Energy
2023: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
Here’s what happened in the world of energy and environment.
A lot has happened this year, with political turmoil in the House of Representatives, indictments of Donald Trump and associates, and a close scrape with default on the national debt. In the world of energy and environment, the picture has also been mixed, but with more good than bad. The Good. California enacted two major …
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CONTINUE READINGReviewing Agency Indecision
The Third Circuit straightens out a quirk in FERC law, to the benefit of renewable energy.
A case decided by the Third Circuit on Dec. 1 is important for two reasons. It clarifies a puzzling procedural rule applying to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). And it upholds an important policy shift regarding renewable energy by the country’s largest grid operator. Since you’re probably more interested in the second point than …
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CONTINUE READINGWhat EXACTLY Did the UN Conference Decide?
OK, I’m a lawyer: I think it’s important to look at the text.
Having read a lot of takes on the outcome of the latest UN climate conclave, I wanted to see for myself what the agreement says. The key provision in the latest international agreement on emissions reduction is section 28 of Article 2(A).. It states the position of the Conference of the Parties — the consensus …
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CONTINUE READINGHow Will Americans Learn to Love the Inflation Reduction Act?
Pres. Biden has toured the country to sell his climate victories, but polls show it isn’t resonating yet with voters. Will Trump attacks help?
Last February, on the eve of the State of the Union, President Joe Biden embarked on a victory lap for his landmark climate laws. At the time, the White House was focused on explaining to the American people how the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the Inflation Reduction Act would boost jobs and lift the economy. …
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CONTINUE READINGReviewing Agency Indecision
The Third Circuit straightens out a quirk in FERC law, to the benefit of renewable energy.
A case decided by the Third Circuit last week is important for two reasons. It clarifies an important procedural issue applying to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). And it upholds an important policy shift regarding renewable energy by the country’s largest grid operator. Since you’re probably more interested in the second point than the …
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CONTINUE READINGThe Year in California Climate Laws
Looking back at California’s 2023 legislative session, our new environmental laws represent a solid step forward—bigger than expected.
If 2022 was a Rivian with all the bells and whistles, this past year was more a Ford Lightning. After a landmark 2022—a record $54 billion committed to climate spending and legislation that codified the state’s goals of carbon neutrality by 2045 and 90 percent clean electricity by 2035—a significantly gloomier budget forecast gave rise …
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CONTINUE READINGAddressing Corruption In Electric Vehicle Battery Supply Chains
New CLEE/NRGI issue brief offers solutions
In the race to scale up a global supply chain for electric vehicle batteries, mining justice advocates have sought to ensure that the ongoing clean technology minerals boom does not exacerbate longstanding negative impacts from the global mining industry. Chief among these are corruption risks. To provide guidance to electric vehicle purchasers (particularly fleets), advocates, …
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CONTINUE READINGWhen Communities Take Over Their Energy Systems
Is Local Control A Good Thing? It’s Complicated . . .
This Post was Co-Authored by Sharon Jacobs and Dave Owen. For many decades, most people in the United States have obtained their electricity from a large investor-owned utility company (IOU). They had no real choice. Much of U.S. energy law was built on the belief that the best way to provide electricity was to give …
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CONTINUE READINGClimate Backlash
Vicious attacks on climate progress are on the rise.
Presumably, no one actually wants rising seas, dangerous heat waves, severe droughts, runaway wildfires, and floods. Nor, I assume, are there many who want those climate disasters for their children and grandchildren. Still, there are all too many politicians and public figures who act as if their goal was to foment climate change. No doubt the …
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CONTINUE READINGFour EV Trends
One of these things is not like the others.
The automotive world is changing quickly. Most of the trends are mutually reinforcing. But one points in the opposite direction. The first and most obvious trend is the rise of EVs. In the twenty years since Tesla arrived, EVs have gone from 0.2% of new cars to 13%, and Bloomberg predicts that this figure will …
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