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Switching to renewable energy could save trillions – study
“Even if you’re a climate denier, you should be on board with what we’re advocating,” Prof Doyne Farmer from the Institute for New Economic Thinking at the Oxford Martin School told BBC News.
“Our central conclusion is that we should go full speed ahead with the green energy transition because it’s going to save us money,” he said. “Our latest research shows scaling-up key green technologies will continue to drive their costs down, and the faster we go, the more we will save,” says Dr Rupert Way, the report’s lead author from the Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment. [ read more … ]
Wind Energy
U.S. invests in multi-state offshore wind hubs to narrow supply gaps
As the U.S. prepares to hike renewable energy spending, a new partnership between the Biden administration and several eastern states shows the urgent need for a coordinated buildout of offshore wind infrastructure. The new federal-state initiative will help secure funding for a domestic offshore wind supply chain and support a fleet of specialized vessels, the White House said. Offshore wind developers will require around 2,100 turbines and foundations, 6,800 miles of cables and access to dozens of vessels and barges to meet President Biden’s goal of 30 GW of offshore wind by 2030. [ read more … ]
Solar Energy
Facing Budget Shortfalls, These Schools Are Turning to the Sun
One school district was able to give pay raises to its teachers as big as 30 percent. Another bought new heating and ventilation systems, all the better to help students and educators breathe easier in these times. The improvements didn’t cost taxpayers a cent, and were paid for by an endlessly renewable source — the sun. As solar energy gains traction across the country, one beneficiary have been schools, particularly those in cash-strapped districts contending with dwindling tax bases. [ read more … ]
Congress
House Dem leaders scramble permitting reform effort
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) told reporters, “We have agreed to bring up a vote, yes. We never agreed on how it would be brought up, whether it be on the CR, or independently or part of something else. So, we’ll just wait and see what the Senate does.” She added, “And I’m not worried about it.” [ read more … ]
States
Newsom opposes EV ballot measure to tax millionaires
California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who is spearheading efforts to ban new gasoline cars in his state, came out swinging against a ballot measure that would tax rich residents to help fund electric vehicle purchases. Newsom, a Democrat, stars in a new ad claiming that Proposition 30 would benefit one company — Lyft Inc., the ride-hailing service — rather than accelerate the state’s transition to clean vehicles. [ read more … ]
Renewable energy to power new West Virginia industrial site
A firm owned by billionaire businessman Warren Buffett has partnered with the state of West Virginia to buy land for use as an industrial park powered by renewable energy, Gov. Jim Justice announced Tuesday. Berkshire Hathaway Energy’s BHE Renewables is purchasing and developing more than 2,000 acres (800 hectares) in Ravenswood, the Republican governor said. [ read more … ]
Climate
Midterm elections could shrink climate liability battlefield
If Keith Ellison loses to his Republican rival in November, the Minnesota attorney general’s climate liability challenge against the oil and gas industry could be at risk. Republican candidate Jim Schultz has criticized the decision in 2020 by Ellison, a Democrat, to add Minnesota to the long list of state and local governments suing the fossil fuel industry to pay up for wildfires, erosion and other effects of a warming planet. Democratic attorneys general who have led climate liability cases are also up for reelection in Connecticut, Delaware, and Rhode Island. And the Democratic attorneys general who brought the cases in Washington, Vermont and Massachusetts are not seeking a new term. In an August interview with the Minnesota Star-Tribune, Schultz called Ellison’s lawsuit “frivolous” and said that if elected, he would “not engage in things like this that are fundamentally about business harassment.” [ read more … ]
Oil Executives Privately Contradicted Public Statements on Climate, Files Show
Documents obtained by congressional investigators show that oil industry executives privately downplayed their companies’ own public messages about efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and weakened industry-wide commitments to push for climate policies. Internal Exxon documents show that the oil giant pressed an industry group, the Oil and Gas Climate Initiative, to remove language from a 2019 policy statement that “could create a potential commitment to advocate on the Paris Agreement goals.” [ read more … ]
How oil companies could thrive under the climate law
The upshot is that some companies that lost money during the oil price crash of 2020 will be able to use those losses to ease their tax liability in 2022, when the industry has reported record profits. It’s unclear how many companies will benefit because many of them will pay their taxes under the conventional tax law, rather than the Inflation Reduction Act’s minimum-tax provision. [ read more … ]
Note: News clips provided do not necessarily reflect the views of coalition or its member governors.