Most recent 40 articles: E&E News
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FEMA stuns Florida with pricey hurricane penalty - E&E News (Apr 3) |
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Apr 3 · By Thomas Frank | 04/03/2024 06:25 AM EDT
The agency’s action indicated that Lee County homeowners were skirting federal rules requiring stronger rebuilding after disasters.
Damaged homes and debris in the aftermath of 2022's Hurricane Ian in Fort Myers Beach, Florida. Wilfredo Lee/AP
A stunning federal decision is leaving residents of a Florida county that was devastated by one of the nation’s most destructive hurricanes without an insurance discount that has saved them hundreds of millions of dollars.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency revoked the discount it gave to 125,000 property owners in Lee County who have FEMA flood insurance after ... Read more ...
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EPA wins tussle with White House over climate rule - E&E News (Mar 1) |
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Mar 1 · By Jean Chemnick | 03/01/2024 04:22 PM EST
The two clashed over when to regulate heat-trapping emissions from existing gas plants.
EPA Administrator Michael Regan speaks in Ohio earlier this month as President Joe Biden listens. Andrew Harnik/AP
EPA sent a new version of its power plant carbon rule to the White House on Friday. This time it’s unlikely that West Wing political advisers will change a key provision on gas plants.
The final rule won’t include a provision that was inserted into an earlier draft of the regulation by the president’s climate team last year - covering existing natural gas plants.
The move sheds light on a disagreement ... Read more ...
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SEC sets vote on landmark climate rule - E&E News (Feb 29) |
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Feb 29 · By Avery Ellfeldt | 02/29/2024 06:47 AM EST
The proposal was once hailed as a “watershed” for U.S. markets, but activists fear the final version won’t require companies to disclose enough about their planet-warming emissions.
SEC Chair Gary Gensler testifies Sept. 15, 2022, before the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee. Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images
The Securities and Exchange Commission faces its moment of truth next week on climate change. And some of the agency’s main cheerleaders already are bracing for disappointment.
The SEC is set to vote Wednesday on a rule that would force public companies to divulge a swath of ... Read more ...
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FERC greenlights projects that could unleash gas exports - E&E News (Feb 16) |
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Feb 16 · By Zach Bright | 02/16/2024 06:54 AM EST
Federal energy regulators also invoked a policy Thursday that prioritizes tribal opposition to hydroelectric facilities.
Willie Phillips, chair of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. Francis Chung/E&E News
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission approved two natural gas projects Thursday that seek to boost gas exports as a rift widens between the fossil fuel industry and environmental critics.
FERC approved the Saguaro Connector pipeline - proposed by Oneok - that would run about 500 miles and transport 2.8 billion cubic feet of gas per day from Texas to the coast of Mexico.
Commissioner Allison Clements, ... Read more ...
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Red states build legal case against Biden LNG pause - E&E News (Feb 7) |
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Feb 7 · By Pamela King, Carlos Anchondo, Brian Dabbs | 02/07/2024 06:40 AM EST
A tugboat helps guide the LNG Endeavor through Calcasieu Lake near Hackberry, Louisiana. Martha Irvine/AP
Twenty-three Republican-led states are teeing up their legal claims against the Biden administration’s decision to halt overseas shipments of liquefied natural gas.
In a Tuesday letter to President Joe Biden and the Department of Energy, the attorneys general of Louisiana, Texas and other states accused the administration of ushering in a “surprise freeze” that bows to the pressure of young climate activists, harms the economy and jeopardizes national security.
“Instead of addressing ... Read more ...
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Biden Juices Up EV Charging, Faces Attacks - E&E News (Jan 11) |
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Jan 11 · By David Ferris | 01/11/2024 06:39 AM EST
An electric vehicle prepares to park at a charging station in Corte Madera, California. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
America’s ability to charge future electric vehicles got a jolt Thursday as the Biden administration announced recipients of $623 million in infrastructure funds, with a focus on disadvantaged communities and freight trucks.
The announced grants, split between 22 states and the territory of Puerto Rico, aim to fill numerous and wide gaps in the national EV charging network. The funding will be spent across regions of Georgia, Ohio and Texas and support a range of projects, including for library patrons in ... Read more ...
