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Senate Finance panel aims to mark up 2-year extenders bill next week
The Senate Finance Committee is aiming for next week to begin its consideration of how and whether to extend a bevy of temporary tax breaks that lapsed at the beginning of this year, such as the production tax credit (PTC) and other clean energy incentives. Finance Chairman Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) told reporters yesterday afternoon that he hoped to convene a markup Wednesday to consider a bill that would reinstate the business tax breaks, which are collectively known as extenders. Wyden said he hoped the bill would extend the provisions for two years, but he stressed that details of the bill, including its duration, were still being negotiated. [ read more … ]
Kansas House of Representatives says “no” to attack on renewable electricity standard
Great news out of Kansas! Just one day after the Kansas Senate voted to repeal the state’s renewable electricity standard (RES), the House of Representatives sent the measure packing by an overwhelming 77-44 vote margin. This is a victory for renewable energy in Kansas and across the nation. It is also yet another direct rebuke to the shady tactics and misleading cost analysis put forth by clean energy opponents like Americans for Prosperity, Heartland Institute, and ALEC; all of which are funded by the Kansas-based Koch brothers. [ read more … ]
Wyo. wind could help Calif. meet goals at lower cost — NREL study
A new federal study estimates that ratepayers in California could save as much as $1 billion a year in power generation costs to meet renewable energy goals if transmission lines are built that allow the Golden State to access wind-generated electricity from Wyoming. The detailed economic study, conducted by researchers at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in Golden, Colo., and released this week, would seem to bolster ongoing federal efforts to build new transmission lines connecting vast wind resources in Wyoming to power-hungry load centers across the desert Southwest. [ read more … ]
Coalition for Fair Transmission Policy’s Sheridan discusses FERC Order 1000 court challenge
Last week, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit heard a case regarding the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s Order 1000, which seeks to address some of the modernization challenges facing the grid. During today’s OnPoint, Sue Sheridan, president and chief counsel at the Coalition for Fair Transmission Policy, a plaintiff in the case, discusses the four key issues at play and the rationale behind the plaintiffs’ petition. She also explains how this case is significant to the larger debate over Order 1000. [ read more … ]
CADILLAC TAKES ON TESLA WITH PLUG-IN ELR
Finally, there’s an electric car that rivals Tesla’s eye-catching Model S. The sleek, new-for-2014 Cadillac ELR coupe is arguably as sexy looking as the sporty Model S, and like the Tesla, it’s a plug-in vehicle that’s capable of traveling for hours without stopping.
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Note: News clips provided do not necessarily reflect the views of coalition or its member governors.