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Missouri regulators approve Midwest wind energy power line
Missouri regulators reversed course Wednesday and gave the go-ahead to one of the nation’s largest renewable energy projects – a high-voltage power line delivering wind energy from the Midwest to a power grid for eastern states. The proposed Grain Belt Express transmission line would stretch 780 miles (1,255 kilometers) from Kansas across Missouri and Illinois before hooking into an electric grid in Indiana that serves the eastern U.S. The $2.3 billion project had twice been rejected by the Missouri Public Service Commission, but it reconsidered following a ruling last year by the state Supreme Court. [ read more … ]
Chatterjee to unveil initiative on transmission incentives
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission is expected to approve an inquiry today into policies on incentives for transmission projects needed for the nation’s next-generation grid. FERC Chairman Neil Chatterjee has made robust transmission development a priority. “It’s one of the most important and difficult things that the commission has to tackle,” he said after taking the commission helm last November. [ read more … ]
Policy & Politics
Inslee takes climate message to renewable industry
Democratic presidential hopeful Jay Inslee went before a renewable energy forum today, telling the industry its private-sector investment is crucial to fighting global warming. The Washington state governor’s appearance wasn’t a campaign speech. But he channeled many of the same climate change themes he’s used on the campaign trail in early primary states such as Iowa and New Hampshire to emphasize the urgency and hope he feels on climate. [ read more … ]
Coal plant bailout back on tap as Perry, coal interests reportedly derail FERC nomination
A federal coal bailout is back in the spotlight in Washington due to a new White House economic report and headlines about a shakeup in the nomination process for the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). On Tuesday, Politico reported NRG Energy executive David Hill is out of the running for FERC after Secretary of Energy Rick Perry and coal executives pressured the president not to nominate him. The Energy Daily previously reported Perry is pushing the president to nominate former Texas regulator Barry Smitherman to the agency. [ read more … ]
Nevada legislators introduce 100% carbon-free bill, with provision to include all energy providers
Nevada legislators introduced a bill on Monday that would double the state’s renewable portfolio standard (RPS) to 50% by 2030, and require 100% carbon-free emissions by 2050. SB 358 would ensure all electricity providers are treated the same under the RPS, including electric cooperatives and private energy providers, and clarify that renewables include existing hydropower. NV Energy, the state’s largest utility, told Utility Dive it supports the bill as it aims to add over 1 GW of renewables to its power supply, which will double the state’s renewable energy output by 2023. [ read more … ]
Voters like ‘green new tea;’ — until they get the price tag
A new poll out Wednesday from the conservative American Energy Alliance shows that voters may favor pieces of the “Green New Deal,” but in the end the majority doesn’t want to pay for it. The Alliance is a pro-fossil fuel, free-market advocacy group headed by Tom Pyle, who was once a lobbyist for Koch Industries. Pyle also headed the Trump transition team at the Energy Department. [ read more … ]
Former lawmakers urge bipartisan push on infrastructure
Former Reps. Bill Shuster (R-Pa.) and Joe Crowley (D-N.Y.) urged Congress today to pass a broad infrastructure package. Shuster, who chaired the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, and Crowley, who led the House Democratic Caucus, made the pitch to President Trump and Congress at a Bipartisan Policy Center event on infrastructure funding. [ read more … ]
How much oil is displaced by EVs? Not much so far
Electric vehicles are taking ever-bigger bites out of global oil demand, but they haven’t yet caught up with the growing size of the pie. Gasoline and diesel displacement by electric vehicles will grow by 96,000 barrels a day this year, BloombergNEF said in a report yesterday. That brings the lost cumulative demand since 2011 at 352,000 barrels a day, about as much as total consumption by some countries, such as Peru or Portugal. By comparison, total global oil demand growth over the same period rose 12 million barrels a day to 100.6 million, according to the International Energy Agency.
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Note: News clips provided do not necessarily reflect the views of coalition or its member governors.