To all of the superlatives attached to Superstorm Sandy, add power outages.
Ten million customers in 21 states lost power in the wake of the storm, by far the most in the history of the U.S. utility industry, and well in excess of the 7 million whose electricity got knocked out in Hurricane Irene in 2011, the storm with the second-biggest impact. Keep reading →
PJM’s newly filed plan to comply with FERC’s Order 1000 on transmission planning stresses public-policy input, a new mechanism for the submission of project proposals, and a transparent process for the review of transmission plans.
The eastern and Midwestern grid operator said its filing is designed to boost competition, increase the participation of states and others, and to incorporate policy requirements such as renewable portfolio standards. Keep reading →
In the latest illustration of the potential of the Marcellus Shale to boost regional energy supply, two natural gas-fired power plants are being planned for the heart of northern Pennsylvania’s shale country.
If they go into operation as planned by early 2016, they would be the state’s first plants to be powered by gas from the Marcellus, the massive Appalachian formation that’s estimated to contain enough of the fuel to meet total US needs for 20 years or more, at current consumption rates. Keep reading →
While national opposition to the controversial Keystone XL pipeline project has focused on the environmental risks of pumping synthetic crude from Alberta’s oil sands across the United States to Gulf Coast refineries, it’s the issue of eminent domain that has riled critics in Texas.
Several appeals have been filed by Texas landowners trying to resist the efforts of pipeline company TransCanada to use a local law to force reluctant landowners to permit construction of a southern extension of the line from Cushing, Oklahoma to Nederland, Texas. Keep reading →
The Energy Efficient Buildings Hub, a public-private organization whose largest funder is the U.S. Department of Energy, is leading an ambitious charge to reduce energy consumption in Philadelphia’s commercial buildings. The hope is the model can be replicated in other cities across the US.
Because of the Hub’s efforts to “start moving the needle” on discussion of energy retrofits, the City of Philadelphia is likely to have a successful response to its new law requiring energy disclosure for large buildings, predicted Marla Thalheimer, Director of Sustainability at Liberty Property Trust, a commercial real estate firm and Hub partner. Keep reading →
Around 3,000 commercial building owners and contractors are weighing a new request for proposals on energy retrofits from an institution that’s a national leader in reducing energy consumption by existing buildings.
The Energy Efficient Buildings Hub, a public-private organization whose largest funder is the U.S. Department of Energy, sent out the RFPs on October 12 as the latest step toward fulfilling its ambitious goal of reducing energy use by commercial buildings in the Philadelphia region by 20 percent by 2020. Keep reading →
An effort by 22 U.S. states to spur demand for natural gas vehicles has produced a strong response from auto dealers to a request to supply CNG-powered cars, vans and trucks for state fleets.
Dealerships in 28 states representing the three big U.S. manufacturers plus Honda submitted more than 100 bids in response to a joint request for proposals by the states, which are seeking to boost demand for abundant domestic natural gas, and support the price after it fell to a decade-low in spring 2011. Keep reading →
Questions about the efficacy of President Barack Obama’s stimulus spending for clean-energy programs came under the spotlight on Thursday with the claim by Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney that “half” of the companies that received government support under the $90 billion program had gone out of business.
Romney attacked the program that poured billions into clean energy as part of the administration’s effort to keep the economy afloat after the 2008 financial meltdown, saying that the money could have been better spent on teachers, and accusing the president of picking “losers.” Keep reading →
Ongoing conflict between Pennsylvania’s booming natural gas industry and its opponents will reach a new focus on October 17 when the state’s Supreme Court will hear oral arguments over whether state law can pre-empt local regulations over gas development.
At issue is a section of Act 13, a wide-ranging new law that restricts the ability of municipalities to control the location of gas drilling within their bounds, as well as imposing impact fees and a host of other conditions on the industry drilling in the gas-rich Marcellus and Utica Shales beneath Pennsylvania. Keep reading →
Comedian Seth Meyers hosts the NRDC’s 13th Annual ‘Forces For Nature’ Benefit at American Museum of Natural History on November 14, 2011 in New York City.
A majority of undecided voters in eight U.S. swing states favor policies that reduce carbon and mercury pollution and promote higher fuel efficiency standards and tax breaks for wind power, suggesting a clear advantage for President Obama among that section of the electorate ahead of the presidential election, according to a new opinion poll. Keep reading →
