1. ‘Valuable and largely overlooked’: Interest in virtual power plants grows

Learning: "Grid operators, utilities, state regulators and lawmakers across the country are increasingly exploring the possibilities (of virtual power plants). They are seen as a cost-effective way to aid an electric grid that in many parts of the country is increasingly embattled by power plant retirements as well as difficulties building new, cleaner generation and the transmission lines they need — all at a time when huge projected electric demand increases loom."

Implication: "The U.S. Department of Energy found in a report last year that large-scale deployment of virtual power plants 'could help address demand increases and rising peaks at lower cost than conventional resources, reducing the energy costs for Americans — one in six of whom are already behind on electricity bills.'”

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2. The first all-electric tugboat in the US is about to launch

Learning: "America’s first fully battery-powered tugboat recently docked at the Port of San Diego, where officials are working to decarbonize not just tugs but also diesel cranes and trucks. The electric tug was built over three years at an Alabama shipyard, then moved through the Panama Canal before arriving in Southern California earlier this spring."

Implication: "The 82-foot-long vessel is set to begin operating within the coming weeks, as soon as the shoreside charging infrastructure is completed, according to Crowley. The Florida-based company owns and operates the electric boat — named ​“eWolf” in honor of Crowley’s first tug, the early 1900s Seawolf — and everything that’s needed to keep it running."

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3. Texas got more electricity from solar than coal last month

Learning: "Solar has out-produced coal in the state for the first time — a remarkable reminder of how quickly clean energy has grown in Texas."

Implication: "Taken together, Texas got 47% of its electricity from zero-carbon solar, wind and nuclear in the first three months of 2024. Those resources delivered 40% of Texas generation for all of 2023."

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4. What if global emissions went down instead of up?

Learning: "Sometime in the near future, perhaps as soon as this year, humans are likely to experience something that has never happened in modern history before.

For the first time, global emissions of planet-warming greenhouse gases might finally stop rising and head into long-term decline.

No one alive today has known a time like this. Nor has any other recent generation because, for most of the last 200 years, emissions have risen steadily on an upward path, interrupted only briefly when something like a financial crisis or pandemic causes a global economic shock.

The rate of this growth has been slowing globally, and emissions have now declined in more than 40 nations as countries become more energy efficient, switch from coal to cleaner gas and swap fossil fuels for renewables.  

But this has yet to add up to a global fall in emissions. Once it does though, some analysts think the politics, psychology and even the financing of climate action could shift profoundly."

Implication: "ven if emissions do start waning this year or next, they are unlikely to fall 43 per cent by 2030 from 2019 levels, which is what the Panel says is needed to keep the Paris Agreement’s 1.5C temperature goal within reach. In other words, a global peak in emissions will be a big turning point, but not nearly enough to contain warming now hitting levels never recorded before. Years of steep and prolonged falls will be needed after that.

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5. First-Ever National Strategy to Accelerate Deployment of Zero-Emission Infrastructure for Freight Trucks

Learning: "The National Zero-Emission Freight Corridor Strategy (was released this week). Developed by the Joint Office of Energy and Transportation and U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), in collaboration with the Department of Transportation (DOT) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Strategy will guide the deployment of zero-emission medium- and heavy-duty vehicle (ZE-MHDV) charging and hydrogen fueling infrastructure from 2024 to 2040. The Strategy is designed to meet growing market demands by targeting public investment to amplify private sector momentum, focus utility and regulatory energy planning, align industry activity, and improve air quality in local communities heavily impacted by diesel emissions."

Implication: "Battery electric and hydrogen fuel cell vehicle technology along with other zero-emission forms of freight transport have considerable potential to save Americans money on consumer goods thanks to reduced fueling and maintenance costs associated with transport, all while delivering significant health benefits for historically disadvantaged populations that suffer the worst impacts of pollution from freight emissions and helping achieve national climate goals...

The National Zero-Emission Freight Corridor Strategy will prioritize, sequence, and accelerate infrastructure along key freight corridors and hubs in four phases. The phases include:

Establish priority hubs based on freight volumes (2024-2027)
Connect hubs along critical freight corridors (2027-2030)
Expand corridor connections initiating network development (2030-2035)
Achieve national network by linking regional corridors for ubiquitous access (2035-2040)
See the National Zero-Emission Freight Corridor Strategy for additional maps and detail.

Learn more here."