Economics

Note: The Green Premium (the cost of something done with clean energy divided by the cost of doing the same thing using fossil-fuel-based energy) for EV’s has finally gone negative.  Not only are EVs cheaper than gasoline-powered cars on a “total cost of ownership” basis, but now the upfront capital cost is less, too.

At least three manufacturers — Tesla, Hyundai-Kia and General Motors — now offer EVs with more than 300 miles (480 kilometers) of range for less than the cost of the average new vehicle sold in the US, according to an analysis by Bloomberg Green.

Affordable electricity is a major issue in households across the country. According to a report by the US Energy Information Administration, roughly 27% of US households report struggling to pay their energy bills.

At the same time, utility companies are making significant investments to lower their carbon emissions. Join Resources for the Future (RFF) on June 26 for the next event in our series on environmental justice.

Editor’s Note: “About the Money” is a new feature for CCLNV.org.  It reports on new technologies (which are “early” and still expensive) and the public policies intended to help them cross the “Valley of [Financing] Death” to a point where innovations, “learning curves” and economies of scale can make them cost-competitive with fossil-fuel-based alternatives.

Here are some stories from RTO Insider, an industry newsletter serving utilities, regulators, transmission planners and others.

 Note:  We often hear that “the clean energy transition needs to happen at an unprecedented speed and scale.”  Well, how much will is cost?   BloombergNEF has done the calculations and found that the need is $34 trillion by 2050.   BNEF reported that global investment in the low-carbon energy transition surged 17% in 2023 to $1.8 trillion, but it concludes that the pace of this spending needs to accelerate.

Our labor market is tighter than a rotten clam shell, companies in the clean energy sector are already struggling to hire workers, and we’re looking at a job market that, according to the Political Economy Research Institute, could grow to 9 million by the end of the decade.

In short, we won’t be able to unlock the full might of the IRA’s investment capital without the complementary labor capital to build it.

Note: The author argues that the declining price of solar and wind GENERATION will not drive the transition without government subsidies.  After proving that (convincingly, IMHO), he responds to the question “isn’t this an argument for a carbon tax?” with “it absolutely is an argument for larger carbon taxes on fossil fuels.”

Note: Capitalism works again: “The cure to high prices is high prices.” That triggers supply, which reduces prices. Here, CCL’s Jonathan Marshall shows what’s happening to lithium prices, what’s coming and why.

Editor: Here’s another example of how “market forces” can meaningfully change the rate and scale of the transition to clean energy.

China has unveiled new ESG disclosure rules for its biggest companies as it seeks to align with European requirements and bring foreign investment back to its struggling economy. “By catching up with international standards, the government hopes to attract foreign money—especially from institutional investors,” Wang said.

A new paper finds that properties within a mile of a proposed wind farm see an average decrease of 11 percent when a project is announced and constructed, compared to properties located three to five miles away. But the difference returns to zero within a few years such that properties within a mile of a project have values that are indistinguishable from those three to five miles away.