The Supreme Court appeared divided Monday over whether the Environmental Protection Agency had gone too far in trying to regulate power plant and factory emissions of gases blamed for global warming. But the justices acknowledged their ruling would have little impact.
They agreed that the EPA has the power to regulate greenhouse gases. And even if the government loses the case, some justices said, it would make only a small difference in the number of facilities that could be regulated.
More: The Washington Post
Senators to CFTC: Share Trading data with FERC
Before he moved from the Energy and Natural Resources Committee chair to the Finance Committee chair, Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and seven other Democrats asked the Commodity Futures Trading Commission to start sharing energy trading data on futures and swaps with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission “expeditiously.”
More: Senate Energy Committee
CCS Could Raise Power Costs as Much as 80%
Use of carbon capture and storage technologies at coal-fired plants could raise the cost of electricity 70% to 80%, the Department of Energy’s deputy assistant secretary for clean coal told a House of Representatives energy subcommittee. A second generation of CCS technologies could lower that increase to between 40% and 50%, he said. “It is in fact a substantial percentage increase in the cost of electricity, but in part, that’s because the current price of coal is so low.”
More: BloombergBNA
Senate Seen Taking Up Efficiency Bill This Week
The Energy Savings and Industrial Competitiveness Act is slated to come up for a Senate vote this week. Better known as the Shaheen-Portman bill, the measure was sidelined last fall when Sen. David Vitter, R-La., attempted to use it as a vehicle for delaying Obamacare. The bill addresses building codes, research and incentives for using efficient products.
More: Huffington Post
USGS Interactive Map Shows 47,000 Turbines
The U.S. Geological Survey released an interactive map of more than 47,000 wind turbines installed in the U.S. as of July 2013. The data came from federal sources as well as state and local agencies, and the locations were verified using high-resolution imagery. “In addition to informing siting decisions for future wind energy projects, this fundamental, nationwide data will support research on wind generation efficiency, economic impacts and applied science for reducing wildlife impacts,” Assistant Interior Secretary Anne Castle said.
More: Interior Department
NRC Staff: Fuel Pools Safe; 34 Groups Differ
A study of a hypothetical earthquake’s impact on a nuclear plant led the Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff to conclude there is little risk that spent fuel pools at plant sites would be damaged. The study, conducted at Peach Bottom 3 in Pennsylvania, was part of the commission’s ongoing look into questions raised by the 2011 earthquake and tsunami disaster at Japan’s Fukushima plant.
Environmental groups, however, contend the study shows that the NRC should not license any more plants until reactor pool fire risks are studied more deeply. A petition by 34 environmental groups asks the NRC to require uranium fuel assemblies in spent fuel pools be moved quickly to above-ground storage.
More: LancasterOnline
