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U.S. Clean Power Giants to Join Forces to Build Lobbying Muscle
Some of the biggest U.S. clean-energy companies are joining forces with the nation’s top wind-power trade group to create a new lobbying organization ahead of a presidential election that could tip federal policy in favor of renewables. The new group, called the American Clean Power Association, will include industry titans such as NextEra Energy Inc., Avangrid Inc. and Berkshire Hathaway Energy. The American Wind Energy Association, founded in 1974, plans to merge with the new organization with the goal of propelling “renewables to be the dominant power source in America.” [ read more … ]
States
Its Electric Grid Under Strain, California Turns to Batteries
Last month as a heat wave slammed California, state regulators sent an email to a group of energy executives pleading for help. “Please consider this an urgent inquiry on behalf of the state,” the message said. The manager of the state’s grid was struggling to increase the supply of electricity because power plants had unexpectedly shut down and demand was surging. The imbalance was forcing officials to order rolling blackouts across the state for the first time in nearly two decades. [ read more … ]
States Are Laying a Road Map for Climate Leadership
State governments across the United States are taking meaningful action against climate change and toward building a clean energy economy. Local governments and tribal nations are leading as well. This leadership is critical in real terms: It is reducing carbon pollution that is harming American communities6—especially communities of color and low-income communities. This leadership is also important for showing the world that most Americans remain committed to climate solutions,8 and it is demonstrating that bold climate action is possible and popular. [ read more … ]
Wind Energy
Wind energy coming to Southwest Iowa
Wind energy is coming to Southwest Iowa, it’s just going to take a while to get here. The Fremont County Board of Supervisors took action earlier this summer on an ordinance establishing rules for wind turbines, and, although said ordinance isn’t required for the development of wind power, establishing rules makes it more attractive for wind energy companies because those companies come in knowing what is expected of them. [ read more … ]
Apple invests in world’s largest onshore wind turbines that will power a Danish data center
Apple is investing in the construction of two of the world’s largest onshore wind turbines, advancing its efforts to become entirely carbon neutral by 2030. The power produced by the turbines, located in Denmark, will support Apple’s data center in Viborg, the company said in a blog post Thursday. the Viborg center backs Apple’s key products, including the App Store, Apple Music, iMessage and Siri. [ read more … ]
Solar Energy
World Added More Solar, Wind Than Anything Else Last Year
For the first time ever, solar and wind made up the majority of the world’s new power generation — marking a seismic shift in how nations get their electricity. Solar additions last year totaled 119 gigawatts, representing 45% of all new capacity, according to a report Tuesday by BloombergNEF. Together, solar and wind accounted for more than two-thirds of the additions. That’s up from less than a quarter in 2010. The surge comes as countries move to slash carbon emissions and as technology costs fall. [ read more … ]
Nuclear
Bill Gates’ Nuclear Startup Unveils Mini-Reactor Design Including Molten Salt Energy Storage
Nuclear power is the Immovable Object of generation sources. It can take days just to bring a nuclear plant completely online, rendering it useless as a tool to manage the fluctuations in the supply and demand on a modern energy grid. Now a firm launched by Bill Gates in 2006, TerraPower, in partnership with GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy, believes it has found a way to make the infamously unwieldy energy source a great deal nimbler — and for an affordable price. [ read more … ]
EPA
EPA chief criticizes Democratic governors, vows to concentrate on cleaning up vulnerable communities in a second Trump term
The head of the Environmental Protection Agency argued last week that the Trump administration, which has aggressively rolled back environmental regulations in recent years, has done more to help vulnerable communities deal with pollution than the “misdirected policies” and “misused resources” of its predecessors. Fifty years after President Richard M. Nixon created the EPA, its current leader, Andrew Wheeler, traveled to his presidential library in California on Thursday to outline a vision for the future that emphasizes economic development instead of tackling climate change. [ read more … ]
Trump Will Roll Back More Regulations if Re-Elected, EPA Chief Says
President Trump would press forward with efforts to ease regulatory burdens on business if re-elected for a second term, while working to ease bottlenecks that have delayed Superfund cleanup projects, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency administrator Andrew Wheeler said. In an interview with The Wall Street Journal, Mr. Wheeler said a second term for the Trump administration would allow his agency to implement additional measures such as including a cost-benefit analysis of any new regulations. [ read more … ]
Campaign 2020
Trump Made a Promise to Save Coal in 2016. He Couldn’t Keep It
President Donald Trump spent more than $1 billion in taxpayer funds, rolled back environmental rules and tried to stop power plant closings to fulfill a vow he made to West Virginia coal miners in the 2016 campaign. But nothing he’s done is rescuing the coal industry. [ read more … ]
Note: News clips provided do not necessarily reflect the views of coalition or its member governors.