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Return of Car Traffic Fuels Surge in Oil
As more lockdown measures imposed to halt the spread of the coronavirus pandemic are eased around the world, some investors predict a long-term increase in oil prices. The turnaround is a boon to the beaten-down energy industry and underscores investors’ hopes for a global economic recovery. Oil tends to rally when more people are traveling, factories are operating and ships laden with goods are moving around the world, trends that also often boost stock prices. [ read more … ]
Wind & Solar Energy
Battle over world’s biggest wind turbine heats up
Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy SA, the Spanish wind turbine manufacturer, is to build what will be the world’s biggest windmill, by the thinnest of margins. The 14-megawatt machine with a rotor diameter of 222 meters (728 feet) will be just 2 meters bigger than General Electric Co.’s own massive turbine. It’s another sign that size matters when it comes to the rapidly growing market for green power from offshore wind farms. [ read more … ]
Report: Huge economic potential for renewables in the West
The Trump administration could give an economic boost to Western communities by doubling down on recent efforts to increase renewable energy development, according to an in-depth analysis of the financial benefits of clean energy on public lands. The report, which claims to be the first to evaluate the “cumulative economic benefits” of commercial-scale renewables development on public lands, found that the construction and operation of renewable energy projects on federal lands have contributed $13 billion to the economy since 1996. [ read more … ]
Markets
IEA report shows renewable energy’s pain, ‘resilience’
The world will build fewer wind turbines and solar plants this year because of the coronavirus pandemic, marking the first annual decline in new renewable power capacity in 20 years, according to a report released this morning from the International Energy Agency. The findings demonstrate that the pandemic is hurting — but not halting — the growth of renewable electricity around the globe [ read more … ]
Pandemic
Trump uses virus to permanently suspend rules on industry
President Trump instructed federal agencies yesterday to search for regulations they could suspend or kill in hopes of jolting the U.S. economy out of its pandemic stupor. “The virus has attacked our nation’s economy as well as its health,” the president proclaimed in an executive order that directs agency heads to look for rules “that may inhibit economic recovery.”
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Dems: Wheeler unleashing ‘pandemic of pollution’
EPA has charged ahead with more than a half-dozen measures in recent months that could worsen air quality despite evidence that pollution makes people more vulnerable to COVID-19, according to a report released today by Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.). In the midst of the crisis caused by the potentially fatal disease, EPA has unleashed “a pandemic of pollution,” the document says. [ read more … ]
Rnewable Hydrogen
Calif. to host ‘game-changing’ renewable hydrogen plant
A bioenergy company has reached a deal with a California city to build what it is calling the “world’s biggest green hydrogen production facility.” Washington-based Solena Group Inc. says the facility will produce a form of renewable hydrogen — which can be used in vehicles and manufacturing — at the same cost as hydrogen produced from fossil fuels. [ read more … ]
EVs
GM, eyeing Tesla, makes headway on battery factory
General Motors Co. said yesterday that it’s preparing for construction of its large battery plant, a sign that the company intends to compete with Tesla Inc. in making electric vehicles in spite of the economic downturn. Making an EV battery that could go a million miles — a huge increase over today’s models — is “in our sights,” Tim Grewe, GM’s director for global electrification and battery systems, said in a call with journalists. [ read more … ]
Note: News clips provided do not necessarily reflect the views of coalition or its member governors.