Energy Exchange

Hydraulic Fracturing and the EPA Water Study: Where Do We Go from Here?

By Nichole Saunders / Published: July 30, 2015

It’s been two months since EPA released its much anticipated draft report on hydraulic fracturing, and organizations like ours are busy preparing their official comments, which are due at the end of August.

But based on what we have learned so far and what has been written in the media, it’s important to spend some time on what the report said – and didn’t say – and what it all means.

“Is Fracking Safe?”

Scouring the EPA report for statements proving or disproving that hydraulic fracturing is safe will surely reveal both. It is true that water supplies have been contaminated by activities related to hydraulic fracturing. It is also true that the number of documented contamination events make up a small percentage of all wells. But “Is it safe?” is a red herring. Read More »

Also posted in Natural Gas / Tagged produced water | Comments are closed

Powering Texas: Big, Clean, Market-Driven Changes are Already Underfoot

By Peter Sopher / Published: July 16, 2015

By: Peter Sopher, policy analyst, clean energy, and Sarah Ryan, clean energy consultant

Over the past century, the electric grid in the United States has experienced only minor changes. There is evidence, however, the power sector is changing. We are moving away from traditional coal generation and toward alternative, cleaner energy sources. And despite our state being primarily known for oil and gas, Texas is no exception.

In fact, Texas’ electricity sector has been trending cleaner over the past decades, driven by deregulation of the electricity market, the development of the massive highway of transmission lines built to carry West Texas wind to cities throughout the state – the Competitive Renewable Energy Zone (CREZ), and technological progress. Basically, once the market was opened up to competition, the more economic options – which also happen to be cleaner – began to gain a foothold. And there’s no stopping this train.

Where we are and where we’re going

To start, the declining use of fossil fuels to power our lives is perhaps the most significant change in Texas. As shown in Figure 1 below, fossil fuels’ (coal and gas’) proportion of the state’s electricity generation mix shrunk from 88 percent in 2002 to 82 percent in 2013. Read More »

Also posted in Clean Energy, Clean Power Plan, Natural Gas, Renewable Energy, Texas / Comments are closed

How Does the Investor Confidence Project Work? Check Out Our New Factsheet

By EDF Blogs / Published: July 13, 2015

By: Max Wycisk

The Investor Confidence Project (ICP), Environmental Defense Fund’s (EDF) signature buildings efficiency finance program, is sometimes hard to explain in a nutshell. Ultimately, the program aims to create confidence among investors financing energy efficiency projects by standardizing how projects are designed and implemented across the commercial buildings sector. But how do we get from the origination of a project to a successful return on investment?

Our new ICP factsheet aims to answer this question and more. We’ve even developed this helpful infographic depicting a step-by-step process for using the ICP system: Read More »

Also posted in Clean Energy, Energy Efficiency, Investor Confidence Project / Comments are closed

Oil & Gas Industry Mangles More Facts, Turns EDF Study Results Upside Down

By Mark Brownstein / Published: July 9, 2015

Click to enlarge.

Here we go again.

A new set of peer-reviewed scientific papers pointing to 50 percent higher than estimated regional methane emissions from oil and gas operations in Texas were published this week. And like clockwork, the oil and gas industry’s public relations machine, Energy In Depth, proclaimed that rising emissions are actually falling, and that the industry’s meager voluntary efforts are responsible.

This is, of course, wrong on both counts. In fact, it’s a willful misrepresentation of the findings.

First, the assertion that emissions are going down is flat wrong. EPA’s latest inventory released in April reports that in 2013 the oil and gas industry released more than 7.3 million metric tons of methane into the atmosphere from their operations—a three percent increase over 2012—making it the largest industrial source of methane pollution. So much for those voluntary efforts. Read More »

Also posted in Methane, Natural Gas / Read 4 Responses

California Retirement Funds Put $500 Billion Worth of Weight Behind Strong Methane Standards

By Tim O'Connor / Published: July 1, 2015

Today, a group of major investors from across the country, who manage more than $1.5 trillion in assets, issued a letter calling for strong rules to limit harmful methane emissions from the oil and gas sector. Among them are California’s two biggest retirement funds – CalPERS and CalSTERS, which together manage nearly $500 billion in funds on behalf of approximately one and a half million members.

The powerful statement issued by the group of investors calls out the “serious threat” methane poses to climate stability, saying that it compelled them to support action on the issue to avoid near term threats to “infrastructure and economic harm that will weaken not only the companies we invest in, but the nation as a whole.”

California’s Leadership Role

Although the investors’ letter focuses on national rules, the relevance to California cannot be overlooked as the state has, over the past year, taken a leadership position on regulating harmful methane emissions from oil and gas operations. For example, California is currently developing new rules at the California Public Utilities Commissions (CPUC) to reduce methane emissions in the natural gas supply chain, and a new statewide plan and regulations are being developed at the California Air Resources Board (CARB) to limit methane emissions from oil and gas production. Read More »

Posted in General / Comments are closed

The Common Goals of the Pope and Clean Energy

By Paul Stinson / Published: June 19, 2015

Pope Francis turned a keen eye toward the environment and the problem of climate change with his encyclical,“Laudato Si” (“Praised Be”), released yesterday. As a clean energy advocate, I’m heartened that Pope Francis recognizes the need to transform our energy system.

He writes not as a scientist or politician, but as a pastor and spiritual leader. He offers moral guidance rooted in an “integral ecology” based on fundamental Catholic teaching about care for all creation. And while we can and should measure, analyze, and debate climate change using the tools of science, we cannot hope to find adequate solutions without a shared moral understanding of what it means to take care of each other and the planet. That’s not just the Pope’s idea, either – that’s the argument of world renowned economist Jeffrey Sachs and others.

A leading voice without political boundaries, the Pope has the ability to reach people who previously could not or would not face the reality of climate change and, ultimately, inspire action. Read More »

Also posted in Clean Energy, Climate / Comments are closed