Heather Robb

Oil Giant Saudi Arabia Is Emerging as a Solar Power The kingdom is betting that sunshine can power new AI data centers and help boost oil exports.

"The world’s ultimate petrostate is turning to solar power."

Saudi Arabia is making progress on its goal of getting 1/2 of its power from clean sources by 2030. Turns out solar is more cost effective than burning oil.

Ed Ballard @wsj.com

www.wsj.com/business/ene...

#solar #renewableenergy

Cover of new REPEAT Project report, "A Fork In The Road: Impacts of Federal Policy Repeal On The U.S. Energy Transition."

Summary Full repeal of current federal energy and climate policies would: • Increase U.S. greenhouse gas emissions by roughly 0.5 billion metric tons per year in 2030 and more than 1 billion metric tons per year in 2035. • Raise U.S. household and business energy expenditures by $25 billion annually in 2030 and over $50 billion in 2035. • Increase average U.S. household energy costs by roughly $100 to $160 per household per year in 2030 and roughly $270 to $415 per household per year in 2035. • Reduces cumulative capital investment in U.S. electricity and clean fuels production by $1 trillion from 2025-2035. • Imperil a total of $522 billion in announced but pending investments in U.S. clean energy supply and manufacturing. • Reduce annual sales of electric vehicles by roughly 40% in 2030 and end America’s battery manufacturing boom. • Substantially slow electricity capacity additions, raising national average retail electricity rates and monthly household electricity bills by about 9% in 2030 — and as much as 17% in some states (including TX, OK and PA). • Kill off the nascent clean hydrogen, CO2 management, and nuclear power sectors.

Graphic showing historical and modeled US greenhouse gas emissions, with substantial increase if current federal policies are repealed.

Graphic showing modeled average household US energy costs, with substantial increase if current federal policies are repealed.

What does the GOP Megabill passed by the House this morning mean for the US energy transition, energy prices, emissions and the economy? REPEAT Project's new analysis has you covered. Read the new report or listen to our recent SHIFT KEY episode diving into the details. 🔗 ⤵️
🔌💡

Why Trump’s Plan to Stop Tallying Weather Losses Matters to the Insurance Industry NOAA’s billion-dollar disaster list provides a crucial metric for tracking rising damages tied to climate change and development.

An underappreciated value of NOAA's billion-dollar disaster list: It shows the public the rising risk of disasters. That convinces more people to take protective actions, which can lower insurance premiums.

That didn't stop the Trump administration from retiring the list

Smoke from climate-fueled wildfires contributed to thousands of US deaths over 15 years, study says A new study out in the journal Nature Communications Earth & Environment finds that wildfires fueled by climate change are linked to as many as thousands of annual deaths and billions of dollars i...

Wildfire smoke attributable specifically to climate change helped kill an estimated 15,000 people in the United States from 2006 to 2020, new study finds: apnews.com/article/wild...

A privilege to participate in Art in Bloom this year. A 12th century statue of Miroku, the Bodhisattva of the Future, was the inspiration for the design. If you are in Boston this weekend, head to the MFA & check out the 50 stunning arrangements blooming around the museum.
#mfainbloom #ArtinBloom

Almost Half of Americans Breathe Unhealthy Air, Report Finds Weakening or rolling back longstanding environmental regulations would worsen the problem, the American Lung Association assessment says.

"At least 156M Americans, ~46% of the population, live with unsafe levels of ozone, particulate pollution or both, according to the American Lung Association's annual State of the Air report."

@nytimes.com
www.nytimes.com/2025/04/23/c...

#cleanair #wildfiresmoke #climatechange #wildfires

Dolomites

Happy Earth Day!

E&E News: Trump strikes first real blow against offshore wind The administration's move Wednesday to block work on a wind project off New York state sent chills through the industry.

Gut punch.

& chilling for ALL infrastructure development

subscriber.politicopro.com/article/eene...

Ben Storrow for @eenews.bsky.social

Open Circuit Live Join hosts Jigar Shah, Katherine Hamilton, and Stephen Lacey for a live, virtual Open Circuit recording on April 16th.

Happening TOMORROW: The inaugural (virtual) Open Circuit Live. Join industry veterans @jigarshahdc.bsky.social, @cleangridview.bsky.social & @stephenlacey.bsky.social for a special live recording of the podcast — & bring your questions for live Q&A w/ the hosts:
www.latitudemedia.com/events/open-...

Chart: In a first, clean power beat fossil fuels on US grid last month Sunnier, windier days helped propel clean sources past gas and coal in March. It’s a milestone for the U.S. energy transition.

🥳 Although March is shoulder season, a big milestone nonetheless. Any good news worth celebrating these days!

