October 29, 2016

Weekend reads: Zombie renewables; GE floats massive oil-and-gas deal; Tesla vandalism & more

Every Saturday, we'll bring you five most interesting — or quirky; it is the weekend after all — energy stories from the prior week that you may have missed from around the web. This weekend's reads:

Renewable Energy Growth Trumped Fossil Fuels in 2015 (Time): More than half of new power capacity added last year came from renewable energy sources like wind and solar power, beating fossil fuels for the first time, according to a new report.  The report from the Intentional Energy Agency called 2015 a turning point because renewables now represent 23% of global power generation. 

Zombie wind and solar? How repowering old facilities helps renewables keep cutting costs (Utility Dive): Renewable energy is a growth industry, so most media attention goes to installment numbers, expansion rates, and cost declines. Less is paid to the other side of the equation — what happens to facilities when they reach the end of their productive lives.

End of Nuclear in U.S. Seen by Carlyle Group Without Subsidies (Bloomberg): Nuclear power will come to an end in the U.S. if the industry doesn't get more government support, according to Carlyle Group LP, one of the world’s largest investment firms.

Tesla Vandalized in 'Most San Francisco Crime Ever' (Gizmodo): Tesla stock price increased 4.45% after hours on Wednesday, perhaps giving a San Francisco-based vandal a creative idea for a crime yesterday evening. "In the most San Francisco crime ever," Silicon Valley recruiter Morgan Missen tweeted, "someone tagged my neighbor’s Tesla with its afterhours stock price. His other Tesla appears unharmed."

General Electric Pursues Deal With Baker Hughes (The Wall Street Journal): General Electric Co. is in talks to merge its oil-and-gas business with Baker Hughes Inc., according to people familiar with the matter, a transaction that would dramatically reshape the industrial giant. GE has approached the oil-field-services company about a deal, the people said, but details of the talks couldn't be learned and they could break down before an agreement is reached.

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