Energy Exchange

Comprehensive climate reporting must include methane: New report shows you how

By EDF Blogs / Published: October 22, 2018

Just last month 13 of the world’s largest oil and gas majors—including ExxonMobil, BP and Shell —came together for a new commitment to reducing a key super pollutant. Methane, the primary component of natural gas, is the second leading contributor to climate change and over 80 times more potent than carbon when leaked into the atmosphere in the short-term. What’s more surprising? The coalition’s new methane target proceeded despite an uncertain regulatory landscape in the U.S.

One of 76 recent environmental rollbacks, the Trump administration’s latest move toward undoing common-sense methane regulations is expected by the EPA’s own estimates to allow an additional 480,000 tons of methane emissions. Yet behind the scenes, pressure on industry to transparently reduce emissions is coming from an unexpected source: investors. Investors understand the material risk methane poses their portfolios and have been urging companies to act. Given the lack of current national policy leadership in the U.S., investor pressure on industry to manage climate risks like methane will likely only increase.

Posted in Climate, Methane, Natural Gas / Comments are closed

Hurricane Michael highlights urgent need for more solar opportunities in Florida

By EDF Blogs / Published: October 19, 2018

By: Jake Hiller, Sustainable Finance Manager, EDF+Biz

Hurricane Michael, the most powerful storm to hit the Florida panhandle on record, caused loss of life and rampant destruction, flattening entire towns and leaving more than 1.3 million people without power across five southeastern states.

Rising temperatures and warmer waters are making this and other recent mega hurricanes like Florence stronger and more devastating for coastal states like Florida and the Carolinas. Unfortunately, the recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report provides little encouragement and instead conveys dire warnings that unless measures such as massive new investment in clean and renewable energy occurs over the coming decade, we will have little chance of avoiding the worst impacts of climate change, including continuously worsening hurricanes.

Posted in Clean Energy, Florida, Solar Energy / Comments are closed

This Energy Efficiency Day, manufacturing has its moment

By EDF Blogs / Published: October 2, 2018

By: Caroline Heilbrun, EDF+Biz intern

Have you ever thought about how much energy it takes to manufacture the products you use every day?

While our nation’s refineries, factories, and plants produce some of the world’s highest quality products, the energy at work in our industrial manufacturing facilities is extremely intensive. This is due, in large part, to the inefficiencies inherent in the manufacturing process. The sparks flying from giant robotic arms along the assembly line? That is heat lost to friction. Those harmful chemicals spewing from smokestacks? They represent unused inputs. At every step of the supply chain, there is opportunity to cut waste.

On Energy Efficiency Day, October 5, we should consider the myriad benefits of acting upon those opportunities. Efficiency cost savings for the manufacturer can translate into cost savings for the consumer, higher quality products, and healthier air for people who live and work nearby. Plus, less electricity consumption means less stress on the electric grid.

Posted in Clean Energy, Energy Efficiency, Jobs, Ohio / Comments are closed

Moment of truth arrives for California legislators as clean energy bills clear final amendment hurdles

By EDF Blogs / Published: August 28, 2018

By Tim O’Connor and Lauren Navarro

The California legislative session closes this Friday, and two important pieces of clean energy and climate legislation (AB 813 and SB 100) hang in the balance.

After months of negotiations and amendments, AB 813 is in the California Senate and is ready for Senate President pro Temp Toni Atkins to assign it to a vote. SB 100 has already passed the Senate and is being considered in the Assembly. Lawmakers should pass both and supercharge the region’s clean energy efforts.

One of the biggest reliability and air quality initiatives in the West, AB 813 would create a regional electric grid and empower Western states to buy and sell more clean energy with each other. That would be good for clean energy efforts in each state, but it would be particularly helpful in California, where we could export our excess clean energy instead of wasting (or curtailing) it. As a result, the region would rely less on local fossil fuel plants to power homes and businesses.

Posted in General / Comments are closed

How New Jersey can finance its bold new clean energy targets

By EDF Blogs / Published: August 24, 2018

By Dakota Gangi and Mary Barber

On May 23, New Jerseyans scored a major economic and environmental victory when Governor Phil Murphy signed a groundbreaking law that will soon make the Garden State an even greener one. The Board of Public Utilities (BPU) has initiated a proceeding that will establish a community solar pilot program within one year of the bill’s signing. Low-income and multifamily households will be able to earn credits on their electric bills for purchasing power from a shared solar array. In just ten years, half the state’s power will come from emissions-free renewable resources, and New Jersey will boast the highest amounts of energy storage and offshore wind in the United States. New Jerseyans can expect clean air, electric bill savings, and the creation of many local and lucrative job openings.

These groundbreaking targets can bring about significant economic growth, especially if New Jersey utilizes a multitude of green financing tools to achieve its goals. The BPU will ensure the state is on track to meet its clean energy goals, as it is putting in place rules and regulations to attract investment. Now, New Jersey should create a green bank to add to its arsenal of green investment mechanisms and to fill the clean energy financing gap identified in EDF’s December 2017 report, Financing New Jersey’s Clean Energy Economy: Pathways for Leadership.

Posted in Clean Energy, Energy Financing, General, New Jersey / Read 1 Response

A regionalized energy grid creates a home for California’s wasted renewables

By EDF Blogs / Published: July 11, 2018

By Andy Bilich, Lauren Navarro

These days, California’s renewable energy records are regularly broken.

During the summer solstice on June 21, California utility scale solar power set a generation record with solar producing equivalent to about 16 percent of all electricity consumed during the day.

And earlier this year, on April 27, California set two renewable energy records for both instantaneous solar generation: about 10.5 gigawatts), and instantaneous renewable generation: 73 percent of the state’s total electricity demand came from renewable energy.

With renewables deployment poised for more growth, it’s likely even these new records will be surpassed sometime soon. However, to ensure the state’s investment in clean energy is put to use, and not wasted, California has some work to do. Read More »

Posted in California, Clean Energy, Regional Grid, Solar Energy, Wind Energy / Comments are closed