The U.S. power sector consumed 677 million short tons of coal last year, the lowest level since 1984, the U.S. Energy Information Administration reported.That was a 35 percent decline from 2008, when coal demand in the power sector hit its peak.The fall comes not only as natural gas, wind turbines and solar panels take on increasing shares of the U.S. [node:read-more:link]
Corn ethanol has reached its official limit under the Environmental Protection Agency's renewable fuel program, which means other less-developed, low-carbon fuels will have to step up to fill a 21 billion-gallon gap by 2022.Depending on where you stand on the future of the Renewable Fuel Standard, the cap on corn can be a blessing, a challenge or a curse.Under the Renewable Fuel Standard, which was passed by Congress in 2007, refiners must blend 36 billion gallons of biofuels in the nation's gasoline and diesel fuel supply by 2022. [node:read-more:link]
On the same day that President Trump announced the United States’ withdrawal from the Paris climate accord, environmentalists took consolation in the closure of three large coal-fired power plants — the kind often blamed as big contributors to climate change. [node:read-more:link]
A former North Nashville landfill will now be the site of the city's first solar program. The Nashville Electric Service (NES) and Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) are partnering with the city and Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee to launch the project dubbed Music City Solar.The two megawatt solar array will consist of 5,966 panels on 10 acres along I-65 on Old Due West Avenue.The project is expected to generate 2.8 million kilowatt-hours of electricity a year, the equivalent of the yearly energy needs for 210 homes. [node:read-more:link]
The decision amounts to a rebuttal of the worldwide effort to pressure Trump to remain a part of the agreement, which 195 nations signed onto. Foreign leaders, business executives and Trump's own daughter lobbied heavily for him to remain a part of the deal, but ultimately lost out to conservatives who claim the plan is bad for the United States."We're getting out. And we will start to renegotiate and we'll see if there's a better deal. If we can, great. [node:read-more:link]
The U.S. [node:read-more:link]
A pair of federal efforts could make it more profitable to turn organic waste from agriculture and other sources into energy by taking advantage of the Renewable Fuel Standard. One is a bill recently introduced in the U.S. Senate that would create a 30 percent investment tax credit for qualifying biogas and nutrient-recovery systems. [node:read-more:link]
Buried among the revenue-generating ideas in President Donald Trump's new budget proposal is a plan to sell off publicly owned transmission assets, including those operated by the Bonneville Power Administration.For public power companies – and really all utilities in the Northwest – the proposal will ring alarm bells and resurrect a debate about the control of assets that were built with federal dollars but paid for by local ratepayers.Bonneville operates three-quarters of the region's high-voltage transmission system, which it uses to market power from 31 hydroelectric dams in the Columbi [node:read-more:link]
Can efficiency, demand response and distributed energy replace new power lines? The Bonneville Power Administration is finding out. The Bonneville Power Administration is taking its first step into “non-wires alternatives” for power grid investments -- not necessarily by choice, but certainly with a lot of preparation in advance. Last week, the federal agency that manages the Columbia River hydropower complex and power grid across the Pacific Northwest announced it has given up its nearly decade-long effort to build a new transmission line along the I-5 corridor. [node:read-more:link]
Just as the federal government is hitting the brakes on climate change mitigation, a number of states are stepping up their efforts.State efforts to expand renewable energy through mandates and incentives are well known, as are attempts to save nuclear generation from early retirement through subsidies. [node:read-more:link]
