News brief extra

1. ‘Million Solar Roofs’ plan torpedoed by peak-pricing rule
California’s Million Solar Roofs program is in trouble. Requests for rebates plunged 78% in the first quarter of 2007, because of a new rule that those with solar roofs must pay peak prices for additional power from the grid. Most roofs aren’t big enough to supply 100% of a home’s power, so the high price for extra energy means homeowners can’t recoup their expenses. The state is scrambling to fix the problem. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and state lawmakers have plans to terminate the rule. Million Solar Roofs has $300 million for rebates over the next 10 years. (Sources: LATimes.com, Greenwire)

2. U.K slashes generous subsidies for solar and wind
The U.K. has cut its government subsidies for wind and solar power 83%. Officials said the large subsidies, of 5,000 and 10,000 pounds, respectively, are being drastically reduced because the money allocated was “disappearing in minutes.” Individuals installing solar panels or a wind turbine will now get 2,500 pounds (about $5,000). It’s too soon to see if the change will cause a drop in applications. (Source: Greenwire)

3. Dem candidates get the message on 80% cuts by 2050
The four Democratic senators running for president have become believers – and are supporting in the Sanders-Boxer bill calling for an 80% cut in greenhouse gases by 2050. Over the past two weeks, Sens. Hillary Clinton (N.Y.), Barack Obama (Ill.), Chris Dodd (Conn.) and Joe Biden (Del.) have all signed on as co-sponsors of S. 309. Could it be they saw their party was way ahead of them on this issue? Obama and Clinton had co-sponsored the less restrictive Lieberman-McCain climate bill. Sanders-Boxer has 17 co-sponsors so far. Fellow Dem candidate John Edwards also has called for 80% by 2050. (Source: Greenwire)

4. China power company aims at 10% renewable energy in 2010
China Power International says it will spend $4 billion (U.S) by 2010 on renewable energy, to help clean up the air and reduce dependence on foreign oil, the CEO said last week. In just three years, the company – run by the daughter of former Premier Li Peng – expects to have 1,000 megawatts of renewables – like wind, hydro and solar – in operation, with another 1,000MW under construction and a third 1,000 on the drawing board. The Chinese government has ordered its major power companies to get 10% of their power from renewables by 2020. China Power International said it expects to change its name to China Power New Energy Development Co. and refocus on renewable energy. (Source: Reuters PlanetArk.com)

5. Chances are a major hurricane will hit Gulf Coast this year
As the first name storm, Andrea, swirled in the Atlantic three weeks before hurricane season officially opens, forecasters predicted an active storm season. AccuWeather’s Joe Bastardi and Colorado State University’s William Gray said there’s an above-average chance a major hurricane will hit the Gulf Coast, still rebuilding from Katrina in 2005. Bastardi predicted 13-14 name storms, 6 or 7 of which could hit the U.S. He estimated the chances of a storm going over the Gulf of Mexico as 2½ to 3 times normal. Colorado State’s Gray had already predicted a “far more active” season than last year’s quiet one, with 17 tropical storms and 9 hurricanes, 5 of them major. (Source: Reuters PlanetArk.com)

6. Should limiting deforestation count as cutting GHG?
Slowing deforestation to 50% of current rates by 2050 could prevent 50 tons of carbon dioxide from entering the atmosphere, a group of international scientists said in a study published last week. Tropical deforestation is contributing 20% of CO2 released into the atmosphere, they said. Some developing countries want credit for limiting forest destruction in any post-Kyoto international agreement. Destruction of forests is not part of the equation now. “There’s no incentive for countries … to slow deforestation,” said co-author Peter Frumhoff of the Union of Concerned Scientists. Capping deforestation at 50% and keeping it there until 2100 could provide 12% of the reduction needed to keep CO2 at 450 parts per million, he said. It also would allow for added carbon storage. (Source: E&E News PM)

7. GM adds more horsepower to biz climate coalition
General Motors and 11 other corporations have joined USCAP, a business coalition for climate that favors a mandatory cap and greenhouse gas cuts of 60-80%. With the addition of GM, Alcan, AIG, Boston Scientific, Conoco Phillips, Deere & Co., Dow Chemical, Johnson & Johnson, Marsh Inc., PepsiCo, Shell and Siemens, corporate membership in the coalition is now at 22. There also are 6 environmental partners. USCAP also calls for creative business incentives, swift and thoughtful action, and U.S. leadership on the issue – which it says is essential to an international agreement and strong action. (Source: Environmental Defense) For more on USCAP, go to http://www.environmentaldefense.org or http://US-CAP.org

8. New French president takes U.S. to task for climate inaction
France’s conservative Present-elect, Nicolas Sarkozy, calling the U.S. a strong ally, said that as a great nation America should be a leader in the fight again Global Warming. The U.S. “has a duty to not create obstacles,” he said. Au contraire, “it should take the lead in this battle because what is at stake is all of humanity,” Sarkovsy said, adding that his country will make climate change top priority. (Source: Greenwire)

9. DOD: Military must ‘move aggressively’ on alt fuels
The U.S. military must take immediate steps toward using alternative fuels in weapons and aircraft, a new Defense Department study says. Fuel use per soldier in Iraq and Afghanistan is 16 times what it was in World War II, the study says. Change will be difficult because many weapons systems were built to last decades. But dependence of fossil fuels will make it hard to respond to crises in the future as oil supplies dry up, the study says. “[We have to] move forward aggressively … to develop alternative fuels. Just cutting back won't work," Milton R. Copulos, National Defense Council Foundation president, told the Boston Globe. (Sources: Boston Globe, Greenwire)