11/23/2024
Huge election year worldwide sees weakening commitment to act on climate crisis
An unprecedented year of elections around the world has underscored a sobering trend – in many countries the commitment to act on the climate crisis has either stalled or is eroding, even as disasters and record temperatures continue to mount. So far 2024, called the “biggest election year in human history” by the United Nations with around half the world’s population heading to the polls, there have been major wins for Donald Trump, the US president-elect who calls the climate crisis “a big hoax”; the climate-skeptic right in European Union elections; and Vladimir Putin, who won another term and has endured sanctions to maintain Russia’s robust oil and gas exports. “It’s quite clear that in most advanced economies the big loser of the elections has been climate,” said Catherine Fieschi, an expert in European politics and populism. “It’s been a bad year for climate and we’ve seen a gradual erosion in the public’s commitment to action for a couple of years now. The paradox is, of course, that major climate events are happening more frequently everywhere, yet people are no longer willing to prioritize this.”
11/22/2024
The largest project in history has begun: 52 billion solar panels to cover America
A groundbreaking initiative which could match up to 60% of 2023’s global electricity consumption. The researchers publication “Roofing Highways With Solar Panels Substantially Reduces Carbon Emissions and Traffic Losses” in Earth’s Future advocate for the deployment of solar technology across the global highway network which spans up to 3.2 million kilometers. In doing so, the researchers estimate that up to 17,578 TWh of electricity could be generated annually. This figure is equivalent to more than a staggering 60% of 2023’s energy consumption. This could offset up to 28% of global carbon emissions and reduce road accident incidences up to 11%. “This really surprised me,” says Ling Yao, the study’s lead author, “I didn’t realize that highways alone could support the deployment of such large photovoltaic installations, generating more than half of the world’s electricity demand, and greatly easing the pressure to reduce global carbon emissions.”
11/7/2024
2024 will be the first year on record to smash a warming limit scientists warned about
New data confirms 2024 will be the hottest year on record and the first calendar year to exceed the Paris Agreement threshold — devastating news for the planet that comes as America chooses a president that has promised to undo its climate progress both at home and abroad. Nearly all the world’s countries pledged to strive to keep global warming under 1.5 degrees Celsius in the Paris Agreement, which scientists said would prevent cascading and worsening impacts such as droughts, heat waves and catastrophic sea level rise. They warn at that level, the human-caused climate crisis — fueled by heat-trapping fossil fuel pollution — begins to exceed the ability of humans and the natural world to adapt. Data released Wednesday by Europe’s Copernicus Climate Change Service shows 2024 is “virtually certain” to shoot above that threshold.
10/29/2024
World way off target in tackling climate change – UN
Global efforts to tackle climate change are wildly off track, says the UN, as new data shows that warming gases are accumulating faster than at any time in human existence. Current national plans to limit carbon emissions would barely cut pollution by 2030, the UN analysis shows, leaving efforts to keep warming under 1.5C this century in tatters. The update comes as a separate report shows that greenhouse gases have risen by over 11% in the last two decades, with atmospheric concentrations surging in 2023. Researchers are also worried that forests are losing their ability to soak up carbon, which could be contributing to record levels of warming gas in the atmosphere.
10/2/2024
Head of FEMA says ‘historic’ destruction caused by Helene is linked to climate crisis
The head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has said that the severe flooding and subsequent devastation caused by Hurricane Helene is linked to the climate emergency. Deanne Criswell said that rising temperatures in the Gulf were causing conditions that caused “significant infrastructure damage” that had affected a multi-state area. Though the worst of Helene is now believed to have passed, recovery efforts in multiple communities are underway at pace. At least 62 people have been killed and millions have been left without power. Speaking to CBS’s Face The Nation on Sunday, Crisswell said Helene had been a “true multi-state event” following “historic flooding.”
9/26/2024
NASA Analysis Shows Irreversible Sea Level Rise for Pacific Islands
Climate change is rapidly reshaping a region of the world that’s home to millions of people. In the next 30 years, Pacific Island nations such as Tuvalu, Kiribati, and Fiji will experience at least 8 inches (15 centimeters) of sea level rise, according to an analysis by NASA’s sea level change science team. This amount of rise will occur regardless of whether greenhouse gas emissions change in the coming years. The sea level change team undertook the analysis of this region at the request of several Pacific Island nations, including Tuvalu and Kiribati, and in close coordination with the U.S. Department of State.
9/19/2024
Climate crisis: Satellites and AI offer hope for global action, says UN weather agency
Amid renewed warnings from leading climate scientists that global warming could reach 3C above pre-industrial levels this century, the head of the UN World Meteorological Organization (WMO) insisted on Wednesday that new technology and AI offer the opportunity to implement the drastic action needed to resist the existential crisis. “The science is clear: we are far off track from achieving global climate goals. 2023 was the warmest year on record by a huge margin. Leading international data sets say that the first eight months of 2024 are also the warmest on record,” said WMO Secretary-General Celeste Saulo. She appealed for “urgent and ambitious action” in support of sustainable development, climate action and disaster risk reduction as “the decisions we make today could be the difference between a future breakdown or a breakthrough to a better world”.
9/10/2024
Saving democracy can save the climate — and vice versa
Many distinguished Americans, including President Biden, believe that saving democracy is the most critical issue in the November election. Others think it’s the rapidly growing climate crisis. Both views are correct, because the stability of democracy and the climate are inextricably connected. Scores of American thought leaders — scientists, writers, former government officials and environmental activists — made that point last week in a statement published in the Washington Post. The statement points out that we can’t conquer climate change without a healthy democracy, and we can’t sustain democracy without conquering global warming. Let’s break it down. Democracy is necessary because, as we have seen over the last 70 years shows, only voters can overcome the power of the fossil energy industry. The record shows that elements of the oil industry knew in the 1950s that their products were causing global warming. The government’s top climate scientist briefed Congress in 1988 that warming already was evident in the U.S.
9/6/2024
World swelters through its hottest summer on record for the second year running
The summer of 2024 was the hottest on record, according to the European Union’s climate monitor, extending an alarming run of temperature records that has put the planet firmly on course to notch its hottest year in human history. The EU’s Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) said on Friday that the global average temperature for the boreal summer, which refers to the Northern Hemisphere’s June through August period, was the highest on record. The summer months were found to be 0.69 degrees Celsius above the 1991-2020 average for the June-August period. It surpasses the previous record from June-August last year, which was 0.66 degrees Celsius above the average baseline. Samantha Burgess, deputy director of C3S, said the world had experienced the hottest June and August, the hottest day on record and the hottest boreal summer on record in the space of just three months.
8/27/2024
Surging seas are coming for us all, warns UN chief
The United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has said that big polluters have a clear responsibility to cut emissions – or risk a worldwide catastrophe. “The Pacific is today the most vulnerable area of the world,” he told the BBC at the Pacific Island Forum Leaders Meeting in Tonga. “There is an enormous injustice in relation to the Pacific and it’s the reason I am here.” “The small islands don’t contribute to climate change but everything that happens because of climate change is multiplied here.” But eventually the “surging seas are coming for us all,” he warned in a speech at the forum, as the UN releases two separate reports on rising sea levels and how they threaten Pacific island nations.
8/26/2024
Red Cross urges everyone to prepare now for emergencies as climate crisis leads to stronger, more frequent disasters
As disasters occur more often and become more powerful due to the climate crisis, the American Red Cross urges everyone to get their households ready for emergencies during National Preparedness Month in September. This year the country has already seen Hurricane Beryl, the earliest Category 5 storm ever recorded, and wildfires that have burned 2.7 million more acres compared to all of 2023. In addition, 2024 is on track to be the hottest year on record, according to experts. “We anticipate this year’s hurricane and wildfire seasons may be a very dangerous,” said Jennifer Pipa, vice president of Disaster Programs for the Red Cross. “The country has already experienced 19 climate-related disasters causing over a billion dollars in losses this year, and we have a long way to go. It’s critical that people get their households ready for emergencies now.”
8/15/2024
Project 2025 promises billions of tonnes more carbon pollution
The impact of Donald Trump enacting the climate policies of the rightwing Project 2025 would result in billions of tonnes of extra carbon pollution, wrecking the US’s climate targets, as well as wiping out clean energy investments and more than a million jobs, a new analysis finds. Should Trump retake the White House and pass the energy and environmental policies in the controversial Project 2025 document, the US’s planet-heating emissions will “significantly increase” by 2.7bn tonnes above the current trajectory by 2030, an amount comparable to the entire annual emissions of India, according to the report.
8/8/2024
‘Massive disinformation campaign’ is slowing global transition to green energy
Fossil fuel companies are running “a massive mis- and disinformation campaign” so that countries will slow down the adoption of renewable energy and the speed with which they “transition away” from a carbon-intensive economy, the UN has said. Selwin Hart, the assistant secretary general of the UN, said that talk of a global “backlash” against climate action was being stoked by the fossil fuel industry, in an effort to persuade world leaders to delay emissions-cutting policies. The perception among many political observers of a rejection of climate policies was a result of this campaign, rather than reflecting the reality of what people think, he added. “There is this prevailing narrative – and a lot of it is being pushed by the fossil fuel industry and their enablers – that climate action is too difficult, it’s too expensive,” he said. “It is absolutely critical that leaders, and all of us, push back and explain to people the value of climate action, but also the consequences of climate inaction.”
8/1/2024
Trump vs. Harris: what each presidency would mean for the green transition
The presidential candidates for the world’s largest fossil fuel producer have starkly different climate policies. All eyes are on the US elections in November this year, with the decision of the 160+ million voters in the country to play a major role in determining the world’s trajectory towards a net-zero future. According to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), even with current pledges for emissions reduction, the planet is hurtling towards a rise of up to 2.9°C above pre-industrial levels by the end of the century. This would be catastrophic, and, one report indicates that the crisis could cost $178trn in global economic loss by 2070. The two US presidential candidates who stand at the centre of this tension, Donald Trump and Kamala Harris, are poised to shoulder significant responsibility for world climate impacts this century but could not be more different in their policy choices. Under a Trump administration, net-zero goals are expected to be in severe jeopardy. During his former presidency, Trump not only reversed more than 100 Obama-era environmental protections but also pulled the US out of the landmark 2016 Paris Agreement, through which countries are working together to keep global emissions below the threshold of a 2°C rise. During his campaign for re-election, Trump has dismissed rising environmental regulations as a “green new scam” and made no secret of his intentions to support the fossil fuel industry yet again.
7/24/2024
Building a Sun on Earth: ITER’s Historic Milestone in Fusion Energy Development
The ITER fusion energy project marks a significant milestone with the completion of 19 toroidal field coils, crucial for magnetic confinement in fusion energy. Developed over two decades through a multinational effort, these components signify a step forward in producing a clean, abundant energy source. This project demonstrates exceptional international collaboration and technological innovation, involving over 30 countries and numerous high-tech companies. After two decades of design, production, fabrication, and assembly on three continents, the historic, multinational ITER fusion energy project celebrates the completion and delivery of its massive toroidal field coils from Japan and Europe. Masahito Moriyama, Japan’s Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, and Gilberto Pichetto Fratin, Italy’s Minister of Environment and Energy Security, will attend the ceremony with officials from other ITER members.
7/19/2024
Climate Change’s Toll On Global Agriculture: A Looming Crisis
Climate change is wreaking havoc on agriculture worldwide, posing a significant threat to the global food supply. Key crops such as cocoa, olive oil, rice, and soybeans are particularly vulnerable, and their declining yields due to climate-induced stressors have far-reaching implications. These crops are staples in global food markets, and their scarcity can lead to economic instability, food insecurity, and higher consumer prices. This article explores the challenges faced by these essential crops and potential solutions to mitigate the adverse effects of climate change.
7/16/2024
What Climate Change Tells Us about Being Human
Freud once said that the two great blows to humanity’s self-image were Copernicus’ insight that the Earth orbits the sun, which displaced us from the center of the universe, and Darwin’s recognition that we are animals created by evolution. If these two discoveries undermined our collective sense of superiority, their significance pales in comparison to the traumatic shock of climate change. Climate change reveals once and for all that humanity has no special dispensation to transcend its material conditions. And unlike Copernican cosmology or Darwinian evolution, the climate crisis is not only a difficult idea that our collective psyche must absorb, but also a hard limit, a wake-up call, a threat to our very life on this planet. Unlike previous blows to our collective ego, the climate crisis kills us. The climate crisis requires us to rethink our ideas about what it means to be human. Even post-Darwin Western culture assumes that humanity has the unique capacity to control nature. Yet with some contradiction people also argue that “human nature” leads us inexorably to cause climate change. Both these ideas can’t be true at once, and indeed they are not. They are instead ideological fictions, received stories that people experience collectively as truths. They serve to make the world as it is seem normal. But in so doing they prevent us from fully accepting the implications of climate change and from understanding how we can act differently, rebuilding the world in order to save some of it for our children.
7/6/2024
Big Oil fuels the climate crisis in Italy and around the world
Intense rain and thunderstorms, hail and strong winds hit the Valle d’Aosta and Piedmont regions in northwestern Italy recently, causing flooding of waterways, landslides and the isolation of entire towns. These communities are facing a devastating disaster, with hundreds of people displaced and injured. Seven people reportedly were killed in neighbouring France and Switzerland and there are additional victims and missing persons. We express our deepest solidarity with everyone affected. People have experienced moments of terror, have been evacuated, lost family members or seen their homes and businesses destroyed, finding themselves now in extremely difficult situations. Sadly these are challenges faced by communities around the world who are impacted by extreme weather events. The oil and gas industry makes huge profits from people’s suffering, reportedly over US$ 2.8 billion every day for the past 50 years. Currently, big oil pays nothing towards the costs of increasingly severe extreme weather events despite the fact that they have known for decades that they’re fueling extreme weather, but invested billions to hinder climate action. The price is left with all of us, especially those hit the hardest.
6/25/2024
The Gas Industry Is Gaslighting the Public about Climate Change
In March 1969 Senator Henry M. Jackson of Washington State received a letter from an incensed constituent. The letter writer had watched an episode of a television talk show where the Beat poet Allen Ginsberg claimed that “the current rate of air pollution brought about by the proliferation of automobiles” could cause “the rapid buildup of heat on the earth.” This would melt the polar ice caps and eventually flood “the greater part of the globe.” The constituent wanted the powerful senator to stop Ginsberg—one of America’s “premier kooks,” in his opinion—from spouting such nonsense, but the senator soon learned that it wasn’t nonsense. Jackson reached out to presidential science adviser Lee DuBridge, who affirmed that Americans were “filling the atmosphere with a great many gases and in very large quantities from our automobiles” and that these gases could indeed melt the ice caps and radically change the climate. It was of “great importance,” DuBridge explained, that we learned more about carbon dioxide and its impacts “before discovering them too late and perhaps to our sorrow.” If you are surprised to learn that scientists have been warning about the dangers of greenhouse gases for more than half a century, you are not alone. The fossil-fuel industry has worked for decades to deny both climate science and its own history. Its latest move is to blame consumers for the climate crisis.
6/5/2024
China puts online world’s largest solar power plant
China has put online a 5,000 MW solar power plant, currently the largest photovoltaic facility on the planet.
The solar park spans 200,000 hectares in the desert area of China’s northwestern province of Xinjiang, not far from the region’s capital, Urumqi, global news agencies reported. The plant’s expected annual output is over 6,000 GWh, enough to supply entire countries such as Luxembourg or Papua New Guinea. The power plant was built by Power Construction Corporation of China (Power China). Before the new plant launched production, the two largest operating solar parks, according to Reuters, were also located in China, with a capacity of about 3 GW each.
5/9/2024
These 4 charts show the world just passed a major clean energy milestone
The world has passed a clean energy milestone, as a boom in wind and solar meant a record-breaking 30% of the world’s electricity was produced by renewables last year, new data shows. The planet is reaching “a crucial turning point” toward clean energy, according to the Global Electricity Review published Wednesday by climate think tank Ember. It predicts global fossil fuel generation will fall slightly in 2024, before experiencing much bigger declines in subsequent years. It’s a significant step toward the world reaching 60% renewable electricity by 2030, which is critical to meeting global climate goals, said Dave Jones, global insights director at Ember. “The renewables future has arrived,” Jones said. “Solar in particular is accelerating faster than anyone thought possible.” A look at the data reveals just how much the global power sector is changing.
5/3/2024
Why climate change action requires “degrowth” to make our planet sustainable
“Slow Down: The Degrowth Manifesto,” a new book from University of Tokyo philosophy professor Kohei Saito, offers more than a diagnosis of the systemic problems that brought us to this moment; it lays out, in clear and well-researched language, how those problems can be thoroughly addressed. In 2020, when “Slow Down” was originally published in Japan, it went by the far more fitting title “Capital in the Anthropocene” — with “Anthropocene” being the proposed geological era that began when human activity started radically altering natural conditions on the planet. Saito’s argument, as translated by Brian Bergstrom, is that climate change exists because humans as a species prioritize economic growth instead of economic sustainability. Capitalism itself, Saito asserts, is unsustainable. Even though well-meaning liberal politicians like to push for Green New Deals in the hope of continuing non-stop economic growth without the consequent ecological harm, Saito argues capitalist societies need to perpetually consume resources to remain prosperous. As a result, capitalism itself inevitably brings about planet-wide problems like climate change, habitat destruction, plastic pollution and other environmental issues. The only solution is for humanity as a whole to slow down our obsession with work, productivity and materialism. Notably, Saito stresses that the bulk of the burden to consume less falls on the wealthiest among us.
4/18/2024
Climate Change to Cause $38 Trillion a Year in Damages by 2049
Climate change will inflict losses to the global economy worth an annual $38 trillion by 2049, as extreme weather ravages agricultural yields, harms labor productivity and destroys infrastructure, according to researchers at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK). Planetary warming will result in an income reduction of 19% globally by mid-century, compared to a global economy without climate change, according to research published in Nature on Wednesday. The paper uses data from more than 1,600 regions worldwide over the past 40 years to assess future impacts of a warmer planet on economic growth. “Climate change will cause massive economic damages within the next 25 years in almost all countries,” Leonie Wenz, the scientist at PIK who led the study, said in a statement. “We have to cut down our emissions drastically and immediately – if not, economic losses will become even bigger in the second half of the century, amounting to up to 60% on global average by 2100.”
4/11/2024
Why is ocean heat smashing records? It’s more than just climate change
The ocean has now broken temperature records every day for more than a year. And so far, 2024 has continued 2023’s trend of beating previous records by wide margins. In fact, the whole planet has been hot for months, according to many different data sets. “There’s no ambiguity about the data,” said Gavin Schmidt, a climatologist and the director of the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies. “So really, it’s a question of attribution.” Last month, the average global sea surface temperature reached a new monthly high of 21.07 degrees Celsius, or 69.93 degrees Fahrenheit, according to the Copernicus Climate Change Service, a research institution funded by the European Union. “March 2024 continues the sequence of climate records toppling for both air temperature and ocean surface temperatures,” Samantha Burgess, deputy director of Copernicus, said in a statement this week. The tropical Atlantic is abnormally warm, helping set the stage for a busy hurricane season, according to an early forecast by scientists at Colorado State University. Higher ocean temperatures provide more energy to fuel stronger storms.
4/10/2024
US, Japan announce partnership to accelerate nuclear fusion
WASHINGTON, April 10 (Reuters) – The United States and Japan on Wednesday announced a joint partnership to accelerate development and commercialization of nuclear fusion. The partnership was unveiled as Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida was in Washington for a summit with President Joe Biden. U.S. Deputy Secretary of Energy David Turk and Japan’s minister of education, sports, science and technology, Masahito Moriyama, met in Washington on Tuesday to discuss fusion. The partnership will focus on the scientific and technical challenges of delivering commercial fusion and expand work between U.S. and Japanese universities, national laboratories and private companies, the U.S. Department of Energy said. Scientists, governments and companies have been trying for decades to harness fusion, the nuclear reaction that powers the sun, to provide carbon-free electricity. It can be replicated on Earth with heat and pressure using lasers or magnets to fuse two light atoms into a denser one, releasing large amounts of energy.
3/26/2024
Nature and climate stories you need to read this week
1. 2023 was the hottest year on record
2. New ocean temperature record broken every day for a year
3. Only 7 countries are reaching international air quality standards
4. More on the nature and climate crisis on Agenda
3/25/2024
US awards $6bn to industrial decarbonisation and electrification
A new arm of the US DOE on Monday announced a $6bn federal funding package for the decarbonisation of 33 industrial projects across 20 states. The funding, which will go through the DOE’s Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations, is being implemented under President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) as part of the government’s national net-zero plans – $5.47bn of the total funds will come from the IRA. According to a statement from the DOE, the $6bn will go towards decarbonising energy-intensive industries, reducing industrial greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, supporting union jobs, revitalizing industrial communities and strengthening the nation’s manufacturing competitiveness. The 33 projects set to receive funding will be in the “highest emitting” industries where decarbonisation technologies will have the biggest impact, including steel, paper, concrete and glass making. Of those selected, seven are in the chemicals and refining sector; six in cement and concrete; six in iron and steel; five in aluminium and metals; three in food and beverage; three in the glassmaking industry; two in process heating; and one in the pulp and paper sector. Electrification of industrial processes will play a key part in their decarbonisation.
