• Energy

DOE Predicts CO2 Emissions AND Renewables Increase by 2050

• China
• CO2 emissions
• coal
• energy
• hydropower
• natural gas
• renewable energy
• Solar
• wind

The Energy Department put out its 2019 International Energy Outlook and two big headlines emerged — first that CO2 emissions worldwide will increase by 20% overall through 2050 because of emissions from developing countries, and second that renewable sources will provide half of all electricity globally by midcentury.

Why This Matters:  CO2 emissions from developed nations decrease by -.2% annually for the next 30 years, while in developing countries CO2 emissions are expected to grow 1% a year.  Countries outside the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) are growing in key respects — they collectively have more population, a larger gross domestic product, more energy consumption, and higher energy-related CO2 emissions. 

• Climate Change

New Study Shows Natural Gas Power Plants Are A “Bridge” That Goes Too Far

• climate change
• fracking
• greenhouse gas emissions
• natural gas
• pipeline

A new study by the Rocky Mountain Institute published yesterday makes the case that the U.S. may be making too big an investment in natural gas power infrastructure — power plants and pipelines — the life of those plants go out past 2050 and are more than just a “bridge” to renewable power.  Not only […]

• Energy

Deadly Gas Pipeline Explosion Rocks Kentucky

• Enbridge
• explosion
• natural gas
• oil spill
• pipeline

A large regional pipeline owned by Enbridge that carries natural gas from the Mexican border in Texas to New York City exploded in rural Kentucky early Thursday morning, killing one and injuring five others in what one resident described as a tornado of fire.  CBS News reported that the explosion destroyed railroad tracks and several trailer homes causing tremendous damage in its vicinity — it was so big it could be seen by weather radar — and it took several hours to bring under control by local fire officials. 

• Air

Pipeline Company Challenges Gas Venting and Flaring in Texas

• flaring
• greenhouse gas emissions
• methane
• natural gas
• shale oil
• Texas Railroad Commission
• venting

In a first of its kind challenge, the Williams Pipeline Company is fighting to prevent natural gas venting and flaring by Exco Resources Inc., which is seeking to release nearly all of the gas produced by a group of its South Texas wells as a byproduct of its drilling for shale oil — Williams argues that this practice is a massive waste of natural gas and the flaring is banned by law

• Energy

Michael Bloomberg Pledges $500M to Shut Coal Plants

• @beyondcarbon
• #beyondcoal
• Bloomberg
• coal
• natural gas
• renewable energy

Former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg pledged in a graduation speech at MIT late last week to spend $500m on a campaign focused on persuading state and local governments to speed the closure of the 241 remaining coal-fired power plants in the U.S. and to end the growth of plants that run on natural gas. Blocking natural gas from filling in behind coal will be especially difficult, and Axios’ Amy Harder reported that it was “the fastest-growing energy source last year —accounting for 45% of all such growth — with most regions and many industries turning to the fuel as a cleaner alternative to coal and oil.”

• Energy

California’s Road to electrification will mean learning to forgo gas cooktops

• California
• Curtis Stone
• electrification
• natural gas

In its effort to significantly reduce carbon emissions, the state of California is working to encourage electrification of homes and vehicles among its residents. While transportation and power generation are the most well-known sources of GHGs, in California, buildings (and the gas they use) account for a quarter of all emissions. As the LA Times […]

• Energy

Demand for renewables increases but coal and gas are still king

• coal
• IEA
• natural gas
• renewables

As a follow-up to yesterday’s story about the price of battery storage plummeting thus painting a positive outlook for renewables, we still have some substantial supply and demand challenges to overcome before we can utilize renewables more broadly on a global scale. This week, the International Energy Agency released data showing that energy demand around […]

• Air

Virginia Regulators Ignore Environmental Justice Concerns, Grant Pipeline Permit

• air pollution
• Atlantic Coast Pipeline
• Dominion Energy
• Environmental Justice
• fossil fuel
• fundraiser
• natural gas
• Richmond
• Virginia

Ignoring the pleas of residents of the historic African American community of Union Hill in Richmond, the Virginia state air pollution control board voted unanimously to approve a natural gas compressor station there. 

Why This Matters:  The large and powerful fossil fuel industry always seems to have the upper hand — in DC and in state capitals around the country.  The ruling probably does not matter because the pipeline is mired in more serious federal court litigation.  But environmental groups were disappointed that Democratic Governor of Virginia, Ralph Northam, replaced two skeptical air pollution control board commissioners whose terms had run out, with two pro-pipeline commissioners.  Governor Northam, according to The Post, attended a political fundraiser with Dominion executives in recent days.  Yup.  It’s all about the money.