Coal in a New Carbon Age

The United States is embarking on a “New Age of Carbon” which will usher in significant opportunities for coal beyond conventional markets for power generation and steelmaking. Coal, and the carbon it contains, is on the crest of powering a wave of innovation in advanced products and manufacturing.

Advanced markets for coal-derived products, materials and technologies, referenced in this report as “coal-to-products,” include:
 Coal to Liquids – fuels and chemicals
 Coal to Solid Carbon Products – carbon fiber, activated carbon, graphite, electrodes, graphene, building and construction products, carbon foam and carbon black
 Rare Earth Elements – component …

US Nuclear Energy Leadership: Innovation And The Strategic Global Challenge

Throughout 2018, the Atlantic Council Global Energy Center convened a “Task Force on US Nuclear Energy Leadership,” which comprised civilian and military experts in foreign policy, defense, and nuclear energy. Senators Mike Crapo (R-ID) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) served as honorary co-chairs of the Task Force. This report, entitled “US Nuclear Energy Leadership: Innovation and the Strategic Global Challenge,” is the result of these efforts.
The Task Force found that a flourishing domestic nuclear energy sector is critical to US national security, both in the interconnections between military and civilian uses of nuclear energy, as well as in foreign policy. …

Federal Policy Blueprint for Carbon Capture

This blueprint builds on the foundational policy of the Section 45Q carbon capture tax credit passed last year by Congress as part of the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018. The blueprint offers a portfolio of policies that would increase carbon capture deployment in key sectors of the economy, from industries like cement and steel to electric power generation.

Accelerating deployment of carbon capture is critical to achieving midcentury decarbonization goals. Carbon capture can reduce emissions in key industries and is the only technology available to manage emissions from a number of industrial processes essential to modern economies.

Given the incredible …

Grid Vision: The Electric Highway to a 21st Century Economy

Electricity is the lifeblood of the modern U.S. economy, yet much of America’s electric grid is outdated and in dire need of investment and expansion to bring it into the 21st Century. The American Society of Civil Engineers recently gave America’s electricity infrastructure a mark of “D+,” and grid congestion and power outages cost American businesses billions of dollars each year.

To better understand the best way to update and invest in the grid, and any associated consumer benefits, the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) undertook a literature review that examines building out the country’s transmission infrastructure. This paper finds …

Burning the Gas ‘Bridge Fuel’ Myth: Why Gas Is Not Clean, Cheap, or Necessary

This new report released by Oil Change International makes the case that gas is not a ‘bridge fuel’ to a safe climate. As the global climate crisis intensifies and gas production and consumption soars, it is clearer than ever that gas is not a climate solution. Leaking methane along the gas supply chain has been at the center of the debate around the climate impact of gas, but it’s far from the only issue at stake. There are five additional reasons why gas cannot form a bridge to a clean energy future, even if methane leakage is addressed.…

Final US Emissions Estimates for 2018

In January, Rhodium provided preliminary estimates of US carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions in 2018. In this note, we provide final energy CO2 emissions data and preliminary estimates for economy-wide US greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in 2018. CO2 emissions from fossil fuel combustion rose by 2.7% in 2018, the second largest annual increase since 2000. Economy-wide GHG emissions likely rose by between 1.5% and 2.5% last year. That puts US emissions at 10.7% to 11.6% below 2005 levels, leaving a decently large gap to close in the next two years to meet the country’s Copenhagen Accord target of a 17% reduction …

Renewable Power Generation Costs in 2018

Renewable energy has become an increasingly competitive way to meet new power generation needs. This comprehensive cost study from the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) highlights the latest trends for each of the main renewable power technologies. Released ahead of high-profile United Nations energy and climate discussions, Renewable Power Generation Costs in 2018 draws on the latest cost and auction price data from projects around the world.…

Pathways to 2050: Alternative Scenarios for Decarbonizing the U.S. Economy

As part of Climate Innovation 2050, C2ES led a group of companies in a collaborative exercise examining potential scenarios for decarbonizing the U.S. economy. The result is a set of three scenarios for reducing U.S. greenhouse gas emissions 80 percent from 2005 levels by 2050. A final report, Pathways to 2050: Alternative Scenarios for Decarbonizing the U.S. Economy, presents the detailed scenarios and a set of key takeaways.…

FY 2020 Energy Innovation Funding: Congress Should Push the Pedal to the Metal

In recent years, Congress has shown remarkable leadership in energy innovation policy. Rejecting the Trump administration’s recommended cuts, lawmakers instead boosted funding for research, development, and demonstration (RD&D) in renewable energy, energy efficiency, carbon capture, and basic energy sciences.1 They supported loan programs for first-of-a-kind projects, including an advanced nuclear plant and a clean methanol production facility. And they are currently debating a flurry of bills to create new programs to accelerate innovation in energy storage, atmospheric carbon removal, and advanced nuclear power.…

Carbon Removal: Comparing Historical Federal Research Investments with the National Academies’ Recommended Future Funding Levels

Carbon removal encompasses a suite of land-based and technological approaches to removing already-emitted carbon dioxide (CO2) from the environment. Carbon removal (CDR) approaches—also referred to as “negative emission technologies” — complement mitigation efforts to protect the environment while opening new opportunities for U.S. businesses in a growing global marketplace as many countries move toward a lower-carbon economy. Several companies around the world have built demonstration facilities for direct air capture, a type of technological carbon removal that involves using machines to remove CO2 directly from the atmosphere, so it can then be sequestered or converted into commercial products, such as …