Union of Concerned Scientists

JANUARY 30, 2023

On January 26, the Minnesota House of Representatives passed House File 7 —the 100% Clean Energy Bill. Now it’s on to the state Senate, where the question is: Will this be the year Minnesota sets a path toward 100-percent carbon-free electricity?

Electricity 214

Electricity Renewable Energy Fossil Fuels Clean Energy 214

Union of Concerned Scientists

MAY 12, 2022

Nearly all of the alliance members have a renewable electricity standard (RES), which requires utilities in their jurisdiction to increase their use of renewable energy to a particular percentage by a specific year. We found that states have technically feasible and highly beneficial ways to achieve 100-percent renewable energy.

Electricity 253

Electricity Fossil Fuels Renewable Energy Nitrogen Oxides 253

Energy and Climate Law

NOVEMBER 2, 2020

For almost two year now the Energy Charter Treaty (ECT) is under revision and negotiations shall finish in 2021. The aim of the EU is to try to stop fossil fuel companies suing states over climate action. Then a further round is already planned for February or March 2021.

Fossil Fuels 207

Fossil Fuels Natural Gas Electricity 2020 207

Union of Concerned Scientists

MARCH 12, 2024

Fossil gas power plants currently provide the largest source of electricity generation and capacity in the United States. 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.

Fossil Fuels 234

Fossil Fuels Electricity 2030 Clean Energy 234

Union of Concerned Scientists

FEBRUARY 9, 2024

Gas, which now generates 40 percent of US electricity, is considered by some to be critical to maintain grid reliability. For example, Dominion Energy, an electric and gas utility in Virginia, is planning to build a mammoth 1,000-megawatt gas plant in an area with a high percentage of residents who are people of color and low-income.

Clean Energy 313

Clean Energy Nitrogen Oxides Fossil Fuels Electricity 313

Law and Environment

AUGUST 11, 2022

Based on numerous sources, Governor Baker has now signed an Act Driving Clean Energy and Offshore Wind. This bill includes a number of key advancements for increased adoption of zero emission vehicles and clean transportation throughout the Commonwealth. The Department shall approve the rebates not later than June 30, 2023; and.

Clean Energy 130

Clean Energy Electricity 2025 Fossil Fuels 130

Law and Environment

JULY 1, 2022

The decision focuses on EPA’s authority under a specific section of the Clean Air Act. But a closer read suggests more sweeping, longer-term implications for incentivizing the development of clean energy projects nationwide. The Court ruled that EPA lacked the authority under the Clean Air Act to issue the Clean Power Plan.

Clean Energy 130

Clean Energy Climate Change Clean Air Act Greenhouse 130

Union of Concerned Scientists

JULY 22, 2022

Minnesotans are facing concurrent crises of climate change, high energy prices and inflation, and the inequitable public health impacts of fossil fuel air pollution. Renewable energy will help with all of that—but we need a grid that is designed for wind and solar instead of having to rely on expensive coal and gas plants.

Renewable Energy 338

Renewable Energy Fossil Fuels Solar Power Electricity 338

PA Environment Daily

MARCH 13, 2024

On March 7, the Independent Fiscal Office issued its latest Pennsylvania Electricity update that reports the electricity grid is dependent on one fuel for 59% of the state’s electricity generation-- natural gas-- followed by nuclear power-- 31.9%, coal-- 5.4% from other sources. Read more here. Read more here.

Electricity 108

Electricity Natural Gas Renewable Energy Nuclear Power 108

Legal Planet

NOVEMBER 13, 2023

Over three-fourths of Indonesia electricity comes from fossil fuels: 60% from coal and 16% from gas. Indonesia’s 2021 climate pledge under the Paris Agreement was to reduce emissions from 2020-2030 by 29%. The Asian Development Bank has a detailed guide to Indonesia’s energy issues. Several official plans.

Paris Agreement 264

Paris Agreement Sea Level Fossil Fuels Carbon Emissions 264

Union of Concerned Scientists

JANUARY 10, 2024

In New England, the percent of people of color living near fossil fuel power plants is up to 23.5 Dominion Energy is pushing to build the largest gas peaker plant in Virginia in an area where 44% of the residents are people of color and 25% are low income.

Fossil Fuels 253

Fossil Fuels Nitrogen Oxides Electricity Air Pollution 253

Union of Concerned Scientists

JULY 25, 2022

This week, the Midwest’s regional electric grid operators approved nearly $10.5 These investments will bring more clean energy online, improve grid resiliency, and deliver significant consumer benefits and jobs. This development will create almost 32,000 jobs while providing enough energy to power more than 1.8

Renewable Energy 222

Renewable Energy Fossil Fuels Clean Energy Electricity 222

Union of Concerned Scientists

MAY 30, 2023

And I love hearing about new renewable electricity records as spring unfolds. A few recent examples for that last love: California scored a new record for total generation from renewable energy in mid-April and a new record for solar production in mid-May. Spring tends to be a time when there is lower electricity demand.

