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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Environment + Energy Leader

JANUARY 20, 2023

Minnesota's transition to clean electricity cleared its first hurdle at the state Capitol on Wednesday. If the bill makes it into law, all electricity generated by the state's utilities would have to be carbon-free by 2040.

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Electricity Law Renewable Energy 244

Legal Planet

DECEMBER 16, 2021

Energy law used to be an obscure niche subject. Energy law is a hot topic. Law students are thronging to the field, seeing an opportunity to combine social relevance with good-paying jobs. Top law schools are responding by competing for faculty. Energy use accounts for the bulk of greenhouse gas emissions.

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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. The ICC is currently considering a draft for the first of these REAP plans and is expected to finish this summer.

Electricity 246

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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. percent of the country’s electricity supply (up 1.1

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Circle of Blue

OCTOBER 6, 2022

Coal mine cleanup law is still built for the industry’s roaring ’70s. In the late 1970s, a golden age for American coal, skyrocketing oil prices coupled with rising demand for electricity set off a boom in coal-fired power plants. To enforce cleanup, the law allowed states to revoke mining permits, a prized commodity. .

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Law Fossil Fuels Politics Natural Resources 276

Union of Concerned Scientists

MAY 19, 2022

A recent Union of Concerned Scientists analysis found that Minnesota could meet its electricity demands with 100-percent renewable energy by 2035, which would provide significant economic and health benefits. With such a wide gulf to cross, Minnesota could miss another opportunity to advance many key clean energy programs.

Clean Energy 264

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Union of Concerned Scientists

DECEMBER 22, 2022

Lithium-ion batteries are essential for decarbonizing transportation through electric vehicles and building a resilient, renewable energy grid through energy storage batteries. Nearly every part of a renewable energy grid can be circular, with all outputs circulating back as inputs in a regenerative cycle.

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Legal Planet

JUNE 6, 2022

Our electricity system will be crucial to decarbonization efforts, both because much of our current energy comes from electricity, and because decarbonizing sectors like transportation will require significant electrification. Restructuring generally addresses one of two parts of the electricity industry: generation and retail.

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Electricity Renewable Energy Politics Law 130

A Greener Life

NOVEMBER 14, 2024

By Liu Lican On November 8, China issued its first Energy Law , which aims to support the development and utilisation of renewable energy and increase the proportion of non-fossil energy consumption. However, the law also states that there will be “rational development and clean and efficient use” of fossil fuels.

Law 52

Law Renewable Energy Fossil Fuels 2025 52

Union of Concerned Scientists

JUNE 12, 2023

What happens when promise of electricity reliability fails in bad weather? We know that consumers pay for electricity reliability and bear the cost when supplies are tight. In many places state and federal utility regulators delegated decisions about energy supplies to the market.

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Fossil Fuels Renewable Energy Electricity Regulations 266

Enviromental Defense

DECEMBER 23, 2024

Between one and three per cent of all energy used worldwide powers Artificial Intelligence, some of which is being used to power such essential services as revealing what your mother-in-law would look like if she were a cat. Stay tuned.

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Renewable Energy 2027 Government Electricity 98

Energy and Climate Law

OCTOBER 22, 2020

By Ceciel Nieuwenhout, Post-Doctoral Researcher, Groningen Centre of Energy Law and Sustainability; Lead Author of WP 1 T1.2 Report to the H2020 POCITYF-project A substantial part of energy in the EU is consumed by households , for powering electric appliances and for heating and cooling.

Electricity 246

Electricity Renewable Energy Law Regulations 246

Law Columbia

JUNE 11, 2024

Local opposition has proven to be a significant barrier to the rapid expansion of renewable energy facilities across the United States. The report also identifies 395 local restrictions across 41 states, along with 19 state-level restrictions, that are so severe that they could have the effect of blocking a renewable energy project.

