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The end of every year is a great time for taking stock of what the year has broughtincluding in terms of cleanenergy in the power sector. As it turns out, 2024 has provided a whole lot of cleanenergy progress as fodder for that stock-taking.
Some years ago, I began to feel the most important thing I could do was learn how to replace fossilfuel with renewable energy. For 30 years I have been an advocate for offshore wind development off New England’s coast and for the creation of institutions to support a transition from fossilfuels to renewable energy.
As the year kicks off with a very cold January weather forecast, US power grid operators and the regulators who oversee them are paying close attention to ensure that the grid failures of several past extreme winter storms dont happen again. Ratepayers in MISO South could use that more affordable power but cannot currently access it.
We at the Union of Concerned Scientists think a lot about windpower. In honor of Global Wind Day , here’s a roundup of what we’re seeing and what we’ve been thinking—five facts about windenergy to keep in mind as you celebrate, or at least make note, on June 15. Windpower is big, and getting bigger.
With the cleanenergy transition already under way, the US electricity mix is set to continue changing this year. Solar power is expected to make up about half of all additions of US electric generating capacity in 2023, according to data from the US Energy Information Administration (EIA). I’ll start off with the good.
The progress in the numbers The new numbers are from the federal Energy Information Administration (EIA), which collects data from power plant operators from across the country. They offer a lot of good news about cleanenergy progress. Renewables up, coal down More renewable energy is desirable for a lot of reasons.
The legislation committed nearly $400 billion to support, among other things, wind and solar power, battery storage, electric vehicles, and other cleanenergy technologies that will make a significant dent in US heat-trapping emissions. It also will save US consumers money because they will spend less on fossilfuels.
The same scenario has played out with the power plants that use fossilfuels, predominantly methane (“natural”) gas, delivered by pipelines. The electric power system is trapped by gas-dependent power plants that cannot obtain gas when it needs it to keep the lights on. It’s a vicious feedback loop.
Climate policy has been boosted by dramatic changes in the economics of cleanenergy. Windpower costs fell by half from 2008 to 2021. Cheaper renewable energy attracts private investment and makes limits on fossilfuels more feasible.
Minnesotans are facing concurrent crises of climate change, high energy prices and inflation, and the inequitable public health impacts of fossilfuel air pollution. Renewable energy will help with all of that—but we need a grid that is designed for wind and solar instead of having to rely on expensive coal and gas plants.
Once the battery looks up to code, it is off to the grid to power our renewable energy future! Battery energy storage is powerful and growing. Battery energy storage can help store cleanenergy for the grid. Challenges and Opportunities in Mining Materials for Energy Storage Lithium-ion Batteries.
We also evaluated the potential to accelerate the use of renewable energy dramatically through state-level renewable electricity standards, which have been major drivers of cleanenergy in recent decades. From 2020 to 2040, solar generation in these states jumps nearly ninefold and wind generation more than sevenfold.
When it comes to the transition to cleanenergy, 2023 was quite a year for progress: record-breaking amounts of solar installed in the United States, a solid drop in carbon emissions from the US power sector, more than one million electric vehicles sold in the country for the first time, “breakneck” growth in renewable energy globally, and more.
Today, the regional entity overseeing much of the electric power grid in the Midwest—the Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO)—approved a set of major new transmission system upgrades that will bring billions of dollars in benefits to the region while better enabling states and utilities to pursue transitions to cleanenergy.
With respect to the electricity grid, CEJA directs the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) to prepare a Renewable Energy Access Plan (REAP) to help ensure that cleanenergy resources can connect to the grid and be ready to replace coal and gas plants.
Attacks on nature, cleanenergy, and livable communities filled the headlines. Speaking of homes, heating and cooling a home in Canada where we see 50 degree temperature swings over the course of the year requires lots of energy. 2024 had some bumps in the road for environmental protection. But what about for 2025?
Without additional climate or cleanenergy policies, gas (and to a lesser degree, coal) will both provide electricity and will be used to balance the grid with growing levels of variable wind and solar generation. These low gas prices play an interesting role in the US and world energy markets.
The combination of offshore wind turbines, floating solar panels and green hydrogen are some of the hybrid cleanenergy technologies currently under development off the Dutch coast. . The low-lying European country is using its expertise in water engineering to build up its next wave of cleanenergy infrastructure.
Weifang Port’s “zero-carbon” certification was primarily achieved by transitioning away from fossilfuel use, according to China Electric Power News (CEPN). It has built a windpower system to provide green energy for its operations and deployed hydrogen-powered vehicles to replace fossil-fuel-powered trucks.
The results include two developers cancelling their offshore windpower contracts with states and utilities, another cancelling two projects altogether, and hesitation elsewhere. The good news-bad news balance, though, would seem to tip decidedly in favor of a whole lot more offshore wind.
Fuel transport – Spring floods can hinder the transportation of fuels like coal. While it is a heavily polluting fossilfuel that is set to continue declining as a fuel source for US electricity generation over the next decade, coal still accounted for roughly 20 percent of the country’s generation in 2022.
That means that any renewable energy generation will supply a larger portion of demand. That lower-than-expected electricity demand also makes spring (and the other “shoulder” season, fall) the go-to seasons for fossilfuel and nuclear power plants to go offline for scheduled maintenance—or refueling, in the case of the nuclear plants.
