Reading testimony filed before any public utility commission can be a mind-numbing exercise. Comments often are filled with jargon, acronyms, and other elements indecipherable to an outsider.
But when it comes to recent remarks from Ohio corporations about FirstEnergy’s proposed bailout, which would prop up its outdated power plants for the next eight years, the filings are clear – and damning. The business community sees right through the unfair deal. Read More
No one likes uncertainty, least of all investors. From changes in interest rates, to supply chain disruptions, the list of risks investors must monitor is long and growing. Good, actionable information is investors’ most important tool for risk management and integral to successful investing. Without proper data, investors are flying blind.
A new report published by EDF this week throws the spotlight on a growing risk for investors—methane emissions from the oil and gas sector. As so clearly demonstrated by the ongoing and massive leak at Aliso Canyon, methane emissions pose a multitude of expanding risks, with both short and long-term consequences.Three key risks from oil & gas methane
At 84 times more powerful than carbon dioxide in the short-term, methane emissions represent a potent and fast-emerging form of carbon risk. In a world looking to reduce carbon pollution, methane emissions pose regulatory, reputational and economic risks. Preparedness to comply with forthcoming rules varies across the industry, methane undercuts natural gas’ ability to play a role in a carbon-constrained world, and emissions of methane are lost product amounting to $30 billion a year globally. Read More
Critics of American Electric Power’s (AEP) bailout have been quick to call out the utility for forcing Ohioans to prop up its uneconomic coal fleet. They note how the deal will cost customers $2 billion to keep open AEP power plants that would otherwise close.
One complaint we haven’t heard yet comes from Senator Bill Seitz, chairman of the Ohio Senate Public Utilities Committee. Sen. Seitz recently joined in on criticizing AEP’s bailout proposal – but for the wrong reasons. Rather than attack the multibillion dollar subsidies going to outdated power plants, the senator critiques a small carve-out for a new solar energy project in Appalachia that will employ veterans. Read More
By: Karin Rives
Not too long ago, making and selling your own electricity via rooftop solar was a novelty. Today, with 784,000 homes and businesses in the United States already on solar, such transactions are taking place every day in 44 states.
Now comes Bring Your Own Battery (BYOB), the latest technology trend to disrupt the utility business as we once knew it. Read More
Each month, the Energy Exchange rounds up a list of top clean energy conferences around the country. Our list includes conferences at which experts from the EDF Clean Energy Program will be speaking, plus additional events that we think our readers may benefit from marking on their calendars.
Top clean energy conferences featuring EDF experts in January:
January 19-21: The Food-Energy-Water Nexus (Washington, DC)
Speaker: Kate Zerrenner, Manager
The conference will emphasize putting ideas into action – moving forward on policy and practice. This is a conference designed to challenge thinking and spur creativity. Participants will take away new ideas, new relationships, and increased motivation to contribute to addressing these integrated challenges in new ways. Read More
Back in September when the New York Times declared 2015 “the year humans got serious about climate change,” we knew they were on to something. But as we near the end of 2015, it’s hard to believe we’ve accomplished as much as we have in just 12 months.
This momentum culminated in representatives of 195 nations agreeing in Paris to act together on world knowledge of climate change. This historic agreement will aim to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions, report transparently, and review and strengthen standards every five years. EDF President Fred Krupp stated, “It sends a powerful, immediate signal to global markets that the clean energy future is open for business.”
Though history proves “hindsight is 20/20,” historians just might look back at 2015 as the year everything changed for clean energy. Here’s a look at some of the top trends that fueled climate action by governments, investors, corporations, individuals, cities, utilities, market analysts, real estate professionals, and cleantech leaders in 2015. [Click through the following slideshow to see the trends.] Read More
