View this email in a web browser.
New England faces ‘horror story’ of expensive power
New England is struggling to keep the lights on as it pursues aggressive clean energy goals, a dilemma that is so troublesome that the region’s power grid operator warns of blackouts if something doesn’t change. “I am getting nervous in New England,” said Robert Powelson, a Republican commissioner of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, which oversees wholesale power markets, during a recent event hosted by the American Council on Renewable Energy. “It is almost like a horror story.” The story is complicated, but its impact is not: Residents living in the six New England states face the highest electricity rates in the country, 56 percent above the national average. [ read more … ]
Offshore wind farms are planned for California — but the Navy says no to large sections of the coast
“There’s a lot at stake here” for California to meet its ambitious clean energy goals, said Robert Collier, a policy analyst at the Green Energy Program at the UC Berkeley Center for Labor Research and Education. “California is going to need a lot more renewable energy from all sources. Offshore wind is not the only potential solution, but it is part of a multi-pronged strategy.” [ read more … ]
Police & Politics
To revive coal industry, DOE solicits designs for little plants
The Department of Energy is making a formal push to develop small, modular coal plants — an idea observers by turns called absurd and wonderful. In a request for information today, the Office of Fossil Energy said it is seeking input on technical and market considerations to inform development of a small-scale coal generator. [ read more … ]
White House spending cuts target DOE auto loan program
Nearly a third of the anticipated $15 billion in spending cuts the White House is proposing to Congress today would come from Energy Department technology loans programs, including one aimed at creating more fuel-efficient vehicles. A senior administration official told reporters yesterday the plan would seek to cut the remaining $4.3 billion in unused funding for DOE’s Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing loan program. [ read more … ]
Virginia regulators reject Dominion’s renewable energy proposal
State regulators are rejecting Dominion Energy’s plan to offer 100 percent renewable energy plans to its big customers, saying the electric monopoly’s proposal isn’t fair or reasonable. The State Corporation Commission issued a ruling Monday saying Dominion’s proposed renewable plan would give the company “extraordinary discretion” in setting prices. [ read more … ]
3 states fight for cities in suits against oil giants
California, New Jersey and Washington want to fight for two California cities suing oil companies for damages related to climate change. The three states have asked a court for permission to file an amicus brief, or legal argument in support of San Francisco and Oakland in their suits against BP PLC, Chevron Corp., Exxon Mobil Corp., Royal Dutch Shell PLC and ConocoPhillips. [ read more … ]
TVA finances show zero-carbon energy sources are high priority
TVA Chief Executive Officer Bill Johnson said efforts made to diversify TVA’s power system have allowed customers to have lower rates. The utility has also cut carbon emissions by nearly half of what they were at peak in 2005. Johnson said more than half of the power TVA produced in the first six months of this fiscal year was carbon-free. [ read more … ]
For short runs, electric trucks could see bigger role
Urban areas might start seeing more electric commercial trucks plying the roads over the next few years, as battery-powered vehicles rival diesel for limited types of travel, according to a freight industry report. The first trucks to go electric will likely be light- and medium-duty types, like those used to run deliveries in urban areas, wrote analysts from the North American Council for Freight Efficiency (NACFE) last week. [ read more … ]
Renewable Energy Jobs Top Record 10 Million Led by Solar: Chart
The solar photovoltaic sector was the largest employer in the renewable energy industry last year, accounting for 3.4 million jobs, up from 3.1 million in 2016, according to International Renewable Energy Agency data. Bioenergy was the second biggest employer at about 3.1 million jobs, more than double the size of hydropower, which came in third at 1.5 million. Total jobs for the renewable energy industry topped 10 million for the first time, with China alone being responsible for 43 percent of the positions. [ read more … ]
Note: News clips provided do not necessarily reflect the views of coalition or its member governors.