News Story Excerpts
New Studies & Data on Sustainable Energy & Climate Change
For Week Ending Friday – May 10, 2024
SUN DAY CAMPAIGN (founded 1992)
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Note: News story excerpts provided below do not necessarily reflect the views of the SUN DAY Campaign or any of its respective members.
Mixed or Cross-Cutting:
Global Market for Sustainable Manufacturing Estimated to Grow to More Than $150 Billion by 2033
Guidehouse Insights, May 2, 2024
According to a new Guidehouse Insights report, the global market for investment in industrial internet of things, industrial renewables, power purchase agreements, and carbon capture, utilization, and sequestration techniques in manufacturing will approach $62.0 billion in 2024 and grow at a compound annual growth rate of 10.4% over the next decade, reaching $150.8 billion in 2033 – a 143% overall increase. As climate change accelerates and governments around the world grow more serious about reducing greenhouse gas emissions, manufacturers are realizing that esoteric sustainability goals in annual reports will no longer suffice. Regulations and mandates remain a key market driver.
Elektrek, by Michelle Lewis, May 6 2024
According to an International Energy Agency report, “Advancing Clean Technology Manufacturing,” global investment in the manufacturing of solar, wind, batteries, electrolyzers and heat pumps – rose to $200 billion in 2023. This represents an increase of more than 70% from 2022 that accounted for around 4% of global GDP growth. Spending on solar manufacturing more than doubled last year, while investment in battery manufacturing rose by around 60%. As a result, solar module manufacturing capacity today is already in line with what is needed in 2030 based on the IEA’s net zero emissions scenario. For battery cells, if announced projects are included, manufacturing capacity is 90% of the way towards meeting net zero demand at the end of this decade. Further, many projects in the pipeline will be operational soon. Around 40% of investments in clean energy manufacturing in 2023 were in facilities that are due to come online in 2024. For batteries, this share rises to 70%.
Globally, 70-85% of Wind Turbines and 95% of Solar Assets are Not Adequately Protected from Fire
North American Clean Energy, May 6, 2024
According to Firetrace International, a leading provider of fire suppression solutions supporting safe operations in renewable energy, the vast majority of wind and solar energy assets, both new and old, are not adequately protected from fire. Approximately 75-85% of operational wind turbines and 70-80% of new wind turbines globally, do not have fire suppression technology installed. When it comes to solar, an estimated 95% of all solar inverters do not have fire suppression technology installed.
California Grid Sets Renewable Power Record
EE News, by Francisco “A.J.” Camacho, May 6, 2024
In a milestone, California produced enough renewable energy to meet its total electricity demand for portions of the past 21 straight days. Stanford University civil and environmental engineering professor Mark Z. Jacobson calculated that on 50 of the 58 days between March 7 and May 4 – including the last 21 consecutive days – renewable energy sources supplied more than 100 percent of energy demand for between 15 minutes and 10 hours on the California Independent System Operator grid – which accounts for 80 percent of the Golden State’s electricity.
U.S. Added 5.6-GW of Utility-Scale Clean Energy in Q1, Up 28% Year-over-Year
North American Clean Energy, May 7, 2024
According to the American Clean Power Association, the U.S. utility-scale solar, wind, and storage sectors added a combined 5,585-MW of new capacity in the first quarter of 2024, marking an increase of 28% compared to installations in the same period a year ago. These additions are enough to power 1 million homes with clean energy. A substantial 4,557-MW of new solar capacity was added in Q1 2024, contributing to the U.S. climbing to over 100,547-MW of installed utility-scale solar. The commissioning of the South Fork Wind project in March, the first large-scale offshore wind initiative in federal waters, added 132-MW of capacity off the coast of New York. While energy storage deployments were flat compared to the same period in the previous year, the pipeline for new storage projects increased by 61% year-over-year to 31.6-GW in the near-term pipeline. Clean power procurement saw a robust 52% increase from Q1 2023, with 7,773 MW of new Power Purchase Agreements.
