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A Hot, Deadly Summer Is Coming With Frequent Blackouts
The problem is that energy supplies are so fragile that there just won’t be enough to go around, and power cuts will put lives at risk when there are no fans or air conditioners to provide relief from searing temperatures. Asia’s heatwave has caused hours-long daily blackouts, putting more than 1 billion people at risk across Pakistan, Myanmar, Sri Lanka and India, with little relief in sight. Six Texas power plants failed earlier this month as the summer heat just began to arrive, offering a preview of what’s to come. At least a dozen US states from California to the Great Lakes are at risk of electricity outages this summer. Power supplies will be tight in China and Japan. South Africa is poised for a record year of power cuts. And Europe is in a precarious position that’s held up by Russia — if Moscow cuts off natural gas to the region, that could trigger rolling outages in some countries. [ read more … ]
Wind Energy
California’s ambitious plan for wind power
California, which already leads the nation on a number of environmental metrics, now has an ambitious plan to become a powerhouse for offshore wind. A draft report released earlier this month by the California Energy Commission, or CEC, lays out a comprehensive roadmap for offshore wind turbines, recommending that 3 gigawatts of capacity be added to the Golden State’s coastline by 2030. By 2045, the report recommends expanding to a total of between 10 and 15 gigawatts — more than any other state, and enough to power up to 15 million homes.
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How Robots Can Help Build Offshore Wind Turbines More Quickly
X-Laboratory, a company founded by former European Space Agency researcher André Schiele, sells software and robotics systems to wind turbine construction companies that allows the giant cranes on their ships to be controlled remotely. The technology that Schiele helped develop — initially intended to help conduct research on other planets from Earth — may shave years off the time needed to put up a wind farm in the ocean. [ read more … ]
Solar Energy
China Triples Solar Investments as Clean Energy Push Accelerates
China tripled investment in solar power projects in the first four months, putting the nation on track to install record amounts of new clean energy capacity. Investment in solar was 29 billion yuan ($4.3 billion) from January through April, about 204% higher than in the same period a year earlier, according to an National Energy Administration statement. That compares to 51.3 billion yuan invested in solar in the first 11 months of last year. [ read more … ]
Grid
‘More, more, more’: Biden’s clean grid hinges on power lines
80,000 megawatts of new wind farms could be built on open lands in Montana, Wyoming and the Dakotas, the Energy Systems Integration Group (ESIG) noted at a DOE webinar in March. But today, there’s only enough existing high-voltage transmission to export one-tenth of that amount, according to ESIG, a nonprofit organization of grid experts. The gap highlights a major challenge for President Joe Biden’s goal to decarbonize the grid by 2035. In response, DOE has started to roll out a range of proposals under its $16 billion Building a Better Grid initiative announced in January, hoping to break through layers of obstacles to transmission. [ read more … ]
FERC
Biden taps FERC Chairman Glick for a second term, potentially providing consistency amid energy transition
President Joe Biden said Friday he plans to nominate Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Chairman Richard Glick to a second five-year term, giving Glick more time to carry out his ambitious agenda at the agency. Since becoming FERC chairman in January 2021, Glick has started the process of overhauling the agency’s rules for transmission planning and generation interconnection, sought to revise the criteria the commission uses when reviewing proposed natural gas infrastructure, and oversaw staff in their ongoing reviews of compliance plans from grid operators for incorporating distributed energy resources into wholesale markets. [ read more … ]
Biden Administration
Biden under pressure to declare climate emergency
A growing number of Democrats are concerned they have little to offer voters on climate in November’s midterm elections. So they want President Joe Biden to meet the world’s rising temperatures with a little fire of his own — by declaring a national climate emergency. “This is a clear shot to get something done, I don’t see a better way to harness the energy and the focus on climate than this,” said Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.), who has been leading the effort in Congress to get the White House to act. [ read more … ]
EPA air nominee faces high-stakes confirmation hearing
As Joe Goffman prepares for a pivotal Senate hearing this week on his bid to head EPA’s air office, some traditional alliances have scrambled in his favor, courtesy of both the politics of climate change and relationships forged over decades in the trenches of federal environmental policymaking. Whether they’re scrambled enough for him to win Senate confirmation remains an unsettled question. [ read more … ]
Markets
Even as gas prices rattle economy, Americans can’t stay off the road
The shocks of high gasoline costs are ricocheting through the economy, and industry analysts see little relief on the horizon. Retailers and trucking companies are in a state of high anxiety over worsening diesel shortages that may lead to intermittent rationing in some places. Similar worries are gripping the airline industry as jet fuel becomes more scarce. Manufacturers are wrestling with the cost of plastic packaging, which is made from the same crude oil in high demand for gasoline. Even boaters are weighing whether they should delay putting their vessels in the water, now that filling their tanks can run hundreds of dollars more. [ read more … ]
The Consumer Fuel Price Gouging Prevention Act, explained
The Consumer Fuel Price Gouging Prevention Act is comprised of a few main components: Firstly, the legislation would allow the president to declare an energy emergency effective for up to 30 days, though that declaration could be renewed. During that energy emergency period, it would become unlawful for any person to sell consumer fuel at a price that is “unconscionably excessive” or that suggests exploitative practices. [ read more … ]
EVs
The $15,000 EV Is Here and It’s Cute. But Only in Japan for Now
Nissan Motor Co. and Mitsubishi Motors Corp. unveiled two new electric mini vehicles, betting consumers will embrace a battery-powered take on the well-loved class of tiny, affordable Japanese cars. Marking a key push into an less-served part of the EV market that could help spur wider adoption, the chiefs of the two carmakers took the wraps off Nissan’s Sakura and Mitsubishi’s eK X EV on Friday. The two small, boxy EVs are set to go on sale in Japan this summer at a starting price of less than $15,000. [ read more … ]
Electric Cars Are Cheaper to Own in New Jersey Than California
According to Energy Innovation’s analysis, the electric versions of the Kona SEL and the F-150 are cheaper to own in every state across the country — on average 8.5% and 12.3% less, respectively. “I am surprised at how economic some of the vehicles are,” Orvis says. “The fact that two of the models, including the F-150, were cheaper in every single state, I didn’t expect to see that.” Orvis cautions that “the big picture numbers aren’t reflective of how people pay for their vehicles. When you finance a car purchase, it’s a lot more manageable.” [ read more … ]
Note: News clips provided do not necessarily reflect the views of coalition or its member governors.