Union of Concerned Scientists

APRIL 16, 2024

Much of our electricity system is 50 to 70 years old, yet current plans for domestic manufacturing, electric vehicle fleets, community solar gardens and more clean energy all depend on a modern grid. New demands for electricity and the need to reduce climate-changing emissions are driving new grid planning efforts.

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Union of Concerned Scientists

SEPTEMBER 14, 2023

Since the beginning of 2022, electric vehicle sales in the United States have been downright electrifying. Last year, US drivers bought more than 800,000 new electric vehicles (EVs), 65 percent more than in 2021, even as overall car sales declined. percent in 2021. Those 807,956 EVs accounted for 5.8

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Union of Concerned Scientists

NOVEMBER 13, 2024

Energy storage, or the storing of electricity for later use on the power grid, plays an important role in the clean energy transition. Illinois is currently considering policy proposals to establish a statewide energy storage target. Curtailment means we are wasting otherwise clean, perfectly usable electricity.

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Union of Concerned Scientists

MAY 31, 2022

Rising prices of methane gas used for power and heating, exacerbated by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, are contributing to soaring electric and heating bills across the country. And between 2010 and 2020 across all economic sectors, the share of US primary energy consumption from methane gas increased from 25 to 34 percent. .

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Circle of Blue

NOVEMBER 3, 2021

By Brett Walton, Circle of Blue – November 3, 2021. A movement to enshrine individual rights to clean air and water in state constitutions received a boost yesterday. It appears that a measure to ban the construction of the New England Clean Energy Connect transmission line will win.

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Union of Concerned Scientists

JANUARY 30, 2023

On January 26, the Minnesota House of Representatives passed House File 7 —the 100% Clean Energy Bill. Now it’s on to the state Senate, where the question is: Will this be the year Minnesota sets a path toward 100-percent carbon-free electricity?

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Union of Concerned Scientists

MAY 12, 2022

Nearly all of the alliance members have a renewable electricity standard (RES), which requires utilities in their jurisdiction to increase their use of renewable energy to a particular percentage by a specific year. We found that states have technically feasible and highly beneficial ways to achieve 100-percent renewable energy.

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Union of Concerned Scientists

APRIL 24, 2023

There’s good news in the recently released official data on electricity generation in the United States in 2022: renewable energy has continued to grow, coal power has continued to drop, and renewables are now firmly ahead of coal for the first time ever. They offer a lot of good news about clean energy progress.

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Circle of Blue

NOVEMBER 1, 2021

This hotly contested referendum is focused on the future of electric power in the region. The electric company Central Maine Power got its state and federal permits and began construction on a high-voltage transmission line called New England Clean Energy Connect. Senate race.

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Circle of Blue

OCTOBER 29, 2021

2021 Election Preview: The Expensive Battle in Maine over Hydropower Imports. The future of electric power in New England, or at least a piece of it, is the subject of a highly contested referendum in Maine. The post The Stream, October 29, 2021: Sudan Coup Leaves Dam Negotiations Uncertain appeared first on Circle of Blue.

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Circle of Blue

NOVEMBER 29, 2021

The Associated Press reports that the environment commissioner in Maine suspended a permit for a high-voltage electricity transmission line intended to cross the state. The post What’s Up With Water – November 29, 2021 appeared first on Circle of Blue. This is Eileen Wray-McCann – thanks for being here for us.

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Union of Concerned Scientists

NOVEMBER 2, 2023

The North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC), which previously existed under a slightly different name and role, was given authority as this reliability entity. The interdependence between the gas and electric system means that grid reliability efforts are undermined by a lack of oversight in the gas system.

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Union of Concerned Scientists

APRIL 3, 2023

Illinois’ Climate and Equitable Jobs Act (CEJA) sets a bold goal for the state—no carbon pollution from electricity generation by 2045, which means zero global warming emissions from coal- and gas-fired power plants. Illinois legislators and clean energy advocates celebrate CEJA’s signing in September 2021.

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Union of Concerned Scientists

NOVEMBER 16, 2023

The legislation committed nearly $400 billion to support, among other things, wind and solar power, battery storage, electric vehicles, and other clean energy technologies that will make a significant dent in US heat-trapping emissions. How is that going to happen? Their report, however, comes with a warning.

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Union of Concerned Scientists

FEBRUARY 21, 2023

Last spring, the Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO) , which operates the electricity grid serving 45 million people across the central United States, found o ut it was at a higher risk of power outages than it believed. The result, as I explain below, was skyrocketing electricity bills for thousands of people.

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Union of Concerned Scientists

FEBRUARY 9, 2024

Gas, which now generates 40 percent of US electricity, is considered by some to be critical to maintain grid reliability. For example, Dominion Energy, an electric and gas utility in Virginia, is planning to build a mammoth 1,000-megawatt gas plant in an area with a high percentage of residents who are people of color and low-income.

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Union of Concerned Scientists

SEPTEMBER 19, 2024

Extreme weather, which is increasing due to climate change , can degrade the electricity system and cause these failures. Power outages are costly, can have extreme impacts on both the health and safety of a population, and can happen at any point in the process of electricity generation, distribution, and usage.

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Union of Concerned Scientists

OCTOBER 28, 2022

Although the nuclear bailout was repealed and refunded in 2021, some of the law’s other egregious provisions requiring ratepayers across the state to subsidize money-losing coal plants and gutting renewable energy and energy efficiency standards are still in place today. Despite the partial repeal, H.B. Since H.B.

