Skip to content Skip to navigation

Energy News

Judge dismisses lawsuit filed by developer, landowners against Middlesex fracking opponents

Trib Live | Posted on June 7, 2016

A Butler County judge has dismissed the second lawsuit a developer and 13 landowners had filed against Middlesex residents and non-profits opposed to fracking, the defendants.  Dewey Homes & Investment Properties and other property owners, who collectively hold more than 440 acres of land, originally filed the lawsuit last May against five residents, the Delaware Riverkeeper Network and the Clean Air Council. Dewey and the landowners said the defendants were interfering with their rights to drill by challenging the township's zoning ordinances, which allow gas drilling in 90 percent of the township.  The ACLU called the lawsuit a case of “SLAPP,” or strategic lawsuit against public participation, intended to quash the residents' right to petition their government.

Butler County Common Pleas Judge Marilyn Horan dismissed the lawsuit in September but allowed the plaintiffs to amend it. Last Wednesday Judge Michael Yeager dismissed the amended case with prejudice, meaning it can't be re-filed with the Court of Common Pleas.


Appalachian coal ash richest in rare earth elements

Science Daily | Posted on June 7, 2016

The first comprehensive study of the content of rare earth elements in coal ashes from the United States shows that coal originating from the Appalachian Mountains has the highest concentrations of scarce elements like neodymium, europium, terbium, dysprosium, yttrium and erbium that are needed for alternative energy and other technologies. The study also reveals how important developing inexpensive, efficient extraction technologies will be to any future recovery program.


As residential solar surges, the net-metering debate heats up

Missoula Independent | Posted on June 7, 2016

Residential solar in the U.S. grew 66 percent in 2015 over 2014, the largest annual growth rate to date, according to a recent report by GTM Research and the Solar Energy Industries Association, or SEIA. In 2015, residential solar installations amounted to 2,099 megawatts, which, when converted, equals more that 1,600 megawatts. By comparison, Montana's coal-fired Colstrip plant, the second-largest power plant west of the Mississippi River, has a peak output of 2,100 megawatts. The International Renewable Energy Agency reports that between 2010 and 2015 the cost of solar photovoltaic panels dropped 80 percent, fueling the solar surge around the world.

Forty-one states and the District of Columbia have mandatory net-metering rules, but the rapid growth in residential solar has states from New York to Montana wrestling with how to promote this renewable, distributed resource in a way that placates utilities challenged by integrating the power and apportioning the associated costs.  Nevada, for example, the fifth-largest residential solar market in 2015 with 17,000 producers, recently implemented drastic changes to its net-metering policy that the Alliance for Solar Choice, in challenging the decision in court, called "a stake in the heart of future rooftop solar development."  The crux of the debate is how much net-metered customers should be credited for putting excess energy onto the grid. Utilities and renewable energy advocates clash on cost-benefit analyses.


Demand Plummets For California Pollution Credits

KPBS | Posted on June 4, 2016

California's ambitious efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions are taking a hit as demand has plummeted for pollution credits that are supposed to fund the initiative.  Only about a tenth of the available pollution credits were sold in an auction last week, according to results released Wednesday by the California Air Resources Board. Gov. Jerry Brown's administration says revenue from the program was $600 million short of the $2.4 billion anticipated in the current fiscal year.


Washington limits carbon pollution from largest sources

AP | Posted on June 3, 2016

Washington state regulators unveiled an updated plan to limit greenhouse gas emissions from large polluters, the latest attempt by Gov. Jay Inslee to push ahead with a binding cap on carbon emissions after struggling to win approval from legislators. Washington would join nearly a dozen states including California that have capped carbon pollution from industrial sources. The proposed rule requires large industrial emitters to gradually reduce carbon emissions over time. The rule would cover many industries, including power plants, oil refineries, fuel distributors, pulp and paper mills and others.


