Energy Exchange

Chairman Nelson Cannot Ignore Texas Wind’s Benefits and Condemn Its Cost

By Jim Marston / Published: June 23, 2014
Wind technicians working atop a turbine in Sweetwater, Tex. Source: NY Times

Wind technicians working atop a turbine in Sweetwater, Tex.
Source: NY Times

Earlier this month, Texas Public Utility Commission (PUC) chairwoman Donna Nelson called for the federal government to end its renewable energy tax credit for Texas wind and for the end of state policies that have resulted in Texas’ clean energy economy boon. The chairman’s appeal is so devoid of a factual basis it is hard to conclude that this is anything other than part of an orchestrated campaign by fossil fuel interests to stop the growth of renewable energy. Like the other attacks on clean energy, this is more politics than substance.

The federal and state policies that Chairman Nelson wants to eliminate have been great for Texas. Texas ranks first in the nation for wind-related jobs, employing over 8,000—and many of those jobs are keeping agriculture-heavy West Texas and Panhandle communities afloat amid the devastating multi-year drought. Plus, 60% of all wind projects under construction across the country in the first quarter of 2014 were in Texas. And studies (including one produced by the Texas PUC) have shown that electricity prices are lower when more wind energy is installed on the power grid.    Read More »

Posted in Clean Energy, Renewable Energy / Read 1 Response

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 »

Posted in Clean Energy, Clean Power Plan, Climate, Natural Gas, Renewable Energy / Read 1 Response

Massachusetts Moves to Modernize its Electric Grid – What this Means for Customers, Utilities

By John Finnigan / Published: June 20, 2014
massbay

Source: Leatherndevil, via Wikimedia Commons

According to the Electric Power Research Institute, the U.S. will need to invest $124 billion between now and 2030 to upgrade its electric distribution system, and these upgrades will require state utility commissions to thoughtfully plan for and oversee the investments. Last week, Massachusetts became one of the first states to begin this process by taking a bold step to modernize its electric grid, joining states like New York and Hawaii, which recently introduced similar measures.

On June 12, 2014, the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities (DPU) ordered utilities to file ten-year grid modernization plans. These plans will spell out how utilities plan to incorporate modern technology to improve electric service and connect clean energy resources to the grid. This will provide customers access to cleaner and higher quality electricity service at a lower cost. Read More »

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

Illinois’ Largest Utilities Embrace the Smart Grid

By Guest Author / Published: June 19, 2014
Source: Daniel Schwen

Source: Daniel Schwen

By: David Kolata, executive director of the Citizens Utility Board

Over the next five to seven years, smart grid infrastructure, including advanced metering infrastructure (AMI), will be deployed for customers of the two largest utilities in Illinois: Commonwealth Edison and Ameren Illinois. Over five million new meters will be installed and over $2 billion of smart grid investments will be made. The challenge confronting consumer and environmental advocates in Illinois is how to make sure that infrastructure is rolled out in a way that maximizes other policy objectives—namely, saving customers money on their energy bills and promoting opportunities for innovative technologies like microgrids and energy storage.

Years of discussion in Illinois culminated in the Energy Infrastructure Modernization Act, a new law that supports smart grid deployment and funds programs to support electricity system innovation through: Read More »

Posted in Clean Energy, Electricity Pricing, Grid Modernization, Illinois / Read 3 Responses

America’s Coal-Producing States Weigh their Options

By Jim Marston / Published: June 18, 2014
A coal train rolls through a town in West Virginia, which produces more coal than any other state except for Wyoming.

A coal train rolls through a town in West Virginia, which produces more coal than any other state except for Wyoming.

Nobody was surprised to hear political foes of President Obama and leaders from several coal-dependent states blast EPA’s proposal to limit carbon pollution from America’s power plants.

The Clean Power Plan, released June 2, represents a big change in the way America will generate and use energy in the coming decades. We understand: Big changes are scary.

So it’s interesting to ponder which political leaders in states dependent on coal-fired power will, in the end, seize this historic opportunity.

Who will use the flexible policy tools offered in the Clean Power Plan to diversify their energy economies and unleash innovation to help their states grow? Who will show political courage? Read More »

Posted in Clean Energy, Climate, Colorado, Methane, Texas / Tagged , | 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 

Gavel_iStock000003633182Medium1The 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 »

Posted in Air Quality, Clean Energy, Clean Power Plan, Climate / Tagged , | Comments are closed