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What Is the Keystone XL Pipeline?

4/16/2022

 
The Keystone XL pipeline extension, proposed by TC Energy (then TransCanada) in 2008, was initially designed to transport the planet’s dirtiest fossil fuel, tar sands oil, to market—and fast. As an expansion of the company’s existing Keystone Pipeline System, which has been operating since 2010 (and continues to send Canadian tar sands crude oil from Alberta to various processing hubs in the middle of the United States), the pipeline promised to dramatically increase capacity to process the 168 billion barrels of crude oil locked up under Canada’s boreal forest. It was expected to transport 830,000 barrels of Alberta tar sands oil per day to refineries on the Gulf Coast of Texas. From the refineries, the oil would be sent chiefly overseas—not to gasoline pumps in the United States. - NRDC
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AZ regulators deny SRP gas plant expansion, citing community impacts and insufficient supporting evidence

4/13/2022

 
​The Arizona Corporation Commission on Tuesday voted 4-1 to deny an 820-MW expansion at a gas plant proposed by Salt River Project. Regulators said there was insufficient evidence in the record to make a decision, and the expansion would put too much pressure on the nearby, historically-Black community of Randolph. - Utility Dive

Powell’s looming power problem

4/12/2022

 
Over the last two decades, climate change-induced drought and increasing water demand have depleted Lake Powell substantially: It is now less than one-fourth full. As water levels drop, so, too, does the potential energy of the falling water. That, in turn, lowers the turbines’ generating capacity and power output. In the 1990s, the dam produced as much as 7,000 gigawatt hours per year, enough to power nearly 600,000 homes. Last year, it was down to just 3,000 gigawatt hours. - HCN
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SRP’s baffling, costly natural gas expansion (Op-Ed)

4/7/2022

 
The U.S. power generation market has changed dramatically over the past five years. Natural gas has been bleeding market share to cheaper sources of electricity, which include solar, wind, and even nuclear. At roughly $5 per MMbtu, the price of natural gas today is more than double what it was just two years ago. Even at half of that price, natural gas has been unable to compete with solar in the Southwest. - AZ Capitol Times
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Why geothermal energy is being viewed as a viable alternative to fossil fuels (8:30)

4/7/2022

 
President Biden and the European Union on Friday announced new plans to enable Europe to become less dependent on Russian oil and gas. But for now, the Russian invasion has opened up much larger questions over our dependence on fossil fuels and the need to develop cleaner renewable energy. Science correspondent Miles O'Brien reports on how and why geothermal energy is attracting new interest. - PBS Video
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Gas Prices May Be Rising But You’re Still Not Paying for the True Cost of Driving

3/26/2022

 
But nonetheless, as politicians try to bring down the cost of gas, I want to take a moment to reflect on the true cost of driving. That cost includes not just the price of a vehicle and filling up the tank but also the costs that operating it impose on society, including pollution that drives climate change. Calculating the damage done by pollution and other factors such as traffic and accidents—what economists call externalities—is a fraught process, and economists don’t necessarily agree about all the variables. But one thing is true under any reasoned consideration: driving costs society much more than you’re paying to do it. - Yahoo / Time
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Why geothermal energy is being viewed as a viable alternative to fossil fuels

3/26/2022

 
President Biden and the European Union on Friday announced new plans to enable Europe to become less dependent on Russian oil and gas. But for now, the Russian invasion has opened up much larger questions over our dependence on fossil fuels and the need to develop cleaner renewable energy. Science correspondent Miles O'Brien reports on how and why geothermal energy is attracting new interest. - PBS
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Radical Plan to Make Earth's Deepest Hole Could Unleash Limitless Energy

3/16/2022

 
Since its launch in 2020, a pioneering energy company called Quaise has attracted some serious attention for its audacious goal of diving further into Earth's crust than anybody has dug before. Following the closure of first round venture capital funding, the MIT spin-off has now raised a total of US$63 million: a respectable start that could potentially make geothermal power accessible to more populations around the world. The company's vision for getting closer to the center of the Earth is to combine conventional drilling methods with a megawatt-power flashlight inspired by the kind of technology that could one day make nuclear fusion energy possible here to edit. - Science Alert
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Forecast: 8 Million Energy Jobs Created by Meeting Paris Agreement

3/15/2022

 
Quickly switching to renewables will create 5 million more jobs by 2050 than sticking to fossil fuels will, according to projections. - EOS
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Renewables make up nearly all of Texas’ new generating capacity.

