Governors' Wind Energy Coalition

PTC phaseout expected to return next year, as House prepares extenders punt

Nick Juliano, E&E reporter • • Posted 2014-12-02 06:42:43

The House is planning to vote this week on a piecemeal bill that would reinstate dozens of expired tax breaks for this year, including those supporting renewable electricity, biofuels and energy efficiency, among others. The bill floated yesterday, H.R. 5771, came after the collapse last week of bipartisan negotiations around a much broader package, which would have included a longer-term phaseout of the production tax credit (PTC), which primarily benefits the wind industry (Greenwire, Nov. 26). But the broader debate over how to wean wind producers off the tax credit is widely expected to return next year, when Republicans will claim a majority in the House and Senate, aides and lobbyists said yesterday. [ read more … ]

Clean Power Plan opponents lead daylong push as comment period closes

Jean Chemnick, E&E reporter • • Posted 2014-12-02 05:02:35

As the clock winds down to tonight’s public comment witching hour, supporters and opponents of U.S. EPA’s proposed greenhouse gas rule for power plants jockeyed for attention. There were already 1.6 million public comments submitted on the proposal last week, but many combatants in the war over EPA climate policy held their fire until after Thanksgiving, releasing statements hours before the public comment period closes at midnight tonight. [ read more … ]

Gird for Clean Power Plan lawsuits, state AGs warn EPA

Jean Chemnick, E&E reporter • • Posted 2014-12-02 05:02:58

Attorneys general from 17 fossil-fuels-heavy states submitted joint comments to U.S. EPA yesterday, decrying its Clean Power Plan proposal as a bid to usurp state authority over the power grid. The group led by Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt (R) wrote that EPA’s proposal for power plants’ greenhouse gas emissions was an attempt to use the Clean Air Act’s Section 111(d) to circumvent Congress and the states. “Congress did not hide the authority to impose a national energy policy in the ‘mousehole’ of this obscure, little-used provision of the Clean Air Act, which EPA has only invoked five times in 40 years,” they wrote. [ read more … ]

EPA critics forecast doom, prepare for war over smog plan

Robin Bravender, E&E reporter • • Posted 2014-12-02 05:03:18

An “undeniable gut punch,” a “regulatory train wreck” and part of U.S. EPA’s “extreme environmentalist agenda” is how Republican lawmakers and industry groups are describing the Obama administration’s new proposal to clamp down on national smog standards. Administration officials and green groups insist that stricter standards for ground-level ozone are necessary to protect public health, but business groups are warning about skyrocketing costs and an inability to comply with tougher rules. Republican lawmakers today vowed to go to war over the rules, and the proposal is certain to spark protracted administrative and legal battles. [ read more … ]

Note: News clips provided do not necessarily reflect the views of coalition or its member governors.

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	December 2, 2014
PTC phaseout expected to return next year, as House prepares extenders punt Nick Juliano, E&E reporter • • Posted 2014-12-02 06:42:43 The House is planning to vote this week on a piecemeal bill that would reinstate dozens of expired tax breaks for this year, including those supporting renewable electricity, biofuels and energy efficiency, among others. The bill floated yesterday, H.R. 5771, came after the collapse last week of bipartisan negotiations around a much broader package, which would have included a longer-term phaseout of the production tax credit (PTC), which primarily benefits the wind industry (Greenwire, Nov. 26). But the broader debate over how to wean wind producers off the tax credit is widely expected to return next year, when Republicans will claim a majority in the House and Senate, aides and lobbyists said yesterday. [ read more … ] Clean Power Plan opponents lead daylong push as comment period closes Jean Chemnick, E&E reporter • • Posted 2014-12-02 05:02:35 As the clock winds down to tonight’s public comment witching hour, supporters and opponents of U.S. EPA’s proposed greenhouse gas rule for power plants jockeyed for attention. There were already 1.6 million public comments submitted on the proposal last week, but many combatants in the war over EPA climate policy held their fire until after Thanksgiving, releasing statements hours before the public comment period closes at midnight tonight. [ read more … ] Gird for Clean Power Plan lawsuits, state AGs warn EPA Jean Chemnick, E&E reporter • • Posted 2014-12-02 05:02:58 Attorneys general from 17 fossil-fuels-heavy states submitted joint comments to U.S. EPA yesterday, decrying its Clean Power Plan proposal as a bid to usurp state authority over the power grid. The group led by Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt (R) wrote that EPA’s proposal for power plants’ greenhouse gas emissions was an attempt to use the Clean Air Act’s Section 111(d) to circumvent Congress and the states. “Congress did not hide the authority to impose a national energy policy in the ‘mousehole’ of this obscure, little-used provision of the Clean Air Act, which EPA has only invoked five times in 40 years,” they wrote. [ read more … ] EPA critics forecast doom, prepare for war over smog plan Robin Bravender, E&E reporter • • Posted 2014-12-02 05:03:18 An “undeniable gut punch,” a “regulatory train wreck” and part of U.S. EPA’s “extreme environmentalist agenda” is how Republican lawmakers and industry groups are describing the Obama administration’s new proposal to clamp down on national smog standards. Administration officials and green groups insist that stricter standards for ground-level ozone are necessary to protect public health, but business groups are warning about skyrocketing costs and an inability to comply with tougher rules. Republican lawmakers today vowed to go to war over the rules, and the proposal is certain to spark protracted administrative and legal battles. [ read more … ] Note: News clips provided do not necessarily reflect the views of coalition or its member governors.
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