Aging Transmission Grids are a Major Bottleneck for Renewable Energy Expansion

Brian McCowan, Zondits staff, 5/9/2023 CNBC’s fourth installment in their series on the U.S. power grid reports that renewable energy projects are waiting in lines longer than those for a Taylor Swift concert. According to the article, wind and solar project wait lines are often years long as power grid infrastructures struggle to accommodate the … Read more

Renewable Energy is Booming in China – But so is Coal

Brian McCowan, Zondits staff, 4/4/2023 China is leading the world in the completion of renewable energy projects. In 2022, China added almost as many renewable energy projects to the grid as the rest of the world combined, according to the Global Energy Monitor (GEM). GEM is a non-profit organization that tracks energy projects and fuel … Read more

Now You Can Use Your Renewable Energy Credits to Buy Gasoline Gift Cards

Brian McCowan, Zondits staff, 4/1/2023 Gasoline and diesel retailer Finite Fuels, LTD has introduced a gasoline gift card that can be purchased with renewable energy credits. The card, which is available in $25 and $50 denominations, can be used at thousands of gasoline stations that sell Finite Fuels’ generic brand products. Francis Fable, the CEO … Read more

“The turbulence in the energy market does not dramatically alter the decarbonization pathway towards midcentury.”

Remi Eriksen, Group President and CEO of DNV said, “The turbulence in the energy market does not dramatically alter the decarbonization pathway towards midcentury. The strongest engine of the global energy transition is the rapidly reducing costs of solar and wind energy, which will outweigh the present short-term shocks to the energy system.”  Read more … Read more

CNBC Publishes Series on the Need for a National Macrogrid

Brian McCowan, Zondits staff, 3/9/2023 In a clear sign that power grid issues are becoming a concern to more than just “energy wonks,” CNBC, the widely read internet journal and broadcast network is publishing a multi-part series on problems associated with the grid and the nation’s climate change goals.  The series titled, Transmission Troubles, makes … Read more

“The solution is making the grid bigger than the weather.”

Michael Goggin, Vice President of Grid Strategies, said as part of the ACORE report, “the solution is making the grid bigger than the weather.” With severe weather events typically “relatively geographically constrained,” regions could help each other meet demand. Read more here: ‘Modest’ transmission buildout would have yielded millions in benefits in December storm: ACORE … Read more

Annual Global Clean Energy Investments Surpass $1 Trillion, Equaling Investments in Fossil Fuels for the First Time

Matt Montalbano, Zondits guest, 2/8/2023 Global investments in low-carbon energy technology topped $1 trillion for the first time in 2022 and equaled global investments in fossil fuels. A recently published report by Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BloombergNEF) calculates the total investment in clean energy in 2022 to be a record-breaking $1.1 trillion.   “Our findings put … Read more

U.S. Production of Solar PV Panels Get a Booster Shot

Brian McCowan, Zondits staff, 1/26/2023 The recently enacted Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) is helping to expand the production of photovoltaic (PV) panels in the U.S. and ease the tariff-related tensions regarding the growth of solar electric energy worldwide. The South Korean PV manufacturer Qcells has announced a $2.5 billion expansion of their facility in Georgia … Read more

DOE’s EV Impact Tool Calculates Net Emissions Impacts for Each State

Brian McCowan, Zondits staff, 12/22/2022 If you have been researching EVs, you have likely seen numerous articles, including some on Zondits, covering the national and global emissions impacts of replacing gasoline-powered cars with EVs. That’s useful information for sure. But we know that the impact is partly driven by the electrical generation mix in the … Read more

Goldman Sachs Predicts a Profitable Market for Green Hydrogen

Brian McCowan, Zondits staff, 12/9/2022 Goldman Sachs commodity analyst, Michele DellaVigna, has told CNBC that a combination of market forces and the recently enacted Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) are combining to make “green hydrogen” a profitable energy alternative. DellaVigna anticipates that green hydrogen will join renewable technologies, such as wind and solar, in a “turning … Read more