3/21/2024
Nuclear fusion backers meet in US capital as competition with China looms
WASHINGTON, March 20 (Reuters) – Leaders in the emerging Western nuclear fusion industry are convening in Washington, D.C., this week seeking ways to attract more money for research to avoid falling far behind China in the race to develop and build commercially viable reactors. A funding bill signed by President Joe Biden this month contained $790 million for fusion science programs for 2024, below the more than $1 billion backers say is needed. Scientists, governments, and companies are racing to harness fusion, the nuclear reaction that powers the sun, to provide carbon-free electricity. It can be replicated on Earth with heat and pressure using lasers or magnets to fuse two light atoms into a denser one, releasing large amounts of energy. Unlike plants that run on fission, or splitting atoms, commercial fusion plants, if ever built, would not produce long-lasting radioactive waste.
3/8/2024
Biden Vows to ‘Save the Planet From the Climate Crisis’
President Biden spoke about global warming in stark terms during the State of the Union address Thursday night, ditching the more sterile term “climate change” to instead refer twice to the climate “crisis.” “I see a future where we save the planet from the climate crisis,” Mr. Biden said to applause as he closed out his address to a joint session of Congress. Without mentioning his name, Mr. Biden sought to contrast his record on climate change with that of former President Donald J. Trump, the expected Republican presidential nominee, who ridiculed climate science, unraveled policies that would have curbed greenhouse gas emissions and promoted the unfettered development of fossil fuels. “We are also making history by confronting the climate crisis, not denying it,” Mr. Biden said in a dig against Mr. Trump.
3/7/2024
The planet just shattered heat records for the ninth month in a row
Last month was the planet’s hottest February on record, marking the ninth month in a row that global records tumbled, according to new data from Copernicus, the European Union’s climate monitoring service. February was 1.77 degrees Celsius warmer than the average February in pre-industrial times, Copernicus found, and it capped off the hottest 12-month period in recorded history, at 1.56 degrees above pre-industrial levels. It’s yet another grim climate change milestone, as the long-term impacts of human-caused global warming are given a boost by El Niño, a natural climate fluctuation. “February joins the long streak of records of the last few months. As remarkable as this might appear, it is not really surprising as the continuous warming of the climate system inevitably leads to new temperature extremes,” Carlo Buontempo, director of Copernicus, said in a statement.
3/6/2024
DOE Launches Prize to Recycle Critical Materials from Electronic Scrap
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) today launched the Electronics Scrap Recycling Advancement Prize (E-SCRAP), which will award up to $4 million to competitors to substantially increase the production and use of critical materials recovered from electronic scrap—or e-scrap. E-scrap—which includes mobile phones, home appliances, medical or office equipment, and anything else powered by electricity—represents the fastest growing waste stream globally, with e-scrap generation expected to double 2014 levels by 2030. Only 17.4% of e-scrap was collected and recycled globally in 2019, discarding 83% of e-waste and $57 billion in raw material value. However, e-scrap recovery faces numerous roadblocks, including a fragmented recycling value chain, a complex and dynamic feedstock, and a rapidly evolving end-use market. Today’s announcement marks the opening of the first of three phases in E-SCRAP. The cash prizes and assistance awarded in Phases 1 and 2 are intended to support teams as they advance in the competition.
3/5/2024
A new satellite will track climate-warming pollution. Here’s why that’s a big deal
VANDENBERG SPACE FORCE BASE, Calif. — Not far from the Pacific Ocean, where just to the south, oil platforms dot the horizon, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket blasted into space Monday with dozens of satellites on board. Four miles away from the launch site, a crowd including scientists, engineers, and their families erupted into celebration. They were applauding largely for one satellite on board: MethaneSAT, which is built to detect methane. That’s a gas that in the short term packs an even bigger planet-warming punch than carbon dioxide. The oil and gas industry has historically had a culture of confidentiality, says Antoine Halff, chief analyst at Kayrros, a climate analytics firm. “They like to keep their data private,” he says. “There’s, I think, a cultural discomfort with the transparency provided by independent monitoring.” When this satellite is fully operational in the coming months, it will provide data that will be free to the public. That will allow governments, researchers and others to have an unbiased view from space of most oil and gas operations, says Adam Brandt, a professor in the Department of Energy Science and Engineering at Stanford University who was not involved with the project.
1/24/2024
The US says it needs 22m acres for the solar energy transition – here’s what that looks like
If the US is to rid itself of fossil fuels then one of its primary replacements, solar energy, is going to need land. A lot of land. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM), which oversees more of the public realm than any other federal government agency, has outlined exactly how much of western America should be made available for solar panels and their associated cables and transformers – 22m acres. That is roughly the size of Maine, or an area larger than Scotland. The Bureau of Land Management has proposed using 22m acres of public land for solar projects in the western US. This total, part of a new administration plan to accelerate solar energy in the US west, will give the US “maximum flexibility” to meet climate goals, the BLM said.
1/20/2024
Climate change and atmospheric dynamics unveil future weather extremes
From late June to mid-July of 2021, the Pacific Northwest was scorched under an unprecedented heat dome, shattering temperature records and igniting a wave of concern over climate extremes. As cities like Portland and Seattle, known for their mild summers, grappled with triple-digit heat, scientists delved into the whys and hows of this meteorological anomaly. Now, a collaborative team of researchers led by Michael Mann of the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Arts & Sciences have peeled back layers of atmospheric dynamics to reveal a startling truth: The interplay of natural systems and human-induced climate change is setting the stage for more frequent and severe weather events. “Our study shows that anomalous summer jet stream behavior—which we know is favored by human-caused warming yet isn’t well captured by current generation climate models—contributed to the unprecedented 2021 Pacific Northwest ‘Heat Dome’ event,” says Mann, Presidential Distinguished Professor and co-author of the paper published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
1/19/2024
Climate crisis ignored by Republicans as Trump vows to ‘drill, baby, drill’
In the wake of an Iowa primary election chilled in a record blast of cold weather – which scientists say may, counterintuitively, have been worsened by global heating – Republican presidential candidates are embracing the fossil fuel industry tighter than ever, with little to say about the growing toll the climate crisis is taking upon Americans. The remaining contenders for the US presidential nomination – frontrunner Donald Trump, along with Nikki Haley and Ron DeSantis – all used the Iowa caucus to promise surging levels of oil and gas drilling if elected, along with the wholesale abolition of Joe Biden’s climate change policies. Trump, who comfortably won the Iowa poll, said “we are going to drill, baby, drill” once elected, in a Fox News town hall on the eve of the primary. “We have more liquid gold under our feet; energy, oil and gas than any other country in the world,” the multiply indicted former president said. “We have a lot of potential income.” Trump also called clean energy a “new scam business” and went on a lengthy digression on how energy is important in the making of donuts and hamburgers.
1/17/2024
What is ‘new denial?’ An alarming wave of climate misinformation is spreading on YouTube, watchdog says
If you’ve been on YouTube lately, you might have come across someone claiming wind and solar energy don’t work, that rising sea levels will help coral reefs flourish, or that climate scientists are corrupt and alarmist. These are all false and misleading statements taken from a handful of thousands of YouTube videos analyzed by the nonprofit Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH), which has identified a stark change in the tactics of climate deniers over the past few years. Where once climate deniers would outright reject climate change as a hoax or scam, or claim that humans were not responsible for it, many are now shifting to a different approach, one which attempts to undermine climate science, cast doubt on climate solutions and even claim global warming will be beneficial at best, harmless at worst.
1/13/2024
Human ‘behavioural crisis’ at root of climate breakdown, say scientists
Record heat, record emissions, record fossil fuel consumption. One month out from Cop28, the world is further than ever from reaching its collective climate goals. At the root of all these problems, according to recent research, is the human “behavioural crisis”, a term coined by an interdisciplinary team of scientists. “We’ve socially engineered ourselves the way we geoengineered the planet,” says Joseph Merz, lead author of a new paper which proposes that climate breakdown is a symptom of ecological overshoot, which in turn is caused by the deliberate exploitation of human behaviour. “We need to become mindful of the way we’re being manipulated,” says Merz, who is co-founder of the Merz Institute, an organisation that researches the systemic causes of the climate crisis and how to tackle them. Merz and colleagues believe that most climate “solutions” proposed so far only tackle symptoms rather than the root cause of the crisis. This, they say, leads to increasing levels of the three “levers” of overshoot: consumption, waste and population.
1/12/2024
Biden-Harris Administration Announces $623 Million in Grants to Continue Building Out Electric Vehicle Charging Network
The Biden-Harris Administration today announced $623 million in grants to help build out an electric vehicle (EV) charging network across the U.S., which will create American jobs and ensure more drivers can charge their electric vehicles where they live, work, and shop. This is a critical part of the Administration’s goal of building out a convenient, affordable, reliable and made-in-America national network of EV chargers, including at least 500,000 publicly available chargers by 2030 ensuring that EVs are made in America with American workers. Under President Biden’s leadership, EV sales have more than quadrupled, the number of publicly available charging ports has grown by nearly 70 percent, and more than 4 million EVs are now on the road. Spurred by the President’s historic investments, private companies have announced more than $155 billion in the EV and battery supply chain under the Biden-Harris Administration. EVs are critical to our rapid and equitable transition to clean transportation systems, producing zero tailpipe emissions, reducing air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions—major contributors to climate change and key contributors to respiratory ailments.
1/8/2024
DOE Announces $32.5 Million in Funding to Advance Transportation Electrification
The Department of Energy (DOE) today announced the selection of 16 projects totaling $32.5 million to advance technology integration in areas critical to achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions in the transportation sector. Spanning nine states and Washington, D.C., the selected projects will focus on expanding electric vehicle (EV) deployment and supporting EV charging infrastructure by reducing installation costs, educating consumers, and implementing regional deployment. The funding supports strategies detailed in the U.S. National Blueprint for Transportation Decarbonization, and the Biden-Harris Administration’s whole of government approach to reaching a fully decarbonized, clean transportation future that benefits all Americans.
1/7/2024
In Hunters Point, Fla., the world’s first LEED Zero Energy certified residential development, every house produces more electricity than it uses
HUNTERS POINT, Fla. — In this Florida development, no one pays an electricity bill. It’s not because of subsidies, but by design: All of the 86 homes built or planned in Hunters Point, a residential development about an hour south of Tampa, boast 14 solar panels and a 12-kilowatt-hour home battery in the utility closet. On a typical afternoon, the solar panels on William and Sueann Fulford’s three-story house produce twice as much power as it consumes. They use some of the extra electricity to charge their battery, which powers their home through the night, and sell the rest to the power grid. The couple had been paying electric bills as high as $600 a month at times in their previous home in Virginia Beach. “We haven’t had a power bill yet,” said William, 76, a retired contractor who spent decades building custom homes before moving to Florida. “If I ever do build another house, it’s going to have solar. It makes quite a difference.”
12/31/2023
Red alert in Antarctica: the year rapid, dramatic change hit climate scientists like a ‘punch in the guts’
Morning is a construct in the Antarctic summer. It’s 7.30am and Nerilie Abram, a climate science professor at the Australian National University, is having breakfast at Casey station when she takes Guardian Australia’s call in late November. The sun barely kissed the horizon the night before, and won’t fall below it for weeks. Constant daylight can be famously discombobulating for first-time visitors to Antarctica, but for experienced researchers such as Abram, it is just the backdrop to life at the end of the Earth. This year, though, something else is deeply strange. When Abram was here a decade ago there was a mass of ice floating off the coast. It’s a vastly altered scene when she looks out the window now. “There’s no sea ice at all,” she says. “It’s a magnificent landscape. To think about what we’re doing to it and the changes that are happening here, it’s a punch in the guts.” Study after study showed the breakdown of climate systems taking place much earlier than foreseen, with potentially catastrophic results.
12/26/2023
Is climate change speeding up?
For the past several years, a small group of scientists has warned that sometime early this century, the rate of global warming — which has remained largely steady for decades — might accelerate. Temperatures could rise higher, faster. The drumbeat of weather disasters may become more insistent. And now, after what is poised to be the hottest year in recorded history, the same experts believe that it is already happening. In a paper published last month, climate scientist James E. Hansen and a group of colleagues argued that the pace of global warming is poised to increase by 50 percent in the coming decades, with an accompanying escalation of impacts. According to the scientists, an increased amount of heat energy trapped within the planet’s system — known as the planet’s “energy imbalance” — will accelerate warming. “If there’s more energy coming in than going out, you get warmer, and if you double that imbalance, you’re going to get warmer faster,” Hansen said in a phone interview.
12/20/2023
From Data to Savings: The Role of IoT in Energy Management
The planet is running out of resources, making it more taxing to maintain energy supply. Prominent influences include international conflicts — like the Russia-Ukraine war — and widespread corporate digital transformation. Comparing production, output, and expenditure between nations reveals inequalities in energy access that IoT can alleviate. Sensor data exposes routes to sustainable energy management while delivering consistency in the most demanding age in human history. IoT is scalable from microgrids to the world’s most populated cities. IoT device implementation in management systems prevents losses and optimizes dispersal. The use cases for IoT in energy management explore its potential and how it ushers the planet into a new age of smart power.
12/19/2023
Is Geoengineering The Answer To The Global Climate Crisis?
Engineering our way to a livable planet is a challenge we can no longer afford to ignore. The climate crisis, increasingly visible to all, has reached a critical juncture. In the immediate aftermath of the COP28 in Dubai and the agreement struck between the world’s countries, we see the call for more forceful action. But is this going to be enough and rapid enough? We are heading towards the warmest year on record, with the past 12 months believed to be the hottest in 125,000 years. These staggering figures surpass even what scientists, including those at the IPCC, predicted, indicating that our planet is warming at a faster rate than anticipated. This alarming trend raises a crucial question: controversial though it is, is geoengineering a solution we actually need?
12/15/2023
Historic climate deal does the ‘bare minimum’ as the world warms, burns and floods
If there was ever a year that called for bold global action on climate change, 2023 was it. In what will likely go down as the warmest year on record — one rife with catastrophic floods, scorching heat waves, devastating wildfires and enduring drought — leaders from nearly 200 countries gathered to chart a path forward in the fight against climate change. After more than two weeks of tense negotiations at the United Nations Climate Change Conference, known as COP28, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, representatives from 198 countries agreed Wednesday to “transition away” from fossil fuels. It was a historic deal but one that once again fell short for many climate activists, who saw it as further evidence that efforts to address climate change are moving too slowly and are being compromised by fossil fuel interests.
12/14/2023
US installs more energy storage than ever before in Q3
The United States installed the most energy storage capacity ever for a quarter, bringing 7,322 MWh of storage online in the third quarter of 2023. As outlined in Wood Mackenzie and the American Clean Power Association’s (ACP) latest “US Energy Storage Monitor” report, the U.S. grid-scale segment saw quarterly installations increase 27% quarter-on-quarter (QoQ) to 6,848 MWh, a record-breaking third quarter for both megawatts and megawatt-hours installed. “Energy storage deployment is growing dramatically, proving that it will be essential to our future energy mix. With another quarterly record, it’s clear that energy storage is increasingly a leading technology of choice for enhancing reliability and American energy security,” said ACP Chief Policy Officer Frank Macchiarola. “This industry will serve as the backbone of our modern grid. As we continue to build a strong domestic supply chain, streamlined permitting and evolving market rules can further accelerate the deployment of storage resources.”
12/11/2023
At COP28, IEA emphasises urgent actions needed to keep 1.5 °C goal in reach
The COP28 climate change conference has brought together leaders from around the world in Dubai at a critical moment for the clean energy transition and international efforts to tackle climate change. While the rapid deployment of clean energy technologies in recent years has made a major difference to the climate outlook, the world is not on track to meet the Paris Agreement goal of keeping global warming well below 2 °C – let alone below the threshold of 1.5 °C that science has shown is crucial to avoid the worst effects of climate change. Our delegation in Dubai, led by our Executive Director Fatih Birol and Deputy Executive Director Mary Burce Warlick, has been making clear what’s needs to be done to shift the world onto a 1.5 °C pathway. Based on data and analysis in our recent World Energy Outlook, Dr Birol has laid out five interdependent pillars for action between now and 2030:
12/9/2023
CNN poll: Large majority of US adults and half of Republicans agree with Biden’s goal to slash climate pollution
Nearly two-thirds of US adults say they are worried about the threat of climate change in their communities, according to a new CNN poll conducted by SSRS. More than half are worried about the impact of extreme weather, as the climate crisis touches every region in the form of extreme heat, devastating storms and drought. Even more want the federal government to do something about it. A broad majority of US adults – 73% – say the federal government should develop its climate policies with the goal of cutting the country’s planet-warming pollution in half by the end of the decade. That has been the goal of President Joe Biden, who has made tackling the climate crisis a greater priority than any other president, including through billions of dollars in tax subsidies to create more renewable energy infrastructure and help consumers buy discounted electric vehicles, solar panels and energy-efficient appliances. The Biden administration is also crafting and implementing several federal regulations designed to cut pollution from the oil and gas industry, power plants, and gas-powered vehicles.
12/8/2023
US on track to add record-breaking 33 GW of solar in 2023
The U.S. solar industry added 6.5 GW of new electric generating capacity in Q3 2023, a 35% year-over-year increase as federal clean energy policies begin to take effect. As a result of this growth, the United States is expected add a record 33 GW of solar capacity in 2023, according to the “U.S. Solar Market Insight Q4 2023” report released today by the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) and Wood Mackenzie. While economic challenges are beginning to affect the solar and storage industry, by 2050, solar is expected to be the largest source of generating capacity on the U.S. grid. The residential solar segment installed a record 210,000 systems in Q3. However, changes to net energy metering policy in California and elevated interest rates across the U.S. are expected to lead to a brief decline in residential installs next year before growth resumes in 2025. Elevated financing costs, transformer shortages and interconnection bottlenecks are also impacting the utility-scale segment, which saw its lowest level of new contracts signed in a quarter since 2018. However, improvements in the module supply chain have led to a record 12 GW of utility-scale deployment in the first nine months of 2023. Solar accounts for 48% of all new electric generating capacity additions in the first three quarters of 2023, bringing total installed solar capacity in the United States to 161 GW across 4.7 million installations. By 2028, solar capacity in the United States is expected to reach 377 GW, enough to power more than 65 million homes.
12/5/2023
India is building the world’s largest renewable energy park. Why are environmentalists concerned?
India is building what will likely be the world’s largest renewable energy project. Rising from the bare expanse of the large salt desert that separates the country from Pakistan, the solar and wind farm is expected to be completed three years from now. The Khavda renewable energy park – named after the village nearest to the project site – will be so big that it will be visible from space, according to developers. When completed, the project will be about as large as Singapore, spreading out over 726 square kilometres. The Indian government estimates it will cost at least $2.26 billion (€2.08b). Shifting to renewable energy is a key issue at the ongoing COP28 climate summit. Some leaders have voiced support for a target of tripling renewable energy worldwide in any final agreement while curbing use of coal, oil and natural gas, which spew planet-warming gases into the atmosphere. Once completed, the park will supply 30 gigawatts of renewable energy annually, enough to power nearly 18 million Indian homes.
Global carbon emissions from fossil fuels to hit record high
Global carbon emissions from fossil fuels reached record levels again in 2023, as experts warned that the projected rate of warming had not improved over the past two years. The world is on track to have burned more coal, oil and gas in 2023 than it did in 2022, according to a report by the Global Carbon Project, pumping 1.1% more planet-heating carbon dioxide into the atmosphere at a time when emissions must plummet to stop extreme weather from growing more violent. The finding comes as world leaders meet in Dubai for the fraught Cop28 climate summit. In a separate report published on Tuesday, Climate Action Tracker (CAT) raised its projections slightly for future warming above the estimates it made at a conference in Glasgow two years ago.
12/4/2023
Why utilities can’t afford to ignore stored solar panels
For more than a decade, the solar industry has rightfully focused on one objective: driving down the price of solar energy to make it an affordable, mainstream option for residents and businesses. In many ways, the industry has succeeded beyond any reasonable expectation. In 2011 the U.S. Department of Energy launched the SunShot Initiative to reduce the cost of utility-scale solar to $1 per watt by 2020. Though many viewed the objective as more aspirational than practical at the time, it was achieved three years early. The dramatic drop in the cost of solar modules coincided with improvement in their performance. Today, some utilities can purchase new 600-watt solar panels for just $0.13 per watt. That’s a huge win for the climate and for electricity customers. But continuous price declines pose challenges to utilities, renewable energy developers and other companies storing large quantities of solar panels. The volume of solar panels currently in warehouses is staggering. A recent report by Rystad Energy found that 40 gigawatts sit in storage across Europe — equal to the capacity installed across the continent in 2022. That number could grow to 100 gigawatts.
12/3/2023
Top world leaders talk of climate crisis at UN summit. They say they must act on fossil fuels, war
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Dozens of world leaders said they know the planet’s dangerously overheating and they are trying to keep it from getting worse. The next step is to turn their soaring rhetoric voiced at the beginning of the United Nations climate conference into action. In the first of two days of the two-week summit, presidents, prime ministers and royals from nations rich and poor trotted up to the microphone Friday to lay out commitments to reduce how much their countries spew heat-trapping gases and asked their colleagues to do better. Critics, advocacy groups and even some leaders themselves said that the words of promise must be followed by deals hammered out by diplomats in the coming days. The conference, called COP28, is a who’s who of about 150 of Earth’s top decision-makers — except the two most powerful men: Presidents Joe Biden and Xi Jinping of the United States and China. The leaders of the two most carbon-polluting nations were glaringly absent. In a fire-and-brimstone kickoff of the parade of VIPs, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, fresh from melting glaciers in Antarctica and Nepal, said “Earth’s vital signs are failing” and told leaders, “you can prevent planetary crash and burn.”