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Speedy Electrification And Slow Renewables Increase Blackout Risk, Regulator Says - E&E News (Dec 14) |
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Dec 14 · By Peter Behr | 12/14/2023 06:37 AM EST
Power lines are seen attached to a transmission tower in the Everglades region of Florida. Joe Raedle/Getty Images
Rolling blackouts are a rising threat across the U.S. as aging power grids collide with extreme weather, rising electricity demand and a shift to cleaner fuels, the nation’s top grid monitor warned Wednesday.
In a report, the North American Electric Reliability Corp. said most regions of the country face growing risks of inadequate electricity supplies during periods of extreme cold and heat over the coming decade. Major wind and solar power projects that could serve metropolitan areas aren’t being built ... Read more ...
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Biden's new offshore ally: Oil majors - E&E News (Dec 11) |
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Dec 11 · By Heather Richards | 12/11/2023 07:13 AM EST
Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (rig); Evan Vucci/AP (Biden)
The Biden administration has gained an unlikely ally in its efforts to charge a hefty premium for offshore drilling: major oil companies.
The current proposal - which the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management released earlier this year - aims to prevent the public from having to pay to clean up abandoned oil wells in the Gulf of Mexico.
As written, an estimated $9 billion in new cleanup insurance that would be required by the regulations would fall disproportionately to smaller oil companies, which are now scrambling to push BOEM to rewrite ... Read more ...
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Lauren Boebert's Environmental Record In Spotlight - E&E News (Nov 29) |
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Nov 29 · By Kelsey Brugger, Jennifer Yachnin | 11/29/2023 06:14 AM EST
Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) during a House Oversight and Accountability Committee hearing on the basis for an impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden on Sept. 28. Francis Chung/POLITICO
Lauren Boebert wants you to take her seriously.
Seriously!
The Colorado Republican, a member of the far-right House Freedom Caucus, has attracted controversy. She has alienated fellow Republicans on Capitol Hill and back home. And her reelection prospects are dimming.
President Joe Biden is targeting Boebert. He’ll travel to her district Wednesday to highlight CS Wind, a renewable energy ... Read more ...
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'Not on course': US emissions set for 3% decline in 2023 - E&E News (Nov 21) |
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Nov 21 · By Benjamin Storrow | 11/21/2023 06:40 AM EST
A turbine from the Roth Rock wind farm spins on the spine of Backbone Mountain behind the Mettiki Coal processing plant in Oakland, Md. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
America is cutting carbon again.
U.S. emissions are on track to fall by as much as 3 percent in 2023, according to a pair of recent analyses - reversing two years of flat or increasing output of planet-warming pollution.
The projected drop is particularly notable as it comes during a year when the U.S. economy is set to expand by almost 2.5 percent - a sign that emissions are decoupling from economic growth. It also represents one of the largest ... Read more ...
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What elections in 4 states mean for clean energy - E&E News (Nov 7) |
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Nov 7 · By Jason Plautz, Zach Bright, Christine Mui, Abby Shepherd | 11/07/2023 06:40 AM EST
Lowlova/Wikipedia (left); iStock (center); Steve Helber/AP (right)
State-level elections Tuesday could determine how much - and how quickly - some of the largest energy-producing states pivot from fossil fuels.
Among the issues at stake are whether Virginia ultimately exits a regional carbon trading program and the degree that New Jersey supports natural gas in coming years. Last year’s Inflation Reduction Act also placed much of the fate of President Joe Biden’s goal of a carbon-free electricity sector by 2035 in the hands of states receiving funds.
Voters in two states ... Read more ...
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EPA watchdog accused of creating a hostile work environment - E&E News (Nov 6) |
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Nov 6 · By Hannah Northey, Kevin Bogardus | 11/06/2023 01:39 PM EST
Multiple whistleblowers alleged that EPA Inspector General Sean O’Donnell created a hostile work environment. Francis Chung/POLITICO
The top watchdog tasked with overseeing EPA faced accusations that he abused his authority, wasted government money and showed partisan favor.
EPA Inspector General Sean O’Donnell denied the allegations, which an oversight body ultimately deemed not worthy of further investigation, according to documents obtained by E&E News.
