Tag Archives for renewables
The 100 Percent Renewable Dream: A Problem of Physics and Scale
The drumbeat of press about the declining costs of installing wind and solar generators has led most of the public and our policy-makers to believe that an energy transition from fossil fuels to wind and solar is just around the corner. However, this belief overlooks the fundamental physical limitations of producing electricity from wind and solar. There is a wide gulf between using wind and solar energy for marginal electricity production, as we are doing now in many places, and relying on it for the majority of our electricity.
In this piece, we will elaborate on the two biggest challenges of generating electricity from wind and solar – energy storage and energy density – and explain why making the energy transition a reality is not just a problem of technology but primarily one of physics and scale. Continue reading
Clean Energy Has A Dirty Secret
By Greg Walcher “Governments should temporarily provide funding for new energy technologies so that they can become market competitive with traditional energy resources.” So the Global Energy Network Institute and other renewable energy advocates have been saying for decades. Taxpayers … Continue reading
EU Power Generators Warn Plan to Cut Use of Coal May Backfire
STAFF REPORTS Bloomberg NEW YORK — A group representing power generators across the European Union warned that the bloc’s plans to limit the use of coal may backfire, encouraging utilities to seek returns on new fossil-fuel plants instead of putting money … Continue reading
American Coal Council Statement on DOE Report on Electric Markets and Reliability
WASHINGTON, DC (August 24, 2017) – The Department of Energy staff report to Secretary Rick Perry provides a comprehensive view of the evolution and current status of the U.S. electricity marketplace and offers some important policy considerations to support grid … Continue reading
America’s Next Energy Crisis
By Charles McConnell Forbes Some disasters arise unexpectedly, like an earthquake or massive storm. Others seem inevitable. Who didn’t see the 2008 financial crisis coming? In hindsight, most of us. In reality, most crises that seem inevitable after the fact … Continue reading
Whitewashing the Impact of Regulations on Coal
By Dan Byers US Chamber of Commerce The War on Coal is well and truly over, but a peculiar debate over its impact lingers on. Revisionist history is central to this debate, with some folks now suggesting that the coal … Continue reading
The Not-So-Dormant Commerce Clause and Coal-Based Electricity
By Paul M. Seby & Matthew B. Miller There is no doubt that coal-based electricity is currently faced with enormous challenges—both at the national level, with the flurry of federal regulations aimed at the coal industry, and at the state … Continue reading
Dems, Greens gear up for fight against Trump EPA Pick
URL: http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/309288-dems-greens-gear-up-for-fight-against-trump-epa-pick The Hill, Devin Henry, 12/7/2016 The American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity said it was “pleased” with Pruitt. “General Pruitt will be a strong advocate for sensible policies that are good for our environment, as well as mindful of … Continue reading
Don’t call it a comeback: Regulatory relief matters
URL: http://www.energyxxi.org/trump-and-coal-dont-call-it-comeback-regulatory-relief-matters-immensely Institute for 21st Century Energy (US Chamber of Commerce), N/A, 12/2/2016 Among the countless issues and story lines that drove the historic 2016 presidential election, few if any drew a more striking contrast than the Trump and Clinton … Continue reading
Development Groups: More Coal Plants will not end Energy Poverty
By Joshua Learn S&P Global Intelligence (October 2016) Coal-fired generation is not the answer for fighting energy poverty, according to a new position paper from international development organizations. The paper, “Beyond Coal,” released by the Overseas Development Institute and a … Continue reading