12/1/2023
New York State Energy Research and Development Authority: Application Period Open for $100 Million Zero-Emission School Bus Funding
Governor Kathy Hochul today announced $100 million in funding to advance is now available for zero-emission school buses under the historic $4.2 billion Clean Water, Clean Air, and Green Jobs Environmental Bond Act of 2022. The New York School Bus Incentive Program (NYSBIP) provides public school districts, and bus operators that contract with them, incentives to make clean buses and the associated charging infrastructure more affordable, reduce pollution, and bring cleaner air to communities, particularly those that are underserved to meet New York State’s climate and clean energy goals. The $100 million in funding is available on a first-come, first-served basis with school bus incentive amounts starting at $114,000 and covering up to 100% of the incremental cost of a new or repowered zero-emission school bus, depending on the type of vehicle. Larger school bus voucher amounts are available for priority districts that include high-need school districts, disadvantaged communities, and for fleets removing internal combustion engine buses from operation. NYSBIP also provides rebates to eligible school bus fleet operators who purchase and install eligible charging infrastructure in association with newly purchased zero-emissions school buses.
11/30/2023
DOE Offers $275 Million for Domestic Clean Energy Supply Chains
The Department of Energy has allotted $275 million to support seven projects related to clean energy supply chains and manufacturing in the United States, all of which are taking place in former coal communities. The projects plan to focus on small- and medium-sized manufacturers working to produce key components for energy storage, wind energy, and building energy efficiency. The government funding is expected to leverage more than $600 million of private sector investment directed toward the projects, and nearly 1,500 jobs will be created in their development. The Biden administration also aims to direct the economic benefits of the clean energy transition by offering this funding to projects located near disadvantaged communities. The projects are expected to strengthen domestic clean energy supply chains for energy security and independence while contributing to climate change mitigation. Strengthening domestic supply chains can enable a quicker, more affordable energy transition in the United States and has been a key focus of the DOE’s clean energy strategy.
11/29/2023
Hydropower: How droughts are affecting the world’s biggest renewable energy source
Hydropower, the largest source of renewable energy, experienced a drop in generation in the first half of 2023 due to droughts. China and the US were among the countries that saw big decreases in hydropower generation, while hydropower expansion has also slowed down. Hydropower is one of the world’s oldest sources of renewable energy, converting the power of water into electricity. It is also the largest, generating more than all other renewables – and is expected to stay in the lead well into the 2030s. However, hydroelectricity generation increased by just 2% in 2022, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA). And a new report from energy analyst Ember shows that global hydropower generation substantially dropped off in the first half of 2023 compared to the same period in 2022. This, in turn, led to an overall increase in fossil-fuel power generation to make up for the gap. So what’s behind this significant change in energy generation?
11/28/2023
Get ready for a big choice on the climate crisis
(CNN) — President Joe Biden is too busy for an international climate summit at the moment. He is not expected to make a third annual trip to the Conference of the Parties, COP28, the annual United Nations-sponsored event at which countries consider collective action to mitigate the effects of a changing climate on the planet. Although Biden’s absence could frustrate climate activists, it cannot objectively be viewed as a lack of concern about the issue – especially when compared with Donald Trump, the former president and current Republican primary front-runner. The first nominating contest in the Republican primary calendar is January 15 in Iowa, less than 50 days away. So it’s worthwhile to compare how Biden, Trump and other 2024 contenders view the climate crisis and how they would respond to it. Releasing an every-five-years National Climate Assessment earlier in November, Biden referred to climate change as the “ultimate threat to humanity.” Trump has built a screed against electric vehicles into his stump speech. Biden has warned everyone that the changing climate threatens the entire country and every American. Trump mocks the threat of sea levels rising and mangles facts, making it seem as if there is no threat at all. “The environmentalists talk about all this nonsense,” Trump said on Fox News this year.
11/27/2023
Climate change and clean energy confront oil and gas producers with profound choices
Oil and gas producers face pivotal choices about their role in the global energy system amid a worsening climate crisis fuelled in large part by their core products, according to our major new special report. The Oil and Gas Industry in Net Zero Transitions finds that the oil and gas sector – which provides more than half of global energy supply and employs nearly 12 million workers worldwide – has been a marginal force at best in transitioning to an energy system with net zero emissions, accounting for just 1% of clean energy investment globally. The report shows how the industry can take a more responsible approach and contribute positively to the new energy economy, highlighting that the UN’s COP28 climate summit in Dubai is “a moment of truth” for the oil and gas sector. To start, all oil and gas companies should commit to tackling emissions from their own operations, according to the report. These emissions need to decline by 60% by 2030 to align with the Paris Agreement goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 °C. Companies also need to dramatically change how they allocate their financial resources. In 2022, clean energy investments accounted for a mere 2.5% of the industry’s total capital spending. The report finds that producers looking to align with the aims of the Paris Agreement would need to put 50% of capital expenditures towards clean energy projects by 2030. What’s more, companies must abandon the notion that they can continue with business as usual simply by ramping up the deployment of carbon capture technologies. The report finds that if oil and gas consumption were to evolve as projected under today’s policy settings, limiting warming to 1.5 °C would require an entirely inconceivable 32 billion tonnes of carbon capture by 2050, with annual investment rising from $4 billion last year to $3.5 trillion.
11/26/2023
The Transformative Power of Cloud-Based Solutions in Energy Management
As the energy and utilities industry continues to navigate the ever-changing landscape of business and technology, companies are grappling with the challenge of keeping up with evolving demands. One key solution that has emerged is cloud-based technology. By harnessing the power of the cloud, energy and utilities companies can address multiple needs and drive innovation. According to PwC’s 2023 Cloud Business Survey, cloud-based solutions have already demonstrated their value in connecting customers, field operations, assets, and more. These solutions enable a more agile and sustainable ecosystem by fostering better connectivity between systems, data, and stakeholders. In fact, 48% of energy and utilities executives surveyed reported measurable value from cloud technology. The benefits of cloud-based solutions extend beyond connectivity. Energy and utilities companies have also realized enhancements in distributed generation and decarbonization, asset performance and maintenance, as well as business growth through new products and services.
11/25/2023
The Key Role of Energy Storage Systems in Addressing the Global Climate Crisis
With the urgent need to combat the global climate crisis, energy storage systems have emerged as a crucial component in attaining carbon neutrality and driving the transformation of the energy sector. These innovative solutions not only support the widespread adoption of renewable energy but also offer immense potential for a sustainable and cleaner future. Energy storage systems play a vital role in enabling the integration of renewable energy sources into the grid. As we increasingly shift towards wind, solar, and other renewable power generation, there is a need to overcome the inherent intermittent nature of these sources. Energy storage systems provide a solution by capturing excess energy during periods of low demand and releasing it during high demand, ensuring a reliable and stable supply of electricity. Moreover, these systems offer flexibility in managing the variability of renewable energy generation. They can smooth out fluctuations caused by changes in weather conditions or time of day, enabling a more efficient use of renewable resources. By mitigating intermittency issues, energy storage systems enhance the overall reliability and resilience of the power grid.
11/22/2023
Why COP28 is “the most important COP” since the Paris Agreement
On 30 November, some 75,000 delegates including politicians, ministers, representatives from civil society, the private sector, international organisations and media organisations (including Energy Monitor) will descend on Expo City Dubai for what is expected to be the largest COP ever. Leaders including Pope Francis and King Charles III are set to attend (although reportedly, US President Joe Biden will not). Why is COP28 the most important COP since Paris in 2015? In many ways, the 28th annual UN climate conference in Dubai, (literally ‘Conference of the Parties’), is expected to be similar to what we have seen before. Talks will largely focus on how to honour the 2015 Paris Agreement, a legally binding agreement to limit global warming to at least below 2°C above pre-industrial levels, and ideally 1.5°C, which has been signed by 195 parties. For the past few years, ever since the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) published a report in 2018 warning that the difference between 1.5°C and 2°C is significant, parties have focused on the more ambitious target of 1.5°C, which would require global emissions to reach ‘net zero’ by 2050.
11/21/2023
Earth briefly hits feared warming milestone that would cause ‘cascading effects’ over time
The planet’s temperature briefly surpassed a key climate threshold for the first time late last week, a top climate scientist in Europe reported over the weekend. On Friday, the globe hit 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 F) above preindustrial levels for the first time in recorded history, said Samantha Burgess, the deputy director of Copernicus Climate Change Service. “Our best estimate is that this was the first day when global temperature was more than 2°C above 1850-1900 (or pre-industrial) levels, at 2.06°C,” Burgess said Sunday on X, formerly Twitter. That’s a temperature level the world wants to avoid, experts say: “A 2-degree rise in global temperatures is considered a critical threshold above which dangerous and cascading effects of human-generated climate change will occur,” according to NASA.
11/19/2023
Biden administration announces $6bn for climate resilience, grid enhancements
US President Biden is announcing more than $6 billion in investments meant to make communities across the country more resilient to the impacts of climate change, including by strengthening America’s aging electric grid infrastructure, reducing flood risk to communities, supporting conservation efforts and advancing environmental justice. The announcement comes in coordination with the release of the Fifth National Climate Assessment (NCA5) report, The NCA5 report, which assesses changes in the climate, its national and regional impacts, and options for reducing present and future risk. The report indicates that not only is every region of the country already experiencing the impacts of climate change, but ambitious climate action is underway in every region as well. Federal, state, local and Tribal mitigation and adaptation actions have significantly increased, the report said, while zero-carbon and low-carbon energy options are rapidly becoming more affordable. The report also shows that climate-change-related extreme weather events still pose a rapidly intensifying threat – one that costs the U.S. at least $150 billion each year, and that disproportionately affects underserved and overburdened communities.
11/17/2023
Most buildings are wasting energy — it’s time they smartened up
Buildings account for 37% of global carbon emissions. For some, that may be surprising — but it also outlines a huge opportunity. Building owners striving for net zero must address energy efficiency and incorporate smart building technologies. This is not future action; these solutions are already available. In 2050, half of the buildings that exist today will still be in use. Because newer buildings are typically more energy efficient, they will contribute less to total emissions. As a result, decarbonisation efforts should focus on renovating the current building stock. If decision-makers fail to act soon, existing buildings will face financial risk. “Failing to rapidly decarbonise buildings could result in stranded assets that lose value and are unattractive to both investors and tenants,” warns Mr Kumar. Schneider Electric recommends a three-step path to net zero: strategise, digitise, decarbonise. [2] As Mr Kumar explains: ”You should think holistically at the portfolio level and consider the building type — whether it’s an office, data centre, logistics centre or hotel — they’re all different. Setting up the right strategy will help evaluate your course of action. Renovation via digital technologies is not only less disruptive to daily operations, but also more effective from a life-cycle carbon perspective.”
US battery bonanza in solar states signals major role for storage
Tax credits and soaring demand in California and Texas are spurring developers to install bigger batteries, retrofit solar plants and build on disused coal plants. The Biden administration’s Inflation Reduction Act has catalysed energy storage development across the United States. Rising solar and wind capacity is increasing the need for battery storage and the inflation act includes investment tax credits (ITCs) for stand-alone storage facilities for the first time. Energy storage allows solar developers to capitalise on evening peak power prices or provide ancillary grid services and most new utility-scale solar projects include batteries. Utility-scale battery capacity was around 9 GW at the end of 2022, around half of which was solar plus storage. S&P Global Commodity Insights predicts 40 GW of storage capacity will be installed by the end of 2025. California and Texas are spearheading storage deployment as developers respond to rapid rises in solar and wind capacity and this will be repeated in other markets as they shift away from fossil fuels.
11/15/2023
US and China pledge to ramp up renewables in place of planet-warming fossil fuels ahead of Biden-Xi summit
CNN — The United States and China have agreed to resume a working group on climate cooperation and pledged a major ramp-up of renewable energy, the two sides announced Wednesday ahead of a leaders’ summit in San Francisco, as the world’s two largest polluters seek to overcome their geopolitical tensions to tackle the climate crisis. The announcement came hours before US President Joe Biden and Chinese leader Xi Jinping are set to sit down on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit for their first talk in a year – a highly anticipated meeting aimed at stabilizing rocky relations. Cooperation on climate change has long been seen as a rare bright spot in an otherwise difficult US-China relationship strained by tensions over trade, technology, human rights and geopolitics. But even that bright spot had dimmed over the past year, with Beijing cutting off climate talks with Washington in retaliation for a high-level US visit to Taiwan last summer.
11/14/2023
Expanded Solar for All
Request for Proposals (RFP 5532)
New York State Energy Research and Development Authority
Revised November 2023: Through this Request for Proposals (RFP 5532) NYSERDA is accepting applications from community solar developers interested in participating in Expanded Solar for All (E-SFA). Projects participating in E-SFA will be compensated directly by National Grid, eliminating the need for customer acquisition, management, and administration. The credits generated by participating community solar projects will be pooled and distributed to all the customers in National Grid’s Energy Affordability Program. The program is designed to deliver the benefits of community solar, including lower energy costs and adoption of clean energy, to over 160,000 low-income National Grid electric customers.
NYSERDA competitively selected 120.5 megawatts direct current (MWdc) of community solar projects to participate in Expanded Solar for All in 2022 through RFP 5037. RFP 5532 will competitively select up to 179.5 MWdc of additional community solar projects to participate in the program.
Summary of Revisions
The due date has been extended from November 14, 2023, to November 30, 2023, at 3:00 p.m. ET. NY-Sun Participating Contractors may continue to submit applications through the NYSERDA Portal.
Project eligibility criteria have also been changed so that NY-Sun projects that have received an award under the NY-Sun MW Block program rules or are in Pending Approval status may submit applications. You may read more about project eligibility on page 3 of the RFP 5532 document.
Applications Due: Thursday, November 30, 2023 at 3:00 p.m. ET
11/13/2023
UK and US form groundbreaking partnership over fusion energy
On Wednesday, November 8, the UK and US announced a significant partnership to advance fusion technology. The agreement, reached in Washington DC between the UK’s Minister for Nuclear and Networks, Andrew Bowie, and the US Deputy Secretary Turk at the Department of Energy, marks a crucial milestone in the energy collaboration between the two nations and underscores the importance of global cooperation in fostering innovation in this burgeoning field. Fusion technology involves the fusion of two forms of hydrogen subjected to extreme temperatures, resulting in their combination and the release of energy. This energy can then be harnessed to generate electricity, offering the potential for a nearly limitless supply of clean power in the long run. The development of fusion technology is set to revolutionise global efforts to achieve net-zero emissions and enhance energy independence. As governments work towards building a more diverse and resilient energy mix, ultimately leading to lower energy costs in the long term, adopting this new technology will necessitate a skilled workforce. This will support the creation of well-paid jobs, contributing to economic growth. Fusion energy, being many million times more efficient than traditional methods like burning coal, oil, or gas, has the potential to provide an almost unlimited source of clean electricity. This transformative capability significantly impacts global initiatives to achieve net-zero emissions and sustain energy independence.
11/11/2023
Visualizing All the World’s Carbon Emissions by Country
11/8/2023
U.S. Department of Energy and U.S. Geological Survey Release Online Public Database of Large-Scale Solar Facilities
WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) released the largest and most comprehensive database to date on large-scale solar energy projects in the United States. The U.S. Large-Scale Solar Photovoltaic Database (USPVDB) includes the location, size, and other characteristics of large-scale solar projects. This new public resource will enable researchers to observe trends in large-scale solar development as well as inform siting and planning for future deployment contributing to the Biden-Harris Administration goals to decarbonize the electricity sector by 2035. “Nearly 4,000 solar systems are mapped in this database, providing a crucial new asset for researchers, energy planners, government, and the solar industry,” said Jeff Marootian, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. “The abundance of detailed information in this database will help us improve the responsible siting of large-scale solar energy projects across the country to benefit communities and meet our climate goals.” Ground-mounted solar could require 5.7 million acres by 2035 and as much as 10 million acres in 2050 in order to achieve the Administration’s decarbonization goals. The USPVDB is part of DOE’s ongoing research to reduce the cost and understand the impacts of siting solar and to develop strategies for maximizing benefits from large-scale solar facilities to host communities.
U.S. Solar Photovoltaic Database
11/7/2023
Greenland’s northern glaciers are in trouble, threatening ‘dramatic’ sea level rise, study shows
CNN — At the top of the world, northern Greenland’s huge glaciers — long thought to be relatively stable — are in trouble, a new study shows. As the ocean warms, Greenland’s last remaining ice shelves are rapidly weakening, destabilizing the nearby glaciers and threatening potentially “dramatic” consequences for sea level rise, according to the study published Tuesday in Nature Communications. Ice shelves are tongues of floating ice that jut out over the ocean and act as dams that hold back glaciers on land and slow ice loss. When they melt and weaken, more of the land-based ice is able to slide into the ocean, adding to sea level rise. Scientists analyzed eight ice shelves buttressing glaciers in northern Greenland, which together hold enough ice to raise sea levels by 2.1 meters — nearly 7 feet — should they break down and melt completely. “These glaciers are among the most important of the ice sheet,” Romain Millan, a glaciologist at the Grenoble Alpes University in France and an author of the study, told CNN. “They are the largest glaciers of Greenland.” While glaciers in other parts of Greenland started to lose mass in the 1980s and 1990s, he said, so far, those in northern Greenland “have remained relatively stable.” But this appears to no longer be the case, according to the study.
11/6/2023
Just 4% of top companies meet UN climate target guidelines, study says
LONDON, Nov 6 (Reuters) – Half of the world’s 2,000 biggest listed companies have set a target to get to net-zero emissions by mid-century, but just a fraction meet tough United Nations guidelines for what constitutes a quality pledge, a report on Monday showed. Net Zero Tracker, an independent data consortium including Oxford University, said corporate targets from Forbes2000 index companies had jumped 40% to 1,003 in October 2023, from 702 in June 2022, covering two-thirds of revenues, some $27 trillion. However, just 4% of the targets meet the criteria laid down by the U.N.’s Race to Zero campaign, for example by covering all emissions, starting to cut them immediately, and including an annual progress update on interim and longer term targets. Of those to set a target, just 37% had one that covered their Scope 3 emissions, or those tied to a company’s value chain. Just 13% had a quality threshold for the use of carbon offsets. The pace of change among governments and corporates is set to form a central part of the COP28 climate talks in Dubai starting in late November.
11/2/2023
First plasma fired up at world’s largest fusion reactor
The long trek toward practical fusion energy passed a milestone last week when the world’s newest and largest fusion reactor fired up. Japan’s JT-60SA uses magnetic fields from superconducting coils to contain a blazingly hot cloud of ionized gas, or plasma, within a doughnut-shaped vacuum vessel, in hope of coaxing hydrogen nuclei to fuse and release energy. The four-story-high machine is designed to hold a plasma heated to 200 million degrees Celsius for about 100 seconds, far longer than previous large tokamaks. Last week’s achievement “proves to the world that the machine fulfills its basic function,” says Sam Davis, a project manager at Fusion for Energy, an EU organization working with Japan’s National Institutes for Quantum Science and Technology (QST) on JT-60SA and related programs. It will take another 2 years before JT-60SA produces the long-lasting plasmas needed for meaningful physics experiments, says Hiroshi Shirai, leader of the project for QST. JT-60SA will also help ITER, the mammoth international fusion reactor under construction in France that’s intended to demonstrate how fusion can generate more energy than goes into producing it. ITER will rely on technologies and operating know-how that JT-60SA will test.
10/31/2023
‘Stop the madness’ of climate change, UN chief declares
Nepal has lost almost a third of its ice volume in 30 years, with glaciers melting 65 per cent faster in the last decade than in the previous one. “The rooftops of the world are caving in,” the UN chief said, warning that the “disappearance of glaciers altogether” looms even larger. “Glaciers are icy reservoirs – the ones here in the Himalayas supply fresh water to well over a billion people. When they shrink, so do river flows,” he added. Glaciers high in the Himalayas feed large river systems, sustain crops, livestock and local economies, in a region that is home to over 1.8 billion people. However, with rising global temperatures on the back of climate change, glacial snow ice compressed over centuries is melting faster than ever – not only in the Himalayas, but also in crucial areas such as Antarctica and Greenland. Mr. Guterres warned that in the future, major Himalayan rivers like the Indus, the Ganges and Brahmaputra, could have massively reduced flows and in combination with saltwater, decimate delta regions. “That spells catastrophe: Low-lying countries and communities erased forever,” he said. The Secretary-General said his mission to the Everest region, was to “cry out from the rooftop of the world.” “Stop the madness,” he emphasized, underscoring the need to end the age of fossil fuel to protect people on the frontlines of climate change induced destruction. “We must act now to…limit global temperature rise to 1.5°C, to avert the worst of climate chaos. The world can’t wait,” he concluded.
