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 | Welcome to Zeroing In by Speed & Scale, where we cut through the noise to deliver a data-driven update on progress toward net zero. |
| | CORPORATE RENEWABLES PURCHASES SET GIGAWATT RECORD: Corporate climate action is a crucial force in driving clean energy deployment in the U.S. One especially high-impact vehicle to develop clean energy on the grid is the “power purchase agreement,” or PPA, a contract to buy electricity at a fixed price over a set period of time. |
| | Over the last year, corporate purchases of clean energy skyrocketed to 28 GW, more than double since 2020. It’s a massive number when you consider that 34 GW of renewables in total was added to the U.S. grid last year. PPAs are mostly for solar, with some wind, though last year saw Google and Microsoft sign contracts for geothermal and nuclear.
Tech companies are responsible for the lion’s share of this clean energy purchasing—84 percent, with Amazon (the leader), Meta, Google, and Microsoft accounting for close to 70 percent. As these companies anticipate their growing AI power needs, they are signing deals today to ensure future supply. Corporate buyers are important players in bringing energy prices down. States at the forefront of renewable energy adoption, notably Texas, saw wholesale power prices drop by more than half from 2023.
In partnership with BloombergNEF, the Business Council for Sustainable Energy highlighted this and other important trends in its 13th annual “Sustainable Energy in America Factbook.“ |
| | | 🚗 1.0 – Electrify Transportation Turbulence Ahead…: While global air travel hit record highs in 2024, sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) adoption remains far behind, supplying an estimated 0.3 percent of airline fuel globally. With production delays and high costs, experts doubt airlines will reach their 10 percent SAF target by 2030—especially as industry growth outpaces decarbonization efforts (Bloomberg). …but an SAF Refinery is Cleared for Takeoff: Even as it conducts a broad review of clean energy funding, the Trump administration’s DOE is moving forward on a $1.4 billion loan guarantee for Montana Renewables’ SAF refinery. The decision followed Republican Sen. Steve Daines’ push for the project, highlighting SAF’s bipartisan appeal (Canary Media). Fast Track to Cleaner Cars: A new study found that the expansion of China’s high-speed rail (HSR) is driving increased adoption of EVs. The study hypothesizes that broader access to HSR has eased consumers’ range anxiety, driving up EV market share and sales by up to one third from 2010 to 2023 (National Bureau of Economic Research).
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| 💡 2.0 – Decarbonize the Grid Amped for Flexibility: The existing U.S. grid could accommodate up to 126 GW of new flexible loads—including data centers, EVs, and factories—if they can be curtailed for short periods. By leveraging flexible load strategies, utilities can reduce costly capacity expansions, ease interconnection delays, and integrate new demand more efficiently without immediate large-scale grid upgrades (Utility Dive). Coal’s Last Gasp: While U.S. coal power continues to fall, utilities are citing rising electricity demand and regulatory shifts to delay or reverse retirements for nearly a third of planned mine closures. Even so, coal remains increasingly uncompetitive as renewables and natural gas outpace it in cost and capacity (New York Times).
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|  | | | | According to a new report from the International Energy Agency, demand for electricity is set to grow nearly 4 percent annually through 2027, adding a total of 3,500 TWh—equivalent to Japan’s total yearly consumption. Led by China and India, emerging economies and their booming industrial activity and cooling needs will drive 85 percent of this growth. While this surge presents a challenge for emissions reductions, it also signals an extraordinary opportunity to reshape the global energy system. With renewables expected to meet 95 percent of new demand, the shift toward cleaner electricity is already underway. In order to achieve OKR 2.0 and cut 24 gigatons of global electricity emissions by 2050, clean energy deployment, grid modernization, and efficiency gains must scale at an unprecedented pace. |
| | 🐄 3.0 – Fix Food Got Milk?: After decades of decline, U.S. dairy milk consumption is rising, with whole milk sales up 3.2 percent in 2024. Meanwhile, plant-based alternatives fell nearly 6 percent. Social media trends, shifting health perceptions, and cultural nostalgia are fueling milk’s resurgence—and potentially challenging sustainability goals (New York Times). Coal’s Costly Crop Crisis: New research has found that nitrogen dioxide pollution from coal power plants has slashed wheat and rice yields by over 10 percent and cost farmers more than $800 million annually. Cutting these emissions could rapidly boost food security and agricultural output while delivering broader environmental and economic benefits (Stanford University).
💡Local progress spotlight! Washington, D.C. announced the installation of 30 food waste ‘Smart Bins’ across the city, offering residents the opportunity to compost their food scraps 24/7. The bins’ innovative design features sensors to monitor fullness and claims to keep food scraps out of reach of rodents. This new initiative aims to bolster the city’s progress in diverting 80 percent of waste from disposal, a core goal of D.C.’s Zero Waste.
