Cipher News

Anca Gurzu took this photo in Barbados of a car charged using renewable natural gas derived from sargassum (an invasive seaweed), rum distillery wastewater and Blackbelly sheep manure (who would have thought that was possible!?). While the vehicle in the photo is an electric Nissan Leaf, cleantech startup Rum and Sargassum CEO Legena Henry told Anca a four-hour installation can convert any car, including one with a conventional engine, to run on the renewable gas by switching it to run on compressed natural gas through a special kit. The pilot project is in partnership with the Caribbean Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency and the goal is to make the renewable gas accessible at the pump by the end of 2026. Each week, we feature a photo that is somehow related to energy, the thing we all need but don’t notice until it’s expensive or gone. Email your ideas and photos to [email protected].

Clean energy technologies that harness the expertise of the fossil fuel industry, like geothermal, and boost fossil fuel production, like carbon capture and storage, could continue to receive support under the Trump administration and the Republican-controlled Congress. Nuclear power also has enduring support. Amena H. Saiyid and Bill Spindle report on the shifting cleantech landscape from Washington and Houston: https://nt-z.ro/4kPh2OX

??? “Creativity” and “Innovation” were two key words that came up a lot during the Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL) Forum in #Barbados this week, the home of PM Mia Amor Mottley, who has spearheaded efforts to boost access to #climatefinance for the Global South. The gathering comes as developing countries and small island states try to make sense of how to position themselves in a fast-changing world order, but where issues of development and energy access are still as urgent as ever. I had the chance to moderate a panel on behalf of Cipher News on the role of #energyefficiency in accelerating #energyaccess, a topic that doesnt make the headlines every day but is a low-hanging fruit. Thanks to all the panelists for a great discussion! Marit Y. Kitaw African Union Jo Cops IEC (International Electrotechnical Commission) CLASP Emmanuel Aziebor Jennifer Layke World Resources Institute Sherry Kennedy

The cost of renewable energy fell for the second year last year, as the price of some materials fell and Chinese production of solar panels and batteries ramped up well beyond demand. That constitutes a bonanza for developing countries, like Pakistan, with no production of their own, and it created challenges for the U.S., Europe and India. Read more from Bill Spindle in this week's #DataDive. https://nt-z.ro/4bLKm4I

Read the latest from Cipher News: Amena H. Saiyid and Bill Spindle outline climate technologies that could receive a bump under the Trump Administration.

Clean energy tech considered compatible with oil and natural gas could have a leading edge in the U.S. under the new administration, a shift in the landscape evident at CERAWeek by S&P Global this week in Houston, write Bill Spindle and Amena H. Saiyid. https://nt-z.ro/3R4f6Ey

CERAWeek by S&P Global has long been one of the biggest business jamborees for the energy industry. Catch up on the five themes Bill Spindle is watching at the conference this year as it continues in Houston: https://nt-z.ro/4imaaqF

On this past very rainy Wednesday evening, I attended and was part of the Second Annual Green Growth Investor Series at the Consulate General of India here in New York City. On behalf of Cipher News, I moderated a fascinating conversation about investing in climate smart agriculture. Thanks to my most esteemed panelists for joining me on stage: Peter Fusaro, founder of the Wall Street Green Summit; Rahoul Mehra of Kaplak Ventures and Dimitris H. of the Bahrain Economic Development Board. The video is available here: https://lnkd.in/ekusk_Jk We covered so much ground over the course of the evening. (Thanks to David Rosenberg, I learned that there is such a thing as vertical farming for crickets!) A few points stuck out to me as really important themes that I wanted to share: CLIMATE IS PART OF EVERY INVESTMENT DECISION "Climate to us is not a vertical. It is a horizontal," Rahoul said. "Every investor thinks about it when they are making an investment." TO MATTER IT HAS TO MAKE MONEY "This is not impact philanthropy. This is return on investment," Peter said. "The environmental benefit — I used to call it an environmental kicker." HOW YOU TELL YOUR STORY MATTERS "You need to have good business stories. A better business story," Rahoul said. "And it is a better business story because you can create that impact and you can create those returns. Not in everything, but it is there and it can be done." Thanks to Aseem Trivedi and Jason E. Dodier for having me. I hope everyone got home without getting their feet too wet!

I’m in Houston for CERAWeek by S&P Global, one of the biggest energy industry conferences of the year and the first since the Trump administration stormed into D.C. Here are a few things I’ll be looking out for and writing about at Cipher News throughout the week and beyond: — ENERGY DEMAND. Just how much energy is needed? After several decades of sluggish energy consumption growth, forecasts now predict a strong and steady increase in energy needs over the coming decades, particularly electricity. — FOSSIL FUELS VERSUS CLEAN ENERGY. Which sources of energy, and what pathways for delivering it, make the most sense for filling those urgent demand needs? — PERMITTING. Addressing growing energy needs often means building, from pipelines to carry oil and gas to transmission lines that distribute electricity. These projects are often controversial because they’re large physical infrastructure that must traverse communities. — FATE OF THE IRA. How exactly will the new administration treat the Biden administration’s signature climate initiative, the Inflation Reduction Act, which Donald Trump has disparaged as the “green new scam.” Despite the president’s disdain, most of the subsidies in the initiative target projects in Republican dominated states, including Ohio, Georgia, Texas, Louisiana and North Dakota. — TARIFFS AND TRADE. Energy industry officials will be trying to gauge the impact of Trump administration trade policies on energy markets. Tariffs on Canadian oil imports and Chinese solar panels and batteries will likely push up energy prices, potentially undercutting President Trump’s promise to lower them. https://lnkd.in/ecwuKNUm

Falling battery prices, tariffs on cheap Chinese batteries and federal tax incentives in the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act have made U.S. battery production more attractive and competitive, Amena H. Saiyid finds in a #DataDive. https://nt-z.ro/4hjCIQh