Day: February 4, 2019
US Clean Power Plan Will Double Coal Plant Closures
A new government analysis of President Barack Obama’s signature effort to fight climate change affirms what critics suspected: the proposal could further weaken an already battered coal industry.
Tesla E-motorcycles Complement SolarCity Microgrids
Batteries are the renewed focus of attention given the launch of Tesla’s PowerWall on April 30. What or where might the next major application be? Utility scale storage appears to be one. My thesis is that launching Tesla e-motorcycles is an equally high-impact, timely, and worthy challenge.
Canada Announces Weak Climate Target
Last week, Canada has announced its contribution to the global effort to reduce greenhouse gases by announcing its post-2020 target. The target announced today is off-track to the 80 percent cut by 2050 they committed to in 2009 and significantly higher than the U.S. target. They also announced a…
What Drives Alternative Energy Stocks?
Alternative energy became a serious market player after the turn of the millennium. Since that time, solar, wind, smart grid and other alternative energy stocks have experienced both strong up and down trends. The forces at work driving these markets are complex, counterintuitive, and sometimes…
Coast to Coast and Across the Electric System, Microgrids Provide Benefits to All
At the most obvious level, microgrids could disrupt today’s utilities and their regulated-monopoly business model, because they challenge the centralized paradigm. In a nutshell, microgrids are localized power grids that have the ability to disconnect from the main, centralized grid to operate…
Germany's Powerhouse Feels Pinch of Merkel’s Shift to Renewables
North Rhine-Westphalia, the German state that’s home to utilities RWE AG and EON SE, is losing its standing as the country’s powerhouse as wind and solar energy begin to displace conventional sources. Electricity consumers in the western state, which has one-third of Germany’s installed…
UK Conservative Victory Sparks Climate and Renewable Energy Concerns
The surprise Conservative victory in the recent UK elections have some worrying about the future of renewable and climate progress, but officials are now calming those fears.
Carbon Market Overhaul Closer After EU Lawmakers Approve Plan
European Union negotiators are endorsing an accelerated overhaul of the bloc’s carbon market after the price of emission rights fell to levels that fail to deter polluters.
The New Normal? Renewables, Efficiency, And “Too Much Electricity”
Just over a decade ago, the state of California faced serious concerns about whether its utilities could generate and/or buy enough power to assure that the world’s seventh-largest economy could keep the lights on. The infamous California energy crisis, which affected several other western states…
State and Metro Governments, Consumer Actions Drive Dramatic Shift in US Energy Landscape
The United States is experiencing a significant shift in its energy landscape. Last year, utility-scale wind and solar power combined for 47 percent of new generation capacity in the U.S. Based on this expansion, 11 states now generate more than 10 percent of their electricity from solar, wind,…