Energy Efficiency, Regulation, Solar, Sourcing Renewables  -  December 28, 2019

Weekend reads: the 2020 Democratic candidates talk EVs; solar trends for 2020

It's the final weekend of 2019! Kick back and catch up with these must-read articles from around the web.

The decade that blew up energy predictions (Axios) America’s energy sources, like booming oil and crumbling coal, have defied projections and historical precedents over the last decade. Why it matters: It shows how change can happen rapidly and unexpectedly, even in an industry known to move gradually and predictably. With a new decade upon us, let’s look back at the last one’s biggest, most surprising energy changes.

Think You Know Energy And Climate? Take My 2019 Quiz And See If You Do (Forbes) Here is my end of 2019 quiz on energy and climate. You can find the answer key at the bottom (no peeking!). Let me know how you do. Good luck and Happy Holidays!  From 2010 to 2018 the world added more than 2,300 million tonnes of oil equivalent in energy consumption, according to BP. Of this total, what proportion was carbon-free energy (wind, solar, hydro, nuclear, etc.)?

2020 Democratic candidates: where each stands on electric cars (Electrek) The quest for the Democratic presidential nomination will heat up in 2020. So it’s a good time to look at what the leading candidates say about electric vehicles. We focus on the front-runners: Joe Biden, Pete Buttigieg, Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, and Andrew Yang. Here’s a sampling of quotes and position statements. For fun, we share what we could find about the vehicle each candidate drives. EV fans, who gets your vote?

The Environment in 2019: Glass-Half-Full Version (NRDC) Look, I’m not going to sit here and tell you that 2019 was a fantastic year, environmentally speaking. We know that’s not the case. But despite our current president’s mission to ignore a warming planet and destroy our environmental protections (more on that later), 2019 also had a lot of bright spots amid the doom and gloom. And you don’t even have to look very hard to find them. That’s because the year’s bright spots—while relatively few in number, perhaps—were extra-intense in their brightness. Taken individually, each one represents a proverbial candle lit in lieu of cursing the darkness. And taken together, they just might give off enough light to illuminate the path forward.

4 Trends in Solar Energy for 2020 (Earth911) There is now enough installed solar energy capacity in the U.S. to power 13.5 million homes, and this amount is expected to double in the next five years. The solar energy industry is part of a very dynamic market. Many factors — including government policies, fossil fuel costs, solar energy technology advances, commodity prices, and even public awareness of the climate crisis — impact solar energy deployment across the globe. What’s in store for the next year? Let’s explore some trends in solar energy to better understand what is on tap for 2020.

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