Regulation, Sourcing Renewables  -  May 2, 2020

Weekend reads: Senators seek safe harbor extension; Britain's coal-free period breaks record

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

Cheung: Covid-19 and The Energy Transition: Our Greatest Decade Awaits (BloombergNEF) There are moments in life when you know that you are watching history unfold. The coronavirus crisis is one of those moments for all of us: we will be telling our children and grandchildren about these days for the rest of our lives. We don’t yet know what the history books will say. Did humankind rally together and defeat a common threat? Did we show strength, resolve and community-mindedness that ultimately overcame differences in opinion and tribalism? Did we do what was necessary for the common good, even if it wasn’t the easiest course of action for each of us as individuals? And did business and government leaders respond quickly and effectively enough when the threat became clear? We won’t know until the definitive accounts are written about the Covid-19 pandemic and how nations, companies and individuals responded.

Bipartisan senators ask Mnuchin to extend safe harbor deadlines for renewables projects (Utility Dive) A group of bipartisan senators on Thursday asked the Department of Treasury to extend safe harbor deadlines to ensure renewable energy developers are able to secure the tax credits they need to finance their projects. In order to qualify for the production tax credit (PTC) or the investment tax credit (ITC), project developers have to meet certain construction deadlines, but many in the industry are seeing lengthy project delays as a result of supply chain disruptions, workforce shortages and other COVID-19-related setbacks.

Three startups with solar and energy storage technologies selected for Shell GameChanger Accelerator™ Powered by NREL (NREL) The Shell GameChanger AcceleratorTM Powered by NREL (GCxN) today announced three new startups to participate in the program following a multistage competitive evaluation. GCxN provides promising cleantech startups with technical resources to accelerate product commercialization while de-risking investment. The new companies represent the program’s third cohort, and are focused on enabling more efficient and effective solar and storage solutions.

Britain Hits Three Weeks Coal-Free Record (Forbes) Britain’s electricity system has not used energy provided by coal-fired plants over the past three weeks. National Grid NGG ESO data shows that continuous time without coal has now been 20 days and 12 hours at the time of writing. This is the longest period without coal energy since the Industrial Revolution, precisely after a public grid had been established in 1882. The first time Britain ran without coal was on May 9, 2016. The previous record of 18 continuous days was set last year on June 4. Also, February was the greenest month in the UK, with the lowest average carbon intensity (the measure of CO2 emissions produced per kilowatt-hour of electricity consumed) on record.

How quickly do we need to ramp up renewables? Look to the narwhal. (Grist) Professor (and 2020 Grist 50 Fixer) Leah Stokes breaks down how the U.S. can meet ambitious clean-energy goals in the fastest way possible — with the help of the humble narwhal. Adapted from Stokes’ Short Circuiting Policy, out now. (VIDEO)

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• Weekend Reads: The Carbon Offset Debate; New Powder Captures CO2

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