The Obama administration provided a $28 million infusion of federal grants last week to 13 coal-producing states to assist workers affected by job losses in the declining coal industry.
The money is part of the POWER Initiative, which provides federal funding for locally created programs that support new economic activities in coal regions as the nation moves toward cleaner energy. More than $66 million has been awarded to 71 projects this year.
More: Reuters
$3.6B Loan Program Will Fund Rural Electrification Projects
The Agriculture Department has announced a $3.6 billion loan program to fund rural electrification projects nationwide.
The program will benefit 82 projects in 31 states, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said, and it will add or upgrade 12,500 miles of rural electric transmission and distribution lines.
More: The Kansas City Star
OSHA Investigates Hydrogen Sulfide Exposure at Big Ox Plant
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration began an inspection Oct. 19 of Big Ox Energy’s biomass plant in South Sioux City, Neb., after an employee of a contractor was hospitalized for hydrogen sulfide exposure.
The investigation is expected to take 60 to 100 days, said Darwin Craig, assistant area director at OSHA’s Omaha office.
When the incident was reported, several homeowners who share a sewer system with the plant were reacting to foul odors that have since been traced to sulfides originating from the facility.
More: Sioux City Journal
Appellate Judges Grill Blankenship Defense
Two judges on the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals last week grilled the attorney for the former Massey Energy CEO Don Blankenship, who is seeking to have his criminal conviction overturned in connection with the deaths of 29 workers.
Blankenship was convicted of conspiring to violate mine safety and health standards after an April 2010 explosion at Massey’s Upper Big Branch Mine, in Raleigh County, W.Va.
Judge James Wynn Jr. and Senior Judge Andre Davis raised issues about Blankenship’s central arguments on appeal. Wynn repeatedly stated that he didn’t think he agreed that the trial court wrongly instructed jurors on what constitutes a “willful” violation of federal mine safety and health laws.
More: Charleston Gazette-Mail
IEA Raises Forecast for 2021 Renewable Energy Production
In 2021, renewable energy sources will provide 28% of the world’s electricity production, compared with 23% in 2015, the International Energy Agency forecasted last week.
The estimate is 13% higher than what the IEA forecasted last year.
The IEA attributed the change to increased government support in the U.S., China, India and Mexico and expected cost reductions of about 25% for solar panels and 15% for onshore wind.
More: Agence France-Presse; The San Diego Union-Tribune
Senators Push for Wave Test Center in Oregon
Six U.S. senators from the Pacific Northwest asked the Energy Department last week to choose the Oregon coast as the site for the nation’s first grid-connected wave energy device test center.
Northwest National Marine Renewable Energy Center proposed the facility, which would consist of four berths for testing wave energy converters in big-wave conditions. It would include a subsea cable to carry up to 20 MW of power ashore.
Other than a potential project proposed for California, it is unknown whether other sites are vying for federal funding, which could cover up to 80% of the facility’s cost.