Today, the fossilfuel industry is aggressively promoting a liquefied natural gas facility near Philadelphia, explicitly targeting the most overburdened and underrepresented communities in the area so that they can export more gas overseas. We will pay and the companies will eat the profits. It’s time to stop falling for this grift.
For the first time ever in the 27-year history of UN climate talks, at COP26 fossilfuels were mentioned in the final agreement. This shows that we are getting nearer to consigning the fossilfuel industry to history, even though there’s still a long way to go. Of those fossilfuels, coal will be the first to go.
To avoid the worst impacts of the climate crisis, it’s crucial that we shift energy production away from the unsustainable fossilfuels that cause climate change and towards those that release little to no greenhouse gases (GHG), such as solar and windpower. Cleanenergy is key to national security.
By Anders Lorenzen Tenders for 250 gigawatts (GW) of cleanenergy by 2028 are set to be unveiled by the Indian government, according to a government memo. Overall, India is also looking to boost its share of non-fossil capacity, which can include big hydro and nuclear to 50% by 2030. Photo credit: Reuters / Amit Dave.
We all know that to successfully address climate change we need to phase out fossilfuels and switch to electric power. A s we transition our homes and vehicles to electric power, it’s imperative that the electricity sector be clean. The costs of wind and solar power have been dropping like a stone.
SMR is a high-carbon process that uses fossilfuels for process heat. They typically refer to fossil SMR hydrogen as “ grey ” hydrogen. How is clean hydrogen produced? Ammonia could also be an important carbon-less fuel. Clean hydrogen could replace fossilfuels for large vehicles and vessels that make long trips.
Hydrogen’s supply-side has been buttressed by incentives from state and federal governments, refineries and utilities looking to extend the life of fossilfuel infrastructure, and renewable energy companies seeking to take advantage of the huge amounts of cleanenergy needed to produce green hydrogen.
How then do we explain what is currently happening with energy prices? In the early days of the current price shocks, fossilfuel boosters blamed cleanenergy and climate policy. But as the cleanenergy transition accelerates, these broader questions of politics and price making should be front and center.
On August 9, the Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority announced it would be committing to the purchase of windpower and the use of cleanenergy to support the production and operations of water services. PWSA holds the largest share at 30% of the total, underlining our strong commitment to sustainable energy practices.
Others have some factual basis but are commonly repeated without necessary context: for instance, the notion that solar panels produce significant waste, without the context that fossilfuelenergy generates far more.
Alberta: Speak Up For a SAFE Climate: Take Action Here How Climate Action Makes Life More Affordable Renewable energy, including solar and windpower, is much cheaper and less polluting than burning fossilfuels such as natural gas, oil and coal.
Forecasts of cool weather and expectations of lower windpower output had driven up demand for more fossil-fuel produced energy. The EU’s emissions trading system forces manufacturers, power companies and airlines, to pay for each tonne of CO2 they emit, in an effort to reduce emissions and to meet climate targets.
In the past 14 years much has happened in the space of climate change as well as the advancement of cleanenergy , but it has also become clear how hard it is to say goodbye to fossilfuels. These are symbolic and cultural attachments as much as it is the challenge of putting a proper energy transition in place.
Introduction One of the main messages coming out of the recent COP28 meetings in the UAE concerns the role that nuclear power can play in the future of cleanenergy development around the world. The hope is that this encourages international financial institutions to include nuclear energy in loans for energy projects.
Parts of it have in recent years experienced the nightmare and havoc of climate-fuelled wildfires is increasing its effort to accelerate a cleanenergy transition. This week, the country moved forward with plans to construct its first offshore wind farms.
Yet Mainers are questioning whether to accept a new 145-mile electric transmission line that will bring hydropower from Quebec into the New England power grid, removing 3.0 Million tons of regional CO2 per year, and providing energy cost savings to Mainers ($40 million per year in savings) and others in New England. What gives?
An already tight market for rare-earth magnet production has been further hampered by China’s recent power shortages while surging commodity prices have increased generator material costs yet further.
Energy is also one of the areas presenting an opportunity to make a big break from Russia, by moving away from fossilfuels, in order to embrace the EUs desire for more cleanenergy.
A recent National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) study shows that it would take less than 1 percent of the land in the Lower 48—that’s an area comparable to or even smaller than the fossilfuel industry’s current footprint. Rooftop solar deployment, meanwhile, doesn’t require any land. times current levels by 2035.
The briefs pointed to additional benefits from the project, including its potential to generate regional economic development and employment opportunities, and its potential to benefit public health by reducing reliance on the combustion of fossilfuels.
While solar PV and windpower are grabbing headlines, another cleanenergy revolution is silently taking place. This fertilizer can help local agriculture become more sustainable and less fossil-fuel-dependent. Anaerobic digestion also produces massive amounts of digestate.
ERCOT also expected, during peak demand events in winter, to have power from wind represent about 27% of installed wind capacity. In its most severe appraisal of the loss of wind capacity, ERCOT expected 8% of windpower compared to capacity. We can see the same impact of variable energies in Germany.
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