View this email in a web browser.
California Governor Jerry Brown Signs Bill for Carbon-Free Power by 2045
The measure, passed last month by the legislature, will eliminate the reliance on fossil fuels to power homes, businesses and factories in the world’s fifth-largest economy, accelerating a shift already under way. The state currently gets about 44 percent of its power from renewables and hydropower. “California is committed to doing whatever is necessary to meet the existential threat of climate change,” Brown said before he signed the bill in Sacramento. “California has been daoing stuff that the rest of the world is hoping to get to one day.” [ read more … ]
California Aims to Drop Fossil Fuels for Electricity by 2045
California has set a goal of phasing out electricity produced by fossil fuels by 2045 under legislation signed Monday by Gov. Jerry Brown, who said the policy should serve as a model for other states and nations. Brown, who has positioned California as a global leader in the effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, approved the measure as he prepares to host a summit in San Francisco of climate change leaders from around the world starting Wednesday [ read more … ]
Governors Welcome New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy to the Wind & Solar Energy Coalition
“It’s an honor to have Governor Murphy as a Coalition member. Governor Murphy already has an extraordinary record of accomplishment. Within weeks of taking office, he took action to develop New Jersey’s vast offshore wind energy resources — steps that will provide decades of economic development and emissions free energy to the Garden State,” said Montana Governor Steve Bullock, Coalition chairman. [ read more … ]
Policy & Poltiics
Developers see value in California offshore wind development
Now that offshore wind energy has taken a strong position in New England’s future power planning, due in part to unexpectedly competitive prices, developers are looking toward new markets. State mandates and contractual commitments promise to make offshore wind a key part of the East Coast power mix by the mid-2020s. But offshore wind is not limited to the east. A Sept. 17 meeting of a federal-state Energy Task Force could clear federal permitting obstacles, bring thousands of California coastal wind MWs into the market, and pioneer floating turbine technology. [ read more … ]
DOE, N.Y. drill down on lowering offshore wind industry costs
Over the last decade, Europe has turned one of the most expensive technologies for power generation — offshore wind — into a commercial technology that may be on the brink of going subsidy-free. Now, a new public-private effort in the United States is going to attempt the same trick, but with a distinctly American spin. [ read more … ]
Moniz group launches ‘substantial’ CO2 air capture project
A think tank led by former Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz announced today it was developing a federal plan to promote technologies for removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. The Energy Futures Initiative’s air-capture project aims to bring new focus and dollars to an idea that proponents say is necessary to hit long-term climate targets. Supporters say carbon-removal strategies are an important step toward decarbonizing the energy sector by the end of the century. [ read more … ]
Md.’s big EV build-out meets resistance
Deliberations in Maryland over a potentially transformative expansion of electric-vehicle charging infrastructure in the state hit multiple roadblocks during two days of hearings before utility regulators last week. Members of the Public Service Commission pressed utility representatives on the cost of a $104 million, 24,000-charger portfolio proposed by the state’s major electricity providers last winter, at times sounding troubled by the rapid development of plans that embody the clean energy hopes of the state’s Republican governor and Democratic Legislature. [ read more … ]
With a shrinking EPA, Trump delivers on his promise to cut government
On the campaign trail, Donald Trump vowed to dismantle the Environmental Protection Agency “in almost every form. We’re going to have little tidbits left, but we’re going to take a tremendous amount out.” As president, he is making headway on that promise. [ read more … ]
Spokane mayor vetoes renewable energy law
The Spokane City Council may vote to override a mayoral veto of an ordinance that set goals for reaching 100 percent renewable energy for electricity by 2030. The council approved a measure on a 6-1 vote last month calling on the city to prepare a plan to run its operations exclusively on renewable electricity sources by 2020, with the rest of the city meeting that goal by 2030. [ read more … ]
Note: News clips provided do not necessarily reflect the views of coalition or its member governors.