Coal Power

[Report] Lawmakers Consider Energy Tax Reform as December Deadline Nears for Extending Expired Provisions

On September 17, 2014, the U.S. Senate Committee on Finance held a hearing entitled “Reforming America’s Outdated Energy Tax Code.” Retroactively extending tax provisions has significant impact on financial accounting for multiple energy industries, including wind and solar, and also small and mid-sized businesses such as commercial building owners, architects, engineers, contractors, and design-construction companies…....

September 29, 2014

Senate Finance Committee Hearing on Energy Tax Policy Reforms

On September 17, 2014, the Senate Committee on Finance held a hearing titled “Reforming America’s Outdated Energy Tax Code” to discuss possible reforms to the U.S. energy tax policy.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…...

September 18, 2014

EPA Extends Comment Period for Clean Power Plan Proposal

The EPA has extended the comment period for its proposed emission guidelines for existing fossil fuel-based power plants by 45 days. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has extended the comment period for its proposed Clean Power Plan from its mid-October deadline to December 1. The decision, which extends the initial 120-day comment period by an…...

September 18, 2014

[Report] NY REV Straw Proposal Recommends Utility-Owned Distributed Energy Resources

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…...

September 8, 2014

State Coalition Defends EPA’s Commitment to Address Power Plant Emissions

An 11-state coalition led by NY Attorney General has filed a motion to dispute a lawsuit by a 12-state coalition challenging EPA’s commitments to address power plant emissions. On September 2, 2014, a coalition of 11 states – California, Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Massachusetts, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, the District of Columbia –…...

September 3, 2014

[Report] Oil and Gas Production from Federal Lands Faces Permitting Challenges

Federal lands contain significant oil and gas reserves, however federal staffing resource challenges have led to decreases in resource development and delayed state and federal revenue. The proposed BLM Permit Processing Improvement Act of 2014 (S. 2440) has significant bipartisan support, and its passage would expand and extend upon the current federal land permitting program…...

August 18, 2014

Largest Commercial Scale Post-Combustion CCS Project Begins Construction

Construction has begun on the first U.S. commercial-scale post-combustion CCS project aimed to annually capture 1.4 million metric tons of CO2. On July 15, 2014, the Department of Energy (DOE) announced that construction has begun on the Petra Nova Project, the first U.S. commercial-scale post-combustion carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) retrofit and the largest in…...

July 16, 2014

Court Upholds EPA Coal Mining Permitting Policies

A federal appeals court has ruled that the EPA and Army Corps of Engineers acted within their statutory authority in adopting coal mining permitting policies to address water contamination. On July 11, 2014, the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit upheld the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) policies aimed to address water contamination…...

July 15, 2014

New House Bill Aims to Restrain EPA Regulatory Agenda

The “Stop the EPA Act” calls for a retroactive review of all EPA regulations and Congressional approval for major EPA actions. On July 9, 2014, Rep. Sam Graves (R-MO) introduced the Stop the EPA Act of 2014 (H.R. 5034) that would stop the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) proposed regulations until EPA completes a review of…...

July 15, 2014

DOE Announces Major Milestone for CCS Project

DOE has announced a major milestone for its carbon capture and sequestration efforts, capturing more than one million metric tons of CO2. On June 26, 2014, the Department of Energy announced that its carbon capture and storage (CCS) project – operated in partnership with Air products and Chemicals Inc. – has captured more than one million metric tons of…...

June 30, 2014

Supreme Court Ruling on EPA Authority to Regulate Stationary Source GHG Emissions

The Supreme Court has ruled that EPA exceeded its statutory authority in interpreting Clean Air Act requirements by requiring permits based solely on GHG emissions. On June 23, 2014, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions regulations for new motor vehicles did not automatically trigger permitting requirements…...

June 24, 2014

DOE Signs $187M Agreement to Develop Carbon Capture and Gasification Technologies

Under a cooperative agreement with DOE, Southern Company will evaluate carbon capture technologies and advanced fossil-fuel conversion systems. On June 12, 2014, the Department of Energy (DOE) announced that it has signed a five-year, $187M cooperative agreement with Southern Company to test advanced carbon-capture and gasification technologies at the National Carbon Capture Center (NCCC) in…...

June 13, 2014

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