“We really have one opportunity to get this right,” said Jason Shedlock, regional organizer with the Laborers’ International Union and president of the Maine State Building and Construction Trades Council. “If we don’t employ local labor with good, family-sustaining jobs, that’s an unforced error right from the beginning.”
CLEAN ENERGY
Must Be Equitable
Advocates want organized labor at the forefront of offshore wind. As Maine finalizes its roadmap for offshore wind development, a coalition of environmental and labor groups is calling for the state to formalize strong labor standards in the growing sector. Maine is expected to be a major player in U.S. offshore wind because of its robust wind resources, which advocates say is all the more reason to ensure the industry benefits workers. Formal union agreements have already been a key feature of other offshore wind projects across the country. (Energy News Network)
CLEAN ENERGY
Has Many Benefits
A fraction of EV owners can prop up the grid. Vehicle-to-grid (V2G) charging—where idle cars can feed stored power back to the electricity grid—can help make power grids more flexible and reliable, according to a new analysis from Leiden University. If just 30 percent of the world’s EV owners opt into V2G programs by 2030, they could meet average global energy storage demand, though ideal participation rates vary from country to country. If old EV batteries are turned into stationary power storage, less than 10 percent of EV owners would need to participate to meet grid demand needs. (WIRED $)
CLEAN ENERGY
Is Affordable
Car buyers want EVs, so automakers are cutting prices. With EV sales breaking records and growing interest among car buyers, companies like Ford and Tesla are beginning to slash sticker prices to spur more sales outside of early adopters. Both companies have cut prices in recent weeks as competition in the EV market has ramped up, along with federal tax credits that have helped strengthen demand. Analysts say prices are likely to continue dropping as more EV models come on the market—like the $27,000 Chevy Bolt EV—and production scales up. EVs can also lower ownership costs significantly thanks to 40 percent lower maintenance and repair costs, as well as cheaper fueling. (Washington Post $)
CLEAN ENERGY
Is Replacing Fossil Fuels
As clean energy grows, Texas officials are trying to protect the gas industry. As coal has lost more than half its share of the state’s energy mix, zero-emission energy sources like wind and solar provided over 40 percent of electricity in Texas last year and helped the state avoid outages during the summer heatwave and winter storms. Texas is now the top wind power-producing state in the country and has tripled its solar production in just three years. Wind and solar resources in Texas also have a high degree of “complementarity,” meaning that when there’s less sun there’s likely to be more wind to make up the gap (and vice-versa). While state politicians are trying to tilt the balance back towards fossil fuels with new electricity market reforms aimed at ensuring reliability, clean energy advocates say the proposals leave the door open for other clean energy solutions like storage, energy efficiency, and demand response measures. (Vox)
CLEAN ENERGY
Is A Good Investment
It’s official: renewable energy outcompetes coal. Thanks to the plummeting cost of clean energy alongside support from the Inflation Reduction Act, it is now cheaper to build and connect renewables to the grid than it is to operate 99 percent of coal plants nationwide, according to a new study from Energy Innovation. The average marginal cost for coal plants is about $36 per megawatt hour compared to just $24 for new solar. The analysis comes as coal’s share of U.S. energy generation has begun a significant decline in recent years, with aging coal plants becoming more expensive to maintain. (The Guardian)
Clean energy investment reached $1.1 trillion last year. 2022 marked the first year that investment in clean energy matched investment in fossil fuels, and the first time that annual clean energy investment surpassed $1 trillion. That represents a more than $250 billion increase from 2021, the largest jump in history. Most of that investment has poured into renewable energy and electrified transportation, and the world now boasts over 350 gigawatts of built clean energy projects and 10 million EVs sold globally. While more funding is needed to realize the global energy transition, last year’s leap in investment suggests that financial flows to clean energy are likely to continue growing. (Bloomberg $)
CLEAN ENERGY
Is Challenging
Mass transit is a huge—and under-appreciated—clean transportation tool. The energy saved by U.S. passengers using public transit in 2018 saved equivalent energy of taking 16 coal plants offline for a year. But because of decades of under-investment, the pandemic’s impact on ridership, and the fact that American transportation infrastructure overwhelmingly favors cars, mass transit in the U.S. has not lived up to its full potential as a climate and mobility solution. While the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act committed $66 billion to rail and $89.9 billion to public transit, advocates say more support is needed to overcome barriers and backlogs. (Bloomberg $)
MULTIMEDIA
Video: Will Electric Vehicles Crash The Grid? (Spoiler: No)
