View this email in a web browser.
Should we spend billions on clean energy? It worked during the last crisis
In crafting the Obama-era stimulus, “we looked at initiatives that could in the short term put people back to work, but simultaneously would build for the long term, particularly in the context of energy, improving health and communities,” said Carol Browner, who served as Obama’s top energy and climate advisor and today is board chair of the League of Conservation Voters. [ read more … ]
Markets
U.S., Saudi Arabia, Russia Agree to Lead Unprecedented Oil Output Deal
Saudi Arabia, Russia and the U.S. have agreed to lead a multinational coalition in major oil-production cuts after a drop in demand due to the coronavirus crisis and a month-long Saudi-Russian feud had devastated oil prices. The deal, sealed Sunday, came after President Trump intervened to help resolve a Saudi-Mexico standoff that jeopardized the broader pact. [ read more … ]
Pandemic
Renewable energy producers warn of layoffs
The renewable energy industry and environmental groups on Friday wrote a letter to Congress highlighting difficulties faced by renewable energy producers. “We wanted to highlight specific damage to the clean energy economy, which we know best, and what that will mean for the roughly 3.4 million Americans who work in a sector whose jobs are in serious peril due to the economic downturn caused by COVID-19,” said the letter, which was signed by major wind and solar energy groups, as well as environmental groups and others. [ read more … ]
Siemens CEO rules out job cuts from coronavirus impact
Siemens will not cut its workforce because of the economic downturn triggered by the new coronavirus, Chief Executive Joe Kaeser said, although short-time working measures could be extended in Germany. “No one at Siemens will leave because of a temporary fluctuation in activity,” Kaeser told Passauer Neue Presse in an interview published on Saturday.
[ read more … ]
Ten EU countries urge bloc to pursue ‘green’ coronavirus recovery
Sweden, the Netherlands, Italy, Spain and six other countries urged the European Union to adopt a “green” recovery plan on Thursday, as fears grow that the economic hit caused by the coronavirus pandemic could weaken action on climate change. In an open letter published as European finance ministers met by video conference, 10 environment and climate ministers said any rescue package should support the European Commission’s Green Deal strategy to embrace a low-carbon future. [ read more … ]
States
Governor Northam signs Virginia Clean Economy Act
Governor Ralph Northam signed the Virginia Clean Economy Act, which requires new measures to promote energy efficiency. “These new clean energy laws propel Virginia to leadership among the states in fighting climate change,” said Governor Northam. “They advance environmental justice and help create clean energy jobs. In Virginia, we are proving that a clean environment and a strong economy go hand-in-hand.” [ read more … ]
Wind Energy
Americans across party lines support offshore wind energy by wide margins
In today’s world, sometimes it can feel like a struggle getting two people to agree the sky is blue. And yet, in an era of polarized opinions, wind energy has remained an outlier—it’s a bright beacon of consensus. Just a few months ago, Pew found 85 percent of Americans supported expanding the use of wind power. Now, just-released survey results show this same support extends to offshore wind. Over 80 percent of U.S. voters favor offshore wind, according to a new AWEA-commissioned study conducted by Public Opinion Strategies. [ read more … ]
Transmission
7 Transmission Projects That Could Unlock a Renewable Energy Bounty
Major infrastructure projects are notoriously tough to build in 21st-century America, and that seems especially true for transmission lines, however critical they are in transforming the energy system. The case for new multistate transmission lines has never been clearer. A growing number of states and utilities have set 100-percent-clean-energy goals, albeit with no obvious path to generating all that power close to home. The gap is growing between the transmission network’s capacity and the need to link wind farms in the Great Plains and Intermountain West, solar farms in the Southwest and hydropower resources in eastern Canada to other regions hungry for carbon-free energy.
[ read more … ]
Note: News clips provided do not necessarily reflect the views of coalition or its member governors.