The Washington Department of Ecology adopted rules requiring new vehicles licensed in the state to continue meeting California’s standards, steadily reducing the release of greenhouse gases through 2025, according to a Jan. 2 news release. Democratic Governor Jay Inslee underscored the need for “collective actions of states” even as the Trump administration tries to relax…
The U.S. natural gas export trend continues thanks to increases in liquefied natural gas export capacity and expansion of the cross-border pipeline network into Mexico, according to a Jan. 7 report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration. In 2017, the U.S. became a net exporter of natural for the first time since 1958. The agency…...
The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection proposed to set an initial carbon dioxide cap at 18 million tons in 2020 for the electricity generation sector when the state officially becomes a member of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, the nation’s first mandatory cap-and-trade program to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, according to a Dec. 17…...
The California Public Utilities Commission launched a proceeding to explore how de-energization has affected the state and examine ways to refine the practice to ensure safety and minimize unintended consequences, according to a Dec. 13 press release. The agency aims to study the conditions in which proactive and planned de-energization takes place and also examine whether…
The United Nations twenty-fourth annual climate conference concluded on Dec. 15, following a week of intense discussions culminating in the adoption of rules for the implementation of the Paris Agreement, which aims to prevent the worst impacts of climate change by keeping global temperature rise below 2 degrees Celsius. The deal establishes uniform standards that will be used by…
The New York Independent System Operator Inc. on Dec. 7 released a plan outlining a design to internalize the social cost of carbon dioxide emissions in the wholesale electricity markets. The plan would use a carbon price in dollars per ton of emissions, proposing a net cost of $40.74 per ton in 2020. The proposal would require suppliers to include the charges in their energy offers, allowing the price to…
The California Public Utilities Commission is launching a probe into the corporate governance, structure, and operation of Pacific Gas and Electric Company to determine the best course of action for safe electric and gas service in the wake of wildfires that caused widespread destruction in Northern and Southern California, according to a Nov. 15 statement…
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission approved settlements of over $83 million in civil penalties and disgorgement of over $66 million in unjust profits during fiscal year 2018, according to the Office of Enforcement’s twelfth annual report issued on Nov. 15. The report underscores agency action in the areas of fraud and market manipulation, violations of…
The U.S. Energy Department is planning to fund competitive research and development of innovative coal generation technologies in the 2019 fiscal year, according to a Nov. 14 announcement. The agency envisions coal plants of the future to be “Flexible, Innovative, Resilient, Small and Transformative” under the new “Coal FIRST” initiative. The move stems from request…
The U.S. Energy Department selected 11 projects located across six states for cost-shared research and development of advanced nuclear technologies, according to a Nov. 13 press release. The projects, valued at about $25 million, make the third batch of recipients under the department’s advanced nuclear technology funding opportunity. The first round provided $60 million and…
Under current and planned policies, global energy demand is expected to grow by over 25 percent to 2040, requiring an annual investment of more than $2 trillion in new energy supply, according to the International Energy Agency’s World Energy Outlook published on Nov. 13. The agency said that over 70 percent of global energy investments…
