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Murkowski casts aside ‘messaging’ in pursuit of overdue energy bill
“It’s not going to benefit me to try to move a measure that has no bipartisan support. I might be able to move it through committee, but if I can’t actually move it through the floor, that’s a lot of work for no gain,” the Alaska Republican, who chairs the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, told reporters during a 40-minute briefing yesterday afternoon. “We’ve done a lot of messaging around these parts of late, and I want to actually make some changes to our energy policy,” Murkowski continued. “We haven’t done that since 2007; it’s way past time.” [ read more … ]
Dozens of energy proposals floated in Senate
Senate Energy and Natural Resources Chairwoman Lisa Murkowski introduced 17 bills she is considering including in a broad energy package as several other members from both sides of the aisle floated their own ideas for inclusion. The goal: to address the massive changes underway in the energy industry since the last time a comprehensive bill was enacted in 2007 — such as the domestic oil and gas boom spurred by hydraulic fracturing and the transition to lower-carbon sources of energy driven by climate change regulations.
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Team implementing high-profile review to meet with White House
“Whenever Congress asks us for technical assistance we provide it,” Kenderdine said. “They haven’t asked for technical assistance at this point in time. We just sat down yesterday as I mentioned to start firming up an implementation plan — there are 63 recommendations in the QER, and we’re going through looking at ones that actually require statutory changes.” The bulk of the review’s recommendations, she added, don’t require statutory changes, and there are many steps the administration and DOE can take on their own.
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The Future Of Massachusetts’ Offshore Wind Farm Is Uncertain
New Bedford, Mass. may have lost a chance at a new industry. New Bedford is an old whaling port, where Herman Melville, the author of Moby Dick, lived and worked. Last year, then-Governor Deval Patrick said New Bedford would become a capital of offshore wind power. So it seemed. This year, success looks as elusive as Captain Ahab’s white whale. Simon Rios reports from WBUR. [ read more … ]
French Nuclear Dynamo Stalls
When Paris plays host to United Nations climate talks later this year, French officials are planning to remind anyone who will listen that nuclear reactors are a low-carbon power source. But if the French can no longer demonstrate that modern nuclear power plants can be built on time and on budget, that could add to the stigma that has made many countries think twice, over concerns about safety and radioactive waste. Germany and Switzerland, for example, have dropped nuclear power as an energy option. [ read more … ]
Moniz to speak at AWEA conference
Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz will speak at the country’s most prominent wind industry conference this month, the American Wind Energy Association said today. Moniz’s appearance at AWEA’s conference, May 18-21 in Orlando, Fla., will be the first for a Department of Energy chief. In his speech, Moniz is expected to focus on DOE’s Wind Vision program, which recently issued a report showcasing how domestic wind energy production could jump to 35 percent of overall domestic power generation by 2050.
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Moniz avoids hair jokes, pitches clean energy on ‘Daily Show’
Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz, appearing on “The Daily Show” last night, talked Iranian nuclear negotiations and clean energy technology with host Jon Stewart. In an extended interview posted online by Comedy Central, Moniz managed to plug several of DOE’s programs and initiatives on the popular late-night comedy show. Stewart asked Moniz about crumbling energy infrastructure, and the Cabinet secretary mentioned a recently released, much-anticipated department report, at least among energy wonks. [ read more … ]
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