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Senator Udall looks to revive renewable power mandate
Sen. Tom Udall is drafting legislation that would require a portion of the nation’s electricity mix to be generated from renewable sources. Udall (D-N.M.), who’s been working to pass a so-called renewable electricity standard (RES) since he was in the House, said yesterday he’s working on a new version of the legislation. “It’s going to be updated based on everything everybody’s been looking at and how things have grown over time,” he told E&E News yesterday in a brief interview. “You always update.” [ read more … ]
Policy & Politics
Atop a 300-Foot Ladder: A Swaying Tower and a Dose of Empathy
My forearms felt like they were on fire. My legs were shaking. I was climbing a ladder, but not to clean the leaves out of my gutters. This ladder was 300 feet tall. And even though I’m in decent shape, it was excruciating. And, I’ll admit, frightening. I had come to Stanton, Tex., for a story that published last week — a feature, with arresting photos from Brandon Thibodeaux, about people from around the United States who came from families that worked in the fossil fuel industry, but who chose their own career paths in renewable energy. [ read more … ]
Wind turbine fire in Mich. draws spectators; no one injured
A wind turbine fire in Michigan sent black smoke billowing into the air and drew spectators who watched as flaming debris fell to the ground. No injuries were reported after yesterday’s fire in Huron County near the village of Elkton, about 100 miles north of Detroit. The Huron Daily Tribune posted video of the fire. [ read more … ]
Duke plans largest utility EV investment ever in Southeast
Duke Energy Corp. is moving forward with a $76 million electric transportation program in North Carolina that could lead to almost 2,500 new electric-vehicle charging stations in the state, as well as money for commercial fleet and municipal transit charging. Karlis Dambrans/Flickr Two Duke Energy Corp. subsidiaries asked regulators in North Carolina last week to build $76 million worth of electric vehicle chargers, the largest investment by a utility in EV infrastructure in the Southeast to date. [ read more … ]
Mr. Congeniality: How Perry uses charm to stay out of trouble
In Energy Secretary Rick Perry’s first appearance before the Democratic-controlled House last week, Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz wanted to know why the Trump administration’s fiscal 2020 request gutted renewable energy funding. The Florida Democrat, one of the House’s most high-profile Trump administration critics, set out on a line of questioning meant to scold Perry for a proposed 86% cut in DOE’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy as “an abandonment of U.S. energy leadership.” [ read more … ]
Carbon tax takes effect as Trudeau reels before elections
anada’s federal government imposed a carbon price on four provinces yesterday that refused to adopt their own programs as tensions over climate policy flare ahead of this year’s national elections. The provinces of Ontario, Manitoba, New Brunswick and Saskatchewan, all opponents of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s effort to establish a nationwide price on carbon, saw levies on fossil fuels take effect yesterday despite their objections. [ read more … ]
EPA’s own adviser finds Trump’s rollback of car rules could cost jobs
An environmental adviser to the Trump administration projects that its attempt to reverse Obama-era fuel-efficiency standards could have a steep long-term toll on the U.S. economy and eventually cost the country hundreds of thousands of jobs. The research by an outside adviser picked by former Environmental Protection Agency chief Scott Pruitt — and funded by grants from the auto industry — is sure to fuel critics of the Trump administration’s attempts to stall rules meant to reduce the amount of climate-warming and illness-causing pollution produced by the nation’s automobiles. [ read more … ]
In a first, EVs outsell traditional cars in Norway
Electric cars outsold fossil-fuel-powered ones in Norway last month. Christina Bu, the Norwegian Electric Vehicle Association’s general secretary, said yesterday that 58.4% of new cars sold in the country in March were battery-powered, calling it “historically high.”
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Tennessee governor not sure humans are cause of climate change
Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee says the state has a duty to protect the environment but held off from agreeing humans are the reason behind climate change. The Republican fielded questions about climate change while talking to reporters last week after speaking at the Nashville Chamber of Commerce’s annual breakfast. [ read more … ]
‘It’s really in great shape.’ Trump sees warming up close
Trump has visited other sites deeply affected by climate change-influenced disasters without mentioning the overwhelming science that shows such events are more likely in a warming world. For instance, he visited California last year after devastating wildfires killed dozens. Though climate change will create more ideal conditions for forest fires, Trump instead focused on “raking” the forest floor and blamed California Democrats for the tragedy. Walking among the embers of destruction, Trump — who has called climate change a “hoax” — pointedly told reporters that it didn’t change his opinion [ read more … ]
Note: News clips provided do not necessarily reflect the views of coalition or its member governors.