By Samantha Raphelson, NET
The U.S. electricity sector is eyeing the developing electric car market as a remedy for an unprecedented decline in demand for electricity. After decades of rising electricity demand, experts say the utility industry grossly underestimated the impact of cheap renewable energy and the surge of natural gas production. For the first time ever, the Tennessee Valley Authority is projecting a 13 percent drop in demand across the region it serves in seven states, which is the first persistent decline in the federally owned agency’s 85-year history. Read more here.
MORE NATIONAL NEWS & AN OP-ED
- Ride-Hailing Drivers Are Ideal Candidates for Electric Vehicles, Rocky Mountain Institute Outlet
- The Solar Foundation has released its new Solar Jobs Map, a follow up to the National Solar Jobs Census 2017. Here are Nebraska’s 2017 statistics.
- Fossil Fuels Squeezed by Plunge in Cost of Renewables, BNEF says, Bloomberg
- Update: 131 RE100 companies have made a commitment to go ‘100% renewable’. Read about the actions they are taking and why.
- 180 US mayors call for use of solar energy in updated letter, Smart Cities Dive
- Will Storage Be at the Heart of Residential Communities of the Future?, Renewable Energy World
- A Utility Wants to Build America’s Largest Wind Farm—And Get Customers to Pay for It, Bloomberg
- Aging Wind Farms Are Repowering with Longer Blades, More Efficient Turbines, Inside Climate News
- Michigan City Schools to Celebrate Solar Project, Inside Indiana Business
- Central Texas city wants to pay people to install solar panels, KXAN. A central Texas town that already uses 100 percent renewable energy is working out a plan to generate more electricity locally so it can stop buying power to meet demand.
- Arizona’s solar leaders form Distributed Energy Resources Alliance, AZ Big Media
- It’s Time for Harvard to Stop Funding Climate Change, The Harvard Crimson
GLOBAL NEWS
- From Billions to Trillions: Pledge Calls for More Green Bonds, Renewable Energy World
- New Chinese Policies Favor Wind and Solar, Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis
- Saudis, SoftBank Plan World’s Largest Solar Project, Bloomberg. Venture may cost $200 billion, add 100,000 jobs in the kingdom. Plan envisions 200GW of solar capacity in Saudi Arabia by 2030.