Study: Enough rare earth minerals to fuel green energy shift

“Along with mining more, we should be using less."

Fri, January 27, 2023


The world has enough rare earth minerals and other critical raw materials to switch from fossil fuels to renewable energy to produce electricity and limit global warming, according to a new study that counters concerns about the supply of such minerals.

With a push to get more electricity from solar panels, wind turbines, hydroelectric and nuclear power plants, some people have worried that there won’t be enough key minerals to make the decarbonization switch.

Rare earth minerals, also called rare earth elements, actually aren't that rare. The U.S. Geological Survey describes them as a “relatively abundant.” They're essential for the strong magnets necessary for wind turbines; they also show up in smartphones, computer displays and LED light bulbs. This new study looks at not only those elements but 17 different raw materials required to make electricity that include some downright common resources such as steel, cement and glass.

A team of scientists looked at the materials — many not often mined heavily in the past — and 20 different power sources. They calculated supplies and pollution from mining if green power surged to meet global goals to cut heat-trapping carbon emissions from fossil fuel.

Much more mining is needed, but there are enough minerals to go around and drilling for them will not significantly worsen warming, the study in Friday’s scientific journal Joule concluded.

“Decarbonization is going to be big and messy, but at the same time we can do it,” said study co-author Zeke Hausfather, a climate scientist at the tech company Stripe and Berkeley Earth. “I’m not worried we’re going to run out of these materials."

Much of the global concern about raw materials for decarbonization has to do with batteries and transportation, especially electric cars that rely on lithium for batteries. This study doesn’t look at that.

Looking at mineral demands for batteries is much more complicated than for electric power and that’s what the team will do next, Hausfather said. The power sector is still about one-third to half of the resource issue, he said.

A lot depends on how fast the world switches to green energy.

There will be short supplies. For example, dysprosium is a mineral used for magnets in wind turbines and a big push for cleaner electricity would require three times as much dysprosium as currently produced, the paper said. But there’s more than 12 times as much dysprosium in reserves than would be needed in that clean energy push.

Another close call is tellurium, which is used in industrial solar farms and where there may be only slightly more estimated resources than what would be required in a big green push. But Hausfather said there are substitutions available in all these materials' cases.

“There are enough materials in reserves. The analysis is robust and this study debunks those (running out of minerals) concerns,” said Daniel Ibarra, an environment professor at Brown University, who wasn’t part of the study but looks at lithium shortages. But he said production capacity has to grow for some “key metals" and one issue is how fast can it grow.

Another concern is whether the mining will add more heat-trapping carbon emissions to the atmosphere. It will, maybe as much as 10 billion metric tons, which is one-quarter of the annual global carbon emissions, Hausfather said. Renewables require more materials per energy output than fossil fuels because they are more decentralized, he said.

But the increase in carbon pollution from more mining will be more than offset by a huge reduction in pollution from heavy carbon emitting fossil fuels, Hausfeather said.

Stanford University’s Rob Jackson, who wasn’t part of the study, said while multiple lines of evidence show there are enough rare earth minerals, balance is needed: “Along with mining more, we should be using less."

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Associated Press climate and environmental coverage receives support from several private foundations. See more about AP’s climate initiative here. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

Seth Borenstein, The Associated Press

Donald Trump argues in wild court filing that New York can't sue the Trump Organization because it doesn't legally exist

Laura Italiano

Fri, January 27, 2023 

Donald Trump, right, sits with his children, from left, Eric Trump, Donald Trump Jr., and Ivanka Trump during a groundbreaking ceremony for the Trump International Hotel on July 23, 2014, in Washington.Evan Vucci/AP

• NY's Attorney General sued Trump, his family and his business in September over an alleged pattern of fraud.

• In a response late Thursday, the defendants repeatedly claimed the Trump Organization can't be sued.

• 'Trump Organization' is branding shorthand, not a legal entity, they said repeatedly in 5,000 pages of response.

Donald Trump, his real-estate company and his three eldest children have filed an extraordinary, nose-thumbing response to the $250 million fraud lawsuit filed by New York Attorney General Letitia James in September, stating that "Trump Organization" is branding shorthand — not a legal entity — so it can't be sued.

