The Department of Energy has finalized more than $4.5 billion in loan guarantees for three large solar generation projects, just as funding for the department’s renewable loan guarantee program expired along with the fiscal year.
The largest guarantee, for $1.46 billion, will support the 550-megawatt Desert Sunlight Project, which is expected to be one of the world’s largest photovoltaic arrays, in Riverside County, CA.
Another,...
You see these guys? Even wide receiver Anthony Armstrong (#13) looks intense, huh? When I snapped this, the Washington Redskins were about 4 minutes away from taking to their home field and bashing heads with the Arizona Cardinals. A great example of the access we received from the NFL while we put together our Tackling the Future of Clean Energy story.
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energyNOW! publishes a daily roundup of top news and opinion on energy and the environment. Inclusion of articles does not mean endorsement.
GOVERNMENT/REGULATIONS
DOE clean-energy program wraps up amid concerns (via Politico)
FBI Probing Solyndra for Possible Accounting Fraud (via Bloomberg)
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The Energy Department program that fosters breakthrough technologies has announced its latest round of funding, the fourth in its history.
The Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy, or ARPA-E, is awarding an additional $156 million to 60 projects. That brings the total funding since the program’s fully funded start in 2009 to $521.7 million for...
energyNOW! publishes a daily roundup of top news and opinion on energy and the environment. Inclusion of articles does not mean endorsement.
SOLAR/WIND/RENEWABLES
U.S. Backs New Loans for Projects on Energy (via The New York Times)
Solyndra violated loan terms in 2010 but got more federal...
The Environmental Protection Agency Inspector-General’s report on the review process behind the 2009 greenhouse gas endangerment finding shows the agency may have run afoul of official procedure.
The report, prepared at the request of Sen. James Inhofe (R-OK), ranking member of the Environment and Public Works Committee, finds a technical support document was not reviewed in strict accordance with procedures required by the White House Office of Management and Budget.
The report says the EPA did not publicly record the reviews and responses for the document, as...
New York’s Department of Environmental Conservation has released its proposed regulations for hydraulic fracturing in the state.
The controversial drilling technique has been on hold in the state since December 2010, when then Gov. David Patterson issued a moratorium pending an environmental study, which was completed in June.
Today’s proposal largely follows the recommendations of that proposal, including buffer zones of 4,000 feet around surface...
energyNOW! publishes a daily roundup of top news and opinion on energy and the environment. Inclusion of articles does not mean endorsement.
GOVERNMENT/REGULATIONS
Deadline for auto fuel economy proposal to slip (via Reuters)
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Solutions to the nation’s most urgent energy challenges should come from a focus on transportation and practical technology, according to the Department of Energy’s first Quadrennial Technology Review.
The review identifies oil dependence as the “greatest immediate threat to U.S. economic and national security,” and vehicle efficiency as the best potential short- to mid-term solution. Specifically, it concludes that a focus on electrifying light-duty vehicles plays especially well...
energyNOW! publishes a daily roundup of top news and opinion on energy and the environment. Inclusion of articles does not mean endorsement.
GOVERNMENT/REGULATIONS
Deal to avert shutdown spares DOE cuts (via The Hill's E2 Wire)
U.S. to do more research on electric vehicles (via Reuters)
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The American Petroleum Institute wants the EPA to slow down new rules that will affect the oil and natural gas industries.
The EPA will hold a series of hearings across the country this week on a set of rules aimed at reducing air pollution from drilling operations by capturing 95 percent of smog-forming volatile organic compounds from wells that use hydraulic fracturing.
But Howard Feldman, the API’s director of regulatory and scientific affairs, told reporters on a conference call today that the proposal is too complex to formally comment on by the EPA’s...
energyNOW! publishes a daily roundup of top news and opinion on energy and the environment. Inclusion of articles does not mean endorsement.
