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Toxic refinery leaks imperiled Philadelphia residents
PES is one of just a dozen of the more than 130 refineries operating across the country that have consistently exceeded EPA’s “action level” for benzene of 9 micrograms per cubic meter of air, according to data compiled and analyzed by the Environmental Integrity Project, a watchdog group that advocated for the fence line monitoring program now required at all refineries. High benzene readings registered by the network of monitors around a refinery don’t necessarily translate to dangerous levels in the community, according to the city and EPA. But former EPA officials who examined the hard-to-access data compared ongoing high benzene concentrations around the Philadelphia refinery and near other top emitters to levels more often seen in China and India. And they criticized local and federal officials for failing to address the problem or adequately warn the public. [ read more … ]
Grid
Missouri bill would bar condemnation for wind energy line
One of the nation’s largest wind energy projects is facing a new obstacle from Missouri legislation that could prevent the high-voltage power line from being strung across the property of unwilling landowners. A Missouri House panel advanced legislation Wednesday that would prohibit the use of eminent domain to acquire easements for the Grain Belt Express project. The proposed 750-mile (1,255 kilometers) transmission line would carry wind power from Kansas across Missouri and Illinois into Indiana, where it would hook into a grid serving eastern states. [ read more … ]
Transmission hamstrings push for 100% clean electricity
A coalition of grid companies has fired off a new argument on why green energy advocates should embrace strategic, long-haul, high-voltage transmission lines and why federal regulators need to make that happen. Zero-carbon goals coming from a cluster of U.S. states, cities, utilities and companies can’t be met without more long-distance transmission lines delivering more renewable power, according to the analysis by the WIRES group, advocates for power line expansion. “Transmission must be part of the solution” to the climate challenge, said Larry Gasteiger, executive director of WIRES. [ read more … ]
FERC
The other side of the FERC price floor
Environmentalists have lambasted FERC’s recent move to set a price floor , which they say will hobble renewables and nuclear power that receive state support from PJM’s capacity market. They’ve called the order an attack on clean energy and a bailout for fossil fuels. But supporters of the move say the effects on wind and solar — which comprised only about 1 percent of the capacity cleared in PJM’s last auction — will be minimal. [ read more … ]
EVs
Volvo battery plant signals EV surge in Southeast
Volvo announced this week it will build a battery assembly plant at its factory in South Carolina, the latest sign of growing electric-vehicle production in the southeastern United States. Batteries produced at the factory will go into the all-electric Volvo XC90 SUV. Currently, this seven-seater is built with a gas engine, but an all-electric version is due in 2022. [ read more … ]
Note: News clips provided do not necessarily reflect the views of coalition or its member governors.