US peak power pollution season gets underway: Maguire

Contributing sentiments towards policy:

59% : Power sector emissions tend to undergo significant jumps whenever power firms raise the share of fossil fuels in the overall generation mix.
57% : A key driver behind the heavy reliance on fossil fuels during the height of summer is the tendency for clean power supplies to hold flat or even contract slightly during that period.
55% : The mixed track record of clean power generation right when total power demand reliably peaks leaves U.S. power firms with little scope but to boost output from fossil fuels despite ongoing commitments to decarbonize power production.
55% : However, the July to September window is also when the U.S. power system tends to come under strain from heat waves and heavy storms that historically cluster during the hottest time of year.To ensure round-the-clock power availability and meet higher baseload requirements from greater commercial and residential air conditioner use during summer, most power systems are obligated to boost overall output by whatever means necessary.Fossil fuels have formed the backbone of that additional power generation in recent years, and have resulted in a jump in associated emissions which may worsen the climate-warming trends that have lifted air conditioner demand in the first place.
53% : The month of July kicks off the annual peak period for power emissions in the United States, as higher nationwide temperatures ratchet up use of energy-intensive air conditioners and spur power firms to crank up output from fossil fuels.
53% : If power firms follow their normal practice and rely on fossil fuels to plug most of any power supply shortfalls during this year's peak demand period, 2024's emissions toll will likely climb even further above last year's total.

*Our bias meter rating uses data science including sentiment analysis, machine learning and our proprietary algorithm for determining biases in news articles. Bias scores are on a scale of -100% to 100% with higher negative scores being more liberal and higher positive scores being more conservative, and 0% being neutral. The rating is an independent analysis and is not affiliated nor sponsored by the news source or any other organization.