Renewables Outdid Coal and Nuclear in 2022

Last year, renewable energy generation outstripped coal and nuclear.

“The share of coal-fired generation decreased from 23% in 2021 to 20% in 2022 as a number of coal-fired power plants retired and the remaining plants were used less. The share of nuclear generation decreased from 20% in 2021 to 19% in 2022, following the Palisades nuclear power plant’s retirement in May 2022,” reports the Energy Information Administration. “The combined wind and solar share of total generation increased from 12% in 2021 to 14% in 2022. Hydropower generation remained unchanged, at 6%, in 2022. The shares for biomass and geothermal sources remained unchanged, at less than 1%.”

The rise in wind and solar power generation was propelled by the growth in their respective generating capacities. The American electricity sector saw a surge in its utility-scale solar capacity from 61 GW in 2021 to 71 GW in 2022, while the wind capacity increased from 133 GW in 2021 to 141 GW in 2022.

Despite the rise in wind and solar power generation, natural gas maintained its position as the main source of electricity in the US, with its share growing from 37% in 2021 to 39% in 2022.

Netflix’s Net Zero Dreams

The streaming juggernaut Netflix is committed to decarbonizing its film productions worldwide through its "Net Zero + Nature" initiative.

“That’s our main goal in the next couple of years,” Claudia Augustinis, head of production at Netflix France, said at a film festival last week. “We always say we want to entertain the world. But in order to do that, we need a world to entertain.”

The company has changed its transportation planning for film shoots and encourages the use of trains instead of planes and electric cars instead of gas-powered vehicles. Netflix has also added a "meatless day" on set, required the use of rented or second-hand items in the art and costume departments, and implemented the use of LED lighting and batteries instead of fuel generators, according to the Washington Examiner.

The company's sustainability department is regularly involved in key meetings for productions. Netflix hopes to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions with all of its film productions and overall company operations while aligning with the Paris Agreement's goal to limit global warming to 1.5°C.

Unfortunately, the 1.5°C goal is more ad copy than science, as the climate scientist Roger Pielke Jr. has explained. Netflix’s initiative signals an uptick in corporate commitment to bad science and dubious energy policy.

Netflix understands itself as a powerful promoter of green ideology. “When it comes to entertainment, sustainability is an epic story creators are already telling. In 2020, 160 million households around the world chose to watch at least one film or show on Netflix that helped viewers better understand these issues,” the company writes on its website. “As examples, 100 million households have tuned in to Our Planet since its release in April 2019. The docuseries on the interdependency of Earth’s systems and living creatures, narrated by David Attenborough, won two Primetime Emmys, among other awards…As Attenborough has said ‘We need to learn how to work with nature, rather than against it.’ Net Zero + Nature is our first major foray into this work.”

In 2019, David Attenborough told the World Economic Forum that humanity’s population growth must come to an end. “All of our environmental problems become easier to solve with fewer people, and harder – and ultimately impossible – to solve with ever more people,” Attenborough said the year before.

Virginia Governor Goes for SMRs

Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin has signed into law two bills that support the state's ambition to include small modular reactors (SMRs) as part of its energy plan.

The first bill creates the Virginia Power Innovation Fund for research and development of innovative energy technologies, including nuclear, while the second bill founds the Nuclear Education Grant Fund to establish or expand nuclear education programs. Projects related to the potential deployment of SMRs have also received a share of $8.1 million in grant awards.

The bills follow the release of Virginia's All-American, All-of-the-Above Energy Plan last year, which envisaged a commercial SMR serving customers with baseload power within the next decade.

"I can't wait until I watch that first small modular reactor turn on, and hospitals flip switches for their NICU units and senior living facilities turn the air conditioning on in the summertime, when it's so hot. And yeah, parents and children turn the light on in the early morning, when it's dark outside and have breakfast together. That's going to be pretty awesome," Youngkin said as he signed the bill.

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Conversation Starters

1. China might float some solar in Africa. “China Energy Engineering Corp. is considering building a 1,000-megawatt floating solar plant on Zimbabwe's Kariba dam at the cost of nearly $1 billion,” reports Oilprice.com. “The proposed solar farm would be the largest of its kind in Africa and one of the biggest in the world. It would cover an area of over 2,500 hectares, making it larger than some cities in Zimbabwe. The solar megaproject could generate power for as many as two million homes. This project is part of China Energy's commitment to providing clean energy solutions for developing countries around the world. In addition to this project, they have also invested heavily in other renewable energy projects, such as wind farms and hydroelectric dams throughout Africa.”

2. Europe is looking for the exit signs for its Russian LNG deals. “European Union countries agreed on Tuesday to seek a legal option to stop Russian companies sending liquefied natural gas to EU nations, by preventing Russian firms from booking infrastructure capacity,” reports Reuters. “EU countries' energy ministers proposed that new EU gas market rules should include the option for governments to temporarily stop Russian and Belarusian gas exporters from bidding up-front for capacity on the infrastructure needed to deliver LNG into Europe.”

3. The Department of Interior wants more money to help roll out renewables. “The Biden administration’s $18.9 billion request would increase the agency’s budget by 12 percent, or $2 billion over its enacted fiscal 2023 budget,” reports E&E News. “The administration’s proposal requests $181 million — $70 million above fiscal 2023 enacted levels — to help Interior “accelerate the deployment of clean energy on public lands and waters” by supporting the review and processing of dozens of solar, wind and geothermal power project applications.”

Crom’s Blessing