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Garland and the case of the ‘hapless toad’
Supreme Court nominee Merrick Garland and Chief Justice John Roberts haven’t always agreed. Take the case of the “hapless toad.” [ read more … ]
New York Offshore Wind Site’s Capacity May Rival Nuclear Plant
An area off the coast of New York designated for offshore wind farms has the potential to generate almost as much electricity as a nuclear power plant. The site has more than 81,000 acres (127 square-miles), enough for turbines with as much as 900 megawatts of capacity, according to Willett Kempton, a professor at the University of Delaware who studies offshore wind. That estimate, based on developers using 6- or 8-megawatt turbines, is about 30 percent bigger than earlier proposals for the wind energy area. [ read more … ]
Once a Darling, Spanish Solar Company Abengoa Faces Reckoning
Announcing government support for clean-energy projects, President Obama hailed a Spanish company, saying its new solar technology would supply tens of thousands of American homes with renewable power, while spurring local employment. “It’s good news,” Mr. Obama said in 2010, “that we’ve attracted a company to our shores to build a plant and create jobs right here in America.” Since then, the Spanish company, Abengoa, has built two American plants, in Arizona and California, supplying electricity to more than 160,000 homes. It is the world leader in a technology known as solar thermal, with operations from Algeria to Latin America. [ read more … ]
Energy-sector CO2 flat while economy grows — again
“The new figures confirm last year’s surprising but welcome news: we now have seen two straight years of greenhouse gas emissions decoupling from economic growth,” said IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol in a press release. “Coming just a few months after the landmark COP21 agreement in Paris, this is yet another boost to the global fight against climate change.” [ read more … ]
MISO analysis looks to the future of a low-carbon grid
U.S. EPA’s Clean Power Plan, if upheld by the courts, could force more coal plant retirements than initially expected in the nation’s midsection, according to the most recent modeling by the region’s grid operator. In its most recent report discussed at a committee meeting yesterday, the Carmel, Ind.-based Midcontinent Independent System Operator looked at various greenhouse gas reduction scenarios and how they would affect the coal fleet across the 15 states where it operates. [ read more … ]
Doubling Renewables by 2030 Could Save $4.2 Trillion a Year-Research
Doubling the share of renewables in the global energy mix to 36 percent by 2030 could save the world economy up to $4.2 trillion a year, research by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) showed on Wednesday. Renewable sources, such as wind and solar, accounted for around 18 percent of global energy consumption in 2014. Under existing national policies, the share of renewables is forecast to reach 21 percent by 2030. [ read more … ]
Editorial: Wind energy rules too strict
The Lancaster County Board should heed the request of a local coalition that it take another look at the super-strict noise limits it approved last year for wind turbines. As John Hansen, president of the Nebraska Farmers Union, told the board last week, the regulations “make it next to impossible to develop wind energy in our county.” [ read more … ]
Note: News clips provided do not necessarily reflect the views of coalition or its member governors.