Americans bought over 115,000 electric vehicles (EVs) in 2015, more than double the number purchased in 2012 despite sustained low gasoline prices. This brought the total number of EVs on the U.S. roads to over 400,000 by the end of 2015.
Well, for starters the secretary of energy, Rick Perry, ran for president and part of his campaign was to eliminate the department of energy in order to reduce the size of government. Then, when nominated for the position of secretary of energy, he believed his job would be serving as the worldwide ambassador of the American oil and gas industry.
Additionally, there is personal experience, the previous secretary of energy was Ernest J. Moniz, who was chairman of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology physics department. Before him, the energy secretary was Steven Chu, a physicist who won a Nobel Prize. And now we have Rick Perry who studied animal husbandry and led cheers at Texas A&M University.
Additionally, there is personal experience, the previous secretary of energy was Ernest J. Moniz, who was chairman of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology physics department. Before him, the energy secretary was Steven Chu, a physicist who won a Nobel Prize. And now we have Rick Perry who studied animal husbandry and led cheers at Texas A&M University.
The renewable energy sector could deliver jobs and global investment far into the future.
For decades, America has anticipated the transformational impact of clean energy technologies. As the federal government and industry made long-term investments to support those technologies, some critics became impatient, claiming a clean energy future would “always be five years away.” Today, the clean energy future has arrived.
A new report suggests that around the year 2030 ninety-five percent of passenger miles traveled in the U.S. will be conducted in autonomous electric cars. The study predicts the number of passenger vehicles on the road will fall from about 247 million vehicles in 2017 to just 44 million.
The study goes on to suggest that by that mark, so-called "Transportation as a Service" vehicles, or TaaS cars, will be two to four times cheaper than driving around in a car that's already been paid off and as much as 10 times cheaper than purchasing a new car, due to factors like lower levels of required maintenance and longer vehicle lifespans. (The study claims these TaaS cars will last roughly 500,000 miles on average.) The average U.S. household, in turn, stands to save around $5,600 per year by giving up its cars for TaaS EVs. And due to their already-low costs, the study claims these shared autonomous electric cars could even be the basis for a utopian vision of "free transportation."
The study goes on to suggest that by that mark, so-called "Transportation as a Service" vehicles, or TaaS cars, will be two to four times cheaper than driving around in a car that's already been paid off and as much as 10 times cheaper than purchasing a new car, due to factors like lower levels of required maintenance and longer vehicle lifespans. (The study claims these TaaS cars will last roughly 500,000 miles on average.) The average U.S. household, in turn, stands to save around $5,600 per year by giving up its cars for TaaS EVs. And due to their already-low costs, the study claims these shared autonomous electric cars could even be the basis for a utopian vision of "free transportation."
Of course, the study predicts this rapid turn will have fairly drastic consequences across several large industries. New car production, it says, will plummet by 70 percent, causing "almost complete destruction" to the nation's car dealerships, auto insurers, and repair shops. Global oil production, the study claims, will drop by more than 25 percent, causing upheaval in nations and regions that depend on revenue from oil sales.
It is apparent that Trump wants to save the corporate profits generated by these industries rather than saving the inhabitants of the planet... and that seems to be the truth !!!
Utilities and the power sector are installing more utility-scale PV, as the installation cost of utility-scale PV has steadily declined year after year, falling over 64% since 2008. This drop in cost has enabled explosive growth with total capacity reaching more than 13,900 MW in 2015, a growth of 43% over 2014.
Trump Wants to Cut Energy Dept's Renewables Budget
Draft 2018 budget proposal obtained by Axios reveals a 70-percent cut
from Common Dreams by Andrea Germanos
The Trump administration is weighing a 70-percent cut to the Energy Department's office of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energ, a draft proposal obtained by Axios shows.
The Trump administration is weighing putting the Energy Department's budget for its renewable energy and energy efficiency program on the chopping block with a proposal to slash it by 70 percent.
That's according to a draft 2018 budget proposal obtained by Axios.
It shows $613 million for sustainable transportation in 2017, but just $184 million for 2018—a nearly 70-percent drop. There was $451 million for renewable power in the budget for 2017 but $134 million proposed for 2018—a 70-percent drop. There was $762 million for energy efficiency in 2017, and $160 proposed for 2018. That's a 79-percent drop.
In total, the data obtained by Axios show that Energy Department's office of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy budget went from $2,073 million in 2017 to a proposed $636 million for 2018, which marks a nearly 70-percent decrease.
The news outlet's Amy Harder writes that the plan is unlikely to get congressional approval but is important nonetheless, as "[i]t puts a low marker down to negotiate with Congress. The lower the starting point, the lower the ultimate numbers could well end up."
Rep. Keith Ellison reacted to the news on Twitter, writing: "Cutting renewable energy by 70% will not only cost us jobs, it will worsen public health & hurt our environment!"
A recent analysis of Department of Energy data by the Sierra Club backs up the Congressional Progressive Caucus co-chair's claim about the job costs.
