Five Energy Stories Worth Reading Today (6/05/12)

June 5, 2012 Lowell F. Uncategorized

Here are five recommended reads for today (6/05/12)

Technology Review asks, “Can Fracking Be Cleaned Up?” The answer: “The International Energy Agency says yes, but it will take tougher regulations that force producers to apply the latest technologies.”
According to Renewable Energy World, the “looming deadline” for an extension of the Production Tax Credit (PTC) for wind power in the United States is a “Major Focus at Windpower 2012,” being held this week in Atlanta.
EnergyBoom reports, “Konarka Technologies, a developer of thin-film solar panels, has filed for bankruptcy and will begin to liquidate its assets immediately…in 2003, shortly after he was elected Governor of Massachusetts, [Mitt] Romney doled out a $1.5 million clean energy subsidy for Konarka.”
According to CleanTechies, “Economics, politics, grid constraints, and a fair amount of luck have set in motion an awkward relationship between the natural gas and cleantech industries that could be characterized as “frenemies with benefits.””
Reuters reports, “Solar power firms are betting that the nuclear crisis in Japan will become a game-changer for renewable energy in the world’s third largest economy, with new foreign entrants such as Canadian Solar looking to go toe-to-toe there with some of the biggest utilities in Asia.”

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For years, the International Energy Agency (IEA) has been accused of being too conservative in its forecasts for clean energy. With its latest report, however, it seems that the IEA is shifting its views in a much more bullish direction when it comes to the future of renewables.

“Hot Topic” of Renewable Thermal Technologies Gains Momentum with New Initiative

The "hot topic" of renewable heating and cooling was reportedly much discussed at the Renewable Energy Buyers Alliance (REBA) Summit the past couple days in Santa Clara, California. Here's what they were talking about.

New Report Examines “why and how corporates buy renewables,” “strategies to increase renewable energy project development”

One encouraging finding from the report was that threats to pull out of the Paris climate accord are not slowing down the private sector; to the contrary, "[m]ore than four in every five respondents, representing a broad range of industry sectors, plan to be active in the renewable energy market in the next decade."

New Report Lays Out Detailed, Affordable, Job-Creating Roadmap to 100% Clean Energy for 139 Countries by 2050

Here are a few highlights from the report, "100% Clean and Renewable Wind, Water, and Sunlight All-Sector Energy Roadmaps for 139 Countries of the World," as well as a few graphics that demonstrate how the 100% clean energy transition could be achieved in the world's top energy-consuming countries.

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory: RPS’s Declining in Relative Importance, but Remain Important Clean Energy Driver

We agree with the conclusion reached by PV Magazine, that although growth in renewable power in the United States is increasingly driven by non-RPS factors, "[t]his does not mean that RPS policies are not important."

New Report: “American clean energy is growing at an incredible pace,” Can and Must Grow Even Faster

A new report by Frontier Group for Environment America, entitled "Renewables on the Rise: A Decade of Progress Toward a Clean Energy Future," has more great news about U.S. clean energy.

“Coal has no future”; Clean Energy Most Certainly Does

The bottom line is that Hunter Harrison of CSX is absolutely correct that "fossil fuels are dead" in the long run, to be replaced by cleaner, cheaper forms of energy.

Bloomberg New Energy Finance: “By 2040, 54% of new car sales and 33% of the global car fleet will be electric”

“The EV revolution is going to hit the car market even harder and faster than BNEF predicted a year ago. EVs are on track to accelerate to 54% of new car sales by 2040."

New Study Finds Traditional Concept of “Baseload” Power Becoming Increasingly Problematic as Wind, Solar Boom

Here are some key points from a new study by the Brattle Group for NRDC, entitled "Advancing Past 'Baseload' to a Flexible Grid," which argues that far from being a problem, a higher share of clean energy is actually a great opportunity for a wide variety of reasons.

New BNEF Outlook Far More Bullish on Clean Energy Growth Through 2040 than EIA

In sum, the future looks extremely bright for clean energy, and for cleantech more broadly. The question isn't whether these sectors will grow rapidly, but simply how rapidly they'll grow. On that, we'd argue that EIA is far too conservative (or pessimistic, if you prefer), while BNEF is quite possibly too conservative as well, although they appear to be much closer to the mark than EIA's typically bearish-on-renewables, bullish-on-fossil-fuels forecasts.

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