The Atlantic: Can Trump Reverse Obama's Arctic-Drilling Ban?
In the autumn of 1948, President Harry Truman made an important declaration about who controlled the huge seams of oil and gas hidden beneath the seafloor around the coast of the United States.
The federal government -- “aware of the long-range worldwide need for new sources of petroleum and other minerals” -- would try to encourage the development of those resources, he said.
Congress ratified Truman’s proclamation. Five years later, in 1953, it sought to clarify its terms and restore some rights to the states. It adopted the Continental Outer Shelf Lands Act.
Now, there is a new “long-range worldwide need” -- and it is not for new sources of petroleum. If the world hopes to stave off catastrophic climate change, it must begin to roll back its usage of fossil fuels like petroleum. It must leave huge seams of oil and natural gas in the ground, permanently untapped.
President Obama has acted on this new reality, and now there is going to be a big fight about that 1953 law.
PV Tech: U.S. and India Launch $20 Million Clean Energy Finance Initiative for Indian Solar
The India government and the U.S. government’s development finance institution, the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), have launched a $20 million finance initiative to fund renewable energy projects in India.
The U.S.-India Clean Energy Finance (USICEF) will deploy up to $20 million in project preparation support for distributed solar projects, that are under consideration for long-term financing from OPIC.
Elizabeth Littlefield, OPIC’s president and chief executive, said: “This initiative is a critical step toward increasing access to energy in underserved regions in India. The India Clean Energy Finance Initiative will support small projects with seed capital and assistance to help them grow as they then look to OPIC to work with."
Another scheme, the U.S.-Africa Clean Energy Finance Initiative (ACEF), has already deployed $20 million in grants and is on track to catalyze over $1 billion in project investment in Africa from a combination of private capital providers and OPIC.
PV Magazine: India to Reach 57 Percent Renewable Penetration by 2027, Forecasts Government
The Indian government is expecting the country to source 57 percent of its energy requirements from renewables by 2027 – three years and many percentage points ahead of the 2030 target of 40 percent agreed to in Paris at COP21 last year.
According to the plan, India will have installed 275 gigawatts of renewable energy by 2027 -- with more than half of that figure likely to come from solar.
Piyush Goyal, the Indian energy minister, has also confirmed that there will be no new coal-fired power plants built until at least 2027 as the country hedges its energy future on renewable energy and takes seriously its pledges made under the Paris Agreement.
Around $20 billion has been committed to India’s soaring solar sector by Taiwan’s Foxconn and Japan’s Softbank, with domestic assistance arriving in the form of India’s Bharti Enterprises. Indian developers are also jostling for greater prominence, with Tata pledging to draw 40 percent of its energy from renewable source by 2025, and Adani and Azure Power stepping up their solar investments.
Des Moines Register: Iowa's New Energy Plan -- More Renewable Energy, Stronger Power Grid
The state released a broad report Wednesday looking at Iowa's energy needs over the next decade, with 45 recommendations that range from modernizing the state's electric power grid to improving state tax credits for solar energy.
Lt. Gov. Kim Reynolds and Debi Durham, Iowa's economic development leader, said energy is key to economic development and job creation across the state.
"We want to bring economic prosperity to all corners of Iowa," said Reynolds, acknowledging that some energy restrictions in rural Iowa can hamper business growth.
Iowa gets about 36 percent of its electricity from wind generation and is the leading producer of ethanol and biodiesel.
Dallas News: Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz Says Would-Be Successor Rick Perry Has Much to Learn
Former Texas Gov. Rick Perry forgot the Department of Energy's name during a presidential debate. But if his nomination to lead the agency is approved, he’ll have much more complicated challenges to face, according to outgoing Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz.
“He has to assemble a team that has different knowledge bases, different experiences,” Moniz said Wednesday on a conference call with reporters, asked about Perry by The Dallas Morning News. "He has got, as with anyone, a lot of information to absorb, for a department that has, frankly, the complexity this department has.”
Perry, who has a bachelor's degree in animal science from Texas A&M University, has a resume that stands apart from recent heads of the department.