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US power sector carbon emissions rise as natural gas outpaces renewables: Ceres
Generation of zero-carbon resources surpassed coal and gas individually in the U.S for the first time in 2017, according to a new Ceres report tracking air pollution from the 100 largest electric power providers in the country. But natural gas and coal combined still made up over half the country’s electricity generation that year. Carbon-free resources made up 35.4% of electricity generation, beating out coal’s 29.8% and natural gas’ 32.1%, driven largely by the uptick in renewable energy generation, which made up 22.6% of non-emitting electricity. Nuclear and hydropower made up the rest, at 56.3% and 21.1%, respectively. [ read more … ]
Policy & Politics
Investors confident in continued growth of renewables
U.S. financial institutions are confident about the prospects for continued growth of the renewable energy industry, according to a report released Monday. The American Council on Renewable Energy’s (ACORE) survey of investors found that one-third of respondents plan to increase their investments in renewables by more than 10% in 2019 compared to last year. [ read more … ]
Bloomberg: Waiting on climate action ‘isn’t good enough’
In a letter accompanying Bloomberg Philanthropies’ annual report, former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg urged more action against climate change, writing that “proposing ideas for 2021 isn’t good enough.” Bloomberg Philanthropies has supported climate change initiatives, including the recently-announced $500 million campaign that seeks to shut down every coal plant and wean the country off natural gas. The group’s American Cities Climate Challenge has also supported 25 cities in projects estimated to cut 40 million metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions. [ read more … ]
Editorial: Where the Climate Change Action Is
In time, federal officials may figure out a way to rejuvenate the nuclear power industry. In time, they may figure out how to do a lot of things — rebuild the grid, devise a national clean energy standard, pour billions into new technologies. But right now, Washington is paralyzed, with Republicans frozen in place and Democrats offering competing climate plans (some big, like the one from former Vice President Joe Biden, some very big, like the one from Gov. Jay Inslee of Washington). The prospects for national action are sure to improve if any Democrat wins the presidency, and without national action America cannot hope to be the world leader on climate change, as it aspired to be at the end of Mr. Obama’s tenure. The states can do only so much. But what they are doing is heartening. [ read more … ]
Congress pushes for renewables to have same private investment incentives as fossil fuels
A bipartisan and bicameral group of lawmakers has introduced a bill to allow clean energy technology companies to form master limited partnerships (MLP), a move aimed at boosting private investment. Currently, only investors in fossil fuel-based technologies can access the tax advantages of the MLP structure. Lawmakers supporting the Financing Our Energy Future Act say a “straightforward, powerful modification of the federal tax code” could expand that structure to include solar, wind, combined heat and power, energy storage and others. [ read more … ]
Should EV charging stations be regulated as utilities? Kentucky joins majority in saying no
Kentucky regulators on Friday ruled that electric vehicle charging stations are not considered utilitiesunder state law. The order by the state’s Public Service Commission (PSC) removes any ambiguity over whether charging ports should be regulated as a utility, finding that chargers do not provide a public service in the same way. [ read more … ]
Note: News clips provided do not necessarily reflect the views of coalition or its member governors.