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Trump’s vow to scrap the Paris climate change accord faces skepticism from corporations, GOP moderates
Trashing the Paris Agreement made for a great campaign prop at Donald Trump’s rallies, where the climate change accord was portrayed as a product of the out-of-touch, insufferable elites that Trump pledged to sweep from power. Now the landmark agreement, signed under President Obama, is fast becoming a nuisance for President Trump’s White House. [ read more … ]
EPA: US greenhouse gas emissions declined in 2015
Greenhouse gas emissions in the United States declined by 2.2 percent between 2014 and 2015, federal officials reported on Tuesday. In its annual draft greenhouse gas report, the EPA said total emissions of climate change-causing gases decreased in 2015 after back-to-back years of small growth. The report uses the most up-to-date data about greenhouse gas emissions. [ read more … ]
California demand for wind power energizes transmission firms
A firm controlled by Philip Anschutz, the billionaire entertainment and pro sports magnate, will soon build the largest wind farm in the United States to serve utilities in California, where officials have set ambitious green power goals. The $5 billion project, however, will be constructed 700 miles away in Wyoming, a state better known for coal mines and oil fields. The vast distance between the two states provides a different Anschutz-owned firm with another big opportunity: a $3 billion project building transmission lines to deliver the power – one of a dozen similar power-line projects by other companies across the West. In all, about 5,700 miles of transmission lines are in development with the goal of delivering renewable energy to California from other states, according to the Western Interstate Energy Board. [ read more … ]
U.S. Solar Surged 95% to Become Largest Source of New Energy
Solar developers installed a record 14.6 gigawatts in the U.S. last year, almost double the total from 2015 and enough to make photovoltaic panels the largest source of new electric capacity for the first time. Solar panels on rooftops and fields accounted for 39 percent of new generation last year, according to a report Wednesday from GTM Research and the Solar Energy Industries Association. That beat the 29 percent contribution from natural gas and 26 percent from wind. [ read more … ]
Hundreds rally to show why wind works for America
This week, hundreds of Americans from across the country are coming to Washington, D.C. for one reason: they want to make sure their elected officials know wind energy is making life better for their families and communities. They want to say loud and clear: Wind works for America. And there are a lot of reasons why we feel this way. [ read more … ]
Governor’s letter to Trump — Support solar and wind energy
The governors say they can already see what is happening in their states as solar, wind, and other renewables are creating thousands of jobs, giving concrete evidence that “renewables are providing a direct economic boost.” “Members of the Coalition have seen the benefits of renewable energy firsthand, and agree that expanding renewable energy production is one of the best ways to meet the country’s growing demand for energy,” read the letter, according to Green Tech Media. [ read more … ]
Democrat and Republican governors unite to call for US wind and solar boost
Trump’s environmental agenda is facing conflicting pressures, with calls from state governors for a rethink of clean energy policy and renewed support from US Republican grandees to implement a nationwide carbon tax clashing with pressure from US automakers to review President Obama’s fuel efficiency standards. The new President has been hit by a wave of fresh calls for him to reconsider his previous hostility towards renewable energy technologies and climate policies, but this time the plea is coming not from green campaigners or clean tech firms, but some of his own Republican colleagues. [ read more … ]
US governors set out renewables bid to Trump
he Governors’ Wind and Solar Energy Coalition (GWSEC) has written to renewables opponent Donald Trump arguing the technologies’ importance and potential in the US. GWSEC is chaired by Gina Raimondo, governor of Rhode Island, the home state of the US’ first offshore wind project, Deepwater Wind’s 30MW Block Island site.
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Democrats propose doubling Nevada’s renewable energy target
Democratic lawmakers are proposing legislation to move Nevada away from fossil fuels more quickly than planned. Democratic Assemblyman Chris Brooks of Las Vegas introduced a bill this week that would double the amount of renewable energy Nevada will mandate by 2025. Assembly Bill 206 would require energy providers to generate 50 percent of electricity from so-called “clean” sources in the next eight years. [ read more … ]
Note: News clips provided do not necessarily reflect the views of coalition or its member governors.