‘Electrify everything’ hits the global stage

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World leaders — well, some of them — gathered in Turkey this week for COP31, the annual climate conference, for discussions focused on how we power our world. Specifically, conference organizers proposed that attendees join in on a goal of meeting 35% of the world’s final energy demand with electricity by 2035, up from just over 20% today. 

Achieving that target demands participation from across the global economy. Everyday drivers and shippers will need to replace gasoline- and diesel-powered cars and trucks with plug-in alternatives. Manufacturers will need to swap in industrial heat pumps and electric boilers. Steel and ironmakers must embrace electric arc furnaces and other cleaner technologies. 

But if the power that supplies all those electric vehicles, heat pumps, and furnaces comes from fossil fuels, will electrification still make a dent in global emissions? Yes, and there are a few reasons why. 

For one, electrification is a necessary step to ditching fossil fuels. And it can take a long time to make the switch, whether it’s your home’s heating or an industrial-scale system providing steam to a factory. Getting more homes and processes electrified now means a larger portion of the world’s energy demand will be cleaned up as soon as more renewables arrive on the grid. 

Electric-powered machines are also way more energy efficient than fossil-fueled options, as energy and climate policy expert Jan Rosenow has explained. A lot of energy gets wasted when you burn fossil fuels, particularly in small localized applications like a boiler that heats up a home. But you can get the same result with less fuel — and fewer carbon emissions — if you burn natural gas at a big power plant and then use that electricity to power a heat pump. 

Electrification has a benefit beyond emissions, too — one that has has become especially pertinent as the war in the Middle East has sent global oil and gas prices through the roof. It lets countries reduce their reliance on imported fossil fuels. 

In Europe and Asia, people have responded by buying electric stoves and cars to curb their reliance on imported oil and natural gas. And the EU, learning both from the Iran war and the ongoing struggle in Ukraine, announced plans in July to ramp up electricity’s share of energy use to 46% by 2040.

Whatever comes out of this year’s COP meeting, expect these climate, efficiency, and security benefits to keep nudging countries toward ever-greater levels of electrification.

More big energy stories

What’s next for the permitting bill?

The Senate’s bipartisan permitting bill passed its first big test this week as legislators voted 73-25 to formally take up the proposal. The bill as written would speed up permitting timelines for transmission, clean energy, and fossil fuel projects, but it’s likely to undergo a lot of edits before it becomes law.

Monday’s vote was the Senate’s first since Election Day, when it became clear Democrats would have resounding majorities in both houses of Congress next year. Many Democratic senators voted against advancing the permitting bill, with some saying they could use their newfound power to beef up the legislation’s clean energy benefits — and address concerns that the bill is too generous to fossil fuel interests. 

Democrats and Republicans will have a chance to address any qualms via amendments, which Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) said the chamber will likely vote on next week before deciding whether to send the legislation to the House. It’ll face a challenge there from Democrats who say they didn’t have enough input in the bill’s creation, though House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) says his party will guarantee its passage.

One step forward, one step back for SMRs

Small modular nuclear reactors’ murky future is no clearer this week as the industry notched one win and one setback. 

On a bright note for the industry, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission approved X-energy and Dow Chemical’s plans to build four Xe-100 advanced reactors in Texas, reports Brian Martucci. The NRC OK’d the application in a record 18 months, following its approval of two other small reactor projects from Kairos Power and TerraPower.

Up in Canada, the news was a bit more drab. Ontario Power Generation said Tuesday that its SMR, poised to be the first in North America, won’t be online by its 2030 target, nor will it stay within its budget, Dan McCarthy reports. That’s especially problematic given that the project uses the same technology behind most of the world’s existing nuclear fleet — and a design that developers in the U.S. are eyeing themselves. 

Clean energy news to know this week

Manufacturing meltdown: Offshore wind manufacturing once seemed destined to rise in the U.S., buoyed by a raft of projects and Inflation Reduction Act incentives — but that promise has since sunk thanks to the Trump administration’s attacks. (Canary Media)

Winter heating woes: The average U.S. household will see heating costs rise 7% this winter compared to last, while heating oil users could pay as much as 70% more than last season. (New York Times)

Unlocking a cleaner pickup: The failure of Tesla’s Cybertruck provides yet another lesson for automakers looking to figure out how to make electric pickup trucks popular in the U.S. market. (Grist)

From prison to solar: A Chicago halfway house has trained more than 100 formerly incarcerated people for solar installation and other clean energy jobs, bolstered by Illinois laws that aim to strengthen the industry’s workforce. (Canary Media)

Batteries gallop on: New research from Ford indicates its 2021 Mustang Mach-E’s batteries have retained more than 90% of their original capacity after five years on the road. (Axios)

Moo-ving toward solar: Silicon Ranch thinks it’s cracked the code to pairing cattle with solar generation, as its Tennessee farm finds success in bringing together a docile breed of cows and higher, rotating panels. (Canary Media)

Gassing up data centers: BloombergNEF estimates the data center boom is driving plans for 181 GW worth of on-site gas-fired generation. (The Guardian, BloombergNEF)