Energy
Who Created the Renewable Energy Miracle?
by Paul Krugman (originally published in the New York Times) As terrible as many things in the world are, climate is unique in posing an existential threat to civilization. And it’s horrifying that so many political figures are dead set against any serious action to address that threat. Despite that, there’s still a chance that […]
Sweden Closes Last Coal-Fired Power Plant Two Years Ahead of Schedule
Sweden becomes the third European country to exit coal completely after Belgium closed its last coal power station in 2016, and Austria ended its final coal-fired energy operations earlier this month. The plant at Värtaverket, in Hjorthagen in eastern Stockholm is owned by Stockholm Exergi, a company part owned by the City of Stockholm and which […]
Industrial-Strength Ultra-High Temperature Solar
Heliogen is a startup that wants to “replace fuels with sunlight.” And the Bill Gates-backed solar startup, which has flown under the radar until recently, has made a major green-energy breakthrough for heavy industry. Heliogen “has created the world’s first technology that can commercially replace fuels with carbon-free, ultra-high temperature heat from the sun.” […]
Norway Refuses to Drill for Billions of Barrels in Arctic
The largest party in Norway’s parliament has delivered a significant blow to the country’s huge oil industry after withdrawing support for exploratory drilling off the Lofoten islands in the Arctic, which are considered a natural wonder. Read the entire article at The Independent. The move, by the opposition Labour party, creates a large parliamentary […]
Billionaires Chase Holy Grail of Energy
Not long before he died, tech visionary Paul Allen traveled to the south of France for a personal tour of a 35-country quest to replicate the workings of the Sun. The goal is to one day produce clean, almost limitless energy by fusing atoms together rather than splitting them apart. The Microsoft Corp. co-founder said he […]
Massachusetts Takes Critical Step Towards Climate-Resilient Utilities
The Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities is requiring the state’s biggest electricity provider, Eversource, to assess its vulnerability to climate change and develop a climate adaptation plan. Read the entire article at Conservation Law Foundation. In the wake of a devastating 2017 hurricane season, it’s clear that climate change impacts such as storms […]
Federal Utility CEO: Coal plants not reopening under Trump
The CEO of the nation’s biggest public utility said Tuesday that the agency isn’t going to reopen coal-fired power plants under President Donald Trump, who has promised a comeback for the downtrodden coal industry. Tennessee Valley Authority CEO Bill Johnson said he thinks very little will actually change for the federal utility under Trump. TVA […]
Big Oil Replacing Offshore Rigs with Wind Turbines
Big oil is starting to challenge the biggest utilities in the race to erect wind turbines at sea. Royal Dutch Shell Plc, Statoil ASA and Eni SpA are moving into multi-billion-dollar offshore wind farms in the North Sea and beyond. They’re starting to score victories against leading power suppliers including Dong Energy A/S and Vattenfall AB in competitive […]
The New Economics of Energy Storage
Energy storage is a favorite technology of the future – for good reasons. Many people see affordable storage as the missing link between intermittent renewable power, such as solar and wind, and 24/7 reliability. Utilities are intrigued by the potential for storage to meet other needs such as relieving congestion and smoothing out the variations in […]
China’s Coal Consumption Drops Again – Boosting Its Leadership on Climate Change
Reforms to the coal industry are central to Beijing’s climate campaign. The US and China had become critical partners on climate, crucially joining last year to endorse the Paris climate accord. In the face of US retrenchment on climate change, China can play a key role in implementing Paris. China’s aggressive push has put it on […]