10/27/2024
The Blueprint for Sustainable Water-Energy Management Amid the Climate and Water Crisis
Over the past decade, the world has faced an alarming uptick in climate and water urgency. The World Resources Institute cautions that if water consumption continues at its current rate, freshwater demand may outpace supply by 56% by 2030. Industrial operations are a key factor impacting global water and climate stress. The need for water in manufacturing, for example, has skyrocketed — the United Nations expects manufacturing water demand to increase by 400% from 2000 to 2050. Growing concerns over water conservation are leading consumers to increasingly scrutinize both government and industry actions. According to the recent Ecolab Watermark Study, which examines the general population’s perspective on global water stewardship, consumers primarily hold governments and industry accountable for water conservation. However, many do not believe these leaders are sufficiently concerned about water or climate change. This sentiment was especially strong in the U.S., Europe, Latin America, and Asia/Pacific, where only 42% to 46% of respondents felt their leaders cared enough. Further complicating the issue is the inherent link between water, energy, and greenhouse gas emissions. Energy is needed to move, heat, cool, and treat water. At the same time, water is needed in the production of nearly all forms of energy. As industries ramp up water use, a corresponding increase in energy consumption is inevitable. When they increase energy usage, water needs rise, too. With an energy grid that still heavily relies on fossil fuels, this means all industrial water usage has the potential to impact greenhouse gas emissions.
10/24/2023
Earth’s Latest ‘Vital Signs’ Show the Planet Is in Crisis
A new planetary report card confirms that humans are making little progress on confronting the climate crisis. “Humanity is failing, to put it bluntly,” says Bill Ripple, an Oregon State University ecologist. “Rather than cutting greenhouse gas emissions, we’re increasing them. So we’re not doing well right now.” Ripple is co-author of research published on October 24 in BioScience that offers a snapshot of Earth’s status on 35 “planetary vital signs” with regards to climate. The analysis shows that humans have reached new extremes on 20 of these measurements, including global gross domestic product, fossil fuel subsidies, annual carbon pollution and glacier thinning. Overall, the report considers human activities, such as deforestation and meat consumption, as well as the planet’s responses to those activities, including characteristics such as ice loss and temperature changes. The researchers also noticed a steep increase in global disasters tied to climate, including flooding, wildfires, heat waves and landslides. Ripple and his colleagues identified 14 disasters since October 2022 that were “definitely” or “likely” exacerbated by climate change. For example, a separate analysis found that heat waves that baked parts of North America and Europe this summer would have been “virtually impossible” without climate change. All told, these disasters killed thousands of people and affected millions; several individual events caused more than $1 billion in damage. In fact, the U.S. has already set a record for “billion-dollar disasters” this year, with several months left.
International Energy Agency: The energy world is set to change significantly by 2030, based on current policy settings alone
Today, we release a new edition of our flagship World Energy Outlook. Its biggest takeaway: major shifts now underway are set to result in a considerably different global energy system by the end of this decade. Our annual WEO, the authoritative source of global energy analysis and projections, finds that the phenomenal rise of clean energy technologies such as solar, wind, electric cars and heat pumps is reshaping how we power everything from factories and vehicles to home appliances and heating systems. “The transition to clean energy is happening worldwide and it’s unstoppable. It’s not a question of ‘if’, it’s just a matter of ‘how soon’ – and the sooner the better for all of us,” said IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol. “Governments, companies and investors need to get behind clean energy transitions rather than hindering them.”
10/23/2023
DOE Announces $18.5 Billion in Energy Savings and Celebrates First Year Results of Better Climate Challenge
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) today published the “2023 Better Buildings Initiative Progress Report,” which summarizes the achievements of DOE’s Better Buildings public and private sector partners since the initiative’s inception in 2011. The report shows that partnering entities, including more than 900 businesses, state and local governments, utilities, housing authorities, and other public and private organizations, to date have collectively saved $18.5 billion through efficiency improvements and cut harmful carbon dioxide emissions by nearly 190 million metric tons— an amount roughly equivalent to combined annual emissions of 24 million homes. This report also includes the results of the Better Climate Challenge, an initiative that challenges major building portfolio owners and industrial partners to cut their greenhouse gas emissions by 50% within 10 years. In year one of the Challenge, partners have reported on nearly 1 billion square feet of buildings and 1,500 industrial plants. Through the Better Buildings Initiative, DOE aims to improve energy efficiency in the commercial, industrial, and residential sectors and accelerate cost-effective decarbonization solutions across the economy—supporting the Biden-Harris Administration’s efforts to lower energy costs for American families and businesses while addressing the climate crisis.
10/18/2023
Climate change is becoming a security issue, says this expert
“All of the human economy, all of human society and therefore all of human safety is nestled within nature. All of us are a subset of the larger planet, not the other way around.” So says Andrew Zolli, Chief Impact Officer at Planet, a space and AI organization that uses satellites to observe Earth – and the changes that humans are bringing about upon it. “Today, in a world where we are facing unprecedented stresses on nature, a global ecocide and a changing climate, things that happen in the natural world can have a profound impact on our daily lives. “That comes in the form of shocks to the weather that drives changes in the amounts of crops that are grown that enable us to feed everybody,” adds Zolli, who sits on the World Economic Forum’s Global Future Council on the Future of Nature and Security. “If you create an environment where people are hungry, suddenly they become restless, so they begin to move. And then you have migration changes. And those migration changes can show up in complicated ways geopolitically, and they can be sources of stress and tension and change. So everything is connected to everything else.” The scale of these interconnections are captured in the Forum’s Global Risks Report 2023, which identified failure to mitigate climate change as the biggest long-term risk facing the world.
10/11/2023
Global energy consumption to increase through 2050, outpace efficiency gains -EIA
WASHINGTON, Oct 11 (Reuters) – Global energy consumption will likely increase through 2050 and outpace advances in energy efficiency, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) said on Wednesday. Global population growth, increased regional manufacturing and higher living standards will contribute to the increase in consumption, the EIA said. Global carbon dioxide emissions from energy will increase by 2050 in most scenarios outlined by the EIA. Non-fossil fuel-based resources, including nuclear and renewable energy, will produce more energy through 2050, but that growth will likely not be sufficient to reduce global energy-related CO2 emissions under current laws and regulations, the EIA said. Global electric-power generating capacity by 2050 is expected to increase by a range of 50% to 100%, and electricity generation by 30% to 76%, the EIA said. Solar and wind show the highest levels of electricity generation growth. Meanwhile, coal and natural gas is expected to make up between 27% and 38% of power generation capacity by 2050, down from about half in 2022, EIA Administrator Joseph DeCarolis said on Wednesday during an event to present the outlook.
10/6/2023
The Pope’s Warning to a Warming World
Naming and shaming the countries and industries he sees as bad actors. He specifically takes aim at citizens of richer countries and the “irresponsible lifestyle” of the developed world. “If we consider that emissions per individual in the United States are about two times greater than those of individuals living in China, and about seven times greater than the average of the poorest countries, we can state that a broad change in the irresponsible lifestyle connected with the Western model would have a significant long-term impact.” Although the new work is slender compared to “Laudato Si’,” his encyclical on the environment, it offers a comprehensive overview of climate science, the energy transition and the global political landscape. In clear, precise language, the pope identifies the burning of fossil fuels as the primary driver of climate change, details the effect on the planet and people, dismisses those who deny the crisis, and accuses wealthy individuals, corporations and countries of selfishly turning a blind eye.
10/2/2023
Top Trends Facilities Managers Need to Consider When Hiring in 2024
As buildings become more modern and complex, a facilities manager’s responsibilities and hiring needs continue to change rapidly. Already, smart buildings are a big talking point within the industry, with research estimating that the market will grow to $408.21 billion in 2030, up from $96.96 billion in 2023. The rise in smart buildings, among other factors, is shaping the facilities management trends for 2024. These trends include ESG reporting and sustainability, preventive and predictive maintenance, and increasing building regulations. Here’s a look into the top facilities management trends for 2024 and the top skills you should be looking for in new hires based on these trends…
9/29/2023
How Amazon’s renewable energy projects impact local communities around the world, from southern Ohio to Rajasthan, India
Fighting climate change is the biggest challenge of our time. One of the most impactful ways we can mitigate climate change is by deploying large-scale renewable energy projects such as wind and solar farms, enabling our electrical grids to shift away from fossil fuels to clean electricity. To date, Amazon has announced more than 400 renewable energy projects globally. When fully operational, these projects combined are expected to help generate enough clean energy to power the equivalent of more than 5.3 million U.S. homes. This work has resulted in Amazon becoming the world’s largest corporate buyer of renewable energy—a position it has held for the last three years. This is one of the ways Amazon is leading the way toward more clean energy at scale. Bringing new clean energy sources to market is not the only reason Amazon makes these investments—the projects can also generate real economic growth in the communities in which these solar and wind farms are developed and operated.
9/27/2023
Soaring Solar Power and EV Sales Gives Hope for Hitting 1.5°C Global Warming Target
The window to limit human-caused warming to a globally agreed goal is narrowing but still open because of the huge growth of solar energy and electric vehicles sales worldwide, a report said Tuesday. For the last two years, the rate of the build up of solar energy and electric vehicle sales were in line with achieving emissions reductions targets that will help cap warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial levels, the Paris-based International Energy Agency said. But renewable power needs to triple by 2030, the sale of EVs needs to rise much more sharply — 70% of all vehicle sales as opposed to the current 13% — and methane emissions from the energy sector needs to fall by 75% if global warming is to be curbed to the the Paris Agreement goal. Methane is a powerful greenhouse gas that is up to 80 times more potent than carbon dioxide in the short term. Investments in climate action also need to rise, from $1.8 trillion in 2023 to $4.5 trillion annually by the early 2030s, the report said.
9/26/2023
Opinion: Yes, there was global warming in prehistoric times. But nothing in millions of years compares with what we see today
“The climate is always changing!” So goes a popular refrain from climate deniers who continue to claim that there’s nothing special about this particular moment. There is no climate crisis, they say, because the Earth has survived dramatic warming before. Republican presidential hopeful Vivek Ramaswamy recently exemplified misconceptions about our planet’s climate past. When he asserted that “carbon dioxide as a percentage of the atmosphere is still at a relative low through human history,” he didn’t just make a false statement (carbon dioxide concentrations are the highest they’ve been in at least 4 million years). He also showed fundamentally wrong thinking around the climate crisis. What threatens us today isn’t the particular concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere or the precise temperature of the planet, alarming as those two metrics are. Instead, it’s the unprecedented rate at which we are increasing carbon pollution through fossil fuel burning, and the resulting rate at which we are heating the planet.
9/25/2023
US grid-scale energy storage installations hit new quarterly record – report
Sept 25 (Reuters) – The U.S. grid-scale energy storage installations hit a new record in the second quarter of 2023, a report by Wood Mackenzie and the American Clean Power Association (ACP) said. Grid-scale energy storage is essential in helping balance and regulate energy supply in a grid that is increasingly reliant on intermittent wind and solar power. “The energy storage market is on pace for a record year, as utilities and larger power users increasingly turn to storage to enhance the grid and improve reliability,” said ACP VP of Research and Analytics, John Hensley. Across all segments of the industry, the U.S. energy storage market added 5,597 megawatt hours (MWh) in the second quarter this year, a new quarterly record. The grid-scale segment registered 172% growth quarter-over-quarter, surpassing the previous record set in the last quarter of 2021.
9/22/2023
Energy Department announces $325M for batteries that can store clean electricity longer
The Energy Department has announced a $325 million investment in new battery types that can help turn solar and wind energy into 24-hour power. The funds will be distributed among 15 projects in 17 states and the Red Lake Nation, a Native American tribe based in Minnesota. Batteries are increasingly being used to store surplus renewable energy so that it can be used later, during times when there is no sunlight or wind. The department says the projects will protect more communities from blackouts and make energy more reliable and affordable. “Everywhere in the U.S. has issues with intermittent renewable energy … every day the sun sets and you have to be able to take the energy that you produced during the day and use that at nighttime,” said Christopher Rahn, professor of mechanical engineering at Pennsylvania State University.
9/20/2023
Biden-Harris Administration Announces $400 Million for States to Improve Building Energy Efficiency
WASHINGTON, D.C. — In support of President Biden’s Investing in America agenda, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) today released program guidance and opened applications for $400 million in formula funding to states and territories for adopting and implementing building energy codes that reduce utility bills, increase efficiency, lower greenhouse gas emissions that fuel the climate crisis, and make buildings more resilient to climate disasters. Funded by President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), the largest climate and clean energy investment in history, states can now access this funding for the adoption and implementation of the latest building energy codes and zero energy codes, paving the way for cleaner, more efficient buildings across the country. The announcement comes during Climate Week 2023— an annual gathering of civil society leaders, business leaders, students, and advocates who are committed to taking bold climate action.
9/17/2023
NASA GLOBAL CLIMATE CHANGE
Carbon Dioxide: LATEST MEASUREMENT: August 2023 – 420 ppm
Key Takeaway: Carbon dioxide in the atmosphere warms the planet, causing climate change. Human activities have raised the atmosphere’s carbon dioxide content by 50% in less than 200 years. Carbon dioxide (CO2) is an important heat-trapping gas, also known as a greenhouse gas, that comes from the extraction and burning of fossil fuels (such as coal, oil, and natural gas), from wildfires, and natural processes like volcanic eruptions. The first graph shows atmospheric CO2 levels measured by NOAA at Mauna Loa Observatory, Hawaii, since 1958. The second graph shows CO2 levels during Earth’s last three glacial cycles, as captured by air bubbles trapped in ice sheets and glaciers. Since the onset of industrial times in the 18th century, human activities have raised atmospheric CO2 by 50% – meaning the amount of CO2 is now 150% of its value in 1750. This human-induced rise is greater than the natural increase observed at the end of the last ice age 20,000 years ago.
9/15/2023
Climate Change Is Hindering Global Growth and Prosperity, U.N. Says
In the five decades between 1970 and 2021, extreme climate events caused more than two million deaths and led to economic losses of $4.3 trillion, 60 percent of which occurred in developing countries, a U.N. report found. Climate change is undermining efforts to address hunger, health and other sustainable development targets — including the transition to clean energy, a U.N. report said Thursday. The “United in Science” report, compiled by the World Meteorological Organization with input from 18 partner agencies, is issued annually ahead of the U.N. General Assembly session in New York. It provides an overview of the newest climate science, and this year it highlights the negative impact that rising temperatures are having on nearly all the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals. It shows that emissions from fossil fuel burning rose 1 percent globally last year, despite the need for all emissions to fall by more than 40 percent by 2030 to limit warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius. That’s the more ambitious end of the Paris Agreement target, and scientists say every fraction of a degree higher will see increasingly dramatic and irreversible damage.
9/14/2023
DOE Announces $25 Million to Help Communities Expand Affordable and Reliable Clean Energy Across America
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) today announced up to $25 million through the Clean Energy to Communities (C2C) partnerships program to help six community teams develop tailored decarbonization strategies and clean energy solutions. Local governments, electric utilities, and community-based groups working closely with experts from DOE’s national laboratories will utilize $8 million in award funding and up to $17 million in technical assistance to research, model, and deploy clean energy systems that are reliable, affordable, equitable, and reflective of local priorities. By helping communities develop customized clean energy solutions, today’s announcement supports the Biden-Harris Administration’s continued efforts to ensure every community benefits from the transition to a clean energy future and reaching President Biden’s ambitious climate goals.
9/13/2923
Earth is outside its ‘safe operating space for humanity’ on most key measurements, study says
Earth is exceeding its “safe operating space for humanity” in six of nine key measurements of its health, and two of the remaining three are headed in the wrong direction, a new study said. Earth’s climate, biodiversity, land, freshwater, nutrient pollution and “novel” chemicals (human-made compounds like microplastics and nuclear waste) are all out of whack, a group of international scientists said in Wednesday’s journal Science Advances. Only the acidity of the oceans, the health of the air and the ozone layer are within the boundaries considered safe, and both ocean and air pollution are heading in the wrong direction, the study said. “We are in very bad shape,” said study co-author Johan Rockstrom, director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research in Germany. “We show in this analysis that the planet is losing resilience and the patient is sick.”
9/12/2023
US sets new record for billion-dollar climate disasters in single year
With four months of 2023 still left, the US has set a record for the most natural disasters in a single year that have cost $1bn or more, as fires, floods and ferocious winds were among deadly events experts warn are being turbo-charged by the climate crisis. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) announced on Monday that there have already been 23 extreme weather events in the US this year that have cost at least $1bn. The current figure surpasses the record of 22 such events set in 2020. So far, the total cost of disasters in 2023 is more than $57.6bn, according to NOAA. The record figure does not include major disasters such Tropical Storm Hilary last month, as the cost of damage is still being totaled, Adam Smith, the NOAA applied climatologist and economist who tracks the billion-dollar disasters, told the Associated Press. Hilary brought life-threatening flooding and rainfall to the US south-west, leaving thousands of people without power.
9/11/2023
THE PROOF IS IN THE FACTS
Climate Change Indicators: Atmospheric Concentrations of Greenhouse Gases
This figure shows concentrations of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere from hundreds of thousands of years ago through 2021, measured in parts per million (ppm). The data come from a variety of historical ice core studies and recent air monitoring sites around the world. Each line represents a different data source.
Key Points:
Global atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and certain manufactured greenhouse gases have all risen significantly over the last few hundred years (see Figures 1, 2, 3, and 4).
Historical measurements show that the current global atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide are unprecedented compared with the past 800,000 years (see Figures 1, 2, and 3).
Carbon dioxide concentrations have increased substantially since the beginning of the industrial era, rising from an annual average of 280 ppm in the late 1700s to 414 ppm in 2021 (average of five sites in Figure 1)—a 48 percent increase. Almost all of this increase is due to human activities.1
The concentration of methane in the atmosphere has more than doubled since preindustrial times, reaching over 1,800 ppb in recent years (see the range of measurements for 2020 and 2021 in Figure 2). This increase is predominantly due to agriculture and fossil fuel use.2
Over the past 800,000 years, concentrations of nitrous oxide in the atmosphere rarely exceeded 280 ppb. Levels have risen since the 1920s, however, reaching a new high of 334 ppb in 2021 (average of four sites in Figure 3). This increase is primarily due to agriculture.3
9/7/2023
Study suggests energy-efficient route to capturing and converting CO2
In the race to draw down greenhouse gas emissions around the world, scientists at MIT are looking to carbon-capture technologies to decarbonize the most stubborn industrial emitters. Steel, cement, and chemical manufacturing are especially difficult industries to decarbonize, as carbon and fossil fuels are inherent ingredients in their production. Technologies that can capture carbon emissions and convert them into forms that feed back into the production process could help to reduce the overall emissions from these “hard-to-abate” sectors. But thus far, experimental technologies that capture and convert carbon dioxide do so as two separate processes, that themselves require a huge amount of energy to run. The MIT team is looking to combine the two processes into one integrated and far more energy-efficient system that could potentially run on renewable energy to both capture and convert carbon dioxide from concentrated, industrial sources. In a study appearing today in ACS Catalysis, the researchers reveal the hidden functioning of how carbon dioxide can be both captured and converted through a single electrochemical process. The process involves using an electrode to attract carbon dioxide released from a sorbent, and to convert it into a reduced, reusable form.
9/6/2023
‘Marvels of engineering’: The wind turbines that can float
Strong winds blow over the ocean. But these winds are still a relatively untapped source of energy — in part because of how most offshore wind turbines are built. “The vast majority of offshore wind that’s been deployed throughout the world to date is fixed-bottom technology,” says Jocelyn Brown-Saracino of the U.S. Department of Energy. That means a rigid connection anchors the wind turbine to the sea floor. So the design only works in shallower waters. To capture energy from winds over the deep ocean, the industry must build turbines that float on the water. “These systems are really marvels of engineering,” Brown-Saracino says. A few floating wind turbines have been built in Europe, but the technology remains expensive. So the Department of Energy has set a goal of reducing the cost of floating offshore wind energy by 70% by the year 2035. To make that happen, the U.S. needs to invest in research, scale up manufacturing and supply chains, and build new electrical transmission lines.
8/29/2023
CLIMATE CHANGE: Common Questions And Misconceptions About Increasing Greenhouse Gasses And Is The Cause Natural Or Man Made
The relative contributions of natural and man-made greenhouse gases to the total amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere have changed over time. Before the Industrial Revolution, natural greenhouse gases made up the majority of the greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. However, since the Industrial Revolution, human activities have released large amounts of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, and now man-made greenhouse gases make up the majority of the greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.
According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), human activities are responsible for about 1.5 trillion tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) of greenhouse gas emissions per year. This is about 65% of the total amount of greenhouse gas emissions in the atmosphere. The remaining 35% of greenhouse gas emissions are from natural sources.
Natural greenhouse gases are released into the atmosphere from a variety of sources, including:
Volcanic eruptions
Decomposition of organic matter
Oceans
Plants
Man-made greenhouse gases are released into the atmosphere from a variety of sources, including:
Burning fossil fuels (coal, oil, and natural gas)
Deforestation
Agriculture
Industrial processes
The main man-made greenhouse gases are carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O), and fluorinated gases. CO2 is the most abundant greenhouse gas, and it accounts for about 80% of the total amount of man-made greenhouse gas emissions. CH4 is the second most abundant greenhouse gas, and it accounts for about 15% of the total amount of man-made greenhouse gas emissions. N2O is the third most abundant greenhouse gas, and it accounts for about 6% of the total amount of man-made greenhouse gas emissions. Fluorinated gases are the least abundant greenhouse gases, but they are very potent, and they account for about 3% of the total amount of man-made greenhouse gas emissions.
The increase in greenhouse gas emissions in the atmosphere is causing the planet to warm. This warming is causing a variety of changes to the climate, including rising sea levels, more extreme weather events, and changes in plant and animal life.
