Renewable Revolution

Climate Nexus Energy Desk

mmiceli@climatenexus.org

April 4, 2018




Connecticut’s first offshore wind farm, states & auto companies urge drivers to go electric & more

April 4, 2018: Two power companies -- one Northeastern and one Danish -- are putting together plans for what would be Connecticut’s first offshore wind farm. JinkoSolar becomes the first Chinese solar company to build a U.S. manufacturing plant since Trump’s tariffs went into effect. A $1.5 million advertising campaign between seven states and 16 automakers will encourage greater adoption of electric vehicles by focusing on their benefits. Natural gas is facing increased competition from solar and wind, which continue to drop in price.

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Connecticut may get its first offshore wind farm, a 200-megawatt project from Eversource Energy and Denmark’s Orsted. Known as Constitution Wind, the project would generate enough electricity to power 100,000 homes and would help Connecticut meet its clean energy goals and become a leader in offshore wind. In other offshore wind news, a recent analysis by Moody’s finds that a combination of factors including declining costs and favorable regulation will lead to rapid growth in the U.S. offshore wind market, particularly in the Northeast. (New Haven Register, New Jersey Spotlight)




Chinese solar giant JinkoSolar made the first move into U.S. manufacturing, post Trump’s solar tariffs. Jinko will invest $50 million in a partnership with NextEra Energy Resources to build up to 2.75 gigawatts of solar panels at a Jacksonville, Fla. plant over the next four years. Other companies are reportedly considering similar moves. (Greentech Media)

A $1.5 million advertising campaign will urge U.S. drivers to go electric. The campaign, known as “Drive Change. Drive Electric,” includes seven Northeastern states and 16 auto companies and will educate customers on the benefits of electric vehicles. While EV sales rose 25 percent last year, they still only account for 1.2 percent of total U.S. car sales. Domestic automakers have announced at least $19 billion in EV investments to date, and are pointing to increased driving range, lower battery costs and increased charging infrastructure as among the many incentives to make the switch. (Reuters)



The economic case for fossil fuels is rapidly decreasing as the cost of renewables continues to drop. A new report by Bloomberg New Energy Finance finds that the levelized cost of energy -- which accounts for equipment, debt servicing and operating costs -- of solar and wind will be cheaper than coal in most places by 2023. The plunge in costs of lithium-ion batteries by almost 80 percent since 2010 will increase the opportunities for energy storage over the coming years. China and India currently have the cheapest solar and wind costs.  (Bloomberg)

Natural gas is facing increased competition from low-cost solar and wind. The shift is leading some utilities to abandon natural gas plans in favor of renewables. A recent report by Lazard found that power costs from utility-scale solar are now on par with those of natural gas, and that wind power has surpassed both to become the cheapest. In states like California, which has a goal of 50 percent renewable energy by 2050, regulation is further driving this trend. In 2017, natural-gas power generation decreased by 7.7 percent. (New York Times $)



The Environmental Protection Agency has opened the door for federal fuel efficiency standards to be lowered. The agency ruled that the current greenhouse gas and fuel efficiency standards are too high, a move that could harm the production of fuel-efficient and electric vehicles by removing the need for the credits that companies receive for producing them. Honda, Toyota and Tesla all surpass the current standards and make money from selling these types of credits. (Vox)

“It’s a very different world that we’re arriving at very quickly,” energy consultant Robert McCullough said in the above New York Times story on the increasing viability of renewables over fossil fuels. “That wind farm can literally be put on a train and brought online within a year. It is moving so fast that even critics of the old path like myself have been taken by surprise.”