Despite absence of policies, don't count out alternative energy just yet
U.N.'s Blockbuster Climate Report. "The United Nations concluded in its blockbuster climate report last September that much of the world's remaining fossil fuels would have to stay in the ground if there was to be any hope of keeping warming to 2C and avoiding extremes of sea-level rise, heat waves, droughts and other effects of climate change. The International Energy Agency was even clearer on that threshold, finding: 'No more than one-third of proven reserves of fossil fuels can be consumed prior to 2050 if the world is to achieve the 2C goal, unless carbon capture and storage technology is widely deployed.'" Suzanne Goldenberg in The Guardian.
Report: Renewable energy dominating new electrical capacity additions. "The overwhelming majority of new U.S. electrical capacity is coming from wind and solar, according to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission....But the U.S. is a massive energy consumer, the largest in the world. To reduce our greenhouse gas emissions, we will need to keep up this pace of renewable expansion while simultaneously taking coal-, oil-, and gas-burning plants offline. That can only be accomplished through a combination of higher prices for fossil fuels and reduced consumption through efficiency." Ben Adler in Grist.
New wind-power technologies are helping industry compete on price. "The wind industry has gone to great lengths over the years to snap up the best properties for its farms, often looking to remote swaths of prairie or distant mountain ridges to maximize energy production and minimize community opposition. Now, it is reaching for the sky. With new technology allowing developers to build taller machines spinning longer blades, the industry has been able to produce more power at lower cost by capturing the faster winds that blow at higher elevations. This has opened up new territories, in places like Michigan, Ohio and Indiana, where the price of power from turbines built 300 feet to 400 feet above the ground can now compete with conventional sources like coal....Prices have fallen so low -- in some cases to about 4 cents per kilowatt-hour -- that utilities have been increasing the amount of wind energy they want to buy through long-term contracts, with regulators saying it is their cheapest option. At the same time, though, the push has spurred some opposition in these new areas from residents who object to the tall, industrial wind turbines." Diane Cardwell in The New York Times.
In shift, Exxon agrees to report on carbon asset risk. "Energy companies have been under increasing pressure from shareholder activists in recent years to warn investors of the risks that stricter limits on carbon emissions would place on their business. On Thursday, a shareholder group said that it had won its biggest prize yet, when Exxon Mobil became the first oil and gas producer to agree to publish that information by the end of the month. In return, the shareholders, led by the wealth management firm Arjuna Capital, which focuses on sustainability, and the advocacy group As You Sow, said they had agreed to withdraw a resolution on the issue at Exxon Mobil's annual meeting....The shift is a sign of a growing acceptance among investors and companies that the value of fossil fuel assets may be out of line with evolving policies on global warming." Diane Cardwell in The New York Times.
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