Energy Exchange

Illinois Clean Energy Jobs Act will improve the state’s economic climate

By Christie Hicks / Published: November 26, 2019

The Illinois Clean Energy Jobs Act is one of the most ambitious climate bills in the country, but it is also a jobs and economic improvement bill. Most legislation gets mired down in talk of price tags, but with CEJA the better question is — how much will the Illinois economy benefit from its passage?

A recent study developed by The Accelerate Group measured the economic impact of CEJA and found the answer — it’s tens of billions of dollars. The new economic impact report released by the Illinois Clean Jobs Coalition shines a light on just how much CEJA would contribute to the state’s economy. Here’s the bottom line: the legislation, if enacted, would result in $39 billion in new private investment in Illinois through 2030.

Posted in CEJA, Clean Energy, Illinois / Comments are closed

New whitepaper demonstrates how China can take a world class approach to underground gas storage

By EDF Blogs / Published: May 7, 2019

By Dan Mueller and Hanling Yang

点击这里用中文阅读

As China replaces high-polluting coal with cleaner burning natural gas to address its air quality concerns, natural gas demand in the country has undergone rapid growth. China is charting a course to aggressively increase its underground gas storage (UGS) capacity over the next two decades.

Though UGS brings benefits to the gas supply system, including operational flexibility and efficiency, it can also bring significant risk to human health, safety and the environment. Here in the United States, we’ve seen first-hand what can happen when things go wrong with UGS. Aliso Canyon in California, where a nearly 50-year old depleted reservoir gas storage facility lost containment, leaked 100,000 tonnes of methane over four months and forced the evacuation of 11,000 residents from an adjacent neighborhood.

As China draws upon leading technical and regulatory guidance addressing UGS facilities, it is critical that it develop and institute a management framework throughout all phases of UGS operation, from planning and construction through operation and, ultimately, closure.

Posted in Natural Gas / Tagged China | Comments are closed

How New Jersey can finance its bold new clean energy targets

By EDF Blogs / Published: August 24, 2018

By Dakota Gangi and Mary Barber

On May 23, New Jerseyans scored a major economic and environmental victory when Governor Phil Murphy signed a groundbreaking law that will soon make the Garden State an even greener one. The Board of Public Utilities (BPU) has initiated a proceeding that will establish a community solar pilot program within one year of the bill’s signing. Low-income and multifamily households will be able to earn credits on their electric bills for purchasing power from a shared solar array. In just ten years, half the state’s power will come from emissions-free renewable resources, and New Jersey will boast the highest amounts of energy storage and offshore wind in the United States. New Jerseyans can expect clean air, electric bill savings, and the creation of many local and lucrative job openings.

These groundbreaking targets can bring about significant economic growth, especially if New Jersey utilizes a multitude of green financing tools to achieve its goals. The BPU will ensure the state is on track to meet its clean energy goals, as it is putting in place rules and regulations to attract investment. Now, New Jersey should create a green bank to add to its arsenal of green investment mechanisms and to fill the clean energy financing gap identified in EDF’s December 2017 report, Financing New Jersey’s Clean Energy Economy: Pathways for Leadership.

Posted in Clean Energy, Energy Financing, General, New Jersey / Read 1 Response

As L.A. temperatures rise, so does interest in cleaner air and cleaner energy

By Irene Burga / Published: July 19, 2018

This blog was co-authored by Annie Cory, Princeton Environmental Institute (PEI) Intern for EDF’s Oil & Gas Program

Just like many cities that have experienced record high temperatures in 2018, Los Angeles was hit with a heat wave of record proportions in early July, with temperatures topping 113 degrees in several parts of the county. As air conditioners across the region struggled to keep up, the heat pushed our energy grid over the brink, with blackouts leaving at least 80,000 Angelinos sweltering without electricity.

Such elevated temperatures are not typical for Los Angeles. Yet weather events like these are becoming both more frequent, and more intense. Burning more fossil fuels, of course, only compounds the warming problem.

To put a dent in the causes and impacts of man-made climate change, cities, states and nations will need to implement a portfolio of solutions aimed at cutting carbon across the board and boosting the resiliency of our energy grid. By increasing the share of renewable energy used to power our homes and businesses, and incentivizing technology like battery storage while expanding focus on energy conservation, the threat of blackouts can be greatly diminished during hot summer days.

Posted in Air Quality, California, Clean Energy, Climate, Energy Equity, Methane, Natural Gas, Renewable Energy, Solar Energy / Tagged Community Solar, Energy Storage | Comments are closed

California sets new standards for natural gas storage sites

By Adam Peltz / Published: July 11, 2018

Data visualization shows the methane plume from the Aliso Canyon gas leak in red.

Three years ago, a blowout at the Aliso Canyon natural gas storage facility forced thousands of nearby families to evacuate their homes and leaked over 100,000 tons of methane and other harmful pollutants into the atmosphere. The facility’s operator, Southern California Gas, wasn’t prepared for the scope or scale of the disaster that unfolded over four months.

The disaster demonstrated the risks of under-regulated natural gas storage sites, as well as the importance of not being over-reliant on natural gas. Regulators in California and across the country realized the need for better oversight and management.

As a result, California’s Division of Oil, Gas and Geothermal Resources (DOGGR) recently finalized new rules for managing the risky, industrial enterprise of underground gas storage. These rules are a foray into an underdeveloped policy space, and are the product of collaboration with stakeholders including national laboratories, the environmental community, and the federal government.

Posted in Aliso Canyon, California, General, Methane, Natural Gas / Tagged Gas storage | Comments are closed

New utility settlement highlights how Ohio utilities are leaving FirstEnergy behind on clean energy

By Dick Munson / Published: July 9, 2018

BLOG UPDATE – September 26, 2018

The Public Utilities Commission of Ohio today approved DP&L’s rate case, described below.

A new utility settlement in Ohio is loaded with promising clean-energy components. Meanwhile, Ohio-based utility giant FirstEnergy continues to cling to the energy sources of the past.

Encouraging settlement

Along with FirstEnergy, Duke, and AEP, Dayton Power & Light (DP&L) is one of Ohio’s four investor-owned utilities that deliver electricity to people’s homes and businesses.

In DP&L’s recent rate case (a process that sets customers’ electricity delivery rates), the utility and environmental groups, including Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), have reached a settlement that includes the following: Read More »

Posted in Clean Energy, Ohio / Read 2 Responses