December 9, 2023

Weekend Reads: Texas is Going Green; Can Oysters Really Store Carbon?

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

Texas goes green: How oil country became the renewable energy leader (PBS)  One of the big announcements at the U.N. climate conference this weekend in Dubai was a pledge by more than 110 countries to triple the amount of renewable energy they're generating by the year 2030. As William Brangham reports, that work is already under way in a state that might surprise you.

Congress provided $7.5B for electric vehicle chargers. Built so far: Zero. (Politico)  Congress at the urging of the Biden administration agreed in 2021 to spend $7.5 billion to build tens of thousands of electric vehicle chargers across the countries aiming to appease anxious drivers while tackling climate change. Two years later, the program has yet to install a single charger. States and the charger industry blame the delays mostly on the labyrinth of new contracting and performance requirements they have to navigate to receive federal funds.

The energy storage space is heating up. Here are some of the technologies making a dent. (Utility Dive)  Achieving the Biden administration’s goal of decarbonizing the power sector by 2035 will require a slew of energy storage technologies beyond just lithium-ion batteries, and multiple players are bringing new technology solutions to the market to fill that gap. Lithium-ion batteries can provide four to eight hours of storage capabilities, but as the grid becomes more renewables-heavy it will require technologies with longer durations and different characteristics to mimic a “baseload” generation combination, experts say.

COP28: Over 60 countries pledge to slash cooling emissions amid rising temperatures (UN News)  Over 60 countries signed up to a so called ‘cooling pledge’ with commitments to reduce the climate impact of the cooling sector, that could also provide “universal access to life-saving cooling, take the pressure off energy grids and save trillions of dollars by 2050.” The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) estimates that more than 1 billion people are at high risk from extreme heat due to a lack of cooling access – the vast majority living in Africa and Asia. Moreover, nearly one-third of the world’s population is exposed to deadly heat waves more than 20 days a year.

How much carbon can oysters store? Scientists are trying to find out. (Grist)  Scientists all along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts are trying to bring oyster populations back, and not just because they’re a popular food. Oysters are also important for healthy coastal ecosystems. And researchers are now studying how creating new oyster reefs could help fight climate change by sequestering carbon. “The majority of commercially and recreationally important species of fish and shellfish will spend a portion of their life associated with oyster reefs,” Brinton said.

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