OIL
The EPA has issued the first national regulations for disposal of coal ash as solid waste under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act. On December 19, 2014, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a final rule to regulate disposal of coal combustion residuals (CCR) generated from electric utilities and independent power producers. The final rule…...
ARPA-E has announced $60M in funding under its MONITOR and DELTA programs to check methane emissions and facilitate energy-efficient thermal management. On December 16, 2014, the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) announced $60M in funding for 22 innovative projects through its Methane Observation Networks with Innovative Technology to Obtain Reductions (MONITOR)…...
The EIA has projected that U.S. crude oil production will grow in 2015 despite the recent price decline. On December 12, 2014, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) released a report forecasting that U.S. crude oil production will continue to grow in 2015 despite the potential for weaker production levels due to the recent price decline…....
Utilities are increasingly pursuing rate design reform to earn revenue as kilowatt-hour demand growth flattens. As net energy-metered residential solar PV installation growth continues, utilities will be challenged with building and maintaining infrastructure with diminishing revenue streams. The fixed charge and net energy metering NEM compensation debate will continue as utilities fight for sustained revenue…...
Approval of Con Edison’s BQDM Program is a significant step for the utility to pursue non-traditional infrastructure investments to meet local demand. On December 12, 2014, the New York State Public Service Commission (PSC) issued an order in Case 14-E-0302 approving Consolidated Edison Company of New York Inc.’s (Con Edison) Brooklyn/Queens Demand Management (BQDM) Program to address overload…...
The FERC has announced technical conferences to discuss the impacts of EPA’s proposed Clean Power Plan on wholesale electricity markets, reliability, and infrastructure. On December 9, 2014, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) announced that it will hold four technical conferences – one National Overview conference and three regional conferences – to discuss implications of…...
The House has passed a one-year extension of several tax provisions including the renewable energy production tax credit and several biofuel industry incentives. On December 3, 2014, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Tax Increase Prevention Act of 2014 (H.R. 5771), a one-year tax extender package for several tax relief provisions that expired at…...
The Supreme Court has agreed to consider whether EPA unreasonably refused to consider cost factors in its MATS rulemaking process. On November 25, 2014, the U.S. Supreme Court granted petitions to hear state and industry challenges against the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS) to decide whether EPA unreasonably refused to…...
The EPA has proposed to update air quality standards for ground-level ozone to levels within 65 ppb to 70 ppb from the current level of 75 ppb. On November 25, 2014, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed to update the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for ground-level ozone by strengthening primary and secondary ozone…...
The EPA has announced that it will not finalize 2014 RFS requirements before the end of 2014 due to delays in evaluating comments elicited by its 2014 RFS proposal released in November 2013. On November 21, 2014, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a notice of delay in issuing the 2014 renewable fuel requirements under…...
The FERC has directed RTOs/ISOs to identify fuel assurance issues relevant to their respective markets and file a report on the status of their efforts to address the issues. On November 20, 2014, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) issued an order directing regional transmission organizations and independent system operators (RTOs/ISOs) to file reports on…...
A bill aimed to approve construction of the Keystone XL pipeline failed in the Senate by one vote short of the threshold required for passage. On November 18, 2014, the U.S. Senate rejected S. 2280, a bill aimed to approve the cross-border Keystone XL pipeline that would carry crude oil from Alberta to Gulf Coast refineries…....