Distributed Energy Resources, Energy Efficiency, GHG Emissions, Sourcing Renewables  -  December 4, 2021

Weekend Reads: Utilities Helping Cities Meet EV Goals; Has Carbon Capture Moved Past its False Starts?;

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

Cautious hope for CO2 capture after "false starts" (Axios)  The pipeline of carbon capture projects worldwide is growing and there are signs that fewer plans will die on the vine than in the past, the International Energy Agency said. Why it matters: Carbon capture, utilization and storage has the potential to curb emissions from heavy industries and power generation. But the long-hoped-for scale-up of commercial deployment has unfolded very slowly. Driving the news: The new IEA commentary says over 100 projects have been announced this year. 

UK Will Require All New Buildings To Have EV Charging Stations Starting In 2022 (Clean Technica)  Smarting from suggestions that he made a perfect ass of himself at the COP 26 summit in Glasgow earlier this month, the UK Prime Minister told an audience on November 22 that his government will issue a new mandate that requires all new buildings to install EV charging stations beginning next year. According to The Guardian, Boris Johnson told an audience at the Confederation of British Industry the new plan is “world leading,” and is designed to toughen up regulations for new homes and buildings. 

Build Back Better Would Upend U.S. Renewables, Gas Competition (BloombergNEF)  House approval of the Build Back Better Act marks a major victory for the U.S. renewable-energy sector. While the legislation must still clear the Senate, as written it provides unprecedented support for wind, solar and energy-storage developers. Particularly in liberalized U.S. power markets, it stands to upend the competition between renewables and natural gas-fired power projects. 

'A long way to go': How ConEd, Xcel and 4 other utilities are helping cities meet big EV goals (Utility Dive)  Electric vehicles (EVs) could finish 2021 as 5% of new car sales in the U.S., according to market observers, and are expected to make up a growing share in the years to come. Driven by city and state electrification goals, and now supported by federal infrastructure dollars, the years ahead will be a critical time for utilities working to drive beneficial electrification.

King County and Port of Seattle to collaborate on waste-to-fuel study (Kirkland Reporter)  On Nov. 17, King County and the Port of Seattle agreed to jointly study the potential for converting municipal solid waste into renewable fuels, including sustainable aviation fuel for Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. Each government agency allocated up to $250,000 to pursue the technological and economic analysis by early 2023. 

Read These Related Articles:

• Weekend Reads: Five Things to Know About COP29; Rethinking Gas Stations
• Weekend Reads: Where Climate Triumphed at the Polls; Iceland Goes to Space for Solar
• Weekend Reads: Candidates Avoid Clean Energy; Costco (Cautiously) Adds EV Charging
• Weekend Reads: The Carbon Offset Debate; New Powder Captures CO2
• Weekend Reads: Dueling Nuclear Strategies; An Offshore Wind Success

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