Commercial, GHG Emissions, Industrial, Utilities, Solar, Wind  -  July 29, 2017

Weekend reads: Britain's gas car ban; Warren Buffett's energy powerhouse; the rise of RE in Texas & more

Every Saturday, we'll bring you five of the most interesting — or quirky; it is the weekend after all — energy stories from around the web that you may have missed this week. This weekend's reads:

The future of renewable energy is in Texas (CBS News): Renewable energy isn't at a crossroads in the U.S. so much as on a two-lane highway: While the federal government hits the gas on fossil fuels, states are speeding ahead to develop renewable energy -- and reaching new milestones.

Warren Buffett is building up a 'recession resistant' energy powerhouse (Los Angeles Times): From California to the Midwest, billionaire investor Warren Buffett is steadily building an energy powerhouse. Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Energy subsidiary has gobbled up utilities and natural gas pipelines and tapped into clean energy production, including from Southern California’s abundant geothermal resources.

EIA: US residential power sales in decline since 2010 (Utility Dive): After two decades of growing electricity sales, residential demand has stagnated since 2010 — the result of energy efficiency, economic factors, self-generation and weather changes. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, residential electricity sales per household declined 9% between 2010 and 2016.

Britain to ban new diesel and gas cars by 2040 (The New York Times): Scrambling to combat a growing air pollution crisis, Britain announced on Wednesday that sales of new diesel and gas cars would reach the end of the road by 2040, the latest step in Europe’s battle against the damaging environmental impact of the internal combustion engine. Britain’s plans match a similar pledge made this month by France, and are part of a growing global push to curb emissions and fight climate change by promoting electric cars.

Scientists just found a surprising possible consequence from a very small amount of global warming (The Washington Post): Even if we meet our most ambitious climate goal — keeping global temperatures within a strict 1.5 degrees Celsius (or 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) of their preindustrial levels — there will still be consequences, scientists say. And they’ll last for years after we stop emitting carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.

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