The world's best thinkers on energy and climate
California took a big step forward to reduce emissions of potent, heat-trapping methane pollution from the oil and gas industry. Joining states like Wyoming, Colorado, and Pennsylvania, California is proposing strong but sensible rules to control methane across the oil and gas supply chain - from production to transmission.The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that oil and gas operations are responsible for about 30% of annual … [Read more...]
source , source , sourceWhat do pro cycling, education reform, and vehicle emissions standards all have in common?Cheating scandals is the flip answer. But a more fundamental connection is summed up by “Goodhart’s law” which predicts that, once a measure becomes a proxy for the purpose of enforcing a policy, it will cease to provide a good measure. Goodhart (an economist) had monetary policy in mind. But look … [Read more...]
Briana Mordick, Staff Scientist, San FranciscoThe California Division of Oil, Gas and Geothermal Resources (DOGGR) issued orders last Thursday requiring operators to shut down 33 of the more than 2,500 injection wells improperly permitted to pump potentially toxic oil and gas wastewater and other fluids into federally protected drinking water aquifers. Earlier this year, DOGGR admitted that poor communication, inadequate record-keeping, … [Read more...]
by Dylan Reed and Arvin GanesanStraight out of August recess, Congress wasted no time to make national headlines. The District was abuzz with votes on the Iran nuclear deal, a visit from Pope Francis, and a potential government shutdown – which the surprise resignation of Speaker John Boehner helped to avert. Despite all the attention of these events, the House Energy and Commerce committee continued its efforts to enact sweeping energy … [Read more...]
In 2010, the Federal Housing Finance Authority almost killed Property Assessed Clean Energy Programs (PACE) for residential properties. A lot can happen in five years, and what was once a program on the verge of foreclosure is now a booming market. Also, what a new financing model could mean for current solar consumers and producers.Residential PACE Growing Rapidly, Now Larger than Commercial PACEAfter years of frustration resulting from … [Read more...]
Texas has a legacy of pioneering smart grid initiatives. Since 2007, Texas has installed over seven million smart meters, an achievement that helped it rank first on GridWise Alliance’s “2013 Grid Modernization Index” (tied with California, a state also thought of for its forward-thinking energy policy). Texas was one of the first states to invest in an online portal for residents to access their energy data, regardless of their electric utility. … [Read more...]
Could electric vehicle charging be part of the answer to the existential challenge that increasingly faces power utilities across the U.S., namely how to maintain revenue while electricity demand is essentially flat or in decline? Last month Washington State passed a law that could help utilities in that state to enter the EV charging market, and simultaneously give impetus to an EV charging network that holds the promise of making the … [Read more...]
Last week a mantra (by some) stood out to me: that Vaclav Smil is a “pessimist" because of his recent article titled 'Revolution? More like a Crawl'. Admittedly, the title doesn't reek of optimism, but the article itself fully acknowledges the advances being made in today's energy landscape, yet refrains from turning that reality into an overhyped, oversimplified narrative of solving climate change, which too many lazily fall into the trap of … [Read more...]
The Stockholm Institute has released a provocative report that examines the longer term implications of relying on natural gas as a ‘bridge technology’ to a lower carbon economy. The environmental think tank’s report addresses the question of whether, by turning to natural gas to replace coal fired generation in the near term, we might be limiting our ability to minimize carbon emissions further into the future. At a fundamental … [Read more...]
The Environmental Protection Agency will release details of its Clean Power Plan this summer, putting into action the first ever national effort to reduce carbon emissions and slow the advance of global warming, the effects of which have been on display this week with unprecedented rain and flooding in Texas and Oklahoma. We’ve known the overarching goal of the CPP for some time. EPA wants carbon emission to fall 30% below 2005 levels by … [Read more...]
By Abigail Barnes and Brian H. PottsLast month, the coal companies fighting President Obama’s climate agenda got some really good news. The names of a randomly selected three-judge panel were released in a case called Murray Energy Corp. v. EPA, which is currently pending in the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals. Former President George W. Bush appointed two of the three judges on the panel, Brett Kavanaugh and Thomas Griffith, and his father … [Read more...]
The solar industry recently attracted attention from two of Silicon Valley’s cornerstone tech giants: Apple and Google. Apple announced an $850 million solar procurement for its offices in Cupertino, CA, marking the largest procurement to date by a company that isn’t a utility. Soon after, Google announced a $300 million investment in 25,000 SolarCity rooftop power plants in return for tax equity from the systems financed by the deal.Apple’s and … [Read more...]
Earlier this year the European Union announced that its member countries will soon reach their emissions targets for 2020. The news comes six years ahead of schedule and with even greater reductions expected by the deadline. The announcement certainly helped pad Europe’s reputation as a world leader in renewables adoption, but was met with reserved optimism from energy critics. While the achievement is positive news, critics have long been … [Read more...]
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