It is important to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in order to mitigate the effects of climate change. There are a number of things that can be done to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, including:
Switching to renewable energy sources
Improving energy efficiency
Reducing deforestation
Changing agricultural practices
Reducing greenhouse gas emissions will require a concerted effort from governments, businesses, and individuals. However, it is an essential step to take in order to protect the planet for future generations.
8/28/2023
How climate change is disrupting the global food supply
The effects of climate change have been hard to miss across North America and Europe this summer: record heat, wildfires and warming oceans. There are also other, less obvious consequences that affect both the quantity and quality of food crops. Climate change scientist Jonas Jägermeyr joins John Yang to explain the relationship between climate change and global food supply.
8/24/2023
U.S. Department of Energy Projects Strong Growth in U.S. Wind Power Sector
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) today released three annual reports showing that wind power continues to be one of the fastest growing and lowest cost sources of electricity in America and is poised for rapid growth. According to the new reports, wind power accounted for 22% of new electricity capacity installed in the United States in 2022, second only to solar, representing $12 billion in capital investment, and employing more than 125,000 Americans. The reports found that transformative tax incentives in President Biden’s Investing in America agenda—a key pillar of Bidenomics—have led to significant increases in near-term wind deployment forecasts and are helping keep wind power prices competitive with other sources of energy like natural gas. Since taking office, President Biden has launched the most ambitious climate agenda in history, and wind energy both onshore and offshore will continue to play a significant role in achieving the Biden-Harris Administration’s unprecedented clean energy goals.
8/23/2023
Solar panels to surround Dulles Airport will deliver power to 37,000 homes
CHANTILLY, Va. (AP) — Travelers taking off and landing at Dulles International Airport outside the nation’s capital will soon see an array of 200,000 solar panels laid out near the runways — the largest renewable energy project ever built at a U.S. airport. Dominion Energy and the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority ceremonially broke ground on the 835-acre project Tuesday. The solar farm is just a small part of a huge push by Dominion to add 16,000 megawatts of solar capacity — enough to power 4 million homes — by 2035 as it seeks to comply with a state law requiring 100% of its non-nuclear energy production to be zero emission by 2045.
8/19/2023
US places tariffs on some big solar companies for dodging China duties
Aug 18 (Reuters) – The United States on Friday finalized a decision to impose import duties on solar panel makers who finished their products in Southeast Asian nations to avoid tariffs on Chinese-made goods, according to a senior Commerce Department official. The decision, which largely mirrors a preliminary finding the agency made in December, was opposed by buyers of solar panels that rely on cheap products made overseas to make their projects competitive. But it is good news for the small U.S. solar manufacturing industry, which for years has struggled to compete with Chinese goods and is enjoying renewed investment due to subsidies in U.S. President Joe Biden’s landmark climate-change law. The Commerce probe found that units of Chinese companies BYD (002594.SZ), Trina Solar (688599.SS), Vina Solar (601012.SS) and Canadian Solar (CSIQ.O) were dodging U.S. tariffs on Chinese solar cells and panels by conducting minor processing to finish their products in Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam before shipping them to the U.S. market.
The Climate Crisis Is Here Now, Experts Warn, as Death Tolls From Summer Disasters Mount
The dizzying pace of extreme weather this summer is once again reminding the world what’s at stake if far more isn’t done—and fast—to bring down global carbon emissions and bolster our defenses against the consequences of an accelerating climate crisis. Sweltering heat waves, torrential rainfall and raging wildfires shook communities around the globe in recent days amid a summer already saturated with record-breaking heat and precipitation.
8/18/2023
JUST CURIOUS
When two lifestyle concepts are utterly inconsistent, the reality of where you stand and what you believe in is determined by the choices you make.
Column A_________________Column B
Loving____________________Hateful
Compassionate___________Disregard
Humble___________________Arrogant
Understanding____________Impatient
Truthful___________________Liar
Kind_______________________Cruel
Fair________________________Unjust
Honest____________________Deceitful
Faithful____________________Cheater
Altruistic___________________Greedy
Lawful_____________________Criminal
Trustworthy________________Traitor
Respectful_________________Misogynist
Empathetic_________________Narcissist
Inclusive____________________Bigot
Humanitarian_______________Racist
If Columns A & B described the predominant traits exhibited by two political leaders running for President of the United States, would you vote for the Candidate known to have the traits contained in Column A or B? And what political leader, past or present, do you believe best fits the traits embodied in each column?
A few final thoughts for the weekend:
1. Committing to one simple act of kindness everyday can have profoundly positive effects on your world and the world around you.
2. True leaders lead by example and execute their responsibilities with regard to “The Golden Rule” – Treat all of your coworkers and customers with the same dignity and respect with which you wish to be treated.
Happy Friday everyone! 😉 #leadership #thegoldenrule
8/15/2023
Siemens to make solar energy equipment for US market in Wisconsin
Aug 15 (Reuters) – German conglomerate Siemens (SIEGn.DE) said on Tuesday it will start producing solar energy equipment in the United States in 2024 through a contract manufacturer in Wisconsin. The announcement marks a move by one of the world’s largest manufacturers to capitalize on incentives in President Joe Biden’s year-old landmark climate change law to boost American-made supplies of solar energy components and compete with China. Siemens will produce solar string inverters, devices that convert energy generated from solar panels into usable current, for the U.S. utility-scale market, it said in a statement. The products will be made at a facility in Kenosha, Wisconsin, operated by Sanmina (SANM.O).
Solar & Storage Companies Add Over $100 Billion To U.S. Economy As A Result Of The Inflation Reduction Act
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Since the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) passed one year ago, U.S. solar and storage companies have announced over $100 billion in private sector investments, helping bolster the American economy, according to new analysis released today by the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA). Solar and storage manufacturing is now surging in the United States, as 51 solar manufacturing facilities have been announced or expanded in the last year. “The unprecedented surge in demand for American-made clean energy is a clear sign that the clean energy incentives enacted last year by Congress are working,” said SEIA president and CEO Abigail Ross Hopper. “This law is a shining example of how good federal policy can help spur innovation and private investment in communities that need it most. We are unleashing abundant clean energy that is creating jobs and capable of delivering affordable, reliable power to every home and business in this country.”
8/10/2023
First Solar to open 5th US manufacturing facility in Louisiana
Thin-film solar PV manufacturer First Solar has confirmed the Louisiana location of its fifth US manufacturing facility, a 3.5GW, US$1.1 billion dollar Cadmium Telluride (CadTel) module production factory. Acadiana Regional Airport in Iberia Parish, Louisiana will play host to the new facility, which is expected to be online and producing First Solar’s Series 7 modules in the first half of 2026. By then, First Solar said that it expects Series 7 products to make up over two thirds of its domestic nameplate capacity, which it anticipates to be around 14GW. The plans for the facility and the accompanying US$1.1 billion investment were first announced in July and follows its plans for facilities in Alabama and Ohio. This new facility will create some 700 new manufacturing jobs, First Solar said.
8/8/2023
DOE Announces $46 Million to Boost Energy Efficiency and Slash Emissions in Residential and Commercial Buildings
In support of President Biden’s Investing in America agenda, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced $46 million for 29 projects across 15 states to develop advanced building technologies and retrofit practices that enable healthier households and communities and reduce energy waste. The Buildings Energy Efficiency Frontiers and Innovation Technologies (BENEFIT) funding opportunity will help advance cost-effective solutions to successfully electrify buildings across the nation while also improving their energy efficiency and demand flexibility. These projects support innovative decarbonization strategies that, when deployed widely and properly, significantly reduce the building sector’s greenhouse gas emissions, eliminate unnecessary or wasteful energy consumption, and reduce strain on the nation’s electric grid. Accelerating breakthroughs in innovative technologies that increase building resiliency while mitigating local pollution is essential to delivering on the President’s plan to combat the climate crisis and build a clean energy future.
8/7/2023
Faith and fusion: Annie Kritcher makes clean energy breakthrough
TRAVERSE CITY — Andrea “Annie” Kritcher designed an experiment that enables scientists to produce energy from nuclear fusion, which could result in a clean, limitless source of energy for the planet. “This is the first time it’s ever been done,” said Kritcher, who hails from Traverse City. “You can harness fusion in a controlled way and get more [energy] out than what you put in.” This nuclear achievement landed her a placement on TIME’s list of the 100 Most Influential People of 2023; along with the likes of King Charles and Elon Musk. She was also nominated for the Presidential Medal of Freedom by Congressman Jack Bergman (R-Watersmeet), something her father, Chris Kritcher, said not many people are aware of. “They’re calling this a Wright Brothers moment in history,” he said.
8/4/2023
Have we breached a critical tipping point in the climate crisis?
In July of this year, Antarctica’s sea ice surpassed last year’s record low for any July since measurements began, to a degree, “that is so rare, the odds are that it only happens once in millions of years.” If indeed this is a new trend set in motion by the climate crisis, and not a one time chance freak of nature, the likely cascading results could have catastrophic consequences coming much sooner rather than later.
Record air and ocean temperatures have been attributed to human activities, primarily the emission of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide and methane. These emissions, a clear and present danger to Earth’s atmosphere, result in large part from various human activities, including the burning of fossil fuels for energy, deforestation, industrial processes, and agriculture.
Throughout Earth’s history, mass extinctions have usually resulted from major catastrophic events, such as asteroid impacts or volcanic eruptions. Nevertheless, it is vital to acknowledge that the current warming trends and other human-induced environmental changes pose significant threats to biodiversity and ecosystems. If not immediately addressed, these issues could lead to immense human suffering of biblical proportions.
It is time to put aside our petty political differences, culture war issues, stop fretting over the cost of a gallon of gas, and embrace the challenges of preserving our home – Earth. If not, in the end, there will be little or nothing left to fight for.
We as a species collectively contributed to the current crisis and we must work globally and collectively to improve our future prospects. The future of the planet is in our hands. The time is now, not later.
Happy Friday Everyone,
Jeffrey Fadness
8/3/2023
Extreme Heat Forces Commercial and Industrial Enterprises to Demand Diversified Energy Strategies
The world is breaking heat records daily, positing questions about which fuel sources are the most reliable for commercial and industrial companies. And Texas may be ground zero — a state overheating in the summer and freezing in the winter, stressing its grid and causing blackouts. This summer, the heroes have been solar power and battery storage. Indeed, clean energy provides nearly a quarter of Texas’ electricity, making it a national leader. But this is happening in a state where fossil fuels dominate the economy and have more political leverage. “Just because you had a firm contract in place didn’t mean that your gas was delivered,” says Robert Gee, President, Gee Strategies Group LLC, during a panel discussion hosted by the United States Energy Association. “So there was no certainty of receiving gas, even with a firm arrangement. We don’t want to go through another power outage where gas fails to deliver for a third winter season.” Forbes reports that frozen wells and pipes in Texas caused gas production to fall by 45%.
7/27/2023
European Green Deal: Energy Efficiency Directive adopted, helping make the EU ‘Fit for 55’
Today, the EU has officially concluded the inter-institutional negotiations on the enhanced legal framework for energy efficiency. The Council’s endorsement follows the one given by the European Parliament earlier this month and marks the final step in the legislative process that started in July 2021 as part of the ‘Fit for 55’ package. By recasting the Energy Efficiency Directive, the EU is moving one step closer to achieving its climate goals, making an unwavering commitment to becoming climate-neutral by 2050. Setting a legally binding target of 11.7% reduction in final energy consumption by 2030 compared to the 2020 reference year, the updated legislation introduces a series of measures to help accelerate energy efficiency practices. Notably, EU countries will now be legally required to prioritize energy efficiency in policymaking, planning, and major investments, giving the ‘energy efficiency first principle’ substantial legal standing for the first time. Moreover, the EU countries agreed to almost double their annual energy savings obligation in the coming years. In fact, under the recast Directive, EU countries will be required to achieve an average annual energy savings rate of 1.49% from 2024 to 2030, up from the current requirement of 0.8%, driving energy savings in critical sectors like buildings, industry, and transport.
7/24/2023
Adaptive Intelligent Grid Systems: A Key Solution for Renewable Energy Integration
The global energy landscape is undergoing a significant transformation, driven by the need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, enhance energy security, and meet the growing demand for electricity. One of the most promising solutions to address these challenges is the integration of renewable energy sources, such as solar and wind power, into the existing power grid. However, the intermittent nature of these energy sources and their distributed generation pose significant technical and economic challenges for grid operators. In this context, adaptive intelligent grid systems have emerged as a key solution for efficient renewable energy integration. Adaptive intelligent grid systems, also known as smart grids, are characterized by their ability to dynamically respond to changes in energy supply and demand, as well as to optimize the operation of the grid infrastructure. This is achieved through the use of advanced information and communication technologies, including sensors, control systems, and data analytics, which enable real-time monitoring, analysis, and control of the grid. By leveraging these capabilities, adaptive intelligent grid systems can effectively manage the variability and uncertainty associated with renewable energy sources, thus ensuring a reliable and stable power supply.
7/22/2023
Interior Department to hold first-ever Gulf of Mexico offshore wind lease sale
The Department of the Interior announced Thursday a final sale notice for offshore wind energy lease areas in the Gulf of Mexico, saying that the associated auction will take place in August. The three lease areas have the potential to generate up to 3.7 GW, the DOI said. They include a 102,480-acre area offshore Lake Charles, Louisiana, and two areas offshore Galveston, Texas, that comprise 102,480 acres and 96,786 acres, respectively. The final sale notice was published in the Federal Register today, and the areas are set to be auctioned on August 29. A mock auction will be held the day before.
7/21/2023
Energy Department Unveils $20M in Funding for Solar Panel Recycling
The US Department of Energy on Friday announced $20 million in funding for higher-quality solar technology, for more-recyclable and longer-lasting solar panels. The funding aims to speed up solar deployment across the US as well as address care of panels and solar technology across their life cycle, according to a press release. That includes accounting for end-of-life practices to safely dispose of used solar panels. Of the $20 million, an $8 million slice comes from the $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill passed in November 2021.
7/19/2023
NYISO studies ‘unique characteristics’ of energy storage as a transmission asset
New York’s main grid and electricity market operator is evaluating the role energy storage technologies could play as part of the state’s transmission network…While storage technologies like batteries can help shift energy demand, manage transmission congestion and provide ancillary services to the grid, thus benefiting the transmission network, there are other more specific applications for energy storage that can further help. In some cases, where storage is treated as what’s called a “non-wires alternative” resource, rather than a market resource as in the applications above, it can reduce the need for expensive and time consuming upgrades to the transmission system itself.
7/17/2023
Renewables And Storage Got Texas’ Grid Through This Heat Wave. But The State Legislature Still Hasn’t Fixed Its Underlying Problems
Last month, parts of Texas were hotter than 99% of the Earth and electricity demand reached new heights. But the lights stayed on, even though nearly 10 gigawatts (GW) of power were offline due to failures at coal and nuclear plants, with solar and energy storage picking up the slack. These power plant failures follow 2021’s Winter Storm Uri, which left millions of Texans without power and caused hundreds of deaths. During that “Big Freeze,” natural gas plants and their infrastructure were the primary culprits of massive blackouts. Unfortunately, politics and special interest groups have often obscured the truth about what actually occurred during the 2021 “Big Freeze” while blocking real solutions. The result is a legislative session like the one Texas just concluded, which featured “solutions” running the gamut from all-out war on renewable energy to fossil fuel handouts. And when the gavel banged to close the Texas legislature’s 88th session, the state’s electric grid was no more secure than when it opened.
7/12/2023
DOE Selects Nine Organizations that will Implement Regional Onsite Energy Technical Assistance Partnerships to Decarbonize America’s Industrial Sector
Today, the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Industrial Efficiency and Decarbonization Office (IEDO) announced the selection of nine organizations—eight regional and one national—that will establish a network of Technical Assistance Partnerships (TAPs) to help industrial facilities and other large energy users increase the adoption of onsite energy technologies. The organizations will receive up to $23 million in federal funding for multi-year technical assistance activities to accelerate the integration and deployment of clean energy technologies to drive U.S. industrial decarbonization, productivity, and competitiveness. Decarbonizing America’s industrial sector is key to tackling the climate crisis, as this vital sector is responsible for one-third of all energy-related greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the United States. Integrating clean onsite energy technologies can provide facility owners across the industrial sector with a practical and cost-effective solution to reduce their GHG emissions and dependence on fossil fuels by generating electricity and heat from flexible, reliable, and affordable energy resources. Many onsite energy technologies also save energy and reduce operating costs by increasing efficiency and capturing usable energy that would otherwise be wasted.
7/8/2023
CNY home to newest, largest solar energy and storage system
A new kind of clean energy system, and one of the first of its kind, is operating right in central New York. A non-wires alternative system reduces the need to construct or upgrade wires for energy distribution, making it more cost-effective to run and maintain. The largest of its kind is located at the Pine Grave Solar-Plus-Storage site in Cicero. National Grid partnered with Convergent Energy and Power to construct and operate the energy system that uses solar panels and battery storage. At the site’s ribbon cutting, Frank Genova co-founder of Convergent said this is both a proud and monumental accomplishment for clean energy. “To our knowledge, it’s the first solar-plus-storage system providing a non-wires alternative in the United States, which is truly a remarkable achievement, and one that we are incredibly proud of,” Geneva said. Without the new solar storage system, National Grid would have had to build or expand a substation — an expensive process. Rudy Wynter, National Grid New York President said not only does this new kind of system meet customers’ needs, it is more cost-effective for them.
7/6/2023
Biden-Harris Administration Announces $45 Million to Boost Domestic Solar Manufacturing
As part of President Biden’s Investing in America agenda, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) today announced $45 million, including $18 million from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, to support pilot manufacturing of solar components that can contribute to a domestic manufacturing sector capable of meeting the Administration’s solar deployment goals without relying on imported products. The funding will also support the development of new dual use solar technologies such as agrivoltaics and building-integrated photovoltaics, to create new markets for American products. Revitalizing the U.S. manufacturing sector is an essential component of President Biden’s economic strategy, Bidenomics, and is critical to achieving a clean energy future that benefits all Americans. Dual-use PV is a type of PV application where PV panels serve another function besides the generation of electricity. Dual-use technology like agrivoltaics, BIPV, floating PV, and vehicle-integrated PV, creates opportunities to develop domestically made products capable of expanding PV markets, as well as reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. By integrating solar energy systems into existing landscapes, dual-use PV has the potential to minimize land-use concerns.
7/4/2023
Made in America: The Solar Manufacturing Renaissance is Here
The American-made manufacturing boom is in full swing. Clean energy incentives are driving American companies to increase production and invest billions of dollars to expand domestic solar manufacturing capacity. These new factories and facilities are creating well-paying jobs throughout the country and enhancing American competitiveness around the globe. Solar manufacturing jobs are expected to more than triple over the next ten years, growing from about 35,000 jobs today to 120,000 by 2033. These investments are making solar more accessible and affordable for communities across the country while transforming America into a clean energy manufacturing powerhouse. Investing in the solar supply chain is also an investment in American energy independence. Solar power helps us diversify our energy mix and reduce reliance on foreign energy sources, bolstering energy security and insulating American families from the volatile price shifts of global oil markets. No one can limit our access to the sun, and as the domestic solar supply chain strengthens, America positions itself to dominate the clean energy economy.
6/28/2023
DOE recognizes long duration energy storage as a critical technology
The U.S. grid could require 225 GW to 460 GW of LDES capacity resources for a net-zero economy by 2050, representing $330 billion in capital requirements. Long-duration energy storage (LDES) is crucial to facilitating the transition to clean energy. With about $9 billion in government funding needed to commercialize the LDES market, the U.S. government officially recognized the commercial viability of the non-lithium ion battery asset class. Today the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) signed a memorandum of understanding with four agencies to accelerate the commercialization of LDES. Parties involved include DOE’s Office of Technology Transitions, the Edison Electric Institutes’ Institute for the Energy Transition, Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), and the Long Duration Energy Storage Council. Long-duration energy storage is considered a key to addressing the intermittency of solar and wind energy by ensuring stored energy is available to balance seasonal and diurnal (day to night) fluctuations in electricity demand and supply, thus fortifying grid stability and reliability.
6/27/2023
Micro-Scale Nuclear Fusion: A Safer Alternative to Traditional Nuclear Power?
Micro-scale nuclear fusion, a cutting-edge technology that promises to revolutionize the energy sector, is making significant strides in recent years. This innovative approach to harnessing nuclear power has the potential to provide a safer, cleaner, and more sustainable energy source compared to traditional nuclear fission reactors. With climate change and the urgent need for alternative energy sources becoming increasingly pressing issues, micro-scale nuclear fusion may just be the answer to our energy woes. Traditional nuclear power plants rely on nuclear fission, a process that involves splitting heavy atoms like uranium or plutonium to release energy. While this method has been effective in generating electricity, it also comes with a number of drawbacks. The most significant of these is the production of radioactive waste, which poses a serious threat to both the environment and human health. Additionally, the risk of nuclear accidents, such as the infamous Chernobyl and Fukushima disasters, has raised concerns about the safety of nuclear fission technology. In contrast, nuclear fusion is the process of combining light atomic nuclei, such as hydrogen isotopes, to form heavier nuclei, releasing a tremendous amount of energy in the process. This is the same process that powers the sun and stars, and if harnessed effectively, could provide a virtually limitless supply of clean energy. Micro-scale nuclear fusion aims to achieve this by confining and heating plasma to extremely high temperatures, allowing the atomic nuclei to overcome their natural repulsion and fuse together. One of the key advantages of micro-scale nuclear fusion is its inherent safety. Unlike fission, fusion reactions do not produce long-lived radioactive waste, and the primary byproduct of the reaction is helium, an inert and harmless gas. Furthermore, fusion reactions require precise conditions to occur, meaning that if there were any disruptions to the process, the reaction would simply cease, eliminating the risk of a runaway chain reaction or meltdown.
