Attribution - Extreme Weather Edition
If you haven’t added “attribution” to your climate vocabulary yet, it’s time to do that. It’s a new branch of climate science that attempts to determine how much of certain event, condition, or situation was caused by climate change, as opposed to other causes, including natural ones. The National Academies just put out what may be the most definitive Report on attribution, and you can find it here. A good article covering the Report is here.
Attribution - Coral Bleaching Edition
A new Report is out with a specific focus on Climate Change’s impact on coral bleaching. The analysis shows that global warming is the main driver of bleaching and that global coral bleaching simply would not occur without human-caused climate change. See it here.
Electricity Use Forecasts Continued Rise
Electricity demand is rising and there are many forecasts on how much and how fast it will continue to rise. One of the latest focuses on the remainder of 2026 and comes from the International Energy Agency (IEA). It predicts a strong rise driven by rising demand from industry, appliances, cooling needs, data centers and electrification. You can find it here.
Energy Efficiency Should be Hot - Shouldn’t It?
I think it goes without saying that given our emissions problem, our energy demand prooblem and other factors, this ought to a boom time for energy efficiency. But that doesn’t seem to be the case. See more here.
Utility Customer Discontent Risng?
Based on my work over the years, both inside of and outside of a utility, it is clear that the vast majority of electricity customers have no idea as to how utilities are structured, how they operate, how they get their money, and what utility regulators actually do. But they do react when they see bigger numbers. More here.
As Nuclear Returns …
I mentioned recently that one of the nuclear plants being returned to service is on a good track fot that. Here is another take on that.
Oh Right … There is the Issue of Nuclear Waste
When I am doing that listener call-in show, one of the questions that comes up a lot is “What about the waste”. The short version of the answer that I often give is - yes, we need to address but that technology and policy will do that - and we need to turn to nuclear because of the emissions problem. It needs to be part of our clean energy mix. And it turns out that the Administration has been working on it. Here is what a leaked document has revealed. Meanwhile, in an effort I reported on earlier, some States are lining up to help.
States Are Starting to Calm Down on Blocking Clean Energy?
Most items I include are about States trying to block clean energy in some way. But there have been some positive developments, especially on permitting. See here.
I Love This New Law in This State on Data Centers
I have reported recently on states thinking (or acting) to require data centers to “bring their own power source” and also reported that the latter seems to in some cases mean bringing a gas turbine. The State of New Jersey is now introducing another way to try and manage the electricity load of the centers - allowing them to pay for energy efficiency and clean energy measures at people’s homes. Coverage of it is here.
Some Good News on Solar in the States …
Here is a nice overview of what is happening at the state level with solar, including the permitting of it.
And Then There is This State …
The good news in Ohio is they have started a $100 Million Energy Fund to help energy projects. The bad news? By “energy projects” they mean gas and nuclear. Renewable energy is excluded. See more here.
But … You Won’t Guess Which State Was No. 3 Last Year in Solar Installations …
If your guess was a state near Ohio, the one you picked is probably not the one it is. Check it out here.
OK … So You Have Been Convinced … But Where do You Buy it?
The idea of buying a solar panel and hanging it on your balcony or porch railing or wherever has resonated with people. So the question is where can such a panel. Here is an article to help you on that.
Wait, What? There are Recommendations Being Made to Build New Coal Plants?
There are any number of Advisory Committees or Councils throughout the Executive Branch that advise a Cabinet Secretary or the President himself on various topics and issues. I for many years was on the Secretary of Commerce’s Advisory Committee on Business and Trade in Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. One of new Councils is one created by this Administration on coal. It is reported that they are recommending not only preservation and support of existing coal plants but also federal support for building new ones. See it for yourself here.
It’s Nice to Be Ahead of the Big Guys
Last summer I put out an essay titled “About Your European Summer Vacation” and talked about how the continent is warming several times faster than elsewhere, with heat impacts rising in the Summer. Last week, I enjoyed seeing this headline in the NYT: “Should Travelers Give Up On Summer in Western Europe”, Here is the new one.
Methane Back in the News
It seems that it was not that long ago that methane was getting a lot of headlines because of the realization that it was 80 times more potent over the short term than CO2. But it seems that has faded a bit. In one piece of methane-related news, there is a new report on documents showing the natural gas industry knew in the 1970s that it was releasing far more methane than anyone thought. See more here.
Wait … What? Most Wildfires Last Year Were in the Eastern U.S.
I would not have thought this, but as it happens 49 percent of American wildfires were in the Eastern U.S. Taking another view, if one draws a line from Minnesota to Texas, 2/3 of wildfires in 2025 burned to the east of that. See more here.
More About Data Centers and Natural Gas …
In my last essay, I talked about how data centers were now focused beyond clean energy and using gas turbines and engines. Bank of America analysts have done the 5-year math on forecasted electricity demand (it’s a big number) and how much generation utilities are planning to add, and have come up with a gap more than 100 GW. As I reported recently, large gas turbines largely sold out through 2030. Based on that the Bank believes that data center developers will turn to on-site gas engines and utilities will extend coal plant operations and other measures. See the Report here.
More on Data Centers That Use Natural Gas …and How it Happens.
Case in point (if you read the item above) - Meta is building a giant data center in Louisiana that will run on natural gas. This article talks about that but it also the elaborate combination of energy and politics that was involved in it.
Some Good News for the Amazon?
It seems like every story I read about deforestation in the Amazon is based on bad news. Here’s a different kind of story.
Or is This the Real Story of the Amazon?
This one is more future oriented than that last one.
Some Bad News for the Second Biggest Behind the Amazon?
In my recent essay on Emissions Pledges I talked about how they are being re-neged in the face of economic and affordability issues. Here’s a case in point. The UK is pulling back on support for the Congo (the next largest in the world, after the Amazon). As reported in news other than the article linked, this is being done to shirt funds to put a cap on bus fares. See here.
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