3/6/2022

 
Texas' love affair with renewable energy is undeniable. But even after another banner year for clean energy in the state, a market redesign, fueled by political rhetoric from state leaders, could thwart future deployment, experts say. Wind and solar accounted for nearly all new generating capacity added to the Texas grid in 2021, according to newly released market data. S&P Global Market Intelligence notes that power plant operators added 8,139 MW of new generating capacity to the ERCOT market last year -- 42% came from wind and 40% from solar. Natural gas-fired additions made up 13% of the new capacity. Nationally, wind and solar made up a slightly smaller share of new generating capacity -- 41% and 36%, respectively -- of the 27,959 MW of capacity added. - Renewable Energy World
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Hawaii relies on Russian oil — but clean energy could change that

2/28/2022

 
Russia invaded Ukraine, global oil prices spiked, and one U.S. state in particular will feel the crunch. Hawaii imports all of its oil, much of it from Russia itself. As the U.S. Energy Information Administration succinctly notes, ​“Isolated by the Pacific Ocean, Hawaii is the most petroleum-dependent U.S. state.” And while gasoline prices are rising everywhere, Hawaii is unique among the states in how much it depends on oil for electricity. The geopolitical strife in Eastern Europe catches Hawaii at an awkward moment of transition from fossil-fueled electricity to clean energy. - Canary Media
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Duke may offer some EV customers 'all you can charge' for just $19.99/month

2/26/2022

 
Duke Energy has proposed an electric vehicle (EV) charging program that could allow some residential customers in North Carolina to charge a vehicle for a fixed monthly fee as low as $19.99. In exchange, the customer would allow Duke to manage the vehicle's charging, in order to avoid grid stress and higher costs. The utility is trying to provide a "seamless customer experience and an ecosystem of EV products," while also avoiding costly grid upgrades necessary to meet rising peak demand, Duke Vice President of Rate Design and Strategic Solutions Lon Huber said. The proposed pilot is "all you can charge," said Huber, though some limitations apply. - Utility Dive

Fossil Fuel ‘Flares’ Excess Natural Gas - Burning Money & Bad for the Environment

2/25/2022

 
When fossil fuel companies flare fossil gas, they do more than burn natural gas. They burn money. Every year, U.S. oil and gas companies set fire to billions of cubic feet of natural gas and directly vent an additional unknown amount. These processes, known as flaring and venting, don’t just waste resources; they also pollute the atmosphere with hazardous, global-warming gases, such as methane. Companies argue that they flare and vent for safety and maintenance and because selling or reusing the gas is not financially feasible. The industry and its regulators even refer to this gas as “waste.” But experts say a valuable resource is being squandered because of weak regulations, ineffective tracking of flaring and venting, and a lack of economic incentives to capture and sell the gas.  - Inside Climate News
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The digital world’s real-world impact on the environment

2/25/2022

 
Every office email, every social media “like,” every credit card transaction and telecommuter call still has to be processed by physical computers, real machines that use real energy and water and have real environmental impacts. Even cryptocurrency must be “mined” in an energy-intensive way. Thousands of servers, storage units and network devices stacked up in sprawling warehouses across the West - on the fringe of Phoenix, along the Columbia River, and even in Wyoming’s hinterland - suck juice from the grid to process millions of transactions. The electricity becomes equipment-straining heat, which must be shed using water or more electricity. Instead of seeking veins of gold or silver, cryptocurrency miners chase cheap energy — even setting up shop on oil and gas pads to utilize methane that otherwise would be flared — because more power use equals greater computing capacity, which equals higher profits.- HCN
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Largest US offshore wind lease auction attracts $1.5B in bids and counting

