View this email in a web browser.
Special Report: U.S. air monitors routinely miss pollution – even refinery explosions
When explosions ripped through a Philadelphia oil refinery last year, the shock waves knocked Felicia Menna’s front door frame out of place. Then came the black smoke. “My throat was closing shut,” recalled Menna, who lives about a mile away. “My nostrils felt like they were on fire.”
[ read more … ]
Wind Energy
Whether NJ bolts regional power grid could depend on offshore wind — and Biden rules
New Jersey’s first offshore wind project may not begin providing power until mid-decade, a factor that could have implications for whether the state decides to bolt from the PJM Interconnection, the nation’s largest power grid. In an earnings call earlier this fall, Henrik Poulsen, CEO of Ørsted, indicated the completion of the company’s 1,100-megawatt offshore wind farm 17 miles off the coast from Atlantic City may not occur in 2024, as originally anticipated, because of delays with the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management’s permitting process.
[ read more … ]
The New Energy Giants Are Renewable Companies
Meet the clean supermajors. They have the clout and financial might of the energy behemoths that plumbed the world over for oil and gas before them. But instead of digging mines and drilling wells, they’re leading the race to electrify the global economy. These four companies—Enel, Iberdrola, NextEra Energy and Orsted—prioritized the building or buying of clean-power plants when those assets were still considered alternative and expensive. Now they’re on the cusp of a breakthrough. Ever-cheaper solar panels and wind turbines are beginning to dominate new power installations, threatening the growth of natural gas on our power grids and upending energy markets. [ read more … ]
Solar Energy
4 solar fights critical for 100% clean electricity
Residential solar policy isn’t as widely tracked as the presidential election, but it is decided in much the same way: state by state. That’s important as President-elect Joe Biden’s 100% clean power agenda may depend in part on state policies that he doesn’t control. Regulators from California to Connecticut, for example, have big calls to make in the months and years ahead on solar and net metering. And, like the Electoral College, state solar decisions will carry collective weight. [ read more … ]
The Transition
Biden’s pick to lead White House budget office emerges as lightning rod for GOP
President-elect Joe Biden’s pick to lead the powerful White House budget office generated early controversy Monday, with Neera Tanden emerging as an immediate target for conservatives and Republican lawmakers. Tanden, 50, has regularly clashed with the GOP in a manner that Republicans say will complicate her Senate confirmation process. Several GOP senators said Monday that she could run into trouble during confirmation hearings, warning that her “partisan” background could make it hard for her to win Republican support. [ read more … ]
Biden’s economic team has strong energy, climate ties
President-elect Joe Biden’s senior economic team includes a carbon tax proponent as well as a senior Obama climate adviser whose support for the Obama administration’s stances on fracking and Arctic drilling has roiled some green groups. Biden announced his economic team yesterday, which also includes former Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen as Treasury secretary and Center for American Progress President Neera Tanden as director of the Office of Management and Budget, which plays a key role in overseeing federal regulations. Both nominees require Senate confirmation. [ read more … ]
Biden taps adviser who ties gasoline price to emissions
President-elect Joe Biden’s financial policy will be shaped — at least in part — by an economic adviser who believes fossil fuels are “severely underpriced” because they don’t consider the harm caused by climate change. Biden announced yesterday that Jared Bernstein would be one of three members of the White House Council of Economic Advisers. Bernstein previously served as Biden’s economic adviser during his vice presidency, from 2009 to 2011, and was a senior fellow at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, a progressive think tank in Washington.
[ read more … ]
Car Rule
Ford says automakers should consider backing California emissions deal
Ford Motor Co is urging major automakers to consider backing a framework deal with California on vehicle emissions in a bid to reach industry consensus before President-elect Joe Biden takes office, according to a letter seen by Reuters on Monday. Major automakers are set to discuss next steps at a virtual meeting of their auto trade association Tuesday, which comes a week after General Motors Co abruptly announced it would no longer back the Trump administration’s ongoing effort to bar California from setting its own vehicle emissions rules. [ read more … ]
FERC
Senate confirms Trump FERC picks
The Senate moved quickly last night to confirm Allison Clements and Mark Christie as the newest members of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. The bipartisan duo, approved by voice vote, will take the commission to its full complement of five members for the first time in nearly two years.
[ read more … ]
EVs
Gasoline Car Bans Show Why Market Forces Aren’t Always Enough
It’s been a strange year, so you’d be forgiven for missing an odd thing that happened in the U.K. last month. When Prime Minister Boris Johnson, leader of the Conservative Party, banned sales of new internal combustion engine cars from 2030, the decision was supported by the likes of oil giant Royal Dutch Shell Plc and the Confederation of British Industry, a powerful business group. How did these champions of market-driven policies and fewer regulations become promoters of such a heavy-handed intervention? [ read more … ]
Note: News clips provided do not necessarily reflect the views of coalition or its member governors.