In a surprise move, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals on Monday decided to skip its scheduled three-judge hearing on the Clean Power Plan and proceed directly to en banc review, meaning a much larger roster of judges will review EPA’s regulations.
The Clean Power Plan, the centerpiece of the Obama administration’s efforts to combat climate change, was challenged by numerous states and stayed by the Supreme Court until its legality was resolved. The D.C. Circuit’s decision means that oral arguments will be postponed from June 2 to Sept. 27 and appeals would go directly to the Supreme Court, potentially speeding up the overall process. After a ruling by a three-judge panel, appeals are heard en banc before going to the Supreme Court.
The court’s decision appears to be sua sponte (on the court’s own initiative), as there is no record of any party to the case asking the court to hear the case en banc in the first instance.
More: The Washington Post; The Wall Street Journal
EIA Excludes CPP, Paris Agreement from Projections
The Energy Information Agency did not include the effects of the Clean Power Plan, the Paris climate agreement or any federal policy changes when it projected a 33.9% worldwide increase of CO2 emissions between 2012 and 2040, even though nearly 200 countries have resolved to cut greenhouse gas emissions.
EIA Administrator Adam Sieminski said that the agency’s projections shouldn’t be considered actual predictions, saying it doesn’t “have a huge amount of confidence what those endpoint numbers are.” Changes are coming too fast to predict future energy use and technological advances, he said.
“We’re going to have the wrong economic numbers,” Sieminski said. “We’re not going to get the climate policies thing right. The technology — something is going to happen with batteries in the year 2030 that we didn’t expect, that we didn’t build into this. Something is going to happen in Iraq.”
More: Morning Consult
Yucca Mountain Opponents Question NRC Impact Statement
Native American tribes and officials from the Nevada Commission on Nuclear Projects are questioning the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s environmental impact statement on the now-suspended Yucca Mountain underground repository project. The commission recently issued the environmental report, concluding that it would be safe to store spent fuel in the mountain.
While the commission determined that the release of radioactivity from a spent fuel dump there would be minimal, Nevada scientists believe it would violate the so-called 1 million-year standard after 2,000 years and contaminate groundwater used by the Timbisha Shoshone tribe.
Nevada’s Agency for Nuclear Projects Executive Director Robert Halstead said the NRC report is flawed because it is based on unverified computer calculations.
More: Las Vegas Review-Journal
Feds Label 2013 Texas Plant Explosion as Arson
Federal investigators have determined that the 2013 explosion at a Texas fertilizer plant was an act of arson. About 30 tons of ammonium nitrate exploded at the West Fertilizer Co. facility, killing 15 people, injuring 160 and laying waste to much of the town of West.
After ruling out other causes, investigators of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms determined the blast must have been intentionally set. “The only hypothesis that could not be eliminated is incendiary,” an ATF agent said. ATF did not say whether they had any suspects.
More: The Hill
TVA Files Application For Clinch River SMRs
The Tennessee Valley Authority has filed an early site permit application with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to determine the potential to build and operate small modular nuclear reactors at its Clinch River site near Oak Ridge, Tenn.
It is the first time such a permit has been filed with the intention of building small modular reactors, which are seen as a way to keep down costs and provide “cookie-cutter” designs that could be used at many different sites.
“It’s a significant event for us as we continue exploring potential SMR technology as a way of expanding our diverse portfolio to ensure a safe, reliable supply of energy for those we serve,” TVA Chief Nuclear Officer Joe Grimes said. NRC will use the permit to examine the site’s safety, environmental conditions and emergency preparedness if TVA decides to go forward.
More: TVA
DOE Suspends Funding For Texas CCS Project
The Energy Department has pulled back from another carbon capture and storage project. The department stripped the $240 million it had pledged to the Texas Clean Energy Project and asked that the money be put toward other research and development projects.
Project developer Summit Texas Clean Energy was denied an $11 million advance earlier this year. A department audit also criticized the project’s shaky financing.
The Obama administration has invested $4.8 billion in six CCS storage projects. Four of those projects have been cancelled or suspended.
More: Inside Climate News
Power Generation Emissions Lowest Since 1993
Carbon emissions from U.S. electricity generation are at their lowest levels since 1993, according to the Energy Department.
The department attributes the decrease to the retirement of coal units, replaced by renewable energy and cleaner-burning natural gas.
Carbon emissions in 2015 totaled 1,925 million metric tons, the lowest since 1993 and down 21% from 2005 levels, the department said. It also noted that in the past 10 years, generation from coal dropped from 51% of the nation’s total to 34%. In the same 10 years, natural gas’ share rose from 18% to 32%. While nuclear remained steady at 20%, renewables rose from 8% to 13%.
More: FuelFix Blog