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U.S. Oil Producers Begin Storing Crude in Strategic Reserve
U.S. oil producers running out of space for storage amid an unprecedented slump in demand have started making deliveries to the nation’s emergency stockpile. This month, 1.1 million barrels have been delivered into Strategic Petroleum Reserve storage. The Energy Department has finalized contracts announced earlier this month for companies to rent about 23 million barrels of capacity in the SPR, according to an official. [ read more … ]
Wind & Solar Energy
Renewables Giants Look Set to Get Even Bigger as Crisis Tightens Finance Markets
Is the avalanche of money that was chasing renewable energy projects before the coronavirus crisis rolling on or grinding to a halt? The headlines still show plenty of deals closing. Developers are clinching power-purchase agreements, assets are changing hands and it appears that new projects are still getting off the ground. But are these simply announcements for deals that were effectively already over the finish line before the coronavirus crisis erupted? Or are the wheels of renewable energy financing still turning? [ read more … ]
Duke Energy aims to bring 16GW of solar, wind, biomass online by 2025
Duke Energy Corp. plans to double the amount of solar, wind and biomass generation in its portfolio over the next five years as the company continues to reduce carbon emissions.
On April 28, Duke Energy released its 2019 sustainability report and 2020 climate report in which it outlines significant growth in renewable energy and further reductions in greenhouse gases as part of the company’s plan to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. [ read more … ]
Scale-up of Solar and Wind Puts Existing Coal, Gas at Risk
Solar PV and onshore wind are now the cheapest sources of new-build generation for at least two-thirds of the global population. Those two-thirds live in locations that comprise 71% of gross domestic product and 85% of energy generation. Battery storage is now the cheapest new-build technology for peaking purposes (up to two-hours of discharge duration) in gas-importing regions, like Europe, China or Japan. [ read more … ]
FERC
DC Circuit grills FERC on use of tolling orders on Atlantic Sunrise pipeline, other natural gas projects
Tolling orders are an accessible tool for FERC to delay judgement on rehearing requests when more time is needed to consider arguments regarding the legality of the commission’s actions. FERC attorney Robert Kennedy said tolling orders are “generally entered almost as a matter of routine.” Petitioners argued that pipeline projects have been completed while opponents were unable to litigate because a tolling order was in place. [ read more … ]
Update: Broad array of groups sue FERC over PJM MOPR decision as Chatterjee rejects cost, renewable concerns
New Jersey and Maryland filed a petition for review on Monday with the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals, challenging federal regulators’ decision to uphold a December order. The order “undermines New Jersey’s support for renewable clean-energy resources while incentivizing fossil-fuel resources that contribute to climate change,” New Jersey regulators said in a statement. [ read more … ]
Climate
How a major electric company is aiming to be carbon-free by 2050
As one of America’s largest utilities, Duke’s sketch of this potential future is a bellwether for how a range of companies and states hope to achieve their similarly aggressive goals in the next 30 years. Duke, which provides electricity to more than 7 million customers in the Carolinas, the Midwest and Florida, said in a reportthat huge leaps in innovation must happen in order to achieve its carbon-neutral goal by 2050, a target roughly in line with the Paris climate agreement. [ read more … ]
How Concern Over Climate Change Correlates With Coronavirus Responses
Adults who say they are not concerned about climate change are less likely than the general public to be taking personal actions to mitigate the effects of the coronavirus, new Morning Consult data shows. And in contrast, climate-concerned U.S. adults are more likely to be taking these actions, which include wearing masks in public, social distancing and disinfecting the home and personal electronics. [ read more … ]
Pandemic
The Pandemic Is Accelerating Coal’s Demise
You can add coal to the list of global commodities struggling during the pandemic. Prices haven’t yet turned negative (like oil), but coronavirus is accelerating the demise of the dirtiest fossil fuel. Social distancing measures mean energy demand has fallen across the board. Some of the smallest declines, however, are in the electricity sector. That should have been good news for coal. But it hasn’t turned out that way. [ read more … ]
Pollution/emissions
‘Bogus analysis’: Trump-appointed EPA advisers criticize study linking air pollution and coronavirus deaths
Trump administration appointees to key panels that advise the Environmental Protection Agency on science are criticizing a study that concludes areas with higher levels of air pollution will experience higher death rates from the coronavirus. The study, from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, has led to increased public pressure on the EPA in recent weeks, threatening the agency’s deregulatory agenda on air pollution rules. [ read more … ]
Note: News clips provided do not necessarily reflect the views of coalition or its member governors.