Report: Climate change to cost MT jobs, hundreds of millions of dollars - Public News Service
Report Climate change to cost MT jobs hundreds of millions of dollars / Public News Service
A new scientific report from a wildlife conservation group details the potential impacts of climate change on Montana jobs and the environment. For the first time, the report combines state and national climate-assessment data.
The report, released by the Montana Wildlife Federation and based on what it called the best available science, predicted an annual loss of 8,800 outdoor recreation jobs and a $263 million economic impact in lost wages by mid-century because of the effects of climate change.
Federation executive director Frank Szollosi said the effects will be felt most strongly in Montana's iconic national parks.
"Glacier and Yellowstone accounting for about 43% of the total job impacts and 41% of the total labor income losses," he said. "Montana's hunters, anglers and outdoor enthusiasts, we're the first to witness the changing climate's tangible effects."
The report said the average temperature in Montana is projected to rise at least 6 by mid-century. August would see the biggest warmup.
The report based its findings on a combination of state and national climate-assessment data, allowing researchers to dig deeper into the science. Donovan Power, a research scientist with his own environmental consulting company, said this localized climate data makes climate-change predictions for Montana more accurate.
"The data has just become a lot more specific in our ability to predict how that's going to impact things like the ski industry or snowmobiling, for example," he said.
Warmer, wetter winters are likely to affect those recreational areas that rely on heavy snowfall in winter. In the future, Power said, they're likely to see more rain instead, creating a huge drag on these tourism and economic drivers for Montana.
Disclosure: Montana Wildlife Federation contributes to our fund for reporting on Climate Change/Air Quality, Endangered Species & Wildlife, Environment, Public Lands/Wilderness. If you would like to help support news in the public interest,
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A new report found Dominion Energy's Integrated Resource Plan does not align with Virginia's climate goals.
Dominion wants to keep using gas and coal-fired power plants, citing data center expansion in Northern Virginia but the Virginia Clean Economy Act mandated Dominion to use 100% renewable electricity by 2045.
Dominion's plan does meet Gov. Glenn Youngkin's energy plan, which relies on both fossil fuels and renewables.
Dennis Wamsted, energy analyst at the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis, is ambivalent about the company using hydrogen for its gas plants. He said there are too many unanswered questions.
"They don't have any cost figures that are credible," Wamsted contended. "They don't have any estimate of who would be providing this hydrogen fuel, how it would be getting to the new facility that they want to build, and what all this would cost for ratepayers."
For now, the future of the plan is in the hands of the State Corporation Commission. In the meantime, Dominion is pushing forward with its Coastal Virginia offshore wind farm. It is expected to generate more than 2.5 gigawatts of electricity, enough to power 660,000 homes.
Wamsted noted Dominion's plan is not entirely unexpected. He feels utility companies would rather invest in bigger projects they can make money on than projects specifically benefiting ratepayers. He argued the plan to build a new gas plant is not good news for ratepayers.
"You'd be paying for it way past 2045, even if the utility couldn't use it," Wamsted pointed out. "You would be getting, you know, essentially, a double whammy of paying for something that's not being used and then having to figure out what else you could be building to meet the demand in the future."
He's referring to the Chesterfield Energy Reliability Center, a Dominion gas-powered plant to be built starting in 2025, to open in 2027. With the Virginia Clean Economy Act in place, the plant would have to close long before the typical life span of a gas power plant.
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New York has made a massive investment in renewable energy. The state is committing $300 million to create the nation's first offshore wind blade and nacelle manufacturing facilities.
In addition to three massive offshore wind projects, 22 solar and wind projects across the state are also being funded. Altogether, these projects will generate around 6.5 gigawatts of electricity - enough to power more than 2 million New York homes.
Anne Reynolds, executive director of the Alliance for Clean Energy New York, noted it has been a challenge to get to this point.
"In New York, you win a contract from the state and then you continue on your path to get your permit and your interconnection, and that can take four, five, six, seven years. And, unfortunately, what's happened in those intervening years is we had the COVID pandemic and unprecedented inflation," Reynolds explained.
Companies developing offshore wind projects have a case before the state's Public Service Commission to raise their strike prices, the amount they will be paid per megawatt hour of electricity produced. Orsted and Eversource want a 27% increase for the Sunrise Wind project, which would raise their strike-price from around $110 to around $140 per megawatt hour, but the petition was rejected.
This investment will create 8,300 jobs for the state's renewable energy workforce.
Fred Zalcman, director of the New York State Offshore Wind Alliance, said the state has to ensure the workforce is trained to develop these projects.
"We do need to make sure that New York's workforce, skilled men and women of labor in the skilled trades, are prepared for this new activity," Zalcman explained.
A state estimate shows job growth for offshore wind is expected to reach at least 10,000. The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority finds that as of December 2021, the state had 165,000 clean-energy jobs, with jobs in energy efficiency leading the pack.
Disclosure: Alliance for Clean Energy New York, Inc. contributes to our fund for reporting on Budget Policy & Priorities, Climate Change/Air Quality, Energy Policy, Environment. If you would like to help support news in the public interest,
click here.
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Related Knowledge Center: Climate economics
Climate change is now a driver of the world’s economy. The impact is profound:
- Catastrophic weather events — hurricanes, floods, droughts, high temperatures — are more frequent and more extreme. The cost can be measured in both the initial damage caused and the longer-term impact on the economy.
- Vulnerable communities are increasing climate-related investments, hardening infrastructure and taking other protective measures.
- Investment in carbon capture and storage technologies is increasingly rapidly.
- Governments are making investments and crafting regulations to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases.
On top of all of this is the cost of uncertainty. As the Fourth National Climate Assessment, released in 2018 by the U.S. Global Change Research Program, says, “The assumption that current and future climate conditions will resemble the recent past is no longer valid.”