Climate change

Tax credits and incentives, also known as C&I, have long been important to support the growth of energy technologies, from oil and gas exploration to solar and wind power. Federal tax credits have lifted the U.S. renewable energy industry over the past decade, leading to rapid growth in the sector. Laurence Sotsky is the CEO […]

The decision to formalize the firm’s offering follows the establishment of the firm’s Global Hydrogen Practice Group back in June WASHINGTON, D.C. and LONDON, October 13 2020 – Baker Botts L.L.P., a leading international technology and energy law firm, has launched a dedicated Carbon Capture, Utilization and Storage Practice Group within the firm’s Energy sector. […]

Vistra has announced seven new renewable energy projects that will add about 1,000 MW of solar and energy storage to the company’s generation fleet. The company also said it would retire its coal-fired power plants in Illinois and Ohio as part of an effort to reduce carbon emissions as it established new long-term emissions reduction […]

Chinese President Xi Jinping said he wants his country to “achieve carbon neutrality before 2060.” It will not be an easy task for the world’s largest emitter of greenhouse gases (GHG). China, though it has canceled some planned thermal power plants over the past several years, has as much as 200 GW of coal-fired facilities […]

Entergy Corp., an integrated energy company with a 30-GW power generating fleet, took a bold step toward decarbonization on Sept. 23, announcing it would join forces with Mitsubishi Power to integrate green hydrogen into utility businesses in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas.  Entergy will focus on developing hydrogen-capable combined cycle gas turbine (CCGT) facilities and […]

America’s energy systems are being led by renewables development, both now and in the foreseeable future. There should be no real argument about what the future of our energy economy looks like. Not just because renewables bolster needed decarbonization efforts, but because renewables are a better economic solution and embody core principles of American entrepreneurism. […]

In a stunning announcement, Exelon Generation, which operates the largest U.S. fleet of nuclear plants—21 reactors at 12 facilities in Illinois, Maryland, New York, and Pennsylvania—said it will retire the Byron and Dresden generating stations next fall for economic reasons. “Although we know in our heads that shutting down the uneconomic Illinois plants is necessary […]

South Korea has flourished over the past six decades, transforming its place on the world stage. However, progress has come at a price—far higher than average pollution generated from its energy grid. On its path of progress, the country has capitalized on the promise of cheap coal power. Meeting its energy and emissions goals will […]

Two reports analyzing energy transitions toward low-carbon resources released this week offer mixed assessments of how the power industry is faring in efforts to tamp down carbon emissions.  The World Benchmarking Alliance (WBA), a broad group of stakeholders committed to 17 Sustainable Development Goals developed by the United Nations (UN) in 2015, on July 6 launched […]

May 19, 2020 — With industry accounting for more than one-fourth of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions, its decarbonization is essential for combating climate change, according to a report released today that shows energy efficiency is a key way to slash these industrial emissions. Decarbonizing industry by midcentury will require a transformation in what we make and […]

Much has been written about renewable energy, but few stories have focused on the complexity of determining the optimal mix of solar and wind generation, and the kind and amount of energy storage, that

Braintree, MA — Competitive Power Ventures (CPV) celebrates Earth Day by announcing that more than 15 million tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions have been avoided since 2011 because of the company’s new, highly-efficient electric generation facilities, which is the equivalent of removing more than 3 million cars from the road for a year. CPV […]

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (April 28, 2020) – Duke Energy (NYSE: DUK) today released a pair of data-driven reports outlining the company’s recent accomplishments and path to advance its critical environmental, social and governance (ESG) initiatives. The company’s Sustainability Report details the company’s performance in four key areas – customers, growth, operations and employees. The report also is available […]

Here’s the good news: humanity knows how to solve climate change. Wind, solar, energy storage, and efficiency technologies are cost-competitive, fully mature solutions that are ready to be deployed everywhere. Wind and solar are now the cheapest forms of new energy to build and continue to get cheaper. COMMENTARY Now the bad news: market inertia […]

