The Heavy-Duty Vehicle Air Quality Loan Program, a partnership of the California Pollution Control Financing Authority and the California Air Resources Board helped get more than 36,000 cleaner trucks on the road, according to a Feb. 14 press release. This is equivalent to removing 164 tons of particulate matter per year. The board has contributed…...
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on Feb. 17 issued two policy statements intended to enhance the legal durability of its natural gas project certifications and decisions. The first one, an update to the 1999 policy for the certification of new interstate natural gas projects, incorporates landowner protections and environmental justice considerations in the decision-making process…....
Nuclear power is increasingly viewed as a necessary resource to compensate for the decline in fossil fuel-based electricity in the transition towards a low-carbon future. Recent actions range from the U.S. Energy Department’s launch of a $6 billion program to sustain the existing nuclear fleet to West Virginia’s move to end a ban on nuclear plant construction and efforts to delay the closure of the Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant in California.
Prices for crude oil are projected to remain high enough to drive record output in the U.S. in 2023, reaching 12.6 million barrels a day, according to a Feb. 16 report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). The Permian Basin is expected to contribute to the growth of overall crude oil production. According to…
Utility-scale wind turbines accounted for more than three-quarters of the 4.2 gigawatts of Michigan’s renewable energy capacity in 2021, according to the Michigan Public Service Commission Feb. 15 report on the implementation of the state’s renewable energy standard. The agency also issued a report on energy waste reduction, or EWR, program, which revealed that the…
The Biden administration on Feb. 15 announced the launch of $9.5 billion worth of initiatives to foster clean hydrogen development pursuant to the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, and the “buy clean task force” to harness the federal government’s purchasing power to support domestically-manufactured low-carbon materials. The government intends to advance hydrogen application in…...
Judge James Cain of the U.S District Court for the Western District of Louisiana on Feb.11 issued a preliminary ruling restricting the use of the social cost of carbon, or SCC, estimates that federal agencies were directed to incorporate in their environmental analyses of major actions pursuant to an executive order that President Joe Biden…...
The U.S. Energy Department on Feb. 14 announced a $175 million funding for 68 research and development projects to foster the commercial deployment of advanced technologies including fusion energy, electric vehicles, and offshore wind. The initiative is led by the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) wherein the OPEN 2021 program will prioritize funding to support…...
Power plants and electricity assets in Texas increased output to meet higher demand, during a cold weather snap earlier this month, according to a Feb. 14 report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Power generators, so far this year, have remained resilient and have avoided widespread power outages, like those witnessed in February 2021, when…...
The U.S. Energy Department’s Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management on Feb. 10 announced a total of $96 million funding allocated for projects aimed at developing technologies that can capture at least 95 percent of point-source carbon dioxide emissions from natural gas power plants and industrial applications. The National Energy Technology Laboratory will administer…...
The California Public Utilities Commission on Feb. 10 approved an integrated resource plan to ensure the reliability of the electric grid and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The agency adopted an emissions reduction goal for the state’s electric sector of 35 million metric tons in 2032, nearly 25 percent lower than the previous target of 46…...