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Dems block energy and water spending bill
Democrats yesterday afternoon blocked the Republican majority’s latest attempt to move forward with consideration of spending bills under disputed budget caps. West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin was the only Democrat to vote “yes” on a motion to proceed on the Senate Appropriations Committee’s energy and water spending bill. He recently expressed interest in debating fossil fuel technology spending. Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), chairman of the Energy and Water Development Appropriations Subcommittee, accused Democrats of violating regular order and silencing lawmakers on the legislation. [ read more … ]
Donald Trump takes Scottish windfarm fight to UK’s top court
Billionaire U.S. Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump took his long battle against windfarms near his Scottish golf course to the UK Supreme Court on Thursday. The property mogul – who says plans for 11 offshore turbines will spoil the view from his greens – has lost a series of battles in lower courts, and has vowed to go on to the European Court of Justice if he fails again in London. “Mr Trump does not want a wind farm 1 km (0.6 mile) away from his golf course,” Trump’s lawyer John Campbell said. [ read more … ]
Renewables soon could knock the wind out of natural gas
Energy industry experts here predict that the growth of renewable energy will challenge natural gas in the years to come, based purely on the economics. Reporting relative ease with garnering long-term renewable power contracts with electricity distributors, renewables investors were beaming with optimism at the annual South by Southwest Eco conference, which wrapped up yesterday.
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Texas Town Announces Renewable Energy Plan
Denton announced a lofty plan Tuesday that aims to make the North Texas city one of the cleanest energy providers in the state. Mayor Chris Watts announced a Denton Municipal Electric plan to have 70 percent of the city’s electricity generated from renewable sources like wind and solar power by 2019, up from 40 percent. “The renewable Denton plan is our proposed answer to the citizens’ requests of how can we increase that number,” Watts said at a news conference Tuesday. [ read more … ]
Renewables Shrug Off Slumping Oil as Investment Remains Steady
Surging interest in the U.S., Brazil and China offset a 48 percent plunge in funding for projects in Europe, long the leader in clean-energy technologies. The industry’s capital needs declined because of a drop in the cost of wind power plants, which in the U.K. and Germany are now competitive with fossil fuels even without subsidies. Industry executives will discuss the trends at a conference hosted by New Energy Finance in London next week. [ read more … ]
Outside Forces Shape European Energy
The European Union is struggling to create what it calls its “energy union.” This is largely a refinement of existing policies aimed at improving energy security, accelerating the shift to a low-carbon economy and, on a political level, showing that the 28 European Union member states can pull off a new integration project at a time when they are deeply divided on monetary and immigration policy. Much of it, therefore, is inward-looking. [ read more … ]
Energy storage grabs spotlight in Southeast utility tech plays
Energy storage is fast becoming the next step in the continuing transformation of the electric utility sector. In just a few years, executives have moved from a “we’re studying it” phase to figuring out how to make storage actually happen on a larger scale. What’s more, all three of these electric companies have significant or growing renewable energy operations outside their regulated utility territories, creating opportunities to use storage across the United States and elsewhere, analysts say. [ read more … ]
Note: News clips provided do not necessarily reflect the views of coalition or its member governors.