The probe by the agency watchdogs’ oversight body was launched after Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland, the House Oversight and Accountability ... Read more ...
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How the IRA is playing in 7 swing states - E&E News (Oct 30, 2023) |
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Oct 30, 2023 · By Scott Waldman | 10/30/2023 06:33 AM EDT
President Joe Biden delivers remarks at the White House on Aug. 16 to mark the first anniversary of the Inflation Reduction Act. Win McNamee/Getty Images
The Inflation Reduction Act may prove to be more beneficial to the planet than President Joe Biden’s reelection chances.
The nearly $370 billion it includes for climate and clean energy has helped open a solar panel factory in Georgia and build a $3.5 billion electric vehicle battery plant in Michigan. Analysts say the law will help the United Statesslash its emissions significantly over the next several years - especially in the power and transportation ... Read more ...
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CO2 Pipeline Canceled, Another Delayed By Permits and Public Opposition - E&E News (Oct 20, 2023) |
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Oct 20, 2023 · By Jeffrey Tomich | 10/20/2023 01:19 PM EDT
Claudine Hellmuth/POLITICO (illustration); Illinois General Assembly (documents); PxFuel (pipes); Joe Raedle/Getty Images (ethanol pipeline)
The developer planning a 1,300-mile network of carbon dioxide pipelines through the farm belt said Friday that it’s scrapping the project, citing the “unpredictable nature of the regulatory and government processes” in two of the five states it would cross.
The decision by Omaha, Neb.-based Navigator CO2 Ventures comes on the heels of a decision by South Dakota regulators to deny a permit for the Heartland Greenway project across 112 miles on the state’s western edge.
“As good ... Read more ...
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Quiz show: GOP deploys new climate messaging tactic - E&E News (Oct 11, 2023) |
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Oct 11, 2023 · By Timothy Cama | 10/11/2023 06:21 AM EDT
Rep. Doug LaMalfa of California is among the Republicans looking to show that witnesses on climate change may not be as informed as they claim. J. Scott Applewhite/AP
A new strategy is emerging among Republicans to sow doubt about climate change science: trying to stump the experts on a number.
Some House Republicans in recent months have used hearings to confront witnesses - often Biden administration officials - by asking what percentage of the atmosphere is carbon dioxide, the most prominent greenhouse gas causing global warming.
The witnesses usually struggle, sometimes making embarrassing guesses that are orders ... Read more ...
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War in the Middle East jeopardizes climate talks - E&E News (Oct 11, 2023) |
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Oct 11, 2023 · By Sara Schonhardt | 10/11/2023 06:41 AM EDT
An Israeli firefighter kneels to compose himself Monday after he and his colleagues extinguished cars set on fire by a rocket shot from the Gaza Strip in Ashkelon, Israel. Ohad Zwigenberg/AP
A lasting war between Israel and Hamas could complicate climate talks next month in the United Arab Emirates by raising tensions between nations with fragile alliances and triggering a race to secure energy resources over reducing carbon emissions.
It’s too early to know if military hostilities will be sustained or spill beyond Israel and areas controlled by Hamas, the Palestinian militant group that attacked Israel on Saturday. But ... Read more ...
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Israel-Hamas war: Republicans blame Biden energy policies - E&E News (Oct 10, 2023) |
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Oct 10, 2023 · By Manuel Quiñones | 10/10/2023 06:14 AM EDT
Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) speaking with reporters Monday at the Capitol. Francis Chung/POLITICO
Soon after Iran-backed militants launched land and air attacks against Israel, Republicans began their own assault on the Biden administration’s energy and climate policies.
At first, the criticism focused on $6 billion in Iranian oil revenues the administration freed up for humanitarian purposes. Lawmakers have also accused President Joe Biden of not doing enough to enforce Iran oil export sanctions.
Then, on Monday, former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) launched a barrage of attacks ... Read more ...
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Oil giants unveil 'game-ending' strategy to kill climate cases - E&E News (Oct 10, 2023) |
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Oct 10, 2023 · By Lesley Clark | 10/10/2023 06:37 AM EDT
A person paddles their boat through flooding in downtown Annapolis, Md., on Oct. 29, 2021. Maryland has been a longtime leader in climate liability litigation. Susan Walsh/AP
The legal battle over whether cities, counties and states can hold fossil fuel companies financially accountable for heat waves, flooding and other effects of climate change is entering a critical new phase.
