Energy Exchange

FirstEnergy’s next desperate idea: $300 million a year from Ohio taxpayers

By John Finnigan / Published: April 29, 2019

For years, FirstEnergy has been looking for a get-out-of-bad-debt card to save it from its failing coal and nuclear plants. First, it tried for a $3 billion bailout from the Ohio Public Utility Commission (PUCO) and failed. Then it went begging in Washington for a federal bailout and failed. It won a $600 million bailout from the PUCO that Environmental Defense Fund is appealing to the Ohio Supreme Court.

Now it has convinced some Columbus lawmakers to introduce H.B. 6, a $300 million per year subsidy to keep the company’s flagging coal and nuclear plants alive and simultaneously kill clean energy standards that have made Ohioans’ air cleaner and created thousands of jobs in the state. H.B. 6 will increase utility bills by $300 million a year for all utility customers, even if they buy their electricity from other suppliers. It’s a corporate handout, plain and simple, and it flies in the face of free market principles. Legislators that value the free market should reject it outright.

Also posted in Clean Energy, FirstEnergy, Ohio / Comments are closed

Nightmare on Capitol Square: New coal and nuclear bailout bill is a huge blow to Ohio’s clean energy economy

By John Finnigan / Published: April 12, 2019

Ohio’s electric industry is thriving and our energy supply is getting cleaner, with average power costs well below the national average. This dreamy scenario is the envy of other states – but Ohio’s legislators are plotting in the Capitol Square statehouse to turn this dream into a nightmare.

This nightmare is a new bill that not only subsidizes uneconomic coal and nuclear plants, but also guts the renewable energy and energy efficiency standards that have led to more than $1 billion in savings and thousands of new jobs for Ohioans. In an Orwellian twist, the legislators are trying to sneak this bailout through by calling it a “clean air resource” bill.

Also posted in Clean Energy, FirstEnergy, Ohio / Read 2 Responses

California fixes a major problem with oilfield wastewater injection

By Adam Peltz / Published: April 1, 2019

A new rule goes into effect today that will help protect California’s groundwater.

The rule applies to injection wells – the underground facilities that enable enhanced oil recovery and the long-term disposal of the oil industry’s wastewater. California has around 55,000 oilfield injection wells, nearly one-third of the nation’s total, and the state’s oil industry injects over 100 billion gallons of water a year into them. The Division of Oil, Gas and Geothermal Resources (DOGGR) came under scrutiny in recent years when the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) discovered state regulators accidentally allowed thousands of wells to pump oilfield wastewater directly into drinking water aquifers, along with other program deficiencies.

Also posted in California, Natural Gas / Tagged Water | Comments are closed

The right way for California to divest from natural gas

By Tim O'Connor / Published: March 19, 2019

As California’s drive to wean itself from fossil fuels continues, important new challenges are emerging in its wake. Part of a broader effort to shift the state’s electric grid entirely to clean energy by 2045, for example, includes the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power’s recent announcement to retire three gas-fired power plants, while making a series of local investments to manage and balance the electric load. And with the grid getting cleaner, efforts are now getting underway to electrify as many of the other residential, commercial and industrial activities that currently depend on gas.

Also posted in California, Climate, Gas to Clean, Natural Gas / Tagged California, Climate, Natural Gas | Comments are closed

New clean energy legislation in Illinois has customer and community needs at its core

By Christie Hicks / Published: March 15, 2019

Jobs. Equity. Savings. Economic development. Social justice. These are a few of the terms being used to describe the ground-breaking Clean Energy Jobs Act, a new bill in Illinois which Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) played a key role in developing and supporting.

Introduced by the Illinois Clean Jobs Coalition and policymakers around the state, the Clean Energy Jobs Act (affectionately called CEJA or “see-juh”) has racked up almost 60 legislative sponsors in the weeks since its introduction.

Here are four reasons Illinois’ Clean Energy Jobs Act stands out as a nation-leading proposal.

Also posted in CEJA, Energy Equity, Illinois / Comments are closed

NYC’s small businesses want congestion pricing

By Andy Darrell / Published: March 12, 2019

Most people following New York City’s traffic and transit problems understand that more traffic and congestion is bad for air quality and commute times. And they know that the city’s buses and subway system need significant improvements to get people from here to there faster.

The impact of New York City’s traffic and transit woes on small businesses, however, is often overlooked. New York City is teeming with small businesses that depend on quick, smooth and reliable transit for their employees and customers. The harder the commute, the more likely an employee will be late, or the easier it is for a customer to say “not today.”

That’s why small business owners are some of the most enthusiastic supporters of congestion pricing.

Also posted in Air Quality, Congestion pricing, New York / Comments are closed