Renewable Energy 244

Renewable Energy Fossil Fuels Climate Change Electricity 244

Union of Concerned Scientists

MARCH 30, 2022

Wider repercussions, including the inequitable impacts of rising food and energy prices and the potential for a food crisis hitting vulnerable populations around the world, must also be urgently addressed by global leaders. Other countries are dependent upon these fossil fuels, they don’t make themselves free of them.

Fossil Fuels 258

Fossil Fuels Climate Change Clean Energy 2030 258

Union of Concerned Scientists

JUNE 15, 2022

The ones that’ll soon be gracing areas over the horizon are powerful enough, each one, to generate the equivalent of an average home’s daily electricity use in just a few seconds. Even more important, though, wind is an impressive piece of our electricity supply. Wind is now the largest source of renewable energy in the country.

Wind Power 357

Wind Power Fossil Fuels Electricity Climate Change 357

Legal Planet

OCTOBER 10, 2022

The Governor approved a notable slate of climate legislation with a package that includes more stringent greenhouse gas (GHG) emission targets and measures designed to reduce the state’s reliance on fossil fuels. Clean Energy.

2021 130

2021 2022 Sea Level Clean Energy 130

Union of Concerned Scientists

OCTOBER 27, 2022

There is still much we can do to bend that emissions curve sharply within this decade—but only if world leaders, especially leaders of richer countries and major emitting nations, take responsibility to act together quickly and fossil fuel companies are held accountable for their decades of obstruction and deception.

Fossil Fuels 189

Fossil Fuels 2030 Clean Energy Climate Change 189

Union of Concerned Scientists

SEPTEMBER 13, 2023

Despite the clean energy transition that is well underway in the United States, methane gas, or natural gas, remains the largest source of U.S. electricity generation. This is a particularly dangerous risk given the coincident grid strain and high electricity demand that is typically triggered by these weather conditions.

Fossil Fuels 172

Fossil Fuels Cooling Electricity 2015 172

Union of Concerned Scientists

MAY 31, 2022

On the last day of the 2022 Minnesota legislative session, state legislators had a real case of the Mondays: They failed to deliver on climate and energy policies that would have accelerated renewable energy enough to forge a clear path to carbon-free electricity and set the state on track to meet science-based emission reduction targets.

Renewable Energy 216

Renewable Energy Clean Energy Electricity Fossil Fuels 216

Union of Concerned Scientists

MARCH 16, 2022

The Department of Energy’s Energy Information Administration (EIA) is one of the go-to sources for reliable information about the US power sector. They just released their 2022 “Annual Energy Outlook” (AEO), which is a big deal: it tells us where electricity is headed over the next 30 years. Carbon emissions remain high.

Natural Gas 266

Natural Gas Renewable Energy Climate Change Electricity 266

Legal Planet

JULY 29, 2021

On Wednesday, Oregon Governor Kate Brown signed a package of four clean energy bills. These laws ban new fossil fuel plants and set aggressive targets for the state’s two major utilities, requiring emission cuts of 80% by 2030, 90% by 2035 and 100% by 2040. House Bill 2165 addresses electrical charging for vehicles.

Fossil Fuels 264

Fossil Fuels Clean Energy Renewable Energy Electricity 264

Union of Concerned Scientists

APRIL 11, 2022

The November 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), also referred to as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, or BIL, includes an $8 billion “regional clean hydrogen hubs” program that charges the Department of Energy (DOE) with the development of at least four hydrogen hubs to advance the nation’s clean hydrogen sector.

Fossil Fuels 231

Fossil Fuels Clean Energy Natural Gas Waste 231

Union of Concerned Scientists

AUGUST 31, 2022

At any point in the summer, extreme heat could trigger electricity supply shortages and rotating power outages. It issued five Flex Alerts in 2020, eight in 2021, but there’s only been one so far this year. And to clean up buildings and industry, many residences and businesses will switch to electricity-powered heating systems (e.g.,

Solar Power 248

Solar Power Fossil Fuels Electricity 2020 248

Law and Environment

DECEMBER 5, 2022

The report seeks to establish a framework for a long-term reduction in emissions from heating fuels, to align with the Commonwealth’s emissions reduction target of net zero by 2050 and the 2050 Decarbonization Roadmap. Governor-elect Healey has her work cut out for her!

Fossil Fuels 130

Fossil Fuels Clean Energy Electricity Natural Gas 130

Legal Planet

MARCH 31, 2022

It turns out that most of them are 50-60% reliant on fossil fuels, with a lot of the remainder coming from nuclear and hydro. This table shows how much power is generated from fossil fuels by the top ten utilities (ranked by market value). There was more fuel oil in use in some places than I expected. Xcel Energy.