Since 2017, parties in the cases have squabbled over whether the lawsuits should be heard in federal or state courts. Now that federal appeals courts have agreed the cases belong before state judges - and the Supreme Court has so far declined to ... Read more ...
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Texas proposes first rules on oil waste in 40 years - E&E News (Oct 06, 2023) |
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Oct 06, 2023 · By Shelby Webb | 10/06/2023 06:45 AM EDT
Storage tanks that are part of a system for holding wastewater and crude oil are seen in the Permian Basin region of Texas. Joe Raedle/Getty Images
Texas oil and gas regulators are proposing new rules for the first time in almost 40 years to address how companies in the sector build and maintain waste pits.
Oil and gas producers use aboveground storage ponds to store everything from excess fracking fluid and wastewater that is a byproduct of drilling to lubricants for drills and other liquids and solids.
Environmental groups and advocates for communities located near the pits have long complained that rules from the ... Read more ...
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Congress OKs billions for disasters, extends flood insurance - E&E News (Oct 01, 2023) |
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Oct 01, 2023 · By Manuel Quiñones | 09/30/2023 09:07 PM EDT
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) at the Capitol on Friday. Francis Chung/POLITICO
After weeks of acrimony and uncertainty, Congress has approved legislation to keep the government open, extend flood insurance and fund disaster relief.
The stopgap spending bill, known as a continuing resolution, gained momentum Saturday morning. It would fund the government until Nov. 17, approve President Joe Biden’s $16 billion supplemental for disasters and extend the National Flood Insurance Program. The bill also includes an extension of wildland firefighter pay raises.
The House approved the legislation after ... Read more ...
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As EPA drowns in CCS applications, oil states want to take control - E&E News (Sep 08, 2023) |
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Sep 08, 2023 · By Jean Chemnick | 09/08/2023 06:46 AM EDT
EPA Administrator Michael Regan stands near the Marathon Petroleum Refinery in Reserve, La., on Nov. 16, 2021. Gerald Herbert/AP Photo
EPA is buried under a mountain of permit applications from companies that want to store carbon dioxide underground.
In little more than a year, the list of permit applications from would-be project developers seeking to inject carbon dioxide into rock formations for permanent storage has ballooned from 14 to 119, driven by generous new federal tax incentives, the fear of future regulation and corporate climate commitments.
EPA itself has said the widespread use of carbon capture will ... Read more ...
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Carbon-free grid? There may not be enough workers to build it - E&E News (Sep 08, 2023) |
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Sep 08, 2023 · By Brian Dabbs | 09/08/2023 07:00 AM EDT
Apprentice welder Emily Andrewson (right) and Megan Heileman, an apprentice program manager, tour a shipyard this July in Philadelphia with President Joe Biden. Susan Walsh/AP Photo
At a July event in Philadelphia, a young welder clad in a hard hat and safety vest introduced President Joe Biden from a stage erected on a factory floor.
Emily Andrewson, a Philly Shipyard Inc. apprentice who’s helping build a shipping vessel that can deposit rocks on the ocean floor to form the ballast of offshore wind turbines, called Biden a “true champion” for U.S. workers and unions.
“We’re seeing investments, including here at the ... Read more ...
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4 takeaways from the grid's record-breaking summer - E&E News (Aug 25, 2023) |
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Aug 25, 2023 · By Jason Plautz | 08/25/2023 06:38 AM EDT
Claudine Hellmuth/POLITICO (illustration); Andrew Martin/Pixabay (power lines); Lindsey White/Pixabay (thermometer); PublicDomainPictures.net (sun flare)
Grid monitors issued dire warnings ahead of the summer that Americans could face blackouts during an extreme heat wave - but so far, that hasn’t happened.
Why?
There isn’t a simple answer for the grid’s stability despite record-breaking heat — new wind turbines, solar panels and batteries played a major role on the hottest days, but gas and coal plants remained a bedrock. Grid operators and utilities say they’re better prepared for extreme weather. And there ... Read more ...