"Clean energy jobs, including those from solar, wind, energy efficiency, smart grid technology, and battery storage, vastly outnumber all fossil fuel jobs nationwide from the coal, oil, and gas sectors. That includes jobs in power generation, mining, and other forms of fossil fuel extraction," the conservation group found.
Nationwide, "clean energy jobs outnumber all fossil fuel jobs by over 2.5 to 1; and they outnumber all jobs in coal and gas by 5 to 1," the group wrote.
The Energy Department's offices for nuclear power and fossil-fuel energy, would also be cut, Axios also reported, though by a smaller margin—31 percent and 54 percent respectively.
The new reporting comes as the U.K.-based accounting firm Ernst & Young's most recent Renewable Energy Country Attractiveness Index shows that the U.S. has fallen from the top spot to number three. It's a less attractive to market to invest in renewables thanks in part to President Donald Trump's order to gut his predecessor's Clean Power Plan.
"A marked shift in U.S. policy has resulted in the demise of the Clean Power Plan, which has made renewable investors more nervous about possible reductions to the Investment Tax Credit and Production Tax Credit. Concerns also include if gas prices continue to remain low and transmission capacity remains stagnant," the index states.
The most attractive market is now China, with India coming in at number two.
And those two countries, Climate Action Tracker said Monday, "are set to overachieve their Paris Agreement climate pledges." Trump, meanwhile, has aimed a "wrecking ball" at the climate.
"The highly adverse rollbacks of U.S. climate policies by the Trump Administration, if fully implemented and not compensated by other actors, are projected to flatten U.S. emissions instead of continuing on a downward trend," said professor Niklas Höhne of NewClimate Institute.
Draft 2018 budget proposal obtained by Axios reveals a 70-percent cut
from Common Dreams by Andrea Germanos
The Trump administration is weighing a 70-percent cut to the Energy Department's office of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energ, a draft proposal obtained by Axios shows.
The Trump administration is weighing putting the Energy Department's budget for its renewable energy and energy efficiency program on the chopping block with a proposal to slash it by 70 percent.
That's according to a draft 2018 budget proposal obtained by Axios.
It shows $613 million for sustainable transportation in 2017, but just $184 million for 2018—a nearly 70-percent drop. There was $451 million for renewable power in the budget for 2017 but $134 million proposed for 2018—a 70-percent drop. There was $762 million for energy efficiency in 2017, and $160 proposed for 2018. That's a 79-percent drop.
In total, the data obtained by Axios show that Energy Department's office of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy budget went from $2,073 million in 2017 to a proposed $636 million for 2018, which marks a nearly 70-percent decrease.
The news outlet's Amy Harder writes that the plan is unlikely to get congressional approval but is important nonetheless, as "[i]t puts a low marker down to negotiate with Congress. The lower the starting point, the lower the ultimate numbers could well end up."
Rep. Keith Ellison reacted to the news on Twitter, writing: "Cutting renewable energy by 70% will not only cost us jobs, it will worsen public health & hurt our environment!"
A recent analysis of Department of Energy data by the Sierra Club backs up the Congressional Progressive Caucus co-chair's claim about the job costs.
"Clean energy jobs, including those from solar, wind, energy efficiency, smart grid technology, and battery storage, vastly outnumber all fossil fuel jobs nationwide from the coal, oil, and gas sectors. That includes jobs in power generation, mining, and other forms of fossil fuel extraction," the conservation group found.
Nationwide, "clean energy jobs outnumber all fossil fuel jobs by over 2.5 to 1; and they outnumber all jobs in coal and gas by 5 to 1," the group wrote.
The Energy Department's offices for nuclear power and fossil-fuel energy, would also be cut, Axios also reported, though by a smaller margin—31 percent and 54 percent respectively.
The new reporting comes as the U.K.-based accounting firm Ernst & Young's most recent Renewable Energy Country Attractiveness Index shows that the U.S. has fallen from the top spot to number three. It's a less attractive to market to invest in renewables thanks in part to President Donald Trump's order to gut his predecessor's Clean Power Plan.
"A marked shift in U.S. policy has resulted in the demise of the Clean Power Plan, which has made renewable investors more nervous about possible reductions to the Investment Tax Credit and Production Tax Credit. Concerns also include if gas prices continue to remain low and transmission capacity remains stagnant," the index states.
The most attractive market is now China, with India coming in at number two.
And those two countries, Climate Action Tracker said Monday, "are set to overachieve their Paris Agreement climate pledges." Trump, meanwhile, has aimed a "wrecking ball" at the climate.
"The highly adverse rollbacks of U.S. climate policies by the Trump Administration, if fully implemented and not compensated by other actors, are projected to flatten U.S. emissions instead of continuing on a downward trend," said professor Niklas Höhne of NewClimate Institute.
Wind power surged in 2015 with capacity growing by 12% since 2014, representing 41% of all new capacity installed in the U.S. last year. As of 2015, there were nearly 74,000 megawatts of utility-scale wind power deployed across 41 states and territories -- enough to generate electricity for more than 17 million households.
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