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Renewable Energy 2023 Government Natural Resources 111

Union of Concerned Scientists

OCTOBER 16, 2024

I work in the electric utility sector, specifically on the grid issues that shape our energy supply choices. I heard some early warnings of data center growth running into grid limits first from tech companies and then from electric utility planners. This growth is a jolt to the usually slow-moving electricity sector.

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Electricity Clean Energy Nuclear Power Renewable Energy 287

Legal Planet

DECEMBER 13, 2021

But Nebraska has a unique approach to supplying electricity that provided a different pathway to climate action. Unlike any other state, Nebraska decided not to have private electric utilities. In 2019, the Utah State Legislature passed the Community Renewable Energy Act (HB 411). But there are signs of movement.

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Renewable Energy 2030 Wind Power Politics 246

Union of Concerned Scientists

MARCH 16, 2022

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. It’s widely viewed as the “gold standard” for energy projections, even though there’s much debate in the energy community about the validity of the assumptions behind these projections.

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Energy and Climate Law

APRIL 29, 2020

The coronavirus (COVID-19) keeps affecting all areas of life and also impacts upon energy law. This blog entry provides a first overview of energy law measures that selected European countries (Germany and the Netherlands) have taken to tackle the energy-related repercussions of the corona-crisis.

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Legal Planet

JULY 29, 2021

On Wednesday, Oregon Governor Kate Brown signed a package of four clean energy bills. These laws ban new fossil fuel plants and set aggressive targets for the state’s two major utilities, requiring emission cuts of 80% by 2030, 90% by 2035 and 100% by 2040. House Bill 2165 addresses electrical charging for vehicles.

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Legal Planet

OCTOBER 2, 2023

At the global level, however, Germany has its own claim to a leadership role, particularly in its early support for renewable energy. Although its track record has some complexities, this timeline of German actions shows just its early and sustained attention to clean energy policy: 1990. Renewables are 6% of power.

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Nuclear Power Renewable Energy Carbon Emissions 2030 203

Union of Concerned Scientists

DECEMBER 19, 2023

And it will make it even more important when winter electricity demand increases because more households are using electric heat pumps. NREL) Place Offshore wind has the distinct advantage, for many of us as consumers, of being close to where a lot of electricity demand is. The US offshore wind map. The US offshore wind map.

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Electricity Fossil Fuels Wind Power Renewable Energy 317

Union of Concerned Scientists

NOVEMBER 16, 2023

More transportation options = less buildout of the electric grid UCS’s project examined several ways that the US can lower global warming emissions consistent with limiting overall warming to 1.5 But it requires ambitious policies, including nearly tripling renewable energy’s share of US electricity generation by 2030 (see graph below).

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Clean Energy Biofuels Electricity Renewable Energy 356

Legal Planet

APRIL 29, 2024

The Department of Energy estimates the cost of an electric vehicle lithium-ion battery pack declined 89% between 2008 and 2022. Different batteries may be ideal in settings where charging speed is not a factor, such as utility-scale electricity storage. Prices for battery storage have declined even more sharply.

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Union of Concerned Scientists

AUGUST 30, 2023

One notable example is in Michigan, where utilities are phasing out coal plants and momentum is building for legislation that would support an equitable clean energy transition. With new Democratic majorities in the Michigan Legislature, lawmakers are considering several clean energy and climate bills, and the momentum is building.

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Clean Energy Electricity Renewable Energy Climate Change 264

PA Environment Daily

JANUARY 18, 2025

With the coldest weather since 2015 moving into the PJM footprint, electricity demand on Tuesday and Wednesday is expected to approach PJMs all-time winter peak of 143,295 MW, set on Feb. 1 Electricity Price Changes; Rates Will Vary From 8.4% 1 Electricity Price Changes; Rates Will Vary From 8.4% Read more here. Read more here.

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Union of Concerned Scientists

JULY 17, 2023

States’ roles in electricity decisions stem from their authority over public health, safety, and consumer protection. States’ jurisdiction on electricity supply and reliability are not limited to only reviewing proposed construction. Both sets of wires are needed for reliability and for hosting clean energy.