2/24/2022

 
The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management's (BOEM) largest leasing auction for rights to offshore wind development attracted nearly $1.54 billion in bids on Wednesday for six areas with an estimated potential for 5,600 to 7,000 MW of development, depending on the efficiency of the turbines. BOEM said 14 bidders participated in the first day of the auction, from a total of 25 eligible bidders. BOEM did not identify the bidders, but eligible bidders include Avangrid Renewables, PSEG Renewable Generation, Equinor Wind US, and subsidiaries of EDF Renewables, BP and Shell. Provisional winners will be announced following the end of the auction. - Utility Dive
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‘Nuclear is just not part of any feasible strategy that could counter climate change.’

2/24/2022

 
The climate is running hot. Evolving knowledge of climate sensitivity and polar ice melt-rate makes clear that sea-level rise is ramping, along with destructive storm, storm surge, severe precipitation and flooding, not forgetting wildfire. With mounting concern and recognition over the speed and pace of the low carbon energy transition that’s needed, nuclear has been reframed as a partial response to the threat of global heating. But at the heart of this are questions about whether nuclear could help with the climate crisis, whether nuclear is economically viable, what are the consequences of nuclear accidents, what to do with the waste, and whether there’s a place for nuclear within the swiftly expanding renewable energy evolution. As key experts who have worked on the front-line of the nuclear issue, we’ve all involved at the highest governmental nuclear regulatory and radiation protection levels in the US, Germany, France and UK. In this context, we consider it our collective responsibility to comment on the main issue: Whether nuclear could play a significant role as a strategy against climate change. The central message, repeated again and again, that a new generation of nuclear will be clean, safe, smart and cheap, is fiction. The reality is nuclear is neither clean, safe or smart; but a very complex technology with the potential to cause significant harm. Nuclear isn’t cheap, but extremely costly. Perhaps most importantly nuclear is just not part of any feasible strategy that could counter climate change. To make a relevant contribution to global power generation, up to more than ten thousand new reactors would be required, depending on reactor design. - Nuclear Consulting Group

Report says new nuclear reactor is risky; utilities disagree

2/18/2022

 
A new type of nuclear reactor that would provide carbon-free energy to at least four states in the Western U.S. poses financial risks for utilities and their ratepayers, according to a report released Thursday that was immediately criticized by the project’s owner and the company developing the reactor. The report by the Ohio-based Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis said the small modular nuclear reactor being developed by NuScale Power in Oregon is “too expensive, too risky and too uncertain.” - KOIN News (Portland)
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Coal Seam Fires Burn Beneath Communities in Zimbabwe

2/18/2022

 
As Zimbabwe’s coal industry expands, residents around the western town of Hwange are experiencing the effects of underground coal seam fires. Residents, particularly children, and livestock are at risk from falling into the smoldering fires beneath unstable ground. Unfenced areas above the fires are often used as outdoor toilets, playgrounds, and grazing areas. Victims suffer burned legs, and in one case, a young girl died of her burn injuries. “The [Hwange] community is living in fear of these fires as the number of people getting burned increases by each passing day. Livestock, especially in the Madubasa, Hwange area, have also fallen victim to these fires,” said Fidelis Chima, coordinator of Greater Whange Residents Trust. - EOS


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Study: Accusations of 'greenwashing' by big oil companies are well-founded

2/17/2022

 
Four major oil companies aren't taking concrete steps to live up to their pledges to transition to clean energy, new research has found. The study, published Wednesday in the journal PLOS One, found that Chevron, ExxonMobil, BP and Shell used terms like "climate," "low-carbon" and "transition" more frequently in recent annual reports and devised strategies around decarbonization. But their actions on clean energy were mostly pledges and the companies remain financially reliant on fossil fuels. "We thus conclude that the transition to clean energy business models is not occurring, since the magnitude of investments and actions does not match discourse," the researchers at Tohoku University and Kyoto University in Japan said. The four major oil companies the study focuses on account for more than 10% of global carbon emissions since 1965, the researchers said. - NPR
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People power: Hawaii utility wants to pay households to share clean energy

