energy

A trio of reports from the U.S. Department of Energy showed a continued upward trend in wind energy capacity and employment in 2018, as the cost per megawatt (MW) continued to drop due to larger and more efficient turbines. However, the possible elimination of federal tax incentives could slow the long-term growth of wind power, the report cautioned.

A new scorecard from the nonprofit American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE) reveals that while U.S. cities are ramping up their clean energy efforts, most cities with climate goals are either not on track to achieve them or are not yet tracking progress. The 2019 City Clean Energy Scorecard ranks 75 cities on more than 50 metrics and this year for the first time, includes policy efforts to advance renewable energy in addition to energy efficiency. Boston retains its first-place ranking, followed by San Francisco, Seattle and Minneapolis. Three cities, including Providence, Rhode Island, this year’s location for SSTI’s Annual Conference, were also named as Cities to Watch. Providence was deemed a city to watch in part because of its adoption of several major clean energy policies and programs, as well as its commitment to engage low-income communities and communities of color in its environmental process.

Emerging over the past five years, novel approaches to supporting early-stage cleantech development have the potential to ease the transition from invention to marketplace, according to new research from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory’s (NREL) Innovation & Entrepreneurship Center for the Joint Institute for Strategic Energy Analysis. The report provides a comparison of some of the nation’s most notable cleantech incubators and accelerators, finding that each organization fills a unique niche and competition among them is not an issue.

Earth Day has evolved from environmental consciousness raising in its beginnings in the early 1970s to this year’s celebration surrounded with climate change concerns and development of the clean energy industry..  A recent report from the Brookings Institution shows more discussion needs to happen around the types of workers, activities and skills that will be needed in the clean energy industry, and how those efforts can be more inclusive. Transitioning to a clean energy economy will involve 320 unique occupations spread across clean energy production, energy efficiency and environmental management, the authors found. The report highlights the fact that those workers earn higher and more equitable wages compared to all workers nationally, and many of those occupations tend to have lower educational requirements.

This week, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced up to $70 million for a Clean Energy Manufacturing Innovation Institute to develop technologies that will advance U.S. manufacturing competitiveness, energy efficiency, and innovation. This institute will focus on early-stage research for advancing cybersecurity in energy efficient manufacturing.

There are numerous opportunities for policymakers and elected officials at the state and local levels to encourage clean energy, and doing so could spur economic development, according to a new report by David Hart, a senior fellow at the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) and a professor of public policy at George Mason University.  As state and local leaders pursue these strategies, Hart focuses on five non-exclusive tracks to pursue: offering incentives to clean energy manufacturers and other investors; nurturing technology-based start-up companies; deepening existing clusters of related industries; substituting indigenous for imported energy resources; and, stimulating market demand for clean-energy products and services.

A recent report by Breakthrough Energy, co-chaired by former Energy secretary Ernest Moniz, calls for a better policy approach to supporting clean energy. Their premise is that America has led the way in this industry, but that the way forward requires innovation on a greater scale than we have achieved before, and that this, in turn, requires better coordination of systems. The report makes recommendations for industry and all levels of government, and their proposals regarding regions should be particularly welcomed by the SSTI community.

The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) announced their intent to issue a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) establishing a new Clean Energy Manufacturing Innovation Institute. The institute will develop technologies that will advance U.S. manufacturing competitiveness, energy efficiency and innovation. This will be the sixth institute established by DOE and will focus on understanding the evolving cybersecurity threats to greater energy efficiency in manufacturing industries, developing new cybersecurity technologies and methods, and sharing information and expertise to the broader community of U.S. manufacturers. 

Companies already repurpose trash into marketable products, but can the same concept work with air pollution? The National Academies of Science provides a detailed answer to this question in a committee report outlining the necessary research and innovation investments to foster the commercial exploitation of carbon dioxide and methane gas emissions generated by our current industrial economy. Gaseous Carbon Waste Streams Utilization: Status and Research Needs presents a comprehensive public-private approach to creating jobs, wealth and entire new industries while reducing the environmental cost of our carbon-intensive economy.  

The carbon tech industry in Wyoming could support an average of 2,600 jobs annually over the next 17 years, according to a new report by the American Jobs Project — a U.C. Berkeley-based nonpartisan think tank. Developed in partnership with the University of Wyoming, American Jobs Project researchers contend that the projected job growth could occur if the state government and private industry invested in growing this industry cluster. Carbon tech companies use coal, an abundant resource in Wyoming, to make graphene, carbon fiber and other products. In addition to job creation within the carbon tech industry, the authors cite job growth potential in downstream industries, primarily wind and transmission line developers.