Energy

Catherine Early ( China Dialogue ) – Countries must make far greater efforts to implement their climate strategies this decade to stand a chance of keeping global temperature rise within 1.5C (2.7F) of the pre-industrial average. Continued delays will only increase the world’s reliance on uncertain carbon dioxide removal technologies (CDR), according to the UN […]

Batteries

California’s Great Battery Revolution Allows Closure of Peaker Gas Plants and move to 100% Wind, Solar, Water

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The renewables revolution around the world has depended primarily on wind, hydro, and solar. A fourth factor is now swiftly emerging as essential, that is, mega-battery storage. Batteries store energy when the wind is blowing or the sun is shining, to release it when those sources decline. California has so […]

Climate Crisis

Renewables now Generate more of Britain’s Electricity than Fossil Fuels

The Conversation

By Will de Freitas, The Conversation | – (The Conversation) – At the start of 2016, in an article noting some exciting changes in British energy, The Conversation published the following paragraph: Wind, solar and hydro – the weather-dependent renewables – together generated 14.6% of Great Britain’s electrical energy in 2015, the highest ever annual […]

Climate Crisis

Renewables cover 52% of Germany’s Electricity Demand for First Time in 2023

Clean Energy Wire

By Sören Amelang | – ( Clean Energy Wire ) – Germany has generated more than half of the electricity it used this year with renewable energy for the first time, according to preliminary calculations by the Centre for Solar Energy and Hydrogen Research Baden-Württemberg (ZSW) and utility association BDEW. “Renewable energies will have covered […]

Climate Crisis

33 new Gigs of Solar: Top 7 Renewables Good News Stories in the US for 2023

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The United States has long been characterized by its “can-do” spirit. With all the alarming news about climate change, it is easy for us to lose sight of the progress we are making. Here are IC’s top 7 renewables good news stories of 2023. 1. The solar industry in the […]

Climate Crisis

In First, Britain Likely Generated more Electricity from Wind/Water/Hydro than Fossil Fuels in 2023

The Conversation

By Grant Wilson, University of Birmingham; Joseph Day, University of Birmingham; and Katarina Pegg | – There are many milestones to pass in the transition from a high to low-carbon sustainable energy system. There is the first hour without coal, or oil, or gas generation (or all of them together) and the point when the […]

Climate Crisis

2023’s extreme Storms, Heat and Wildfires broke Records, and Burning Fossil Fuels Played a big Part

The Conversation

By Shuang-Ye Wu, University of Dayton | – The year 2023 was marked by extraordinary heat, wildfires and weather disasters. In the U.S., an unprecedented heat wave gripped much of Texas and the Southwest with highs well over 100 degrees Fahrenheit (37.8 Celsius) for the entire month of July. Historic rainfall in April flooded Fort […]

Climate Crisis

How Big Oil is Taking us for a Fossil-Fuelized Ride: With the World the Hottest in 125,000 Years, we’re being Gaslighted

Juan Cole

Here is my latest column for The Nation Institute’s must-read Tomdispatch.com site. Make sure to check out the original for legendary journalist Tom Engelhardt’s fantastic introduction. And spread some of the joy by supporting his site, too. As for the dastardly greenwashing of Big Oil, by all means get mad but also get even, and […]

Armenia

In the Caucasus, the US Priority is Fossil Fuels, not Armenians

Foreign Policy in Focus

By Edward Hunt | – ( Foreign Policy in Focus ) – Officials in Washington are doubling down on their efforts to create a new energy corridor that runs through the Caucasus, a major transit route for trade and energy that connects Europe and Asia. Focusing on Armenia and Azerbaijan, two countries at odds over […]