The Trump Edition If you haven't yet, read Alex Steffen's piece that led last week's newsletter, "Tru
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January 17 · Issue #3 · View online
Transformations in clean energy
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The Trump Edition If you haven’t yet, read Alex Steffen’s piece that led last week’s newsletter, “Trump, Putin and the Pipelines to Nowhere.” It weaves together clean energy, the carbon bubble, and Russia’s singular reliance on oil, and provides one plausible explanation why Putin would take the risks he did to aid Trump. Some of which are unverified, but there isn’t much mystery about what Trump’s energy policy will look. His cabinet picks share a deep affinity for oil and coal and a strong antipathy toward environmental regulation. Which will probably affect renewable deployment in the US. To the degree Trump can roll back the Clean Power Plan, not having to comply with CO2 emissions standards could give coal a boost. But it might not: automation and fracking are killing coal, not regulation, and if the price of gas stays anywhere near its current historic lows, deregulation won’t change coal’s fate or even slow it down much. The invisible hand is doing the heavy lifting here. Fracking, renewables, and economics meant the CPP’s targets for 2025 were met in 2015–before the CPP even went into effect. Infrastructure may be a different story, as Trump says he supports the Dakota Access and Keystone XL pipelines. Issues around Keystone are complicated, but despite conflicts of interest (expect to hear that phrase a lot more), Trump’s team, and North Dakota’s new governor, continues to say they’ll push for Dakota Access.
As Obama said of clean energy, the train has left the station, but how fast it goes is a lot less clear than we thought it was two months ago.
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Meet the Obscure Group Influencing Trump's Energy Policy
An obscure Washington policy group that opposes almost any government aid for renewable energy has emerged as an influential force in shaping Donald Trump’s plans to dismantle Obama administration climate initiatives.
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Trump Cabinet Positions Fill Up With Oil, Gas Advocates
President-elect Donald Trump’s nominees for the departments of energy, state and head of the EPA are creating a hydrocarbon council in his administration.
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Trump has vowed to kill the Clean Power Plan. Here’s how he might — and might not — succeed
Donald Trump is preparing to take office with a broad plan to dismantle many of the environmental policies and priorities established under the Obama administration.
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Gas And Renewables Toppled Coal A Decade Early
Cheap natural gas and renewables ousted coal as America’s leading energy source in 2015—a decade earlier than the Clean Power Plan predicted, and without the Clean Power Plan’s help, according to a new analysis.
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Davos Elite Focus on Climate Change, Ignoring Trump’s Skepticism
Donald Trump has often ridiculed global warming and promised to withdraw the U.S. from the global accord signed in Paris in 2015. Yet despite the change of political weather in Washington, the captains of business and finance gathered in Davos this week will spend a lot of time talking about climate change – and how to make money from it.
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Obama’s government just issued five new energy rules — but Trump’s will have to finish them
The new energy efficiency rules can’t be published in the Federal Register until after Trump’s inauguration.
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Exxon’s $180 Million Deal With Trump’s Pick for State
Exxon will provide Trump’s pick for secretary of state, former CEO Rex Tillerson, with a $180 million package.
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Federal leasing for offshore wind grows as first U.S. offshore wind farm comes online
Energy Information Administration - EIA - Official Energy Statistics from the U.S. Government
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Trump Isn't Bringing Coal Back
When the libertarians, statists, and energy analysts all agree, even tweet from Trump isn’t going to change anything.
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Solar Could Beat Coal to Become the Cheapest Power on Earth
Solar power is now cheaper than coal in some parts of the world. In less than a decade, it’s likely to be the lowest-cost option almost everywhere.
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Feb 14-17: GreenBiz17, “The Premier Annual Event for Sustainability Leaders”. Phoenix, AS
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Where Marijuana Plants Flourish Under Energy-Saving LED Lights
An electric company in Washington is offering incentives to cannabis growers to upgrade their operations — a high-stakes experiment in energy conservation.
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