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Union of Concerned Scientists

JULY 22, 2022

Unfortunately, the Minnesota Legislature failed to act on climate and clean energy investments this session, leaving progress toward a more affordable, equitable, healthy Minnesota on the table. Most Minnesotans are familiar with their local electricity utility, since that’s who bills them for electricity they provide.

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Union of Concerned Scientists

APRIL 27, 2023

From a national perspective, the land use needed to reach our clean energy goals is modest. But for states like California, with large populations, an ambitious and necessary clean energy timeline , and ongoing natural resource issues , where to actually build these projects will require thoughtful planning.

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Solar Power Clean Energy Renewable Energy Electricity 267

Union of Concerned Scientists

MARCH 16, 2022

The Department of Energy’s Energy Information Administration (EIA) is one of the go-to sources for reliable information about the US power sector. They just released their 2022 “Annual Energy Outlook” (AEO), which is a big deal: it tells us where electricity is headed over the next 30 years. Carbon emissions remain high.

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Legal Planet

APRIL 29, 2024

Climate policy has been boosted by dramatic changes in the economics of clean energy. Wind power costs fell by half from 2008 to 2021. The Department of Energy estimates the cost of an electric vehicle lithium-ion battery pack declined 89% between 2008 and 2022. There’s also a lot of exciting work on solar cells.

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Union of Concerned Scientists

MARCH 12, 2024

Fossil gas power plants currently provide the largest source of electricity generation and capacity in the United States. To meet our climate goals and reach net zero emissions by 2050, most studies show that we need to dramatically reduce gas use for generating electricity, heating homes and businesses, and running industrial processes.

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Union of Concerned Scientists

AUGUST 12, 2021

The Senate just released a federal budget resolution that includes a measure that could subsidize the production of natural gas. Here are 5 reasons why we shouldn't do that.

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Union of Concerned Scientists

JULY 1, 2024

Together with other modes of transportation, our vehicles emit the most heat-trapping gases in the US economy: 28 percent, followed closely by the electricity sector. In our study, by 2035 all new vehicles sold are either battery-electric vehicles (BEVs) or fuel-cell electric vehicles (FCEVs).

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Union of Concerned Scientists

MAY 31, 2022

On the last day of the 2022 Minnesota legislative session, state legislators had a real case of the Mondays: They failed to deliver on climate and energy policies that would have accelerated renewable energy enough to forge a clear path to carbon-free electricity and set the state on track to meet science-based emission reduction targets.

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Union of Concerned Scientists

SEPTEMBER 20, 2022

For instance, pilots can help utilities learn how to effectively integrate distributed energy storage, including batteries installed in ratepayers’ homes, which will be key to reducing emissions. In 2021, it ordered that future proposals have to include objective criteria.

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Legal Planet

JULY 29, 2021

On Wednesday, Oregon Governor Kate Brown signed a package of four clean energy bills. Here are a few details about the four bills: House Bill 2021 creates the emission reduction mandate. The law also contains provisions addressing wages and benefits for workers on renewable energy projects. million per year.

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Union of Concerned Scientists

JANUARY 4, 2024

A new North American Electricity Reliability Corporation (NERC) and Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) review of power outages and gas industry failures reveals the potential for prolonged and deadly power outages. What Happened in Texas?

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Law and Environment

AUGUST 11, 2022

Based on numerous sources, Governor Baker has now signed an Act Driving Clean Energy and Offshore Wind. This bill includes a number of key advancements for increased adoption of zero emission vehicles and clean transportation throughout the Commonwealth. The Department shall approve the rebates not later than June 30, 2023; and.

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A Greener Life

NOVEMBER 15, 2023

The United States supports Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) partners in meeting their clean energy goals. By Leigh Hartman When Son Nguyen lived in the US, he saw rapidly advancing electric vehicle technology and heard stories from back in Vietnam about air pollution. © Zul Kifli / AFP / Getty Images.

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Union of Concerned Scientists

OCTOBER 19, 2022

The US solar industry was valued at $33 billion in 2021, employed more than 230,000 people, and continued to grow in power capacity at an average rate of 33 percent per year. Solar panels generated almost 4 percent of electricity in the US in 2021, up from less than 1 percent in 2015. Meet your solar panel. Chemistry break!

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Union of Concerned Scientists

JUNE 15, 2022

The ones that’ll soon be gracing areas over the horizon are powerful enough, each one, to generate the equivalent of an average home’s daily electricity use in just a few seconds. Even more important, though, wind is an impressive piece of our electricity supply. Wind is now the largest source of renewable energy in the country.

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Union of Concerned Scientists

JULY 25, 2022

This week, the Midwest’s regional electric grid operators approved nearly $10.5 These investments will bring more clean energy online, improve grid resiliency, and deliver significant consumer benefits and jobs. This development will create almost 32,000 jobs while providing enough energy to power more than 1.8

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Union of Concerned Scientists

MAY 18, 2022

Space missions are a federal matter, but states determine energy policy and infrastructure decisions. Right now, states and the federal government have a choice that will define our country’s options for clean energy and planning the power grid for the challenges ahead. Shared Duties, with Leadership. New Roles for States.

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Law and Environment

JULY 1, 2022

The decision focuses on EPA’s authority under a specific section of the Clean Air Act. But a closer read suggests more sweeping, longer-term implications for incentivizing the development of clean energy projects nationwide. The Court ruled that EPA lacked the authority under the Clean Air Act to issue the Clean Power Plan.

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Law and Environment

JANUARY 24, 2023

This past year represents a real turning point in the transition to electric vehicles, demonstrated by new major incentives and regulatory activities at both federal and state government levels and several notable accomplishments in the private sector. National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Plan $9,397,238 actual FY 2022.

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