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Why NV Energy is pushing for a $2 billion statewide transmission upgrade
An enhanced transmission system would allow the state to potentially “become an energy highway for transfers to and from Southern California and Arizona,” the company said in the application, adding that planned construction of third-party and other transmission systems would make the state the “path of least resistance between the hydro-rich Pacific Northwest and the high-capacity winds within the central plains of the United States.” Beyond the potential financial benefit of having more electricity from other states flow through Nevada, the company also wrote in its application that it didn’t believe it could achieve a cost-effective pathway to net zero carbon emissions — a nonbinding goal set in state law after the 2019 Legislature — without substantial import of wind and other renewable energy from other states. [ read more … ]
Wind Energy
U.S. could power nation with wind energy without harming wildlife, study says
In 17 states in the central U.S. there is enough low impact land to house wind energy to meet or exceed any foreseeable renewable energy goal, according to a new analysis from The Nature Conservancy. Wind energy development generates opposition for a few reasons, such as as the noise, lack of aesthetics and likely most notably, it’s danger to wildlife. The latter concern was why the project was developed.
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FERC
Trump’s 2 surprise FERC picks ease fears of agency limbo
President Trump’s unexpected nomination of a Democratic and Republican pair to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has eased fears about the agency’s ability to function and could also ensure a Republican majority on the commission through June 2021. “FERC works best when it has a full complement of commissioners,” said Travis Fisher, who served as an economic adviser to departing GOP Commissioner Bernard McNamee until last April. [ read more … ]
Climate
Apple’s Climate Plan Is Even More Interesting Than It Appears
Apple Inc. captured headlines last week for declaring it would be carbon neutral by 2030. The effusive global press coverage rightly pointed out the level of ambition on display from the company in pledging to hit such a target by the end of this decade. But all the stories I read missed some key numbers published in Apple’s sustainability report that make the plan a lot more interesting.
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Trump slashed the social cost of carbon. A judge noticed
A federal court ruling that rejected the Bureau of Land Management’s rollback of Obama-era methane controls raises questions about whether the Trump administration is undermining its own rules by downplaying the economic impacts of climate change. A decision this month by District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers reinstated the Obama-era BLM waste prevention rule after determining that the Trump administration’s interim social cost of methane was less scientifically rigorous than the version it was replacing. The Trump figure counts only the climate damages in the U.S. that stem from methane, a powerful greenhouse gas, rather than its effects globally. [ read more … ]
FirstEnergy
FirstEnergy customer files potential class-action lawsuit seeking refund of rate hike due to ‘ill-gotten gains’ of House Bill 6
A FirstEnergy customer on Monday filed what could become a class-action lawsuit in an effort to make the electricity company refund customers for rate hikes that resulted from a billion-dollar nuclear bailout now at the center of a corruption scandal. The lawsuit filed by Jacob Smith, a North Royalton homeowner, accuses the Akron-based utility of committing civil racketeering by bribing law Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder to introduce House Bill 6 and then illegally bankrolling a dark-money campaign to pressure legislators into supporting the bill and fending off a ballot initiative to repeal it. [ read more … ]
After $60M Bribery Charges, Questions Renewed over Ratepayer Subsidies for Nuclear Power
FirstEnergy Corp. CEO Chuck Jones was more than halfway through his second-quarter earnings call Friday, when he could no longer hold in his frustrations. “It’d be really nice,’’ he said softly, ‘’we have 15 minutes left if we could actually talk about the great quarter that we had at some point here.’’ Unfortunately for him, analysts were not interested. Instead, they sought to gauge the Ohio energy giant’s risks and exposure following the announcement three days earlier of its role in the $60 million bribery scandal related to the bailout of two nuclear plants formerly owned by the company. The federal investigation led to the arrest of Ohio’s speaker of the House, his chief political aide and three lobbyists. [ read more … ]
Markets
End game for oil? OPEC prepares for an age of dwindling demand
Just 12 years ago, OPEC states were flush with cash when oil peaked above $145 a barrel as demand surged. Now it faces a dramatic adjustment if consumption starts a permanent decline. The group will need to manage even more closely its cooperation with other producers, such as Russia, to maximise falling revenues and will have to work to ensure relations inside the group are not frayed by any fratricidal dash to defend market share in a shrinking businesses. [ read more … ]
EVs
BMW 5 Series to go electric as CEO pledges bold climate push
BMW AG will make electric versions of its popular 5 Series mid-sized sedan and X1 compact SUV, part of a widened push to slash carbon emissions while wrestling with the fallout from the Covid-19 pandemic. The German automaker said yesterday it is seeking to reduce CO2 output per car by at least a third by 2030, and track progress via raw material sourcing, production and road emissions. [ read more … ]
Note: News clips provided do not necessarily reflect the views of coalition or its member governors.