse gases. Delegates from more than 190 nations converge in Durban, South Africa, on Nov. 28 to discuss new measures for limiting emissions damaging the climate.

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-renewables-20111125,0,2421278.story

[FarCenter]

1. Only electrical generation and only new plants

"The New Energy Finance figures exclude investment that merely replaces existing plants, and its renewables tally excludes money spent on building large hydropower projects."

[efhmc]

3. What exactly does that mean?

[FarCenter]

4. It means that alternate energy is still a very small percentage of total energy usage

[darth marth]

5. It means the corporations are getting sick of being jacked by other corporations

and with the ridiculous cost of power these days, it is much cheaper to set up your own system of alternative energy.

With this shift, the cost of alternative renewable energy will get cheaper for all of us as production increases and easier solutions are found.

Imagine what would happen if all of our brainpower was put into this instead of war....that is the direction we are heading and that is why the dinosaurs are so worried, this is their last chance to get rich off of energy that should have been free for decades now.

[efhmc]

6. Thanks for the information. At one time, we had a wind

powered generator at our ranch (that was easily 70-80 years ago) before rural electrification. The two windmills which service the 2 areas with houses have both been changed to submersible electric pumps and the newer well is electric. We still have 3 wind powered wells. The rural electric coop has been bought out twice now and is becoming less and less user friendly. I am really interested in seeing what and how we could switch (actually go back)and add wind power. With the horrible drought we are having, I don't have a penny extra but am wondering about the future.

[FarCenter]

7. Note that the OP was talking about global statistics.

The US is way behind. It is true that in some other countries it is cheaper to do alternative energy for new plants, partly because fossil fuels are taxed more and partly because they provide tax breaks and incentives for alternative energy.

I'd like to see the statistics for the US, because gas is a great deal cheaper in the US than on the global market.

[roseBudd]

2. Just posted this to Facebook. Spread it.

[Wilms]

8. ^