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‘Everything went wrong.’ Experts revisit Calif. blackouts
California’s unexpected rolling power blackouts in August were a stark signal that the state has not prepared to meet the escalating requirements of its clean energy goals, a panel of consultants and energy executives warned yesterday. The fault was not the state’s mandates for increasing zero-carbon wind, solar and storage resources Rather, poor planning, regulatory coordination and regional cooperation combined with an extraordinary August heat wave were to blame. [ read more … ]
Renewable Energy
America’s Greenest Energy Giant Isn’t Trying to Save the Planet
It spent millions to block homeowners from embracing solar panels, fought against hydropower, and pushed for an energy project next to a beloved national park. Its value competes with Exxon Mobil Corp.’s. Its longtime chief executive officer is a registered Republican. Yet NextEra Energy Inc., the world’s biggest investor-owned generator of wind and solar power, has emerged as an unlikely green giant with a knack for throwing its considerable weight behind initiatives and policies that are pushing the U.S. into a future of zero-emissions electricity. Few companies appear better poised to benefit from the Joe Biden er [ read more … ]
The Transition
Meet Biden’s Energy and Climate Cabinet Contenders
In November, Mr. Biden announced that former Secretary of State John Kerry, who made climate change a signature diplomatic issue during the Obama administration, will become an international “climate envoy.” Mr. Biden also intends to name a high level domestic policy adviser on climate change this month. But the agency heads, whose names will be announced in the coming days, will be the ones tasked to find a path around Congress with regulations that can cut planet-warming emissions and survive judicial review. [ read more … ]
Biden narrows list for top climate adviser
President-elect Joe Biden’s short list of candidates to serve as his domestic climate adviser is beginning to narrow, with three names coming up the most, according to multiple sources. Three participants in those discussions said Biden is focused on former Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm (D); Washington Gov. Jay Inslee (D); and Ali Zaidi, New York’s deputy secretary for energy and environment. Also in the running are John Podesta, a former White House chief of staff, and former EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy. [ read more … ]
The California Air Quality Guru Who Taught Business to Love the Environment
Nichols’ ability to convince wary policymakers and industry executives that the environment and economy are not at odds lies at the heart of her success in forging a bipartisan consensus on climate change action in California. And it may be the reason that Nichols, who is termed out as chair of the state air pollution agency at the end of the year, tops the list of Joe Biden’s potential picks to head the Environmental Protection Agency, which will face much the same challenge if the new administration has any hope of meeting international goals to rein in greenhouse emissions. [ read more … ]
Biden’s Environmental Lawyers Tasked With Bulletproofing Agenda
As President-elect Joe Biden begins naming his picks for powerful Cabinet positions, many environmental lawyers are turning their attention to a slate of lower-profile but influential legal roles that will shape the new administration’s work on pollution, climate change, and natural resources. Politically appointed lawyers at the Environmental Protection Agency, Interior Department, and Justice Department will play pivotal parts in the Biden administration, guiding policy choices, defending new regulations in court, and cracking down on violators. [ read more … ]
Companies maneuver to align with Biden on climate
Some major companies are angling to line up with the Biden administration on climate next year, as lawmakers and lobbyists gird for renewed policy fights in Washington. A big slice of corporate America — including utilities, banks and auto manufacturers — signed onto a statement yesterday calling on President-elect Joe Biden to work with Congress on “ambitious, durable, bipartisan climate solutions.” [ read more … ]
Young people want to do something about climate change. Biden may have an answer.
An often-overlooked piece of President-elect Joe Biden’s climate plan is a proposed program to put people in their late teens and 20s to work safeguarding the country against the effects of global warming. During the campaign, Biden called for mobilizing “the next generation of conservation and resilience workers through a Civilian Climate Corps.” Now Biden’s allies are beginning to think about what exactly such a program will look like as he prepares to take office next month. [ read more … ]
Nuclear Energy
Biden, once a critic, may boost nuclear power
When mismanagement of a nuclear plant on the Lower Delaware River forced an emergency shutdown in 1994, harsh criticism came from a junior U.S. senator whose state lay opposite the Salem, N.J., plant 3 miles away. “For more than a decade, I have sought expanded oversight, enforcement and sanctions to make the Salem facility operate according to the law,” then-Sen. Joe Biden (D-Del.) said, accusing the operator and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission of turning a blind eye to serious, repeated safety issues, including dangerously degraded reactor equipment. [ read more … ]
States
Nevada maps path toward 100% clean energy
Nevada released a plan yesterday for achieving net-zero emissions economywide by 2050, outlining policies lawmakers could pursue to decarbonize electricity, transportation and other sectors. But the state faces an uphill battle as it looks to reduce emissions from the power sector and broader economy: As of now, Nevada is not on track to meet its emissions reduction goals, according to the “State Climate Strategy.” Absent policy changes, emissions in Nevada will have decreased 26% from 2005 levels by 2030 — far short of the 45% emissions reduction goal by 2030 that the state established last year. [ read more … ]
Commentary
Oil and Gas Companies Keep Taking From Taxpayers. And Taking.
One hundred years ago, Congress passed the Mineral Leasing Act of 1920, setting up a system in which companies lease public lands to wrest valuable oil and gas from the ground. In the century since, the royalties and rent that those corporations pay to the American people for access have remained essentially unchanged even as the scale of development and profits has grown hugely.
[ read more … ]
EVs
Global stock rally comes to a halt as hurdles emerge
A rally in global electric-vehicle makers that pushed the stocks to multiyear highs fizzled after growth prospects for some startups came into question. Shares of Workhorse Group Inc. tumbled as much 25% yesterday, leading the sector lower, after reports that the U.S. Postal Service further delayed a contract for new mail trucks. The company, which is working on making commercial vehicles for use in last-mile deliveries, was considered among the frontrunners for the bid. [ read more … ]
First-of-a-kind group launches to push EV battery production
A coalition of companies have launched a first-of-its-kind lobbying group focused solely on scaling up U.S. supplies of battery minerals and mineral processing — a goal to avoid supply shortages of a technology considered critical for electric vehicles and renewable power. The Battery Materials & Technology Coalition’s initial six members — which are based in both U.S. and Canada — include miners of graphite and lithium, which are key components in the batteries used for electric vehicles and energy storage. Cobalt and nickel miners may also sign on as members soon, according to spokespeople. Involved companies are Amsted Graphite Materials LLC, Forge Nano Inc., Nouveau Monde Graphite Inc., Piedmont Lithium Ltd. and Standard Lithium Ltd. [ read more … ]
Note: News clips provided do not necessarily reflect the views of coalition or its member governors.