A federal appeals court indicated it will not decide on challenges to the Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean Power Plan until the end of December, too late to make a statement directed at the global climate change talks scheduled for early December in Paris.
Opponents to the carbon emissions rule wanted the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals to stay the regulations until after the United Nations summit. But the court’s most recent filing schedule allows opponents and EPA to file documents until Dec. 23. So far, 26 states and businesses and interest groups have joined in the action to stop the rule.
More: The Hill
Global Climate Change Goals Good Start, but not Enough
A United Nations analysis of promises made by 146 countries to cut greenhouse gas emissions indicates that the proposed cuts will have a positive impact but won’t reverse climate change.
The data analysis will be examined at the U.N.’s climate change conference in Paris beginning Nov. 30. The analysis concluded that while the cuts would reduce global warming trends by almost 3 degrees Celsius over 100 years, the reduction is not enough to meet a 2-degree limit on temperature increases, a scientific consensus “limit of safety.”
More: The Guardian
NV Energy, CAISO Wait for FERC Approval to Enter EIM
NV Energy of Nevada and CAISO have delayed the utility’s entry into the ISO’s Energy Imbalance Market pending final authorization from FERC.
NV Energy would be the second utility to enter the EIM. PacifiCorp joined in 2014. Puget Sound Energy of Washington and Arizona Public Service also plan to join the market next October.
More: CAISO
APPA’s Sue Kelly Named One of DC’s ‘Most Powerful Women’
The Washingtonian has recognized Sue Kelly, the president and CEO of the American Public Power Association, as one of D.C.’s 100 “Most Powerful Women” in its November 2015 print issue.
Kelly took the helm of the trade organization in the spring of 2014, and the magazine said she has improved the association’s relationship with the media, lawmakers and other energy trade groups.
“This is a proud moment not just for Sue and APPA but for all of public power,” said Doug Hunter, APPA board chair and CEO of the Utah Associated Municipal Power Systems. “We appreciate how effectively Sue has raised our profile in the nation’s capital.”
More: Public Power Daily
Renewables Count for 60% of New Capacity in 2015
FERC says that renewable energy accounted for about 60% of the new generation capacity added in the U.S. in the first three quarters of 2015.
FERC’s Energy Infrastructure Update shows wind, hydro, solar, biomass and geothermal accounted for 4,380 MW of the total 7,276 MW of installed capacity added during the first nine months of 2015. That breaks down to 2,966 MW of wind, 1,137 MW of solar, 205 MW of biomass, 45 MW of geothermal and 27 MW of hydro.
By comparison, over the same period, about 2,884 MW of natural gas generation came online, along with 12 MW of coal and oil-fired generation.
More: SeeNews Renewables
Pipeline Opponents Ask FERC for Single Review of Projects
About 30 opposition groups in Virginia and West Virginia are asking FERC to combine the commission’s reviews of four natural gas pipeline projects. They want a single environmental impact statement that studies the cumulative impact of the projects.
“Our region is facing an unprecedented level of natural gas infrastructure development,” said the groups, which include the Sierra Club, the Augusta County Alliance and the Friends of the George Washington Forest Against Fracking.
The projects they’ve asked FERC to conjoin are the Atlantic Coast Pipeline, Mountain Valley Pipeline, Appalachian Connector Pipeline and the WB Express Project. The pipelines are designed to deliver natural gas found in the Marcellus and Utica shale regions to coastal population centers.
More: Virginia Business
NRC Developing New Cybersecurity Rules
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has issued a new list of cybersecurity reporting requirements for nuclear power plants.
The rules will require greater reporting of cyberattacks to improve understanding of the digital threats facing nuclear reactors. The information will aid in NRC’s “analysis of the reliability and effectiveness” of cybersecurity programs for nuclear power reactors, according to a Federal Register notice.
The move comes in the wake of real or rumored hacks of computer systems at nuclear plants around the globe. A recent report out of the U.K. charged that the nuclear industry is ignoring the risks of such attacks.
More: The Hill
NRC Rejects Call to Look into Vermont Yankee Funds
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission says Entergy’s Vermont Yankee’s decommissioning fund is healthy and doesn’t need to be audited, rejecting a request from Vermont state officials for a closer examination.
The state asked NRC to limit Entergy’s use of the funds set aside for the plant’s retirement for anything other than radiological decommissioning.
NRC Spokesman Neil Sheehan said the Vermont Yankee decommissioning account has 60 years’ worth of funds in it and the company may complete the decommissioning in less time than that. “In terms of that time frame, the company should have sufficient funding to not only carry out radiological decommissioning but also to perform other activities and use the money for other uses,” Sheehan said.
More: Vermont Public Radio
NRC: Earthquake Risk Study Further Along than Thought
A detailed examination of risks to U.S. nuclear generating facilities won’t take as long as first anticipated, according to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
All of the country’s operating nuclear plants were ordered to reassess seismic risks after the 2011 Fukushima disaster in Japan. NRC at first said 33 sites needed further review, but it reduced that number to 20 after closer examination. The agency said all of the reviews will be completed by the end of 2019, a year earlier than initially projected.
More: World Nuclear News