Tag: united states

US State Policies For Building Electrification: Policy Brief

US State Policies For Building Electrification: Policy Brief

July 28, 2022 | ,

To meet ambitious emissions-reduction goals, a small but growing number of states are promoting electrification of space and water heating as an important building decarbonization tool. However, one barrier states face is the need to ensure that fuel-switching and electrification efforts are beneficial; i.e., they must reduce emissions and energy costs while harmonizing with existing energy efficiency policies aimed at reducing demand.

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Modernising the American Grid: US DOE launches several programmes under BIL

Modernising the American Grid: US DOE launches several programmes under BIL

July 24, 2022 |

In 2021, the Biden Administration set ambitious climate goals of reaching 100 per cent clean electricity by 2035 and net zero emissions by 2050. This has put the spotlight on the urgent need for rebuilding and modernising the country’s ageing electricity transmission grid. To support these goals, huge dedicated federal funding allocations have been made for grid modernisation under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), enacted as the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) in November 2021.

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Cost declines in 2021 may not be repeated for solar PV and wind power in 2022: IRENA 

Cost declines in 2021 may not be repeated for solar PV and wind power in 2022: IRENA 

July 22, 2022 |

The cost declines seen in 2021 may not be repeated for solar PV and wind power in 2022, as supply chain constraints have been having an impact since late 2020, while commodity price rises accelerated in late 2021. These two factors saw equipment prices increase after experiencing lows in the first half of 2020, when the pandemic first took hold. Yet, the impact of these factors on projects commissioned in 2021 was not enough to raise the full year weighted average LCOE in many individual markets, nor at a global level.

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Realizing America’s Clean Energy Opportunity: Report

Realizing America’s Clean Energy Opportunity: Report

July 19, 2022 | ,

The United States can compete in the creation, manufacturing, and deployment of clean energy technologies in a way that not only puts the country on a path to decarbonization but also drives regional economic development. Regional investment in clean energy technologies, physical infrastructure, and supply chains can support regional economies, accelerate growth, and promote a dynamic, inclusive society.

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US PJM’s Interconnection Rule Is a Good Start

US PJM’s Interconnection Rule Is a Good Start

July 17, 2022 |

A proposal from grid operator PJM Interconnection is designed to start working through the backlog of wind and solar projects trying to connect to the grid. NRDC and others told the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) that it should not only approve this plan but also put in place new federal rule changes that could solve this problem nationwide. PJM—the nation’s largest grid operator—is seeking to break a logjam that’s preventing thousands of wind and solar power projects from getting built.

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The Solution to US Grid Reliability? Go Bigger and Bolder on Renewables and Energy Storage

The Solution to US Grid Reliability? Go Bigger and Bolder on Renewables and Energy Storage

July 14, 2022 |

Extreme weather like heat waves, hurricanes, and “polar vortex” events are a major root cause of increased grid reliability concerns, and those events are being driven by climate change. The United States can effectively confront this challenge by aggressively building a resilient, carbon-free electricity system that includes massive deployment of solar, wind, transmission, electricity storage, and other flexible grid resources.

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Making US Clean Energy Transition Affordable: RMI Report

Making US Clean Energy Transition Affordable: RMI Report

July 13, 2022 | ,

To maintain affordability during this investment boom, US utility spending must be cost effective. Totex ratemaking is a regulatory innovation that could help keep utility rates affordable through the clean energy transition. By changing how regulators set the utility’s revenue allowance, it allows alternative solutions to compete with capital projects on a level playing field.

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Offshore Wind in Western United States: Briefing

Offshore Wind in Western United States: Briefing

July 12, 2022 | ,

The United States’ West Coast has vast, untapped offshore wind resources to help decarbonize the country’s energy system. Offshore wind would diversify generation resources while reducing land-use conflicts in the Western U.S., where 80 percent of customers are served by utilities with net-zero carbon emission mandates. Coastal states make up 57 percent of Western electricity demand.

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U.S. Energy and Employment Report

U.S. Energy and Employment Report

July 5, 2022 | ,

Despite economic uncertainty, however, the USEER analysis shows the energy sector experienced positive job growth, increasing 4.0% from 2020 to 2021, outpacing overall U.S. employment, which climbed 2.8% in the same period. Overall, the total number of energy jobs increased, from 7.5 million in 2020 to more than 7.8 million in 2021, after a steep decline in 2020.  There are more than 3 million jobs, 40% of total energy jobs, that support reducing U.S. emissions to zero across several sectors.