"To the extent a response is required, Defendant specifically denies the definitions of "Trump Organization" and "Defendants," reads Donald Trump's response to the lawsuit, one of 16 answers filed late Thursday night.

"While the shorthand "Trump Organization" is utilized by Defendants for branding and business purposes, no entity as such exists for legal purposes," Donald Trump's response continues, using language that is repeated throughout his 300-page filing and throughout the similarly-lengthy 15 filings of his fellow defendants.

Read Donald Trump's response to the New York attorney general's massive fraud lawsuit here.

New York's lawsuit names Donald Trump, Donald Trump, Jr., Ivanka Trump, Eric Trump, former company CFO Allen Weisselberg and its former payroll executive Jeffrey McConney. It also names 10 entities under the Trump Organization umbrella — including "The Trump Organization, Inc.", a registered corporation in New York since 1981.

But even the response filed Thursday by Trump Organization, Inc., repeatedly makes the same argument: "While the shorthand 'Trump Organization' is utilized by Defendants for branding purposes, no entity exists for legal purposes."

New York's lawsuit does not specifically sue anything called "Trump Organization."

The lawsuit does, however, repeatedly make general reference to the Trump Organization, doing so more than 300 times as a "collective" name for the former president's $3 billion real-estate and golf resort company — and it's on this that Trump and his fellow defendants stake their protest.

The attorney general's many references to the umbrella company in her lawsuit "improperly group Defendants together, without regard to the nature or discrete legal identity of each Defendant," Thursday night's filings repeatedly complain, "without regard to the nature or discrete identity of each Defendant."

The nearly 5,000 pages of answers were filed just before midnight New York time to meet a Thursday deadline for responding to James' sweeping lawsuit alleging the former president engaged in a decade-long pattern of lying about his worth by billions of dollars on financial documents.

James alleges that Trump routinely lied about his assets in order to win favorable terms — and save hundreds of millions of dollars — from bankers, insurers, and tax authorities.

Thursday night's batch of responses briefly address these claims, repeating such blanket denials as "Defendant has not engaged in repeated fraudulent or illegal acts or otherwise demonstrated persistent fraud or illegality in the carrying on, conducting or transacting of business."

The attorney general's lawsuit seeks to permanently ban Donald Trump, his three eldest children, and his real-estate and golf-resort company from doing business in New York, where the business is headquartered and where the bulk of his commercial properties are located.

Lawyers for Trump, his family and his business, including Alina Habba, who filed the 16 responses online, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. A lawyer for Ivanka Trump, Reid Figel, declined to comment.

Trump has been expected to fight hard against the attorney general's aggressive attack on his Manhattan-based business empire.

The suit, after all, seeks to cripple the company and would bar the Trump family from selling, collecting rent, or even borrowing money in New York.

Soon after it was filed, former assistant attorney generals told Insider  to expect Trump and his fellow defendants to argue James is out to get him, that no bank or other entity was harmed by the company, and that the defendants and the company relied on the expertise of others.

Thursday's responses do use these arguments — countering at one point that the attorney general has acted contrary to "ancient and customary norms" — along with some others.

The attorney general "lacks jurisdiction over Defendants to the extent that they are not or are no longer residents of New York," some of the responses say.

A trial has been set for October in New York Supreme Court in Manhattan.

WE NEED A PROVINCIAL INSURANCE PLAN
Alberta freezes auto insurance rates for the rest of 2023

The pause on insurance increases reverses what Toews and the UCP government has insisted for years — that rate caps don't work and only put a Band-aid on deeper problems.

Thu, January 26, 2023 

(Lars Hagberg/The Canadian Press - image credit)

The Alberta government will not approve auto insurance rate increases for the remainder of 2023.

Finance Minster Travis Toews and Affordability and Utilities Minister Matt Jones said in a news release Thursday the province will also look at short- and longer-term measures to get insurance rates in check.

Some rate increases will still go ahead if they were previously approved or if a driver incurs an at-fault claim or a ticket. Drivers can also see increases if they move to another address or insure a different vehicle.

