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Fossil Fuels Are to Blame for Soaring Methane Levels, Study Shows
Oil and gas production may be responsible for a far larger share of the soaring levels of methane, a powerful greenhouse gas, in the earth’s atmosphere than previously thought, new research has found. The findings, published in the journal Nature, add urgency to efforts to rein in methane emissions from the fossil fuel industry, which routinely leaks or intentionally releases the gas into air. [ read more … ]
Wind Energy
Orsted updates South Fork wind farm plan amid concerns about delays
Danish energy giant Orsted has filed an update to the construction and operation plan for its proposed South Fork wind farm, amid doubts by opponents and a state lawmaker that it will hit its contracted December 2022 completion date. The proposed South Fork Wind Farm, a joint venture of Orsted USA and Eversource, last year announced plans to update its construction and operations plan for the project, which would be located in federal waters 30 miles from Montauk Point. Despite the filing last Friday, a federal website lists the project review status as “paused.”
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Solar Energy
Solar jobs jump, especially in South
A nationwide jobs survey released today found that big states in the U.S. South hired hundreds or even thousands of solar workers last year, including Texas, Virginia, Georgia and Florida, helping to reverse years of national declines. Overall, the U.S. solar industry’s employment numbers grew by 2.3% to almost 250,000 jobs, according to the report from the Solar Foundation, a nonprofit that produces a national solar jobs census every year. That is solid growth but still 10,000 jobs shy of what the industry had in 2016, before a bruising tariff battle created uncertainty and caused investors to step back. [ read more … ]
Climate
Ore. House GOP members refuse to appear for session
Most Republican lawmakers refused to attend a session of the Oregon House of Representatives last night amid a slowdown over anger at a sweeping bill on climate change. Earlier, Republican lawmakers, who are a minority in the House, insisted that bills coming to the floor be read in their entirety instead of being summarized, which slowed things down substantially. The 2020 session of the Legislature lasts only 35 days, being an even-year short session. [ read more … ]
Energy leaders lay out innovation path
A group of 11 industry leaders, including Bill Gates, ClearPath’s Jay Faison and Tom Fanning of Southern Company, is warning that Congress must expand support “to the entire energy innovation lifecycle” in order to develop the technology necessary to combat climate change. [ read more … ]
Advocates say Jay Inslee is poised to secure a climate win
Washington Gov. Jay Inslee (D) could notch a major climate victory this spring — something that often has eluded the environmentally focused politician, advocates said yesterday. Inslee, who ran for president as the self-styled “climate candidate” before withdrawing from the race in August, could succeed in passing a low-carbon fuel standard in Washington state, supporters said during a webinar organized by Climate Solutions, an environmental group. [ read more … ]
Climate change by the numbers
Climate change does not rank among Americans’ top domestic priorities for the president and Congress, despite the rising focus on the issue on the Hill and on the presidential campaign trail, according to a new survey from POLITICO and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. [ read more … ]
Grid
Why the U.S. faces a steep path to a CO2-free grid
Nearly two dozen states and the District of Columbia have committed to slashing greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, with several planning at least an 80% cut. Some Democratic presidential candidates are outlining goals for the majority of electricity to be decarbonized within the next two decades. But how big a lift will that be at the state level? [ read more … ]
EVs
Porsche confirms Taycan caught fire in U.S.
Porsche confirmed one of its new Taycan electric cars has caught fire in the garage of a U.S. customer, marking the first such incident since Volkswagen AG’s sportscar division started deliveries of the four-door sedan last year. Porsche was notified of the fire on Sunday and is investigating the cause, the company said in an email. [ read more … ]
Car Rule
States, professors support Calif. emissions deal with Quebec
States are rallying behind California in a lawsuit filed by the Trump administration in an attempt to strip the Golden State of its cap-and-trade deal with Quebec. Fourteen states led by Democratic attorneys general filed a friend-of-the-court brief in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California yesterday, telling the court that California’s agreement with the Canadian province does not unduly increase state powers. [ read more … ]
Note: News clips provided do not necessarily reflect the views of coalition or its member governors.