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Electricity investments surpass oil, gas for second year running: IEA
Global electricity investments exceeded those in oil and gas for the second year running in 2017 due to more spending on grids but renewable energy investment fell after years of growth, the International Energy Agency said on Tuesday. Global energy investment totaled $1.8 trillion last year, down 2 percent from 2016. More than $750 billion was spent on the electricity sector, while $716 billion was invested in oil and gas supply. [ read more … ]
Global Economy’s Future Is Electric, But Still Dirty, IEA Says
More of the world will run on electricity in the future, but most of the power won’t be clean. That’s the key message from the International Energy Agency’s latest report on investment trends released Tuesday. The Paris-based organization said that electricity generation attracted more capital than oil and natural gas for the second year in a row, but investment in renewables declined and is expected to keep falling. [ read more … ]
Policy & Politics
House members to question role of storage for grid
House lawmakers will examine the role that energy storage plays in the U.S. electric system this week, as part of the Energy and Commerce Committee’s series of hearings studying the grid. The Energy Subcommittee will look at the growth of utility-scale storage in the country and how storage can be used in wholesale electricity markets.
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Lineups set for EPA’s marathon ‘secret science’ hearing
After months of taking potshots at an EPA proposal to limit the use of scientific research in crafting new regulations, critics are primed for a sustained assault at a public hearing today that could last into the early evening. [ read more … ]
New investor-backed campaign targets a trillion dollars for US renewables
There may be a trillion-dollar opportunity in U.S. renewable energy. The “phenomenally abundant” mix of wind, solar and other renewables makes the U.S. one of the most likely places in the world for more investment, according to Gregory Wetstone, president and CEO of the American Council on Renewable Energy (ACORE). [ read more … ]
Virginia company to build $1.2 billion Panhandle wind farm
A Virginia-based company is going to build a $1.2 billion, 800 megawatt wind farm in the Texas Panhandle. Apex Clean Energy will build two 400 megawatt wind projects in Moore County north of Amarillo, starting in 2021 with planned completion of the project set to be in late 2021, according to spokeswoman Cat Strumlauf. [ read more … ]
LePage’s lawyers seek dismissal of challenge to order halting wind permits
Gov. Paul LePage’s lawyers asked a judge Friday to dismiss a lawsuit challenging the governor’s executive order to halt wind turbine permits in western and coastal regions of rural Maine. Advocacy groups challenged the constitutionality of LePage’s January order, claiming it’s causing uncertainty in the wind industry. A judge in Cumberland County heard arguments Friday. [ read more … ]
Former Clinton White House official joins EDF
Former Pennsylvania Senate candidate Katie McGinty is joining the Environmental Defense Fund as senior vice president of the oceans program. McGinty, who lost a tight race to Republican Sen. Pat Toomey in 2016, served as an environmental policy adviser to the Clinton administration and was floated as a possible EPA administrator under President Obama. Later, she worked as secretary of Pennsylvania’s Department of Environmental Protection. [ read more … ]
Note: News clips provided do not necessarily reflect the views of coalition or its member governors.