This week in buildings, land and industry decarbonization news, The New York Timesweighs in on the sudden increase in electric utilities’ demand forecasts, which have nearly doubled. A basis of the article is a Grid Strategies report predicting 38,000 MW of new demand over the next five years, which RTO Insider covered in December. The Times noted the irony that demand, driven by electric cars, battery and solar factories and other aspects of the clean-energy transition, could jeopardize climate efforts because utilities are proposing
dozens of new gas-fired power plants.
The World Economic Forum has a blog on how to decarbonize the cement industry, which is one of those backbones of the modern economy that has proven hard to clean up. It argues that producers need to consider completely new ways of making cement, not just controlling emissions from the current process. The article suggests focusing on the intermediate step of producing clinker, which is responsible for 88% of the sector’s emissions.
Spectrum New York has a story on how farm advocates are pushing back on climate policies, saying the switch from diesel- to battery-powered equipment isn’t yet feasible due to the long hours of operation. Another issue is the need for electric distribution upgrades in rural areas so that it can meet all that new demand.
Farmers are well aware of the impact of climate change, of course, as Floodlight News points out in this story on the Department of Agriculture’s payment of $16 billion to farmers who lost crops due to drought, excessive heat and other extreme weather. Those payouts in 2022 and 2023 rank as the second- and third-highest years over the past three decades.
Canary Media ran a column arguing that the country should move forward with heat pump adoption regardless of how clean the power fueling them is. The National Renewable Energy Laboratory ran the numbers and found switching to heat pumps would cut emissions in every one of the 48 contiguous states. The study found that heat pumps would be a net benefit even if the transition to a cleaner grid is slower than expected.
Read all that and more in this week’s Intelligence Report:
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International
The climate benefits of trees storing carbon dioxide is partially offset by dark forests' absorption of more heat from the sun, and compounds they release that slow the destruction of methane in the atmosphere, the research shows. Inside Climate News
New York
Agriculture advocates are cautioning about "going too fast too soon" and seeking exemptions for diesel-powered farming equipment that poses challenges to electrification. Spectrum News 1
New York
With New York requiring the state to move to 70% renewable energy by 2030, agriculture advocates are cautioning about "going too fast too soon" and seeking exemptions for diesel-powered farming equipment that poses challenges to electrification. The New York Farm Bureau says farmers are working toward reducing their emissions as much as they can while still producing affordable products, including implementing cover crops, solar panels on non-agricultural lands and new technology to improve efficiency, but many farmers say the switch from diesel- to battery-powered equipment isn't yet feasible due to the long hours of operation. Spectrum News
U.S.
Farmers across the country face a conundrum nearly every growing season: how to stay afloat when shifting weather patterns caused by climate change keep wrecking their crops. The last two years have been some of the most costly for the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which paid more than $16 billion to farmers who lost crops due to drought, excessive heat and other extreme weather. But farmers with smaller acreage say they don't have the same opportunities to recoup their losses, even though they face the same weather-related challenges as larger farms that disproportionately benefit from federally subsidized crop insurance programs. Floodlight
AgricultureU.S.
A new paper traces the financial ties between the livestock industry and academic research. The researchers say their job is to help the industry reduce emissions. Inside Climate News
Land UseU.S.
The climate benefits of trees storing carbon dioxide is partially offset by dark forests' absorption of more heat from the sun, and compounds they release that slow the destruction of methane in the atmosphere, the research shows. Inside Climate News
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Massachusetts
Newton's Zoning and Planning Committee passed a new measure March 11 that would require the complete electrification of newly constructed buildings and buildings undergoing extensive renovations. The ordinance is pursuant to Newton's participation in the state's Municipal Fossil Fuel Free Building Demonstration Program, which is referred to as the 10 communities program, and states private properties undergoing renovations to more than 50% of the building or adding more than 1,000 square feet must be completely electrified. The Heights
New York
Modular homes have long held wallflower status in the U.S. housing market, confined mainly to rural areas and suburbs. Nevertheless, they could help push the building electrification movement into high gear CleanTechnica
New York
Modular homes have long held wallflower status in the U.S. housing market, confined mainly to rural areas and suburbs. The missing link is a business model that moves the modular approach into cities, with the potential to address the housing affordability crisis while helping to decarbonize new buildings at a fast-paced scale. CleanTechnica toured a new modular, townhouse-sized apartment building on St. Felix Street in a historic district in downtown Brooklyn. CleanTechnica
U.S.
Unlike rooftop installations that often involve contractors and permitting purgatory, Plug-In solar offers a rapid, affordable way to participate in the energy transition, especially for moderate income households. North American Clean Energy
Space Cooling & HeatingU.S.
Even on a carbon-heavy diet, heat pumps eliminate tons of emissions annually compared to other heating systems. Canary Media
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International
Electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft might quickly move passengers over mountains or float them across urbanscapes. But first, an important consideration for these flying batteries is where they will charge and whether the existing power grid infrastructure can accommodate this demand. The National Renewable Energy Laboratory analyzed this issue for the Federal Aviation Administration to help the agency plan around possible growth in eVTOL operations and their effects on the power grid. NREL's findings for FAA are now available in the Federal Aviation Administration Vertiport Electrical Infrastructure Study. CleanTechnica
International
Mercedes-Benz has worked with several partners to create a refueling vehicle for airplanes that is battery powered. Separately, after five years in development, Airbus has officially introduced its first battery-electric powered VTOL (vertical takeoff and landing) aircraft. CleanTechnica
U.S.
A boom in data centers and factories is straining electric grids and propping up fossil fuels. New York Times
U.S.
Historic climate investments from the Biden administration have put a much-needed down payment toward cutting emissions from industry -- a major economic sector that makes up over a quarter of U.S. emissions. Still, a lot of hard work remains to meaningfully scale up solutions in this sector. A particularly tricky piece of the industrial emissions problem is hidden in plain sight all around us, in our buildings, sidewalks, highways and bridges: cement. Environmental Defense Fund
CementInternational
Suppliers must think boldly in terms of scale and technology; not just to reduce carbon emissions from existing processes, but reimagine how cement is produced. World Economic Forum
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