Natural Gas 227

Natural Gas 2030 Fossil Fuels 2007 227

Union of Concerned Scientists

DECEMBER 14, 2023

Winter is once again here, bringing great festivities and respite via holidays, but also great worries to energy regulators, grid operators, and communities about dangerous winter storms that can spread across large parts of the United States and negatively affect electric grid reliability.

Electricity 273

Electricity Fossil Fuels 2011 2014 273

Union of Concerned Scientists

DECEMBER 20, 2022

US ratepayers very likely will pay even more for electricity and heating this winter compared to the already-expensive winter of 2021-2022. The US Energy Information Administration is forecasting the wholesale price of gas to reach its highest level since the winter of 2009-2010 in inflation-adjusted terms.

Fossil Fuels 274

Fossil Fuels Carbon Dioxide Electricity Natural Gas 274

PA Environment Daily

MAY 18, 2023

In order for states in PJM to take full advantage of incentives under the federal Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), PJM must remove barriers to meeting the market and policy demand for cheap and clean energy. For context, there were 200 GW of clean energy resources operating in the entire U.S. Read more here.]

Renewable Energy 73

Renewable Energy Clean Energy Natural Gas Electricity 73

Union of Concerned Scientists

SEPTEMBER 23, 2022

Illinois utilities Ameren and Commonwealth Edison (ComEd) are preparing distribution grid plans for the first time under new requirements established by the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act (CEJA) , which the Illinois Legislature passed in September 2021.

Clean Energy 188

Clean Energy Fossil Fuels 2012 Electricity 188

Union of Concerned Scientists

SEPTEMBER 2, 2022

While the epicenter of the war and its horrors has remained trained on and in Ukraine, Russia has also leveraged its position as a major fossil fuel exporter to fund its war efforts and to manipulate and threaten others, including countries across Europe that have long relied on Russian supplies of gas. Credit: U.S.

Fossil Fuels 203

Fossil Fuels Clean Energy Carbon Dioxide Natural Gas 203

Enviromental Defense

NOVEMBER 1, 2023

In this year’s edition of World Energy Outlook , the International Energy Agency showed that with the rapid roll out of renewable energy technologies, the demand for fossil fuels – gas, coal and oil – will peak this decade. The IEA is a global body of leading experts on energy modelling and analysis.

Fossil Fuels 91

Fossil Fuels Renewable Energy Greenhouse Government 91

A Greener Life

JUNE 27, 2022

In March, start-up BasiGo became the first company to launch an electric passenger bus in Kenya. We selected BYD because they are the largest manufacturer of electric buses globally and they are known for battery technology that is state-of-the-art,” BasiGo co-founder and CEO Jit Bhattacharya told China Dialogue. million in funding.

Electricity 97

Electricity Greenhouse 2030 2020 97

Union of Concerned Scientists

DECEMBER 22, 2022

The renewable energy transition involves harnessing epic forces of nature. Sleek solar panels forged from silver and silica from the depths of the Earth translate the sun’s blindingly fiery light energy into electricity. Batteries help store surplus energy. Source: UniEnergy Technologies / Wikimedia Commons. Source: UCS.

Wind Power 183

Wind Power Renewable Energy Electricity Clean Energy 183

Union of Concerned Scientists

MARCH 29, 2023

It looked like fossil fuel companies and their allied political and economic interests had seen that their efforts to undermine public understanding of climate change science had largely failed. I’m a campaign strategist, so I get what the fossil fuel companies are trying to do. can be suspicious of climate action.

Fossil Fuels 235

Fossil Fuels Climate Change Clean Energy Politics 235

Enviromental Defense

FEBRUARY 8, 2024

We are at a crossroads between a more affordable and climate safe future, and one that entrenches our reliance on dirty fossil fuels, increases the rift between the highest and lowest earners and puts profit over people. The cost of electricity generated from solar panels fell by 89 per cent between 2010-2022.

Fossil Fuels 108

Fossil Fuels Cooling Climate Change Electricity 108

Legal Planet

DECEMBER 8, 2022

Hydrogen could play a critical role in helping California to decarbonize its electricity grid and achieve carbon neutrality. The gas can be generated from surplus renewable energy resources (like solar or wind) to create zero-emission (or “green”) hydrogen. Establishing a state zero-emission hydrogen roadmap to support the U.S.

Fossil Fuels 147

Fossil Fuels Electricity Renewable Energy Climate Change 147

PA Environment Daily

OCTOBER 7, 2021

Workers in our coal mines, power plants, steel mills and other emission intensive manufacturing sites provided the electricity and materials that have powered the American economy since the Industrial Revolution. We have a responsibility to ensure that these workers and their families are not left behind,” said Senator Casey.

Fossil Fuels 82

Fossil Fuels Clean Energy Climate Change Electricity 82