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Top Story
Senator Heinrich previews transmission tax credit plan
A leading Senate Democrat on the Energy and Natural Resources Committee said yesterday he was readying legislation to offer an investment tax credit for transmission line developers. The proposal, from Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), which is still in the development phase, could help attract additional financing into the build-out of infrastructure needed to more fully unleash renewable energy onto the electric grid and meet state clean energy goals. It also could add another energy-related tax incentive measure to a crowded field looking to grab a ride on a potential tax extenders package that supporters say could clear Congress on upcoming, must-pass spending legislation. [ read more … ]
Wind Energy
Maine’s offshore wind project takes a step forward
Maine regulators have approved a power contract for a University of Maine project aimed at testing floating wind turbines near Monhegan Island. The Maine Public Utilities Commission approved a 20-year power purchase agreement that’s necessary for UMaine’s Aqua Ventus project.
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Iowa’s betting big on wind energy, but it’s creating a problem: What happens to the blades once they’re no longer useful?
The work is part of MidAmerican Energy’s efforts to “repower” nearly 110 turbines, updating existing towers with longer blades, new hubs and refurbished generators. When the work is done, the wind farm will generate nearly 20% more energy, MidAmerican says. But the upgrades for Iowa’s growing wind industry, which is already among the nation’s largest, are creating some unexpected challenges. [ read more … ]
Climate
Maine governor: States must lead on climate after pullout
Maine’s governor says President Trump’s move to withdraw from an international climate accord should motivate states to take the lead in fighting global warming. The United States has started the process of pulling out of the Paris climate agreement of 2015 (Climatewire, Nov. 5). Maine Democratic Gov. Janet Mills called it an “unparalleled abdication of U.S. leadership.” [ read more … ]
What Va.’s ‘political earthquake’ means for RGGI, renewables
Virginia Democrats took control of the state’s General Assembly on Tuesday for the first time in 26 years, teeing up action on a number of energy fronts, including carbon trading and renewables. “There was a political earthquake,” said Harrison Wallace, Virginia director of the Chesapeake Climate Action Network Action Fund. “For the first time in the history of this nation’s oldest continuous representative government, Virginia will be represented by a clean energy majority,” he said. [ read more … ]
EVs
China’s plan: Beat America (and everyone else)
When it comes to electric vehicles, no nation has matched China’s audacious plan. It wants to beat the world. China’s emerging leadership has been the subject of recent studies. One of them, released earlier this year by McKinsey & Co., the global consulting firm, revealed how China has normalized the use of electric cars while it remains a curiosity in much of the world. McKinsey’s research included a poll that found between 10% and 30% of Americans say their next car will be electric. Europe’s share of “leaners” toward EVs ranged from 40% to 60%. [ read more … ]
Carmakers push trucks with ad spending, not EVs
Car companies are spending a tiny fraction of their advertising dollars to promote electric vehicles while the bulk of their money goes toward boosting sales of gas-powered models, new research shows. The analysis from Northeast States for Coordinated Air Use Management looked at how six major auto companies advertised their most popular electric and gas-powered models in 2018. It focused on local markets in the Northeast and California, rather than nationwide ads.
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Toyota unveils EV partnership
Toyota Motor Corp. today announced a joint venture with Chinese firm BYD on electric vehicle research and deployment. The new company will seek to take advantage of Toyota’s and BYD’s respective expertise on EV technology. The venture will be established in China by 2020. “With the same goal to further promote the widespread use of electrified vehicles, we appreciate that BYD and Toyota can become ‘teammates,’ able to put aside our rivalry and collaborate,” Shigeki Terashi, Toyota executive vice president, said in a statement. [ read more … ]
Policy & Politics
Exxon, FuelCell Energy make big CCS bet
Oil and gas giant Exxon Mobil Corp. has reached a $60 million agreement with FuelCell Energy Inc. to further develop carbon capture technology that aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from its industrial operations. The partnership between Exxon and Connecticut-based FuelCell Energy seeks to “optimize” fuel-cell technology for large-scale carbon capture, according to a company press release yesterday. Exxon — the world’s largest oil company — said the partnership would enable greater progress on a solution with the “potential to achieve meaningful reductions” of carbon dioxide emissions. [ read more … ]
Carbon tax and dividend under spotlight
A prominent environmental group is coming to Capitol Hill next week to lobby for a carbon tax and dividend as a “middle ground” option to combat climate change just after the release of an independent study showing the potency — and shortcomings — of such a policy. More than 800 Citizens Climate Lobby volunteers will meet with congressional offices Tuesday to urge support for the Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act, the straightforward bipartisan carbon tax proposal that has 68 co-sponsors in the House, the most of the seven carbon tax bills that have been introduced in Congress. The bill distributes the revenue from the tax into monthly rebates, divided into equal portions, to U.S. households, protecting them from higher energy costs [ read more … ]
Ex-FERC official tapped to lead grid group
He succeeds Jim Hoecker, a previous FERC chairman, who founded the trade group in 2005. In naming Gasteiger, WIRES President Brian Gemmell of National Grid cited his “extensive federal regulatory leadership with nearly two decades at FERC.”
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Note: News clips provided do not necessarily reflect the views of coalition or its member governors.