article thumbnail

Fossil Fuels vs. Renewables: A Price on Reliability?

Union of Concerned Scientists

The same scenario has played out with the power plants that use fossil fuels, predominantly methane (“natural”) gas, delivered by pipelines. This system worked so well in the past that gas plants totally dominated new power plant investment from 1990 through 2014. It’s a vicious feedback loop.

article thumbnail

Storm Elliott Knocked Out Fossil-Fuel Power. We’ve Been Here Before.

Union of Concerned Scientists

Utilities and grid operators prepared for the storm as it was coming down the pike, but they still underestimated the energy demand it would trigger, as well as the number of outages at fossil fuel power plants—mainly natural gas-fired, plus some coal-fired plants.

Insiders

Sign Up for our Newsletter

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

article thumbnail

New, Updated Carbon Majors Dataset Holds Promise for Researchers, Litigators

Union of Concerned Scientists

That 2013 headline resulted from the first effort to quantify emissions from the ‘carbon majors’ —fossil fuel companies and cement manufacturers whose businesses have contributed an outsized amount of heat-trapping gases to the atmosphere. Nearly two-thirds of industrial heat-trapping emissions can be traced to just 90 entities.

article thumbnail

Don’t Believe the Lies: Five Facts to Consider as the UN’s COP27 Comes to a Close

Union of Concerned Scientists

Union of Concerned Scientists’ (UCS) research shows that top fossil fuel producers’ emissions are responsible for as much as half of global surface temperature increase. Data on the major carbon producers’ emissions have been published since 2014. The best solution: Replace fossil fuels with renewable energy.

article thumbnail

The Carbon Capture Boondoggle Begins To Unwind 

Enviromental Defense

CCS is a multi-billion dollar boondoggle that doesn’t come close to the hype, has significant safety risks, and is a substantial distraction from real climate solutions, such as building more renewable energy, increasing electricity transmission infrastructure, and developing and using storage technology. Want proof?

article thumbnail

Reevaluating the Role of Fossil Gas in a Decarbonizing Grid

Union of Concerned Scientists

However, as we replace fossil fuels with clean electricity for heating and transportation to meet our climate goals, these peak demands will increasingly shift to the winter in many parts of the country. Decarbonizing the power sector also plays a critical long-term role by replacing fossil fuels in other sectors.

article thumbnail

Canada’s New Carbon Management Strategy Jeopardizes its Chance of Meeting its Climate Targets

Enviromental Defense

We are disappointed that Canada’s Carbon Management Strategy , released by Minister Wilkinson, doubles down on the federal government’s risky approach of over-reliance on speculative and dangerous technologies being promoted primarily by oil and gas companies. Let’s be clear: any funding to oil and gas companies is a fossil fuel subsidy.