The Reversal of Obama’s Climate Change Initiatives

coal-fired power plants Clean Power Plant

Gita Subramony, ERS, for Zondits This week, President Trump fulfilled a campaign promise by signing an executive order instructing the EPA to reverse the Obama-era Clean Power Plan (CPP). The Trump administration believes that the CPP, which aimed to limit carbon emissions from coal-fired power plants, negatively impacts the growth of the coal industry. However, … Read more

The Unstoppable Growth of the Clean Energy Sector

clean energy sector economics incandescent bulbs

Ethan Forauer, ERS, and Gita Subramony, ERS, for Zondits The new presidential administration is proposing sweeping changes to energy and environmental policy. During the presidential debates, the candidates did not devote much time to explaining their policy positions and ideas regarding climate change and energy. However, the stance of the new administration has been made clear … Read more

California Continues Plans to Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions

new-technology greenhouse gas emissions

Trump freezes EPA grants while California plans to slash emissions ARS Technica, January 24, 2017 With the swearing in of a new administration, the federal government and California, the most populous state in the union and the only state currently allowed to set emissions standards different from the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA), seem set to … Read more

The Transition to a Low-Carbon Future Post-Election

States, Power Companies Lead in Cutting Carbon; Election Not Slowing Expected 2017 Progress EDF, January 10, 2017 2016 was a big year for progress in the U.S. power sector. Renewable energy sources provided 16.9 percent of the country’s electricity in the first half of 2016, up from 13.7 percent for all of 2015. The country’s first offshore wind farm opened … Read more

Election Results Bring Both Uncertainty and Hope for Energy Efficiency

What do the 2016 election results mean for energy efficiency? American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE), November 10, 2016 Now that the hard-fought 2016 election is over, I think it is useful to consider its impact on energy efficiency policy. No doubt, a lot of uncertainty remains because of President-elect Donald Trump’s lack of … Read more

Supreme Court Issues Unprecedented Stay on Clean Power Plan

supreme court issues CPP

Max Twogood, ERS, for Zondits. April 21, 2016. Image credit: zdulli The number of states suing the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) Clean Power Plan (CPP) is now up to 29 in Michigan v. EPA. In February the Supreme Court issued a stay on the CPP, which is an unprecedented ruling for the high court to stay … Read more

Natural Gas and the Power Generation Mix

natural gas

U.S. Natural Gas Electricity Efficiency is Always Improving Forbes, April 10, 2016. Image credit: anita_starzycka For electricity, the lifeblood of our modern world, efficiency has been installed as the 1st choice to reduce energy usage and related GHG emissions. Although renewables are ranked 2nd in this critical “loading order,” 3rd ranked natural gas often gets deployed 1st because … Read more

Key Takeaways from a Clean Power Plan Analysis

clean power plan analysis

How the Clean Power Plan Can Accelerate Renewable Energy and Efficiency UCSUSA, March 24, 2016. Image credit: russmac Eight key takeaways from the new analysis The CPP helps speed up the shift toward a cleaner, more diversified mix of low-carbon power sources. Under the CPP National Trading Case, renewable energy accounts for 21 percent of the … Read more

New Supreme Court Appointee May Decide the Fate of the Clean Power Plan

supreme court

Lisa Markowski for Zondits, February 16, 2016. Image credit: Mark Fischer (modified) Just four days before the death of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, the SCOTUS voted 5-4 to put the Obama administration’s Clean Power Plan (CPP) on hold. The ruling will allow time for the lawsuits filed by twenty-seven states opposing the CPP to be … Read more

27 States Sue Clean Power Plan

clean power plan

Max Twogood for Zondits, February 16, 2016 The Clean Power Plan (CPP) is a series of regulations that form the basis for President Barack Obama’s policy to slow down climate change by increasing renewable energy and reducing carbon dioxide emissions. Twenty-seven states along with Murray Energy – the country’s largest coal mining company – have … Read more