In today’s Electrek Green Energy Brief (EGEB):

• Fossil fuel lobbyists are using Facebook ads to try to thwart crucial climate-change initiatives.
• GM says it will source 100% clean energy for its US sites by 2025.
• SolarReviews launches a new solar calculator that doesn’t require you to sign up.
• UnderstandSolar is a free service that links you to top-rated solar installers in your region for personalized solar estimates. Tesla now offers price matching, so it’s important to shop for the best quotes. Click here to learn more and get your quotes. — *ad.

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In today’s Electrek Green Energy Brief (EGEB):

• 6.1 GW of global offshore wind was installed in 2020, down slightly from a record 6.24 GW in 2019.
• More than half of the world’s fossil fuels have to stay buried to slow global warming.
• UnderstandSolar is a free service that links you to top-rated solar installers in your region for personalized solar estimates. Tesla now offers price matching, so it’s important to shop for the best quotes. Click here to learn more and get your quotes. — *ad.

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In today’s Electrek Green Energy Brief (EGEB):

• Hurricane Ida will affect the price of gas for ICE-car drivers across the US.
• Were widespread power outages from Hurricane Ida avoidable?
• UnderstandSolar is a free service that links you to top-rated solar installers in your region for personalized solar estimates. Tesla now offers price matching, so it’s important to shop for the best quotes. Click here to learn more and get your quotes. — *ad.

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In today’s Electrek Green Energy Brief (EGEB):

• The end of leaded gas use globally will prevent more than 1.2 million premature deaths.
• Electrifying transport could add $47 billion annually to the US Southeast’s economy.
• UnderstandSolar is a free service that links you to top-rated solar installers in your region for personalized solar estimates. Tesla now offers price matching, so it’s important to shop for the best quotes. Click here to learn more and get your quotes. — *ad.

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In today’s Electrek Green Energy Brief (EGEB):

• From 2019 to 2020, petroleum consumption decreased in every energy-consuming sector.
• 25 fossil fuel giants used Facebook ads to fight President Joe Biden’s clean energy plan.
• UnderstandSolar is a free service that links you to top-rated solar installers in your region for personalized solar estimates. Tesla now offers price matching, so it’s important to shop for the best quotes. Click here to learn more and get your quotes. — *ad.

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In today’s Electrek Green Energy Brief (EGEB):

• The US produced more petroleum and natural gas than any other country in 2020.
• Average US solar construction costs continued to fall in 2019.
• UnderstandSolar is a free service that links you to top-rated solar installers in your region for personalized solar estimates. Tesla now offers price matching, so it’s important to shop for the best quotes. Click here to learn more and get your quotes. — *ad.

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Governor Ron DeSantis (R-FL) just signed into law SB 1128/HB 919, “Preemption Over Restriction of Utility Services,” which was pushed through the legislature. It prevents local governments from deciding which energy path they want to take. In other words, Florida towns and cities are now unable to switch to 100% clean energy because they can’t ban fossil fuels.

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Maine has become the first US state to pass statewide legislation to divest from fossil fuels. LD 99, “An Act To Require the State To Divest Itself of Assets Invested in the Fossil Fuel Industry,” was signed late Wednesday by Governor Janet Mills (D-ME). A divestment plan is now required by 2026.

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Texas has been hit by a heatwave, and the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) has asked residents to reduce electricity use until Friday because demand is up, but power supply is down. ERCOT stated yesterday, “Generator owners have reported approximately 11,000 MW [megawatts] of generation is on forced outage for repairs; of that, approximately 8,000 MW is thermal, and the rest is intermittent resources.” “Thermal” power in Texas largely refers to natural gas-fired power plants, which make up around 50% of annual energy production in Texas.

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A Dutch court ruled that Shell’s emissions targets aren’t “concrete.” This is what the oil giant must do in order to achieve a viable plan to reduce emissions and meet clean energy targets.

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In today’s Electrek Green Energy Brief (EGEB):

• ExxonMobil and Chevron suffer shareholder rebellions over a lack of strategy for emissions reduction.
• Here’s the latest US Electric Power Monthly report, and what renewables are projected to do.
• UnderstandSolar is a free service that links you to top-rated solar installers in your region for personalized solar estimates. Tesla now offers price matching, so it’s important to shop for the best quotes. Click here to learn more and get your quotes. — *ad.

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In today’s Electrek Green Energy Brief (EGEB):

• The US Department of the Interior suspends oil and gas leases in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
• Danish wind giant Ørsted bumps up its clean energy target to reach 50 GW of installed capacity by 2030.
• UnderstandSolar is a free service that links you to top-rated solar installers in your region for personalized solar estimates. Tesla now offers price matching, so it’s important to shop for the best quotes. Click here to learn more and get your quotes. — *ad.

