Former Louisiana Sen. Mary Landrieu, now a lobbyist, has signed her first client: FutureGen Alliance, the company behind a currently failed clean-coal project.
FutureGen Alliance is a coalition formed to research and develop a coal-fired power plant that would capture carbon dioxide and entomb it underground. Its Illinois project, FutureGen 2.0, received millions of dollars in government stimulus support but never got off the ground after Illinois lawmakers declined to finance the additional $1.7 billion it said it needed. The Department of Energy has since withdrawn its support.
While environmental groups applauded its death, Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin was sorry to see it go. “This is a huge disappointment for both Central Illinois and supporters of clean-coal technology,” he said at the time.
More: The Hill
Obama Appoints EPA Strategist to Run Climate Change Campaign
Thomas Reynolds, a top Environmental Protection Agency communications strategist, has been named to a new White House position and will run the Obama administration’s climate change agenda.
Reynolds is seen as an aggressive communications strategist and is the architect of EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy’s nationwide tour to promote the agency’s new climate rules. He has also directed the energetic social media campaign around the Clean Power Plan.
Before signing on with EPA, Reynolds was a regional media director for Obama’s 2012 re-election campaign.
More: The New York Times
Gas Surpasses Coal as Generator for 2nd Time
The U.S. Energy Information Administration said that in July, for the second time ever, more power was generated by natural gas-fired plants than by coal-fired plants in the U.S. The administration said that natural gas-fired plants generated 35% of U.S. power in July, compared to 34.9% from coal.
Compared to the same period a year ago, coal fell from 150 billion kWh to 139 billion kWh. Natural gas generation increased from 114 billion kWh to 140 billion kWh. The report said natural gas generation has been increasing its share because of the abundance of low-cost shale gas, in addition to more stringent federal emission regulations affecting coal-fired plants.
The first time natural gas edged out coal-fired generation was in April.
More: FuelFix
Fed Court Rules Obama’s Waterway Protection Bid Can’t be Enforced
A U.S. Court of Appeals in Ohio ruled Friday that the Obama administration’s regulation to protect small waterways from pollution cannot be enforced throughout the country. A 2-1 majority decided the “Waters of the United States” rule is likely illegal and stayed the rule so it can be reviewed.
“We conclude that petitioners have demonstrated a substantial possibility of success on the merits of their claims,” the judges wrote in their decision, explaining that the Environmental Protection Agency’s guidelines run counter to an established Supreme Court ruling. The appeals court said a stay would be appropriate and provide an opportunity to review the jurisdictional issues.
“A stay allows for a more deliberate determination whether this exercise of executive power, enabled by Congress and explicated by the Supreme Court, is proper under the dictates of federal law,” the court said. The decision comes after a North Dakota judge in August issued a similar ruling.
More: The Hill
FERC OKs Work Start on Algonquin Expansion
FERC last week gave Spectra Energy permission to begin construction on a project to expand the Algonquin Pipeline into the Northeast. The agency approved a construction start on the AIM portion of the project, a 37-mile section that will run under the Hudson River and into Connecticut, along with two compressor stations.
The pipeline, which will eventually connect Connecticut, Rhode Island and Massachusetts, is designed to deliver additional natural gas into a region that experienced winter shortages due to pipeline constraints.
More: Peekskill-Cortlandt Patch
DOE: Solyndra Filed Misleading Reports in Bid for Loan
Solyndra, the failed California thin-film solar company, provided misleading documents when applying for a Department of Energy loan guarantee, according to a department report.
The investigation found that Solyndra “provided the department with statements, assertions and certifications that were inaccurate and misleading, misrepresented known facts and, in some instances, omitted information that was highly relevant to key decisions in the process to award and execute the $535 million loan guarantee.”
The report also noted that department employees who approved the loan didn’t conduct sufficient due diligence. Solyndra shut down in 2011, leaving the federal government on the hook for the unpaid loan.
More: CleanTechnica; Department of Energy
House Passes Bill to Speed Up Tribal Energy Projects
The House of Representatives approved a bill that would streamline the federal permitting process for energy projects on tribal lands. The White House and many Democrats oppose the bill, which the Office of Management and Budget said would undermine the energy permitting process by removing federal oversight.
The bill, introduced by Rep. Don Young (R-Alaska), cuts back on the permitting procedure for leases signed for energy projects on Native American land. Currently, the Department of the Interior reviews each lease signed by a tribe with an energy company.
“We are doing an indirect thing to allow them to … expand their self-worth and keep their identity,” Young said.
More: The Hill
National Grid Finds Nobody in Favor of Liquefaction Plant
A FERC-sponsored comment session on National Grid’s plan to build a $100 million methane liquefaction plant in Rhode Island attracted many commenters, but none who support the project.
The plant, proposed for a site in southern Providence, is before FERC for a permit. The comment session drew about 100 spectators, and 33 spoke out against the project. FERC is also accepting written comments on the project.