December 10, 2022

Weekend Reads: CA Scored Highest For Efficiency; How Wind Power Can Benefit Shipping Emissions

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

California earns top marks in new energy efficiency scorecard (The Hill) California, Massachusetts and New York are the three most energy-efficient states in the country, according to a new scorecard from the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE). The nonprofit published its ranking of all 50 states and Washington, D.C., on Tuesday which looked at how states instituted energy efficiency policies that lower energy prices for residents and reduce greenhouse gas emissions over the past year. To come up with each state’s score, report crafters ranked states in six policy areas: utility programs, transportation, building energy codes, state initiatives, industrial energy efficiency and appliance standards.

New report projects massive renewable energy growth — with caveats (Axios) A pair of new reports show analysts are getting more bullish about renewables and electric vehicle adoption — and that gaming out the energy future is really tough. Driving the news: The International Energy Agency just dropped its largest-ever upward revision of renewable power forecasts. IEA sees an additional 2,400 gigawatts of capacity coming online worldwide over the next half-decade. Why it matters: That forecast is almost 30% (!) higher than last year's edition of the rolling 5-year projections. The agency now sees renewables surpassing coal as the largest source of global power generation by 2025.

What Is the Recipe for First Commercial Success for Clean Energy Technologies? (NREL) Research and development (R&D) has been vital to developing new clean energy technologies. Yet for technologies to advance from the research lab to viable commercial products many obstacles must be overcome. To replicate such pathways for future clean energy technologies, the critical period between research demonstrations and first commercialization is important to understand. Analysts from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Joint Institute for Strategic Energy Analysis (JISEA), and U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) analyzed case studies of the first commercialization of four clean energy technologies: thin-film photovoltaic (PV) solar panels, wind turbines, dual-stage evaporators for refrigeration, and fuel cells for material handling equipment.

Wind Power To Cut Cargo Ship Emissions 20% (CleanTechnica) If fossil energy stakeholders plan to enjoy that “high-carbon lifestyle” much longer, they better act fast. Among the latest developments in global economic decarbonization is the Seawing, a new retrofit for cargo vessels that applies centuries-old sailing ship technology to harvest wind power from the open ocean, aimed at cutting emissions by 20%.  The global shipping industry used to operate on a zero-emission basis until the 19th century, when steam-driven propulsion replaced wind power. The steam era didn’t last long. Marine fuel oil came into the picture in the 1930s and nudged steam almost completely aside by the end of the 20th century.

The Future Of Corporate Sustainability—Even In A Tough Economy (Forbes) As we continue to see the impact of climate change around the globe, the push for corporate sustainability initiatives has never been greater. More and more, consumers are letting their actions speak louder than words. They want organizations to have the same values that they do and they want to see that organizations are taking action. If organizations don’t, consumers are spending their money elsewhere. According to an IBM Institute for Business Value Survey, 62% of consumers are willing to change their purchasing habits to reduce environmental impact. And half of respondents are willing to pay a premium for sustainability. But from what we’ve seen, many organizations are taking the call to act seriously.

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