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A court in the Netherlands today ordered Royal Dutch Shell to cut its carbon emissions by 45% by 2030 from 2019 levels. Previous to the ruling, Shell’s emissions reduction target was 20% by 2030.

It’s the first time activists have taken a major energy company to court to get it to overhaul its climate strategy, and they were successful.

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Update April 28, 5:24 p.m. ET: The US Senate has voted 52-42 to reinstate regulations on methane emissions, a harmful greenhouse gas that traps 84 times more atmospheric heat than carbon dioxide. The Senate voted on a Congressional Review Act resolution led by senators Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Angus King (I-ME), and Ed Markey (D-MA). Or, as King put it, “a repeal of a repeal.”

This is a hugely impactful decision that should result in immediate emissions reduction in the US.

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In today’s Electrek Green Energy Brief (EGEB):

• The Navajo Nation will build two more solar farms that will create jobs, revenue, and electricity.
• Joe Biden’s infrastructure plan includes funds for capping oil wells, but who should pay?
• UnderstandSolar is a free service that links you to top-rated solar installers in your region for personalized solar estimates. Tesla now offers price matching, so it’s important to shop for the best quotes. Click here to learn more and get your quotes. — *ad.

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In today’s Electrek Green Energy Brief (EGEB):

• The first-generation Irene Vorrink wind farm is coming down. What happens next?
• The SEC rules that Chevron must allow a shareholder proposal asking for a transparent account of how a net-zero by 2050 scenario will affect its operations and performance. 
• UnderstandSolar is a free service that links you to top-rated solar installers in your region for personalized solar estimates. Tesla now offers price matching, so it’s important to shop for the best quotes. Click here to learn more and get your quotes. — *ad.

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Japan plans to phase out sales of new gasoline-powered vehicles by the mid-2030s, according to Japanese public broadcaster NHK.

The plan is not yet finalized (expect more info by the end of the year), and will still allow for sales of conventional gas-powered hybrids. So this is a step forward, but resembles China’s recently announced gas car ban that doesn’t actually ban gas cars.

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Jim Cramer, the host of CNBC’s Mad Money, cofounder of the Street, and former stockbroker and hedge fund manager, spoke with Katherine Ross, correspondent at the Street, earlier today. Here’s what Cramer had to say to Ross about Joe Biden, Janet Yellen being chosen for secretary of the treasury, green energy, General Electric, and Big Oil.

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The UN’s International Maritime Organization (IMO) approved a ban on Friday of ships’ use and carriage of heavy fuel oil (HFO) in Arctic waters after July 1, 2024. However, since it includes exemptions and waivers — loopholes — a complete HFO ban would only come into effect in mid-2029.

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Donald Trump’s administration is bulldozing through a last-minute gas and oil drilling-rights auction in Alaska’s 19-million-acre Arctic National Wildlife Refuge before President-elect Joe Biden takes office. Biden vowed to block oil exploration in the largest national wildlife refuge in the country.

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China plans to require that all new cars sold after 2035 be eco-friendly “new energy vehicles” according to Nikkei Asia. The plans were announced in a future road map for new energy vehicles and will be regulated under China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.

The specifics of the plan state that as of 2035, 50% of new cars sold in the country will be either electric, plug-in hybrid, or fuel cell vehicles, and 50% of new cars will be conventional hybrids, which still run entirely on gasoline.

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Chevron Corp (CVX.N) and Exxon Mobil Corp (XOM.N), the two largest US energy firms, have increased their share of campaign donations to Democrats in 2020, according to the latest filings.

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• Royal Dutch Shell will cut up to 9,000 jobs by 2022 due to the pandemic and lack of oil demand.
• Turntide’s Smart Motor System has the potential to reduce global electricity consumption by 25%.
• Sustainable technology company Furrion launches a solar cooler that also packs a charging station.
• Arcadia Power is committed to making clean energy work for the planet and your bank account — all without changing your utility company. Sign up to receive your $20 Amazon Gift Card.

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Norway announced today that it will finance 16.8 billion kroner (US$1.8 billion) out of an estimated total investment of 25.1 billion kroner for the world’s first full-scale carbon capture and storage (CCS) project.

The project is named Longship after the Viking ships.

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BP stated in a forecast published today that oil may have reached its peak due to the pandemic and that renewables will take the place of fossil fuels.

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The Japanese MV Wakashio, owned by the Nagashiki Shipping Company and operated by Mitsui OSK Line, has spilled oil off the Mauritius coast after hitting a reef near the Blue Bay Marine Park on July 25. This is Mauritius’ first oil spill, a country with a population of 1.3 million people.

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In its first corporate sustainability report, the federally owned utility Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) says it’s on track to reduce emissions by 70% below 2005 levels by 2030.

