EPA will solicit public input for its proposed carbon dioxide emissions standards for existing power plants through a series of scheduled listening sessions. On September 30, 2013, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released a schedule of 11 public listening sessions across the U.S. to solicit input for its proposed carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions standards for… Keep reading →
Billionaire hedge fund manager Tom Steyer and his political action committee have taken to the airwaves attempting to urge president Obama to reject the Keystone XL pipeline. The situation was detailed in a recent New Yorker article and you can read Breaking Energy’s view of the issue here. And here is US Senator Jon Tester’s… Keep reading →
Natural gas’s environmental impact can be viewed in a positive light as a lower-emitting power generation source than coal or petroleum derivatives, or in a negative light as a source of methane emissions and driver of drilling activity. The University of Texas at Austin, in collaboration with the Environmental Defense Fund and nine natural gas… Keep reading →
A regulatory framework that penalizes carbon dioxide emissions would improve nuclear’s competitiveness in the US, but greater policy clarity may be required for new nuclear investments to replace shuttered facilities like San Onofre and Yankee. Nuclear is not without its detractors, which have a laundry list of concerns, ranging from potential for terrorist attacks to… Keep reading →
A debate over the greenhouse gas emissions reduction benefits associated with burning natural gas versus coal to generate power began in 2010 when a Cornell University professor published a paper addressing methane leakage – methane being a potent greenhouse gas – from natural gas development. The paper found methane emissions at levels that would make… Keep reading →
California Air Resources Board has announced issuance of the first carbon offset credits for cap-and-trade program compliance. On September 17, 2013, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) announced issuance of 600,000 compliance-grade carbon offset credits for use in the cap-and-trade program. The offset credits will be issued through the Compliance Instrument Tracking System for state-issued carbon… Keep reading →
The investment banking community recently picked up on this trend and the EIA’s latest Today In Energy post details greater coal use in the US power sector compared with last year. Although power generators’ fuel portfolios vary by region, at the national level, higher 2013 natural gas prices relative to coal prices motivate utilities to… Keep reading →
The City of Chicago passed an ordinance September 11 requiring buildings with more than 50,000 square feet to report their energy use to a benchmarking tool and eventually to the public. The law, passed in a 32-to-17 vote, is part of the city’s overall efforts to reduce energy use in half of Chicago’s buildings 30… Keep reading →
Supporters of coal have called the planned new rules from the EPA on CO2 emissions from coal-fired power generation a war on coal and have pledged to fight the rule-making process. It is true that there will almost certainly not be a new coal-fired electric generating station built in the U.S. for at least the… Keep reading →
The American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy yesterday released a report ranking the 34 largest US cities on energy efficiency. “By considering both policies and energy performance, the City Scorecard reflects the current activities and historical legacies in each city, and as a result provides actionable information to policymakers and residents,” the group writes in… Keep reading →
