Energy News for week ending December 11, 2020

New Climate Bill | Greener Cement | House of Tomorrow

Happy Friday folks.

We begin with a story from the State House News Service via the Berkshire Eagle, “Massachusetts state senator prods climate bill negotiators with new bill. Hoping to deliver ‘a wake-up call’ and highlight the urgency of the issue, state Sen. Marc Pacheco this week filed a new bill combining what he viewed as the best parts of the climate policy bills that six other lawmakers have been trying to reconcile since August. The Senate dean who chairs its Committee on Global Warming and Climate Change filed essentially his own vision for a conference committee report Wednesday and said he wanted to make sure Beacon Hill is ‘not losing sight of the urgent need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions…’ The late-session bill, which was not referred to a committee when the Senate met Thursday, would establish a requirement to get to net-zero emissions by 2050 with interim limits every five years, increase the state’s renewable portfolio standard that governs the amount of clean energy that utilities must purchase, codify environmental justice policy terms, increase the state’s offshore wind authorization to 6 gigawatts by 2035, and establish a goal that 100 percent of electricity come from renewable sources by 2035.

This next story from Utility Dive is pretty cool. “GE announces first US wind turbine blade recycling program with Veolia. GE Renewable Energy announced Tuesday a multi-year agreement with Veolia North America for the first U.S. wind turbine blade recycling program of its kind. The majority of blades from onshore turbines that GE changes out during repowering efforts will be shredded and used to replace raw materials for cement manufacturing, creating a ‘circular economy for composite materials,’ Anne McEntee, CEO of GE Renewable Energy’s Digital Services, said in a statement. In Europe, such recycling processes have grown to commercial scale, and GE plans to deploy the program at scale quickly. The process will make wind turbines fully recyclable, while reducing carbon dioxide emissions from cement production by a net 27%, according to environmental impact analysis by Quantis U.S. The reprocessed blade has a net-positive environmental impact by replacing coal or other raw materials in the cement production process, according to GE.”

This next article is also cool and is more interactive than wordy. You can scroll the “House of Tomorrow” and see all the features including refrigerators that order ahead, a green roof, solar on the outside walls, interchangeable rooms, and cones of silence! (OK they didn’t call them that, but basically that’s what they are) all available at The House Of Tomorrow, Wall St. Journal.

That’s the recap for this week. Stay safe and have a wonderful weekend.

Climate Change

Massachusetts state senator prods climate bill negotiators with new bill, State House News Service via The Berkshire Eagle

As Climate Envoy, Kerry To Seek ‘Ambition’ With ‘Humility,’ WGBH

Earth just notched its warmest November, as 2020 closes in on record for hottest year, Washington Post

‘Very small silver lining’ of COVID-19? An extra 2.5 years to reduce power sector emissions: report, Utility Dive

Are utilities legally required to plan for climate change? ‘The devil is in the details.,’ Utility Dive

Most states are below their greenhouse gas reduction goals: report, The Hill

Global warming has profoundly transformed Arctic in just 15 years, report warns, Washington Post

The world’s rich need to cut their carbon footprint by a factor of 30 to slow climate change, U.N. warns, Washington Post

The Paris agreement survived the Trump administration. What happens now?, Washington Post

Renewables/RGGI/TCI