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Hurricane, Fire, Covid-19: Disasters Expose the Hard Reality of Climate Change
“Climate change is tough for people to grasp, but attribution studies continue to find its DNA in today’s tropical systems, heat waves, droughts and rainstorms,” said Marshall Shepherd, a professor of atmospheric sciences and geography at the University of Georgia and director of its atmospheric sciences program. For hurricanes, warmer oceans provide more energy, making them stronger. And warmer air holds more moisture, so the storms bring more rain. “Climate change shifts us into an era of sustained elevated risk from extreme weather and climate events,” Dr. Shepherd said. [ read more … ]
States
Mass. set to pass landmark clean energy law
Massachusetts is expected to pass clean energy and climate legislation in the coming months that would require the state to reach net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, dividing conservative groups and environmentalists in atypical ways. The state House and Senate, which are both controlled by Democrats, have yet to agree on final language. But both chambers have passed bills backing the net-zero goal, and Republican Gov. Charlie Baker has declared that his administration is planning to meet it. If enacted, the law would place Massachusetts among a handful of states requiring a carbon-neutral economy by midcentury. [ read more … ]
Storage
National lab: ‘Hybrid’ renewable storage projects triple
A study of new projects lining up to join the electric grid shows that renewables paired with batteries are fast gaining currency. Proposals for plants that couple wind or solar power with batteries jumped by more than a factor of three between 2018 and 2019, with solar-battery combos leading the way. [ read more … ]
Hydrogen
Is renewable hydrogen set to revolutionize the grid?
In his clean energy plan last month, presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden called for a ramp-up in research on renewable hydrogen, which in theory could be a transformative, emissions-free fuel source for everything from cars to cement making. That preceded Microsoft Corp. joining a global hydrogen industry group as steering member and utility giant Florida Power & Light Co. announcing last week that it would build its first “green” hydrogen plant. [ read more … ]
Decarbonization
Managers of $16 Trillion Set Out Plan to Decarbonize Investments
Even as the pandemic continues to drive down consumer spending and depress oil prices, investors are spending big on clean-tech companies. Shares are now at or near record highs, the latest sign that wind and solar are no longer fringe bets. Electric-carmaker Tesla Inc. has grabbed much of the attention with a 251% jump this year. But the stock surge is hitting across clean tech, from solar installers to fuel-cell providers to wind companies. [ read more … ]
Climate
Rising temperatures will cause more deaths than all infectious diseases – study
The growing but largely unrecognized death toll from rising global temperatures will come close to eclipsing the current number of deaths from all the infectious diseases combined if planet-heating emissions are not constrained, a major new study has found. Rising temperatures are set to cause particular devastation in poorer, hotter parts of the world that will struggle to adapt to unbearable conditions that will kill increasing numbers of people, the research has found. [ read more … ]
Duke coal plants costing Ind. customers millions — groups
Duke Energy Corp. is charging Indiana customers millions of dollars more than it should to dispatch Indiana coal plants and bypassing cheaper, cleaner alternatives, according to environmental groups. The groups, including the Citizens Action Coalition, the Sierra Club and Advanced Energy Economy, submitted testimony from analysts and economists last week in a closely watched case before the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission involving Duke and how it runs its coal plants as part of the broader Midwest power grid. [ read more … ]
Markets
BP swerves toward renewables in seismic shift from oil
BP PLC’s plan to slash its oil production and shift rapidly into renewable power generation could prove to be a turning point for the oil industry, experts said. The reason? BP’s groundbreaking announcement could force other companies to lower their own output scenarios and acknowledge that peak demand for oil is coming. BP, one of the world’s most storied oil companies, said yesterday it would cut its oil and gas production 40% and increase its renewable electric power output twentyfold within the next decade. It also expects to spend a third of its capital on low-carbon energy [ read more … ]
EVs
ChargePoint Raises New Round as Investors Rush to Electric Cars
ChargePoint Inc., builder of the world’s largest electric-vehicle charging network, raised $127 million in its latest round of funding as the company adds more locations in the U.S. and Europe. The company has raised $667 million to date and plans to use the funds to expand its network, which has more than 115,000 charging spots worldwide. ChargePoint expects electric-vehicle sales to continue rising and has a goal of expanding its network to 2.5 million spots by 2025.
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Bumps ahead for EV drivers: ‘Plating’ and demand spikes
Researchers see two challenges that could disrupt the nation’s transition to electric transportation: degraded batteries stemming from rushed charging and spikes in power demand as plug-in cars flood U.S. roadways. A pair of studies from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) assert that there’s no quick fix to these problems without more research into lithium-ion batteries and further innovations in the nation’s charging systems. [ read more … ]
Campaign 2020
Climate Hawks Urge Biden to Shun Obama-Era Energy Moderates
Climate-change activists are pressuring Joe Biden to distance himself from former Obama administration advisers they view as either too moderate or too cozy with the fossil fuel industry, a sign of disunity on the eve of the Democratic convention. Groups such as Data for Progress and the Revolving Door Project are building a case against some people advising the Democratic presidential nominee, such as former Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz and Obama environment aide Heather Zichal. Both have served on the boards of companies linked to fossil fuels since leaving government. [ read more … ]
Note: News clips provided do not necessarily reflect the views of coalition or its member governors.