U.S. Has Added 100,000 Clean Energy Manufacturing Jobs since IRA with Over One Quarter Solar
PV-Tech.org, by J.P. Casey, May 7, 2024
According to a monthly tally of private-sector announcements from E2, at least 105,454 new manufacturing jobs have been announced in the U.S. since the Inflation Reduction Act was signed into law, following the April announcements of four new large scale clean energy projects expected to hire 1,500 manufacturing workers. Since the act’s signing in August 2023, US companies have announced 69 new projects in the solar sector, adding 25,157 jobs to the US economy, second behind only electric vehicles. In all, at least 305 major clean energy projects have been announced in 40 states and Puerto Rico since the IRA passed. Companies have also announced over $123 billion in capital investment for these projects.
Wood Mackenzie Finds High Interest Rates Hit Renewable Energy Harder Than Natural Gas
UtilityDive.com, by Emma Penrod, May 7, 2024
According to an analysis by Wood Mackenzie, a 2-percentage-point increase in interest rates pushes up the levelized cost of electricity for renewables. In fact, it hikes the levelized cost of electricity from renewables by as much as 20%, with utility-scale solar experiencing some of the greatest impacts. The LCOE for a combined-cycle natural gas plant, by contrast, increases just 11%, in part because fossil fuel generators already paid higher rates before central banks began to hike interest. For the past several years, financiers have generally considered wind and solar to be less risky than conventional energy projects like oil and gas but increased interest rates are closing the gap between the cost of electricity from renewable energy and fossil fuels.
Renewable Energy Passes 30% of World’s Electricity Supply
The Guardian, by Jillian Ambrose, May 7, 2024
A new report by energy think-tank Ember shows that renewables – for the first time – provided more than 30% of global electricity in 2023, an expansion from 19% in 2000. This growth is being driven by the rising share of solar and wind, which was up to a record 13.4% in 2023 from 0.2% in 2000. Global electricity demand rose by 2.2%, or 627-TWh, in 2023. In 2024, demand growth is expected to be 968-TWh and to be more than met by clean generation growth, forecast at 1,300-TWh. This will lead to a fall in global fossil generation of 2%, or 333-TWh. Together with nuclear, low-carbon sources accounted for almost 40% of global electricity last year. The carbon dioxide intensity of global power generation therefore reached a new low, but a decline in hydropower prevented a fall in emissions. Because of drought conditions, hydropower generation declined to a five-year low, causing a shortfall that was met by coal, resulting in a 1% increase in global power sector emissions.
Solar
U.S. Electric Power Sector Reported Fewer Delays for New Solar Capacity Projects in 2023
U.S. Energy Information Administration, May 8, 2024
The U.S. electric power sector reported fewer delays to install new utility-scale solar photovoltaic projects in 2023 than in 2022. In 2023, solar developers pushed back the scheduled online date for an average of 19% of planned solar capacity compared with an average of 23% in 2022. Although the share of solar capacity reporting delays fell in 2023, it was still higher than the average share of delays between 2018 and 2021. The decrease in delays came at a time when utilities were adding more solar to the grid. In 2023, the electric power sector began operating 19-GW of new utility-scale solar PV generating capacity, a 27% increase from the existing solar capacity at the end of 2022.
Solar PV Was World’s Fastest-Growing Source of Electricity Generation in 2023
PV-Tech.org, by Jonathan Touriño Jacobo, May 8, 2024
Energy think tank Ember’s fifth annual “Global Electricity Review” revealed that solar generation grew by 23% in 2023, the fastest-growing electricity source for 19 years in a row. With 1,631-TWh, solar PV accounted for 5.5% the global electricity mix, up from 4.6% in 2022. Solar’s generation growth in 2024 is expected to be even larger due to a record surge of installations towards the end of 2023. Among the four trends highlighted in Ember’s report that will shape the electricity transition in 2024, solar PV is at the forefront of the energy revolution and leading the way. Earlier this year, BloombergNEF forecast solar PV to add 574GW of capacity in 2024, up from the 444GW added in 2023.
