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China's 13th Five-Year-Plan on Energy Development (Energy 13FYP) might be one of the most anticipated energy blueprints in the world for its far-reaching implications for the carbon trajectory of the planet's largest emitter. On Jan 5, 2017, the National Energy Administration finally unveiled the plan to reporters, with a set of 2020 targets covering everything from total energy consumption to installed wind energy capacity. Before we delve into details of the plan, one thing is worth noting: with the Energy 13FYP, China might have once again raised ambitions for its low-carbon future, highlighting the urgency that this smog-ridden country attaches to moving away from fossil fuels. This time round, policymakers seem even more determined to squeeze out coal's share in the country's energy mix, lowering its 2020 percentage in primary energy consumption from 62% to 58%. The country is also aiming higher for renewables: installed capacity of wind energy and solar energy should reach "more than 210GW" and "more than 110GW", respectively, by 2020; higher than what was declared at the end of 2014.

Net zero energy (NZE) buildings-responsible for the production of as much (or more) clean energy as they use annually-have been gaining global momentum. In our newly released Insight Brief, RMI presents an innovative business model for developing net zero energy or ultra-low energy districts in a way that creates significant business value. Net zero energy business models are financially attractive to investors because the large capital investments in solar PV, district heating and cooling, and energy efficiency are repaid over time on utility bills, generating a steady return that benefits from enhanced credit because of the utility-customer relationship.

Apple seems to be embedding its renewable energy commitments into its corporate structure. The company recently created a new wholly-owned subsidiary known as Apple Energy LLC and filed an application to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), which regulates power companies, to be able to sell electricity and other power grid services to non-utility customers. The move is a strong sign that Apple will not only fulfill its plans to operate on 100 percent renewable energy through net-metering, but plans to generate and sell renewable energy back to the grid.

The government of Quebec, Canada, has set a goal to export 60.9% of its installed renewable energy capacity to the US -- up from its current level of 46.6% -- by 2030. "With the most developed wind energy supply chain in Canada and the northeastern United States, Quebec's wind industry is in a good position to meet our continent's energy challenges," Canadian Wind Energy Association Vice President Jean-Francois Nolet said.

Unilever will work with NRG Energy to ensure that 100% of its U.S. energy needs are met through clean and renewable sources by 2020. Unilever already purchases renewable energy certificates to cover 100% of its U.S. electricity consumption, but will transition to direct renewable energy generation with the help of NRG.

Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton has introduced a plan to bolster energy efficiency. The plan, intended to save families and businesses about $70 billion annually, seeks to roll back energy waste by one-third within a decade. "Deploying more clean energy isn't enough -- we also need to cut energy consumption, which will save families and businesses money and reduce the greenhouse gas emissions that drive climate change," say informational materials on the program. The Hill (2/2)  

US energy-related carbon emissions dropped 12 percent last year, compared with 2005 levels, after increasing in 2013 and 2014, according to the US Energy Information Administration (EIA). Reduced energy-sector C02 emissions in 2015 are largely due to a decreased use of coal and increased use of natural gas in the electricity mix, the EIA says. Such fuel-use changes have accounted for 68 percent of total energy-related CO2 reductions from 2005 to 2015.

World leaders have agreed to double the clean energy research funding they pledged in December as part of an international push to reduce carbon emissions, the White House announced on Thursday.  During the first meeting of the 21 countries involved in the Mission Innovation project this week, international members said they would increase the clean energy research and development funding the project is designed to facilitate.  According to the White House, member countries will now spend $30 billion per year by 2021 on clean energy research. 

The U.S. will have to use a variety of renewable energy technologies, like offshore wind, to transition from a carbon-based energy economy to a renewable energy-based economy, according to Andrew Myers, an assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering at Northeastern University. In the U.S., "offshore wind energy is a vast, largely untapped resource of renewable energy with enormous potential," said Myers. "[T]he potential resource is estimated to have a capacity close to the existing electricity capacity of the entire nation." CleanTechnica (8/5) 

The French Government passed legislation to cut the country's energy consumption 50% by 2050, reduce nuclear power production to 50% of the energy mix, and increase renewable energy to 32% of total energy consumption by 2030. The law also requires the country to reduce its carbon emissions 40% by 2030, compared to 1990 levels.

