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Energy Projects Sought Across the U.S. Face Local Hurdles
A bill negotiated by Sen. Joe Manchin (D., W.Va.) as a companion to the Democrats’ energy and climate-spending package could help accelerate wind- and solar-power development as well as pipelines for oil and gas. The bill aims to expedite new energy projects, in part by streamlining federal permits and limiting court challenges. President Biden signed the $433 billion package into law Tuesday, but the permitting bill faces resistance from Senate Republicans, who are skeptical that it will help the fossil-fuel industry. Some House Democrats oppose the bill, in part, because of its potential support for pipelines. Democrats aim to attach the proposal to must-pass budget legislation they are queuing up for late September. [ read more … ]
Wind Energy
MIT scientists say they have found a way to increase the energy output of wind farms
As countries around the world seek to reduce their carbon emissions, what if there were a way they could generate significantly more power from one of the fastest-growing sources of renewable energy, without the need to buy any expensive new equipment or clear more land? Scientists at MIT say they’ve figured out how to do just that with wind power. Scientists have found that, actually, they would be better off orienting the blades of some turbines at a sub-optimal angle to the wind, so each turbine generates slightly less bumpy air, known as a turbulent wake, for turbines downwind. Changing the angle of the blades reduces how much a turbine disturbs the flow of air to those behind it, ultimately increasing their collective output. [ read more … ]
Solar Energy
US Climate Law Means California Can Cut Solar Perk, Group Says
“With more generous federal subsidies flowing to the solar industry, it is now indefensible for renters and low-income Californians to continue to pay higher electricity bills simply to pad the projected profits of publicly traded rooftop-solar companies,” said Kathy Fairbanks, a spokeswoman with Affordable Clean Energy for All, in a statement Thursday. The group also includes electrical labor unions, business and community groups. [ read more … ]
Inflation Reduction Act
The Inflation Reduction Act’s Quiet Revolution on Public Power
Direct pay in the IRA, by contrast, now means these non-tax-paying entities can receive the credit as a cash payment—basically turning the ITC and PTC into a grant for them. It’s similar to the Earned Income Tax Credit for individuals, in which the working poor receive a “tax refund” even though they may not pay anything in federal income tax. The new ITC base rate is 6 percent, while the PTC is 2.6 cents per kilowatt-hour produced (though you can only claim one). However, if a producer complies with wage and apprenticeship requirements, both credits are multiplied by a factor of five—a very strong motivation indeed to provide good jobs.
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Manchin-linked company could reap millions from climate law
Tucked into the massive climate bill President Joe Biden signed into law this week is a one-sentence provision that could give a huge financial boost to a single energy company. The provision, found on page 687, provides $700 million in grants to mitigate the methane emissions of “marginal conventional wells.” These are low-producing oil and gas wells near the end of their useful economic life. They are a specialty of Alabama-based Diversified Energy Co. PLC. [ read more … ]
Red states who hate Biden’s climate bill stand to benefit big from it
Renewable energy has helped add jobs, lower electricity costs and stave off blackouts in many red states like Texas, Nebraska and Oklahoma thanks to the Obama-era renewable energy policies that launched a wind and solar boom more than a decade ago. But that has not stopped Republican governors from attacking Biden’s bill, even as their states stand to reap financial incentives for wind and solar and benefit from the legislation’s new credits for carbon capture, clean hydrogen, advanced nuclear and energy storage.
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Hot deals: A consumer’s guide to the new climate law
The landmark Inflation Reduction Act that President Joe Biden signed into law this week includes $369 billion for climate and energy programs — tens of billions of which are intended to directly benefit American consumers. Those subsidies for homeowners, low-income Americans and even farmers are sprinkled throughout the sprawling package, which modeling suggests could cut U.S. emissions of planet-warming gases 40 percent from 2005 levels by the end of the decade. [ read more … ]
States
Texas Leaders Shut Renewables Out in Planning the Power Grid’s Future
It would seem reasonable to have at least one member on the state’s future-of-the-grid committee with experience building the kind of large, 200-plus-megawatt wind farms that sit near the West Texas town of McCamey, instead of in China’s Xinjiang province. “More than a quarter of the state’s power comes from renewable energy, and it is such a key to keeping costs down. We ought to be in the room,” says Jeff Clark, president of the Advanced Power Alliance, which lobbies in Texas and other states for power grids underpinned by a mix of natural gas and renewables. [ read more … ]
Marekets
Rich Countries Gobble Up Fuel While Poorer Nations Stuck With Brewing Unrest
Russia’s war in Ukraine has Europe bracing for a tough winter, but the costs are piling up higher in emerging nations as governments struggle to keep energy flowing to citizens hit by surging inflation. Pakistan’s government is triggering rolling blackouts and boosting power bills because it can no longer secure enough fuel. Shops in Bangladesh are closing at 8 p.m. as part of energy austerity measures, while Mexico’s government has bolstered subsidies to cushion residential electricity costs.
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U.S. oil refiners aim to run full-bore, spurning recession fears
U.S. crude oil refineries plan to keep running near full throttle this quarter, according to executives and estimates, as refiners set aside worries about recession and sliding retail prices to deliver more fuel. The operating levels will keep U.S. gasoline prices below their spring highs while providing strong earnings to refiners, analysts said. Many aim to run at rates similar to the second quarter’s 94% average utilization rate. [ read more … ]
Pollution
Living near fracking more than doubles kids’ leukemia risk
Children living near Pennsylvania fracking sites at birth were more than twice as likely to be diagnosed with leukemia later in childhood than those who did not live near oil and gas activity, according to a new study from the Yale School of Public Health. “Unconventional oil and gas development can both use and release chemicals that have been linked to cancer, so the potential for children living near [fracking sites] to be exposed to these chemical carcinogens is a major public health concern,” senior author Nicole Deziel said. [ read more … ]
EVs
One Answer to Europe’s Energy Crisis? More Electric Cars
Five years from now, Asuncion expects one in three EV owners will be sending battery power from the car back to the grid, or at least to their home. “A car is only used 10% of the time, so for users, it’s a way to save money,” he says. “And car companies are planning to make it very clear to them.” Having a car that serves as a backup battery or utility storage bank will become a particularly huge selling point for homeowners like Kershaw, who is also investing in energy-efficient heating and a water-saving showerhead, and in places with both a lot of renewable power and high demand peaks, including California and Texas. [ read more … ]
Note: News clips provided do not necessarily reflect the views of coalition or its member governors.