As the human tragedy of the COVID-19 pandemic worsens, global restrictions to stop the spread of the virus — including stay-at-home orders, business closures and travel prohibitions — may contribute to the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression. The virus has already made an indelible impact on the energy sector: Global energy use is predicted to fall […]
The serious toll of the Coronavirus not just on public health but on jobs is visible all around us: across our economy, shuttered shops, idled factories, cancelled events and travel, rush hours devoid of the usual traffic. While the clean energy sector’s piece of this economic crisis may be less visible to many, the impacts […]
The coronavirus pandemic has seen entire countries locked down, with businesses, industry and travel all curtailed in an effort to limit the spread of Covid-19. My analysis for Carbon Brief shows that electricity demand in Europe has fallen by 14% as a result of the crisis, with most major economies imposing widespread restrictions. By Dave Jones CarbonBrief […]
The COVID-19 pandemic is first and foremost a human tragedy, infecting more than 160,000 and killing more than 6,000 people as of today. The loss of human life is heart-breaking and set to continue ticking upwards. By Helen Mountford World Resources Institute The virus has also hit society like a global tsunami, disrupting travel, cutting […]
According to Gizmodo reporter Brian Kahn, “The notion that natural gas is a bridge to a renewable future was first put in writing in 1979 by environmentalist Barry Commoner in his book The Politics of Energy. He called it a ‘bridge between the present, unsatisfactory reality and the still abstract, hoped-for future.’” By Michael Brune The Sierra Club […]
Recently, reasonable groups have been raising moderate concerns about the growing stacks of wind turbine blades in landfills. Other reasonable people have been working to find ways to reuse them and reduce the minor impact. (Note: I consulted to an entrepreneur considering starting a business based on a Washington State process for this.) By Michael […]
It might not be the worst ever idea in all of human history, but it probably comes pretty close. Somewhere out on the frozen plains of Saskatchewan, Canada, somebody hatched a plan to produce fossil hydrogen by lighting up underground oil deposits. Good luck with that! Meanwhile, the cost of offshore wind energy in the […]
It seems like a lifetime ago when at the Rio Earth Summit in 1992, I watched more than 100 heads of state and government queue to sign the original documents of the Framework Convention on Climate Change, the Biodiversity Convention and Agenda 21. Negotiations had been tough, and some leaders were more enthusiastic than others. […]
We’ve been writing for a while that solar and wind power are the cheapest options on the market for new power capacity in many if not most places. That is also shown by the power plants that companies across the United States choose to install. While natural gas is still seen as cheaper in certain […]
Figures published earlier this month by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) have shown that global investment in new renewable energy capacity between 2010 and 2019 is on course to exceed $2.6 trillion, led by the solar industry which is expected to end the decade with more gigawatts of power capacity installed than any other […]
A new report published this week by the International Renewable Energy Agency has found that 77% of onshore wind projects and 83% of utility-scale solar PV projects set to be commissioned in 2020 will be cheaper than the lowest fossil fuel-fired generation prices. The news has been heralded across the internet as a death-blow for […]
One way or another, the future is coming for us. While we have not yet “decided” whether it will be climate disaster or climate saved, time will tell. The developed world’s recalcitrance is not only costing us time in preventing the runaway effects that are coming, it’s allowing China to gain a foothold and increase its […]
It’s impossible to talk about infrastructure without talking about the Green New Deal. For the purpose of these diaries, we will refer to the version(1) of the Green New Deal put out by Rep. Ocasio-Cortez in H.Res. 109. This bill calls for the United States to convert to 100% renewable energy within 10 years through a massive mobilization on the order […]
Dutch bank ING’s global economists and strategists department published a new report on Wednesday, which outlines the necessary investment for a 64% reduction in global energy-related CO2 emissions by 2050. The latest report follows on from a survey conducted by ING at the end of 2018 which asked whether technology could provide the answer to […]
The costs of wind and solar energy keep falling; installing a new wind turbine costs about a third of what it did in 2008. Solar prices fell by 88 percent during that time. In fact, renewable energy is so inexpensive, utilities have found that they can save customers money by closing coal plants early and replacing them with wind and solar […]