Individual states would see significant job creation and economic growth from exporting U.S. crude oil, according to a new state-by-state report by ICF International and EnSys Energy. Specifically, 18 states could realize more than 5,000 new jobs each in 2020 from crude oil exports, with state economies growing by hundreds of millions of dollars each.… Keep reading →
New England’s dependence on fuel oil for heating is putting the region in the energy crosshairs this winter, with the average heating oil price projected to hit a record $3.81 per gallon.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) says it currently looks like the US winter will be slightly warmer than normal, but not nearly as warm as last winter in much of the nation. Keep reading →
Touted by movie stars, discussed in presidential debates, solar and wind energy are the technological ‘it girls’ of our time. Meanwhile, combined heat and power, 100 years old and shaped like a box, can’t get a date with popular culture.
Such was the lament that threaded through last week’s annual gathering in Washington, D.C. of about 120 industry supporters of CHP, as the technology is more commonly known (for those who know it). Keep reading →
Coal generating plants that retrofit to meet new mercury pollution rules won’t have to meet the greenhouse gas limits just proposed for new coal plants, says the Environmental Protection Agency.
The EPA said it doesn’t have sufficient information to impose GHG limits on those plants. Normally, plants performing major retrofits are required to meet the same pollution standards as brand new plants. Keep reading →
California energy users have a shock in store between 2015 and 2020, warns a new analysis by ICF International.
That’s when California’s greenhouse gas law, the Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006, really bites. Popularly known as AB 32, the law requires progressive reductions in carbon dioxide and other gases associated with global warming, aiming to cut the state’s emissions to their 1990 level by 2020. Keep reading →
The Environmental Protection Agency will work with generators, especially public power agencies, that have difficulty meeting new mercury reduction deadlines, but doubts many will need more time, says Assistant Administrator Gina McCarthy.
Speaking to a breakfast hosted by ICF International in Washington Thursday, McCarthy defended EPA’s decision to stick with a three-year compliance deadline in its final Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS) rule issued December 21. Keep reading →
Alaskans’ way of life is threatened as oil production declines and new pipelines for natural gas remain difficult to justify financially.
Larry Persily, Federal Coordinator for Alaska Natural Gas Transportation Projects, said only high oil prices are keeping state royalties from dropping even more. The state gets 90% of its General Fund – some $8 billion last year — from oil and gas royalties. Alaskans pay no income or sales taxes, and get an annual cash rebate from the royalty fund. Keep reading →
The theory of capacity markets is simple: in a competitive market, electricity prices for future supply will rise as shortages loom, drawing in competitors to profit by building new generating capacity.
In practice, it may not be working out that way, and simmering discontent over how much consumers are paying for future reliability, and what they’re getting for it, may become open, and bipartisan, rebellion in 2012. Keep reading →
Wind farm investors face growing losses from “curtailments,” as turbine installations outstrip the capacity of local transmission systems to accommodate the new power.
The issue is a “growing pain” of wind technology, Judah Rose, Senior Vice President, ICF International in McLean, VA, said. Curtailment has become an increasing problem since 2008 as wind capacity nationwide increases from almost nothing 10 years ago to more than 42,000 megawatts now. “It’s occurring even in RTOs (regional transmission organizations) with advanced pricing and management systems,” Rose said. Keep reading →
Fewer coal plant closures may result from pending Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rules than previously estimated, says a new analysis from ICF International.
Combined with delays in federal greenhouse gas regulation and new expectations of rising natural gas prices, the latest estimates cut ICFI’s projection of forced coal closures from 50 gigawatts to 39 GW. Of that, 17 GW are coal plant closures already announced by operators. Keep reading →