2/17/2022

 
Something unusual is happening in Hawaii: An electric utility and rooftop solar installers have agreed on a proposal to reward households for sharing clean energy with the grid at useful times. In many places around the U.S., utilities treat rooftop solar as an obstacle. They say it shifts grid-maintenance costs from customers who have solar to those who don’t, or causes headaches for their system planning and operations. Utilities in California are currently urging regulators to levy a monthly fee on anyone who adds rooftop solar, regardless of how it operates. - Canary Media

Offshore wind farms could double as electric charging stations for ships

2/17/2022

 
Offshore wind farms already provide gigawatts of clean electricity to the grid worldwide. Now efforts are underway to supply some of that wind-blown power directly to ships. Most vessels burn dirty diesel fuels to carry people and cargo across the water, trailing large amounts of greenhouse gases and toxic air pollution in their wake. In 2021, carbon dioxide emissions from the global shipping industry rose by 4.9 percent over the previous year amid a surge in seaborne trade. At the same time, offshore wind installations are booming off the coasts of European and Asian countries. The United States, which has long lagged in offshore wind, now has dozens of projects in the works. - Canary Media
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Corn-Based Ethanol May Be Worse For the Climate Than Gasoline New Study Finds

2/17/2022

 
Ethanol made from corn grown across millions of acres of American farmland has become the country’s premier renewable fuel, touted as a low-carbon alternative to traditional gasoline and a key component of the country’s efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. But a new study, published this week, finds that corn-based ethanol may actually be worse for the climate than fossil-based gasoline, and has other environmental downsides. “We thought and hoped it would be a climate solution and reduce and replace our reliance on gasoline,” said Tyler Lark, a researcher with the Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, and lead author of the study. “It turns out to be no better for the climate than the gasoline it aims to replace and comes with all kinds of other impacts.” - Inside Climate News

California Will Stick Solar Panels Over Canals to Fight Two Disasters at Once

2/17/2022

 
A water and electric utility in central California will install a first-of-its-kind network of solar panels on water canals. Turlock Irrigation District (TID) has secured a $20 million grant from the state to pursue the first-in-the-nation project, which could serve a beneficial double whammy: create renewable energy and save some water in the process. Project Nexus is based off an analysis published last year in Nature Sustainability, which put some real numbers behind the idea that solar panels over canals could do some good. A lot of water in California wends its way through the state’s 4,000 miles (6,437 kilometers) of open delivery canals that comprise the aqueduct system, transporting water supply from the Sierra Nevada mountains and northern parts of the state to reservoirs, lakes, hydropower plants, and farms. The water supply in the state is already under serious dual threats from overuse and climate change, so every drop counts. And these exposed canals have a serious flaw: They allow some of that precious water to evaporate. - Gizmodo (from Nature)
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Amazon, Target & othespace record ‘clean’ energy buying, little sign of stopping

2/12/2022

 
Influential companies, including retail giants Amazon.com and Target; and tech powerhouses Microsoft and Meta — parent company of Facebook FB, -3.74% bought a record 31.1 gigawatts of renewable energy to run their operations in 2021. That’s a jump of nearly 24% from the previous year’s record of 25.1GW of renewables, mostly solar and wind. The latest tally comes from research firm BloombergNEF, which said in a release Monday that over two-thirds of these purchases occurred in the U.S. America has trailed Europe and parts of Asia in shifting from coal and natural gas-derived NG00, +1.04% power to renewable alternatives ICLN, -2.60% to create electricity. Within the U.S., the largest technology companies are leading the move, however; they collectively signed over half of the deals. - MarketWatch
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US coal communities get historic $11B to clean up abandoned mines

2/10/2022

 
The transition to clean energy won’t be complete without cleaning up the messes left behind by dirty energy. The federal government took a new step toward that goal this week. The U.S. Department of the Interior announced the release of nearly $725 million in funding for cleaning up old coal-mining facilities. It’s the first tranche of a record $11.3 billion dedicated to coal cleanup in last year’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, to be disbursed over the next 15 years. States and tribes with abandoned coal mines will be able to apply for a portion of the funding in the coming weeks. - Canary Media
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