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Spending bill impasse sparks Senate acrimony
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) set another tentative procedural vote for 1:45 p.m. But leaders of both parties said nothing had changed since yesterday, when Democrats blocked an earlier effort to begin wrapping up debate. Another failed vote would leave the energy spending measure stalled as the Senate leaves tomorrow for a weeklong recess. It was the first test of a fragile accord among Senate leaders to try to pass as many spending bills as possible over the next 12 weeks. [ read more … ]
Tesla document reveals surging energy storage market
Likely sales of Tesla batteries to just one solar company this year could be 60 percent larger than the entire U.S. “behind-the-meter” energy storage market last year, said a new report by GTM Research. Even though the analysis focused only on Tesla Motors Inc.’s sale of high-capacity batteries to SolarCity Corp., GTM Research executive Shayle Kann said results were noteworthy. He pointed to Tesla likely being the country’s top stationary battery supplier and SolarCity its top customer. Tesla CEO Elon Musk is SolarCity’s chairman.
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Britain’s National Grid to pay firms to use power this summer
Under the scheme, companies will conduct some operations at night or at midday when there is a lot of electricity generation from wind farms and solar power plants. As a part of the tender, companies were required to prove they need to carry out such operations and that the electricity would not be wasted. [ read more … ]
Renewables offer glimmer of hope for isolated reservations
For 11 years, Derrick Terry has powered his home off a 1.6-kilowatt solar photovoltaic-wind hybrid generator that produces enough electricity to light his home and refrigerate his family’s perishable food in a remote region of the sprawling Navajo reservation. Terry, a renewable energy specialist with the Navajo Tribal Utility Authority and a member of the tribal nation, and his family are one of more than 200 on the 27,000-square-mile reservation who rely on the units to generate power in its most remote areas. [ read more … ]
New York to Spend $150 Million on Clean Energy Projects
New York State will spend $150 million on large-scale clean energy projects as part of its goal to generate 50 percent of its electricity from renewables by 2030. The state will award contracts for as long as 20 years to spur public-private partnerships for solar, wind, fuel cell, biomass, biogas and hydropower projects, Governor Andrew Cuomo said in a statement Thursday. [ read more … ]
Senator has handy response for science skeptics
For Maine independent Sen. Angus King, answers about the basic science of climate change are just a pocket away. The former governor has carried copies of a plastic laminated card in his pocket for the past several years. One side details the rise of carbon dioxide levels in the Earth’s atmosphere over the last 1 million years, and the other the correlation between CO2 and temperature. “It’s all you need to know.” [ read more … ]
Bill would expand tax credits for rooftop solar
Rep. Jared Polis (D-Colo.) introduced a bill this week to boost distributed solar power on rooftops and other decentralized sources. The bill would provide a 20 percent increase in the current investment tax credit for small solar systems under 20 kilowatts. The measure is the latest push to expand renewable tax credits that were extended last year. [ read more … ]
Note: News clips provided do not necessarily reflect the views of coalition or its member governors.