Cramer says Hamm has ‘right of first refusal’ for DOE

Rep. Kevin Cramer, an ally of President-elect Donald Trump, believes Continental Resources Inc. CEO Harold Hamm should have the “right of first refusal” to become Energy secretary in the new administration. “If I can serve North Dakota in the House of Representatives with a friend in the White House and another good friend would become Energy secretary, I’d feel like I won the lottery,” the North Dakota Republican told reporters last evening. [ read more … ]

Can Trump deliver on immense energy, climate promises?

While campaigning in Iowa last year, Trump said he supported a wind production tax credit that phases out in 2020, and some industry leaders have said a new administration is unlikely to revise those tax incentives. Changing or repealing the tax credit also would have to be approved by the Republican-controlled Congress, and that could prove difficult. Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) has said Trump would get a bill through Congress to scrap the wind production tax credit only “over my dead body.” [ read more … ]

New Report Shows U.S. States Leading a Shift to Clean Energy

A new report from the Georgetown Climate Center shows that a dramatic shift to clean energy is taking place across the U.S. Between 2011 and 2014, installed wind energy capacity grew by more than 40 percent nationally, for example, while solar capacity grew by 577 percent nationally. “We are seeing significant progress in the growth of clean energy,” said Vicki Arroyo, executive director of the Georgetown Climate Center. “States are taking action to increase renewable energy, slash energy use, and reduce reliance on older, inefficient fossil-fuel power plants.” [ read more … ]

Source: Trump seeks to exit Paris Agreement on day one

The Trump administration is exploring steps to withdraw from the Paris climate agreement on Jan. 20, 2017, the first day of Donald Trump’s presidency, according to a person working on the transition team. “I think this is likely a first-day action,” the source said on the condition on anonymity. [ read more … ]

Diplomatic or deluded? Insiders say Trump won’t ditch deal

A key transition aide told E&E News that the Trump team is in fact looking for ways to withdraw from the accord once the administration takes office. But participants in Marrakech note Trump has never held elected office and argue he is likely to be swayed by advisers with a more nuanced view of global policy. He’ll be reluctant to harm U.S. clout abroad, they say, as a withdrawal from Paris surely would. [ read more … ]

Obama admin sets new solar target

The Obama administration established a new target yesterday to slash solar costs by an additional 50 percent between 2020 and 2030.

It is the first such goal for the 2030 time period from the Department of Energy’s SunShot Initiative, which was established in 2011 to make solar cost competitive with traditional energy sources. Earlier this year, the program announced it nearly reached its goals in cutting solar costs through the end of this decade. It remains unclear to what degree President-elect Donald Trump might support DOE’s solar programs [ read more … ]

Utilities change tack after Fla. ballot measure fails

Falling solar prices in Florida may lead to a renewable energy boom in the state, much to the chagrin of utility giants. Utility companies poured around $30 million into a constitutional amendment that would limit solar installation in the state, but it failed at the ballot box last week. The Florida Solar Energy Industries Association estimates that Florida businesses and homeowners will install 2,315 megawatts of solar capacity over the next five years — a nineteen fold increase from the past five years. [ read more … ]

Microsoft Signs Biggest Wind-Power Deal for Wyoming Data Center

Microsoft Corp. committed to its largest wind-power purchase to date with a deal to buy 237 megawatts of capacity from projects in Wyoming and Kansas. Allianz Risk Transfer AG’s Bloom Wind Project in Kansas and Black Hills Corp.’s Happy Jack and Silver Sage wind farms in Wyoming will provide all of the power needed by a data center in Cheyenne, Wyoming, under two long-term contracts cover, according a Microsoft blog post Monday. Terms weren’t disclosed. [ read more … ]

Windmills or Reactor Cores? Inside South Africa’s Energy Clash

In Africa, many countries are looking at solar and wind as a quick way to bolster generation capacity by leapfrogging older and dirtier sources of energy. Renewable energy could also bring diversification to nations dangerously dependent on a single source of electricity, like Malawi and Zambia, which have experienced crippling blackouts because of a severe drought that lowered water levels at hydroelectricdams. [ read more … ]