View this email in a web browser.
Next Era’s Bet on Renewable Energy Was a Winner All Along
Not only did NextEra pencil Wright’s cost curve correctly, but it leveraged government subsidies – often at the state level – to build plants before they would be profitable on their own. The savviest executives building charging stations for electric vehicles are doing the same thing at the moment. These were handouts to prop up a struggling new industry; the strategic coup came in realizing that it wouldn’t be struggling for long. [ read more … ]
The Transition
Biden calls climate change an ’emergency.’ Now he’s under pressure to officially declare it one.
Joe Biden often calls climate change an “emergency.” Soon he will have to decide whether to officially declare it one when he takes office. Some environmentalists are pushing the president-elect to proclaim global warming a national emergency, giving him more power to take executive actions to tackle it.
[ read more … ]
Policy & Politics
Close most fossil fuel plants by 2035? No problem, study says
If the United States follows through with President-elect Joe Biden’s plan to reach 100% carbon-free electricity by 2035, most power plants will need to stop burning fossil fuels. While some experts have questioned whether that’s feasible, a new analysis finds that nearly three-quarters of all coal, natural gas and oil facilities nationwide are expected to close anyway by then due to their age. [ read more … ]
Bill Gates calls for new federal energy agency
The federal government’s work on next-generation clean energy is too spread out across agencies and should be centralized in a single new agency for energy innovation, Microsoft Corp. founder Bill Gates said in a statement yesterday. The “National Institutes of Energy Innovation,” as Gates dubbed the idea, would bring together all the clean energy research and development work that is currently housed in the departments of Energy, Transportation and Defense as well as NASA. [ read more … ]
EVs
About 150 U.S. Cadillac Dealers to Exit Brand, Rather Than Sell Electric Cars
About 150 General Motors Co. GM 0.70% dealers have decided to part ways with Cadillac, rather than invest in costly upgrades required to sell electric cars, according to people familiar with the plans, indicating some retailers are skeptical about pivoting to battery-powered vehicles. GM recently gave Cadillac dealers a choice: Accept a buyout offer to exit from the brand or spend roughly $200,000 on dealership upgrades—including charging stations and repair tools—to get their stores ready to sell electric vehicles, these people said. [ read more … ]
The Best Motorcycle I Drove in 2020 Is Electric
One of the quickest ways to become socially distant is to get on your motorcycle and ride. Plenty of riders this year did just that: Off-road motorbike sales sales were up nearly 19% year-over-year by mid-spring, according to the Motorcycle Industry Council, with many dealers reporting double-digit growth through the summer. I rode more, too. [ read more … ]
CARB
Mary Nichols is done at CARB. These people might replace her
California Air Resources Board Chair Mary Nichols leaves this month after 13 years on the job. Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) will name a replacement, though he has not indicated when or whom his preferred candidates are. “The Governor is committed to selecting a candidate who will advance the state’s climate leadership on a global stage while enacting innovative policies at home to clean the air our children and families breathe,” Newsom spokesman Jesse Melgar said in an email.
[ read more … ]
Note: News clips provided do not necessarily reflect the views of coalition or its member governors.