The move comes several years after the UCP government decided not to renew the five per cent rate cap implemented by the previous NDP government.

These caveats prompted NDP finance critic Shannon Phillips to call the announcement a "fake freeze."

"The UCP lifted the rate cap brought in by our Alberta NDP government and insurance premiums skyrocketed," she said in a news release.

"Auto insurance rates went up as much as 30 per cent during the pandemic — a time when Albertans were driving and working less — and the UCP did nothing. "

The pause on insurance increases reverses what Toews and the UCP government has insisted for years — that rate caps don't work and only put a Band-aid on deeper problems.

Toews told reporters at the Alberta legislature Thursday that a temporary freeze isn't the same as a cap.

In December 2019, the government announced the creation of a committee to look at the root causes of the increases.

The report was made public in October 2020. It recommended the province abandon its tort system of insurance and move to a private, no-fault model.

While the government took action on several smaller, short-term measures, Toews said the government would study the more transformative recommendations.

Lula, Governors Discuss Fixes for Abrupt Drop in Tax Revenue

Simone Iglesias
Fri, January 27, 2023 



(Bloomberg) -- Brazil’s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and governors are discussing a solution for an abrupt decline in state governments’ revenue, following a series of tax breaks spearheaded by the previous administration to ease inflation pressures.

Lula received all 27 governors in the presidential palace on Friday, saying the tax issue was “in everybody’s minds and needed to be discussed.”

The so-called ICMS is a value-added tax charged by states that accounted for up to 85% of their revenue. Former President Jair Bolsonaro, worried about the impact of inflation on his reelection bid last year, pushed for lower levies on fuel, electricity and public transportation, among other items.

While the federal government and many states voluntarily lowered taxes, in some cases completely scrapping them, congress also passed a law limiting ICMS at about 17%. That drastically reduces income for states such as Rio de Janeiro, which imposed a 32% ICMS tax on gasoline sales before the new rule.

Debt Service at Risk

“It’s clear that our goal is to recover ICMS revenue,” Rio de Janeiro Governor Claudio Castro told reporters at the end of the meeting, saying his state has lost about 10 billion reais ($2 billion) in income a year, putting its ability to service debt at risk.

Last year’s tax breaks didn’t have an immediate impact on state budgets because public revenue was turbocharged by inflation that ran above 10% until July. With consumer prices increasing less than 6% a year now, government income is also taking a hit and governors are sounding the alarm bells.

The law capping ICMS did not establish ways for states to make up for loss of revenue. Governors have been in talks with the top court to discuss whether the cap is constitutional, and Lula decided to form a group led by Finance chief Fernando Haddad to follow the discussions, Institutional Relations Minister Alexadre Padilha said after the meeting.

BNDES Financing

In another attempt to help states, Lula told governors that Brazil’s development bank BNDES is ready finance key infrastructure projects in states.

The president asked governors to present a list of priority public works in their states, especially in the housing, health, education and infrastructure sectors. The government intends to help states conclude such projects with BNDES financing, public-private partnerships and concessions.

“The role of BNDES will again be that of a development bank, and the money it raises needs to be shared with small and medium-sized companies and state governments as well,” he said.

--With assistance from Bruna Lessa and Beatriz Reis.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Slams Republican Who Urged Her To 'Educate' Herself

Ben Blanchet

Thu, January 26, 2023 

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) went after Rep. Jeff Duncan (R-S.C.), who called on her to “educate” herself during a debate Thursday over a bill on the House floor.

The Democrat responded to Duncan’s comments to her as the House considered a bill to require the federal government “to approve a plan to increase drilling on federal lands and waters” before drawing from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve in non-emergency cases, Roll Call reported.

Ocasio-Cortez, who proposed an amendment to the bill, argued in a speech on the House floor Thursday that leasing more land to fossil fuel companies wouldn’t guarantee a drop in gas prices and added that companies making profits won’t “pass along” the savings to consumers.

“What leasing more land does do, however, is guarantee that we will accelerate the devastating impact of climate change,” Ocasio-Cortez argued.

