Lack of ships may hinder wind development

New York Utility Disconnection Ban protects residents during state emergencies, covering electric, gas, water, telecommunications, cable, and internet services, with penalties for noncompliance and options like deferred payment agreements and consumer protections.

Key Points

A proposed law barring shutoffs in state emergencies across electric, gas, water, telecom, cable, and internet.

✅ Applies during declared state and local emergencies statewide.

✅ Covers electric, gas, water, telecom, cable, and internet services.

✅ Noncompliance triggers penalties; payment plans required for arrears.

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo has announced a proposal to prohibit utility disconnections in regions that are under a state of emergency, addressing the energy insecurity many households face, as part of the 2021 State of the State. The Governor will propose legislation that will apply to electric, gas, water, telecommunications, cable and internet services. Utilities that fail to comply will be subject to penalties.

“In a year in which we dealt with an unprecedented pandemic, ferocious storms added insult to injury by knocking out power for hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers,” Governor Cuomo said. “Utility companies provide essential services, and we need to make sure they continue to provide them, rain or shine. That’s why we’re proposing legislation to make sure that New Yorkers, especially those living in regions under states of emergency, have access to these critical services to provide for themselves and their families.”

Governor Cuomo has taken a series of actions to protect New Yorkers’ access to utilities during the COVID-19 pandemic, including a suspension of shut-offs in New York and New Jersey, among other measures. Last year, the Governor signed legislation extending a moratorium that prevents utility companies from disconnecting utilities to residential households that are struggling with their bills due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a move mirrored by reconnection efforts in Ontario by Hydro One. Utility companies must instead offer these individuals a deferred payment agreement on any past-due balance. 

On November 19, Governor Cuomo announced that Con Edison now faces $25 million in penalties and possible license revocation from the New York State Public Service Commission, amid a broader review of retail energy markets by state regulators, following an investigation into the utility’s failed response during large-scale power outages in Manhattan and Brooklyn in July 2019. On November 2, Governor Cuomo announced that more than $328 million in home heating aid is now available, similar to Ontario bill support during the pandemic, for low- and middle-income New Yorkers who need assistance keeping their homes warm during the coming winter season.

The Governor has previously enacted some of the strongest and most progressive consumer protection and assistance programs in the country, including smart streetlights in Syracuse that reduce energy costs, and other initiatives. Governor Cuomo established New York’s energy affordability policy in 2016, as states pursue renewable energy ambitions that can affect rates, underscoring the need for affordability. The policy extended energy bill support to more than 152,000 additional New York families, ensuring that more than 920,000 New York families spend no more than 6 percent of their income on energy bills. Through this program, New York commits more than $238 million annually helping to keep the lights and heat on for our most vulnerable New Yorkers, while actively striving to expand coverage to additional families.

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Canada 2035 Gasoline Car Ban accelerates EV adoption, zero-emission transport, and climate action, with charging infrastructure, rebates, and industry investment supporting net-zero goals while addressing affordability, range anxiety, and consumer acceptance nationwide.

Key Points

A federal policy to end new gas car sales by 2035, boosting EV adoption, emissions goals, and charging infrastructure.

✅ Ends new gas car and light-truck sales by 2035

✅ Expands charging infrastructure and grid readiness

✅ Incentives, rebates, and industry investment drive adoption

Canada has set its sights on a bold and transformative goal: to ban the sale of new gasoline-powered passenger cars and light-duty trucks by the year 2035. This ambitious target, announced by the federal government, underscores Canada's commitment to combating climate change and accelerating the adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) nationwide, supported by forthcoming EV sales regulations from Ottawa.

The Federal Initiative

Under the leadership of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Canada aims to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the transportation sector, which accounts for a substantial portion of the country's carbon footprint. The initiative aligns with Canada's broader climate objectives, including achieving net-zero emissions by 2050.

Driving Forces Behind the Decision

The decision to phase out internal combustion engine vehicles reflects growing recognition of the urgency to transition towards cleaner transportation alternatives, even as 2019 electricity from fossil fuels still powered a notable share of Canada's grid. Minister of Environment and Climate Change Jonathan Wilkinson emphasizes the environmental benefits of electric vehicles, citing their potential to lower emissions and improve air quality in urban centers across the country.

Challenges and Opportunities

While the move towards electric vehicles presents promising opportunities for reducing emissions, it also poses challenges. Key considerations include infrastructure development, affordability, and consumer acceptance of EV technology, amid EV shortages and wait times that can influence buying decisions. Addressing these hurdles will require coordinated efforts from government, industry stakeholders, and consumers alike.

Industry Response

The automotive industry plays a crucial role in realizing Canada's EV ambitions. Automakers are increasingly investing in electric vehicle production and innovation to meet evolving consumer demand and regulatory requirements, including cross-border Canada-U.S. collaboration on supply chains. The transition offers opportunities for job creation, technological advancement, and economic growth in the clean energy sector.