But on Monday, Donald Trump fired two members of its board of directors, including its chair, on the grounds that it’s hiring low-cost foreign labor. The TVA says that’s not true. So what’s really going on?

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Starting this month, a one-time upfront registration fee of $100 will be charged for 2020 model year plug-in vehicles in California. That will be followed by an annual registration fee of up to $175 based on the vehicle’s value. The Golden State is by far the biggest market for electric vehicles in the United States.

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On July 6, the US District Court for the District of Columbia ordered the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) shut down. The court said it should be drained by August 5 and the government would conduct a rigorous environmental review.

But its owner, Energy Transfer LP, a Dallas-based company run by billionaire Kelcy Warren, refuses to do so. In fact, it’s accepting requests for oil space on the pipeline in August.

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British Gas has ordered 1,000 of the new Vauxhall electric Vivaro-e vans for its engineers — the largest EV order for a commercial fleet in the UK. They’ll arrive over the next 12 months.

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Dominion Energy Inc. and Duke Energy Corp. are canceling the $8 billion, 600-mile Atlantic Coast Pipeline. The natural gas pipeline was to run 600 miles from West Virginia, through Virginia, to eastern North Carolina.

Duke Energy Corp has a net zero by 2050 goal in accordance with the Paris Accords. However, the reason for killing the pipeline is not environmental; it’s because of anticipated legal delays driving up costs.

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A research team at DeSmog has debunked the messaging of an organization that calls itself the “Transportation Fairness Alliance.” It proclaims itself to be in favor of “competitive and equitable transportation,” but it’s actually a powerful, anti-EV, pro-fossil-fuel lobbying group.

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Oil giant BP will cut 15% of its workforce, Reuters exclusively reports today. This is a result of the coronavirus impact on the economy, and also CEO Bernard Looney’s plan to shift the fossil-fuel company to green energy, it said today.

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Russian President Vladimir Putin of Russia declared a state of emergency in a region of northern Siberia after a huge oil spill last week turned a river crimson. It is threatening significant damage to the Arctic region.

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What do you think of when you think of Houston and energy? Oil and gas, probably. But did you know that Houston buys more green energy than any other city in the US?

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The March US coronavirus stimulus package, the $2.2 trillion CARES Act, featured the Small Business Association’s Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). But Big Oil and Gas, most of which are valued well over the $2 million threshold, received at least $72 million total.

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Replacing gas with electric appliances in California homes would prevent around 350 premature deaths each year and produce $3.5 billion in annual health benefits from cleaner air. This is according to new research from UCLA’s Fielding School of Public Health for the Sierra Club on gas-fueled home appliances and their effect on air quality.

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For weeks, we’ve been hearing that plummeting oil prices and dirt-cheap gasoline will kill electric vehicles. Now it appears the oil industry is the one whose future is in question. So, of course, President Trump is plotting a big bailout for Big Oil.

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US oil futures plummeted below zero today due to the coronavirus pandemic. Loss of demand has pushed domestic storage tanks toward capacity.

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The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced today that it is not “appropriate and necessary” to regulate emissions of mercury and other hazardous air pollutants from coal- and oil-fired power plants.

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A US federal judge canceled a key permit on Wednesday for the Keystone XL oil pipeline that’s expected to stretch from Canada to Nebraska.

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The Anglo-Dutch oil giant Royal Dutch Shell has today announced that it intends to reach net zero by 2050 or sooner by selling more green energy to reduce its carbon emissions.

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BP’s Deepwater Horizon rig spilled around 4.9 million barrels of oil after a methane explosion on April 20, 2010, in the Gulf of Mexico — the largest marine oil spill in history. And a decade later, scientists are finding oil from that spill in the livers of fish, and on the deep ocean floor.

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On Sunday, oil-producing nations agreed to the largest production cut in history. Whether that will stabilize oil prices and the industry as a whole remains to be seen.

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A Harvard University study at the T.H. Chan School of Public Health, which was updated on April 5, has confirmed that there is a direct correlation between long-term exposure to air pollution and a higher coronavirus death rate.

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With 3 billion people sheltering from the global pandemic, oil demand has plummeted. Crude storage locations are filling up. US drillers are shutting down production. And some producers are paying customers to take their oil. In a glimpse into a future when nearly all vehicles run on electricity, some crude prices are experiencing rollercoaster-like dips, rapid ascents, and plunges to nearly zero.

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Equinor is quitting the oil lobbying group Independent Petroleum Association of America (IPAA).

The Norwegian oil and gas giant officially recognizes that climate change is real, and publicly states that it intends to align with the Paris Agreement. It says it will “grow renewable energy capacity tenfold by 2026, developing as a global offshore wind major.”

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