USA

Clean energy technologies are accelerating in the US. That’s according a to new report which was launched by Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz. It shows a dramatic increase in deployment and a decrease in cost of four “transformational technologies”: wind turbines, solar technologies, electric vehicles (EVs) and LEDs. The report states between 2008 and 2014, onshore wind […]

Financial incentives are needed for the US to deploy carbon capture and storage technologies (CCS). That’s according to a report by National Coal Council (NCC) for US Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz who requested it in advance of the upcoming COP21 conference. The NCC advises the US Energy Secretary on matters related to coal policy and technology. The […]

US power producer Talen Energy has sold a 399MW coal-fired power plant. It has been bought by an affiliate of Avenue Capital Group. The sale is part of a requirement to divest certain assets in Maryland to comply with a legal order when Talen Energy was established earlier this year. The asset sales to date now total […]

The US plans to cancel two Arctic leases for potential oil and gas exploration. They were scheduled under a five-year programme for 2012-2017. The call off is due to “current market conditions” and “low industry interest”, according to the government. The decision follows Shell’s “disappointing” exploration results at the Burger prospect in the Chukchi Sea. The […]

An energy company in canada has been issued licences to import and export natural gas. The National Energy Board of Canada approved Pieridae Energy’s application last week. The natural gas imported from the US and supplied from Canadian sources will be processed at the proposed Goldboro liquified natural gas (LNG) facility. The company will also […]

The US President’s plan to tackle climate change will “raise consumer costs yet fail to lower the Earth’s temperature”. That’s according to the Partnership for Affordable Clean Energy (PACE) in response to the Clean Power Plan launched yesterday. It set out the country’s first ever national standards to limit carbon pollution from power plants. PACE said: “While this […]

The US Energy Department has launched a competition to help develop advanced nuclear reactor concepts. It aims to bring together the nuclear industry with laboratories to help provide clean, affordable and secure energy. It is looking for proposals for cost-shared advanced reactor development projects, with the potential of being demonstrated by 2035. The Energy Department […]

The first ever national standards to limit carbon pollution from power plants is to be announced by Barack Obama today. As part of his final ‘Clean Power Plan, carbon emissions will be reduced by 32% from 2005 levels by 2030 – 9% more than what was initially proposed. States will be given the flexibility to […]

Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush said he would cut subsidies for both fossil fuels and renewable energy if he was elected in 2016. In an online video, when an environmental activist asked Mr Bush if he would eliminate fossil fuel subsidies as president, the former Florida Governor responded he would eliminate “all of it”. Mr Bush said: […]

US firms have cut energy usage by 60% by sorting out their car parks! They did this by installing efficient lighting across more than 470 million square feet of parking space in the last year. The 18 firms and organisations involved, have been recognised by the Better Buildings Alliance’s Lighting Energy Efficiency in Parking (LEEP). […]