Provincial Perspectives

Provinces across Canada are pivotal in facilitating the transition to electric vehicles. Some provinces have already implemented incentives such as rebates for EV purchases, charging infrastructure investments, and policy frameworks to support emissions reduction targets, even as Quebec's EV dominance push faces scrutiny from experts. Collaborative efforts between federal and provincial governments are essential in ensuring a cohesive approach to achieving national EV goals.

Consumer Considerations

For consumers, the shift towards electric vehicles represents a paradigm shift in transportation choices. Factors such as range anxiety, charging infrastructure availability, and upfront costs, with one EV cost survey citing price as the main barrier, remain considerations for prospective buyers. Government incentives and subsidies aim to alleviate some of these concerns and promote widespread EV adoption.

Looking Ahead

As Canada navigates towards a future without gasoline-powered vehicles, stakeholders must work together to overcome challenges and capitalize on opportunities presented by the electric vehicle revolution, even as critics of the 2035 mandate question its feasibility. Continued investments in infrastructure, innovation, and consumer education will be critical in paving the way for a sustainable and prosperous automotive industry.

Conclusion

Canada's commitment to phasing out gasoline-powered vehicles by 2035 marks a pivotal moment in the country's climate action agenda. By embracing electric vehicles, Canada aims to lead by example in combatting climate change, fostering innovation, and building a greener future for generations to come. The success of this ambitious initiative hinges on collective efforts to transform the automotive landscape and accelerate towards a sustainable transportation future.

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UK Coal-Free Energy Transition highlights the West Burton A closure, accelerating renewable energy, wind, solar, nuclear, energy storage, smart grid upgrades, decarbonization, and net-zero goals while ensuring reliability, affordability, and a just transition for workers.

Key Points

A nationwide shift from coal power to renewables, storage, and nuclear to meet net-zero while maintaining reliability.

✅ West Burton A closure ends UK coal-fired generation

✅ Wind, solar, nuclear, storage strengthen grid resilience

✅ Government backs a just transition and worker retraining

The United Kingdom marks a historic turning point in its energy transition with the closure of the West Burton A Power Station in Nottinghamshire. This coal-fired power plant, once a symbol of the nation's industrial might, has now delivered its final watts of electricity to the grid, signalling the end of coal power generation in the UK.

A Landmark Shift Towards Clean Energy

The closure of West Burton A reflects a dramatic shift in the UK's energy landscape. Coal, the backbone of the UK's power generation for decades, is being phased out in favour of renewable energy sources like wind, solar, and nuclear. This transition aligns with the UK's ambitious net-zero emissions target, which aims to radically decarbonize the country's economy by 2050, though progress can falter, as when low-carbon generation stalled in 2019 amid changing market conditions.

Changing Energy Landscape

In the past, coal-fired power plants provided reliable, on-demand power. However, growing awareness of their significant environmental impact, particularly their contribution to climate change,  has accelerated the move away from coal. The UK government has set clear targets for eliminating coal power generation, and the industry has seen a steady decline as the share of coal fell to record lows in the electricity system.

Renewables Fill the Gap

The remarkable growth of renewable energy sources has enabled the transition away from coal. Wind and solar power, in particular, have experienced rapid development and falling costs, and in 2016 wind generated more electricity than coal for the first time. The UK now boasts substantial offshore and onshore wind farms and extensive solar installations. Additionally, investments in nuclear power and emerging energy storage technologies are increasing the reliability and diversity of the UK's power grid.

Economic and Social Impacts

The closure of the last coal-fired power station carries both economic and social impacts. While this change represents a victory for environmentalists, marked by milestones like a full week without coal power in Britain, the end of coal mining and power generation will lead to job losses in communities traditionally reliant on these industries.  The government has committed to supporting affected regions and facilitating a "just transition" for workers by retraining and creating new opportunities in the clean energy sector.

Global Implications

The UK's commitment to a coal-free future serves as a powerful example for other nations seeking to decarbonize their energy systems, including peers where Alberta's last coal plant closed recently. The nation's experience demonstrates that a transition to renewable energy sources is both possible and necessary. However, it also highlights the importance of careful planning and addressing the social and economic impacts of such a rapid energy revolution.

The Road Ahead

While the closure of West Burton A Power Station marks a historic milestone, the UK's transition to clean energy is far from complete. Maintaining a reliable and affordable energy supply, even as coal-free power records raise questions about energy bills, will require continued investment in renewable energy sources, energy storage, and advanced grid technologies.

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UK Peak Power Prices surged as low wind speeds forced National Grid to rely on gas-fired plants and coal generation, amid soaring wholesale gas prices and weak wind generation during the energy crisis.

