SET Energy

After the election of Obama and a number of others with green credentials, the coal and oil industries are ramping up their PR efforts against federal policy to lower greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs). The old arguments of climate policy raising energy prices so much that the US loses its competitive advantage in manufacturing are being dusted off and repeated in an attempt to block progress. But let’s revisit US costs of mitigation by reviewing a solid report by Environmental Defense this past Spring. (more…)

By Dennis Markatos-Soriano, Sustainable Energy Transition Founder

Tuesday, November 4th, brought a huge shift to the US political landscape. The Obama landslide opens up an opportunity to update our energy policy for 21st century leadership. After eight years of stagnant federal climate change engagement, the Obama Administration promises no less than (more…)

Standing in line at 5:40am this morning was exciting. My wife and I were #s 10 and 11 in a line that grew toward 100 before the polls even opened at 6am. This election is historic in so many ways, not least of which is the high turnout taking place throughout the country.
In celebration of the history unfolding, I thought a perfect followup to yesterday’s presidential climate goals blog is an offering of deployment goals for renewables industry leaders, wind and solar. (more…)

It was just last week when I shared the great news of another record year for US wind power in 2008. The ~7 GW projected to come online this year is a huge feat all of us climate activists should celebrate. But the wind industry is not immune to the financial seizure gripping global markets. A leading US wind developer, Florida Power & Light (FPL), has given a first glimpse of the impact on wind’s growth for 2009. In the company’s third quarter report, FPL announced a 25% cut in 2009 capacity growth from their previous forecast.
They now plan to install 1.1 GW of wind turbines (rather than 1.4 GW), ~15% lower than this year’s 1.3 GW projection. Assuming all wind developers will follow FPL and also cut their additions by 15%, US wind capacity will grow by (more…)

Today, Greenpeace International and the European Renewable Energy Council released “Energy [r]evolution: A Sustainable Energy World Outlook.” It is a followup to their early 2007 report that urged policymakers to ramp up efficiency and renewable energy deployment to stop climate change. This report has more detail, as it breaks down the energy portfolios of each region of the world. It also gives updates on the tremendous growth of renewables in 2007 and adds sections connecting its scenario to greater energy security in the developing context of higher fossil fuel prices.
The report makes the case that their strategy would not only mitigate climate change and improve air quality, but it would also save consumers
(more…)

As I mentioned in a mid-August blog, the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) projects capacity growth in 2008 to surpass the dramatic record set in 2007. It’s nice to see AWEA’s third quarter report released today reaffirm this prediction even after September’s financial collapse.
AWEA reports 1.4 GW installed throughout the US during the third quarter, making the year-to-date additions sum to (more…)

Thanks to consumption of oil falling 3.5%+ in 2008, it looks like US greenhouse gas emissions will fall greater than 1% this year. The rapid fall in oil consumption is tempered by the increase in emissions from slightly greater coal demand and an increase in consumption of cleaner-burning natural gas. If the overall trend continues through December, it will put us on track to meet the federal cap & trade legislation goal of (more…)

The US EIA just published its electric power monthly for this past June, and our country’s electricity was much more climate friendly than last year. Coal and oil-fired generation were down 1.6% and 10.6%, respectively. Cleaner burning natural gas generation was up 3.6% while carbon-free hydro and nuclear generation rose by 34.7% (on some relief from the drought out west) and 2%, respectively. And the number that caught my eye was the increase in wind generation at a rate of 81.6% from the previous June! If wind continues to grow at the June rate for the next year and a half, wind power will provide almost (more…)

Ever since 2004, the non-OPEC world has struggled to increase its oil production from a plateau around 50 million barrels per day. Today’s EIA Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO) now projects that 2008 non-OPEC production will actually decrease by more than 200,000 barrels per day. As I have been stressing in recent blogs, the EIA has been constantly lowering its non-OPEC production predictions throughout the year. As recently as February, they thought non-OPEC producers would supply 900,000 barrels per day more in 2008. Their current prediction couldn’t be too far off now that (more…)

Earlier this week, I was skeptical about the prospects of federal investment and production tax credits for solar and wind. These incentives which have been crucial to the white-hot growth of renewables looked set to expire at the end of the year. But Senators decided to inject the controversial bailout bill with their renewal. And this afternoon, the House approved and the President signed the bill into law.

So, renewable energy has passed the federal policy hurdle. Wind received a 1-year extension of the ~2 cent per kWh tax credit through 2009. And solar received an 8-year (through 2016) extension of their 30% of system cost investment tax credit. The federal government has done its part. Now, the question remains (more…)