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Midwest went from a climate leader to a Trump bulwark
Climate hawks thought they’d scored a major victory in 2007 when six Midwestern states and the Canadian province of Manitoba agreed to an economywide carbon cap-and-trade program. It was seen by many as a precursor to federal action. More than a decade later, the Midwestern Greenhouse Gas Reduction Accord has come to represent just the opposite. [ read more … ]
Grain Belt Express transmission project heads to Missouri Supreme Court
A Missouri Court of Appeals has handed a major victory to Clean Line Energy Partner’s Grain Belt Express transmission project, concluding that regulators erred, and transferring the case to the state’s highest court. Last year the Missouri Public Service Commission rejected the Grain Belt Express project, citing a controversial case that developers must get pre-approval from counties that would be impacted. It is that issue which will likely be debated should the state’s high court take the case [ read more … ]
Policy & Politics
A ‘fierce’ mom meets Pruitt
Anyone who follows environmental issues on Capitol Hill has likely seen them — groups of women in bright-red T-shirts with small kids in tow. These are the volunteers of Moms Clean Air Force, and they’re pushing lawmakers to consider how U.S. EPA’s actions will affect families. The “supermoms” have become a frequent presence in Washington, D.C., in large part thanks to the efforts of the group’s co-founder and senior director, Dominique Browning. The 62-year-old mother started the group in 2011 with two Environmental Defense Fund board members to push for a systemic shift in how the country approaches climate change. [ read more … ]
Energy incentives may be back on the table
An upcoming push by congressional Republicans to fix a number of technical glitches in the 2-month-old rewrite of the tax code may provide a new opening for energy and other interest groups seeking changes for key incentives. House Ways and Means Chairman Kevin Brady (R-Texas) acknowledged this week what has long been expected — that Congress will need to pass a “technical corrections” bill to fix unintended consequences of the historic rewrite of the tax code President Trump signed into law in December. [ read more … ]
‘We are not canceling the Solar Decathlon’
The Department of Energy said yesterday it is not issuing a funding announcement “in the near term” for the Solar Decathlon, raising new questions about the event’s future. Typically, DOE would have released a funding opportunity and call for teams by now for 2019’s event, which usually is held every other year. The Solar Decathlon, a collegiate competition where teams design and build solar-powered homes, was last held in Denver in 2017. [ read more … ]
Interior-EPA bill will see funding boost
Agencies funded under the Interior-Environment appropriations bill will see increased spending levels in fiscal 2019 under budget caps guiding the construction of the omnibus spending bill, key senators said yesterday. Sen. Tom Udall of New Mexico, the top Democrat on the Interior and Environment Appropriations Subcommittee, declined to discuss that panel’s 302(b) allocation setting its spending limit for the year but acknowledged it was “definitely more than last year.” [ read more … ]
Energy Department Review Led to Delays at Green Projects: GAO
Green energy technology development projects suffered staffing and investment problems last year due to a Trump administration review of Energy Department funding for companies and universities, a federal government report said on Wednesday. The Department of Energy implemented a program to review and approve aid on a rolling basis including funds from its branch called the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy, or ARPA-E, from May to September. ARPA-E funds high risk but potentially transformational energy projects such as next generation batteries for electric cars and storing energy from wind and solar power. [ read more … ]
Mnuchin Floats Rejoining Trans-Pacific Partnership, Trade Deal Trump Shelved
More than a year after President Trump abruptly pulled out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership, saying it was a bad deal for the United States, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said on Tuesday that the United States is discussing rejoining the multilateral trade agreement. Mr. Mnuchin, speaking at an investment summit meeting sponsored by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, said that renegotiating the trade agreement was “on the table” and that he had been in talks with other countries about what it would take for the United States to reverse course. [ read more … ]
Note: News clips provided do not necessarily reflect the views of coalition or its member governors.