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Big Oil targets state judges in climate cases - E&E News (Aug 14, 2023) |
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Aug 14, 2023 · By Lesley Clark | 08/14/2023 06:39 AM EDT
Rhode Island Superior Court Judge William Carnes Jr. is hearing a lawsuit against companies, which are asking him to revise a recent ruling against them. AP Photo
After stumbling at the Supreme Court, major oil companies and pro-industry groups are questioning the objectivity of state judges who will decide the fate of climate liability lawsuits that could cost the fossil fuel industry billions of dollars.
In Rhode Island, companies being sued by the state to pay up for the ravages of climate change say a judge hearing the case - one of about two dozen such challenges playing out nationwide - created the “appearance of ... Read more ...
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Biden tours Florida hurricane damage: ‘nobody can deny impacts of climate crisis’ - E&E News (Aug 10, 2023) |
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Aug 10, 2023 · By Robin Bravender | 08/10/2023 01:45 PM EDT
President Joe Biden speaks about climate change and clean energy at the Brayton Power Station in Somerset, Mass., as lawmakers watch on July 20, 2022. Evan Vucci/AP Photo
Last summer, environmental advocates were despondent over the apparent death of a big climate law in the Senate, and White House officials considered a big gesture to show President Joe Biden’s dedication to curbing emissions: the declaration of a national climate emergency.
Biden traveled to Massachusetts last July, surrounded by climate hawks, to the site of a former coal-fired power plant turned into a manufacturing site for wind energy parts. He ... Read more ...
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‘Lose, lose, lose': Oil-producing Persian Gulf faces extreme heat - E&E News (Aug 09, 2023) |
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Aug 09, 2023 · By Sara Schonhardt | 08/09/2023 06:23 AM EDT
Foreign laborers avoid the sun as they work on road construction in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Kamran Jebreili/AP Photo
Heat waves are sweeping the planet this summer, and climate change all but guarantees that people across the world will face even worse conditions in the years ahead.
But some of the most intense warming is expected to strike many of the same nations that produce the fossil fuels responsible for climate change. Already home to some of the hottest places on the planet, the Persian Gulf region could suffer seasonal extremes that would make it unbearable to be outdoors for extended periods.
Case in ... Read more ...
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Exclusive: US securities regulator signals it may curb climate rule ambitions - E&E News (Aug 08, 2023) |
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Aug 08, 2023 · By Emma Dumain | 08/08/2023 06:26 AM EDT
Rep. Sean Casten (D-Ill.) wants the Securities and Exchange Commission to act quickly on a proposed climate rule. Francis Chung/POLITICO
House Democrats don’t want the Biden administration to hold back in mandating the most stringent climate disclosure requirements for publicly traded companies.
That call for action comes as Republicans on Capitol Hill are seeking to undermine administration efforts to tie emissions reductions to investing decisions.
Eighty Democrats signed a letter dated Aug. 7 urging Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler to quickly finalize a “strong and durable” disclosure rule, ... Read more ...
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UPS drivers threaten to strike. Climate change is one reason. - E&E News (Jul 25, 2023) |
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Jul 25, 2023 · By Ariel Wittenberg | 07/25/2023 06:29 AM EDT
UPS driver Hudson de Almeida steers through a neighborhood while delivering packages in Haverhill, Mass., last month. Charles Krupa/AP Photo
UPS deliveries nationwide could abruptly stop next week if the company and its drivers’ union can’t reach an agreement over wages and forced overtime in a series of labor negotiations that are peaking amid extreme temperatures across the country.
Some 340,000 United Parcel Service workers, represented by the Teamsters, are threatening to walk off the job when their current contract expires Aug. 1 in a strike that could have a multibillion-dollar impact nationwide.
The ... Read more ...
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Biden goes all in on offshore wind - E&E News (Jul 20, 2023) |
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Jul 20, 2023 · By Robin Bravender, Heather Richards | 07/20/2023 01:30 PM EDT
President Joe Biden speaks at a shipyard in Philadelphia on Thursday. Biden is visiting the shipyard to push for a strong role for unions in tech and clean energy jobs. Susan Walsh/AP Photo
President Joe Biden is leaning into his offshore wind record as the 2024 presidential campaign heats up and Democrats try to sell voters on the clean energy investments in the mammoth climate law enacted last year.
