Analyze

Due to the recession, the bust of the oil market, and growing resistance to fossil-fuel infrastructures, courts have recently ruled to halt the Atlantic Coast and Dakota Access Pipeline projects.

The energy company, MPLX LP, halted plans to construct the Permian to Gulf Coast natural gas liquids (NGL) pipeline in response to the collapse in oil prices. Instead, however, the company is now planning to expand thier currently existing pipelines. 

See Full Article on how COVID is impacting different domains of the energy sector.

“John Berger, CEO of Houston-based Sunnova Energy International Inc., a residential solar and storage service company… said that despite the disruption caused by COVID-19, his company's first quarter this year showed nearly 7,000 new customers, the company's best quarter in its history.‘The uncertainty brought upon by COVID-19 has shown us the world may be more fragile than we originally thought, magnifying the importance of being self-reliant and further proving the economic and societal value of solar plus storage,’ he said during a May 15 earnings call.”

Florida has resumed disconnections for non-payment starting in August. Though, there will be assistance programs (discounted rates) for qualifying customers.

"An Oxford study compared green stimulus projects with traditional stimulus, such as measures taken after the 2008 global financial crisis, and found green projects create more jobs, deliver higher short-term returns per pound spent by the government, and lead to increased long-term cost savings." See the full article here.

Utilities are using “accounting orders” that often amount to rate increases for their customers in order to maintain their bottom lines.

“At least 35 states either have granted utilities these writs or are poised to do so. The accounting orders encompass a broad range of costs associated with COVID-19 — but, primarily, the rising “bad debt” associated with unemployed customers who cannot pay their bills. An accounting order stands as a regulator's pinky swear that a utility's other customers, not its shareholders, will pick up that tab.”

“Electric and gas utilities' fortunes should be tied to the wider economy. Shuttered office buildings and small businesses mean fewer kilowatt-hours sold, and mass unemployment leaves ratepayers unable to pay what they owe to the power company. Yet, increasingly, utilities' returns are divorced from the rest of the economy. That is because government regulation of these monopolies — often imagined as protecting consumers — often does more to keep intact utilities' bottom line. Indeed, in the midst of COVID-19, a low-key bailout of these companies already has begun and, unfortunately for utility ratepayers, it's happening on their dime.”

Simon Donner argues that climate determinism colors some of the reporting and rhetoric of the impacts of climate change on impoverished communities and nations. He argues that investment in adaptation is being stunted by claims that certain communities are simply doomed.

This Blog Post ties together an analysis of societal impacts of climate change, pollution related illnesses, racism, and COVID-19.

Though showing signs of recovery, the ongoing pandemic and recent surge across the US threatens oil industry once again.  “Oil prices have made a surprisingly steady return from the collapse ignited by lockdowns as the virus pandemic grew earlier this year. Crude settled above $40 a barrel Monday for the first time since plunging to negative-$37 on April 20, when the world was awash in unwanted oil. West Texas Intermediate, the U.S. benchmark, settled at $38.49 Friday, down slightly from Thursday. … The recovery, however, now looks tenuous, as no one is certain whether the current surge in COVID-19 cases could lead to business shutdowns and depressed consumer activity. Harris County on Friday issued a new ‘stay home, work safe’ advisory, asking residents to stay home except for essential trips, to work from home if possible and to avoid unnecessary travel.”

Economists say the threat of a “double-dip” is contingent on the scale and level of shutdown initiated by state governments in response to the surge. “A double dip in oil demand and prices will depend on whether state and local governments impose widespread lockdowns or allow businesses to remain open with requirements for face masks and social distancing. … Karr Ingham, a petroleum economist with the Texas Alliance of Energy Producers, said he can’t imagine that state and local governments would impose the type of widespread and strict lockdowns seen in March and April because of the dire economic consequences that such a move would have. It’s unclear how much political willpower there is to mandate a second lockdown, which would undoubtedly prompt public outrage, he said.”

“Carbon emissions reductions brought on by U.S. coronavirus lockdowns could be reversed by the pandemic's long-term damage to the clean energy sector, a new study has found. … To avoid an increase in emissions, lawmakers in the United States should pass stimulus measures to invest in clean energy technologies and boost renewable energy projects and jobs, the study said. If the "silver lining" of the pandemic so far has been reductions in global emissions, then such investments in the United States could be another positive development to come out of the crisis, Gillingham said.”

See Article

In the south side of Chicago, a new Illinois Solar For All program is offering access to solar energy with “no upfront costs and guaranteed savings.” This may suggest that developing similar solar energy programs could be put to use in reducing energy vulnerability and/or providing energy assistance during COVID-19? By Contrast, LA county’s programs for subsidizing renewable energy is benefitting the rich and excluding the poor: “California’s programs to subsidize rooftop solar and electric cars are disproportionately benefiting wealthier homes that often use more energy than they need to live comfortably. And they’re disproportionately leaving behind lower-income families who often can’t afford to use enough energy to stay warm or cool, depending on the season, and who would benefit greatly from cost-saving clean energy technologies.”