L. Michael Buchsbaum – Energy Transition https://energytransition.org The Global Energiewende Thu, 25 May 2023 15:18:36 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.1.1 Finito: Colombia halts new gas, oil and coal exploitation https://energytransition.org/2023/05/finito-colombia-halts-new-gas-oil-and-coal-exploitation/ https://energytransition.org/2023/05/finito-colombia-halts-new-gas-oil-and-coal-exploitation/#respond Thu, 25 May 2023 15:16:51 +0000 https://energytransition.org/?p=28197 President Gustavo Petro, Colombia’s first-ever progressive leader, wants to help slow global climate change, protect regional biodiversity and bolster Indigenous people’s rights by decoupling the nation’s economy from fossil fuels, starting with a ban on new oil and coal exploration permits. The contentious policy change for the long fossil fuel dependent nation comes on the back of a bonanza year...

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]]> https://energytransition.org/2023/05/finito-colombia-halts-new-gas-oil-and-coal-exploitation/feed/ 0 Smokescreen for climate inaction: CCS starts to take off in Saudi Arabia and Europe https://energytransition.org/2023/05/smokescreen-for-climate-inaction-ccs-starts-to-take-off-in-saudi-arabia-and-europe/ https://energytransition.org/2023/05/smokescreen-for-climate-inaction-ccs-starts-to-take-off-in-saudi-arabia-and-europe/#respond Tue, 02 May 2023 08:00:18 +0000 https://energytransition.org/?p=28115 Given that oil and gas producers dominate the sector, many environmental groups and civil society organizations suspect that investments in Carbon, Capture and Storage (CCS) are being used to divert attention and resources away from a quicker build-out of renewable energy systems and other proven methods of addressing climate change. At the end of 2022, as several of the world’s largest...

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]]> https://energytransition.org/2023/05/smokescreen-for-climate-inaction-ccs-starts-to-take-off-in-saudi-arabia-and-europe/feed/ 0 Biden’s climate push ensures US stays #1 in giant carbon sucking machines https://energytransition.org/2023/04/bidens-climate-push-ensures-us-stays-1-in-giant-carbon-sucking-machines/ https://energytransition.org/2023/04/bidens-climate-push-ensures-us-stays-1-in-giant-carbon-sucking-machines/#respond Tue, 25 Apr 2023 08:00:26 +0000 https://energytransition.org/?p=28109 The U.S.’ Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) has been hailed as both a jobs-creating infrastructure stimulus and a clean energy booster. To ensure bi-partisan support in the otherwise polarized United States, it also provides generous tax credits for investments in carbon capture and sequestration or carbon capture and storage (CCS) technologies. Beyond the $12 billion in other government support for...

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]]> https://energytransition.org/2023/04/bidens-climate-push-ensures-us-stays-1-in-giant-carbon-sucking-machines/feed/ 0 Solution or boondoggle? Evaluating Carbon Capture technology’s state of global play https://energytransition.org/2023/04/solution-or-boondoggle-evaluating-carbon-capture-technologys-state-of-global-play/ https://energytransition.org/2023/04/solution-or-boondoggle-evaluating-carbon-capture-technologys-state-of-global-play/#respond Tue, 18 Apr 2023 16:30:23 +0000 https://energytransition.org/?p=28097 Despite our awareness that burning fossil fuels is the biggest driver of climate change, CO2 emissions likely increased by another 1.0% in 2022, hitting a new record high of 36.6bn tonnes. While certainly it would be better to switch to low or no-carbon energy sources, another potential solution, one mainly championed by the oil and gas industry, is to capture as much CO2 as possible and store it...

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]]> https://energytransition.org/2023/04/solution-or-boondoggle-evaluating-carbon-capture-technologys-state-of-global-play/feed/ 0 Geothermal Iceland: this land of fire and ice is pushing the limits of its natural energy https://energytransition.org/2023/03/geothermal-iceland-this-land-of-fire-and-ice-is-pushing-the-limits-of-its-natural-energy/ https://energytransition.org/2023/03/geothermal-iceland-this-land-of-fire-and-ice-is-pushing-the-limits-of-its-natural-energy/#respond Tue, 28 Mar 2023 08:00:49 +0000 https://energytransition.org/?p=28017 While much of Europe suffers from escalating fossil fuel prices and fears of winter power cuts, Iceland – which has taken advantage of its natural resources by tapping into the geothermal heat lying deep underneath its soil and harnessing the power of vast amounts of snowmelt cascading from its interior to the ocean, has enjoyed more stable energy prices. Essentially 100%

