fossil fuels
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The future of energy production remains in considerable debate, but some new research provides a more optimistic view for a lower-carbon future. Sources for new and replacement energy production remain uncertain, especially the degree to which renewable sources can replace those based on fossil fuels. Even with the newer, optimistic predictions, many estimates still peg fossil fuels as the standard for electric production decades from now. DON'T MISS: Scientists debate: could renewable energy entirely replace fossil fuels in U.S. by 2050? Following a debate within the scientific community...
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Trump claims to 'unleash American energy' in speech full of inaccurate claims
Shortly after announcing his intention to pull the United States out of the Paris Climate Accord, President Donald Trump declared the final week in June to be "Energy Week." In a later speech, Trump called for an energy revolution in the U.S. and vowed to "unleash American energy" to help the...
Sean Szymkowski -
Trump EPA to hold unneeded 'critique' to challenge climate science
The best analog to EPA administrator Scott Pruitt's latest action might be for the U.S. Geological Survey to undertake a "scientific critique" of theories that the world is round. After all, numerous authoritative sources over the years have raised doubts that the Earth is not flat. Surely their...
John Voelcker -
Ohio bill would grant permanent subsidies to coal-fired power plants
It's now widely acknowledged that the energy and electricity-generation landscape is changing rapidly. The U.S. has vastly increased its oil and gas production, driving down prices of fossil fuels globally. At the same time, ever-cheaper renewable energy—not only solar, but surprisingly...
John Voelcker -
Coal-country voters laugh at politicians who deny climate change
The "war on coal" has long been a talking point of politicians running for elected office in the state of Kentucky. The state was once home to a booming coal industry that has floundered over the years as cheaper fracked natural gas has supplanted coal for electricity generation. The state's coal...
Sean Szymkowski -
From coal miner to wind-farm worker: Wyoming retraining program
President Donald Trump has announced his intention to pull the United States from the Paris Climate Pact, but private companies and other entities are taking on the challenge of clean energy themselves. Goldwind Americas, a subsidiary of a leading Chinese wind-turbine manufacturer, continues to...
Sean Szymkowski -
During President Donald J. Trump's half-hour meeting with Pope Francis at the Vatican yesterday, the pope gave the president a copy of his 2015 encyclical calling for urgent, drastic cuts in fossil-fuel emissions. It is unclear whether the U.S. president will peruse the document. Back at home, however, his administration is continuing unabated in its efforts to end all U.S. government efforts to stem carbon emissions that contribute to climate change. DON'T MISS: Trump's EPA deletes 'science' from Science Office mission statement The gift of the pope's encyclical was noted in coverage of the...
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Trump names vocal renewable-energy critic to oversee...renewable energy
While the news headlines on President Donald Trump mostly address potential scandals, his administration has also lagged significantly in appointing top-level officials to run government agencies. Those that have been appointed often have an adversarial relationship to the missions of the agencies...
John Voelcker -
Russia falls further behind in renewable energy as oil keeps Putin in power
It's difficult to invest in renewable, alternative sources of energy when state-run oil pays the bills. And it's even harder for renewable energy when gasoline is all but free, courtesy of the same state. Now The Financial Times has taken a look at Russia's growing lag in embracing renewable energy...
Sean Szymkowski -
Trump DoE to critique renewables against coal for grid reliability
It is widely accepted in the energy industry that U.S. coal production will fall as a percentage of the total electric grid mix. That has little to do with its high carbon footprint per kilowatt-hour generated; it is largely due to far greater supplies of much cheaper fracked natural gas. It is...
John Voelcker -
Clean energy provides far more U.S. jobs than fossil fuels: analysis
Yesterday, U.S. president Donald J. Trump signed an executive order to begin the process of rolling back pretty much every vestige of U.S. efforts to address climate change. In both his campaigning and since his inauguration, Trump has claimed that his government and its actions focus on creating...
John Voelcker -
The oil industry doesn't care about electric cars: here's why
It crops up in comments from electric-car advocates and clean-energy users fairly regularly. And it goes something like this: "Big Oil and Gas are on the verge of collapse, as clean energy and electric cars make them obsolete." Occasionally the sentiment is followed by an approving emoji. DON'T...
