Energy Exchange

NARUC Summer Meeting Highlights Clean Power Plan, Changing Utilities

By Diane Munns / Published: July 29, 2014

The Official CTBTO Flickr

The annual summer meeting of the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC) is a meeting of the minds like no other. Utility companies, regulators, staff, advocates, and trade press from around the country gather to discuss emerging trends and challenges, and it’s a great opportunity to understand what is on the collective mind of those empowered to oversee our country’s electricity system.

This month, over a thousand utility professionals attended the 2014 NARUC summer meeting in Dallas, which was dominated by two topics: the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) proposed Clean Power Plan and the evolving utility business model.

This resulted in some very interesting conversations about changing the regulatory paradigm to incent the use of new technologies, optimize grid operations, and achieve reductions in greenhouse gas emissions. Read More »

Also posted in Clean Energy, Climate, Demand Response, Grid Modernization, Renewable Energy, Utility Business Models / Comments are closed

The Clean Power Plan: Protecting Health and the Climate While Ensuring Electric Reliability

By Cheryl Roberto / Published: June 20, 2014

By: EDF Associate Vice President for Clean Energy, Cheryl Roberto, with EDF Senior Director of Clean Energy Collaboration Diane Munns and legal fellow Peter Heisler

Source: Chris J Dixon via Wikimedia Commons

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) new Clean Power Plan will empower states to design customized, cost-effective programs to reduce climate-destabilizing pollution while ensuring continued electric system reliability.

States will be able to deploy flexible compliance mechanisms such as:

renewable energy
demand-side energy efficiency
shifts in utilization away from higher-emitting and towards lower-emitting generation sources
measures at specific plants to secure reductions in carbon pollution

And states will be able to do all of this while designing their compliance plans to make sure that generation resources are fully sufficient to ensure reliability. Read More »

Also posted in Clean Energy, Climate, Natural Gas, Renewable Energy / Read 1 Response

EPA’s Authority to Limit Carbon Pollution from Power Plants Is Well Established and Widely Recognized

By EDF Blogs / Published: June 17, 2014

By: Megan Ceronsky, EDF attorney, and Peter Heisler, legal fellow

The bedrock legal authority underlying the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Clean Power Plan is broadly recognized — by our nation’s highest court, states, power companies, academic experts, and the EPA General Counsel serving during the President George H.W. Bush administration.

Our recent Climate 411 post chronicles the Supreme Court’s decisions affirming EPA’s authority to address carbon pollution from power plants under section 111 of the Clean Air Act.

In Massachusetts v. EPA (2007), the Court held that carbon dioxide is a pollutant under the Clean Air Act. Then, in AEP v. Connecticut (2011), the Court explicitly recognized EPA’s authority to limit emissions of carbon dioxide from power plants pursuant to section 111, and acknowledged the agency’s ongoing efforts to do so. Read More »

Also posted in Air Quality, Clean Energy, Climate / Tagged Clean Power Plan, EPA | Comments are closed

Power Plant Rule a Tipping Point for Clean Energy Economy

By Cheryl Roberto / Published: June 3, 2014

For those of us (and all of you) who’ve been urging the government to implement meaningful climate policy, the release yesterday of a plan to cut carbon emissions from power plants has been a long time coming. But it finally came.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s proposed carbon pollution rule for existing fossil-fueled power plants – also known as the Clean Power Plan – are a huge win for our climate.

We also think it could go down in history as the tipping point in our nation’s transition to a clean energy economy. Here’s why:

Old, dirty power plants will be retired

The nation’s fleet of coal-fired power plants is the single largest source of carbon pollution in the U.S. and one of the largest in the world. Placing carbon regulations on this source of electricity for the first time in history will transform our energy system. Read More »

Also posted in Clean Energy, Climate, Demand Response, Energy Efficiency, Grid Modernization, Renewable Energy, Utility Business Models / Comments are closed

EPA Hands Over the Keys with Clean Power Plan, California Already on Cruise Control

By Derek Walker / Published: June 2, 2014

EPA’s Clean Power Plan, proposed today, is a roadmap for cutting dangerous pollution from power plants, and as with any map, there are many roads to follow. For this journey, states are in the driver’s seat and can steer themselves in the direction most beneficial to their people and to the state’s economy, as long as they show EPA they are staying on the map and ultimately reaching the final destination.

As usual, California got off to a head start, explored the territory, blazed a lot of new trails, and left a number of clues on how states can transition to a lower carbon future, and California’s successes are one proven, potential model for other states to follow. The state’s legacy of clean energy and energy efficiency progress is a big reason the White House and EPA could roll out the most significant national climate change action in U.S. history. Read More »

Also posted in Air Quality, California, Cap and Trade, Clean Energy, Energy Efficiency, Renewable Energy / Comments are closed