Duncan addressed Ocasio-Cortez and urged her to educate herself on how “America attained its low emissions.”

“You care about the air quality, you care about climate change. Natural gas is what got America there. Educate yourself on that,” the Republican said.

Ocasio-Cortez didn’t hold back when she responded to Duncan’s remarks.

“I understand in this body it’s not the first time that it seems as though the opposing side can’t seem to be able to debate the issue and so they must come after my character,” Ocasio-Cortez said.

She added: “While I cannot control the fact that the other side seems to have made the assumption that I am uneducated, one of the things I can say... is while I may not work for Wall Street, that is true. I may not be here with the mission to increase profits for corporations, that is true. My mission here is for the well-being and dignity of our family and our planet’s future, for our children’s ability to live on this planet.”

Ocasio-Cortez later addressed Duncan’s comments on Twitter, writing that “fewer things are more predictable than Republicans having a meltdown when I’m clearing them in a debate.”

“In case you’re curious about why this man is so angry with me, it may be because I introduced an amendment to a GOP bill that would prohibit oil and gas companies who engage in stock buybacks from leasing federal lands,” she wrote, adding “Seems as though I hit a nerve!”

House GOP votes to rein in Biden's power over the Strategic Petroleum Reserve

Ben Werschkul
·Washington Correspondent
Fri, January 27, 2023 a

After two days of floor action and consideration of over 100 amendments, the House of Representatives passed a bill Friday to limit the Biden administration’s powers when it comes to the nation's Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR).

The final vote was on a largely party line basis of 221-205 on the Strategic Production Response Act, which seeks to link releases from the crucial energy backstop to U.S. domestic oil production. One Democrat, Rep. Jared Golden (D-ME), crossed party lines to vote in favor.

While the bill has little chance of being considered by the Senate and even less chance of reaching President Biden’s desk, the measure put the issue of SPR management at the top of Washington’s agenda for at least two days as the reserve sits at its lowest level since 1983.


House Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) kicked off the debate Thursday, saying the bill was necessary to “ensure this vital American energy asset — and American security interests — will not be drained away for non-emergency, political purposes.”

Under the bill, other than during an emergency situation, a president wouldn’t be able to tap the reserve unless it simultaneously released a plan to increase oil production in the U.S.

Meanwhile, Democrats stood largely unified in opposition with Democratic Whip Katherine Clark (D-MA) releasing a statement immediately after the vote, saying it was called at the behest of oil companies and it would “raise gas prices and impede the President’s ability to continue lowering costs at the pump for working families.“

Private security contractors patrol the U.S. Department of Energy's Strategic Petroleum Reserve in Bryan Mound, Texas 

(REUTERS/Donna W. Carson)

'An effort to attack the president'

Numerous amendments were considered from both sides of the aisle. Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D-VA) offered an idea to ban offshore drilling in her home state, but dismissed the overall process in an interview.

“The whole conversation starts in this place that I think is rather cynical and just an effort to attack the president," she said. Still, she acknowledged there is some value in discussing the SPR overall, but suggested little would come of it.

“I don't know that that's the most pressing conversation to have,” she said.

The Biden administration made its first big withdrawal from the SPR in November 2021 of 50 million barrels in response to high gas prices. It followed up with over 180 million barrels over the course of 2022 in the wake of the invasion of Ukraine. Those were in addition to other scheduled regular withdrawals and cycling of the SPR.

Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) has taken over the influential House House Energy and Commerce Commitee. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

Supporters of the administration's strategy say the moves in 2022 were crucial to reducing gas prices by over $1.50 a gallon in recent months. The national average for gas prices sits at about $3.50 per gallon, with some observers expecting the price to rise in the coming months possibly to over $4 a gallon as demand picks up in the spring.

Last month, the administration announced plans to begin replenishing the reserve, but rejected some initial offers because of pricing, with crude oil around $80/barrel.

Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm told reporters on Monday she is not worried about reaching the administration’s goal of buying 60 million barrels in the coming months, teasing an announcement that she promised “very soon.” Granholm added that Biden would veto the House GOP bill in the unlikely event it reaches his desk.