Live in the District and want to learn more? Click here for an interactive map and list of drop-off locations. There’s a funny reel too. |
|  | 🌳 4.0 – Protect Nature State Farm’s Retreat: After aggressively expanding into parts of California that are prone to wildfires, State Farm Insurance reversed course last year, dropping 30,000 policies just before deadly January fires caused $30 billion in damages. Now the insurer is demanding emergency rate hikes while thousands of displaced homeowners are left scrambling for coverage (Wall Street Journal).
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| 🧱 5.0 – Clean Up Industry America’s Green Lease: U.S. office buildings reduced energy use intensity by 20 percent over the past five years, outpacing the EU’s 18 percent drop. While EU regulations drive their long-term goals, U.S. progress is fueled by investor demand and decentralized policies–a challenge to long-held assumptions about the best path to decarbonization (Bloomberg). Steeling the Deal: Japan is introducing subsidies to drive green steel adoption, offering $330 per clean energy vehicle built with low-emissions steel. Analysts suggest that even modest incentives could make green steel cost-competitive and accelerate its use in manufacturing (Reuters).
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| | 🏛️ 7.0 – Win Politics And Policy UK Sets the Pace on Climate Action: The UK is the only major economy so far to submit a 2035 climate plan in line with the Paris Agreement, pledging to cut emissions 81 percent by 2035. Having already eliminated coal from its power grid and invested $27 billion in carbon capture, Britain continues to push ahead with clean energy expansion, even as other major economies delay their commitments (Bloomberg). DOE’s Energy Push: U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright’s directive orders the resumption of LNG export approvals and a review of efficiency regulations for home appliances. It also promises to unleash American energy innovation, ease energy infrastructure permitting, and boost nuclear power as part of President Trump’s push for “American energy dominance” (U.S. Department of Energy). Paris Agreement on Pause: Conforming to previous cycles, nearly 95 percent of countries have missed the UN’s February deadline to submit new climate pledges for 2035. Most of the delayed submissions, representing 83 percent of global emissions, will likely arrive before COP30 this November in Brazil, where nations will be expected to ramp up their commitments to align with the 2015 Paris Agreement (Carbon Brief).
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|  | 🏃 8.0 – Turn Movements Into Action Rewriting Carbon Neutrality: As Microsoft reaches the midpoint of its ten-year sustainability targets for 2030, the company has doubled down on its climate goals. With global climate targets slipping, Microsoft is leveraging AI to accelerate progress. It is shifting its carbon neutrality strategy from short-term offsets to long-term investments in carbon reduction, removal, and clean energy (Microsoft). Mixed Forecast: The inaugural State of the Nation Project report shows mixed results for climate and the environment in the U.S. A bipartisan council drawn from leading think tanks and the last five presidential administrations found improved air quality but a declining global rank, persistent greenhouse gas emissions, and the prospect of growing climate threats to the economy and public health (State of the Nation).
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| ⚡ 9.0 – Innovate! AI, Energy, and Everything in Between: The Stanford Emerging Technology Review 2025 highlights ten fields shaping society, including breakthroughs in AI, biotech, space, and sustainable energy. Some of the good news: The cost of clean energy has dropped as much as 90 percent over the last decade, and satellites can now track real-time emissions. The areas that need improvement: Scaling carbon capture and maximizing its impact will require stronger governance, policy coordination, and infrastructure investment (Stanford). From CO₂ to Carats: Circularity Fuels’ new reactor converts CO₂ into ultra-pure methane with 40 percent less energy. The startup is targeting lab-grown diamonds and other high-margin markets before expanding to e-fuels. Backed by $4.9 million in grants and backing from ARPA-E, Circularity aims to cut synthetic fuel costs and curb methane emissions (TechCrunch).
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| 💰 10.0 – Invest! Green Money, Red Tape: On Cleaning Up, sustainable investing pioneer David Blood insists that climate risks remain an essential piece of fiduciary duty despite ESG pushback. With Blood’s Generation Investment Management overseeing $50 billion, he argues that sustainability drives long-term returns and predicts sustainable finance will adapt, not retreat (Cleaning Up). Burning the Carbon Capture Myth: A Stanford study finds that a full transition from fossil fuels to wind, solar, geothermal, and hydropower by 2050, alongside efficiency gains, could cut global energy demand by 54 percent, lower costs by 60 percent, and prevent five million air pollution deaths annually. It warns that prioritizing carbon capture over renewables would result in higher CO₂ levels, energy costs, and social burdens. The only true path to a clean future, the study says, is making combustion-free energy (Stanford).
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