Industry experts say the Altamont Pass Wind Resource Area in northern California serves as a model for “repowering” older arrays, which consists of replacing densely sited small turbines with larger and more powerful ones. (Quitting Carbon)
Amazon has signed a deal for a novel kind of rooftop heat pump that will provide all-electric heating, superefficient cooling, and cheaper energy bills at an undisclosed number of the company’s commercial buildings. The heat pump can cool buildings using 40% less energy than conventional systems do. The trick? Dehumidifying the air before cooling it. By midcentury, global demand for air conditioning is expected to nearly triple from 2022 levels, to a staggering 18,000 terawatt-hours. That’s more than the entire electricity demand of the U.S., China, India, Germany, and Japan combined. The more efficient electric tech gets, the more easily society can transition to 100% carbon-free energy on fewer solar, wind, and battery plants.
California announced the June 26 launch of a $1 billion California Clean Fuel Reward rebate program for electric medium and heavy-duty trucks as part of an effort to boost sales of zero-emission semis. (San Diego Union-Tribune)
Fervo Energy’s initial public offering raises $1.9 billion to support land acquisitions and enhanced geothermal project development, including its Cape Station operations in Utah. (Canary Media)
DARK AGE CLIMATE POLITICS
Most of the plastic waste in California is about to lose the recycling symbol. Under what’s known as the Truth in Recycling law, plastics cannot use the symbol if they aren’t collected by curbside programs serving 60 percent of Californians and sorted by facilities serving 60 percent of the state’s recycling programs (with some additional requirements). If the law goes into effect as scheduled on Oct. 4, more than half of the types of plastic packaging and products sold in the state can no longer carry the chasing arrows logo. That will affect plastic films, foam, PVC and mixed plastics.
A Yale University poll finds that more than 70% of Utah, Colorado, and New Mexico residents support renewable energy development on federal lands. (Utah Public Radio)
A Colorado legislative committee kills a bill that would have required data centers to pay for their power use and ensure the facilities don’t cause the state to miss greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets. (CPR)
The Trump administration revokes the Biden-era “Public Lands Rule” that aimed to put conservation on par with oil and gas drilling and other extractive uses on federal lands, saying it did not align with current energy policies. (Deseret News)
Colorado lawmakers pass a bill that would require coal plants under federal orders to continue operating to implement new pollution controls by 2034 and report the costs of staying open. (Aspen Times)
Clean energy advocates are facing a struggle in North Carolina, where the state’s top utility regulator is blocking Duke Energy from making any more solar farm investments this year. It’s not just “arbitrary and capricious,” advocates tell Elizabeth Ouzts; it makes no sense given that state law requires Duke Energy to decarbonize by 2050.
Take Action!
Shared by UndauntedK12.
The CalSHAPE program was created to fix crumbling HVAC systems in schools, and there’s still $194 million on the table to do it. But without action from the legislature and Governor, that money will quietly disappear into the pockets of investor-owned utilities by December 2026. Click here to act.
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As we discussed in our general meeting Thursday, CARB is bowing to oil company pressure (transmitted through our Governor) and severely compromising our Cap and Invest system, one of the main ways California reduces greenhouse gas emissions. You can find out more and sign a petitionhere.
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