This summer, ExxonMobil announced it would be working with carbon removal company Global Thermostat to help scale up their technology, with an eye towards large industrial applications. The announcement is the latest indicator that fossil fuel companies are looking ahead towards a world that’s far less friendly towards their products and the emissions they produce.
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Dylan Voorhees / Photo courtesy of Natural Resources Council of Maine
Maine’s renewable energy landscape is poised for big changes. Legislation passed into law in June establishes greenhouse gas emission reduction targets and an ambitious renewable portfolio standard. In this interview, Dylan Voorhees, climate and clean energy director of the Natural Resources Council of Maine, explains what the new laws mean for the state, and what brought about the shift in policy.
Texas offers an instructive case study for the growth of renewable energy. Most of the state’s electricity is delivered through the deregulated Electric Reliability Council of Texas market. The state has long since surpassed its mandated renewable portfolio standard, so market dynamics dictate the ongoing pace of renewables growth. Nonetheless, Texas is by far the country’s largest wind power generator and is slated to see major growth in solar capacity as well.
Regulatory changes to the Securities Act in 2016 enabled crowdinvesting, an idea that can usher in a new era of inclusive project finance, ripe to transform the clean energy industry. We need to envision a democratized clean energy future, with renewable energy and climate solution projects originated and owned by the communities that use them.
In July, the state of Ohio passed its HB 6 energy bill, which authorizes $300 million in annual surcharges on utility ratepayers, primarily to fund four struggling coal and nuclear power plants. The bill also scales back the state’s clean energy targets. Now that HB 6 has been signed into law, what changes will it bring for stakeholders in the industry?
“Smart” contracts leverage blockchain technology to streamline and automate many of the most technical and time-consuming financial and logistical steps in smaller-scale solar development. Furthermore, smart contracts integrate peer-to-peer financial mechanisms, tapping into new capital pools for small and distributed renewable systems.
A new player is entering the fold in New England’s burgeoning offshore wind sector. After years of testing the waters, Connecticut has finally jumped into the offshore wind game with a recently passed target of 2,000 megawatts by 2030. On June 4, the state legislature approved a bill establishing the offshore wind mandate, and Governor Ned Lamont signed the legislation later that same week.
There is a strong groundswell of support for solar power and energy efficiency in Oregon. This has boosted the state’s programs and amplified their accomplishments, according to Janine Benner, director of Oregon Department of Energy. In this interview, she said Oregon is using these technologies to offset the environmental impact of its growing IT industry.
Solar power is starting to take root in West Virginia at a community level, said Kelly Bragg, energy development specialist with the West Virginia Office of Energy. In this interview, she also said energy efficiency remains a low priority due to the affordable cost of electricity.
New Mexico needs to modernize its rates, regulations and incentives so it can make substantial progress in improving its solar-energy and energy efficiency markets, said Ken Hughes, clean energy specialist at the State of New Mexico’s Energy Conservation and Management Division. In this interview, he provided examples of success stories on the ground.
As Michigan decision makers invest more money in energy efficiency, the state’s market has accelerated forward dramatically since 2008. According to this interview with Martin Kushler, senior fellow at American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy, this transformation in the market has been encouraged by a coalition representing diverse viewpoints.
