N.J. calls for 100% EVs by 2035, a first for East Coast

New Jersey officials called last week for a ban on gas car sales by 2035, a move that would make the state the first outside California to enact such a policy. The proposal from the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) came as part of an official road map that would allow the state to reach its goal of 80% carbon dioxide reductions by 2050. [ read more … ]

Wind, Solar Are Cheapest Power Source In Most Places, BNEF Says

Wind and solar power are the cheapest form of new electricity in most of the world today. That’s the analysis of BloombergNEF, which predicts a tipping point in five years when it will be more expensive to operate an existing coal or natural gas power plant than to build new solar or wind farms. [ read more … ]

Study: Climate change could slash solar electricity

Climate change is likely to cause solar panels in some parts of the world to produce power more intermittently, complicating efforts to preserve the electric grid’s reliability, according to new research. In a first-of-a-kind study, environmental engineers at Princeton University, Khalifa University in the United Arab Emirates and Nanjing University in China used satellite data and climate models to gauge how daily levels of solar radiation would change by 2050.
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The United States consumed a record amount of renewable energy in 2019

Wind energy in the United States is almost exclusively used by wind-powered turbines to generate electricity in the electric power sector, and it accounted for about 24% of U.S. renewable energy consumption in 2019. Wind surpassed hydroelectricity to become the most-consumed source of renewable energy on an annual basis in 2019. [ read more … ]

What investors think about the future of fossil fuels

Investors in the oil-and-gas industry want companies to get greener, and they’re losing faith that the sector, which is underperforming broader market indices, is a good long-term bet, per a new Boston Consulting Group survey of investors. Just a quarter see oil-and-gas stocks playing a more prominent role in their portfolios in the future, and less than a third see the industry as a more attractive investment than renewables. [ read more … ]

Utility shuts down Ore.’s last coal plant

Oregon’s sole remaining coal-fired power plant shut down for good last week, 20 years ahead of schedule. Portland General Electric Co. (PGE) closed the 575-megawatt Boardman power plant in eastern Oregon as part of an agreement with environmental and customer advocacy groups, the company said. Boardman emitted up to 2 million tons of greenhouse gas emissions annually, according to PGE. [ read more … ]

Commerce clause could swing energy cases

The doctrine plays a key role in an energy case that Wyoming and Montana have asked the Supreme Court to take up this term. Officials from the coal-rich states argue that Washington state had violated the dormant commerce clause in its denial of a permit for the Millennium Bulk Terminals coal export project. The doctrine plays a key role in an energy case that Wyoming and Montana have asked the Supreme Court to take up this term. Officials from the coal-rich states argue that Washington state had violated the dormant commerce clause in its denial of a permit for the Millennium Bulk Terminals coal export project.

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Auto Makers Grapple With Battery-Fire Risks in Electric Vehicles

Auto makers are confronting a new challenge in their race to sell more electric cars: battery-related fires leading to vehicle recalls and safety probes. U.S. safety regulators this month opened a probe into more than 77,000 electric Chevy Bolts made by General Motors Co. GM -0.06% after two owners complained of fires that appeared to have begun under the back seat, where the battery is located. [ read more … ]

Biden climate team quietly plans transition

An array of academics, alumni of past administrations and think tank analysts have been serving the Biden campaign for months as volunteer advisers on climate change. Campaign staff for the former vice president have solicited and received memos, proposals and even model executive orders from these informal advisers, outlining how a Biden administration could quickly reverse President Trump’s antagonistic approach toward environmental policies. [ read more … ]

Climate change on tap for third debate

President Donald Trump and Joe Biden’s final debate-stage pitch to voters before Election Day will include climate change among the six topics set for discussion, the Commission on Presidential Debates said on Friday. [ read more … ]

Biden Won’t Ban Fracking, But His Clean Grid Would Choke Gas

During a town hall meeting Thursday, Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden again assured shale producers that he wouldn’t ban fracking if elected. Then, in virtually the same breath, he touted his $2 trillion clean-energy plan, which aims to edge natural gas out of the power mix within 15 years. The former vice president’s efforts to walk a tightrope on gas reflect the fossil fuel’s precarious place in the economy. For now, it’s an essential part of American life. Biden has been careful not to make an enemy of the industry, especially in the key battleground state of Pennsylvania, home to the largest U.S. shale-gas field. His policies may even, in the short-term, support the gas market. [ read more … ]