Key Points

UK Peak Power Prices are electricity costs at peak hours, driven by wind output, gas reliance, and market dynamics.

✅ Spikes when wind generation drops and demand rises.

✅ Driven by gas-fired plants, coal backup, and wholesale gas prices.

✅ Moderate as wind output recovers and interconnectors supply.

Low wind speeds pushed peak hour power prices to the second highest level for at least three years on Monday, a move consistent with UK electricity prices hitting a 10-year high earlier this year, as Britain’s grid was forced to increase its reliance on gas-fired power plants and draw on coal generation.

Calm weather this year has exacerbated the energy price crisis in the UK, as gas-fired power stations have had to pick up the slack from wind farms. Energy demand has surged as countries open up from pandemic restrictions, which together with lower supplies from Russia to western Europe, has sent wholesale gas prices soaring.

Power prices in the UK for the peak evening period between 5pm and 6pm on Monday surpassed £2,000 per megawatt hour, only the second time they have exceeded that level in recent years.

This was still below the levels reached at the height of the gas price crisis in mid-September, when they hit £2,500/MWh, according to the energy consultancy Cornwall Insight, whose records date back to 2018.

Low wind speeds were the main driver behind Monday’s price spike, although expectations of a pick-up in wind generation on Tuesday, after recent record wind generation days, should push them back down to similar levels seen in recent weeks, analysts said.

Despite the expansion of renewables, such as wind and solar, over the past decade, with instances of wind leading the power mix in recent months, gas remains the single biggest source of electricity generation in Britain, typically accounting for nearly 40 per cent of output.

At lunchtime on Monday, gas-fired power plants were producing nearly 55 per cent of electricity, while coal accounted for 3 per cent, reflecting more power from wind than coal in 2016 milestones. Britain’s wind farms were contributing 1.67 gigawatts or just over 4 per cent, according to data from the Drax Electrics Insights website. Over the past 12 months, wind farms have produced 21 per cent of the UK’s electricity on average.

National Grid, which manages the UK’s electricity grid, has been forced on a number of occasions in recent months to ask coal plants to fire up to help offset the loss of wind generation, after issuing a National Grid short supply warning to the market. The government announced in June that it planned to bring forward the closure of the remaining coal stations to the end of September 2024.

Ministers also committed this year to making Britain’s electricity grid “net zero carbon” by 2035, and milestones such as when wind was the main source underline the transition, although some analysts have pointed out that would not signal the end of gas generation.

Since the start of the energy crisis in August, 20 energy suppliers have gone bust as they have struggled to secure the electricity and gas needed to supply customers at record wholesale prices, with further failures expected in coming weeks.

Phil Hewitt, director of the consultancy EnAppSys, said Monday’s high prices would further exacerbate pressures on those energy suppliers that do not have adequate hedging strategies. “This winter is a good time to be a generator,” he added.

Energy companies including Orsted of Denmark and SSE of the UK have reported some of the lowest wind speeds for at least two decades this year, even though record output during Storm Malik highlighted the system's volatility.

According to weather modelling group Vortex, the strength of the wind blowing across northern Europe has fallen by as much as 15 per cent on average in places this year, which some scientists suggest could be due to climate change.
 

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B.C. EV Charging Rebates boost CleanBC incentives as NRCan and ZEVIP funding covers up to 75% of Level 2 and DC fast-charger purchase and installation costs for homes, workplaces, condos, apartments, and fleet operators.

Key Points

Incentives in B.C. cover up to 75% of Level 2 and DC fast charger costs for homes, workplaces, and fleets.

✅ Up to 75% back; Level 2 max $5,000; DC fast max $75,000 for fleets.

✅ Eligible sites: homes, workplaces, condos, apartments, fleet depots.

✅ Funded by CleanBC with NRCan ZEVIP; time-limited top-up.

The Province and Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) are making it more affordable for people to install electric vehicle (EV) charging stations in their homes, businesses and communities, as EV demand ramps up across the province.

B.C. residents, businesses and municipalities can receive higher rebates for EV charging stations through the CleanBC Go Electric EV Charger Rebate and Fleets programs. For a limited time, funding will cover as much as 75% of eligible purchase and installation costs for EV charging stations, which is an increase from the previous 50% coverage.

“With electric vehicles representing 13% of all new light-duty vehicles sold in B.C. last year, our province has the strongest adoption rate of electric vehicles in Canada. We’re positioning ourselves to become leaders in the EV industry,” said Bruce Ralston, B.C.’s Minister of Energy, Mines and Low Carbon Innovation. “We’re working with our federal partners to increase rebates for home, workplace and fleet charging, and making it easier and more affordable for people to make the switch to electric vehicles.”

With a $2-million investment through NRCan’s Zero-Emission Vehicle Infrastructure Program (ZEVIP) to top up the Province’s EV Charger Rebate program, workplaces, condominiums and apartments can get a rebate for a Level 2 charging station for as much as 75% of purchase and installation costs to a maximum of $5,000. As many as 360 EV chargers will be installed through the program.