6/23/2023
Facing Brutal Heat, the Texas Electric Grid Has a New Ally: Solar Power
The amount of solar energy generated in Texas has grown exponentially. Some Republicans question the state’s increasing reliance on renewable power. Strafed by powerful storms and superheated by a dome of hot air, Texas has been enduring a dangerous early heat wave this week that has broken temperature records and strained the state’s independent power grid. But the lights and air conditioning have stayed on across the state, in large part because of an unlikely new reality in the nation’s premier oil and gas state: Texas is fast becoming a leader in solar power. The amount of solar energy generated in Texas has doubled since the start of last year. And it is set to roughly double again by the end of next year, according to data from the Electric Reliability Council of Texas. Already, the state rivals California in how much power it gets from commercial solar farms, which are sprouting across Texas at a rapid pace, from the baked-dry ranches of West Texas to the booming suburbs southwest of Houston.
Bendable silicon solar panels make solar everywhere possible
Flexible silicon solar cells open up new possibilities for solar energy deployment such as building-integrated photovoltaics and car-integrated panels. Researchers from China, Germany, and Saudi Arabia have developed flexible silicon solar cells that can bend like paper and retain 96.03% of their 24% power conversion efficiency after 20 minutes of simulated wind exposure. These cells are resilient to temperature changes, losing only 0.38% efficiency after cycling between -70°C and 85°C for two hours. The flexibility was achieved by blunting crack-initiating interfaces on the silicon wafers, resulting in a microscopic network of cracks that allows them to bend. The treated wafers were used to make heterojunction solar cells with a power conversion efficiency of up to 23.4% and an anti-reflective coating that increases efficiency to 24.6%. These flexible cells are suitable for building-integrated and car-integrated photovoltaics, paving the way for advancements in solar energy technology.
6/21/2023
A “turning point” for energy efficiency – IEA interview
The world needs to double its progress on energy efficiency between now and 2030 to get on track to net-zero emissions by 2050 and stand a good chance of limiting global warming to 1.5°C, according to a new report from the International Energy Agency (IEA). Ramping up annual energy efficiency progress from 2.2% today to more than 4% by 2030 would lower global energy demand by 190 exajoules and CO₂ emissions from fuel combustion by almost 11 gigatonnes by 2030, almost one-third of current global energy consumption and emissions, found the report.
6/18/2023
The Dream of Harvesting Solar Power From Space Is Gaining Momentum
The idea of beaming solar power down from space might seem like something out of a sci-fi movie. But new legislation in Congress, a funding announcement from the UK government, and the first successful test of the technology all suggest its moment may be coming. Getting your solar energy directly from space makes a lot of sense. The atmosphere doesn’t get in the way, and there’s no day and night so you can generate power around the clock. But to produce significant amounts of electricity you need to get a huge amount of equipment into orbit, which has historically been prohibitively expensive. Rapid reductions in the cost of launches and the advent of new rockets that can carry much greater loads like Space X’s Starship are starting to change the calculus, though. And a growing number of governments are getting serious about turning to space in their quest to slash their carbon emissions. Last Tuesday, UK Energy Security Secretary Grant Shapps announced £4.3m in funding for several projects aimed at developing the underlying technology required to make space-based solar power feasible. The following day, an amendment was added to a bill before the House of Representatives instructing NASA to work with the US Department of Energy on the technology. “A lot of the technology that once made this source of energy the work of science fiction is now much cheaper, and easier to deploy than ever, putting it within reach,” said representative Kevin Mullin, D-Calif, who proposed the amendment, at a meeting of the Science, Space, and Technology Committee.
6/17/2023
Energy Storage Market Sees Decline in Installations
Across all segments of the industry, the U.S. energy storage market added 2,145 megawatt hours in the first quarter of 2023, a 26% decrease from the fourth quarter of 2022, according to a new report released June 14. The grid-scale segment installed 1,553 MWh in Q1 2023, recording the second-straight quarterly decline and falling 33% below first quarter 2022 installations, according to the report released by the American Clean Power Association and Wood Mackenzie. California and Texas continue to drive the market, accounting for 84% of Q1 activity, but project delays contributed to the declining environment, according to the latest U.S. Energy Storage Monitor report.” Wood Mackenzie has forecasted 2023 additions from the grid-scale project pipeline at 8.9 GW and 10.5 GW across all segments. While the forecasted capacity for 2023 decreased slightly quarter-over-quarter, total additions for all segments are still expected to double by end-of-year 2023 from 2022.
6/14/2023
The Promise and Potential of Solar Canals
California’s massive network of water canals, which totals about 4,000 miles, could be transformed into a renewable energy resource for the state—but not necessarily through hydropower. Rather, power could come from solar panels installed over the canals. Project Nexus, a pilot program funded by California’s state government, was initiated by Solar AquaGrid and is supported by the Turlock Irrigation District and researchers at the University of California, Merced. The goal of this private-public-academic partnership is to try out an innovative tool in California’s fight against climate change and drought: solar canals. The group will install 8,500 feet of solar panels over three sections of water canal in central California to determine the feasibility of installing solar canals across the state. Canals that have been covered with canopies of solar panels offer multiple benefits. They generate clean energy, of course, which can be fed into the grid or stored in battery systems. They save land, as solar panels are installed over existing infrastructure. And solar canals also reduce water evaporation, since they absorb much of the sunlight that would otherwise heat the water flowing in the canals below. In California, water canals are typically uncovered, leading to strong rates of evaporation, a major problem in a drought-prone state. Project Nexus’s feasibility study estimates that installing solar canals where possible in California could save 63 billion gallons of water annually—enough water to cover the residential needs of 2 million people for a year. Another benefit is the boost to the efficiency of the panels due to the cooling nature of the water underneath (cooler panels generate more electricity). Finally, the shade provided by the panels can help prevent toxic algal blooms spurred by exposure to sunlight.
6/13/2023
Biden-Harris Administration Announces $192 Million to Advance Battery Recycling Technology
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) today announced more than $192 million in new funding for recycling batteries from consumer products, launching an advanced battery research and development (R&D) consortium, and the continuation of the Lithium-Ion Battery Recycling Prize, which began in 2019. With the demand for electric vehicles (EVs) and stationary energy storage projected to increase the lithium battery market by as much as ten-fold by 2030, it is essential to invest in sustainable, reduced-cost recycling of consumer batteries in support of a secure, resilient, and circular domestic supply chain for critical materials. Today’s announcement supports the Biden-Harris Administration’s goal to have EVs make up half of all vehicle sales in America by 2030 and builds on the nearly $3 billion announced to date from President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law for EV and battery technologies.
6/12/2023
Crossover — Solar & Wind Power Now Producing More Electricity Than Fossil Fuels In EU!
The European Union (EU) has hit a crossover point. For the first time in history, solar power and wind power have combined for more electricity generation than fossil fuels in the EU. Last month, the two core renewables of the new clean energy era achieved that historic crossover point. New data from Ember came out at the end of last week provides us with the news. To push them over the edge, solar power provided a record 14% of the EU’s electricity, from a record 27 TWh. That May total even beats the solar record set in the middle of summer, July, last year. This is also the first time that solar electricity beat coal electricity — 14% versus 10%. Wind power provided 17% (32 TWh) of the EU’s electricity in May. Clearly, that beats both of those other sources, but it’s not wind power’s record. Wind power’s best month ever was 23% (54 TWh). “The strong performance of wind and solar meant that EU coal generation fell to an all-time monthly low in May, with just 10% (20 TWh) of EU electricity coming from the most polluting source,” Ember writes. “The record-low coal generation in May was just below the previous record set during the pandemic lockdowns, when coal power generated slightly above 10% of EU electricity in April 2020. Fossil gas recorded the lowest share of generation since 2018 at just 15% of EU electricity during May.
6/9/2023
AI in Power: The Game Changer in Energy Management
Artificial intelligence (AI) has been making significant strides in various industries, and the energy sector is no exception. As the world grapples with the challenge of meeting growing energy demands while reducing carbon emissions, AI has emerged as a game changer in energy management. By leveraging advanced algorithms, machine learning, and data analytics, AI is transforming the way energy is generated, stored, and consumed, paving the way for a more efficient and sustainable future. One of the most significant applications of AI in the energy sector is in optimizing power generation. Renewable energy sources, such as solar and wind, are inherently variable and dependent on weather conditions. This makes it challenging to predict and manage their output. AI algorithms can analyze vast amounts of historical and real-time data to accurately forecast energy production, enabling grid operators to better balance supply and demand. This not only helps to minimize the need for expensive backup power plants but also reduces the risk of blackouts and brownouts. In addition to forecasting, AI can also be used to optimize the operation of power plants. By analyzing data from sensors and control systems, AI can identify inefficiencies and recommend adjustments to improve performance. This can result in significant cost savings and reduced emissions. For example, Google has used AI to optimize the cooling systems in its data centers, achieving a 40% reduction in energy consumption.
6/6/2023
Jacobs Completes Underground Infrastructure Engineering for the First Full-Scale Wave Energy Test Facility in the US
DALLAS, June 6, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — Jacobs (NYSE: J) completed the underground infrastructure engineering for the PacWave South commercial-scale, ocean wave energy testing facility. The PacWave South project in Seal Rock, Oregon, will be the first pre-permitted, full-scale test facility for wave energy devices in the U.S., and was delivered for Oregon State University (OSU). Jacobs led the engineering services for the HDD Company, the design-build contractor for the project, to support the evaluation and testing of new energy generation technologies to turn offshore ocean waves to onshore renewable electricity. PacWave South allows up to 20 wave energy converters (WECs) of various designs to be tested in real-world, open-sea conditions seven miles off Oregon’s coast. The project includes four offshore steel conduits up to 120 feet below the seafloor and extending a mile offshore, connecting to a bundle of five onshore high-density polyethylene (HDPE) conduits, all installed using horizontal directional drilling (HDD) methods and ultimately connecting to PacWave’s Utility Connection and Monitoring Facility. The HDD method was chosen to avoid disturbing sensitive wetlands and beach areas and because it allowed the work to be conducted year-round.
6/5/2023
Texas power struggle: How the nation’s top wind power state turned against renewable energy
State Rep. Jared Patterson disagreed with his Republican colleague that Texas should keep supporting its booming renewable energy industry. Rep. John Smithee was arguing on the House floor in early May that certain solar and wind farms should be eligible for school tax breaks. A similar program the state offered for the past 20 years drew renewable energy projects to rural parts of Texas, including Smithee’s Amarillo district. Patterson, whose district north of Dallas as of late last year had no wind turbines and barely any solar generation, shot back: Renewable power companies get enough help from federal tax credits. “Are you saying that we need to add more incentives for wind and solar for them to build?” Patterson asked in disbelief. After decades of support for renewable energy made Texas able to produce more wind power than any other state, its political leaders have turned against wind and solar. This year, they’ve pushed through legislation to prop up fossil fuel-burning power plants instead.
6/4/2023
It’s time for governments and industry to act on energy efficiency
Amid a global energy crisis, policy makers, industry executives and consumers are all talking about how to bring down the cost of energy and reinforce security of supply. Often that conversation focuses on energy source we should use. Discussions on energy supply tend to dominate the headlines. Yet, there’s one energy source, the “first fuel” as it’s known, that rarely gets the airtime it deserves – energy efficiency. The last year has taught us all how important smarter use of energy is to our security of supply and economic resilience. Energy efficiency is equally vital to climate action and clean energy transitions around the world. Few technologies can claim to save energy, save money, and save the planet all in one go – while creating jobs in the process. The energy efficiency industry employs tens of millions of people around the world, and there’s more to come. If we meet our energy efficiency targets – stay tuned for more on that – the industry could deliver an additional 12 million direct jobs worldwide by 2030. There’s never been as much interest in energy efficiency as there is today.
Solar panels – an eco-disaster waiting to happen?
While they are being promoted around the world as a crucial weapon in reducing carbon emissions, solar panels only have a lifespan of up to 25 years. Experts say billions of panels will eventually all need to be disposed of and replaced. “The world has installed more than one terawatt of solar capacity. Ordinary solar panels have a capacity of about 400W, so if you count both rooftops and solar farms, there could be as many as 2.5 billion solar panels.,” says Dr Rong Deng, an expert in solar panel recycling at the University of New South Wales in Australia. According to the British government, there are tens of millions of solar panels in the UK. But the specialist infrastructure to scrap and recycle them is lacking.
6/1/2023
Renewable power on course to shatter more records as countries around the world speed up deployment
Global additions of renewable power capacity are expected to jump by a third this year as growing policy momentum, higher fossil fuel prices and energy security concerns drive strong deployment of solar PV and wind power, according to the latest update from the International Energy Agency. The growth is set to continue next year with the world’s total renewable electricity capacity rising to 4 500 gigawatts (GW), equal to the total power output of China and the United States combined, says the IEA’s new Renewable Energy Market Update, which was published today. Global renewable capacity additions are set to soar by 107 gigawatts (GW), the largest absolute increase ever, to more than 440 GW in 2023. The dynamic expansion is taking place across the world’s major markets. Renewables are at the forefront of Europe’s response to the energy crisis, accelerating their growth there. New policy measures are also helping drive significant increases in the United States and India over the next two years. China, meanwhile, is consolidating its leading position and is set to account for almost 55% of global additions of renewable power capacity in both 2023 and 2024.
5/31/2023
ERCOT accounted for 70% of US battery storage deployments in Q1
Some 710MW of battery storage came online in the US in the first three months of the year, of which around 70% was in the ERCOT, Texas market, S&P Global said. Overall battery storage capacity in the US grew to 10.777GW by the end of Q1 2023, amounting to a 52% year-on-year increase, the research firm said. The growth should have been even faster, however, with 2.448GW of projects initially proposed to come online during the first quarter, compared to the 710MW in actual commissionings, S&P added. Major projects that should have come online but were pushed to Q2 include the 260MW Sonoran Solar Energy and 150MW Arroyo Energy Storage, from NextEra Energy Resources and Enel Green Power in Arizona and New Mexico, respectively. Battery storage project delays have been seen globally, largely driven by grid connection waits and supply chain-related delays.
5/30/2023
Solar will soon eclipse all other forms of energy
Solar energy is forecast to be the world’s largest single source of electricity by 2027. From powering Europe with Saharan sun to sending orbital arrays into space, here are five of the most exciting recent developments in the sector. 1) Europe to plug into desert sunshine: Solar energy harvested in the sunbleached dunes of the Sahara desert is set to power millions of homes in Britain and Europe. 2) Space-based solar edges closer to reality: Science fiction legend Isaac Asimov posited way back in 1940 the idea of generating electricity in space and beaming it back to Earth. Eighty years later, his vision is proving far more than a solar pie in the sky as rocket engineers, satellite manufacturers, researchers and government bodies join forces to turn science fiction into fact. 3) Solar car parks are now mandatory in France: Back down to Earth where France is injecting a little va-va-voom into its renewable energy ambitions by covering swathes of asphalt with vast solar arrays. 4) Energy crisis kickstarts a boom in solar panels for UK homes: The ongoing cost of living crisis has sharpened focus on solar as a means of tempering soaring energy costs in the UK, despite less lucrative returns for panel owners. They used to receive a payment for 50 per cent of the energy they generated under the feed-in tariff (FiT) scheme, but it was closed to new entrants in 2019 and replaced with the Smart Export Guarantee (SEG), which only pays out nominal fees. 5) Berlin mandates solar for all new buildings: There’s more savvy solar law-making in Berlin where rooftop PV panels are now compulsory for new-build properties and existing buildings undergoing rooftop renovations. The city aims to meet a quarter of its electricity demand through solar. The new regulations apply to both domestic and commercial buildings, where almost a third of roof space on new developments must have solar.
5/27/2023
New York Sets New Record for Electricity Generated by Solar Power
The goal of New York’s Climate law is for the state to rely on 100% zero-emission electricity by 2040. Last week, New York generated roughly 20% of its electricity from solar power, a record for the state. According to the New York Independent System Operator, which manages the state’s electrical grid, a combination of residential and commercial installations generated 3,330 megawatts of electricity between noon and 1 p.m. on May 18. That’s enough to supply electricity to between 2.7 million and 3.4 million homes. Behind-the-meter solar, which is generated and used on-site, accounted for 3,200 megawatts. Front-of-the-meter solar, which goes back into the grid, accounted for just 130 megawatts.
5/26/2023
U.S. Government eyes $9 billion liftoff for long duration energy storage by 2030
The Department of Energy (DOE) released a report titled, “Pathways to Commercial Liftoff: Long Duration Energy Storage” (LDES). The report analyzes prerequisites for two forms of LDES systems to transition from their nascent, research-based status to a more robust position, attracting up to $530 billion in cumulative investment and significantly influencing the firmness and cleanliness of the power grid by 2050. DOE states that maintaining this trajectory will require the deployment of six to 10 GW of LDES projects and the allocation of $6 billion to $9 billion in capital investment by 2030. To align with the 2050 goals, it will need to establish a manufacturing capacity of 10 to 15 GW and roll out further deployments by 2035. The specified objectives for 2050 include the deployment of 225 GW to 460 GW of LDES capacity, which is projected to save $10 billion to $20 billion annually, compared to scenarios without such deployment.
5/24/2023
Report Identifies Bottlenecks That Keep Energy Storage Projects From Being Built
Most energy storage projects are not built because of interconnection bottlenecks, according to a new report. The report, The Interconnection Bottleneck Why Most Energy Storage Projects Never Get Built, was prepared by the Applied Economics Clinic on behalf of Clean Energy Group and found that local interconnection processes have not kept up with rising interest in and incentives for energy storage resources. “Nationally, almost all of the projects waiting in interconnection queues are for solar, wind and storage projects,” Todd Olinsky-Paul of Clean Energy Group, said in a statement. “The wait to interconnect is so long that many projects drop out and never end up being built. Those that don’t drop out due to long wait times can face enormous costs for distribution grid upgrades, which makes projects uneconomic. This poses a barrier to energy storage deployment and hinders the ability of states to meet clean energy and decarbonization goals.” The report synthesized information gathered in 11 interviews with stakeholders in interconnection policy debates conducted by the Applied Economics Clinic between August 2022 and January 2023.
5/20/2023
$2 Billion REAP Boost Promises To Help Thousands Of Farmers And Small Businesses Go Solar
Funding for the Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) has quadrupled to more than $2 billion through 2031. Farmers and small businesses are eligible for additional and larger grants to become more energy independent. “Funds are anticipated to support renewable energy and energy efficiency projects for more than 41,500 farms and small businesses,” says Bobby King, Minnesota state director for nonprofit Solar United Neighbors, headquartered in Washington, D.C. “It also ensures the benefits of our transition to renewable energy are shared with rural communities.” The expansion of REAP means solar projects are eligible for grants to cover up to 50% of the cost of installing a system to help farmers and small businesses power their operations with the sun.
5/16/2023
Biden administration announces $11 billion for rural clean energy projects
WASHINGTON, May 16 (Reuters) – Rural electric cooperatives, utilities, and other energy providers will soon be able to apply for nearly $11 billion in grants and loans for clean energy projects, funded by the $430 billion Inflation Reduction Act signed into law last August, the Biden administration said on Tuesday. Expanding clean energy to rural communities is critical to meeting the administration’s goal of net-zero emissions by 2050, officials told reporters on a Monday press call. Rural electric cooperatives will be eligible to apply beginning July 31 for $9.7 billion in grants for deploying renewable energy, zero-emission, and carbon capture systems, the Department of Agriculture (USDA) said. Renewable energy developers and electric service providers like municipal and Tribal utilities will be eligible to apply beginning June 30 for another $1 billion in partially forgivable loans for financing wind, solar, geothermal, biomass, and other renewable energy projects, USDA said.
5/12/2023
US Treasury takes middle road on solar panels ‘Made in the USA’
May 12 (Reuters) – The U.S. Treasury Department on Friday clarified that developers of solar energy projects can claim a new subsidy for facilities built with American-made products even if the system’s panels contain cells made entirely with Chinese materials. The long-awaited rules around how companies can claim a new tax credit for clean energy projects built with domestic equipment represented a compromise between conflicting proposals by solar project developers, which rely on cheap imports to keep costs low, and manufacturers that want to expand and compete with China to supply the U.S. market.
5/8/2023
How Amazon bought more renewable energy than any other company in 2022
Big Tech companies are dominating the purchase of clean power. Among the group of frontrunners, Amazon
is lapping all of the Big Tech companies many times over. In 2022, Amazon bought 10.9 gigawatts of clean power, making it the largest corporate buyer of renewable power in the world, according to data from the market research company BloombergNEF. That’s enough energy to power the entire country of Ecuador. It’s also more than four times the amount of clean energy that the second-largest purchaser of clean power, Facebook parent company Meta bought in 2022. Google, Microsoft, and Codelco, a Chilean state-owned copper mining company, rounded out the top five. In 2019, Amazon announced The Climate Pledge, making a public commitment for the entire business to be net zero carbon by 2040. At that time, Amazon accelerated its commitment to power its operations with 100% renewable energy from 2030 to 2025.
