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…...
The U.S. Energy Department on Feb. 11 announced $2.91 billion funding to enhance manufacturing of innovative and advanced batteries, to expedite the growth of net-zero or emission-free future industries. The funding intends to support the entire value chain of battery manufacturing from refining and production to packaging and recycling facilities, and simultaneously create sustainable energy…...
The U.S. Energy Department on Feb. 11 launched the $6 billion nuclear credits program approved by Congress in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, enacted in November 2021, to provide federal aid to existing financially-challenged nuclear plants at risk of closing. The agency released a request for information (RFI) about various parameters of the program,…...
Environmental and clean energy organizations, represented by the Southern Environmental Law Center and Southern Alliance for Clean Energy, petitioned the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit to review the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s approval of the Southeast Energy Exchange Market (SEEM). The SEEM proposal was originally submitted by large southeast utilities such as…...
The U.S. Departments of Transportation and Energy on Feb. 10 announced funds of $5 billion to be made accessible via the new National Electric Vehicles Infrastructure (NEVI) Formula Program, to develop a national electric vehicle charging network, an imperative step towards expanding access to EV charging infrastructure. The program intends to provide the funding across…...
A coalition of environmental groups on Feb. 7 asked the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to issue a stop-work order halting all construction activity on the Mountain Valley Pipeline, a 304-mile proposed natural gas pipeline stretching from West Virginia to Virginia. The move follows two recent decisions of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth…...
The Minnesota Public Utilities Commission on Feb. 8 approved Xcel Energy Inc.’s 2019 integrated resource plan, which outlines investments between 2020 and 2034. In the approved plan, the utility seeks to acquire or build up to 4,650 megawatts of renewable energy resources by 2032, including solar, wind, and storage. Xcel’s plan is expected to lower…...
The California Air Resources Board (CARB) bestowed three grants worth $25 million to deliver pioneering clean transportation solutions for underprivileged and low-income areas in Los Angeles, San Francisco and Oakland, according to a Feb.9 press release. The awardees of these grants are the Los Angeles Department of Transportation, San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency and Oakland…...