Dear Representatives, According to the House Calendar, HB 2025 will be brought before the entire House tomorrow. As you consider the bill’s merits, please consider the old axiom: “penny wise dollar foolish.” There is much discussion and fear about rumors of RGGI closing coal fired electric generating in Pennsylvania. The reality is that coal plants will […]
This year will see the largest ever drop globally in both investment and consumer spending on energy as the coronavirus pandemic hits every major sector, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA). The crisis is accelerating the shutdown of older fossil-fuelled power plants and refineries, with the agency saying it could provide an opportunity to push […]
Back in 2017, when President Trump promised to bring back coal jobs, the fact that Arby’s employed more Americans than the coal industry went viral, and people realized just what a small subset of the population it is that is profiting off of climate change. The idea that only the fossil fuel industry is profiting from climate change, however, may […]
The targets become ever more tempting as antiquated coal plants age out and become ever more financially ruinous for their owners. Which ones are they working on where you are? Are we having fun yet? In a First, Renewable Energy Is Poised to Eclipse Coal in U.S. The coronavirus has pushed the coal industry to […]
Long before the coronavirus (COVID-19) hit and oil prices collapsed, the U.S. fossil fuel industry and its workers were vulnerable. Threats included increasing cost-competitiveness of renewable energy compared to fossil fuels, investor concerns about financial risks and stranded assets, and a changing policy landscape (at state and local levels at least) seeking to meet decarbonization […]
Australia’s relative success in stopping the spread of COVID-19 is largely due governments taking expert advice on a complex problem. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said of decisions on projects that threaten the environment – most notably, Adani’s Carmichael coal mine. Our research published today in Nature Sustainability documents how state and federal governments repeatedly ignored […]
I have mentioned that some of the usual suspects think that the public will demand more expensive and more polluting power in response to the coronavirus pandemic. I am delighted to have facts to report, showing that this turns out not to be the case. By Mokurai Of course, it was malarkey all along. We […]
Coal mining companies, including two with strong ties to the Trump regime, have received $31 million from the Paycheck Protection Program designed to help small businesses stay afloat and their workers employed while much of the economy is shut down as efforts are made to mitigate the health impacts of the deadly coronavirus pandemic. That, reports Ari Natter […]
Go bye-bye! It has been pleasant to report more and more countries taking the Pledge, but it is much sweeter to see them achieve it. Coal first, then gas and oil, as demand for each collapses. Belgium first, then Austria, then Sweden, then… Sweden Shuts Down Its Last Coal Plant Two Years Early By Mokurai […]
The combustion of coal is the single most important source of climate-warming CO2 emissions. As a result, phasing out coal is one of the most commonly discussed ways to help combat climate change – particularly in Europe, but increasingly globally as well. Yet, if we look at the research on the subject, it usually only focuses on the costs and benefits for […]
Everybody knows that coal is on the way out, but the latest electricity report from BloombergNEF is something of a shocker. It casts a shadow of gloom over natural gas, too. Low-cost renewables are creeping into gas territory, helped along by falling costs for energy storage. In fact, according to BNEF, energy storage is now a cheaper […]
The coal industry — what’s left of it — wants American taxpayers to cover more of the cost of treating black lung disease and cleaning up abandoned mines, according to The Washington Post. This is precisely the kind of corporate money grab that free market apologist who call themselves conservatives celebrate. By Steve Hanley Cleantechnica It’s a […]
The end of burning coal to generate electricity is continuing. In the UK, two large coal-fired facilities have been closed recently — Fiddler’s Ferry in Cheshire and Aberthaw in Wales. Fiddler’s Ferry was first commissioned in 1973 and had a peak capacity of 2,000 megawatts. Aberthaw was rated at 1,560 megawatts. By Steve Hanley Cleantechnica […]
South Dakota was once a quiet backwater for solar activity in the US, but no more. A major electricity wholesaler just inked its first ever solar energy deal to create the largest ever solar farm in South Dakota, and the ripple effect could spill out into 8 other states in the region. That includes neighboring […]
When recently impeached US President* Donald Trump tapped an auto industry lobbyist to lead the US Department of Energy last fall, eyes rolled back into heads. Well, it looks like the wrong eyes rolled. Despite the Commander-in-Chief’s oft-repeated promise to save coal jobs, coal power plants are still closing and the latest energy storage news […]