“We’re making electric vehicles more affordable and charging more accessible where Canadians live, work and play,” said Jonathan Wilkinson, federal Minister of Natural Resources. “Investing in more EV chargers, like the ones announced today in British Columbia, will put more Canadians in the driver’s seat on the road to a net-zero future and help achieve our climate goals.”

Through the CleanBC Go Electric Fleets program and in support of B.C. businesses that own and operate fleet vehicles, NRCan has invested $1.54 million through ZEVIP to top up rebates. Fleet operators can get combined rebates from NRCan and the Province for a Level 2 charging station as much as 75% to a maximum of $5,000 of purchase and installation costs, and 75% to a maximum of $75,000 for a direct-current, fast-charging station. As many as 450 EV chargers will be installed through the program.

CleanBC is a pathway to a more prosperous, balanced and sustainable future. It supports government’s commitment to climate action to meet B.C.’s emission targets and build a cleaner, stronger economy.

Quick Facts:

• A direct-current fast charger on the BC Electric Highway allows an EV to get 100-300 kilometres of range from 30 minutes of charging.
• Faster chargers, which give more range in less time, are coming out every year.
• A Level 2 charger allows an EV to get approximately 30 kilometres of range per hour of charging.
• It uses approximately the same voltage as a clothes dryer and is usually installed in homes, workplaces or for fleets to get a faster charge than a regular outlet, or in public places where people might park for a longer time.
• A key CleanBC action is to strengthen the Zero-Emission Vehicles Act to require light-duty vehicle sales to be 26% zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs) by 2026, 90% by 2030 and 100% by 2035, five years ahead of the original target.
• At the end of 2021, B.C. had more than 3,000 public EV charging stations and almost 80,000 registered ZEVs.

Learn More:

To learn more about home and workplace EV charging-station rebates, eligibility and application processes, visit: https://goelectricbc.gov.bc.ca/   

To learn more about the Fleets program, visit: https://pluginbc.ca/go-electric-fleets/    

To learn more about Natural Resources Canada’s Zero-Emission Vehicle Infrastructure Program, visit:
https://www.nrcan.gc.ca/energy-efficiency/transportation-alternative-fuels/zero-emission-vehicle-infrastructure-program/21876

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France Nuclear Heatwave Output Restrictions signal reduced reactor capacity along the Rhone River, as EDF curbs output to meet cooling-water rules, balance the grid, integrate solar peaks, and limit impacts on power prices.

Key Points

EDF limits reactor output during heat to protect rivers and keep the grid stable under cooling-water rules.

✅ Cuts likely at midday/weekends when solar peaks

✅ Bugey, Saint Alban maintain minimum grid output

✅ France net exporter; price impact expected small

The high temperature warning has come early this year but will affect fewer nuclear power plants, amid a broader France-Germany nuclear dispute over atomic power policy that shapes regional energy flows.

High temperatures could halve nuclear power production at plants along France's Rhone River this week, as European power hits records during extreme heat. 

Output restrictions are expected at two nuclear plants in eastern France due to high temperature forecasts, nuclear operator EDF said, which may limit energy output during heatwaves. It comes several days ahead of a similar warning that was made last year but will affect fewer plants.

The hot weather is likely to halve the available power supply from the 3.6 GW Bugey plant from 13 July and the 2.6 GW Saint Alban plant from 16 July, the operator said.

However, production will be at least 1.8 GW at Bugey and 1.3 GW at Saint Alban to meet grid requirements, and may change according to grid needs, the operator said.

Kpler analyst Emeric de Vigan said the restrictions were likely to have little effect on output in practice. Cuts are likely only at the weekend or midday when solar output was at its peak so the impact on power prices would be slim.

During recent lockdowns, power demand held firm in Europe, offering context for current price dynamics.

He said the situation would need monitoring in the coming weeks, however, noting it was unusually early in the summer for such restrictions to be imposed.

Water temperatures at the Bugey plant already eclipsed the initial threshold for restrictions on 9 July, underscoring France's outage risks under heat-driven constraints. They are currently forecast to peak next week and then drop again, Refinitiv data showed.

"France is currently net exporting large amounts of power – single nuclear units' supply restrictions will not have the same effect as last year," Refinitiv analyst Nathalie Gerl said.

The Garonne River in southern France has the highest potential for critical levels of warming, but its Golfech plant is currently offline for maintenance until mid-August, the data showed, highlighting how Europe is losing nuclear power during critical periods.

"(The restrictions were) to be expected and it will probably occur more often," Greenpeace campaigner Roger Spautz said.

"The authorities must stick to existing regulations for water discharges. Otherwise, the ecosystems will be even more affected," he added.

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