Sen. Tom
Carper (D-DE), who chairs a key air and nuclear safety subcommittee, will use
upcoming hearings on the Japan nuclear crisis to examine the safety and
environmental issues related to all low-carbon energy production, including
wind, solar and nuclear power.653 words
Lawmakers in
both the House and Senate are preparing to reintroduce clean energy legislation
that would include lessons learned in the wake of the Fukushima Daiichi plant
disaster, according to congressional sources. The legislation, expected to be
offered by Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN) and Rep. Chaka Fattah (D-PA), will
include provisions to promote development of small modular reactors (SMR) as
well as solar and other renewable energy sources.435 words
The Nuclear
Energy Institute says the Japanese nuclear crisis complicates the energy debate
on Capitol Hill and makes drafting legislation to support the Obama
administration's call for doubling clean energy resources by 2035, including
nuclear power, much more complex and the process more murky, according to NEI
officials.617 words
Power
marketers and merchant generators -- disappointed in the Federal Energy
Regulatory Commission's final rule requiring that demand response (DR)
providers receive the same payment as electricity generators -- are expected to
take actions laying the groundwork for a lawsuit, even as industrial providers
of DR anticipate a significant increase in such services being offered in
wholesale markets. FERC regards energy conservation measures such as DR
services as important to promoting electricity grid efficiencies and expanding
renewable energy and consumer benefits.1223 words
EPA believes
its proposed air toxics rule for coal- and oil-fired power plants will boost
demand for lower-emitting natural gas as a fuel source and expects a resulting
"bump" in natural gas prices, but says those price increases can be offset by
the rule's efficiency gains and rejects fears the rule will broadly harm
electricity grid reliability.1337 words
A coal
industry-backed advisory group to the Department of Energy is urging the
department to press EPA to move forward on plans to exempt "appropriately
permitted" carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) projects from federal waste
laws, a move that the industry says is crucial to ensuring the economic
viability of coal in meeting the Obama administration's clean energy goals.1495 words
This is the
last issue of EnergyWashington Weekly Report. Beginning this week
our newsletter changes into a weekly online PDF document available through Clean
Energy Report, the exciting new online service that replaces EnergyWashington
and brings even more news and analysis to the changing scene of energy and
environmental policymaking. If you are a subscriber to EnergyWashington,
you can already use your username and password to access CleanEnergyReport.com,
including the PDF download that will replace EnergyWashington Weekly Report.
If you do not have your username and password, please contact Customer
Service at 800-424-9068 for assistance.113 words
Energy
Secretary Steven Chu affirmed March 16 that the Obama administration and the
Department of Energy continue to support the expansion of nuclear energy in the
United States despite serious concerns raised by the nuclear disaster in Japan.
Chu also waded into the controversy over hydraulic fracturing -- or fracking --
necessary to develop extensive shale gas fields, telling members of Congress
that it "can be done safely," although he later added that his statement does
not mean it "is being done safely." 964 words
Environmentalists
are opposing two provisions in Sen. Max Baucus' (D-MT) plan to codify EPA's
"tailoring" rule for greenhouse gas (GHG) permits that they say would go beyond
the scope of the rule by blocking reviews of land-use emission impacts for
permitting purposes and exempting large GHG emitters that do not also emit
conventional air pollutants.780 words
As the Senate
wrestles over EPA climate rules, a major union-environmental coalition is for
the first time strongly opposing a legislative proposal to eliminate EPA's
authority to regulate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, a significant advance for
the coalition that previously sidestepped the issue of whether to support the
climate rules.891 words
Environmentalists
are pursuing a novel, first-time legal strategy for blocking a proposed
coal-fired power plant by filing a lawsuit challenging the Department of
Energy's (DOE) loan guarantee and grants program funding for the project,
arguing that the DOE funds must by law be devoted to clean energy sources such
as renewables.908 words
A federal
district judge is warning he is likely to issue a ruling that will end the role
of EPA's Environmental Appeals Board (EAB) in reviewing clean air permits
because such reviews can violate a Clean Air Act mandate that the agency
administrator "grant or deny" air permits within 12 months of receiving
completed applications.1138 words
Environmentalists
are stepping up their opposition to the use of biomass as a cleaner-burning
fuel than coal, fighting a proposed 50-megawatt biomass-fired power plant in
Wisconsin even though it was required as part of a two-year old legal agreement
with the Sierra Club. New data about the lifecycle greenhouse gas (GHG)
emissions from biomass are prompting the shift from environmentalists, who are
also resisting EPA's proposal to delay GHG regulation of the bio-based fuel for
three years.1462 words
Environmentalists
have filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) suit demanding EPA release data
that they claim will prove three power plants in Texas violated the Clean Air
Act, data the activists intend to cite in trying to force EPA to require
stricter emission limits at the facilities, including first-time greenhouse gas
(GHG) limits.957 words
The head of
the California Air Resources Board (CARB) is raising concerns that pending legislation
in Congress to block EPA's authority to regulate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions
would thwart a carefully negotiated deal between the state and the federal
government -- with backing from the auto industry -- for harmonizing
fuel-efficiency and GHG-control standards for vehicles.363 words
California
energy officials have suspended a rebate program for "emerging renewables"
after discovering what officials say are hundreds of rebate requests for small
wind turbines that are seeking to recover far too much of the cost of the
systems, which are often located in areas unsuitable for wind power generation.
The suspension is aimed at giving state regulators time to rewrite the
guidelines for the program.569 words
Senate Energy
& Natural Resources Chairman Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) has taken his most public
step to date on a Clean Energy Standard (CES), releasing a white paper on March
21 that seeks comment on how to design such a program while simultaneously
hedging on whether legislation on the issue is even possible.560 words
Member companies of the investor-owned
utility industry's Edison Electric Institute (EEI) regard the rising price of
gasoline and Middle East instability as a major opportunity for electric
vehicles (EV) and are pursuing a CEO-level effort to push tax policies in
Congress as well as regulatory and technical measures needed to foster wide
deployment of the vehicles, lending significant momentum to the Obama
administration's goal of having 1 million EVs on U.S. roads by 2015.1058 words
|