Solving The Space Problem For America’s Solar Industry
A combination of ambitious emissions reduction targets and the financial support of the Inflation Reduction Act is set to send the U.S. solar industry into overdrive in the coming years. One issue with expanding solar production is a lack of space, but installing solar panels on the rooftops of warehouses and distribution centers across the nation could help solve that problem. 450,000 of these buildings already exist in the United States and represent a staggering 16.4 billion square feet of roof space, which could produce 186 TWh of electricity.
LG Energy Solution Capitalizes on Battery Storage Demand
LG Energy Solution will invest about $5.5 billion to build a battery storage complex in Arizona, consisting of two manufacturing facilities: cylindrical batteries for electric vehicles and lithium iron phosphate pouch-type batteries for energy storage systems. Most people know about battery storage – the devices that store and release energy for shorter spurts of time. But other options are also emerging. Commercial and industrial enterprises use energy storage to harness electricity during the day and release those electrons at night, limiting the price spikes. So are utilities. The twin goals are to increase renewable power usage and to provide electricity during peak demand. But the high price remains an impediment. As for LG, the cylindrical battery manufacturing facility aims to start mass production of 2,170 cells in 2025, mainly for electric vehicle makers in North America. It will be the first-ever US cylindrical battery manufacturing facility solely invested in by a Korean battery manufacturer. The manufacturing facility for LFP pouch-type batteries has high energy densities and is intended to last at least 15 years. Production will start in 2026.
5/6/2023
World’s first thermal energy storage “gigafactory” opens
Israel’s Brenmiller Energy has announced the opening of a “gigafactory” to manufacture the company’s thermal energy storage systems, which store power as heat and then provide users with energy on demand via steam. The company believes it to be the first factory in the world of its kind. Thermal energy storage, true to its name, stores energy as heat — a crucial function as society transitions to renewable sources like solar and wind, sources that are now economically viable to gather but, alas, are as variable as the weather and seasons.
4/19/2023
Johnson Controls CEO: ‘Humanity has 7 years to cut global emissions by half–but we can decarbonize buildings ahead of schedule’
Climate action is not only urgent for our future on the planet–it’s also becoming a license to operate and a prerequisite for strategic success. As governments strive to step up their climate commitments, climate disclosure is moving from purely environmental to financial regulation–and for good reason. People care about sustainability: 71% of job applicants screen for sustainability when choosing employers, and companies with strong environmental, social, and governance (ESG) scores yield higher-than-average market returns, profitability, and dividends. So, despite current economic headwinds, business leaders want to move ahead with climate action. That’s very good news, because we have a lot of work ahead in order to cut global emissions in half by 2030 and reach net zero by 2050. Right now, we are on track for an 11% increase in emissions by 2030 and a 2.5°C rise in global temperatures by 2100, an outcome that would challenge all life on Earth. Our children and our grandchildren would feel the impact. With only seven years left to tip the scales in our favor, we need big wins, fast. Buildings are responsible for nearly 40% of global energy emissions–and the gap between climate goals and actual building emissions is growing. However, that colossal share of emissions also means that if we could close that gap and steward the building sector toward net zero, we could bring about a massive win, exactly the reversal of fortune this planet needs.
4/18/2023
Berkshire Hathaway-owned US utility Pacificorp targets 7.4GW energy storage by 2029
Western US electricity utility Pacificorp has released its 2023 Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) outlining significant solar, wind and storage capacity expansions as well as investment into new transmission lines. By 2032, Pacificorp is planning to have an installed solar and wind capacity of over 20GW across the six states in which it operates – Utah, California, Idaho, Oregon, Washington and Wyoming. This is almost a fourfold increase on its current capacity. It is also planning 7.4GW of energy storage systems by 2029. The IRP also continues Pacificorp’s plans to add 2,500 miles of transmission lines, spanning the range of its territory between the Pacific Northwest and the Rocky Mountains, to support the deployment of the renewables. The utility said its plans will result in a 70% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 compared with 2005 levels, with an 87% reduction by 2035 and 100% by 2050.
Empire State Realty Trust Named as a 2023 Platinum Green Lease Leader by the Department of Energy’s Better Buildings Alliance and the Institute for Market Transformation
NEW YORK, April 17, 2023–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Empire State Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE: ESRT) announced that it was selected as a 2023 Platinum Green Lease Leader by the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Better Buildings Alliance and the Institute for Market Transformation (IMT) for the second consecutive year. With this award, ESRT is recognized for its integration of high-performance leasing and sustainability practices into business operations which deliver energy efficiency, cost savings, air quality, and sustainability for tenants. ESRT is one of only six awardees to achieve the Platinum distinction.
4/15/2023
China’s ‘artificial sun’ takes major step towards safe, clean and limitless nuclear fusion energy source
China’s “artificial sun” established a global record by creating and keeping very hot, highly contained plasma for about seven minutes. The Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST) in the eastern Chinese city of Hefei created and sustained plasma for 403 seconds, shattering its previous record of 101 seconds set in 2017 and marking another important step towards the development of high-efficiency, low-cost thermonuclear fusion reactors. “The main significance of this new breakthrough lies in its ‘high-confinement mode,’ which significantly increases the temperature and density of the plasma,” said Song Yuntao, head of the Chinese Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Plasma Physics, which created EAST.
Feds greenlight major transmission line that will deliver Wyoming wind power to the Southwest
The Biden administration has approved a major high-voltage power line designed to deliver renewable energy from the Mountain West to population centers in the Southwest. The Bureau of Land Management on April 11 issued a notice to proceed on the 732-mile TransWest Express Transmission Line, which will begin in southern Wyoming and run through northwest Colorado and Utah before connecting to a substation near Las Vegas. The transmission line, which will be built over the next few years, will link the 3,000-megawatt Chokecherry and Sierra Madre Wind Energy Project – on track to be the largest wind farm in the country – to customers beyond Wyoming’s borders. TransWest spokesperson Kara Choquette said the project will help the state’s economy.
The Future of Energy Supply Chains: Blockchain-Enabled Smart Grids and Microgrids
The energy business is always evolving and looking for new methods to improve efficiency, save costs, and promote sustainability. Integration of blockchain technology in energy supply chains, notably in the construction of smart grids and microgrids, is one of the most recent advancements in the energy sector. Smart grids and microgrids powered by blockchain have the potential to transform the energy business by delivering a more secure and efficient method of energy delivery. We will look at the future of energy supply chains and the role of blockchain-enabled smart grids and microgrids in this article. The modern energy supply chain is complicated, involving numerous stakeholders such as energy producers, grid operators, and end users. The traditional energy grid is a one-way system in which energy is generated at power plants and transmitted to end users via the grid. Not only is this approach wasteful, but it is also prone to cyber attacks and power disruptions. To address these issues, a more modern and resilient energy supply network is required. Blockchain-enabled smart grids and microgrids can help with this.
4/13/2023
Solar cells for IoT devices with AI-powered energy management
As the number of Internet of Things devices is rapidly increasing, there is an urgent need for sustainable and efficient energy sources and management practices in ambient environments. In response, Newcastle University researchers have created environmentally friendly, high-efficiency photovoltaic cells that harness ambient light to power Internet of Things (IoT) devices. The research team from the School of Natural and Environmental Sciences (SNES), under the direction of Dr. Marina Freitag, developed dye-sensitized photovoltaic cells based on a copper(II/I) electrolyte, achieving an unprecedented power conversion efficiency of 38% and 1.0V open-circuit voltage at 1,000 lux (fluorescent lamp). The cells, which are safe for the environment and non-toxic, raise the bar for reusable energy sources in natural settings. Dr. Marina Freitag, Principal Investigator at SNES, Newcastle University, said: “Our research marks an important step towards making IoT devices more sustainable and energy-efficient. By combining innovative photovoltaic cells with intelligent energy management techniques, we are paving the way for a multitude of new device implementations that will have far-reaching applications in various industries.” Harvesting energy from ambient light and artificial intelligence revolutionise the Internet of Things. Based on smart and adaptive operation, the energy consumption of sensor devices is reduced, and battery waste is avoided.
4/12/2023
Wind and solar hit record 12% of global power generation last year
LONDON, April 12 (Reuters) – Wind and solar energy represented a record 12% of global electricity generation last year, up from 10% in 2021, a report on Wednesday found. The report by climate and energy independent think tank Ember said last year could have marked peak emissions from the power sector, which is the largest source of planet-warming carbon dioxide (CO2) worldwide. Ember studied power sector data from 78 countries in its annual global electricity review, representing 93% of global power demand. It concluded that all renewable energy sources and nuclear power combined represented a 39% share of global generation last year, with solar’s share rising by 24% and wind by 17% from the previous year. The growth in wind and solar in 2022 met 80% of the rise in global electricity demand.
4/8/2023
NASA launches powerful air quality monitor to keep an eagle-eye on pollution
NASA has launched an innovative air quality monitoring instrument into a fixed-rotation orbit around Earth. The tool is called TEMPO, which stands for Tropospheric Emissions Monitoring of Pollution instrument, and it keeps an eye on a handful of harmful airborne pollutants in the atmosphere, such as nitrogen dioxide, formaldehyde and ground-level ozone. These chemicals are the building blocks of smog. TEMPO traveled to space hitched to a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launching from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. NASA says the launch was completed successfully, with the atmospheric satellite separating from the rocket without any incidents. NASA acquired the appropriate signal and the agency says the instrument will begin monitoring duties in late May or early June. TEMPO sits at a fixed geostationary orbit just above the equator and it measures air quality over North America every hour and measures regions spaced apart by just a few miles. This is a significant improvement to existing technologies, as current measurements are conducted within areas of 100 square miles. TEMPO should be able to take accurate measurements from neighborhood to neighborhood, giving a comprehensive view of pollution from both the macro and micro levels.
4/7/2023
DOE Seeks Input on Growing an Equitable Solar Manufacturing Workforce
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Solar Energy Technologies Office (SETO) released a request for information (RFI) to better understand the anticipated quantity, quality, and accessibility of solar manufacturing roles, to anticipate the challenges for filling and training those roles, and to gather potential solutions for overcoming these barriers. “With the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act, solar energy is poised for significant growth in domestic manufacturing,” said Alejandro Moreno, Acting Assistant Secretary, Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. “DOE wants to ensure the workforce that will support this growth is an equitable one, with long-term career paths that will revitalize communities across the United States, including underrepresented and historically underserved communities—in line with President Biden’s Justice40 goals.” Since passage of the IRA, there have been 25 solar manufacturing facilities announced across the solar supply chain, representing more than 105 GW of manufacturing capacity. While setting up and launching a solar manufacturing plant will take 2-3 years, having these based in the United States. will help to build up technical expertise and capability, simplify shipping and logistics, and reduce supply chain insecurity.
4/6/2023
Wind and solar power generators wait in yearslong lines to put clean electricity on the grid, then face huge interconnection fees they can’t afford
Wind and solar power generators wait in yearslong bureaucratic lines to connect to the power grid, only to be faced with fees they can’t afford, forcing them to scramble for more money or pull out of projects completely. This application process, called the interconnection queue, is delaying the distribution of clean power and hampering the U.S. in reaching its climate goals. The interconnection queue backlog is a symptom of a larger climate problem for the United States: There are not enough transmission lines to support the transition from a fossil fuel-based electric system to a decarbonized energy grid.
Qcells will make 2.5M solar panels to fill largest US community solar order ever
PV solar-cell manufacturing giant Qcells and community solar firm Summit Ridge Energy are together going to deploy 1.2 gigawatts (GW) of community solar power. This project between Qcells and Summit Ridge Energy is the latest in its three-year-long partnership. Qcells will manufacture 2.5 million solar panels – what the White House says is the “largest community solar order in US history” – which will eventually generate enough clean electricity to power 140,000 homes and businesses across the US, including households in underserved communities. The White House announcement did not indicate what the target date is on this project, but we will update the story when we find out. Community solar results in an average of 10% in annual savings for customers and is a way for renters and those without access to rooftop solar to benefit from clean energy.
Global Energy Monitor: the world is not retiring existing coal plants fast enough
The Global Energy Monitor’s ninth annual survey of the world’s current and planned coal plants reveals that while the numbers of both had fallen over the last 12 months, they need to fall a great deal faster. The most significant problem is the amount of capacity China have planned, which in itself negates the progress of the rest of the world. The report states that coal power capacity retirements was 26 gigawatts (GW) in 2022, and another 25 GW will be retired by 2030. The amount of planned coal-fired capacity in developing countries fell by 23 GW but China’s planned capacity increased by 126 GW.
4/5/2023
Biden-Harris Administration Announces New Clean Energy Projects to Revitalize Energy Communities, Support Coal Workers, and Reduce Reliance on Competitors Like China
Today, at a White House convening with energy communities, the Biden-Harris Administration will announce historic new actions to create jobs, lower costs, and invest in the energy communities that powered this nation for generations. President Biden came to the White House to end years of big words but little action to help energy-producing parts of the country, who for decades saw jobs exported out and products imported in, all while other countries surpassed the United States in critical sectors like infrastructure, clean energy, and semiconductors. President Biden’s Investing in America Agenda is already turning the tide, bringing manufacturing jobs back home and ensuring we rebuild our economy from the bottom-up and the middle-out, not top-down, so that no community is left behind. The actions announced today will drive new investments in energy communities to support their economic revitalization, strengthen American supply chains, and help ensure coal, oil, and gas workers benefit from the new clean energy economy. These investments build on the more than $14 billion from across federal agencies that the Interagency Working Group on Coal and Power Plant Communities and Economic Revitalization has driven to the hardest-hit energy communities across the country. They also build on the more than $7.4 billion that companies have invested in energy communities to spur clean energy manufacturing, steel production, and critical minerals processing.
Power Monitoring System Market is Projected to Reach 5.70 billion, at a 6.44% CAGR by 2030 – Report by Market Research Future (MRFR)
New York, US, March 31, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — According to a Comprehensive Research Report by Market Research Future (MRFR), “Power monitoring system Market Research Report, by Component, End-Use, and Region – Forecast Till 2030”, the global market for Power monitoring systems is predicted to showcase considerable development over the assessment timeframe from 2022 to 2030 with a strong development rate of approximately 6.44%. The reports further anticipate the market to acquire a USD 5.70 billion valuation by the end of 2030. A power monitoring system guarantees a simple manner to automatically retrieve and examine power quality events as this system is permanently installed. The global market for power monitoring systems has showcased immense development in the last few years. The prime aspect supporting the development of the market is the escalated attention to reducing energy costs. Furthermore, maximizing the reliability of electrical infrastructure is also believed to be one of the crucial parameters supporting the development of the market worldwide. The power monitoring system behaves as a home power monitoring system by guaranteeing the efficient use of power resources in the residential end-use industry.
4/2/2023
A Twisted Reactor From Hell Could Propel Nuclear Fusion Forward
Fusion reactors come in all shapes and sizes, but can mostly be separated into three groups, defined by how they contain the super-hot plasma needed to combine lighter nuclei into heavier ones. The first is gravitational reactors (a.k.a. stars), which are impossible to recreate on Earth. The second group is inertial reactors, which essentially fire a bunch of lasers at a small pellet and contain the resulting fusion reaction by sheer inertia for only 100 trillionths of a second. This is the concept that finally achieved ignition last December. But it’s the third group—magnetic reactors—that’s arguably the most promising. Magnetic confinement fusion uses superconducting magnets to contain hot plasma long enough for a fusion reaction to take place. These magnets are absolutely critical, as they keep the plasma from touching any of the other materials in the reactor, and no known material can withstand the over-100-million-degrees-Celsius temperatures required for fusion. But even this kind of fusion divides into a further two camps: tokamaks and stellarators.
3/30/2023
US energy officials release strategy to boost offshore wind
The U.S. Energy Department said Wednesday it has a new strategy to meet the goal of vastly expanding offshore wind energy to address climate change. The Biden administration wants to build 30 gigawatts of offshore wind energy by 2030 — enough to power more than 10 million homes. The turbines would be anchored to the seafloor. It wants to deploy another 15 gigawatts of floating wind turbines by 2035, enough to power 5 million homes. The first commercial scale offshore wind project in the United States is currently under construction off the coast of Massachusetts. Capturing the power of strong wind does not contribute to climate change and can enable the shutdown of power plants that operate on combustion and do pollute, reducing the emissions that are causing the climate to change. With its Offshore Wind Energy Strategy, DOE lays out a plan for supporting offshore wind development to meet the 2030 targets. It was released during an offshore wind energy conference in Baltimore held by the Business Network for Offshore Wind.
3/29/2023
Energy agency chief warns transition to renewables is way off track, issues warning on stranded assets
The global energy transition is off track to prevent the worst impact of the climate emergency, according to the head of the International Renewable Energy Agency, and a fundamental course correction is required to successfully pivot away from fossil fuels. A report published by IRENA on Tuesday said an additional $35 trillion of investments in transitional technologies would be needed by 2030 to curb global heating to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. This temperature threshold refers to the aspirational goal of the landmark Paris Agreement. It is widely regarded as a crucial global target because so-called tipping points become more likely beyond this level of global heating. Tipping points are thresholds at which small changes can lead to dramatic shifts in Earth’s entire life support system.
3/28/2023
UK and South Korea partner to research and develop fusion power plants
The two countries, represented by the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) and the Korea Institute of Fusion Energy (KFE), have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to partner in research and development for remote handling and the maintenance of future fusion power plants. The agreement supports an alliance between the UK and South Korean government-funded organisations, with UKAEA and KFE specialising in the quest to make fusion energy part of the world’s future energy supply. The partnership commenced last week after KFE researchers visited UKAEA’s campus near Oxford. This involved a tour of the record-breaking Joint European Torus (JET) facility and UKAEA’s world-class robotics centre, RACE (Remote Applications in Challenging Environments). Research from both organisations is critical to the success of ITER – the largest international fusion programme being built in the south of France – in addition to future fusion power plants.
3/27/2023
Nuclear Power Takes Up Less Space Than Solar or Wind
Climate change is a global issue, with its most severe impacts falling on people living in low-income countries and its most serious harms happening in the future. In contrast, nature preservation is an issue that is more immediate, more local — and often more compelling. So environmentalists have long sought to link climate objectives to more parochial concerns about habitat conservation or the protection of scenic areas. A new poll, published by the new climate-focused news site Heatmap, illustrates the limits of this strategy. Asked whether it’s more important to build out renewable energy as quickly as possible or to go slow “to ensure natural land or wild animals aren’t harmed, even if it means taking longer to reduce greenhouse gas-producing emissions,” respondents chose the slower approach by an overwhelming 71%-29% margin.
3/26/2023
Here’s why US-made solar panels would slash emissions by 33%
US-made solar panels would significantly reduce emissions and energy consumption, according to a new study from Cornell University. If the US manufactures the solar panels it uses instead of importing them, then that would speed up decarbonization, according to research published in Nature Communications by Cornell Engineering. Specifically, fully returning solar panel manufacturing to the US by 2035 would cut emissions by 30% and reduce energy consumption by 13%, compared to 2020, when the US relied almost entirely on imports. The researchers further assert that if the “reshored manufacturing target is achieved by 2050, the climate change and energy impacts would be further reduced by 33% and 17%, compared to the 2020 level.”
3/25/2023
SolSmart Program Aims to Help Another 500 Cities, Towns, Counties, and Regional Organizations Become Solar Energy Leaders
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) today announced an expansion of its SolSmart program to support and recognize local governments across the country who are taking steps to reduce barriers to solar energy access. The expanded program adds a new Platinum-level designation level for the most forward-looking communities, establishes new priorities around support for disadvantaged communities, and sets a goal of designating a total of 1,000 communities by 2027 in support of the Biden administration’s goal of a clean electricity grid by 2035. The program has also extended its designation criteria to include solar plus battery storage, codes and standards, innovative financing, and data collection and metrics.
3/21/2023
Pushing the Boundaries of Solar Energy With Energy-Generating Rail Tracks
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is urging governments and policymakers in ‘every country, every sector and every timeframe’1 to accelerate efforts to combat the climate crisis. Thus, as the world comes to terms with the inevitability of shifting from fossil-based energy production to renewable energy generation, finding smart solutions to accommodate such a massive structural change is crucial to implementing a smooth energy transition. The Swiss-based startup, Sun-Ways, has developed an innovative strategy for solar energy infrastructure that uses the space between railway tracks to deploy standard photovoltaic (PV) panels without impeding the movement of trains. The company claims its method meets both the requirements of railway safety standards and maintenance needs and can be installed and removed in quick succession while limiting the environmental and visual impact of solar technology.
3/17/2023
EPA recognizes 15 organizations for certifying the most buildings as ENERGY STAR in 2022
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has announced the names of 15 organizations that each earned EPA’s ENERGY STAR certification for more than 150 commercial, multifamily, and industrial buildings in 2022. In total, the top certifiers collectively certified more than 3,700 buildings representing over 800 million square feet of floor space. EPA is highlighting the organizations that are the most active certifiers in recognition of the 30th anniversary of the ENERGY STAR program. Any organization that certified five buildings or more in 2022 was eligible for special recognition as a member of the ENERGY STAR Certification Nation. “Improving the energy efficiency of America’s buildings is essential to fighting the climate crisis,” said EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan. “By certifying the most ENERGY STAR buildings last year, these companies are helping lead the way to a clean energy future and are demonstrating that building efficiency isn’t just good for the climate, but also good for our economy.” The group of top certifiers includes a diverse set of energy services companies that help their clients improve the energy performance of their buildings as well as large commercial real estate companies, a healthcare real estate capital provider, a public utility, and a regional bank holding company.
