Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Rep. Ed Whitfield (R-KY) introduced legislation to block proposed regulations on greenhouse-gas emissions from new power plants and grant Congress authority to decide when a rule making for existing plants would take effect.
The bill also would require the Environmental Protection Agency to set rules for coal-fired power plants that incorporate “commercially feasible” technologies. EPA in September announced regulations to impose carbon dioxide limits on power plants. The limits would require new coal-fired plants to incorporate expensive and unproven carbon capture and sequestration technology. Several thousand coal industry workers and supporters rallied at the Capitol last Tuesday to protest the EPA rules.
More: Fox News; National Journal
Previous Coverage: EPA GHG Rule May Turn on Viability of Carbon Capture
DOE Clears $1B for FutureGen
The FutureGen 2.0 carbon-storage project in Illinois should go ahead with support from $1 billion in federal funding, the U.S. Department of Energy concluded in an environmental study. A final decision on whether the $1.65 billion project should proceed could come by the end of the year. The project would store carbon dioxide delivered through a 30-mile pipeline from a former Ameren coal plant at Meredosia on the Illinois River.
More: State Journal-Register
No FERC Nominee Till 2014?
Observers say it could take weeks before the White House announces a new candidate to fill the fifth seat at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission after Ron Binz’s nomination failed amid heavy conservative opposition. Some think the Obama administration won’t announce a new nominee before the New Year.
More: Politico
Keep NRC on the Job: NEI
The Nuclear Energy Institute said the Nuclear Regulatory Commission should keep more of its workers on the job in a future government shutdown, saying the agency’s furlough of 92% percent of its staff during the recent lockout reflected an overly restrictive definition of essential safety functions. In a letter to NRC, the trade group noted that 90% of the NRC’s budget is recovered from licensee fees.
More: Nuclear Energy Institute
Court to EPA: Act on Coal Ash
The DC Court of Appeals ordered the Environmental Protection Agency to issue rules within 60 days on how power plants must dispose of coal ash. The waste is currently considered a solid waste, allowing it to be recycled in products such as cement. Reclassification as a hazardous waste could restrict recycling and increase disposal costs.
The issue has taken on urgency as a result of a 2008 incident when a dam burst 40 miles outside of Knoxville, Tennessee, spilling 5.4 million cubic yards of ash spilled into neighborhoods and waterways.
More: Energy Biz
No Fix for GMDs: Hayden
Former CIA director Michael Hayden says there is no way to defend against a geomagnetic disturbance that could cripple the electric grid. “I don’t mean to be so flippant, but there really aren’t any solutions to this, so I would just leave it at that,” Hayden said at a conference. A disturbance could be caused by a nuclear explosion over the U.S. or a very large solar flare.
More: Utility Dive
Previous Coverage: FERC Orders Rules on Geomagnetic Disturbances
Udalls Propose National Renewable Standard
Sens. Tom Udall (D-NM) and Mark Udall (D-CO) introduced legislation to create a nationwide Renewable Electricity Standard that would require investor-owned utilities to get 6% of their electricity from renewables sources by 2014 and up to 25% by 2025. The two first attempted a national RES in 2002 as members of the House of Representatives, and again in 2007, when their RES amendment cleared the House but failed in the Senate.
The senators plan to attach the bill as an amendment to the energy efficiency bill sponsored by Sens. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) and Rob Portman (R-OH). House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton (R-MI) said his panel will consider the bill if it passes the Senate.
Sen. Booker Appointed to Environment Panel
Newly elected Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) will serve as a member of the Environment and Public Works Committee. The former Newark mayor also will serve on the Commerce and Small Business committees.
More: Politico
Dems Want Fracking Rules
House Democrats want the Obama administration to finalize tough guidance for hydraulic fracturing operations that use diesel fuel. The Environmental Protection Agency sent the proposed guidance to the White House Office of Management and Budget in September for a final interagency review. The top Democrats on the Energy and Commerce Committee and its Oversight subcommittee told the OMB that its decision is long overdue. “Diesel fuel is toxic and should not be used in fracking without careful environmental review under the Safe Drinking Water Act,” the Democrats said in a letter.
More: The Hill
Opinion: Are We Gold-Plating the Electric Grid?
Public Service Enterprise Group’s proposed Energy Strong initiative and similar responses to Superstorm Sandy are fighting the last war, says the director of markets and regulation for the World Alliance for Decentralized Energy.
More: Forbes
Opinion: Investors Ignoring `Carbon Bubble,’ Gore Says
Former Vice President Al Gore writes that investors risk being stuck with “stranded carbon assets” by not addressing climate change risks in their portfolios. “When investors mislabel risk as uncertainty, they become vulnerable to the assumption that since it cannot be measured, they might as well ignore it,” Gore says.
