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U.S. Renewable Energy Consumption Hits Record
Renewable energy consumption in the United States continued to rise for the fourth year in a row in 2019, with wind energy and wood and waste energy each accounting for 24 percent of all renewable energy used in America, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) said on Monday. Last year, U.S. consumption of renewable energy reached a record 11.5 quadrillion British thermal units (Btu), or 11 percent of total U.S. energy consumption, the EIA has estimated. [ read more … ]
Solar Energy
Report touts economic, climate benefits of all-electric homes
Winter is coming, America. Time to turn off the gas-fired furnace and turn up the electric heat pump, a new analysis from the energy-focused Rocky Mountain Institute suggests. In an update to its 2018 report “The Economics of Electrifying Buildings,” experts at the Colorado-based think tank argue that all-electric, single-family homes are more cost-efficient and have smaller carbon footprints than those powered by a mix of electricity and natural gas. [ read more … ]
Climate
Trump admin starts work on climate report after outcry
The Trump administration has quietly restarted the National Climate Assessment after public outcry over its delay. A key step in the progress of the National Climate Assessment — the solicitation for authors to work on the project — was delayed for months. After public outcry, NASA restarted the process, publishing a Federal Register notice Thursday on behalf of the U.S. Global Change Research Program that it was seeking lead authors and researchers for the assessment. [ read more … ]
China accuses U.S. of being climate ‘troublemaker’
China blasted the U.S. for its environmental record yesterday in a move seen as a rebuke of similar criticism Washington levied last month against Beijing. A document issued by the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs took the U.S. to task for its record on green issues such as wildlife protection and climate change, especially under President Trump. It appeared to be a direct rebuttal of a similar list of grievances published Sept. 25 by the U.S. State Department.
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FERC
The FERC footnotes
FERC’s Minimum Offer Price Rule compliance ruling issued last week says explicitly that a price floor — which is intended to counter state subsidies for renewables in the PJM Interconnection’s capacity market — would not apply to Default Pricing Service auctions so long as they are “fuel neutral.” “It appears FERC hasn’t bothered to think through how disruptive it will be,” said Casey Roberts, a senior attorney with Sierra Club. “We’re concerned this will play out as higher prices on customers.” [ read more … ]
Markets
Conoco becomes first U.S. oil major to set net-zero target
ConocoPhillips announced plans yesterday to reach net-zero emissions from its operations by midcentury, making it the first American oil and gas major to adopt such a target. The Houston-based company said that with its acquisition of Concho Resources Inc., it will be the first U.S. oil and gas company to take on a strategy to “meet an operational [scope 1 and scope 2] net-zero emissions ambition by 2050” [ read more … ]
EVs
GM to Plan Third Electric-Vehicle Plant in Big Plug-In Bet
General Motors Co. is expected to announce investments in several U.S. plants on Oct. 20, including a move that will make a former Saturn plant in Tennessee its third factory to produce electric models, said people familiar with the matter. GM plans to announce that it will build the first fully electric Cadillac — the Lyriqcrossover sport-utility vehicle — in Spring Hill, Tennessee. As part of the decision, GM will move the Acadia SUV in the future to a plant in Lansing, Michigan, said the people, who asked not to be named because the news is not yet public. GM will invest in other factories as well. [ read more … ]
Campaign 2020
Democrats prepare sweeping budget plans if they win in November
Reconciliation will be especially necessary if Democrats win a majority in the Senate and choose not to not eliminate the filibuster’s 60-vote threshold, Yarmuth said. Under reconciliation procedures, only a simple majority is needed to pass legislation in the Senate, though certain limitations apply. But first, lawmakers may have to address some unfinished business from the previous Congress. Democratic leaders have signaled their first priority would be another multi-trillion-dollar coronavirus relief package if Congress and the Trump administration can’t reach a deal by early next year. Lawmakers may also have to finalize appropriations bills for the current fiscal year if they punt a Dec. 11 government funding deadline into early 2021. [ read more … ]
House races to watch on energy, environment
Despite an ongoing pandemic and economic uncertainty, energy and environmental issues remain significant factors in more than three dozen competitive House races that will likely help decide the size and makeup of the expected Democratic majority in the next Congress. E&E News has identified 37 House races — 17 Republican, 20 Democratic seats — where issues such as climate science denial, energy jobs and toxic cleanups could become major points of contention for incumbents, their challengers or open-seat aspirants. [ read more … ]
FirstEnergy
Ex-House speaker runs for reelection despite federal charges
The race in the rural Ohio district of disgraced ex-Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder (R) now includes four write-in candidates attempting to unseat the once-powerful politician, who has refused to step aside from his reelection bid despite facing charges in a $60 million bribery scheme. The four challengers — of varied parties and backgrounds — are unified in their attacks on Householder’s questionable ethics and his role in passing a nuclear bailout bill at the center of the scandal that now faces renewed scrutiny at the Statehouse. Still, a Householder victory appears likely in District 72, given his strong ties in his native Perry County and an endorsement by the local Republican Party. [ read more … ]
Note: News clips provided do not necessarily reflect the views of coalition or its member governors.