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electric car/shutterstock

Even if there is enough lithium to displace the 1 billion internal combustion engine cars that now pollute the earth with electric cars, it is the electronic waste problem that should dominate the question.[read more]

RGGI's new cap rules

RGGI’s new cap not only falls short of creating real price pressures due to its closeness to baseline emissions, its excessive compensatory measures, and its failure to deal with leakage, but also runs the risk of locking in emissions.[read more]

rising carbon costs/shutterstock

If the prospect of serious limits on greenhouse gas emissions translates into a real risk of stranded assets for fossil fuel companies, carbon may become the next housing bubble.[read more]

Not only is there increasing demand for energy in the world, there is also increasing awareness as to the importance of renewable energy development for a better world. Funding for such development, however, is becoming more difficult to come by. Can in-house financing provide a solution?[read more]

solar energy/shutterstock

With high and rising marginal prices, good sunshine, and an inability to respond to changed competitive circumstances: If ever an electric utility was set up to fall to solar energy, it is PG&E.[read more]

AC vs DC/shutterstock

Perhaps Thomas Edison was right after all. As new technology develops, it's time to ask the question: should be using direct current (DC) instead of alternating current (AC) power?[read more]

Abandoned Oil Rig via Shutterstock

While climate concerns may dominate for some, it seems fair to say that the most contentious aspect of the shale gas revolution is related to fears over high water demands and contamination risks posed by hydraulic fracturing, i.e. “fracking”. I want to concentrate on two intertwined issues here, namely water pollution risks and property rights.[read more]

carbon tax

Many U.S. residents strongly believe that the U.S. needs to substantially reduce its carbon emissions in the near future. Is it time for the U.S. to implement a national carbon tax?[read more]

EU energy goals

Already Brussels is looking beyond 2020 for its climate and energy targets, with the European institutions in recent weeks endorsing 2030 goals and opening public consultation on the 2030 policy framework.[read more]

energy investment/shutterstock

Global progress towards low-carbon energy has stalled, according to a new report by the International Energy Agency. Strong, consistent policies are needed to unlock clean energy innovation.[read more]

Rena Schild / Shutterstock.com

Everyone has a place in the ecosystem of the climate fight, and my concern is that the passion that I have seen channeled so well in activism has not developed an equivalent counterpart in the young policy community.[read more]

US carbon emissions

Clean energy supplies have reduced U.S. carbon emissions by levels greater than most Developed countries. Which Government policies and other factors have contributed most towards reduced U.S. carbon emissions?[read more]

energy innovation/Wikimedia Commons

The relatively modest $200 million grid modernization Race to the Top would be the first of its kind for energy and could be an interesting pilot project for using similar policy models to bridge the gap between energy research and the market.[read more]

coal mining/shutterstock

Finishing the fight against Old King Coal today while amping up the innovation needed to develop the affordable, scalable alternatives needed to ultimately tackle Big Oil as well is a winning climate strategy.[read more]

oil exports/shutterstock

U.S. domestic crude oil production has increased significantly in recent years. Would exporting some of this new domestically-produced crude oil be in the best interests of the U.S. overall?[read more]

Over the last five years, the rise of shale gas has been the single major event in the world of energy to have a lasting impression for years to come. In recent years new studies and discoveries in other parts of the world have been changing the global energy landscape.[read more]

natural gas drilling

In reporting on the shale gas boom, I’ve been guilty of writing about the “millions of gallons per well” or the “billions of gallons of water consumed annually,” and leaving it at that. So in this edition of Friday Energy Facts, we’ll try to tackle this question: how much water does fracking for shale gas really consume?[read more]

Climate Pollution via Shutterstock

Can natural gas provide a "bridge" towards a low-carbon economy? Some climate activists claim that fugitive methane leaks undermine gas's climate credentials. However, I think that they are making a mistake by demonizing the one fuel source that has provably shaken coal's hold on the global energy system.[read more]

powerlines

This post explaining some important differences between high voltage AC and high voltage DC power transmission options. It is part of a series explaining the options for building out a transmission Supergrid.[read more]

New Energy Sources via Shutterstock

When The Energy Collective asked me to write a series of posts about ‘new energy sources’, the term gave me pause. The more I thought about the concept of ‘new energy sources’, the more complex it became. What exactly is a new energy source, and what in particularly makes an new energy source ‘new’?[read more]