This week’s vote follows a Jan. 12 vote around the SPR and China, which received wide bipartisan backing, a feat that was not repeated this week.

Ben Werschkul is Washington correspondent for Yahoo Finance.

India's Gautam Adani: Asia's richest man in the eye of a storm

Shivam Patel, Aditi Shah and Aditya Kalra
Fri, January 27, 2023 

 Indian billionaire Adani speaks during an interview with Reuters at his office in Ahmedabad

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India's Gautam Adani, the school drop-out turned billionaire who rose to become Asia's richest man, faces possibly the biggest challenge of his career after a U.S. short seller cast doubts on his business practices, hammering shares in his companies and his reputation.

Adani, whose home state is Gujarat in western India, built his business empire from scratch after starting as a commodities trader. India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi hails from the same state and their relationship has come under intense scrutiny by Modi's opponents for years.

Adani's business empire grew rapidly and his wealth ballooned. His interests span ports, power generation, airports, mining, edible oils, renewable power and more recently media and cement.

He rose to become the world's third-richest person according to Forbes, with a net worth of $127 billion, trailing only Bernard Arnault and Elon Musk. Married to dentist Priti Adani, he has two sons, Karan and Jeet, both of whom are involved in the company businesses.

Despite his riches the 60-year-old, who comes from a middle-class textile family, was far lesser known than other billionaires in a country where many inherit their wealth.

His business style was described as "very hands on", according to one person with direct knowledge of his dealings.

As Adani's empire swelled, stocks of his seven listed companies surged - in some cases more than 1,500% in the last three years amid aggressive expansion. He denied allegations by Modi's opponents that he had benefited from their close ties.

In a 2014 interview with Reuters, when asked if he was friends with Modi, Adani said he had friends across the political spectrum, but avoids politics.

He has said no one political leader is behind his success and when asked about Modi's use of Adani corporate planes during the interview, Adani said Modi "pays fully".

In recent years, the $220 billion Adani Group empire has attracted foreign investment - France's TotalEnergies, for example, partnered with Adani last year to develop the world's biggest green hydrogen ecosystem.

More recently, Adani has taken a pro-active approach to building his public image, giving interviews to local and foreign media.

Appearing in a popular Hindi TV show this month called the 'People's Court', Adani sat in a mock witness box inside a courtroom setup and answered questions about his conglomerate - offering an unusual level of scrutiny. He described himself as "a shy person" and credited the rise of his popularity in part to the political attacks he has faced.

Modi's government has denied allegations of favouring Adani.

"People got to know who Adani (was) because of constant targeting by Rahul ji during the 2014 elections and after that," Adani said, during the show, referring to opposition Congress party leader Rahul Gandhi.

Three weeks later, shares of his group's listed companies plunged on Friday, taking their cumulative losses to $48 billion this week. Short seller Hindenburg Research on Wednesday accused Adani's businesses of improper use of offshore tax havens and flagged concerns about high debt. Adani has called the report baseless, and said he was considering taking action.

REPUTATION CHALLENGE

Adani Group's website says its vision is to balance "growth with goodness" as it aims to build assets of national relevance and transform lives through self-reliance and sustainability.

Adani is no stranger to controversies. The most recent was months of protest by fishermen against construction of a $900-million port in southern India's Kerala, in which he sued the state government and fishermen leaders. And in Australia, environmental activists for years protested against Adani's Carmichael coal mine project in Queensland on concerns of carbon emissions and damage to the Great Barrier Reef.

His latest challenge is how to deal with an unprecedented share price rout as the group's flagship firm Adani Enterprises launched the country's biggest public secondary share offering this week, aiming to raise $2.5 billion.

The stock's price on Friday fell well below the offer price, casting doubts on its success.

Image guru Dilip Cherian told Reuters the Hindenburg Report - and its fallout - could carry reputational risk for Adani but he could take action to limit that damage and reassure investors of the group's financial and assets strength and ensure the share sale is a success.

"In terms of the kind of stellar rise he has had this is a hazard," Cherian said.

Adani told India Today TV in December that people who were raising questions about the group's debt had not done a deep dive into its financials, without saying who he was referring to.