Wind and solar could meet nearly all Midwest energy needs by 2050, researcher says

Midwest Energy News | Posted on June 3, 2016

For seven Midwest states - Michigan, Minnesota, Insiana, Illinois Ioa, Ohio and Wisconsin – between 50 percent (Indiana) and 79 percent (Minnesota) of the projected energy mix could come from a combination of onshore and offshore wind.  The remaining supply would mostly comprise utility-scale, commercial, residential and concentrated solar, with a small percentage from hydroelectric sources under the projected energy mixes.  Wind and solar could meet all of Indiana’s and Illinois’ energy needs; 99.9 percent of Ohio’s; 99.8 percent of Iowa’s; 99 percent of Wisconsin’s; 98.3 percent of Michigan’s; and 96.4 percent of Minnesota’s. The projections apply to all energy sectors — not just electric — to include transportation and heating and cooling. Additionally, each of those states’ power demand would decrease on average about 35 percent, according to Jacobson.  “The idea is to electrify everything,” Jacobson said. For Michigan alone, “the benefit of all this is we calculate it would create about 50,000 net jobs, eliminate 1,700 air pollution deaths and about $1,300 per person, per year in health costs.”


How Close Are We to 100 Percent Renewable Energy?

Govtech | Posted on June 2, 2016

Americans may be divided on partisan and ideological lines, but on at least one issue they agree: Support for clean renewable energy just keeps growing. In a March 2015 Gallup Poll, for example, 79 percent said they wanted the nation to use more solar energy, while 70 percent wanted to see more of the energy we use come from wind.  As promising as this trend seems to be, however, it is a quantum leap to move from 100 percent renewable electricity to 100 percent renewable energy. Electricity represents only about 40 percent of the energy landscape and is mainly used to power our lighting, air conditioning, mechanical systems, computers and telecommunications equipment. The remaining 60 percent, sourced chiefly from oil and natural gas, powers most of the transportation sector (cars, trains, planes) as well as most commercial and residential heating.  As daunting as the shift may seem, however, the technology to make it possible is commercially available today.


2016 U.S. Clean Tech Leadership Index

Cleanedge | Posted on June 2, 2016

See how your state ranks! The U.S. Clean Tech Leadership Index tracks and ranks the clean-tech activities of all 50 states and the 50 largest metro areas in the U.S. – from EV (electric vehicles) and renewables adoption to policy and investment activity.  The objective of the Leadership Index is to serve as a tool for regional comparative research, a source for aggregated industry data, and a jumping-off point for deep, data-driven analysis of the U.S. clean-tech market.  


New Michigan policies make energy efficiency a priority

Crains Detroit Business | Posted on June 1, 2016

One long-standing program that provides a means by which an entity can get capital for energy efficiency projects is known as the Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) program. PACE allows local governments to issue bonds to property owners that finance energy retrofits at their facilities, which they and back over a period years. However, entities with significant building portfolios and energy intensive operations like local governments lacked a similar avenue to achieve the same savings – until now, that is.

The new legislation Gov. Snyder recently signed now allows cities, villages, governing bodies, townships and commissioners to finance energy conservation improvements. These improvements include heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) improvements, roof improvements, insulation, entrance or exit closure, software designed to promote energy conservation and municipal utility improvements.


The EPA's Proposed 2017 RFS Standards: Is a Push Still a Push?

Farm Doc Daily | Posted on June 1, 2016

The EPA released the preliminary 2017 RFS Standard on May 18. The preliminary rulemaking also established biomass-based diesel (BBD) volume requirements for 2018. Here, we first re-examine the magnitude of the likely conventional biofuels push contained in the final rule making for 2014-2016 and then the likely magnitude of the push in the preliminary rulemaking for 2017. Those calculations will indicate if the EPA is continuing the policy of providing a measurable push for conventional biofuel consumption beyond the E10 blend wall. That analysis requires a forecast of domestic gasoline consumption. Finally, we briefly examine the RINs market reaction to the preliminary rulemaking to judge if the rulemaking came as a surprise to the market. We start with a review of the statutory mandates before proceeding to the analysis. A key question is whether the 2017 standard continues the recent EPA policy of providing a measurable push for conventional biofuel consumption beyond the E10 blend wall. After updating projections for gasoline and diesel consumption, we estimate the conventional ethanol mandate gap to be 275 million gallons in 2014, 371 million gallons in 2015, 453 million gallons in 2016, and 510 million gallons in 2017. Since the estimates of the conventional mandate gap are relatively large, particularly for 2016 and 2017, this suggests the EPA is continuing to provide a substantial push above the E10 blend wall for conventional biofuels. A key question going forward is how long this push can last in the face of rising gasoline consumption.


Pages