New Research Points To Fracking As Cause Of Spikes In Atmospheric Methane

The amount of methane — a powerful greenhouse gas — has increased dramatically in the atmosphere since 2008. Some have suggested the increase is associated with the rise in fracking that began about the same time.

Credit: Robert Howarth via Biogeosciences. This work is distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Analysis: How Demand Charges Impact Electric Vehicle Fast Charging Infrastructure

By Dane McFarlane, Director of Research, and Matt Prorok, Senior Policy Manager, Great Plains Institute

The Great Plains Institute (GPI) recently released a white paper analyzing the economics of direct current fast charging (DCFC) as part of our work with the Midcontinent Transportation Electrification Collaborative (MTEC). DCFC stations are critical for widespread adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) because they provide access to much faster battery charging in public places and along major driving routes and highways. The white paper focused on a specific barrier to increased DCFC stations in the region: electric utility demand charges. 

Vanadium Flow Battery Companies

The recent post “Lithium Technology Dominates Large Energy Storage Projects” featured companies offering utility-scale lithium battery systems. Industry research firm Navigant estimates that lithium-ion technology accounts for almost 30% of non-pumped storage capacity developed since 2011.  This might be due in part to the dramatic decreases in cost for lithium ion batteries.  A study completed by Bloomberg New Energy Finance found that the ‘levelized’ cost of energy for lithium ion batteries has fallen by 76% to $187 per megawatt hour in the first quarter 2019 from $800/MWh in 2012.

Is the story over for utility-scale storage?  Should investors look for lithium ion battery manufacturers and forget all others?  The best answers are probably No! and No!  There are other interesting battery technologies. 

Ten Clean Energy Stocks For 2019: Sell The Peaks

Fossil Fuel Industry: Killing the Customer

by Debra Fiakas, CFA

Published by the Climate Accountability Institute, the Carbon Majors Reportlays bare the truth about which companies are responsible for industrial greenhouse gas emissions.  One hundred fossil fuel producers are linked to 71% of global industrial greenhouse gases emitted since 1988.  Something like a line in the sand for climate scientists, 1988 is the year human-induced climate change was official recognized by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

Fossil fuels in the form of coal, crude oil and gas are by far and large the culprits.  Rolling forward three decades later, we can observe in the charts below that fossil fuel production has actually increased since those panelists first locked arms to accept human responsibility for the changes underway on Planet Earth.

Ten Clean Energy Stocks For 2019: Marginally Hotter

by Tom Konrad Ph.D., CFA

July 2019 was “marginally” the warmest month on record. Meanwhile, the stock market was also inching to new highs, and the real, sweltering evidence of climate change continues to let clean energy income stocks turn in a blistering performance.

While my broad income stock benchmark SDY was up 16.0% through the end of July (0.9% for the month), my clean energy income stock benchmark YLCO is up 23.4% through July (0.4% for the month,)  My 10 Clean Energy Stocks model portfolio is up 28.3% (1.3%) and my real-money managed strategy, GGEIP, is up 26.4% (1.2%) for the year through July 31st (for the month).  Like the temperatures, all of these are marginal new highs.