As the market rout played out on Mumbai exchanges, Adani was seen heading to a meeting at the federal power minister's office in New Delhi. It is not known what was discussed and Adani Group did not respond to a request for comment on Friday.

Adani Group's consolidated gross debt stands at $23.34 billion, Jefferies says. While Hindenburg alleged key listed Adani companies had "substantial debt" which has put the entire group on a "precarious financial footing", the Adani Group has repeatedly said its borrowings are manageable and no investor has raised any concern.

(Reporting by Shivam Patel, Aditi Shah and Aditya Kalra in New Delhi; Additional reporting by Nikunj Ohri in New Delhi and Chris Thomas in Bengaluru; Editing by Elaine Hardcastle)

Canada seeking project ideas to transport and store carbon pollution


Thu, January 26, 2023

Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) is accepting applications for research and development projects as part of a broader federal program supporting the advancement of carbon capture technology in Canada.

The department wants to see projects that focus on transporting and storing planet-heating carbon pollution. These projects might enable permanent CO2 storage near industrial areas that currently have no storage options, explore regions for possible storage locations, help plan CO2 transportation and hubs, and advance knowledge to support future regulations and standards.

NRCan is taking expressions of interest from now until April 17, the department announced Wednesday.

The success of Canada’s goal to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 40 per cent from 2005 levels by 2030 is intertwined with the success of carbon capture technology. The federal government’s climate plan calls on the oil and gas industry to slash emissions 31 per cent relative to 2005 levels by 2030. To do this, about 13 per cent of the sector’s reductions would have to come from carbon capture technology. But the technology is expensive, and existing facilities regularly underperform.

The oil and gas sector is responsible for 27 per cent of Canada’s emissions, making it the most polluting sector.

This latest call for proposals falls under the Energy Innovation Program, which was created to advance clean energy technologies in pursuit of Canada’s climate targets and help the transition to a low-carbon economy. In Budget 2021, the federal government invested $319 million into research, development and demonstrations to advance the commercial viability of carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS) technologies.

For-profit and non-profit organizations, companies, utilities, governments, academic institutions and Indigenous groups are all eligible to apply. Successful applicants will be invited to submit a full project proposal to receive funding.

Some types of projects will not be accepted. For example, applicants can’t ask for funding to replicate existing carbon capture facilities or pipelines to transport CO2 — there must be a new, innovative component to the proposal.

Also not allowed are projects focused on non-permanent storage, including enhanced oil recovery, which is when compressed CO2 is injected into depleted oil wells to force out more oil. This is the most common use of captured CO2 worldwide. Selling captured CO2 to companies who use it to extract more oil helps pay for the costly technology, but also enables more oil production at a time when scientists warn the world must rapidly curb emissions and transition away from fossil fuels.

NRCan’s call for projects in August 2021 focused on CCUS engineering and design studies, and 11 projects were selected. A project-by-project funding breakdown is not yet available, but together they represent a total investment of up to $50 million, according to Natural Resources Canada. The selected projects aren’t guaranteed funding and still have to go through a finalization process to negotiate an agreement.

Only the project names are currently available. They show applications from oil and gas companies Cenovus, Canadian Natural Resources Limited, Suncor, Enhance Energy Inc., NorthRiver Midstream Inc. and Strathcona Resources Ltd, among others, were selected. The City of Medicine Hat’s proposal also made the cut.

In July 2022, there was a call for research and development projects related to capture technology, and those applications are currently under review, according to Natural Resources Canada.

A third call for research and development proposals for utilization projects is expected to launch this fall, according to Natural Resources Canada’s website.

A March 2022 report by Environmental Defence found federal and provincial governments had provided an estimated $5.8 billion for CCUS projects since 2000, but the technology only captured 3.55 million tonnes of carbon per year — or 0.05 per cent of Canada’s greenhouse gas emissions. A month later, in Budget 2022, the federal government proposed an investment tax credit covering 50 per cent of equipment costs for CCUS projects. The tax credit is expected to cost the federal government $2.6 billion in the first five years of the program and up to $8.6 billion by 2030.

