In Washington, news arrived from Advanced Biofuels USA that the “Defense Department Budget put together by Republican leadership would stop the US Navy from buying biofuels for the Fleet. [node:read-more:link]
A State by STate Snapshot
As coal dependence falters in the U.S., wind-powered electricity generation is on the rise. In less than a decade, the mix of fuels used for generating electricity has gone a major shift. [node:read-more:link]
A popular subsidy program for renewable energy is undergoing rule changes overseen by the Public Service Board. Much of the opposition to the proposed rules concerns what are called renewable energy credits, which are legal instruments that convey title to the renewable attributes of energy from sources such as solar and wind. [node:read-more:link]
Leaders in North Dakota’s top oil producing county pushed state health officials to consider stationing inspectors in Watford City to more closely monitor the oil and gas industry. A landfill in McKenzie County is the first to apply to the state to accept waste with radioactivity levels up to 50 picocuries per gram. McKenzie County leaders questioned how much state oversight there would be if the landfill gets approved for accepting the higher level of radioactivity. [node:read-more:link]
More and more people are going solar even if they don't own a home, don't have a sunny rooftop, can't afford to buy their own rooftop system, or simply don't want the fuss of installing and operating their own system. Led by rural electric co-ops responding to their members, what's changed is the arrival of community solar, also known as “shared solar” or “solar gardens” or even “SolarCondo” ownership. [node:read-more:link]
An intentionally set fire caused the 2013 explosion at a Texas fertilizer plant that killed 15 people, federal officials said Wednesday, saying the fire was "a criminal act." [node:read-more:link]
Under Governor Andrew Cuomo, New York is in setting ambitous climate goals, and may be pulling ahead of California. Cuomo is trying to apply market forces to transform the way electricity id produced, transmitted and consumed. Depending on the details of the rules to be released from the Public Service Agency, New York's program could be the most ambitious effort in the the country to enlist the profit motive as an ally in the fight against global warming. [node:read-more:link]
As Wyoming faces a growing budget shortfall, the state is looking at ways to generate additional revenue, including possibly raising the state's wind tax. The Joint Revenue Committee will consider a proposed tax hike this week.
Wyoming is currently the only state in the nation that taxes wind energy production. Producers pay $1 per megawatt hour of electricity generated. Last year, that brought in $3.8 million to the state and counties. [node:read-more:link]
In addition to a countywide moratorium, a controversy over the removal of trees for a Minnesota solar project has prompted an amendment in the state legislature. [node:read-more:link]
Gov. Sam Brownback signed SB 318 Friday. The bill suspends “all state agency activities, studies, and investigations that are in furtherance of the preparation” of the plans that states are supposed to submit to the U.S. Environment Protection Agency as part of the Clean Power Plan.
The Clean Power Plan is an Obama administration initiative that sets a national goal of reducing carbon emissions by 32 percent of 2005 levels by 2030. Each state is required to submit a plan to the federal government on how to enact this under the policy.
