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Sens. Udall, Heinrich introduce renewable electricity standard for utilities
Sen. Tom Udall introduced legislation today that would force utilities to generate more of their power from clean sources, such as wind, energy and coal. The New Mexico Democrat’s effort to implement a so-called “renewable electricity standard” has no Republican co-sponsors and likely faces a tough, uphill climb in the GOP-controlled Congress. Sen. Martin Heinrich, a New Mexico Democrat who sits on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, is a cosponsor. The Udall-Heinrich bill would require utilities to generate 30 percent of their electricity from renewable energy sources by 2030. That’s a boost from the 25 percent by 2025 mandate that Udall tried to legislate in his very first Senate bill back in 2009. [ read more … ]
Commissioner Moeller announces departure, setting off replacement rumors
Philip Moeller, an outspoken Republican member of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, announced yesterday that he plans to leave the agency in the coming months, creating an opening expected to be filled by a senior Senate GOP aide. Moeller’s likely replacement is Patrick McCormick, senior counsel for the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, who has deep ties in the energy world. A source familiar with the situation said McCormick would be the nominee. [ read more … ]
Gas closes in on coal in power plant generation
For the first time in three years, natural gas is about to catch up with coal as a fuel for the nation’s power plants, foreshadowing the crucial role of gas supplies in meeting U.S. EPA’s proposed Clean Power Plan. Natural gas prices below $3 per million British thermal units (MMBtu) have created the closest convergence of the two power plant fuels since April 2012, the Energy Information Administration’s Short-Term Energy Analysis reported yesterday. And the dead heat that April was the only other time that has ever happened, noted EIA, an arm of the Department of Energy. [ read more … ]
W.Va. senators launch assault on EPA carbon rules
West Virginia’s two senators took the lead today in launching their chamber’s flagship bid to kill U.S. EPA’s proposed rules for carbon emissions from new and existing power plants, pledging the bill would move quickly through committee. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R) sponsored the measure, which heavily borrowed from a bill that co-sponsor and Mountain State colleague Sen. Joe Manchin (D) floated in the last Congress. Senate Environment and Public Works Chairman James Inhofe (R-Okla.) promised at a Capitol press conference unveiling the bill today that he would prioritize it. [ read more … ]
China’s Revolution In Wind Energy
Back in 2010, China became the world’s largest wind energy producer and the boom is continuing unabated, fuelled by government support and ambitious renewable energy targets. Data from the China Wind Energy Association (CWEA) revealed that wind energy surpassed nuclear for the very first time in 2012 to become the country’s third largest source of electricity, after coal and hydro-electric power. [ read more … ]
With Tesla Entering Market, Hopes for Home Batteries Grow
In the United States, Tesla is set to sell a 10 kilowatt-hour, lithium-ion battery that is mounted on the wall for $3,500, and another lower-capacity model for $3,000. The batteries are expected to be available in Europe this year and in the Asia-Pacific region in early 2016, according to Khobi Brooklyn, director of global communications at Tesla. International pricing has not yet been announced.
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