Clean energy is on upswing in U.S., but we need much more to avert climate change

(Photo from Flickr and state of Washington DNR.)

Thanks to state mandates, stimulus money and a slumping economy, the use of dirty coal to produce electricity has dropped slightly in the past year to 46.1% and clean renewables gained traction to 11.1%.

The Energy Information Administration predicts wind will be the source of 5% of electricity in 2020 and all renewable energy will make up 14%.

Coal use fell since last year, while the nation used slightly more natural gas, a bit less oil, and more biomass. (High gasoline prices may have been a factor for oil.) Investment helped wind power grow, while nuclear plants had less downtime, according to a study from the Lawrence Livermore Lab. Hydroelectric grew the most, according to businessgreen.com.

States rights
While Congress struggles to get a meaningful renewable electricity standard (RES), many states – including in July coal state West Virginia – have passed mandates for use of some clean energy in generating electricity. Once again the states are leading in the fight against climate change while the feds lag behind. (This happened with cars, remember?)

Economic slowdown
Total electricity generation is down 5%, year over year, thanks in part to the slowing economy. Industrial production sagged 12.5% in that period, according to the Federal Reserve.

Stimulus funds
Clean energy is expected to benefit from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (stimulus) money. A revised forecast from EIA shows wind at more than twice the earlier-predicted level in 2012 because of stimulus – 201 billion kilowatt hours instead of 86B, compared with 53B in 2008. Geothermal will benefit as well, growing 16% more by 2013 than if there was no stimulus. Energy efficiency will also improve, with a weatherization program. But let’s not get too excited. The impact on CO2 emissions by 2013 will be slight – down just 1.3% from earlier predictions, because of the stimulus.

We still have a long, long way to go on clean energy. A stronger Senate climate bill would certainly help – one that phases out dirty coal plants while promoting more clean energy, which by-the-way could fill all our energy needs if the infrastructure was updated and the special interests could be silenced. I know: not going to happen.

But we can try. Everyone should contact his or her senators and ask them to work to phase out dirty coal and do more to promote clean energy.

(Sources: E&E Daily, climateprogress.org, Energy Information Administration, greenbusiness.com

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Sarah Palin gets numbers wrong on Alaska’s share of U.S. energy supply

(Photo of Sarah Palin from Flickr and photographer sloomis08.)

News Update: Republican VP candidate Sarah Palin told ABC’s Charles Gibson that Alaska is responsible for 20% of the U.S. energy supply. But according to the Washington Post’s “Fact Checker” column, Alaska is only the 9th largest energy supplier in the U.S., with just 3.5%, and has relatively little natural gas, very little coal and no nuclear power -- not to mention wind or solar. Palin later amended her statement at a campaign appearance, to say as governor she oversaw “nearly 20% of the U.S. domestic supply of oil." Data from the Energy Information Administration show Alaska accounted for just 7.4% of the country’s U.S. oil and gas production in 2005, and oil output has fallen since then. Today Alaska produces about 13% of domestic oil (though it was 18% back in 2005, before she was governor). GOP presidential candidate John McCain has touted Palin as the most knowledgeable person in the U.S. on energy issues and she says energy would be one of her responsibilities as vice president. (Sources: ClimateWire, Washington Post)