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Strong offshore wind growth expected in the US from 2025 onwards: GWEC

Strong offshore wind growth expected in the US from 2025 onwards: GWEC

July 4, 2022 |

Since the ambitious 30 GW by 2023 offshore wind target was released by the Biden–Harris Administration, there has been a noticeably positive attitude towards pushing the rollout of offshore wind on the political agenda. Although no new offshore wind turbines were installed in the US in 2022, the US offshore wind market continues to gain strong momentum in both state and federal waters.

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Biden Administration Launches New Federal-State Offshore Wind Partnership to Grow American-Made Clean Energy

Biden Administration Launches New Federal-State Offshore Wind Partnership to Grow American-Made Clean Energy

June 30, 2022 |

On June 23, the White House joined with eleven governors from up and down the East Coast to launch a new Federal-State Offshore Wind Implementation Partnership that will accelerate the growing offshore wind industry. The partnership will support efforts to provide Americans with cleaner and cheaper energy, create good-paying jobs, and make historic investments in new American energy supply chains, manufacturing, shipbuilding, and servicing.

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US Short Term Energy Outlook Report

US Short Term Energy Outlook Report

June 28, 2022 | ,

The largest increases in U.S. electricity generation in the next two years are likely to come from renewable energy sources, driven by expanded generating capacity from these sources. It is expected that renewable energy will provide 22% of U.S. generation in 2022 and 24% in 2023, up from a share of 20% last year. Solar capacity additions in the electric power sector total 20 gigawatts (GW) for 2022 and 22 GW for 2023.

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8 Ways US States and Cities Can Create an EV Charging Network

8 Ways US States and Cities Can Create an EV Charging Network

June 24, 2022 |

The Biden administration aims for 50% of new light-duty vehicle sales to be zero-emission by 2030. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law provides the largest-ever federal investment in EV charging infrastructure, and thus serves as a critical down payment for the United States to reach its EV potential. The influx of new federal funding presents a unique opportunity to jump start the effort to electrify transportation, but only if states and cities use funds effectively and equitably.

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US Electric School Bus Market: Briefing

US Electric School Bus Market: Briefing

June 16, 2022 | ,

This publication is intended to serve as a resource primarily for school districts and transportation directors exploring school bus electrification and provide them with a better understanding of the state of the electric school bus market and available offerings. It aims to present the growing interest and investment in the sector along with key aspects of the current technology.

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US Expectations for Renewable Energy Finance in 2022-2025: Report

US Expectations for Renewable Energy Finance in 2022-2025: Report

June 15, 2022 | ,

To assess the industry’s near- and mid-term trajectory in meeting these goals, this report conveys the results of new surveys of professionals who represent companies that actively finance or develop projects in the renewable energy sector. The surveys assess respondents’ experiences in the market over the past year and their expectations for sector investment and development over the next three years.

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EDF Renewables wins NYSERDA’s solar and storage contract

EDF Renewables wins NYSERDA’s solar and storage contract

June 14, 2022 |

The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) has awarded EDF Renewables North America a 1 GW solar and battery storage contract as part of its 2021 solicitation for large-scale renewable energy certificates. The Columbia Solar Energy Centre and Ridge View Solar Energy Centre, each with 350 MWac of capacity and 20 MW of co-located battery storage, are among the solar projects included in the contract.

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Revamping the federal EV tax credit could help average car buyers combat record gasoline prices

Revamping the federal EV tax credit could help average car buyers combat record gasoline prices

June 11, 2022 |

The $7,500 federal EV tax credit has been a mainstay of U.S. electric vehicle policy for the past decade, stimulating EV sales by reducing the difference in purchase price compared to conventional vehicles. It could be even more important, and effective, in the coming years. By the end of this decade, 2030, the U.S. EV market has to expand from early adopters to the average vehicle buyer if we’re going to decarbonize road transport quickly enough to match either our climate or our  manufacturing goals.

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Top countries for renewable energy investment

Top countries for renewable energy investment

June 8, 2022 |

Governments around the world are looking to accelerate and broaden the scope of their renewables programs to help reduce their reliance on imported energy at this volatile and unpredictable time. Here, key developments within 10 markets that are taking interesting and varied approaches to trying to secure their energy supplies are explored — from the tripling of onshore wind and solar in Germany to green hydrogen investment in India.

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From Net Zero to Green Cities in US: Paper by ICF

From Net Zero to Green Cities in US: Paper by ICF

June 5, 2022 | ,

Cities are on the front lines of climate change. As climate change intensifies, it will exacerbate existing problems plaguing cities such as rural-urban migration; air, water, and land pollution; poverty; and inequality. In this context, climate solutions like net-zero greenhouse gas emission strategies must also achieve other green outcomes that increase resilience, reduce pollution, make governance more inclusive, improve access to services, and create new jobs in cleaner and more circular economies.

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