Energy Efficiency
NYC’s proposed Green Bond Program aims to expand the city’s investor base, provide a standard for the U.S. municipal bond market, and encourage a greener capital program. On September 24, 2014, New York City (NYC) Comptroller Scott M. Stringer proposed a plan titled “A Green Bond Program for New York City” to fund environmental threat…...
The DOE has announced a decision to issue a Presidential Permit for the proposed 336-mile Champlain Hudson Power Express transmission line from Canada to New York. On September 24, 2014, the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability announced a Record of Decision to issue a Presidential Permit to Champlain Hudson…...
Massachusetts’ second Green Bond sale resulted in orders exceeding $1B for $350M worth of bonds and $429M in refinancing transaction that will save taxpayers $45M. On September 22, 2014, Massachusetts Treasurer Steven Grossman announced that the Commonwealth’s second Green Bond sale generated more than $1B in buy orders for a $350M bond offering. Retail investors placed…...
On September 9, 2014, FERC accepted ISO-NE’s Transmission, Markets and Services Tariff revisions to aid its 2014/2015 Winter Reliability Program (Docket No. ER14-2407-000). ISO-New England’s Winter Reliability Programs offer incentives to oil-fired generators to hold increased inventory to meet peak winter demand, as much of natural gas pipeline capacity is dedicated to firm service contract…...
NYC has committed to reduce emissions to 80 percent below 2005 levels by 2050, beginning with a comprehensive plan to retrofit all public buildings by 2025 and set target reductions and mandates for private buildings. On September 21, 2014, New York City (NYC) Mayor de Blasio announced a new goal of reducing emissions to 80…...
On September 17, 2014, the Senate Committee on Finance held a hearing titled “Reforming America’s Outdated Energy Tax Code” to discuss possible reforms to the U.S. energy tax policy. Senate Finance Committee Chairman Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) underscored the need for predictable, level playing-field tax policy that puts renewables on the same footing as other…...
NY Governor Cuomo has announced nine awards to recognize leadership and excellence in building energy performance under the 2012 BuildSmart NY Initiative. On September 15, 2014, New York Governor Andrew M. Cuomo announced the first BuildSmart NY Awards for outstanding energy efficiency solutions in public buildings to bring down operating expenses, save taxpayer money, and…...
The 25th RGGI carbon auction, which marks RGGI’s sixth full year, sold allowances at $4.88 each, generating approximately $87.83M. On September 5, 2014, the nine member states of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) released results of their 25th carbon auction (Auction 25) held on September 3. Auction 25 offered 17,998,687 allowances at a reserve…...
The New York Department of Public Service (DPS) staff has issued a Straw Proposal on achieving the Reforming the Energy Vision (REV) Track One goals. The straw proposal reaffirms the initial April 24 proceeding which identified utilities’ role in managing a distributed system platform (DSP) and growing the state’s existing Distributed Energy Resource (DER) assets. Despite…...
Hawaiian Electric Companies have proposed comprehensive electric energy plans with a goal to achieve more than 65 percent renewable energy by 2030. On August 26, 2014, the Hawaiian Electric Companies – Hawaiian Electric, Maui Electric, and Hawaii Electric Light Company – proposed electric energy plans in response to the Hawaii Public Utilities Commission’s (PUC)…...
Rhode Island’s climate law prioritizes climate adaptation, emissions reduction, and institutional design to address climate change. The Resilient Rhode Island Act of 2014 (H 7904) is the state’s first climate bill and aims to make the state economy and society resilient to the effects of a changing climate. Signed into law on July 2, and ceremonially signed on August 1,…...
The latest round of low-cost power allocations under ReCharge NY is expected to leverage an estimated $270M in capital investments. On August 4, 2014, Governor Andrew M. Cuomo announced that the New York Power Authority has approved the ninth round of ReCharge NY power allocations, providing a total of 11.8 MW of low-cost power for…...