3/16/2023
To solve the energy crisis, we must first focus on curbing our energy waste
The energy crisis is now affecting millions of people, and we can’t afford to lose more – how could digitisation help reduce our energy waste? The International Energy Agency (IEA) declared in October 2022 that the world was in the midst of its “first truly global energy crisis”. Soaring energy and food prices, combined with volatile supply issues and rising inflation, has caught consumers globally by surprise In different parts of Europe, energy costs have quadrupled, and supply shortages have led to the risk of potential blackouts. Energy is now a precious commodity, and we need to make the most of it. Currently, the majority of the advice given is focused on reducing consumption through basic measures like turning down thermostats, taking colder showers, washing clothes at lower temperatures, or avoiding energy use during peak times. While important measures nonetheless, with 60% of the energy currently lost or wasted, demand efficiency should be our first priority.
3/15/2023
Floating solar panels could completely power thousands of cities
Thousands of cities around the world could power themselves entirely with solar panels floating atop water reservoirs, according to new research. It’s a relatively easy way to generate renewable energy locally while also conserving water. Solar arrays suspended over water, or floatovoltaics, work similarly to those spread out over land. The panels sit on a raft instead of on parking lots, rooftops, or other grounded mounts. But they haven’t been deployed in many places around the world yet and only produced as much electricity as less than 1 percent of the world’s land-based solar farms in 2020. Now, a new study published in the journal Nature Sustainability shows just how much potential cities could tap into with this emerging technology. Researchers found that 6,256 cities across 124 countries could, in theory, meet all their electricity demand from solar panels deployed on nearby water reservoirs. They would just need to cover about 30 percent of the water’s surface with floatovoltaics. The researchers analyzed 114,555 reservoirs around the world using multiple databases and then modeled potential power generation using realistic climate data.
Energy storage to ‘underpin EU’s secure and decarbonised energy system’ through new strategy
The European Commission (EC) has published a strategy through which energy storage can become a cornerstone of a decarbonised and secure energy system for the European Union (EU). Described by one source as a de facto ‘Energy storage strategy’ for the bloc, the recommendation document was published today, setting out the ways Member States of the EU can assess their individual and collective requirements for energy storage. The recommendation comes in the wake of the EU considerably upping its EU Green Deal renewable energy targets with REPowerEU, its follow-up strategy focused more on achieving energy independence, particularly regarding decoupling from imported Russian fossil fuels. Overall, that means achieving the Green Deal’s aim of climate neutrality by 2050, and an interim 55% reduction in net greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2030. Meanwhile, clean energy would be an important tool for accelerating the reduction in dependence on gas from Russia.
3/13/2023
Energy as a Service Global Market Report 2023
NEW YORK, March 13, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — Major players in the energy as a service market are Schneider Electric SE, Engie SA, Siemens AG, Honeywell International Inc., Veolia Environnement S.A, Enel X, EDF Renewable Energy, Johnson Controls International, Bernhard Energy, Edison Energy, SmartWatt, Entegrity , Enertika, Ameresco, Centrica, Ameresco, Duke Energy Corporation , Solarus, Spark Community Investment Co, and Contemporary Energy Solutions. The global energy as a service market grew from $57.32 billion in 2022 to $64.28 billion in 2023 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 12.1%. The Russia-Ukraine war disrupted the chances of global economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, at least in the short term. The war between these two countries has led to economic sanctions on multiple countries, a surge in commodity prices, and supply chain disruptions, causing inflation across goods and services, and affecting many markets across the globe. The energy as a service market is expected to grow to $100.17 billion in 2027 at a CAGR of 11.7%. The energy as a service service market includes revenues earned by entities by providing cloud-based energy services and solutions to monitor and manage energy requirements based on real-data collections and also procuring, storing, and producing energy solutions.The market value includes the value of related goods sold by the service provider or included within the service offering.
3/12/2023
EIA Reports Wind, Solar and Storage are Dominating U.S. Capacity Additions
So far in 2023, wind, solar, and battery storage account for 82 percent of the new, utility-scale generating capacity developers plan to bring online in the United States, according to preliminary data from the Energy Information Administration. As of January 2023, 73.5 gigawatts of utility-scale solar capacity was operating in the United States, about 6 percent of the country’s total capacity, according to the EIA’s Preliminary Monthly Electric Generator Inventory. The EIA now projects that just over half of the new U.S. generating capacity in 2023 will be solar power. If all of the planned capacity comes online as expected, it would be the most U.S. solar capacity added in a single year and the first year that more than half of U.S. capacity additions are solar, the EIA said.
3/10/2023
How retrofitting the UK’s old buildings can generate an extra £35bn in new money
Retrofitting the UK’s historical buildings, from Georgian townhouses to the mills and factories that kickstarted the Industrial Revolution, could generate £35bn of economic output a year, create jobs and play a crucial role in achieving climate targets, research has found. Improving the energy efficiency of historical properties – those built before 1919 – could reduce carbon emissions from the UK’s buildings by 5% each year and make older homes warmer and cheaper to run, according to a report commissioned by the National Trust, Historic England and leading property organisations. Nearly a quarter of all UK homes, 6.2m properties, were built before 1919 and almost a third of commercial properties, about 600,000, are also historical sites. They are responsible for about a fifth of the nation’s greenhouse gas emissions, with old buildings accounting for a significant proportion.
3/9/2023
Duke Energy begins operation of its largest solar plant
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Duke Energy Sustainable Solutions (DESS), a nonregulated commercial brand of Duke Energy (NYSE: DUK), is now operating its largest solar power plant ever – the 250-megawatt (MW) Pisgah Ridge Solar project in Navarro County, Texas. “We’re excited to continue to grow our Texas solar portfolio,” said Chris Fallon, president of Duke Energy Sustainable Solutions. “This project demonstrates how we can continue to expand our renewable energy resources while providing unique sustainability solutions for commercial customers.” Charles River Laboratories International Inc., a leading provider of critical research tools and integrated support services that enable innovative and efficient drug discovery and development, has a virtual power purchase agreement (VPPA) for 102 MW of the project over the next 15 years. This commitment will address the entirety of the company’s North American electric power load with clean, renewable energy by 2023.
3/7/2023
New 25 MWh energy storage facility in California runs on used Nissan and Honda batteries
North of Los Angeles in Lancaster, a 25 MWh energy storage facility recently went into operation. Not all that remarkable, given similar facilities are opening across California to balance out supply and demand of renewable energy. What’s unique about this one is that it solely utilizes used EV batteries. B2U Storage Solutions took 1,300 EV battery packs that once powered Honda and Nissan vehicles and placed them in white cabinet enclosures. While they no longer have the juice to quickly accelerate a car, the batteries are still entirely capable of storing electricity. B2U’s innovative approach to deploying second life EV batteries keeps them in their original pack casing, virtually eliminating repurposing costs.
3/6/2023
US got a record-breaking 40% of its energy from carbon-free sources in 2022, report reveals
Carbon-free sources supplied over 40 per cent of the US’s total energy output in 2022, a new report reveals. This is an all-time high. The figure combines renewable generation – such as solar, wind and hydro – and nuclear power. Nuclear and hydropower remained at similar levels to previous years, so the majority of this increase comes from wind and solar. The data comes from the Sustainable Energy in America 2023 Factbook, which pulls from various sources on US energy. It is produced by the Business Council for Sustainable Energy.
Ramel Bills to Improve Building Energy Systems Pass House of Representatives
OLYMPIA — Two priority clean energy bills, sponsored by Representative Alex Ramel, D- Bellingham, addressing building energy use have passed the Washington State House of Representatives this week. “Each of these bills is an important step toward clean energy deployment and energy independence. Buildings are one of the toughest energy-using sectors to address as we work to turn the tide on the climate crisis,” said Representative Ramel. “The good news is that we have the technology and the know-how; we just need to get it deployed. Whether it’s whole university campuses, apartment buildings, or small businesses, Washington state is moving forward to upgrade our buildings, create thousands of living wage jobs, and reduce energy costs all at the same time.” House Bill 1390 would require state campus district energy systems to develop a decarbonization plan and provide privately owned district energy systems a chance to opt-in if they improve the efficiency of their energy generation and distribution.
Where things stand one year into the global energy crisis
It’s been year since Russia invaded Ukraine, an act that delivered a massive shock to global energy markets and a crippling blow to Russia’s relationship with its biggest customer, the European Union. In a commentary published on this first anniversary, our Executive Director Fatih Birol assessed what has changed during a tumultuous year for the global energy system – highlighting three key takeaways from the crisis so far.
3/3/2023
Exploring the Growing Building Energy Management Solution Market at a CAGR of 17.2% by 2031
PORTLAND, OR, UNITES STATES, February 28, 2023 /EINPresswire.com/ — The building energy management solution market size was valued at $8.8 billion in 2021, and is estimated to reach $44.2 billion by 2031, growing at a CAGR of 17.2% from 2022 to 2031. Building energy management solution are hardware/software systems that are installed in HVAC, and Non-HVAC spaces to observe and regulate the energy requirements of building, and to ensure the efficiency and optimum utilization of the energy. A rise in disposable income of population, and improved lifestyle, and increase in awareness about using HVAC control, monitor and control energy management applications, have boosted the adoption of energy management systems in HVAC, and Non-HVAC spaces, drives the growth of the building energy management solution market. In addition, a rise in number of smart cities, improved consumer awareness about energy management solutions and growing adoption of IoT based technologies which boost the building energy management solution industry growth.
Why track your business energy?
Data is critical in the journey to becoming a more sustainable business. By tracking your energy use, it’s possible to gather this data, use it to identify waste, understand carbon emissions and build a reputation for sustainability. Of course, all technology is only as good as the use you put it to, and things always work better if you are able to analyze and act on the data you receive. With that in mind, here are three reasons why tracking energy use can be a good idea for a resilient, forward-looking business…
3/1/2023
Weekly data: Booming battery pipeline heralds era of renewables-dominated grids
For years it has been a key question for energy policymakers: how to balance the electricity grid when it is majority-powered by variable renewables such as solar and wind? Pumped hydropower, green hydrogen, peaker plants paired with carbon capture and storage and nuclear power continue to be mooted as solutions to this problem. With the UK, US and EU now all planning to fully decarbonise their power grids in little more than a decade, this question is no longer theoretical but a matter of urgency. Indeed, wind and solar had a larger combined share of EU power generation than natural gas for the first time in 2022, with nations including Germany, Spain, Ireland and Denmark generating more than 30% of their power from solar and wind that year. Pumped hydropower continues to deliver 90% of global grid-scale storage, says the International Energy Agency (IEA). However, the area now drumming up the biggest policy interest is grid-scale batteries, a technology the IEA anticipates will deliver the largest growth in battery storage capacity worldwide in the coming years.
Fifty-Seven Teams Advance to DOE Solar Decathlon 2023 Design Challenge Final
Fifty-seven teams from 63 collegiate institutions have earned a spot in the final stage of the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon® 2023 Design Challenge. “Solar Decathlon has pioneered energy efficient building designs for more than two decades; this year’s finalist teams showed there is always room to push the envelope on zero energy buildings,” said Rachel Romero, Design Challenge competition manager.
2/28/2023
Texas Led the U.S. in Wind and Solar Energy Production Last Year
A new study from Climate Central shows that the U.S. saw impressive overall growth in wind and solar energy capacity in 2022. Red states, but especially Texas, led the country in clean energy production last year. The researchers analyzed data from WeatherPower, the organization’s solar and wind forecasting tool, and data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration to learn about clean energy generation in 2022 for the 48 contiguous states and the District of Columbia.
2/22/2023
Nanoparticles Self-Assemble to Create Revolutionary Solar Energy Harvesting Solution
Solar-thermal technology is a promising environmentally friendly energy harvesting method with a potential role to play in solving the fossil fuel energy crisis. The technology transforms sunlight into thermal energy, but it’s challenging to suppress energy dissipation while maintaining high absorption. Existing solar energy harvesters that rely on micro- or nanoengineering don’t have sufficient scalability and flexibility, and will require a novel strategy for high-performance solar light capture while simultaneously simplifying fabrication and reducing costs. In APL Photonics, from AIP Publishing, researchers from Harbin University, Zhejiang University, Changchun Institute of Optics, and the National University of Singapore designed a solar harvester with enhanced energy conversion capabilities.
IoT-based innovations from Siemens transform buildings into smart ecosystems
At this year’s ISH trade fair in Frankfurt, Germany, Siemens will showcase its cloud-based platforms, IoT-enabled products and solutions that make buildings smarter, leveraging the potential that digitalization offers. Exhibiting under the motto “Your fast lane to smart buildings”, the company is focusing on turning buildings into smart ecosystems that respond to the business goals of building owners and operators for improved building performance, as well as to tenants’ needs for comfortable and healthy buildings.
2/21/2023
DOE Opens Third Round of Applications for Remote and Island Communities Seeking Technical Assistance to Bolster Energy Resilience
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced today that applications are open for the Energy Transitions Initiative Partnership Project (ETIPP) through May 19 for remote and island communities seeking technical assistance to transform their energy systems and reduce their vulnerability to energy disruptions. As part of the larger Energy Transitions Initiative (ETI), ETIPP ensures isolated communities have the skills and tools to accelerate their energy resilience planning in the face of increasing risks of extreme weather events, vulnerable energy infrastructures, and changing economic conditions.
Europe’s transmission grid operators back energy storage in EU Electricity Market Reform consultation
Grid operators from across Europe believe energy storage is a vital flexibility resource that should be incentivised. ENTSO-E, the association of European transmission system operators (TSOs) weighed in with its views on the European Commission’s reform of electricity markets last week. ENTSO-E represents 39 member organisations from 35 countries. The European Commission opened a public consultation period on its Electricity Market Design reforms for the European Union (EU) on 23 January, as reported by Energy-Storage.news at the time. The consultation period closed on 13 February.
Battery storage insurance costs are falling ‘as understanding of risks grows’
We hear from two battery storage insurance industry sources about how they view the technology and the main risks they assess when designing policies. The last 5-7 years of energy storage becoming a major sector is a very short time for insurance companies that rely upon historical data to understand risk and exposure, said Ross Kiddie, specialist battery insurance firm Altelium’s manager for North America. “Because this is a nascent and fast changing technology, best practices are being established and created in almost real time,” he said.
2/19/2023
Why America’s outdated energy grid is a climate problem
Most of the U.S. electric grid was built in the 1960s and 1970s. Today, over 70% of the U.S. electricity grid is more than 25 years old, and that aging system is vulnerable to increasingly intense storms. Also, the electric infrastructure in the U.S. was built to bring energy from where fossil fuels are burned to where the energy will be used. But as humanity responds to global warming, renewable, zero-carbon sources of energy, especially wind and solar energy, are replacing fossil fuels. That requires a new transmission grid.
2/17/2023
DOE Breaks Ground on Concentrating Solar Power Pilot Culminating $100 Million Research Effort
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) celebrated the groundbreaking of its Generation 3 concentrating solar-thermal pilot facility at Sandia National Laboratories. This demonstration is the culmination of a $100 million research effort to develop next-generation concentrating solar-thermal power (CSP) plants and showcase storage technology that could provide one gigawatt of storage for one hour at a single plant. This technology is an important part of achieving the Biden-Administration goal of a 100% clean energy economy by 2050.
2/16/2023
Energy Management System Market Is Expected To Reach around USD 60.54 Billion by 2030, Grow at a CAGR Of 12.0% during Forecast Period 2023 To 2030 | Data By Contrive Datum Insights Pvt Ltd.
Farmington, Feb. 15, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — The Global Energy Management System Market Size Was Valued At USD 24.73 Billion In 2021. The Market Is Expected To Grow From USD 27.31 Billion In 2022 To USD 60.54 Billion By 2030, Exhibiting A CAGR Of 12.0% During The Forecast Period. COVID-19 has had effects on the world that have never been seen before and are shocking. For example, demand is lower than expected in all regions compared to before the pandemic. Based on what we found, the world market was 9.3% smaller in 2020 than it was in 2019.
2/14/2023
Eolian Closes First-Of-Its-Kind Standalone Battery Energy Storage Tax Equity Financing
BURLINGAME, Calif., Feb. 13, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — Eolian, L.P., a portfolio company of Global Infrastructure Partners, has successfully closed the first-of-its-kind tax equity investment in two standalone utility-scale battery storage projects located in Mission, Texas. This pioneering financing is the first use of the Investment Tax Credit (ITC) structure by a standalone utility-scale battery energy storage system and is possible due to passage of the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022. Tax equity investment in the projects was provided by a fund managed by Churchill Stateside Group, LLC.
2/13/2023
UK company to build prototype nuclear fusion energy system on UK government agency site
UK nuclear fusion power company Tokamak Energy and the UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA, the government agency responsible for British nuclear fusion energy research and development) have jointly announced that the company is to build its prototype spherical tokamak, designated ST80-HTS, at the UK Fusion Cluster. The UK Fusion Cluster is located on the UKAEA’s Culham Campus, in Oxfordshire, in England. Culham is also the site of the Joint European Torus fusion experiment, which has made major contributions to the development of fusion energy technologies.
Siemens teams for renewable grid edge management
Siemens has teamed up with EnergyHub to expand its ecosystem of partners for its grid software business. The edge management software from New York-based EnergyHub operates at the edge of the grid, combining distributed renewable energy management tools with turnkey programme management to enable utilities to scale grid-edge flexibility.
US Clean Energy Goals Hinge On Faster Permitting
Building renewable energy and transmission projects in the U.S. at the speed and scale the climate crisis requires will require reforms to the way they’re sited and permitted — at the federal, state, and local levels. The current timeframes needed to permit, build and interconnect systems are not aligned with the Biden administration’s target of decarbonizing the power sector by 2035. To reach this goal and mitigate the worst impacts of climate change, the U.S. must double or triple the level of renewable energy deployment and double the expansion of transmission.
2/12/2023
Hydrogen Energy Storage Systems Market [2023]
Latest Report Researches the Industry Growth, Type & Application, Segmentation, Key Players, Revenue and Gross Margin, Market Share, Industry Demand and Company Profiles are Presented.
2/10/2023
Renewable energy to become top source of electricity by 2025 – Energy Digital Magazine
According to the Energy Agency’s Electricity Market Report 2023, 90% of new demand between now and 2025 will be covered by clean energy sources.
2/8/2023
Solar Panels Are the Midwest’s New Cash Crop as Green Energy Booms – Bloomberg.com
With millions of acres of flat farmland, Ohio and Indiana are becoming leading US states for solar power development.
A Bold Plan to Beam Solar Energy Down From Space | WIRED
The European Space Agency is exploring a unique way to dramatically cut carbon emissions by tapping sunlight closer to the source.
New French law will blanket parking lots with solar panels – The Washington Post
The measure could add 10 nuclear power plants’ worth of solar panels atop parking lots.
Schneider Electric Expands Grids of the Future Portfolio with Stepwise Journeys for Digital Transformation
BOSTON and SAN DIEGO, Feb. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — Schneider Electric, the leader in the digital transformation of energy management and automation, today announced the next phase in its Grids of the Future offerings at DISTRIBUTECH International® 2023, the leading annual transmission and distribution event for utilities, technology providers, and industry leaders.
2/4/2023
Investing in Energy Flexibility Will Secure Our Grids for a Renewables-Driven Future
Climate change is creating extreme weather events that are wreaking havoc on our power grids. In 2021, skyrocketing temperatures taxed Texas’s grid to the point where the entire state was just four minutes away from a total blackout that could have meant no power for weeks, or even months. California encountered a similar situation last year when overuse of ‘dumb’ HVAC systems during record-breaking heat waves resulted in the state using double the energy of the UK despite only having half the population. However, as the world transitions to renewable energy sources to slow extreme meteorological manifestations, the challenge of bringing power to the areas where they are needed, when they are needed, is becoming increasingly apparent.
Southeast Asia’s biggest BESS officially opened in Singapore – Energy Storage News
Singapore has surpassed its 2025 energy storage deployment target three years early, with the official opening of the biggest battery storage project in Southeast Asia. The opening was hosted by the 200MW/285MWh battery energy storage system (BESS) project’s developer Sembcorp, together with Singapore’s Energy Market Authority (EMA).
12/16/2022
Biden-Harris Administration Announces $750 Million to Accelerate Clean Hydrogen Technologies
The Biden-Harris Administration, through the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), today announced its intent to issue $750 million in funding from President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to dramatically reduce the cost of clean-hydrogen technologies. The funding is a crucial component of the Administration’s comprehensive approach to accelerating the widespread use of clean hydrogen and will play a vital role in supporting commercial-scale hydrogen deployment. Produced with net-zero carbon emissions, clean hydrogen is a key pillar in the emerging clean energy economy and will be essential for achieving the President’s goal of a 100% clean electrical grid by 2035 and net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.
12/12/2022
Fusion energy breakthrough at the National Ignition Facility 2022
12/08/2022
DOE Recognizes Better Buildings Partner City of Chattanooga, TN for Energy Efficiency Achievements
Today, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) recognized Better Buildings Challenge partner City of Chattanooga, Tennessee for energy efficiency leadership across more than 200 of its municipal facilities. Chattanooga hosted DOE for a tour of its Moccasin Bend Environmental Campus to showcase its successful energy, water, and cost savings measures.
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