The report, Power Forward 2.0: How American Companies are Setting Clean Energy Targets and Capturing Greater Business Value, shows that clean energy is becoming mainstream for U.S. corporations - with 60 percent of the Fortune 100 having goals for renewable energy or greenhouse gas reductions. Through these initiatives, the 53 Fortune 100 companies reporting on climate and energy targets have collectively saved $1.1 billion annually and decreased their annual CO2 emissions by approximately 58.3 million metric tons - the equivalent of retiring 15 coal-fired power plants.

Despite efforts from Washington to sideline action on climate change, a growing number of Fortune 500 companies are taking increasingly ambitious steps to reduce their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, procure more renewable energy and reduce their energy bills through energy efficiency, according to a new report released today from World Wildlife Fund (WWF), Ceres, Calvert Research and Management (Calvert) and CDP.

China has proposed building a $50 trillion global transmission system that would connect the world's wind farms and renewable energy projects. "Global energy interconnection" would solve global energy instability, climate change and environmental pollution, said State Grid Corp. of China Chairman Liu Zhenya. In such a model, clean energy sources would provide about 80% of the world's total electricity.

The U.S. could reduce electricity costs by $7.68 billion per year by installing 54 gigawatts of offshore wind power, according to a study supported by the Department of Energy. The goal of the National Offshore Wind Energy Grid Interconnection Study was "to identify and help address the market barriers to the large-scale introduction of offshore wind energy into the U.S. energy portfolio," according to its authors. The report said offshore wind power could be especially useful in densely populated coastal areas

A new report from the European Commission has concluded that wind power is the renewable energy technology with the largest and most successful deployment over the last 20 years.

Wind energy has been utilized more successfully than any other form of renewable energy for the past 20 years, according to the European Commission Joint Research Center. Over the past two decades, wind energy's global installed capacity has grown from 3 gigawatts to 370 GW, the report said. The U.S. added 131 megawatts of installed wind capacity in the first quarter of 2015 with 68 new turbines, the American Wind Energy Association said. 

The Obama administration's rule leans heavily on renewable energy to meet its goal to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 32 percent by 2030, which is an increase of 2 percentage points from the draft it released in the summer of 2014. While states have two additional years until they must begin cutting emissions - 2022 instead of 2020 - they are expected to start devising ways to improve their environments, which will focus on shifting to cleaner burning fuels and away from carbon-heavy ones. "The trend we are on will get us there," says Rob Gramlich, senior vice president for government affairs at the American Wind Energy Association, in a phone interview. "As the nation moves from coal to gas, and as it adds more wind, solar and energy efficiency, we will reach that 32 percent target."

The Obama administration's Clean Power Plan rule will require states to begin cutting carbon emissions by 2022. "The trend we are on will get us there. As the nation moves from coal to gas, and as it adds more wind, solar and energy efficiency, we will reach that 32% target," said Rob Gramlich of the American Wind Energy Association. To comply, states can choose among options including boosting renewables, improving heat rates for coal-fired steam generators, and using more nuclear energy and lower-emitting natural gas. Forbes (8/4) 

The US Green Building Council joined the Global Energy Efficiency Accelerator Platform, a membership initiative with the goal to double the global rate of improvement in energy efficiency by 2030. The program was launched during the UN Climate Summit two months ago under UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon's Sustainable Energy for All initiative.

Google has purchased an additional 842 MW of renewable energy capacity for its global data center operations, bringing the company's total renewable energy portfolio to 2 GW worldwide. The announcement marks the largest purchase of renewable energy by a non-utility company to date.

580+ groups, businesses call for extension of clean energy tax credits  Over 580 organizations and businesses, including the American Wind Energy Association, have written a letter to Congress calling for the extension of tax credits relating to clean energy. "Businesses and investors need stable, predictable federal tax policy to create jobs, invest capital, and deploy pollution-reducing energy technologies," they wrote. 

The European Parliament has voted in favor of a new renewable energy target requiring the European Union (EU) to source at least 32% renewable energy by 2030. The Parliament also voted in favor of increasing energy efficiency in the EU by 32.5% by 2030.