Sanctions, Shipping, and Oil Markets

In just over a week, the theoretical cost of taking a barrel of oil from the Gulf to Asia, in the cheapest possible way, rose by $6 per barrel. At a time when refinery margins are in single digits, this is a major blow to refinery profitability. The US administration’s decision to sanction two subsidiaries of China COSCO Shipping Energy, alongside announcements by global traders including Exxon and Unipec that they are banning the use of vessels linked to oil flows from Venezuela have effectively taken close to 300 of the global tanker fleet offline. In addition, longer sailing times …

The value of the US nuclear power complex to US national security

In this analysis, the Atlantic Council has set out to estimate the value that the civilian nuclear power sector contributes to the United States’ national security apparatus. Based on a series of inputs, this analysis and conservative estimation found that the nuclear power complex contributes an equivalent of more than $42.4 billion to US national security, as broadly defined. In other words, the lack of a civilian nuclear sector would present an immediate and significant economic shock (and impact on the labor force)—which, in turn, would have immediate and longer-term budgetary implications for the US government.…

Climate Action Playbook Brief

The American Cities Climate Challenge is an unprecedented opportunity for 25 ambitious cities to significantly deepen and accelerate their efforts to tackle climate change and promote a sustainable future for their residents.

Originally open to 20 American cities, the program was expanded to 25 cities due to the strength of the applications received.

As Climate Challenge winners, 25 cities have been accepted into a two-year acceleration program with powerful new resources and access to cutting-edge support to help them meet – or beat – their near-term carbon reduction goals. These resources include a philanthropy-funded team member to facilitate the development …

Electricity Storage: Applications, Issues, and Technologies

Electricity, as it is currently produced, is largely a commodity resource that is interchangeable with electricity from any other source. Since opportunities for the large-scale storage of electricity are few, it is essentially a just-in-time resource, produced as needed to meet the demand of electricity-consuming customers. Climate change mitigation has increased the focus on the use of renewable electricity. While energy storage is seen as an enabling technology with the potential to reduce the intermittency and variability of wind and solar resources, energy storage resources would have to be charged by low- or zero-emission or renewable sources of electricity to …

The Investment of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative Proceeds in 2017

The Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) is the first mandatory market-based program in the United States to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. RGGI is a cooperative effort among the states of Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island, and Vermont to cap and reduce CO2 emissions from the power sector.

Following a comprehensive 2012 Program Review, the RGGI states implemented a new 2014 RGGI cap of 91 million short tons. The RGGI CO2 cap then declines 2.5 percent each year from 2015 to 2020. The RGGI CO2 cap represents a regional budget for CO2 emissions from the …

2019 California Green Innovation Index

The eleventh annual California Green Innovation Index finds California will meet its 2030 climate targets more than three decades late—in 2061—and could be more than 100 years late in meeting its 2050 target if the average rate of emissions reductions from the past year holds steady. The report finds that the state needs to reduce emissions by an average of 4.51 percent annually—a three-hold increase over the 1.15 percent reduction seen from 2016 to 2017—to meet the requirements of SB 32, which raised the state’s emissions reduction goal to 40 percent below 1990 levels by 2030.

The findings follow last …

Low-Carbon Heat Solutions for Heavy Industry: Sources, Options, and Costs Today

Recent studies indicate there is an urgent need to dramatically reduce the greenhouse gas emissions from heavy industrial applications (including cement, steel, petrochemicals, glass and ceramics, and refining). Heavy industry produces roughly 22 percent of global CO₂ emissions. Of these, roughly 40 percent (about 10 percent of total emissions) is the direct consequence of combustion to produce high-quality heat, almost entirely from the combustion of fossil fuels. This is chiefly because these fuels are relatively cheap, are widely available in large volumes, and produce high-temperature heat in great amounts.

Many industrial processes require very large amounts of thermal energy at …

Oil and Gas Industry Engagement on Climate Change

The most important strategic issue facing the energy industry today is climate change. As the earth’s average temperature continues to rise with the accumulation of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, the stable functioning of earth’s natural systems adjusts to the new, high-carbon reality and society begins to witness the effects of an altered natural environment and its impact on our lives and livelihoods. Most greenhouse gas emissions are caused by human activity, including the burning of fossil fuels. This reality demands a change to our energy system. Given this threat, governments are increasingly enacting policies to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions …

2019 State Energy Efficiency Scorecard

The 13th edition of the ACEEE State Energy Efficiency Scorecard is a progress report on state policies and programs that save energy while producing environmental and economic benefits. We use data vetted by state energy officials to rank states in six categories—utility programs, transportation, building energy codes, combined heat and power, state initiatives, and appliance standards. Top finishers in this year’s Scorecard include Massachusetts, California, Rhode Island, Vermont, and New York. The most improved state is Maryland; other significantly improved states include Hawaii and New Jersey. The Scorecard shows that energy efficiency is a key resource nationwide, with utilities spending …

2019 Utility Demand Response Market Snapshot

Both Mass Market and Commercial & Industrial (C&I) demand response (DR) programs are incorporating advanced technologies and tools to create increased flexibility and savings. Legacy programs are being phased out, utilities are offering suites of options, diverse technology types are being integrated, and cutting edge technology is being tested. As programs are expanded and new options are added, DR stands to potentially deliver $15 billion in savings each year by 2030.

Download SEPA’s Demand Response Market Snapshot report to get what no other publication in the electricity sector can deliver: in-depth market data and analysis for demand response markets. Expanded …