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Chinese Wind-Turbine Companies Seek Global Growth as Western Rivals Struggle
Chinese wind-turbine makers have grown big on the back of their rapidly growing home market. Now they want to expand abroad, putting further pressure on Western wind-turbine makers, which have been struggling to profit from a renewable-energy boom. The project is widely billed as a milestone for Europe and China, as it is the first offshore wind farm in the Mediterranean Sea and the first time a Chinese company has supplied wind turbines to the European market. Completing Beleolico demonstrated “the abilities and form of China’s high-end manufacturing industry,” Ming Yang said.
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Solar Energy
PURPA fight could sway solar’s future in Ga.
Solar developers and Georgia Power Co. are at loggerheads over the financial treatment of utility-scale projects — and observers say the outcome could chill future renewable energy development in the battleground state. The conflict involving the state’s largest utility comes as the Biden administration is facing significant headwinds for its goals of decarbonizing the U.S. power sector by 2035 and having a net-zero economy by 2050.
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Air Pollution
Cutting air pollution from fossil fuels would save 50,000 lives a year, study says
Eliminating air pollution caused by burning fossil fuels would prevent more than 50,000 premature deaths and provide more than $600 billion in health benefits in the United States every year, according to a new study by University of Wisconsin-Madison researchers. Published in the journal GeoHealth, the study reports the considerable health benefits of removing from the air harmful fine particulates, sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides produced by electricity generation, transportation, industrial activities, and building functions such as heating and cooking. Highway vehicles make up the largest single share. [ read more … ]
Climate
Europe and US Set for Scorching, Dry Summer, Scientists Say
Europe and parts of the US are set for a sweltering and dry summer this year, posing risks for crops and boosting demand for energy for cooling at a time when prices of commodities are already running high. Scientists at the Copernicus Climate Change Service, who published their seasonal outlook on Friday, said hotter and drier weather is highly likely across key agricultural regions in the European Union. It could bring drought conditions for farmers that are already battling the impacts of climate change.
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Transmission
The complications of transmission competition
The U.S. transmission system will need to expand 60 percent by the end of the decade to meet President Joe Biden’s goal of a net-zero-emission grid by 2035, experts say. Faced with the challenge, FERC is reversing parts of a 2011 policy meant to increase competition in transmission construction — a measure that its critics say actually slowed down the build out of new, long distance lines by putting onerous new competitive requirements on bigger projects. [ read more … ]
Markets
Biden’s battling one energy price nightmare. Here comes another.
The Biden administration has been trying for months to dodge the political fallout from high gasoline prices. Now it has an even bigger energy headache to worry about. A new record high for gasoline at $4.40 a gallon drew a fresh spate of headlines this week. But prices for another crucial fossil fuel — natural gas — have also surged to their highest levels in more than a decade, raising costs for everything from home heating and cooking to fertilizer, chemicals and wholesale electricity. [ read more … ]
Largest oil and gas producers made close to $100bn in first quarter of 2022
The tumult of war and climate breakdown has proved lucrative for the world’s leading oil and gas companies, with financial records showing 28 of the largest producers made close to $100bn in combined profits in just the first three months of 2022. Buoyed by oil commodity prices that soared following the turmoil caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, major fossil fuel businesses enjoyed a bonanza in the first quarter of the year, making $93.3bn in total profits.
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Surging natural gas prices squeeze U.S. industrial sector
Skyrocketing natural gas prices have raised manufacturing and transportation costs across many U.S. industries, and the situation should persist as the United States exports more gas to Europe to make up for Russian supplies lost to sanctions. U.S. natural gas futures have doubled this year, far more than the increases in retail gasoline and diesel that have made Americans angry at the U.S. energy industry and the government. [ read more … ]
Cal Waiver
Red states open second front against California Waivers
A group of 17 red states on Friday challenged EPA’s reinstatement of California’s waiver allowing the state to enforce more stringent greenhouse gas standards through model year 2025 vehicles. This legal challenge is the same as one raised by the states last monthin lingering litigation over the Trump EPA’s revocation of California’s waiver — that the Clean Air Act’s 50-year-old waiver program for California is entirely unconstitutional, whether it’s used for greenhouse gases or conventional pollutants, because it favors one state. [ read more … ]
Congress
This week in Congress: Gouging bill, climate talks, Ukraine
House Democrats will pass legislation to crack down on alleged price gouging by oil and gas companies this week as broader talks on a cornerstone energy and climate package continue in Senate back rooms. It’s another make-or-break week for Democrats as they attempt to deliver on the Biden administration’s climate promises while also addressing the immediate pain their constituents are feeling at the gas pump. The clock is ticking, with Memorial Day recess beginning at the end of next week and pivotal midterm elections on the horizon. [ read more … ]
Note: News clips provided do not necessarily reflect the views of coalition or its member governors.