Legal challenges to the Trump administration’s Affordable Clean Energy (ACE) rule began in earnest April 17, as more than two dozen states and cities, along with several environmental activist groups, filed briefs with the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C., seeking a rollback of power plant regulations that also have been decried by coal […]

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on April 16 withdrew the legal justification for an Obama-era rule that required coal-fired power plants to reduce their emissions of mercury. The Mercury and Air Toxic Standards (MATS) remains in place, but Thursday’s action by the Trump administration could prevent similar regulations from being implemented in the future. EPA […]

The need to reduce carbon emissions is real. In 2018, the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reported that global emissions would need to reach net-zero (or carbon-neutral) by 2050 to prevent severe climate change impacts. Electricity is a major contributor—electricity generation was responsible for approximately 33% of total CO2 emissions in the U.S. in […]

At first view, marine energy developer Minesto’s novel underwater “kite” technology may be easily dismissed as a fanciful concept, one of dozens introduced over the last decade to reap the immense ocean

While it is currently highly dependent on natural gas generation today, about 95% of ISO-New England’s (ISO-NE’s) interconnection request queue—a proposed total capacity of 20.9 GW—comprises wind, solar, and battery projects. That clearly indicates that developers in New England’s wholesale market “are looking to take advantage of state incentives, declining technology costs, and revenues from […]

Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems (MHPS) has bagged an order for the first advanced-class gas turbines designed to transition to renewable hydrogen fuel from Utah’s state-owned Intermountain Power Agency (IPA). MHPS’s Lake Mary, Florida–based subsidiary MHPS Americas (MHPSA) on March 10 said that the contract for two M501JAC power trains are the first in the industry […]

A UK-based hedge fund billionaire is urging large central banks to end their funding of coal-fired power plant projects. Chris Hohn, founder of TCI Fund Management and a champion of causes to combat climate change, expressed his concerns in letters published March 1 to the Bank of England, the European Central Bank, Barclays, HSBC, and […]

Puerto Rico has been battered by natural disasters in recent years, with hurricanes Irma and Maria in 2017, and a series of earthquakes in late December 2019 and early January 2020, causing widespread damage

There’s widespread debate over whether nuclear power should be a player in the path toward addressing climate change. Industry analysts say nuclear is key to zero-emission power generation; even some environmentalists agree, though others point to the issue of disposal of nuclear waste, and concerns about the safety of reactors. Those concerns have led some […]

Rich Sorkin, CEO of Jupiter Intelligence As the reality of climate change begins to soak in, enterprises, organizations and governments around the globe are trying to get a handle on the economic and social implications of rising temperatures and sea levels. One area most immediately threatened by climate change—and one that hasn’t received nearly enough […]

Responding to a request from a Democrat-led U.S. House committee, the federal International Trade Commission (ITC) is investigating how New England’s increasing renewable targets are economically affecting the region, and what role renewable imports play in meeting those commitments. The ITC, an independent, nonpartisan and quasi-judicial federal agency that also provides fact-finding as it relates […]

Given current trends, the U.S. gas turbine industry is set to play a critically important role in power generation, aircraft propulsion, and the oil and gas industry “for decades to come,” but it could benefit from prioritized research and development (R&D) and technological leadership, a new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and […]

Richmond, Virginia-based Dominion Energy has joined a growing list of power companies establishing net-zero emissions targets. The company, which has more than 7 million electricity and natural gas customers in 18 states, said it intends to reach its carbon dioxide and methane reduction goals by 2050. Under the net-zero framework, the company is committing to […]

Deep decarbonization of the U.S. Northwest can be achieved at “manageable” costs by 2045, but only if utility agency Energy Northwest secures zero-emitting firm capacity, such as by relicensing Columbia Generating Station—the sole nuclear plant in the region—and building small modular reactors (SMRs), a new study suggests. The study by San Francisco-based consulting group Energy […]