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]]> https://energytransition.org/2023/03/geothermal-iceland-this-land-of-fire-and-ice-is-pushing-the-limits-of-its-natural-energy/feed/ 0 EU smashes renewable records as it urgently breaks free of Russian fossil fuels https://energytransition.org/2023/03/eu-smashes-renewable-records-as-it-urgently-breaks-free-of-russian-fossil-fuels/ https://energytransition.org/2023/03/eu-smashes-renewable-records-as-it-urgently-breaks-free-of-russian-fossil-fuels/#respond Thu, 16 Mar 2023 08:00:57 +0000 https://energytransition.org/?p=28007 Since Russia’s February invasion of Ukraine, European Union member states have been feverishly reworking their energy policies to reduce their reliance on Russian gas, coal, and oil. To help accelerate the shift, energy developers are rapidly increasing investments in solar and wind power. This summer, solar, helping the EU tackle not only its energy problem but also soaring inflation.

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]]> https://energytransition.org/2023/03/eu-smashes-renewable-records-as-it-urgently-breaks-free-of-russian-fossil-fuels/feed/ 0 South Africa secures international aid at COP27 to champion the coal to renewables shift https://energytransition.org/2023/02/south-africa-secures-international-aid-at-cop27-to-champion-the-coal-to-renewables-shift/ https://energytransition.org/2023/02/south-africa-secures-international-aid-at-cop27-to-champion-the-coal-to-renewables-shift/#respond Tue, 28 Feb 2023 08:00:54 +0000 https://energytransition.org/?p=27889 South Africa’s ambitious plan to transition away from coal was endorsed at the recent COP27 climate conference in Egypt where officials from Britain, France, Germany, the United States, and the European Union signed pledges of $8.5 billion to help fund its initial steps. Currently South Africa relies upon coal to generate up to 87% of its electricity, but by the end of the decade the nation wants...

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]]> https://energytransition.org/2023/02/south-africa-secures-international-aid-at-cop27-to-champion-the-coal-to-renewables-shift/feed/ 0 Appalachian Phoenix: solar rises in the heart of the United States’ dying coal industry https://energytransition.org/2023/02/appalachian-phoenix-solar-rises-in-the-heart-of-the-united-states-dying-coal-industry/ https://energytransition.org/2023/02/appalachian-phoenix-solar-rises-in-the-heart-of-the-united-states-dying-coal-industry/#respond Tue, 21 Feb 2023 08:00:06 +0000 https://energytransition.org/?p=27869 Closed and abandoned surface mines, often flattened, despoiled and desolate, can make ideal sites for re-purposing into clean energy centers. For over a decade, the Environmental Protection Agency has recommended that renewable energy projects be installed on former mined lands, particularly closed mountain top removal sites. Though solar is the fastest growing source of new electricity across the...

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]]> https://energytransition.org/2023/02/appalachian-phoenix-solar-rises-in-the-heart-of-the-united-states-dying-coal-industry/feed/ 0 Brown to Green: Germany’s pockmarked Lausitz becomes a solar powerhouse https://energytransition.org/2023/02/brown-to-green-germanys-pockmarked-lausitz-becomes-a-solar-powerhouse/ https://energytransition.org/2023/02/brown-to-green-germanys-pockmarked-lausitz-becomes-a-solar-powerhouse/#respond Tue, 14 Feb 2023 08:00:38 +0000 https://energytransition.org/?p=27859 Hands down, Germany has become the world leader in transforming its post-coal mined lands into solar farms, particularly in the nation’s eastern Lusatia region, where more than a century of intense surface mining has despoiled much of the landscape. According to a 2018 report, region-wide there are some 9 GW of solar project potential across nearly 50,000 hectares of torn up land.

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]]> https://energytransition.org/2023/02/brown-to-green-germanys-pockmarked-lausitz-becomes-a-solar-powerhouse/feed/ 0 Brownfields to greenfields: repurposing coal mines worldwide into renewable centers https://energytransition.org/2023/02/brownfields-to-greenfields-repurposing-coal-mines-worldwide-into-renewable-centers/ https://energytransition.org/2023/02/brownfields-to-greenfields-repurposing-coal-mines-worldwide-into-renewable-centers/#respond Tue, 07 Feb 2023 13:47:23 +0000 https://energytransition.org/?p=27843 For decades, energy transition experts called for transforming post-mined lands into renewable energy hubs. To bolster their arguments, as part of their “Sunshine for Mines” project, a decade ago the pioneering Rocky Mountain Institute began tracking the few “lighthouse” projects that then existed. At the time, renewable capacity on mine sites stood at just over 600 megawatts worldwide.

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