IEA Says Global Solar Manufacturing Sector Now at 50% Utilization Rate
PV-Magazine, by Emiliano Bellini, May 8, 2024
The International Energy Agency says that global solar cell and module manufacturing capacity grew by around 550-GW in 2023. Around 440-GW of 500-GW of total cell and module capacity was deployed throughout the world last year. Global investments in new solar factories amounted to $80 billion in 2023 alone, which is two times more than in 2022. Around 80% of the global PV manufacturing industry is currently concentrated in China, while India and the U.S. each hold a 5% share. Europe accounts for a mere 1%.
Wind
Study Says ‘Wake Effect’ Could Drain 38% of Offshore Wind Power
EE News, by Heather Richards, May 6, 2024
According to recent research from the Colorado University Boulder and National Energy Technology Laboratory, downstream turbulence from offshore wind turbines can reduce power generation at nearby turbines, substantially reducing the total potential from planned U.S. offshore wind projects. Offshore wind turbines off the U.S. East Coast could rob neighboring turbine arrays of wind speed and thus power generation depending on daily conditions, by more than 30%. Most of the potential loss to power generation will occur within individual turbine arrays, from wake effect slowing wind speeds to some turbines.
Report Reveals Wind Industry Must Triple Its Capacity to Meet Global Targets
The Cool Down, by Jeremiah Budin, May 8, 2024
According to a recent Global Wind Energy Council report, capacity installation of wind energy was 50% higher in 2023 than the year before. Global cumulative wind power capacity passed 1-TW for the first time in 2023. To reach the goal laid out at COP28 of 3-TW by 2030, the industry will need to add at least 320 gigawatts per year (roughly double the amount added last year) over the next seven years. That means that if capacity installation continues at its current pace, the world will fall short of the goal – but if it continues to grow exponentially, “we have a shot … but we now have just seven years.”
Turbine Manufacturers Install 121-GW in Stellar Year
ReNews.Biz, May 9, 2024
According to Global Wind Energy Council market intelligence, wind turbine manufacturers supplied a record amount of volume in 2023. GWEC found a total of 30 wind turbine manufacturers installed 120.7GW of new capacity last year. Chinese suppliers installed 81.6GW in 2023, resulting in Chinese companies occupying four of the top five spots in this year’s supplier rankings. Goldwind emerged as top supplier in 2023, with Envision moving up three positions to second place and Denmark’s Vestas in third place. Windey and Mingyang occupy fourth and fifth place respectively.
Bioenergy
EIA Expects U.S. Biomass Power Capacity to Hold Steady in 2024 and 2025
Biomass Magazine, by Erin Voegele, May 7, 2024
The U.S. Energy Information Administration currently predicts biomass to account for 2.25% of renewable electricity generation in 2024, falling to 2.04% in 2025. Biomass accounted for 2.44% of renewable electricity generation last year. Biomass is expected to be used to generate 21.7 billion kilowatt hours of electricity this year, falling to 21.5 billion kWh in 2025. Biomass generation was at 21.1 billion kWh in 2023.
USDA Predicts 14 Billion Pounds of Soybean Oil Will Go to Biofuel Production for 2024-’25
Biomass Magazine, by Erin Voegele, May 10, 2024
In its latest “World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates Report,” the USDA predicts soybean oil use in biofuel production will increase by 1 billion pounds to 14 billion pounds for 2024-25. The USDA currently expects 14 billion pounds of soybean oil to go to biofuel production for 2024-’25, up from 13 billion pounds estimated for 2023-’24 and 12.491 billion pounds consumed for 2022-’23.
Hydro/Water Power
How Much Tidal Energy Can Alaska’s Electricity Grid Support?
HydroReview, by Elizabeth Ingram, May 6, 2024
A report released by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory found that the largest existing power grid in Alaska, known as the Railbelt, can support 200 MW of tidal energy and up to 300 MW with grid upgrades. The Railbelt carries 70% of the state’s electrical energy to about three-quarters of its population. Today, that grid runs mostly on natural gas. But Alaska’s Governor, Mike Dunleavy, wants 80% of the Railbelt’s electricity to come from renewable energy sources by 2040. Switching to renewables – including hydroelectric, wind, solar, geothermal and tidal power – could reduce the state’s spending on electricity generation by about $100 million per year.
