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NASA says wind could power human missions on Mars
Scientists think they’ve found a way to power humans on Mars using turbines, another step forward in one day having humans explore the planet. Turbines that harness Mars’ wind could help power human exploration missions, and open up parts of the planet for discovery where other sorts of power, such as solar or nuclear, can’t fully work, scientists from NASA’s Ames Research Center in California said in a research study published in the journal Nature. “Wind energy represents a valuable but previously dismissed energy resource for future human missions to Mars,” the scientists wrote in their paper. NASA scientists were not immediately available for comment. [ read more … ]
Congress
Omnibus package: 4 takeaways on energy and environment
The Senate voted 70-25 Tuesday evening to take up the $1.7 trillion omnibus spending bill that includes modest increases for energy and environment agencies. While the Senate and House have days of work before final passage, the vote showed there is significant bipartisan support for the bill, even with conservative Republicans rallying for its defeat. [ read more … ]
Carbon Capture
How the $1.7T omnibus affects energy, from CCS to hydrogen
The proposed funding for FERC comes as the agency is weighing two rules that could promote development of long-distance transmission lines and speed up the process for connecting clean energy projects to the grid. Renewable energy advocates say they hope to see the agency finalize both proposals in the coming months, although FERC will be facing a major shift with the departure of Chair Richard Glick, a Democrat. Meanwhile, DOE’s new Grid Deployment Office would receive approximately $59.5 million for fiscal 2023 under the spending measure. The office was officially launched in August with a focus on developing more electric transmission resources to support a low-carbon power grid.
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EPA
EPA toughens emission rules for heavy-duty trucks, engines
For the first time in a generation, heavy-duty truck and engine manufacturers face substantially tougher long-term emission standards under what EPA Administrator Michael Regan called a historic set of regulations to cut harmful soot and smog pollution. The new requirements are a “game changer” and will lead to “widespread air quality improvements across the United States, especially in communities near major roadways that are overburdened by air pollution,” Regan said at an outdoor ceremony Tuesday morning just before signing the final ruleagainst the backdrop of an electric garbage truck.
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States
Can the California grid handle a gas phaseout?
As California focuses on electrifying residential and commercial buildings as part of its goal of becoming a zero-carbon economy by 2045, the state is facing questions about its ability to handle rising electricity demand. An updated building code taking effect on Jan. 1, along with a variety of new incentives, will move the state’s homes and businesses away from gas-fired appliances in favor of electric stoves, heat pumps and water heaters. It’s a way to address a sector accounting for roughly 25 percent of the state’s greenhouse gas emissions, even as the flood of new appliances could add stress to the state’s already taxed electric grid. [ read more … ]
EVs
Auto execs are losing faith in electric car
Auto executives aren’t as confident in electric car adoption as they once were — but they’re largely blaming their concerns on all sorts of market dynamics and supply chain snafus, rather than consumers. In a survey of more than 900 auto industry execs, KPMG found that respondents think only 37% of new vehicle sales in the US will be electric by 2030. That’s a dramatic drop from this time in 2021, when surveyed executives expected 62% of car sales in the US would be EVs by 2030. [ read more … ]
US Postal Service Delivery Trucks Are Going Electric
The US Postal Service will spend nearly $10 billion for new electric vehicles in a push to make its mail delivery fleet more environmentally friendly. The agency will purchase 66,000 electric vehicles for its mail delivery fleet by 2028, according to a statement Tuesday. That represents about a quarter of USPS’s current level, and the postal service will continue exploring the potential to make its entire fleet electric. [ read more … ]
Postal Service rolls out big plan to electrify its fleet
The U.S. Postal Service announced plans Tuesday to ramp up its electric mail-delivery fleet, marking an apparent end to its dispute with the Biden administration. USPS plans to deploy more than 66,000 electric vehicles by 2028, which would make it one of the nation’s largest electric fleets. To upgrade its iconic mail delivery trucks, the service plans to spend $9.6 billion, including $3 billion that was included in the massive climate law, the Inflation Reduction Act. [ read more … ]
Note: News clips provided do not necessarily reflect the views of coalition or its member governors.