Natasha Bulowski, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Canada's National Observer

NOVA SCOTIA

Hawkesbury Paper sister company pitches Guysborough County wind farm

Sat, January 28, 2023

This illustration shows what the proposed wind farm would look like from Lincolnville, N.S. (Strum Consulting - image credit)

Port Hawkesbury Paper Wind has submitted a proposal to the province to construct a 29-turbine wind farm.

The proposed location for the Goose Harbour Lake Wind Farm covers an area of Guysborough County between Lincolnville, N.S., and Mulgrave.

The company, a sister firm of Port Hawkesbury Paper, wants clearing work to begin this summer or fall, construction to start next year and for the turbines to be up and running in the summer of 2025.

The 130.5 megawatts produced at the site would feed into the Nova Scotia Power transmission system and supply up to 40 per cent of the mill's electricity needs.

"Wind power is one tool of many that will allow the Port Hawkesbury Paper Facility to support the province in proactively pursuing green energy sources and help move away from a dependency on electricity predominantly generated using coal," the proposal reads.

Strum Consulting

The province has committed to a goal of having 80 per cent of its electricity needs supplied by renewable energy by 2030.

In an environmental assessment registration document filed with the Environment Department on Friday, the company says the area was chosen because it is one of the highest elevations in the county, has strong wind resources, is close to transmission lines and is at least 900 metres from the nearest permanent residence.

There is also a network of roads, once used to harvest timber, that would allow easy access to the turbine sites.

PHP Wind estimates the project will create 150 temporary full-time jobs during construction and up to five permanent jobs. It will also generate property tax revenues of $800,000 per year for the municipality and $500,000 in land-lease payments to the province annually, the company says.

The project would primarily use Crown lands and would operate for a minimum of 25 years.

Concerns raised by public

The company has already held open houses for the public about its plans. Some of the concerns noted by attendees include the visual effects and noise from the turbines, the impacts on drinking water, wetlands, waterways and flora and fauna.

While the document responds to each of these concerns, and includes studies and survey results, the report ultimately concludes the project would not have significant adverse residual effects, and would positively affect the province through a reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and increased economic prosperity.

The wind farm proposal is open for public feedback until Feb. 27.

The environment minister must make a decision on whether to approve the project by March 20.

Camera captures night sky spiral after SpaceX rocket launch



Fri, January 27, 2023 

HONOLULU (AP) — A camera atop Hawaii’s tallest mountain has captured what looks like a spiral swirling through the night sky.

Researchers believe it was from the launch of a military GPS satellite that lifted off earlier on a SpaceX rocket in Florida.

The images were captured on Jan. 18 by a camera at the summit of Mauna Kea outside the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan's Subaru telescope.

A time-lapse video shows a white orb spreading out and forming a spiral as it moves across the sky. It then fades and disappears.

Ichi Tanaka, a researcher at the Subaru telescope, said he was doing other work that night and didn't immediately see it. Then a stargazer watching the camera's livestream on YouTube sent him a screenshot of the spiral using an online messaging platform.

“When I opened Slack, that is what I saw and it was a jaw-dropping event for me,” Tanaka said.

He saw a similar spiral last April, also after a SpaceX launch, but that one was larger and more faint.

SpaceX launched a military satellite the morning of Jan. 18 from Florida’s Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.

The location of the spiral matched where the second stage of the SpaceX rocket was expected to be after its launch.

SpaceX didn't respond to an email sent Friday seeking comment.

Tanaka said the observatory installed the camera to monitor the surroundings outside the Subaru telescope and to share Mauna Kea's clear skies with the people of Hawaii and the world.

Someone watching the sky in less clear conditions, for example from Tokyo, might not have seen the spiral, he said.

The livestream is jointly operated with the Asahi Shimbun, a major Japanese newspaper, and frequently gets hundreds of viewers. Some tune in to watch meteors streak across the sky.

The summit of Mauna Kea has some of best viewing conditions on Earth for astronomy, making it a favored spot for the world’s most advanced observatories. The summit is also considered sacred by many Native Hawaiians who view it as a place where the gods dwell.

Audrey Mcavoy, The Associated Press