Clean Energy 246

Clean Energy Renewable Energy Fossil Fuels Regulations 246

Legal Planet

FEBRUARY 27, 2023

The headline is accurate, but the law in question contains a lot of other interesting features that deserve attention. Despite the law’s extremely unglamorous name (“Senate File 4”), this is a big step forward for the state, as well as evidence of how much difference it makes to unified party control of state government.

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Renewable Energy Law Clean Energy Electricity 246

Energy and Climate Law

AUGUST 25, 2020

My latest research has been published in the Journal of Energy and Natural Resources Law and is titled `Clean or renewable – hydrogen and power-to-gas in EU energy law´. Interest in hydrogen as a carbon-neutral energy carrier is on the rise around the globe, including in Europe.

Law 130

Law Renewable Energy Natural Resources Electricity 130

Union of Concerned Scientists

SEPTEMBER 26, 2022

Replacing petroleum with renewable electricity as the primary source of transportation energy will leave us all much better off. To achieve net-zero emissions in 2050 we must have 100% of new sales of light-duty passenger vehicles be electric by 2035, and of medium- and heavy-duty trucks at the latest by 2040.

Electricity 290

Electricity Biofuels Technology Technology 290

Legal Planet

SEPTEMBER 23, 2021

Dear 1L: You’ve gotten to law school at a crucial time for the future of the planet. At the end of environmental law courses, I used to tell students about the role they could play over the course of their careers in fixing environmental problems. The most obvious way to contribute is as an environmental or energy lawyer.

Renewable Energy 299

Renewable Energy Climate Change Law Electricity 299

Legal Planet

SEPTEMBER 17, 2024

Yet in 2023, China accounted for about 60% of the world’s new renewables and electric vehicles. Four questions: Why have emissions continued to grow despite the huge expansion in renewables? How is China’s clean energy spree impacting other countries? accounting for over 10% of China’s electricity.

Clean Energy 277

Clean Energy Fossil Fuels Renewable Energy 2009 277

PA Environment Daily

JULY 22, 2022

As the Public Utility Commission warned us in May, all of the state electric utilities increased their prices by 6% to 45%, largely due to increasing demand for natural gas from Europe as a result of geopolitical tensions in Ukraine. It’s now time for all Pennsylvanians to benefit from energy independence.

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Renewable Energy Electricity Natural Gas 2030 98

Union of Concerned Scientists

DECEMBER 1, 2022

DTE’s proposal, known as an integrated resource plan, describes how the utility intends to fulfill its customers’ electricity needs over the next 20 years. These types of long-term energy plans include forecasting the amount of electricity customers will need and examining different options for supporting that need.

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PA Environment Daily

MARCH 21, 2025

Community solar would allow thousands of Pennsylvanians, like me in the Lehigh Valley, and across the Commonwealth who do not have the property to handle solar panels to receive the benefits of clean energy, said Rep. Peter Schweyer. Kate Harper (R) and Fmr Cong.

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Union of Concerned Scientists

JULY 18, 2022

In Massachusetts, this near-term opportunity would drive progress on clean energy, clean transportation, and equity. With a legislative session that’s about to wrap up, getting the bill into law will require diplomacy and ambition. Accelerate electric vehicle (EV) adoption. Where things stand. That’s just a sampling.

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Environmental News Bits

APRIL 15, 2022

As the United States enters a “critical decade” in the fight against climate change, the need for rapid renewable energy deployment requires reassessing existing laws governing electricity generation and transmission projects, argues Uma Outka in a recent article.

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Union of Concerned Scientists

NOVEMBER 27, 2023

Michigan legislators recently passed a series of energy-related bills that Gov. Gretchen Whitmer is expected to sign into law tomorrow. Senate Bill (SB) 271 requires utilities to achieve, at a minimum, renewable energy-generated electricity sales of 50 percent in 2030 and 60 percent in 2035. What’s In the Bills?

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