President Barack Obama’s assertion last month that climate change will bring more asthma and worse allergies drew a skeptical response in some quarters, but it turns out the president’s signature climate solution – the Clean Power Plan – could come with significant health “co-benefits.” That’s the conclusion of a new study in the journal Nature… Keep reading →
America’s electricity landscape is changing dramatically. Clean energy resources like solar and wind are becoming cost competitive with conventional coal, global corporations like Walmart, Google, and Facebook arepressuring utilities to increase their share of renewables, and the cost of investing in energy efficiency measures is now under half the cost of building dirty, coal-fired power… Keep reading →
Republican Congressmen have opened up a new line of attack on the EPA’s Clean Power Plan by drawing attention to the threat the plan could cause to manatees who enjoy the warm water discharged from one of Florida’s biggest coal fired power plants. Manatees, Florida’s state marine mammal, are gentle, slow-moving, herbivorous creatures commonly called… Keep reading →
It’s unusual when a documentary film on air pollution becomes a blockbuster hit, but that’s exactly what’s happened with “Under the Dome,” a film produced about energy and environmental issues in China. Released online on Saturday, the 100-minute film has already racked up more than 150 million views on Youku, China’s YouTube equivalent. That’s equal to… Keep reading →
Marcellus shale gas producer Range Resources reported record production of 1.2 billion cubic feet per day equivalent of natural gas, but getting that gas to higher-value markets is proving a bigger challenge than producing it. “Executives quoted forecasts showing that between mid-2015 and 2018, pipeline companies are expected to add 34 Bcf/d of midstream capacity.… Keep reading →
The movement to natural gas-fired and renewable energy solutions for U.S. power generators is continuing its rapid march. Utilities are aligning their generation portfolio assets to address increased federal regulations concerning cross-state air emissions, proposed carbon emissions rules and surface water regulations, as well as renewable portfolio standards. These trends were evident from the results of the 2014… Keep reading →
The main reason carbon emissions are unlikely to decrease in the short term? Coal. Leave it to Manhattan Institute Senior Fellow Robert Bryce to rain on the renewable energy parade. It’s not that he is anti-renewable energy, or even pro coal, but his analysis starkly demonstrates current energy fundamentals and projected trends, which are heavily… Keep reading →
There is, by now, a general consensus that transitioning to a low-carbon economy is critical for mitigating the effects of climate change. Supporting carbon-cutting efforts entails a move away from fossil fuel-fired power generation and concurrently a shift towards low-carbon electricity sources. How much of a country’s energy should come from renewable sources is debatable… Keep reading →
In proposing the wide-reaching Clean Power Plan, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has laid out four key “building blocks” that states can use to develop their implementation plans. One of those buildings blocks focuses on improving the heat rate – that is, fuel efficiency – of coal-fired power plants. Utility executives from across the… Keep reading →
Germany, the UK and Poland have the dirtiest coal plants in the EU, where the share of coal in power generation is currently around 25%. The IEA says EU coal-fired generation needs to be below 4% by 2035 to combat climate change. Germany exported a record amount of power in 2013 as it generated more… Keep reading →
