Monthly Archives: January 2018

These 4 environmental wins just proved that fighting back works

By EDF Blogs / Published: January 17, 2018

By Keith Gaby, Senior Communications Director – Climate, Health, and Political Affairs

It’s been almost a year of fighting President Donald Trump’s reckless environmental agenda. For those feeling exhausted by the idea of spending three more years facing these serious threats, it’s good to remember that we can win. In fact, in the last few weeks we’ve scored four significant victories for public health and smart energy policy.

A backwards energy plan is rejected

On January 8, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission unanimously rejected a plan from Energy Secretary Rick Perry to waste money and pollute the air by protecting coal and nuclear plants from competition. Perry had claimed — without evidence — that his bloated plan was needed to provide energy resilience.

FERC made it clear that the proposal fell far short of unbiased, evidence-driven analysis. It was about politics, rather than resilience. Read More »

Posted in New Jersey / Tagged | Comments are closed

DOE’s compensation scheme for coal and nuclear is dead – Now what?

By Natalie Karas / Published: January 12, 2018

In a January 8 Order, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC or Commission) swiftly dismissed the Department of Energy’s (DOE) proposed out-of-market compensation scheme for coal and nuclear units.  DOE’s proposal would have provided guaranteed profits to coal and nuclear plants, despite the fact that these aging units are losing out to more efficient and affordable resources.  Instead, FERC took a more measured approach, asking all regional market operators to submit additional information on resiliency issues within 60 days, and providing interested parties an opportunity to respond to those submittals within 30 days.  Here’s what we can expect next. Read More »

Posted in Clean Energy, Electricity Pricing, Grid Modernization, Utility Business Models / Comments are closed

NASA study underscores urgency of solving the global methane problem

By David Lyon / Published: January 12, 2018

A new NASA study suggests methane emissions from fossil fuels may be responsible for half of the recent rise in global atmospheric methane concentrations. While we’ve known for some time that methane levels have been increasing worldwide, it hasn’t been clear why. The research narrows uncertainty as to both the sources and trends influencing global methane emissions.

According to the study, which was published last week in the journal Nature Communications, methane emissions from fossil fuels are rising at a rate of 12 to 19 million metric tons a year. Read More »

Posted in Methane, Natural Gas / Comments are closed

National clean air protections are in jeopardy of going away, but Pennsylvania can be protected

By Andrew Williams / Published: January 9, 2018

Source: Bob Donaldson, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Governor Tom Wolf and the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) recently announced plans to control harmful smog-forming emissions from the state’s existing oil and gas sites. There’s just one problem: their plan is based on national clean air guidelines that are now under attack by President Trump’s EPA. However, by changing this plan, and creating strong state-led policies, Governor Wolf can ensure Pennsylvania remains in control of its own clean air protections.

Read More »

Posted in Air Quality, Methane, Natural Gas / Tagged , , | Comments are closed

FERC’s rejection of DOE’s pro-coal and nuclear proposal shows evidence can still trump politics

By Michael Panfil / Published: January 8, 2018

Last week the Midwest and northeastern United States experienced an historic cold snap that tested our nation’s electric grid. Like last year’s solar eclipse, unprecedented wildfires in California, and extreme flooding after Hurricane Harvey, this year’s “bomb cyclone” has not created a reliability crisis. In fact, it appears based on the evidence thus far that our electricity system – built upon the markets and long-standing operator practices behind our grid – passed this test with flying colors.

That’s why today’s decision by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to reject the Department of Energy’s (DOE) flawed coal and nuclear proposal is such an important win for American families, competitive markets, and the environment.

In mid-October, the DOE took the unprecedented step of asking FERC to provide guaranteed revenues and profits to uneconomic coal and nuclear plants. DOE did so with thinly veiled pretext, arguing without evidence that these plants support grid resiliency. FERC was quickly inundated with a chorus of resistance and disapproval from natural gas companies, environmental groups, consumer advocates, state attorney generals, and congressional members from both parties.  Read More »

Posted in Clean Energy, Electricity Pricing, Grid Modernization / Read 4 Responses

How electric trucks could disrupt highway transport and save businesses billions

By EDF Blogs / Published: January 5, 2018

By Jason Mathers, Supply Chain Director at EDF, Corporate Partnerships

Tesla’s much-anticipated electric semi-truck is garnering attention for its futuristic look and zero-emission promise – and it’s part of an innovation trend that is changing the future of trucking, with implications for entire supply chains.

United Parcel Service, Anheuser-Busch, Walmart, PepsiCo and J.B Hunt are among the companies rushing to secure orders of Tesla’s trucks, which are expected to be in production in 2019.

All-electric trucks can bring tangible benefits not just to truck owners, whose conventional vehicles can consume more than $60,000 worth of fuel a year, but also to their customers.

Fuel has long been a top cost for trucking, accounting for nearly 40 percent of the per-mile cost. Because fuel bills are passed on to companies that hire trucks to get their goods to market, electric trucks can thus promise businesses significantly lower and more stable operating costs.

For the business community as a whole, savings could be in the billions.  Read More »

Posted in Electric Vehicles / Read 1 Response