Monthly Archives: March 2017

Scientists Question Risks of Using Oilfield Wastewater on Food Crops

The engineers and scientists who study the oil and gas industry’s wastewater know the term “beneficial reuse” well. It’s the seldom-used technique of taking wastewater produced from an oil or gas well, treating it, and then using it for other purposes — like watering crops (including organic crops) or feeding livestock.  It’s a rare practice that drought-stricken areas like California have used for a number of years, although little is known about associated health or safety risks since, usually, about 98% of wastewater is injected into disposal wells deep underground. However, as demands for water increase, and concerns about disposal wells (which have been linked to earthquakes) rise, beneficial reuse is being considered as a viable option.

But just because we can use wastewater for other purposes – does that mean we should? Read More »

Posted in Natural Gas, produced water / Tagged , | Comments are closed

Study: Emissions from power plants, refineries may be far higher than reported

By Joe Rudek and David Lyon

A new peer-reviewed paper in Environmental Science and Technology suggests that methane emissions from natural gas power plants and oil refineries may be significantly higher than accounted for in current inventories. The report estimates average hourly methane emissions 11 to 90 times higher for refineries, and 21 to 120 times higher for natural gas power plants than those calculated from data provided by facility operators to Environmental Protection Agency’s Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program.

By multiplying total CO2 emitted annually by all US natural gas power plants and refineries (as tallied by EPA) by the methane-to-CO2 emission ratio determined in the study, the authors estimate yearly methane emissions from the nation’s refineries and gas-fired power plants are twenty times higher than currently reported. Read More »

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Biting the Biggest Apple: New York’s New Plan to Reward Distributed Energy Resources

How do we compensate those who add clean electricity to our shared power grid? This fundamental question has affected the rate at which the U.S. has adopted, deployed, and put into use clean, distributed energy resources such as energy efficiency, batteries, electric vehicles, and rooftop and community solar.

At the core of our new distributed energy electricity system are resources that work better during specific times and weather conditions, and thereby have more value at some moments than others. So, it’s crucial to take time and location into account to properly identify the value of these clean energy resources and how they should be fairly compensated. Solving for price can spur much needed investment in renewable resources and lower the cost of clean energy development, while reducing emissions.

Last week, the New York Public Service Commission (PSC) brought us a step closer to figuring how to fairly compensate distributed energy by issuing a long-awaited order to establish an interim pricing structure that encourages the evolution of distributed energy markets and better aligns with Reforming the Energy Vision (REV), the state’s initiative to build a cleaner, more efficient, and customer-centric electric system. Read More »

Posted in Clean Energy, Electricity Pricing, New York, New York REV, Social Cost of Carbon, Utility Business Models / Tagged | Comments are closed

New Reports Raise Health Concerns About Emissions From California’s Oil and Gas Industry

For decades communities in California who live close to oil and gas facilities have reported experiencing unbearable odors of gas, headaches, nausea, respiratory problems, and even cardiac complications as a result of the industry’s emissions. The health impacts of oil and gas pollution were made crystal clear last year after a massive gas leak at a Southern California storage facility led to mass hospitalizations and forced hundreds of families to evacuate their homes.

But massive gas leaks like the one at Aliso Canyon aren’t the only cause for alarm. A string of new reports confirm what many concerned communities have known for years: oil and gas emissions from across the entire supply chain can wreak havoc on our health, and are often higher than experts previously thought. Read More »

Posted in Air Quality, Aliso Canyon, General, Methane, Natural Gas / Comments are closed

Nation’s Largest City-Owned Utility Uses Equity Metrics to Ensure All Residents Have Clean Energy

This week, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP), the largest municipal utility in the country, released the Equity Metrics Data Initiative (EMDI) “to track, measure, and report on how its programs are provided to all customers and residents of Los Angeles.” This data will help ensure the utility’s investments and programs are reaching all Angelenos.

EMDI is the LADWP’s first effort to use data in the pursuit of equity in planning a clean energy future for all of us. Data gathered during the initiative will be used to create a baseline for measuring the impacts of and access to investment and services from LADWP. These include things like energy efficiency programs, solar incentives, and electric vehicle charging infrastructure ─ tracking how they reach different neighborhoods and customers, particularly those with economic and environmental vulnerabilities. Read More »

Posted in Clean Energy, Energy Equity / Tagged | Read 1 Response

The Energy Star Program Saves Americans Billions. So, Why Cut It?

Evidently, President Trump and his environmental protection chief Scott Pruitt are just getting warmed up.

Now they’ve set their sights on one of the most successful and noncontroversial energy-related programs the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has ever managed – Energy Star, a program that saves consumers more than $30 billion a year.

According to E&E News, Trump’s draft budget encourages the EPA to “begin developing legislative options and associated groundwork for transferring ownership and implementation of Energy Star to a non-governmental entity.”

Translation: Energy Star, you’re dead. Read More »

Posted in Clean Energy, Energy Efficiency, Grid Modernization / Comments are closed