The world's best thinkers on energy and climate
The European Commission’s “Clean Energy for All Europeans” package of legislation puts “Efficiency First.” Generally praised by energy efficiency advocates, this principle evokes fear in the renewable energy sector. Does Efficiency First mean that renewable energy takes the back seat? Will Efficiency First slow down the remarkable expansion of renewable energy in recent years? … [Read more...]
Secretary of Energy Rick Perry – whose agenda as governor of Texas was squarely focused on states’ rights and free markets – is now pushing for a federal plan that could disrupt organized electric markets. Perry’s proposal to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) aims to prop up uneconomic coal at the expense of Americans’ health and wallets. … [Read more...]
Proposal to subsidize coal and nuclear reverses 20 years of regulatory restructuring. The EPA’s recent moves to euthanize the Clean Power Plan (CPP) have generated a lot of news. However, ever since last November’s election many who work in the energy and climate arena have been mollified by the belief that even without the CPP, or membership in the Paris accords, carbon emissions in the US power sector would continue to decline. … [Read more...]
One of the most sweeping changes to the U.S. electricity supply market in the past two decades may be implemented before the coming winter heating season. The brief bottom line of the change is that eligible power sources will be able to participate in a details-to-be-determined rate structure that allows the owner to recover its “fully allocated costs” plus a “fair return on equity.” … [Read more...]
Early oil and gas industry adopters of methane management strategies and technologies are starting to see these reductions as an opportunity to gain a competitive edge. Just last week, ExxonMobil announced a new methane reduction program for its XTO Energy subsidiary, underscoring that the industry is paying close attention to the issue. … [Read more...]
We are pleased to announce the release of Berkeley Lab's Utility-Scale Solar 2016, which presents analysis of empirical project-level data from the U.S. fleet of ground-mounted solar projects with capacities exceeding 5 MW-AC. … [Read more...]
South Arica’s state utility Eskom is undermining the development of renewable energy in South Africa, writes Professor Hartmut Winkler of the University of Johannesburg. According to Winkler, the country’s coal and nuclear lobbies are behind the opposition to renewables. The struggle is part of a wider political confrontation over control of key parts of the South African economy. … [Read more...]
Think of it as a championship prizefight between contenders for meeting peak power needs: In the red corner, at a size somewhere between a shipping container and an office building, but with a brain that’s hard to beat, it’s the GE Digital Gas Peaker Plant! In the blue corner, it’s battery storage, which bulks up by saving excess generation until it’s needed, then delivering power to the grid at breakneck speeds! … [Read more...]
It uses extensive data from eight leading innovators with products under development. It merged “apples & oranges data sets” to draw comparisons. … [Read more...]
The nuclear industry’s strategy of working in individual U.S. states to obtain support for financially stressed plants has stalled. Despite successfully implemented efforts in New York and Illinois to provide assistance that is narrowly targeted at a handful of especially vulnerable units, no other state has been able to get a support measure out of the discussion phase. … [Read more...]
In recent weeks, a new energy buzzword has taken flight from Washington, D.C., making stops in Alaska, North Dakota, Texas, Utah and more: “American energy dominance.” Taking a cue from a 2016 speech by then-candidate Donald Trump, top federal officials including Energy Secretary Rick Perry and Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke have begun to trumpet the notion of energy “dominance.” … [Read more...]
If you hadn’t heard, the Trump Administration has declared this week to be “Energy Week”, a week during which the President and his senior officials are focusing on the theme of “U.S. Energy Dominance.” Not “energy independence” or “energy security”, both themes past presidential administrations have focused upon – “energy dominance.” The post, Is The U.S. Close To Achieving 'Energy Dominance'?, was first published on OilPrice.com. By David … [Read more...]
Earlier this week an all-star group of energy and climate scholars published a scientific article in a prestigious journal pointing out that a Stanford professor’s proposal for powering the United States entirely on renewable energy sources rests upon a gigantic lie. … [Read more...]
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