US Energy Transition Path Currently In Line With 2.6 Degrees Celsius Temperature Rise: BNEF
The nation is currently on track to cut just 22% of its carbon emissions by 2030, compared with the 50% needed to reach its Paris Agreement goals. Reaching net-zero emissions by 2050 will require a near-immediate, dramatic decrease in emissions and “transitioning every sector of the energy system … to fully carbon-free sources.”
BUT…
Even amid what seems like a never-ending series of deadly and destructive climate extremes across the country, social and political scientists say climate is still not a major issue for U.S. voters.
Between 2024 and 2030, the world is expected to build over 5,500 gigawatts — or 5.5 terawatts — of renewable energy capacity. Between 2017 and 2023, the world added just over 2 terawatts of clean energy. China alone will build more than half of this total — 3.2 terawatts, to be precise — while the European Union and the U.S. are each set to build about one-tenth. India, forecast to build 350 gigawatts’ worth of renewables between now and 2030, will likely be the next biggest contributor. That would be a huge increase, and nearly enough to get the world to the COP28target: The IEA expects global renewable capacity to grow by 2.7 times by 2030. [The COP target last year was three times the capacity in 2023.]
The US supreme court declined on Wednesday to put on hold a new federal rule targeting carbon pollution from coal- and gas-fired power plants at the request of numerous states and industry groups in another major challenge to Joe Biden’s efforts to combat the climate crisis. The justices denied emergency requests by West Virginia, Indiana and 25 other states – most of them Republican-led – as well as power companies and industry associations, to halt the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rule while litigation continues in a lower court. The regulation, aimed at cutting greenhouse gas emissions that drive the climate crisis, took effect on 8 July. The rule would require existing coal- and new natural gas-fired plants eventually to reduce emissions including by capturing and storing carbon dioxide. [Stay tuned for a reversal after the election. This is a radical court intent on dismantling environmental and climate protections. Listen to the podcast Strict Scrutiny by three women who are constitutional lawyers.]
Google signs a deal with a California nuclear startup to develop a fleet of small modular reactors to help power the tech giant’s data centers, but did not disclose the number or location of the proposed facilities.
California’s battery energy storage capacity hits 13,391 MW, one quarter of the way to the state’s goal of 52 GW by 2045. California’s grid operator sets a new single-day peak battery discharge record of 8,300 MW.
PG&E:
- Federal regulators reject Pacific Gas & Electric’s request to tack wildfire mitigation costs onto its rates, but allow the utility to recover costs from two equipment-sparked blazes.
- Pacific Gas & Electric launches a bidirectional electric vehicle charging program compensating customers for discharging EV batteries back to the grid during high demand.
- California advocates criticize Pacific Gas & Electric for burying power lines, saying the utility is choosing the costliest wildfire hazard mitigation method to boost profits. [350 Humboldt Speaker Cody Warner from UC Berkeley showed that in most instances technology that instantaneously cuts power to lines worked equally well in preventing wildfires.]
- With winds buffeting California on Friday, PG&E cut power to at least 15,000 customers to avoid sparking a wildfire and Southern California Edison was considering doing the same.
Wildlife officials spotted the first known salmon to swim all the way from the ocean to a highland creek in Oregon after the removal of four dams on the Klamath River.
Global EV Sales Soared in September Based Largely on China’s Gains; the United States Makes Gradual Progress: Global sales of electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles rose by 30.5 percent in September compared to the same month last year, led by China surpassing its record numbers from August, according to the research firm Rho Motion. Sales in Europe returned to growth after being down last month and sales in the United States and Canada were up 4.3 percent.
EV Chargers May Borrow the Gas Station Business Model: One of the biggest business challenges hindering the growth of EV charging stations is that they tend to make tiny profits or lose money. A University of California, Davis professor suggests that charging stations should borrow the business model used by gas stations, which is to sell fuel at a loss and make a profit from selling snacks, drinks and other items.
Geothermal:
- The federal Bureau of Land Management approves the Fervo Cape enhanced geothermal energy project in southwest Utah, which is expected to generate up to 2,000 MW when fully built out.
- The Biden administration proposes exempting small-scale geothermal exploration on federal land from environmental review in an effort to accelerate development.
Biodiversity: Joint analysis published by Carbon Brief and the Guardian showed that more than 85% of countries are set to miss the UN’s deadline to submit new nature pledges, known as national biodiversity strategies and action plans (NBSAPs).
In 2023, the hottest year ever recorded, preliminary findings by an international team of researchers show the amount of carbon absorbed by land has temporarily collapsed. The final result was that forest, plants and soil – as a net category – absorbed almost no carbon. There are warning signs at sea, too. Greenland’s glaciers and Arctic ice sheets are melting faster than expected, which is disrupting the Gulf Stream ocean current and slows the rate at which oceans absorb carbon. “We’re seeing cracks in the resilience of the Earth’s systems. We’re seeing massive cracks on land – terrestrial ecosystems are losing their carbon store and carbon uptake capacity, but the oceans are also showing signs of instability,” Johan Rockström, director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, told an event at New York Climate Week in September. “Nature has so far balanced our abuse. This is coming to an end,” he said. The 2023 breakdown of the land carbon sink could be temporary: without the pressures of drought or wildfires, land would return to absorbing carbon again. But it demonstrates the fragility of these ecosystems, with massive implications for the climate crisis. Reaching net zero is impossible without nature. In the absence of technology that can remove atmospheric carbon on a large scale, the Earth’s vast forests, grasslands, peat bogs and oceans are the only option for absorbing human carbon pollution, which reached a record 37.4bn tonnes in 2023.
Take Action
California officials say more than 265,000 entities with a total of 515 MW of capacity have enrolled in a demand response program that incentivizes conservation and exporting power back to the grid during high demand. You can be part of it and earn money for conserving power an hour or two a week by joining Ohm Connect: https://www.ohmconnect.com/