Storage
Study Suggests Marcellus Shale Could Supply 40% of U.S. Lithium
EE News, by Hannah Northey, May 8, 2024
A study from the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Energy Technology Laboratory has found that two regions of Pennsylvania that overlay the Marcellus Shale formation could pump out enough lithium-rich wastewater to meet up to 40 percent of the nation’s current domestic consumption of the mineral. The findings, published in “Scientific Reports,” are significant given growing demand for lithium used in batteries for everything from grid storage to laptops to electric vehicles.
Hydrogen
BNEF Says E-Fuels Could Scale Up to Over 1 Billion Gallons by 2030
BloombergNEF, by Rose Oates, May 7, 2024
E-fuels offer a decarbonization solution for hard-to-abate transport sectors like shipping and aviation. According to BloombergNEF, the power-to-liquids pathway to produce e-fuels made from hydrogen and captured carbon dioxide could scale up from several pilot plants in 2024 to an annual capacity of over one billion gallons (3.785 billion liters) in 2030. There are more than 30 projects in the pipeline planned to come online by 2030 plus several more with unscheduled start dates, representing a total production capacity of over 1.3 billion gallons a year. North America accounts for 615 million gallons of the planned capacity by 2030 thanks to a big project by HIF Global in Texas, while Europe accounts for 350 million gallons.
U.S. Government Targets $2/kg by 2026 and $1/kg by 2031 for “Clean” Hydrogen Production Costs
PV-Magazine, by Sergio Matalucci, May 8, 2024
The US Department of Energy’s Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technologies Office has published a detailed strategy and planning document that will help guide hydrogen innovation and research in the coming years. The document aims for “clean” hydrogen production costs of $2/kg by 2026 and $1/kg by 2031, but also electrolyzer system costs of $250/kW (low-temperature electrolyzers) and $500/kW (high-temperature electrolyzers) by 2026.
Electric Vehicles
Electrify America EV Charging Network Set to Grow by 25% in 2024
Green Car Reports, by Bengt Halvorson, May 5, 2024
On the sixth anniversary of its first fast-charger installation, Electrify America confirmed that it’s planning to reach 5,000 chargers by the end of the year, including larger charging stations and broader support for Plug & Charge payment tech. As of May 2, there are currently 931 Electrify America station locations and 4,182 charge ports; the latter corresponds to what Electrify America considers a charger. The expansion would constitute a roughly 20% increase over what’s currently available.
IDTechEx Says Solar EV Charging to Bypass the Grid and Be a $2.5 Billion Market by 2034
North American Clean Energy, May 6, 2024
IDTechEx predicting over 180 million electric vehicles to be sold annually by 2044. In addition, IDTechEx predicts that solar charging systems will make up a sizeable portion of the overall $16 billion off-grid charging infrastructure hardware market by 2034. IDTechEx research also indicates several other technologies likely to be adopted for off-grid EV charging. Hydrogen fuel cell charging is likely to emerge as a key solution for use cases requiring much greater power per area, with a particular expected focus on electrified construction sites.
Local Governments See EV Charging as Costly and Lower-Priority
Green Car Reports, by Stephen Edelstein, May 7, 2024
According to a new University of Michigan survey, more local governments across Michigan see EV charging as a relevant issue, but the number is still fairly low, and those interested in EV charging see cost as a barrier. Just under 40% of local leaders surveyed said EV infrastructure planning is somewhat or very relevant – a 23% increase from 2019. Just over a quarter said EV charging isn’t relevant in their jurisdictions, compared to 40% in 2019. Over a third of respondents (34%) said their community had too few public charging stations, up from 29% in 2019. A majority of those surveyed (53%) pointed to the cost of adding EV charging stations or lack of interest among residents (51%) as major barriers to further infrastructure expansion.
Report Says EVs Are Slowing the Pace of Growth in Gasoline Demand
Green Car Reports, by Stephen Edelstein, May 8, 2024
According to the consultancy Wood Mackenzie, growing EV sales in both the U.S. and China could contribute to a halving in gasoline demand in 2024. Demand is likely to rise 340,000 barrels per day (bpd) to 26.5 million bpd for the year, but that’s the slowest growth since 2020, and down from a growth rate of 700,000 bpd last year. And it’s partly because, with increased EV sales, China is nearing the point of peak transportation fuel demand, while the U.S. has surpassed it.
