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Washington state lawmakers propose carbon tax
Washington state lawmakers last week introduced a new carbon tax proposal that would target the transportation sector. The bill, known as “Forward Washington,” would impose a $15-per-metric-ton fee on carbon and generate about $7.9 billion in revenue over the next 10 years. The proposal is part of a massive $17 billion investment in environmental projects related to transportation and infrastructure. [ read more … ]
White House to set up panel to counter climate change consensus, officials say
The White House plans to create an ad hoc group of select federal scientists to reassess the government’s analysis of climate science and counter conclusions that the continued burning of fossil fuels is harming the planet, according to three senior administration officials. The National Security Council initiative would include scientists who question the severity of climate impacts and the extent to which humans contribute to the problem, according to these individuals, who asked for anonymity to discuss internal deliberations. [ read more … ]
Policy & Politics
Contentious grid project wins governor’s support
Opposition to imported Canadian hydropower has stymied efforts in New England to inject large quantities of low-carbon power into the region’s natural gas-dependent electric grid. But cracks in the dam are appearing. Maine Gov. Janet Mills (D) threw her support last week behind a proposal to build a transmission line across her state, linking hydro-rich Quebec to Massachusetts. Regulatory hurdles remain, but her approval has the potential to reshape New England’s power grid. [ read more … ]
New Mexico bill that calls for sweeping environmental reviews stalls
Business and city leaders, energy companies, electric utilities, farmers and others are all voicing concerns about proposed legislation in New Mexico that would require sweeping environmental reviews by state agencies for many projects. The bill, known as the “Environmental Review Act,” stalled in a House committee Friday as some lawmakers sought more information. [ read more … ]
Climate clash brewing in Minnesota over energy storage
The Midwest’s largest battery storage project came online last month when electric cooperative Connexus Energy flipped the switch on a solar-plus-storage project outside the Twin Cities. Clean energy advocates and utilities agree that more such projects are coming in Minnesota and the Midwest, as batteries are widely seen as a necessity to accommodate increasing levels of wind and solar energy on the state’s power grid.
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Wind energy, tax breaks sought to bring Google to Becker, Minn.
Google’s plan to build a $600 million data center in the central Minnesota city of Becker is drawing support from both renewable energy advocates and local government officials fretting the impending closure of a large, coal-fired power plant. Google proposes to build the 375,000-square-foot data center on roughly 300 acres owned by Xcel Energy next to the Sherburne County Generating Station, the largest coal-burning plant in the Upper Midwest. Xcel will retire two of Sherco’s three generators in the next seven years.
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Five Carbon Capture Techniques That Could Help Mitigate Global Warming
The United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change estimates that warding off catastrophic global warming requires actively removing 100 billion to 1 trillion tons of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere by midcentury. “We have to create an industry equivalent to the oil and gas industry whose job it is to undo emissions,” says Julio Friedmann, chief executive officer of Carbon Wrangler LLC and a senior research scholar at Columbia University. Here are some of the most promising demo-ready projects trying to do just that. [ read more … ]
5 things to know about the ‘Green New Deal’
The “Green New Deal” has hit the political mainstream in a way most environmental issues never do. It all started with the quixotic candidacy of Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) and a little-known environmental group called the Sunrise Movement, but now cable news routinely runs segments about it and at least six Democratic presidential candidates have endorsed it. Ocasio-Cortez officially introduced her resolution with Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) earlier this month, formally laying out the plan in broad, vague steps. Now the race is on to define what it is and where it goes. [ read more … ]
Note: News clips provided do not necessarily reflect the views of coalition or its member governors.