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‘Cautious’ FERC chair could drive consensus and clean energy
Phillips will set the tone and agenda at FERC for the foreseeable future — although a new chair from outside the commission could be nominated at any time. A Democrat and self-described consensus-builder who has so far stayed above the fray, Phillips is likely to advance proposed rules aimed at more efficiently connecting new energy projects to the grid and building new long-distance power lines. Both are priorities for renewable energy advocates. “The commission already has a lot on its plate that’s sort of open in some stage of the process, so I think there’s already quite a lot that Phillips can do in his time as chair, even just getting existing efforts across the line,” said Caitlin Marquis, a managing director at Advanced Energy United, a clean energy trade association. [ read more … ]
Solar Energy
Rhode Island aims to be first to use Inflation Reduction Act to deploy solar for low-income homeowners
Rhode Island is seeking a firm to partner with two state agencies to deploy solar on low-to-moderate income, or LMI, single-family homes using environmental justice tax credits in the Inflation Reduction Act. The Rhode Island Office of Energy Resources and the Rhode Island Commerce Corp.’s Renewable Energy Fund wrote in the Dec. 29 request for proposal that they will evaluate proposals from qualified firms to offer solar leases and/or solar power purchase agreements to homeowners who live in environmental justice focus areas and make up to 80% of their area’s median income. [ read more … ]
Pollution
Air pollutants in low-income urban areas linked with youth asthma attacks: study
In the current study, asthma attacks were triggered by a nonviral cause in nearly 30 percent of children, marking a total two to three times greater than the proportion of these attacks in nonurban children, authors wrote. The nonviral attacks were linked with higher levels of local outdoor ozone and fine particulate matter pollution. The study, funded by the National Institutes of Health, also found exposure to the pollutants was linked with molecular changes in children’s airways during the attacks, providing a possible explanation for the attacks’ underlying mechanisms. [ read more … ]
Will global emissions plateau in 2023? 4 trends to watch.
The world’s emissions have seesawed in recent years, plunging in 2020 amid pandemic-induced lockdowns only to rebound in 2021 and likely edge even higher in 2022. Experts say 2023 could be the start of an emissions plateau, as the world’s largest emitters experience slow growth and invest more in renewable technology. But uncertainty reigns — especially on whether the world can begin the emissions dive necessary to avoid the worst impacts of climate change. [ read more … ]
Climate
White House releases climate guidance for permitting
The White House issued a new policy directive Friday that aims to spur clean energy development and fulfill President Joe Biden’s pledge to strengthen the green economy. The greenhouse gas guidance directs federal planners to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions “to the greatest extent possible” when surveying the impacts of projects like highways, pipelines, transmissions, bridges and renewable energy ventures. The documents builds on an Obama-era edict that former President Donald Trump scrapped. [ read more … ]
EVs
U.S. EV Sales Jolted Higher in 2022 as Newcomers Target Tesla
U.S. electric-vehicle sales leapt by two-thirds in 2022 while the broader auto market contracted, newly released year-end figures show, as fresh plug-in models from traditional auto makers whittled away at EV juggernaut Tesla Inc.’s lead. Auto makers sold 807,180 fully electric vehicles in the U.S. last year, or 5.8% of all vehicles sold, up from 3.2% a year earlier, according to year-end figures released this week by market-research firm Motor Intelligence. In comparison, total U.S. auto sales fell 8% in 2022 from a year earlier. [ read more … ]
Note: News clips provided do not necessarily reflect the views of coalition or its member governors.