Demand fell for carbon allowances in the California-Quebec cap-and-trade program’s first auction of 2017, continuing a string of uneven results over the last year after auctions sold out for the program’s first three years. Much of explanation for this reversal revolves around legal uncertainty regarding the future of the program, however new quantitative analysis also points to emissions allowance oversupply.

A new analysis of California’s carbon market finds that low demand could continue for the next year and a half, but eventually rebound to the tune of $8 billion through 2020. Based on state data on supply and demand, Chris Busch of advisory firm Energy Innovation said last week that revenues might stay well below their full potential through mid-2018, then rise to 70 to 80 percent through 2020, when the cap ratchets down further.

California, the world’s sixth-largest economy — literally the engine that drives the US economy — also determines the fuel economy of the nation, via the California Waiver, a special deal with the EPA, dating back to the 1970s. Even rolling back the 54.5 mpg requirement is not going to have as much impact, because there is the California Waiver.

President Trump is planning to announce a rollback of fuel efficiency standards today in Detroit, a move endorsed by U.S. auto dealers and auto manufacturers. But going in reverse on fuel efficiency is a terrible deal for American drivers that will cost the economy nearly $400 billion while adding nearly three billion tons of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere by 2050.

Across the nation, there’s few topics are hotter with state utility regulators than grid modernization. A new paper by Energy Innovation offers guidelines for designing and evaluating expensive utility modernization proposals.

While wind and solar’s growth creates financial opportunity, they also open the door for new investment and customer savings from power use itself – a resource called demand response (DR). DR is a key market opportunity to save customers money and offer cost-competitive flexibility. 

Wholesale electricity prices are at historic lows, threatening the underlying economics and fate of America’s existing nuclear fleet, just as many facilities are up for re-licensing. This leaves policymakers with tough choices on if — or how — they should intervene to save these plants. What’s a reasonable policymaker to do when considering nuclear power against the overall need for cheap, clean and reliable power?

California’s latest auction of greenhouse gas permits saw low demand, hurting state revenue, according to figures released yesterday. The Feb. 22 auction sold just 16.5 percent of the 75 million allowances put up for auction by California; its trading partner, Quebec; and utilities that receive allowances to sell.

There is considerable hullabaloo about the future of coal in America: Can it be resuscitated by slashing environmental protections, per the Trump Administration, or is it on a secular decline due to economics and other forces? And what energy policy strategies make sense for this changing environment?

California’s cap-and-trade program limped through another weak auction of pollution permits last month, according to results provided by state regulators Wednesday. Demand for the permits, which are required to release greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere, has fluctuated over the last year amid questions about the program’s long-term viability.

California’s carbon market generated little interest from buyers at last month’s permit auction, results released on Wednesday showed, raising concern about the program’s ability to deliver funding for projects like the state’s bullet train. California along with its carbon market partner Quebec sold 18 percent of the over 65 million permits it offered up to businesses at the sale, which was held on February 22.

The Fletcher Forum interviewed Mr. Hal Harvey, CEO of Energy Innovation (a San Francisco-based energy and environmental policy firm) at the 2017 Tufts Energy Conference.

Repealing the Clean Power Plan would have significant impacts on the United States’ economy and the health of its citizens, according to new analysis from Energy Innovation, a clean energy think tank.

The Trump administration has prioritized repealing the Clean Power Plan , but new analysis shows that repealing the rule would cost the U.S. economy hundreds of billions of dollars, add more than a billion tons of greenhouse gases to the atmosphere, and cause more than 100,000 premature deaths.

In a new paper, America’s Power Plan laid out a four-step process for utilities and regulators to choose their goals (clean energy and carbon reduction, fair and low prices for all, and utility-specific grid values) and then compare the cost of making smart grid upgrades versus not making them in order to achieve those goals.

As environmental standard-bearer and green technology pioneer, no other state rivals California. For decades, California has been at the forefront of U.S. environmental policies. Now, with the Trump administration poised to attack environmental and climate regulations, California is ready to play a key role in resisting Washington’s hard right turn.

Kevin de León has promised to lead the resistance to President Trump. A new bill could make good on that promise. The California Senate leader has introduced legislation that would require the Golden State to get 100 percent of its electricity from climate-friendly energy sources by 2045.

According to a model created by Energy Innovation, a San Francisco research firm, a freeze of fuel efficiency standards at the current mpg level will cost consumers $64 billion through 2030, and $282 billion by 2040. By 2050, all that extra fuel would add $475 billion to household budgets, or about $1,500 for every American, it says.

Has energy storage’s moment arrived, or is it still just around the corner? As technology costs decline while battery deployments proliferate, existing niche markets for storage will expand, opening new markets and value-streams.

In a recent meeting with U.S. auto executives, President Trump hinted his administration will try to roll back America’s fuel efficiency standards for cars and trucks. This would be a profound disservice to American consumers, military men and women, and the environment. By 2050, a rollback on these standards would cost America nearly half a trillion dollars, add billions of tons of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere, and cause thousands of premature deaths.