The president traveled to Philadelphia on Thursday to tout this record as his administration announced the first-ever sale of offshore wind leases in the Gulf of Mexico, which caps several years of ... Read more ...
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Investigation: Texas failed to crack down on gas after grid crisis - E&E News (Jul 20, 2023) |
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Jul 20, 2023 · By Shelby Webb | 07/20/2023 07:00 AM EDT
POLITICO illustration/Photos by iStock
Since a deadly February 2021 freeze interrupted the flow of natural gas to power plants across Texas, state regulators have inspected gas facilities to see if they’re prepared for winter.
But an E&E News analysis of state weatherization records found that few operators have been written up for violations beyond paperwork, raising questions about how thorough and effective Texas’ efforts have been.
Data provided by the state Railroad Commission, which oversees Texas’ vast oil and gas network, shows that only 222 of more than 7,000 natural gas facilities designated as critical ... Read more ...
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House OKs defense bill blocking Biden climate action - E&E News (Jul 14, 2023) |
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Jul 14, 2023 · By Andres Picon | 07/14/2023 01:26 PM EDT
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) speaks alongside other Republican lawmakers during a press conference after the House passed the fiscal 2024 National Defense Authorization Act. Francis Chung/POLITICO
House Republicans on Friday muscled through the annual defense policy bill, including one provision that would block the Defense Department from implementing President Joe Biden’s climate orders.
The final vote on the National Defense Authorization Act was a tight one, 219-210, with each party losing four votes.
It came after a week of Republican turmoil on a host of hot-button amendments on abortion, ... Read more ...
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Remember the Climate Solutions Caucus? It's back - E&E News (Jul 14, 2023) |
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Jul 14, 2023 · By Emma Dumain | 07/14/2023 06:37 AM EDT
House Climate Solutions Caucus co-Chairs Andrew Garbarino (R-N.Y.) and Chrissy Houlahan (D-Pa.) at the Capitol on Thursday. Francis Chung/POLITICO
Republicans frequently accuse Democrats of subscribing to the “cult” of “radical environmentalism,” while Democrats routinely slam Republicans for choosing “polluters over people.”
It’s in this political environment that 57 House members - 29 Democrats and 28 Republicans - believe they can now come together to find bipartisan compromise around climate policy.
It’s a lofty goal that has yet to be tested in the current Congress, and one that has been tried before, with mixed ... Read more ...
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Grid rewiring: An answer for Biden's climate goals? - E&E News (Jul 13, 2023) |
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Jul 13, 2023 · By Peter Behr | 07/13/2023 07:15 AM EDT
Internet Archive Book Images/Flickr (drafting sketch); MaxPixel (turbines and transmission lines); Freepik (cyber)
CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm’s search for clean energy solutions has led her to a strategy that dodges permitting problems, saves money and could bring large amounts of renewables online, but remains largely unused.
The concept is called advanced reconductoring, and studies show it holds the potential to help break a growing logjam in delivering new renewable power to meet the Biden administration’s steep clean energy goals. The idea is to restring existing high-voltage towers with new ... Read more ...
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‘Tipping point': Asbestos, opioid lawyers enter climate fray - E&E News (Jul 12, 2023) |
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Jul 12, 2023 · By Lesley Clark | 07/12/2023 06:34 AM EDT
Climate-related disasters like Hurricane Maria, which ravaged Puerto Rico in 2017, are being highlighted by personal injury lawyers in lawsuits. Mario Tama/Getty Images
These lawyers have won big against asbestos and opioid manufacturers. Now, they’re coming for oil and gas companies.
In the past nine months, four law firms that specialize in corporate wrongdoing have filed lawsuits against oil and gas majors on behalf of local governments seeking compensation for the ravages of climate change. The filings signal that climate liability litigation - once mostly the domain of environmental firms and government attorneys ... Read more ...
