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Climate front and center in stark contrast to GOP confab
Convincing skeptical Republicans about climate change could be less important for building momentum around tackling emissions than reaching everyday Americans who are affected by rising temperatures, according to several people who spoke about the future of the issue. The event underscores the attention being paid to climate change at the outset of the Democratic National Convention, where clean energy and the environment are on display like the bronze monuments in this historic city. Prime-time speakers throughout the week are expected to raise it as a key issue, creating a distinct contrast to the convention overseen by Republican nominee Donald Trump last week. [ read more … ]
DSCC predicts green issues will tilt key Senate races
Environmental issues could prove pivotal in at least three Senate races in battleground states this fall, according to Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee officials and other party operatives. At a DSCC forum here earlier today, Christie Roberts, DSCC political director, said green issues could prove decisive in bids to unseat Republican incumbents in Florida, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. She said the environmental issues raised in those states would vary based on the incumbent’s record. [ read more … ]
Enviros urge Cuomo to move ahead with Long Island project
Environmental groups are urging the state of New York to push forward to approve a plan to build the second wind farm in U.S. waters. The Sierra Club and more than 30 other environmental groups in a letter Friday asked Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) to urge the Long Island Power Authority to reschedule a vote on the project. The authority was scheduled to vote last week on a proposal from Deepwater Wind LLC to install 15 turbines with 90 megawatts of capacity about 30 miles off the coast of Long Island.
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Mojave solar plan besieged by opponents
An ambitious federal-state plan to open up the Mojave Desert for solar and wind development in order to fight climate change might backfire, scientists say. Proposed by the Obama administration more than seven years ago, the Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan, when it is likely finalized this summer, would make almost 2,000 square miles of desert available for renewable energy development. The energy generated could go far in helping California meet its own goal to reach 50 percent of its energy from renewables by 2030. [ read more … ]
Rate agreement moves MidAmerican closer to $3.6 billion Iowa wind project
MidAmerican Energy, environmental groups and large tech companies reached a rate agreement over the Des Moines-based utility’s plan to invest $3.6 billion in wind energy. The settlement, which goes to the Iowa Utilities Board for consideration, lowers from 11.5 percent to 11 percent the return MidAmerican would receive from its investment in 2,000 megawatts of wind energy generation. Among other changes in the settlement, MidAmerican Energy agreed to not sell to other states, utilities or businesses renewable energy credits from the large project when customers choose to claim green energy use. [ read more … ]
Mexico’s Wind Farms Brought Prosperity, but Not for Everyone
At night, Juan Piñeda López hears the hum of a wind turbine that churns 300 yards away from his adobe house. Sometimes he catches the stench of lubricant that spews down the turbine’s mast. Beyond that, Mr. Piñeda said, the forest of turbines that has sprung up on the plains here in the southern state of Oaxaca in recent years barely affects him. And that is the problem. [ read more … ]
Solar Plane’s Arrival Highlights UAE’s Clean-Energy Push
The United Arab Emirates might not seem like an obvious spot to begin and end a globe-spanning flight promoting renewable energy. It is OPEC’s fourth biggest oil producer, after all, where gas guzzlers rule the road and the air conditioning is always on — not just at its indoor ski slope. Its oil output and fossil fuel-burning airlines are growing, and its per-capita carbon emissions rank among the world’s highest. Yet this federation of sheikhdoms on the Persian Gulf has emerged as an unlikely champion of clean energy. One way is by backing the Solar Impulse 2 solar plane, which ended its groundbreaking round-the-world flight on Tuesday in Abu Dhabi and counts Emirati renewable-energy company Masdar among its sponsors. [ read more … ]
Note: News clips provided do not necessarily reflect the views of coalition or its member governors.