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Emissions Are Already Heading Back to Pre-Pandemic Levels
Carbon emissions are on the rise again after a short blip when the pandemic brought entire industries and international travel to a halt. Emissions from burning fossil fuel dropped by an unprecedented 17% from the previous year during the peak of the lockdown in April, but by early June they had mainly returned to about 5% below 2019 levels, according to United in Science 2020, a report published on Wednesday coordinated by the World Meteorological Organization. [ read more … ]
Wind Energy
How one fossil fuel company became a green giant
One of the first corporate energy transitions of modern times began with a failed stock listing. In 2007, executives at Danish Oil and Natural Gas were planning to pitch their company to prospective investors as a fossil fuel behemoth. DONG — as the state-owned energy company was then known — had a small but growing oil and gas division, a natural gas distribution unit and a newly acquired utility business, which was pursuing plans to build a massive coal plant in Germany. [ read more … ]
Major study finds no link between turbine ‘noise’ and harm
A joint academic project in Germany has not been able to establish a link between low-frequency sound from wind turbines and negative impacts perceived by nearby residents. The “Objective criteria for vibration and sound emissions of onshore wind turbines” (TremAc) researchers investigated the effects of low frequency sound (infrasound) and ground vibrations (seismic waves). In the study, which was funded by the Federal Ministry of Economic Affairs and Energy, the researchers could not “plausibly prove” a connection between acoustic or seismic waves and physical or psychological complaints. [ read more … ]
States
California governor: “No patience for climate deniers”
“I say this lovingly — not as an ideologue, but as someone who prides himself on being open to argument, interested in evidence — but I quite literally have no patience for climate change deniers,” Newsom said. “It’s completely inconsistent, that point of view, with the reality on the ground, the facts as we are experiencing. You may not believe it intellectually, but your own eyes, your own experiences tell a different story.” [ read more … ]
NYC plan to import Canadian hydro sparks opposition
A plan to subsidize the importation of Canadian hydropower into New York City is sparking arguments over how the state should overcome a major obstacle to its ambitious 2030 clean power goal. By decade’s end, New York state needs to get 70% of its power from renewables under the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act. [ read more … ]
N.Y. grid operator kicks off rules to boost battery storage
New York’s grid operator has eliminated a key barrier for adding energy storage technologies to the power grid in an effort to meet the state’s ambitious climate targets. The New York Independent System Operator yesterday announced that new rules are in effect to integrate energy storage resources such as batteries into its wholesale electricity markets, which are overseen by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. [ read more … ]
Natural Gas
Natural Gas Is the Rich World’s New Coal
Even the cleanest fossil fuel is losing its appeal to rich nations. Just a few years ago, natural gas was hailed as vital for the transition toward an economy that runs on renewable energy. But sentiment is changing and the fuel is going the same way as coal, its dirtier sibling shunned by governments, utilities and investors. The cancellation of the giant Atlantic Coast pipeline in the U.S. and Ireland’s decision to scrap backing for an import terminal this summer are the latest signs that gas is falling out of favor with everyone from regulators to asset managers. [ read more … ]
Markets
Oil slides as summer’s end heralds drop in demand
A summer’s worth of lackluster news caught up with the oil market, sending the price of U.S. crude tumbling. Oil prices had clawed their way back on hopes that the coronavirus pandemic was beginning to wane and boost the broader economy. But the end of the summer driving season is expected to push gasoline demand down again, and the U.S. is bracing for a new round of infections as people ignored social distancing during the Labor Day holiday weekend, according to the data firm Rystad Energy. [ read more … ]
EVs
GM’s $2B stake in Nikola shakes up truck market
General Motors Co. said yesterday it will invest $2 billion in Nikola Corp., giving the Detroit auto giant an 11% stake in an electric truck startup that’s vying for a head-to-head battle with Tesla Inc. and other heavy-duty electric vehicle makers. GM will help Nikola engineer and manufacture its hydrogen fuel cell-powered and battery-powered trucks, including Nikola’s Badger truck. GM will also supply the 6-year-old company, based in Phoenix, with GM’s own hydrogen fuel cell technology as part of the deal. [ read more … ]
Uber commits to 100% EVs. Will it work?
Uber Technologies Inc. yesterday pledged to use only electric vehicles by 2030 in the United States, Canada and Europe, and by 2040 in the rest of the world. The splashy climate announcement aligned Uber with rival Lyft Inc., which vowed to reach 100% EVs by 2030 in late June. It raised questions, however, about the feasibility of both companies’ commitments, according to experts who study clean transportation.
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Campaign 2020
Trump the environmentalist? ‘No. 1 since Teddy Roosevelt.’
President Trump proclaimed himself “the great environmentalist” in Florida yesterday as he was flanked by two former energy lobbyists whom he has tasked with rolling back environmental and climate protections. Trump traveled to the key swing state to announce that Florida, along with South Carolina and Georgia, would be exempt from offshore oil and gas drilling. He was joined by EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler and Interior Secretary David Bernhardt. [ read more … ]
In reversal, Trump to ban oil drilling off coasts of Florida, Georgia and South Carolina
President Trump, who barely two years ago proposed a vast expansion of oil and gas drilling in U.S. continental waters, on Tuesday made clear there is at least part of the nation’s coastline he is eager to protect: the crucial electoral battleground of Florida. Trump on Tuesday announced plans to extend a moratorium on oil drilling in the eastern Gulf of Mexico, an area that includes the Sunshine State’s west coast, as well as expanding it to include the Atlantic coasts of Florida, Georgia and South Carolina. [ read more … ]
US elections: Biden win could lead to surge in Iranian oil exports by 2022
Iran sanctions relief under a change in US president represents the biggest supply and price impact for global oil markets heading into the November election, with analysts expecting a Biden White House to quickly return to the negotiating table with Tehran. S&P Global Platts Analytics predicts 1.5 million b/d of Iranian exports could return to the market within a year of a new deal that removes US oil sanctions. [ read more … ]
Note: News clips provided do not necessarily reflect the views of coalition or its member governors.