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Fossil fuel booster speaks to Senate Republicans - E&E News (Jul 12, 2023) |
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Jul 12, 2023 · By Timothy Cama | 07/12/2023 04:00 PM EDT
Center for Industrial Progress President Alex Epstein is seen at a House Oversight and Accountability subcommittee hearing in March. Francis Chung/POLITICO
Republican senators heard from pro-fossil fuel advocate Alex Epstein at a closed-door Wednesday lunch.
Epstein, who leads the Center for Industrial Progress and has written books including “Fossil Future: Why Global Human Flourishing Requires More Oil, Coal, and Natural Gas - Not Less,” spoke with senators at a regularly scheduled lunch hosted by the Senate GOP’s Steering Committee, a conservative body led by Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) that includes most of the ... Read more ...
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FERC approves all construction on Mountain Valley - E&E News (Jun 29, 2023) |
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Jun 29, 2023 · By Miranda Willson | 06/29/2023 06:46 AM EDT
Mountain Valley pipeline construction is pictured earlier this year in Bent Mountain, Va. Mike Soraghan/POLITICO's E&E News
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has authorized the resumption of construction activities for the Mountain Valley pipeline, clearing the way for the natural gas project to move toward completion weeks after Congress ordered federal agencies to approve it.
In a unanimous order issued Wednesday, the commission said that all work on the 303-mile pipeline could proceed. That includes portions of the project that will run through the Jefferson National Forest and cross hundreds of waterways and ... Read more ...
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[ ... ] Inside Manchin's war with Biden on electric vehicles - E&E News (Jun 23, 2023) |
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Jun 23, 2023 · By Emma Dumain, Hannah Northey | 06/23/2023 06:29 AM EDT
President Joe Biden greets Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) during a celebration at the White House last year of the Inflation Reduction Act. Francis Chung/POLITICO
Sen. Joe Manchin has been at war with the administration for months over its implementation of last year’s landmark climate law. He is even accusing President Joe Biden of breaking a promise to him.
“They’re going to try to screw me,” the West Virginia Democrat said earlier this year of White House officials.
But nearly two dozen congressional aides, members of Congress, administration officials and lobbyists are ... Read more ...
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Renewable group shifts position, shakes up hydrogen debate - E&E News (Jun 16, 2023) |
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Jun 16, 2023 · By David Iaconangelo | 06/16/2023 06:49 AM EDT
audioundwerbung/iStock
One of the nation’s largest renewable trade groups unveiled revised recommendations Thursday on how “green” hydrogen emissions should be counted under the Inflation Reduction Act, highlighting the challenge facing the Biden administration as it prepares tax guidance that could determine the greenhouse gas footprint of the fuel.
The American Clean Power Association (ACP) is an influential voice in the hydrogen debate, considering its size and number of members with a potential stake in the industry’s future. In December, it submitted initial comments to the Treasury Department about ... Read more ...
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States and clean energy: 3 issues to watch - E&E News (Jun 15, 2023) |
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Jun 15, 2023 · By David Iaconangelo, Heather Richards, Zach Bright | 06/15/2023 07:20 AM EDT
Statehouses across the country are enacting new energy laws this year, tackling issues that will directly affect President Joe Biden’s climate agenda even as Congress stands divided.
New laws signed in recent months and proposals still under consideration may affect the growth trajectory of low-carbon technologies including offshore wind and rooftop solar. In many cases, state plans may evolve over time along with national programs.
For emerging technologies like hydrogen, state lawmakers are trying to manage how the Biden administration’s ambitions will play out locally. ... Read more ...
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Utilities brace for Biden’s next climate rule - E&E News (May 05, 2023) |
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May 05, 2023 · By Jason Plautz | 05/05/2023 06:58 AM EDT
Susan Walsh/AP Photo (Biden); Rick Bowmer/AP Photo (Smoke stacks)
In the nearly eight years since EPA announced the nation’s first carbon emissions limits on power plants, the utility sector has undergone a rapid shift.
Retirements of coal plants are accelerating, replaced with a flood of wind and solar projects competing to get on the grid. Unlike in the Obama era, the largest U.S. power producers are generally striving to meet net-zero carbon goals.
But new EPA rules set to restrict emissions from power plants will test the limits of the sector’s transition, raising questions about whether businesses are ready to ... Read more ...
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