Global EV Sales Grew 19% in March
CleanTechnica.com, by José Pontes, May 9, 2024
Global plugin vehicle registrations were up 19% in March 2024 compared to March 2023. There were 1.3 million registrations. BEVs were up by 7% YoY, while plugin hybrids jumped 50% YoY, with March being its second-best month ever. In the end, plugins represented 19% share of the overall auto market (13% BEV share alone). Add the 1.1 million plugless hybrids registered in March, a new record, and we have a staggering 35% of global sales in March having some kind of electrification.
Energy Efficiency
Americans Burn 50% Less Fossil Fuel in Their Homes Than They Did 50 Years Ago
CleanTechnica.com, by Joe Wachunas, May 10, 2024
Today, Americans burn about 55% less fossil fuel in their homes on average compared to half a century ago. Moreover, American households have steadily been using less natural gas since the 1970s. Total use of natural gas in homes has been flat in the US (even declining slightly from its peak in 1972) for 50 years while the U.S. population has grown by 60%. Per capita gas use has fallen by almost 40%. Meanwhile Americans use almost 90% more electricity per person than they did in the early 70s. Electricity as a percentage of per capita energy that Americans use in their homes has thus nearly tripled from 16% in 1972 to 45% today. Moreover, while there are many more electric appliances in the home now, they are significantly more efficient and use a fraction of the energy of their predecessors.
CLIMATE CHANGE
Survey Finds Fewer Americans See Climate Change as a Very Serious Problem
The Hill, by Sarah Fortinsky, May 6, 2024
According to a new Monmouth University poll, conducted on April 18-22, fewer Americans today see climate change as a “very serious” problem than they did three years ago. It shows a 10-point decline in Americans who says climate change is a “very serious” problem, falling from 56 percent in September 2021 to 46 percent in April. The decline was less steep overall – with 66 percent describing climate change as a problem that’s either “very serious” or “somewhat serious.” That’s down from 2021, when 70 percent of respondents described the climate change problem as either “very serious” or “somewhat serious.”
Earth Experienced Its Warmest April on Record as U.S. Prepares for Brutal Summer Heat
Yahoo.com, by Julia Jacobo & Daniel Peck, May 7, 2024
According to a monthly climate report by Copernicus, Europe’s climate change service, Earth has just experienced its 11th straight warmest month on record after it measured as the warmest April on record. April 2024 saw an average surface air temperature of 15.03 degrees Celsius, or 59.05 degrees Fahrenheit. The temperature measured at 1.21 degrees Fahrenheit above the 1991 to 2020 average for April. May 2023 through April 2024 was the warmest 12-month stretch on record with a global average temperature of 2.90 degrees Fahrenheit above the 1850 to 1900 pre-industrial average.
Seven Separate Billion-Dollar Weather and Climate Disasters Have Struck the U.S. This Year
National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration, May 8, 2024
There were five new billion-dollar weather and climate disasters confirmed last month, including three severe storm events that impacted the central, southern and eastern U.S. in mid-February and early April. There were also two winter storms that impacted the northwest and central U.S. in mid-January. In total, there have been seven confirmed weather and climate disaster events this year, each with losses exceeding $1 billion. These disasters consisted of five severe storm events and two winter storms.
Climate Scientists Say 2.5º C Is Now the Best-Case Scenario
CleanTechnica.com, by Steve Hanley, May 9, 2024
Recently, “The Guardian” reached out to every lead author or review editor of IPCC reports since 2018 – 843 people in all – to ask them how the fight against global heating was going. 380 people responded. 80% of them said they expect global temperatures to rise by at least 2.5º C (4.5º F) above pre-industrial levels this century, blasting past internationally agreed targets and causing catastrophic consequences for humanity and the planet. Almost half anticipate at least 3º C (5.4º F). Only 6% thought the 1.5º C (2.7º F) limit agreed to by virtually all the nations of the world in Paris in 2015 would be met.
The Energy Age 