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A New Push to Cut Generators’ Carbon Emissions

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A new plan for deep cuts in carbon emissions from US power plants is designed to help counteract climate change and reduce health risks but could also lead to more job cuts in the beleaguered coal industry.

The environmental group Natural Resources Defense Council recently issued the proposal that would use existing technologies to cut generators’ carbon pollution by 26 percent by 2020 and 34 percent by 2025, also reducing emissions of other pollutants such as sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides. Keep reading →

 /  Published December 18, 2012 at 11:30 AM

Can Canada’s Oil Sands be Developed in an Environmentally Responsible Manner?

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Commercial oil sands development dates back to the 1960’s, but the process continued largely unnoticed by the international community until the early 2000’s when the resources’ proven reserves were widely publicized. Although the government of Alberta had been working to communicate the importance of the oil sands as an energy source and economic driver, the province’s leadership was taken by surprise when the environmental community trained its crosshairs on the large-scale industrial mining operations.

The debate between the environmental community, regulators, industry and stakeholders about the environmental costs versus the economic benefits of oil sands development has evolved over the years and continues today. Keep reading →

 /  Published December 10, 2012 at 12:30 PM

UK Energy Plan: A Model for a Low-carbon Future?

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Can government stimulate investment in renewable energy generation by guaranteeing an electricity price for developers of sources such as wind and nuclear?

The UK government thinks it can, and recently introduced a long-awaited bill that would set a “strike price” for power generated by low-carbon producers, and recover the costs from consumers via electricity suppliers. Keep reading →

 /  Published December 10, 2012 at 8:30 AM

Connecticut Auction Cuts Clean Energy Costs While Providing a Template for Other States

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Connecticut has driven down the costs that ratepayers will incur for their public utilities’ clean-energy purchases through an innovative reverse auction. The newly-launched program is the first of its kind, but there’s a congressional proposal with language directing the Energy Department to set up reverse, renewable-energy auctions on a nationwide basis.

The legislation has languished in the current Congress, but it will be back – and its sponsor can now point to the promising outcome in Connecticut, where Gov. Dannel Malloy has led a charge for “cheaper, cleaner, and more reliable” electricity. Keep reading →

 /  Published December 7, 2012 at 11:30 AM

Experts Spar Over Carbon Tax as Fiscal Cliff Looms

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Taxing carbon could reduce US consumption of fossil fuels and significantly cut the yawning U.S. budget deficit but would affect low-income people the hardest unless offsets are built into it, economists and tax experts said on Tuesday.

As Congress and the White House seek alternatives to the “fiscal cliff” of sharp tax hikes and spending cuts set to kick in on January first next year, experts on fiscal and environmental policy gathered at the American Enterprise Institute for a day-long discussion on a possible major new source of revenue that would also cut carbon emissions. Keep reading →

 /  Published November 16, 2012 at 8:30 AM

Nuclear Power Debate Heats Up in NYCs Backyard: Relicensing Controversy Intensifies

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The battle lines have been drawn for years, but the fight over nuclear power’s risks and benefits reached a new stage in New York this week where issues including public safety, reliability, the environment and ratepayer costs are being disputed.

The Indian Point nuclear power plant run by Entergy generates over 2,000 MW approximately 30 miles north of New York City. Supplying roughly 25% of New York City’s and Westchester County’s electricity, the plant’s operating licenses are due to expire within the next few years and the federal hearings are drawing Indian Point’s proponents and critics into stark relief. Keep reading →

 /  Published October 16, 2012 at 2:30 PM

Big Steps from FERC and IEC Toward Renewables Integration

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At a glance, it may not look like FERC’s Order 1000 has much to do with renewables. It looks more like it’s all about transmission. And it is to a point. The order, which FERC begins enforcing this week, is a wide-ranging and complex set of guidelines for planning, building and figuring out who pays for new transmission lines.

But as a Bloomberg editorial makes clear, the order addresses more than streamlining project approvals, cost allocations and other ways to speed up much needed upgrades for our creaking transmission system. In addition to helping meet increased demand and ensuring system reliability, new transmission lines are critical if far-flung energy resources like wind and solar are to be brought onto the grid. Keep reading →

 /  Published October 12, 2012 at 2:30 PM

Infrastructure Battle: Renewable Tidal Energy vs. Telecommunications

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Tidal energy and telecoms are proving testy neighbors in the Pacific Northwest.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) is trying to broker a peace between Snohomish Public Utility District, which wants to install the first tidal energy turbines on the West Coast, and PC Landing, which operates a major telecommunication cable between Washington State and Japan. Keep reading →

 /  Published October 11, 2012 at 8:30 AM

Energy Issues Deserve Greater Campaign Prominence, Trade Groups Say

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Domestic energy development and a wide swath of regulatory issues associated with energy production should be addressed more emphatically during the presidential campaign, officials at several industry associations believe.

“Energy hasn’t been absent from the campaign, but I think it deserves a higher profile,” Brendan Williams, vice president, advocacy, at the American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers, told Breaking Energy. Keep reading →

 /  Published October 3, 2012 at 9:00 AM

Duke’s Boardroom Battles Risk $32 Billion Merger Deal

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Duke Energy President and CEO Jim Rogers (3rd L) testifies with (L-R) Alcoa Inc. Global Issues Director Meg McDonald, Natural Resources Defense Council President Frances Beinecke and ConocoPhillips Senior Vice President Red Cavaney before the House Energy and Commerce Committee on Capitol Hill April 22, 2009 in Washington, DC.

July 2 was not supposed to be an ordinary day for Bill Johnson, the former chief executive of Progress Energy. But it ended in an extraordinary way that even he hadn’t expected. Keep reading →

 /  Published September 26, 2012 at 8:30 AM
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