🔸Solar, wind, hydro, biofuels/other renewables & nuclear: 51%
♦️Fossil gas & coal: 49%

@canarymedia.com @danmccarthy.bsky.social @ember-energy.org

www.canarymedia.com/articles/cle...

Trump’s offshore wind assault threatens factory jobs in GOP districts Over 64% of manufacturing and supply chain investment supporting the emerging industry is in Republican-led districts, per new data.

Trump’s attempts to kill the offshore wind industry threaten not just the decarbonization plans of a few states, but job opportunities for a wide array of Americans.

A majority are in red districts – not blue ones: https://buff.ly/3PXC9Ag

Why Being Climate ‘Positive’ Is the Buzzy New Goal of Green Building Architects and developers are reaching beyond net zero, designing structures they hope do more good for the environment than bad. But determining whether that’s true is far from easy.

Interesting article on Powerhouse buildings - a new term for me - and the ongoing challenge of net zero calculus.

@bloomberg.com
Story by: @oliviarudgard.bsky.social

www.bloomberg.com/news/feature...?

Could they buy Fox too?

Chart: Which states have the most electric school buses? More students than ever are headed to class on an electric, emissions-free school bus this September. But only a fraction of U.S. school buses are EVs…

Interesting that there is only one New England state on this top 10 chart, Massachusetts, at #7 just ahead of TX, VA and GA.

#evschoolbus
@canarymediainc.bsky.social

www.canarymedia.com/articles/ele...

Was on list for Rivan R1S, but ended up switching to leasing Volvo PHEV. Hubby had concerns about range, and cold weather (skiers) impacting battery. Story of friend stuck in Franconia Notch during bitter snow storm watching Tesla battery drain down loomed large.

Biden just finalized a major climate rule. This one could be tricky for Trump to dismantle | CNN The Environmental Protection Agency just finalized one of the Biden administration’s only outstanding climate rules, aimed at cracking down on leaks of methane — a potent planet-warming gas with an ou...

File under: things we really gotta try and save. The Biden Administration has finalized the fee on methane pollution from oil and gas infrastructure edition.cnn.com/2024/11/12/c...

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1)Power go.bsky.app/RwCBCab
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All of a Sudden, There’s Drought Everywhere Sorry, New Yorkers. You’re not special.

“Three months ago, we only had a little over 21% of the country in drought, and in three months, that’s jumped to just under 52%."

Drought is seemingly everywhere. @jeva.bsky.social explains how below:

Posting a few preview charts from my upcoming annual presentation. This one is rainfall in Valencia, 29 October 2024.

FERC’s Rosner pushes state flexibility in transmission planning rehearing order Rosner said his top priorities are grid reliability balanced with affordability, managing the energy transition and supporting gas and transmission infrastructure development.

Maintaining grid reliability is part of ensuring affordability, per FERC's Rosner. “An unreliable grid is full stop unaffordable because none of our economy works without access to electricity."

Just discovered this beautiful & magical book that seeks to bring back 20 words like acorn, fern, dandelion, heather & wren that were dropped from the Oxford Jr. Dictionary a few yrs ago to make room for attachment, blog, bullet-point & voicemail. On my gift giving list to nature lovers of all ages.

WSJ News Exclusive | Now for Some Good News About Climate Costs for renewables have plummeted and growth is exceeding expectations

Refreshing to have a positive headline & story on the energy transition! Love this - “But for every setback, there is a Sun Streams.”
Sun Streams is a 13 sq mi PV & battery complex in AZ, which is predominantly owned by Longroad Energy.
Ed Ballard, WSJ
#energysky
www.wsj.com/business/ene...

Pilot program will install batteries in 2,000 Mass. homes to reduce energy demand on the grid The federal government awarded Mass Save and Generac $50 million to test whether installing batteries in homes can reduce demand on the grid as more homes are electrified

With a $50m grant, a new pilot program in Massachusetts will install heat pumps, smart thermostats, and batteries in 2k low income homes. The goal is to see if it can meaningful reduce "peak energy demand," which is expected to double by 2050.

www.wbur.org/news/2023/11... @wbur.org

Climate change hits women’s health harder. Activists want leaders to address it at COP28 With the annual U.N.-led climate summit known as COP to convene later this month in Dubai, activists are urging policymakers to respond to climate change’s disproportionate impact on women and girls.

Climate change hits women’s health harder. Activists want leaders to address it at COP28

This is still making me laugh days later…😂

Despite recent headlines declaring the industry stagnant or moribund, the U.S. electric-vehicle market is actually well past the tipping point for mass adoption — and its healthy sales growth underscores that.

Learn more about the Chart of the Week: bit.ly/3swkyrp