Alternative energy
On September 30, the U.S. Supreme Court will consider a major challenge to the Environmental Protection Agency’s implementation of greenhouse gas regulations under Section 202 of the Clean Air Act, a hearing that could affect President Obama’s timetable for existing power plants and state implementation plans. The EPA will likely face ongoing litigation on most…...
The Army has awarded 17 wind energy contracts under its $7 billion renewable energy program aimed to achieve its energy goal of deploying one GW of renewable energy by 2025. On September 9, 2013, the U.S. Army announced the award of 17 wind energy contracts as Multiple Award Task Order Contracts (MATOC) under its $7…...
The Navy has announced $30 million in funding to Hawaii-based “Energy Excelerator” that supports emerging clean energy technologies. On September 9, 2013, the Department of Navy’s Office of Naval Research (ONR) announced $30 million funding to support Energy Excelerator, a Hawaii-based accelerator program for clean energy start-ups. The funding triples investment over the three-year operation…...
Virginia Electric and Power Co. won DOI’s second offshore wind auction with a $1.6 million bid for 112,799 acres off the Virginia coast. The Department of Interior’s (DOI) second federal offshore wind lease sale, held on September 4, 2013, closed at $1.6 million for 112,799 acres approximately 23.5 nautical miles off the Virginia coast. Virginia…...
CPUC has proposed policies and mechanisms for its landmark energy storage procurement program that sets a 1,325 MW energy storage mandate. On September 3, 2013, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) issued a proposed decision detailing policies and mechanisms for its energy storage procurement program established under the 2010 Assembly Bill 2514, the first…...
The U.S.-France Joint Statement on Liability for Nuclear Damage calls for adherence to enhanced nuclear liability instruments and supports the formation of a global nuclear liability regime. On August 29, 2013, U.S. Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz and French Minister of Ecology, Sustainable Development, and Energy, Philippe Martin signed the Joint Statement on Civil Liability for…...
The 40+ year-old Vermont Yankee Nuclear plant will shut down by Q4 2014 due to high cost structure and low natural gas and wholesale energy prices. On August 27, 2013, Entergy Corporation announced plans to close and decommission the Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Station in Vernon, Vermont in Q4 2014, after the current fuel cycle. Once the plant…...
DOE and NJ Transit will work together to improve the critical transportation and Manhattan evacuation system through advanced microgrid technologies. On August 26, 2013, the Department of Energy (DOE) announced a partnership with the New Jersey (NJ) Transit and the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities to develop an advanced smartgrid system to increase the region’s…...
MIT researchers have devised a membrane-free rechargeable battery prototype that could facilitate cheaper, large-scale energy storage and support widespread renewable energy use. On August 16, 2013, researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) unveiled a membrane-free rechargeable flow battery prototype capable of overcoming the major barriers of energy storage – cost and performance –…...
A U.S. appeals court has ordered NRC to resume its review of DOE’s license application to build a nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain, Nevada, ruling that NRC violated federal law. On August 13, 2013, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ordered the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to resume its…...
Industry groups have petitioned EPA to lower the 2014 RFS ethanol mandate to below 10 percent of projected gasoline demand. On August 13, 2013, the American Petroleum Institute and the American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers petitioned the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for a partial waiver of volume requirements under the 2014 Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS)…...
DOE has commenced construction of the federal government’s largest wind energy project, at the Pantex nuclear weapons stockpile facility in Texas. On August 13, 2013, the Department of Energy (DOE) officially began construction of the 11.5 MW Pantex Renewable Energy Project, the federal government’s largest wind project, at Pantex Plant, the nation’s primary nuclear weapons…...