Carbon Brief The deployment of renewables and electric vehicles is expected to skyrocket as the world strives to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. These low-carbon technologies currently rely on a handful of key metals, some of which have been little-used to date. This raises questions over whether enough of these materials can be mined to ensure … Continue reading Explainer: These six metals are key to a low-carbon future

European automakers are using the Geneva auto show as a platform to take on Tesla. The Swiss motor show has been heightened in importance in the wake of the Model S electric sedan beating classic German luxury cars in sales. The Geneva International Motor Show, which started this week and runs through March 18, will … Continue reading Can European Car Giants Dethrone Tesla?

The planning for a meeting between moguls in the oil and corn industries is in its preliminary stages, but President Donald Trump is not scheduled to attend the summit, which could define the future of the U.S. biofuels market. Sources told Reuters that though the President will not be in attendance like he was in … Continue reading Big Corn vs. Big Oil: The Battle Over Biofuel

Recent reports indicate utilities and states have begun to take more seriously an expected exponential increase in the number of electric vehicles in the U.S., with 227 EV-related actions nationwide in 2017.  So far, though, it’s not enough.  A report released Wednesday from the Smart Electric Power Alliance (SEPA) found that among 486 American utilities … Continue reading Vast Majority of Utilities Just Beginning to Cope With EV Growth

Lithium, cobalt and nickel are experiencing price fluctuations as global tech and auto giants race to lock down these crucial battery materials. All three metals were rising in price through the early part of 2018, according to the latest research from Wood Mackenzie's newly launched Battery Raw Materials Service. The data charts out ups and downs … Continue reading Battery Markets and Metals Markets Have Officially Collided

Recently, the Energy Information Administration (EIA), the International Energy Agency (IEA) and BP updated their outlooks for U.S. oil production. All of these projections have one thing in common: Over the next few years, U.S. production growth is going to far outstrip OPEC’s production growth. As a result, the U.S. will gain market share at … Continue reading Is Another Oil Price War Looming?

The experience of the German Energiewende shows that increasing amounts of renewable energy on the power system, while at the same time reducing inflexible baseload generation, does not harm reliability write Michael Hogan, Camille Kadoch, Carl Linvill and Megan O’Reilly of the Regulatory Assistance Project (RAP). American policymakers who are still skeptical can look across … Continue reading How German Energiewende’s Renewables Integration Points the Way

If storage is the Swiss Army Knife of the electric grid, then U.S. energy regulators are breaking out their tool belts. Last week brought a historic ruling at FERC. Commissioners told regional grid operators to create rules valuing the grid services of energy storage. Will it screw natural gas peakers – or maybe cut, saw, … Continue reading FERC’s Historic Energy Storage Ruling: A Doomsday Countdown for Natural Gas Peakers?

Spending on infrastructure to deliver power to homes and businesses has increased steadily over the past 10 years as utilities build, upgrade, and replace station equipment, poles, fixtures, and overhead lines and devices. Based on information compiled from utility reports to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC)—filed by utilities representing about 70% of total U.S. … Continue reading Utilities Continue to Increase Spending on Transmission Infrastructure

Renewables are not yet the least costly option in every market, writes Tim Buckley, Director of Energy Finance Studies Australasia at the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA), but the pace of change demonstrates that a tipping point toward a new energy economy is coming, and fast. Article courtesy IEEFA. Records were smashed in … Continue reading Cheap Renewables Are Transforming the Global Electricity Business