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Obradovich: Pruitt downplays EPA’s role in reducing carbon emissions
“I come from a state where 18 percent of our electricity is generated from renewables. I get that. But to think that we’re going to fuel a power grid through a majority or exclusively through renewables, that’s just simply not going to take place,” he said. But it may very well take place, at least in this state. Iowa gets nearly 40 percent of its electricity from wind energy. MidAmerican Energy has set a goal to reach 100 percent of its electricity generation from renewables. Pruitt is from Oklahoma, where there is more than enough wind to generate much of the state’s electricity but where the fossil fuel industries are central to the economy. [ read more … ]
Court indefinitely halts suit on Obama new power plant rule
A federal court yesterday indefinitely suspended litigation over the Obama administration’s climate rule for new power plants. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit issued an order holding the case in abeyance pending further action from the court. U.S. EPA is required to file status reports at 90-day intervals.
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Judge skeptical of both sides in Trump order fight
A federal judge grappled with whether President Trump had the authority to issue an executive order requiring agencies to scrap two regulations for every new one created. At a hearing, District of Columbia U.S. District Judge Randolph Moss appeared skeptical at times of the government’s claims that the order was consistent with prior administrations’ actions to review regulations. [ read more … ]
Staid utility investing world upended by green energy revolution: James Saft
“Numerous key markets recently reached an inflection point where renewables have become the cheapest form of new power generation, a dynamic we see spreading to nearly every country we cover by 2020,” Morgan Stanley analysts said in a report released in July. “We project large reductions in carbon intensity in the global power sector, driven by the seismic shift in renewables.” [ read more … ]
US offshore pipeline ‘tops 24GW’
The US has more than 20 offshore wind projects in the pipeline with over 24GW of potential installed capacity, according to the Department of Energy (DoE). Most projects are planned for the northeast Atlantic, but schemes are also in the pipeline in the southeast Atlantic, Pacific, Gulf of Mexico and Great Lakes, DoE said in one of three reports focussed on wind energy in the US. [ read more … ]
California company submits plans to build solar facility in Nevada
A California company wants to build a 1,600-megawatt solar energy generation facility in Nye County. Sandstone Solar Energy’s preliminary plans for the facility on 20,000 acres of federal public lands were in a filing sent this week to the Nevada Public Utilities Commission. [ read more … ]
Parked Electric Cars Earn $1,530 Feeding Power Grids in Europe
Electric car owners are earning as much as $1,530 a year just by parking their vehicle and feeding excess power back into the grid. Trials in Denmark carried out by Nissan Motor Co. and Italy’s biggest utility Enel SpA showed how batteries inside electric cars could help balance supply and demand at times and provide a new revenue stream for those who own the vehicles. [ read more … ]
Target Will Buy 100MW of Wind Energy to Power 150 Stores
Target Corp. agreed to buy 100 megawatts of output from an Infinity Renewables wind project in Kansas. Power from the 474-megawatt Solomon Forks wind facility will help offset the energy used at 150 Target stores in the area, Santa Barbara, California-based Infinity said in an emailed statement Wednesday. Terms weren’t disclosed. [ read more … ]
New York Third In Nation For Wind Energy
A new report by the federal government finds that New York is third in the nation for the number of wind energy projects built since 2003. The state produces more than 1,800 megawatts. A single megawatt is enough to power 360 to 500 homes. [ read more … ]
The Eclipse Will Give Us a Glimpse of the Future of Natural Gas
Natural gas is about to get a glimpse of its future role in the U.S. power mix as solar energy’s backup. During the upcoming Aug. 21 eclipse, operators of giant solar fields from California to the Carolinas will cede market share to fast-start natural gas generators as well as hydroelectric plants and other sources to fill the gaps as the sky darkens. The celestial event, the first total solar eclipse visible in the lower 48 states since 1979, will provide owners of gas turbines a chance to shine even as the fossil-fuel is expected to be displaced over time by solar and wind energy.
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Op-Ed: Federal Climate Report Demands Action, Not Debate Over Semantics
Two events have conjoined on the national stage this week, serving to underscore the reality that climactic conditions continue to pose new challenges to agricultural and forestry producers that are working to adapt to those changes, and it has reinforced the critical role that front-line agencies like USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Services (NRCS) play in meeting the needs of farmers, ranchers and forestland owners. [ read more … ]
Note: News clips provided do not necessarily reflect the views of coalition or its member governors.