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Trump’s Offshore Oil Ban to Halt Coastal Wind Farms Too
President Donald Trump’s decision to rule out energy development along the coasts of Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas will bar not just offshore oil and gas drilling — but coastal wind farms too. The broad reach of Trump’s recent orders, which was confirmed by the Interior Department agency that oversees offshore energy development, comes as renewable developers are spending hundreds of millions of dollars snapping up the rights to build wind farms along the U.S. East Coast. Erik Milito, president of the National Ocean Industries Association that represents offshore wind developers, said the bans threaten “tens of thousands of additional jobs and billions of dollars of investment are expected through a prospective wind lease offshore the Carolinas.” [ read more … ]
Trump drilling ban extends to offshore wind
The Trump administration’s offshore drilling moratorium off the coasts of Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas will also extend to renewable energy. The presidential memorandum Trump signed barring the Interior Department from offering oil and gas leases off the coasts of some Atlantic states “addresses all energy leasing, including conventional and renewable energy, beginning on July 1, 2022.” [ read more … ]
Wind Energy
PacifiCorp turbines head to Tenn. for recycling
As the first generation of U.S. wind turbines nears the end of their useful life, two major utilities have announced plans to recycle some of their turbine blades rather than dispose of them in landfills. Portland, Ore.-based utility PacifiCorp sent 15 tons of decommissioned wind turbine blades last week to a Tennessee startup that will sort, shred and convert the materials to a new, useable form. Warren Buffett’s MidAmerican Energy Co. is also partnering with the startup, Carbon Rivers, to recycle some of its aging blades. [ read more … ]
States
From oil to renewables: 4 state energy fights to watch
Energy was not a topic at tonight’s presidential debates, but it’s on the ballot in several states where policy fights are heating up ahead of the November elections. Taxes on oil production, a renewable energy mandate and changes to a state regulatory commission are among the energy issues set to go directly before voters this year. Some measures have spurred costly political battles: In Alaska, oil companies and industry groups have spent millions of dollars campaigning against a proposal to increase certain oil taxes, the campaigns said. [ read more … ]
California Zero-Emissions Order
U.S. EPA chief challenges California effort to mandate zero emission vehicles in 2035
The head of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on Monday questioned California Governor Gavin Newsom’s plan to require all new passenger vehicle sales in 2035 be zero-emission models, according to a letter seen by Reuters. EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler said the plan “raises serious questions regarding its legality and practicality” and said it could cause problems for the state’s electrical grid. He also declared the move could be subject to federal approval, saying it “may require California to request a waiver to U.S. EPA.” [ read more … ]
Wheeler blasts Calif. ban on gas car sales
EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler yesterday blasted California’s Democratic governor for seeking to ban sales of gas-powered cars to combat climate change. In a letter to California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D), Wheeler criticized the governor’s executive order requiring that 100% of new vehicles sold in the state be zero-emission by 2035. The order “raises serious questions regarding its legality and practicality,” Wheeler wrote, adding that the directive “seems to be mostly aspirational and on its own would accomplish very little.” [ read more … ]
Climate
China’s Top Climate Scientists Plan Road Map to 2060 Goal
One of China’s top climate research institutes on Sunday laid out a plan of increasing renewable and nuclear energy and completely phasing out coal power. It’s the first blueprint from a group that works closely with the government showing how the country might become carbon neutral by 2060, a goal laid out by President Xi Jinping last week in a speech to the United Nations. The plan, from Tsinghua University’s Institute of Energy, Environment and Economy, entails a more gradual transition over the next decade and a half, with a rapid acceleration after 2035. [ read more … ]
EVs
90% of U.S. cars must be EVs by 2050 to meet Paris goals
The United States is not expected to electrify passenger cars fast enough to stay on track with the Paris climate accord’s goal of limiting global warming to 2 degrees Celsius, according to a new study. Published in the journal Nature Climate Change yesterday, the study by engineers at the University of Toronto concludes that 90% of light-duty cars on American roads would need to be electric by 2050 to keep the transportation sector in line with climate mitigation targets. [ read more … ]
Campaign 2020
Rejoining Paris Would Be Easy for Biden. The Hard Part Is Averting Climate Disaster
With global warming already fueling wildfires, hurricanes and mass migrations, Biden would face the monumental task of decarbonizing the world’s biggest economy. And he would have to do it quickly at a time when China, the biggest emitter of greenhouse gases, is recasting itself as a climate leader and as the European Union ramps up its environmental ambitions. The stakes are high: Failure would not only erode global confidence in the U.S. but contribute further to the destabilization of the climate, with grave consequences for people and planet. [ read more … ]
The Crown Jewel of the Shale Patch Braces for a Biden Ban
With the U.S. oil industry reeling from the collapse in demand this year, the New Mexico shale patch has emerged as the go-to spot for drillers desperate to squeeze as much crude from the ground without bleeding cash. There’s just one problem: Joe Biden wants to ban new fracking there. Just over the border with Texas, in a two-county stretch that forms the far western edge of the Permian shale basin, there are more rigs boring oil wells today than anywhere else in the nation. The rock here, once overlooked by wildcatters obsessed with the much-bigger Texas side, has quietly become the most profitable place to produce oil in America. That’s attracting cash-strapped fracking outfits after the pandemic pushed crude prices down to just $40 a barrel. [ read more … ]
Note: News clips provided do not necessarily reflect the views of coalition or its member governors.