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Rocky Mountain Institute Study Shows Renewables Are Kicking Natural Gas To The Curb
After analyzing the most recent data from two of America’s largest electricity markets — ERCOT in Texas and PJM in the Northeast — the Rocky Mountain Institute has come to a startling conclusion. Renewables are muscling in on natural gas as the preferred choice for new electricity generation. In fact, according to RMI, what happened to coal is now happening to gas. [ read more … ]
Wind Energy
Energy Journal: How to build a wind farm in Wyoming
Building a wind farm in Wyoming isn’t easy. Developers must go through a maze of regulatory hurdles at multiple levels of government before even breaking ground. But 2020 has been a big year for the growth of wind energy in Wyoming, with hundreds of new megawatts of wind capacity coming online and new projects launching along the way. [ read more … ]
Solar Energy
DOE study: Solar-hydro projects could power 40% of world
Linking floating solar panels with hydropower could produce the equivalent of 40% of the world’s electricity, according to a new study by researchers at the Department of Energy. Published this week by a team at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, the study provides the first global look by federal researchers at the technical potential of the hybrid concept. [ read more … ]
Extreme Weather
California wildfires prompt new warnings amid record heat, erratic winds
Scientists say California’s 2020 fire season, and the severe blazes that have extended north to Oregon and Washington, have clear links to human-caused climate change. There has been an increase in acres burned in large fires across the West because of global warming, and projections call for the region to become even hotter and drier, making it more susceptible to fire sieges like the one taking place. A study published in August shows California’s frequency of fall days with extreme fire weather conditions has more than doubled since the 1980s. [ read more … ]
Supreme Court
High court in Trump mold could undercut key law for climate
President Trump might not win the November election, but he could still strip his opponent, Joe Biden, of a dominant tool to limit greenhouse gases. The Supreme Court and its reshaping by Trump, who is verging on his third appointment of an anti-regulatory justice, would be a warning to Biden to rely less on the Clean Air Act to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide and other gases. Expansive readings of the landmark environmental law — like the one EPA used to regulate the power sector under President Obama — are unlikely to pass muster with the court’s likely 6-3 conservative majority. [ read more … ]
Pandemic
Coronavirus Has Propelled Us Into the Future of Energy Spending
The Covid-19 pandemic has upended conventional wisdom in oil markets (prices will never go negative) and car sales (electric vehicle numbers will fall off a cliff). At the end of the summer, it hit another decades-old trend, at least in the U.S. For the first time since at least 1960, U.S. personal consumption expenditure on electricity was higher than it was on gasoline. [ read more … ]
FERC
Chatterjee hints at FERC role for carbon pricing
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Chairman Neil Chatterjee hinted yesterday that a carbon price better matches his market-based approach compared to other state policies to meet climate goals — while stopping short of a pledge to take up the issue. “The fundamental premise is that the markets need to work and are working efficiently,” Chatterjee said on a call with reporters yesterday recapping a closely watched FERC conference on carbon pricing. “In a nutshell, my focus has always and remains on markets.” [ read more … ]
Campaign 2020
Where Trump and Biden Stand on Climate and Energy Policy
The 2020 presidential election pits one candidate making climate change integral throughout his platform against another who dismisses its importance and pledges to keep pushing a deregulatory agenda. Environmental policy is one of the biggest contrasts between Mr. Trump and Mr. Biden. Energy companies, auto makers and unions all may see major changes if there is turnover at the White House. [ read more … ]
How Biden and Trump differ on climate finance regulations
The outcome of the presidential election is expected to have a major impact on how the U.S. financial sector handles climate change, experts say — starting with the degree to which companies must report their vulnerability to global warming. A victory by former Vice President Joe Biden, they argue, opens the door to new regulations that would force public companies to provide detailed information about the climate-related threats they face. [ read more … ]
FirstEnergy
What can be done to reduce influence of dark money on Ohio energy policy?
The arrest of former Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder and others in July revealed how the use of dark money organizations enabled an alleged $60 million conspiracy to sway elections and provide costly bailouts to noncompetitive nuclear and coal plants. As federal and state court cases move forward, questions remain about what can be done to restore confidence in the legislature and to prevent similar situations in the future. “Dark money is really how special interests win right now,” said Jay Costa, executive director at Voters’ Right To Know. When corporations use shell groups to hide their political spending, they “gain a level of credibility they wouldn’t otherwise have,” he explained. “I like to think of it as the ‘Wizard of Oz’ effect.” [ read more … ]
Note: News clips provided do not necessarily reflect the views of coalition or its member governors.