Washington Post: The World Needs to Triple Investments in Clean Energy
The world needs to triple its investments in clean energy research, suggests a new study by the Paris-based International Energy Agency, if we’re to have a chance of keeping the world below 2 degrees Celsius of warming above pre-industrial levels -- a level beyond which truly dangerous climate change might set in.
That’s because in addition to any international agreement to cut carbon emissions that may be reached at the end of this year, the world will also need new technologies to fill the gap left behind as we use less of fossil fuels like coal.
PV Magazine: Solar Becoming 'Least-Cost' Option for U.S. Utilities
Solar energy is fast becoming a "least-cost" option for U.S. utilities. Declining technology costs, policy support and retail rate levels are cited as contributing factors. Issues, including rate restructuring and grid integration, need to be addressed; meanwhile, community solar programs are garnering "strong" interest.
In its latest Utility Solar Market Snapshot, the U.S. Solar Electric Power Association (SEPA) reports that solar energy is growing increasingly attractive for utilities. Leading this charge are falling power-purchase agreement (PPA) prices, sometimes under those seen in the natural gas market, meaning new U.S. markets are opening up for solar.
Bloomberg: The Shale Boom Has Already Gone Bust -- At Least for Now
The meteoric rise in U.S. oil production has ended, easing a global glut and driving a rebound in crude prices from below $50 a barrel, according to crude trader and hedge fund manager Andrew J. Hall.
“We have now reached a turning point,” Hall said in a letter Friday to investors in Astenbeck Capital Management LLC, his commodities hedge fund. Growing demand and supply pullbacks “rendered all the doomsday forecasts self-defeating.”
Detroit Free Press: 2016 Ford F-150 Will Offer Propane, Natural Gas Option
Ford is expected to announce today plans to offer the 2016 F-150 full-size pickup with a package that prepares it to be powered by propane or compressed natural gas, an option that appeals to fleet buyers.
The $315 factory-installed package would allow an F-150 with a 5-liter V-8 to run on propane or compressed natural gas, making it the only half-ton pickup with that capability. The customer must then take their factory-prepped truck to a qualified vehicle modifier to install the proper fuel tanks, fuel lines and fuel injectors. The cost of the upfitting ranges from $7,500 to $9,500.
Boston Globe: Solar Industry in Limbo After Task Force’s Divided Report
Many in the solar industry had hoped a solar energy task force created by the Legislature would reach a solid conclusion to address the biggest impediment to the industry’s growth in the state.
Instead, the task force ended up divided in the report it made public late last week, and any solution was pushed off to a later date.
The most pressing issue at hand for the solar industry: the limits on who can benefit from net metering, which is how solar users can be reimbursed for sending excess electricity onto the grid.