Judge Murtha: “The harm to public interest from even a temporary shutdown of #Vermont Yankee would be significant” – http://bit.ly/zdUwTp N_E_I
Reliability
Judge Murtha: “The harm to public interest from even a temporary shutdown of #Vermont Yankee would be significant” – http://bit.ly/zdUwTp
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The massive size and daunting complexity of the US electricity sector means companies often have trouble proving their contributions to their customers’ lives; benefits for the consumer are often counted in things that don’t happen, whether that be price increases or blackouts.
The regional transmission organization that operates one of the world’s largest energy markets across the US Midwest and in the Canadian province of Manitoba is working to quantify those contributions in the form of a 2011 Value Proposition study. 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 →
It’s hard to envision myself ever being on the same side of an issue with Tea Party supporters. However, I too am glad to see that the impending ban on incandescent light bulbs, at least here in the United States, has been put on hold. A mid-December concession in the battle to pass a new budget saw the ban on 100-watt incandescent bulbs (that was supposed to begin in January) delayed until October of 2012.
Of course the political arguments against such a ban center on economic issues, jobs and the involvement of the major light bulb manufacturers (and their political interests). Those of us who are actually concerned about the environment, myself included, rarely factor into such “politics-as-usual” debates. Keep reading →
In #Energy: Wholesale #electricity prices were mostly lower in 2011 http://go.usa.gov/RIF
By Peter GardettToday (Last Year) in #Energy : Wholesale #electricity prices were mostly lower in 2011 http://go.usa.gov/RIF EIAgov
It’s an all-too-familiar refrain in the United States these days: “Solar is too expensive.” Supporters of solar power have long had to face the argument that conventional energy sources are simply cheaper. This economic reality is a substantial portion of what underlies the sizable government subsidies to solar companies such as Solyndra in the U.S., and why the Chinese government is vigorously subsidizing its own solar industry. A poll conducted in the U.S. by clean-tech communications firm Tigercomm reflects this as well: The majority of respondents said solar power is too expensive, will remain an intermittent source of power, and can’t truly compete directly with coal or natural gas. A mere 41% believed solar was affordable, and only 34% believed it was reliable. But new solar cell technology–specifically improvements involving nanotechnology–may change minds with surprising speed.
You can add green building advocates to the list of people who have a gripe with the National Defense Authorization Act, which President Barack Obama signed into law on New Year’s Eve (despite his own reservations). The US Department of Defense (DOD) funding bill has come under scathing criticism from civil liberties and human rights organizations for its provisions concerning the detention of military combatants, but it also contains a provision that makes it more complicated – although not impossible – for the military to pursue high-level LEED certifications for its buildings.
As noted by the Federal Times, a section of the law states, “No funds authorized to be appropriated by this Act or otherwise made available for the Department of Defense for fiscal year 2012 may be obligated or expended for achieving any LEED gold or platinum certification.” But a clause to that provision does allow such certifications “if achieving such certification imposes no additional cost to the Department of Defense.” And the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), which runs the LEED programs, thinks that’s a loophole the military can drive a Humvee through, albeit with some careful navigation. Keep reading →
FERC, NARUC Launch Forum on Reliability, Environment http://naruc.org/?pr=291 NARUC
Although solar photovoltaic (PV) panel prices are rapidly dropping, integrating a high quality solar energy into the grid will have added costs, particularly because solar is an intermittent resource with highly variable output and repercussions for transmission grids.
To assess the issue, the US Department of Energy and Nevada’s utility, NV Energy, jointly sponsored a study conducted by Navigant Consulting on what the integration of solar in Nevada will mean for the utility. Download the full study here. Keep reading →
Even as global nuclear power prospects have been overshadowed by events in the past year, US nuclear power has remained relatively steady. But controversy following the Fukushima disaster is starting to impact operations at existing nuclear units as well as permitting for proposed facilities.
Particularly controversial has been upstate New York’s Indian Point nuclear plant run by Entergy in Buchanan, New York. As the plant reaches its fortieth year and Entergy applies for a new 20-year license from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, several key stakeholders are trying to block the way. Keep reading →
