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Wind power sees itself on fast track to benefit from new EPA rules
Some of the nation’s top greenhouse gas-emitting states — including Texas, Illinois and California — are better positioned to meet new U.S. EPA regulations targeting utility-sector carbon dioxide emissions because they are early and aggressive adopters of wind power, according to a new analysis by the American Wind Energy Association. In a white paper released this morning, AWEA notes that wind energy produced in the United States in 2013 resulted in a reduction of nearly 127 million tons of carbon dioxide, or roughly the equivalent of taking 20 million cars off the road, according to the Washington, D.C.-based trade group [ read more … ]
White House releases sweeping regulatory agenda
The White House on Friday released its latest regulatory agenda, a sweeping plan that includes rules on power plants, renewable fuels, ozone pollution, Clean Water Act jurisdiction and disclosure of payments by oil and gas companies. The spring issue of the biannual “Unified Agenda of Federal and Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions” details both short- and long-term plans for every agency in the government. The most notable goals include timelines for the release of greenhouse gas emission standards, proposed 2015 renewable fuel standard targets, a controversial stream protection rule, crude-by-rail safety standards, and methane and hydraulic fracturing regulations. [ read more … ]
Turbines Popping Up on New York Roofs, Along With Questions of Efficiency
A dozen construction workers gathered around a flatbed truck in Long Island City, Queens, one recent Tuesday, marveling at the final piece of a new 15-story apartment building they had just finished assembling. As a mobile crane hoisted the 20-foot-long black contraption over Pearson Street, many of the workers used their phones to film its ascent. What looked like a huge carbon-fiber strand of DNA strung around a 10-foot mast was the last of three wind turbines being installed atop thePearson Court Square, a 197-unit luxury apartment building. In an industry, a city and a society obsessed with being green, wind turbines remain scarce — only two apartment buildings in New York City harvest the skies for energy, with limited yields.
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Interior eyeing Long Island waters for next competitive lease
The Interior Department this morning announced it will explore whether 127 square miles of federal waters south of New York’s Long Island are suitable for commercial wind leasing, the latest step in the Obama administration’s bold offshore wind agenda.The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management said it will complete a National Environmental Policy Act review to determine whether wind development about 10 miles south of Long Beach, N.Y., would conflict with a potential offshore liquefied natural gas facility or commercial or recreational fishing in the area. [ read more … ]
Court ruling on demand response breeds uncertainty
Officials at PJM Interconnection are reviewing a Friday federal appeals court ruling that invalidated a 2011 Federal Energy Regulatory Commission order providing incentives for electricity users to consume less power, a practice known as demand response. FERC has no jurisdiction over demand response, the court said. The court ruling strikes a blow to the Obama administration’s energy efficiency efforts and injects a large degree of uncertainty into how the rapidly expanding demand-response industry will play a role in the nation’s electricity markets. [ read more … ]
Former FERC, NARUC members join pro-nuclear group
A campaign promoting nuclear energy as a weapon against climate change announced the enlistment today of former Federal Energy Regulatory Commission member Vicky Bailey and former National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners President David Wright. Financed partially by Exelon Corp., Nuclear Matters has also lined up former White House climate adviser Carol Browner, former Sens. Evan Bayh (D-Ind.) and Judd Gregg (R-N.H.), former Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham and former Commerce Secretary and Obama chief of staff Bill Daley. [ read more … ]
Note: News clips provided do not necessarily reflect the views of coalition or its member governors.