Energy Exchange

Debunking FirstEnergy’s Bailout Arguments

By Dick Munson / Published: May 26, 2015

FE strike outFirstEnergy, the giant Ohio-based company that owns power plants and transmission lines in several midwestern and northeastern states, is running out of arguments for its proposed bailout.

The Public Utility Commission of Ohio (PUCO), which is currently considering the proposal by FirstEnergy for substantial, customer-funded subsidies to bail out its uneconomic power plants, has suggested the utility must prove four points.

  1. Financial need

As we all know, need is different than want. And with a balance sheet showing $12.4 billion in shareholder equity, clearly the giant utility is able to keep these plants open. But FirstEnergy and its shareholders are reluctant to subsidize their own risk – instead, they want Ohio customers to take on the cost and associated risk. Strike one. Read More »

Posted in Clean Energy, Energy Efficiency, FirstEnergy / Read 2 Responses

Colorado Blazes the Path on Oil and Gas Data

By Adam Peltz / Published: May 21, 2015

8016200072_36046a718f_zThis May has truly been a banner month for transparency of the oil and gas industry.  To start, FracFocus, the state-run, national hydraulic fracturing chemical disclosure database, released chemical information of nearly 100,000 wells in raw digital format. On the same day, Colorado’s Oil and Gas Conservation Commission (COGCC) put two key datasets online that will also increase what we know about oil and gas development.

Providing access to quality data is good for the public. The recently released data will help the public track oil and gas complaints and understand more about the quality of wells across the state. This is significant, as researchers can now analyze these data sets to uncover patterns of well issues that can ultimately lead to environmentally protective policy solutions – the Big Data revolution in a nutshell.  By making its data easily and fully accessible to the public, Colorado is helping to lead the way when it comes to responsibly managing oil and gas development. Read More »

Posted in Colorado, General, Natural Gas / Read 1 Response

Want to Cut Emissions? Go Where the Emissions Are

By Felice Stadler / Published: May 21, 2015

IMG_1374If you want to catch fish, go where you know the fish are. That’s our best advice for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as they draw up details to set methane pollution limits for the oil and gas industry, expected later this summer. The agency knows where the “fish” are – they drew a pretty good map of key methane sources back in January when they announced their intentions to address methane. Now they just need a concrete plan to reel them in.

The Administration has announced that EPA will issue a proposed plan for action later this summer, with a proposed rule that will set first-ever limits on potent methane pollution from new and modified oil and gas sources. Together with other efforts from across government, this step can lay a strong foundation toward achieving the administration’s goal of reducing harmful methane pollution 40-45% below 2012 levels by 2025.

But as we know, the devil will be in the details, and for the oil and gas sector these details will be critically important. There are many different points along the supply chain where methane is being released uncontrolled—and in many cases undetected. The good news is that EPA knows this is a problem, and even collected extensive comments from experts and the public via a series of whitepapers on how to tackle the most significant emission points along the supply chain. Read More »

Posted in Methane, Natural Gas / Read 2 Responses

EDF and Other Environmental Groups Call on Pennsylvania to Step up Energy Efficiency

By Dick Munson / Published: May 21, 2015

Update: The Public Utilities Commission recently extended Pennsylvania’s energy efficiency and conservation programs for an additional five years – the longest phase yet, and among the longest in the country. Pennsylvania can expect to save 6.6 million megawatt-hours of electricity and reduce carbon dioxide emissions by over 5.1 million metric tons. 

pennsylvania-sealUtilities across the country offer energy efficiency programs, many of which obtain good results simply by replacing incandescent light bulbs with compact fluorescents (CFLs) or light-emitting diodes (LEDs). In Pennsylvania, however, Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) and other environmental groups are going further by seeking more comprehensive and longer-term efficiency measures.

Compared with neighboring states, Pennsylvania’s efficiency programs tilt heavily – 65 percent – toward the residential sector. Since residents account for only 37 percent of the state’s total electricity, environmental groups see substantial efficiency opportunities exist in the commercial and industrial (C&I) sectors. Read More »

Posted in Clean Energy, Energy Efficiency / Tagged | Comments are closed

We Need to Support All Types of Solar: Utility-Scale, Rooftop, Community, and More

By Jim Marston / Published: May 20, 2015

solar panelSolar energy is booming – and you needn’t look further for proof of its success than Brian H. Potts’ recent op-ed in the Wall Street Journal. When a utility lawyer like Potts is arguing for what type of solar energy our country should be investing in –utility-owned, large-scale solar versus customer-owned, rooftop – you know this renewable energy resource has gone mainstream. And that’s a good thing.

We should support a wide variety of clean energy resources precisely because these technologies eliminate the costs of pollution now being socialized by fossil fuel generators. And this is becoming all the more critical as the costs of a changing climate grow. Read More »

Posted in Clean Energy, Climate, Electricity Pricing, Energy Financing, Renewable Energy, Utility Business Models / Comments are closed

Energy Efficiency Grades Are In – How did Los Angeles Do?

By EDF Blogs / Published: May 20, 2015

By: Jorge Madrid, Coordinator, Partnerships and Alliances, and Kate Zerrenner, Clean Energy Project Manager

losangeles-skyline-aceee-2015-scorecard-textSchool’s out for summer! It’s time to check those report cards and figure out if we made the energy efficiency grade or if we’re stuck trying to catch up.

For Los Angeles, the marks are pretty consistent: “Not great yet, but getting there…”

According to the American Council for an Energy Efficiency Economy (ACEEE), who just released their 2015 City Energy Efficiency Score Card, Los Angeles is the most improved city in the country – rising the fastest of all cities and finally breaking the top 15 rankings (up to #12 from #28 last year). ACEEE cites “a strong new suite of climate goals and high marks in energy and water utilities” as key factors in the city’s improved score.

For a city the size and scale of Los Angeles (second largest U.S. city in total population, a regional economy larger than most countries, and the largest manufacturing sectors and ports in the U.S.) these are impressive accolades. The city has consistently kept water demand  relatively flat despite a booming population and desert-like climate. L.A. also has a gold star from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for being ranked second on a list of the top 25 U.S. cities with the most energy efficient buildings in the nation. Read More »

Posted in California, Clean Energy, Energy Efficiency, Energy-Water Nexus / Comments are closed