Weekend reads: Air conditioning conquers America; the biggest threat to nuclear energy; - Smart Energy Decisions

Commercial, GHG Emissions, Industrial, Regulation, Sourcing Renewables  -  August 5, 2017

Weekend reads: Inside Trump's DOE; how AC conquered America; the rise of Tesla & more

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

Why the scariest nuclear threat may be coming from inside the White House (Vanity Fair): Donald Trump’s secretary of energy, Rick Perry, once campaigned to abolish the $30 billion agency that he now runs, which oversees everything from our nuclear arsenal to the electrical grid. The department’s budget is now on the chopping block. But does anyone in the White House really understand what the Department of Energy actually does? And what a horrible risk it would be to ignore its extraordinary, life-or-death responsibilities?

How Air-Conditioning Conquered America (Even the Pacific Northwest) (The New York Times): Air-conditioning has been remarkably good at creating demand for itself. It enabled the sweeping postwar development of the South, where all new single-family homes today include central air. In automobiles, it made the commutes between air-conditioned homes and air-conditioned offices possible. In the Southwest, its arrival facilitated new methods of rapid construction, replacing traditional building designs that once naturally withstood the region’s desert climate.

Tesla Goes From Zero to 100 in Three Months (Bloomberg): Tesla went from zero to 100 in three months -- which, granted, doesn't sound that impressive. Without it, though, the electric-car pioneer might not have beaten earnings forecasts this week.

California Goes All In -- 100% Renewable Energy By 2045 (Forbes): California is one step closer to a 100% renewable future, one that aims to reduce pollution and cut carbon emissions, while increasing jobs in the renewable energy field. The ambitious plan set forth by Senate President Kevin de León (D) would set limits on California's hydrocarbon consumption and aim to gradually increase renewable energy consumption in the coming decades.

With a Quorum, FERC Now Grapples With Distributed Energy Trends Outpacing Market Rules (Greentech Media): FERC has been frozen for six months. With new commissioners finally approved, they now need to catch up with rapidly accelerating changes on the grid.

Tags: Weekend reads

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