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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. The electric power system is trapped by gas-dependent power plants that cannot obtain gas when it needs it to keep the lights on. It’s a vicious feedback loop.

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Good News—and Bad—about Fossil Fuel Power Plants in 2023 

Union of Concerned Scientists

And fossil fuel power plants may not stick to their retirement schedules for a variety of reasons. GW of gas capacity set to retire, but also slightly outpacing the planned additions of wind power. degrees Celsius, coal power should be entirely phased out by 2030. A bit more on those reasons later.

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5 Powerful Facts for Global Wind Day

Union of Concerned Scientists

We at the Union of Concerned Scientists think a lot about wind power. In honor of Global Wind Day , here’s a roundup of what we’re seeing and what we’ve been thinking—five facts about wind energy to keep in mind as you celebrate, or at least make note, on June 15. Wind power is big, and getting bigger.

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How Are Lithium-ion Batteries that Store Solar and Wind Power Made?

Union of Concerned Scientists

A 1 megawatt vanadium flow battery (a different technology from lithium-ion, but also used for energy storage) is in Pullman, Washington, built by UniEnergy Technologies and owned by Avista Utilities. Source: UniEnergy Technologies / Wikimedia Commons. Engineers develop energy storage battery technologies. Batteries.

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Ask a Scientist: The US Has to Do More to Meet Its Carbon Emissions Reduction Goals

Union of Concerned Scientists

The legislation committed nearly $400 billion to support, among other things, wind and solar power, battery storage, electric vehicles, and other clean energy technologies that will make a significant dent in US heat-trapping emissions. It also will save US consumers money because they will spend less on fossil fuels.

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How Much Land Would it Require to Get Most of Our Electricity from Wind and Solar?

Union of Concerned Scientists

A recent National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) study shows that it would take less than 1 percent of the land in the Lower 48—that’s an area comparable to or even smaller than the fossil fuel industry’s current footprint. EIA also projects US battery storage capacity to more than double in 2023.

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IEA Unveils Ambitious Path to Net-Zero Emissions by 2050

Yale E360

In a new report , the International Energy Agency is calling for an immediate end to new investments in fossil fuel supply projects such as pipelines, the rapid adoption of renewable energy such as solar and wind power, and a large-scale research and development program to develop future technologies, including advanced batteries, producing energy (..)