Dive Brief:
The U.S. cut carbon emissions by the largest margin on record during 2020, according to the ninth Sustainable Energy in America Factbook by the Business Council for Sustainable Energy and BloombergNEF.
The 9% decrease in emissions puts the U.S. on track to achieve the 2025 Paris climate goal; however, a return to normal economic conditions could cause emissions to rebound, particularly as the transportation sector recovers, according to Ethan Zindler, Head of Americas for BloombergNEF.
Zindler said he expected the power sector, which did not see as great a decline in demand during the pandemic, was likely to continue to decarbonize despite the likelihood of increased emissions in the future from other industries.
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UPDATE: Feb. 16, 2021: The Southest Energy Exchange Market (SEEM) members filed on Friday with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for the approval of an intra-hour energy exchange in the region, an extension of the existing bilateral energy trading market.
The founding members of SEEM expect to have the platform operational by early 2022, pending regulatory approval, according to a joint statement on behalf of SEEM from Duke Energy, Associated Electric Cooperative, Southern Company and ElectriCities of North Carolina. Other participants are expected to include Dominion Energy South Carolina, Santee Cooper, Tennessee Valley Authority, MEAG Power and more.
Dive Brief:
Duke Energy on Wednesday said that North Carolina regulators do not need to approve its proposal to form a centralized energy exchange market before the utility brings it to federal regulators.