John Voelcker -
Since the election of Donald Trump, considerable attention has focused on how a candidate who campaigned on promoting fossil fuels would treat the Environmental Protection Agency and other federal agencies charged with regulating those industries. But potential changes to the EPA do not come solely from the Executive Branch. Over the past few weeks, a bill that may give fossil-fuel producers undue influence on the EPA's Science Advisory Board has gained new momentum in Congress. DON'T MISS: Trump's EPA deletes 'science' from Science Office mission statement HR 1431—also known as the EPA...
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Coal industry hopes to don disguise as clean-power player via carbon capture
As a presidential candidate, Donald Trump vowed to "bring back coal" as part of a larger program to encourage greater production of fossil fuels. But the coal industry believes it needs more than an ostensibly friendly administration in Washington to survive. With coal production down and electric...
Stephen Edelstein -
Biofuel, fossil-fuel lobbyists join to fight electric-car incentives
As the old saying goes: the enemy of my enemy is my friend. The biofuel and fossil-fuel lobbies have argued in the past over the blending of biofuels with the general fuel supply. But now the two groups have found something they can agree on. DON'T MISS: Sierra Club to sue EPA over failure to...
Stephen Edelstein -
U.S. household energy costs hit 50-year low
Substantial growth in U.S. renewable-energy capacity will undoubtedly have a positive environmental impact. But the reduction in carbon emissions renewable-energy advocates aim to achieve does not exclude potential benefits to consumers. Because as renewable-energy generating capacity has expanded...
Stephen Edelstein -
Wind energy capacity in Europe now exceeds total coal output
While homeowners are more familiar with photovoltaic solar panels, large-scale wind power is an increasingly important part of the growth in renewable energy. For the first time, the total installed capacity of wind energy in Europe now exceeds the total output of electric powerplants fueled with...
John Voelcker -
Big energy hugely underestimates electric cars, renewable power
Mass adoption of electric cars and renewable energy could significantly decrease global consumption of fossil fuels. But does the established energy industry view these new developments as a threat? In a recent report, ExxonMobil said coal could continue to provide the majority of the world's...
Stephen Edelstein -
If electric cars are adopted by mass-market buyers in years to come, that will lead over time to notably lower oil consumption. So what are oil companies doing to prepare for that possible outcome? Some continue to doubt whether electric cars will constitute a serious threat to their business in the coming decades—but others are branching out into fields beyond fossil fuels. DON'T MISS: Exxon says coal will endure; other analyses beg to differ ExxonMobil takes a fairly dismissive view of electric cars, predicting in a recent report that they will only account for 10 percent of U.S...
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Exxon says coal will endure; other analyses beg to differ
Renewable energy sources may eventually render fossil fuels irrelevant in energy generation, but when will the switch between the two energy sources occur? It's a question that fosters much debate among policymakers, environmental advocates, and financial analysts. For its part, ExxonMobil believes...
Stephen Edelstein -
First carbon-capture power plants come on line this year
For electric utilities eager to hang onto their existing coal-fired power plants, carbon-capture technology must offer an exciting chance at salvation. As the name says, carbon capture retains and stores the emissions produced by coal power plants in particular, in theory mitigating some of their...
Stephen Edelstein -
New bill in coal-producing Wyoming would ban renewable energy for utilities
While renewable-energy use has grown substantially over the last few years, the regulatory environment remains volatile. Some states have worked hard to stimulate renewable energy, supporting infrastructure projects and offering incentives to consumers who install home solar arrays. But others have...
Stephen Edelstein -
Clean energy to grow, coal to fade, regardless of Trump EPA plans
President-elect Donald Trump's choice of Oklahoma attorney general Scott Pruitt to lead the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) indicates that his administration will pursue radically different energy policies from its predecessor's. Pruitt is a climate-science denier, and has sued the agency he...
Stephen Edelstein -
UK moves ahead on lower-carbon power to end coal use by 2025
Low-carbon energy use in the U.K. is up, and the government hopes to phase out coal by 2025.
Stephen Edelstein