GOVERNMENT/REGULATIONS
A closer look: Setting a 'safer' ozone level (via The Los Angeles Times)
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This week, energyNOW! showed you how some homeowners can benefit from leasing solar panels. If you’re considering a solar lease yourself, here are some things you need to know.
Solar-leasing programs vary by state because each state offers different incentives for installing solar systems. This site offers a list of the major solar-leasing companies and the areas where they operate. The Department of Energy offers a comprehensive guide to the different state incentives...
The U.S. House has passed a measure that would delay several EPA regulations while a federal panel weighs their costs and benefits to the economy.
The bill, which passed the Republican-controlled House in a 249-169 vote today, is called the TRAIN Act, which stands for Transparency in Regulatory Analysis of Impacts on the Nation. It would delay several rules the EPA has recently proposed for power plants, oil refineries and other industries. Those regulations include limits on mercury, smog and particulates, as well as emissions from power plants that cross state lines...
The two main witnesses at today’s House Energy and Commerce hearing on the Solyndra loan guarantee and bankruptcy were largely silent.
As their lawyers had promised, Solyndra CEO Brian Harrison and CFO Bill Stover invoked their Fifth Amendment rights and refused to answer questions about how the company handled a $535 million federal loan guarantee.
But that did not stop lawmakers from giving the executives a tongue-lashing. Committee Chairman Fred Upton (R-MI) compared the company’s handling of the loan to Britain’s Great Train Robbery of 1963,...
energyNOW! publishes a daily roundup of top news and opinion on energy and the environment. Inclusion of articles does not mean endorsement.
SOLAR/WIND/RENEWABLES
Solyndra hearing to go on, despite execs' silence (via Boston.com)
With the Obama administration’s clean energy agenda under attack on Capitol Hill, Labor Secretary Hilda Solis is defending its ability to create jobs and revive the economy.
Solis is testifying today before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, in a hearing entitled, “How Obama’s Green Energy Agenda is Killing Jobs.” In her...
energyNOW! publishes a daily roundup of top news and opinion on energy and the environment. Inclusion of articles does not mean endorsement.
GOVERNMENT/REGULATIONS
White House threatens to veto bill blocking EPA (via Associated Press)
Texas files case against EPA over clean air rules (via The...
EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson says the Clean Air Act and other rules her agency enforces aren’t bad for the economy.
Jackson is testifying this morning before the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, in a hearing on her agency’s regulations and major actions. In her prepared testimony, Jackson says EPA regulations don’t kill jobs, and...
Leaders in the U.S. rare earth mining and technology industries say the federal government should support their efforts to increase production and manufacturing to help the American economy and end China’s monopoly.
Rare earth minerals are a group of 17 elements used in technologies such as wind turbines, efficient light bulbs, advanced car batteries and magnets.
Danfoss North America President John Galyen told the House Foreign Relations...
All three members of Alaska’s congressional delegation and the state’s governor are urging development of oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
Sen. Mark Begich (D-AK), along with Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Rep. Don Young (R-AK) and Gov. Sean Parnell, also a Republican, all told the House...
energyNOW! publishes a daily roundup of top news and opinion on energy and the environment. Inclusion of articles does not mean endorsement.
OIL/GASOLINE/DRILLING
AP: BP oil not degrading on Gulf floor, study says (via CBS News)
BP Says It Didn’t Hide Information About Gulf Well Blowout (via Bloomberg Businessweek)...
energyNOW! publishes a daily roundup of top news and opinion on energy and the environment. Inclusion of articles does not mean endorsement.
POLITICS
Republicans Sought Clean-Energy Money for Home States (via The New York Times)
White House threatens veto over House attack on EPA pollution rules (...
The American Petroleum Institute is calling for the federal government to move forward with approval of the Keystone XL pipeline project, while opponents in one U.S. state are planning new ways to block it.
The controversy over the proposed 1,700-mile pipeline that would bring crude oil from the Canadian oil sands in Alberta to shipping and refining hubs in Texas is featured in this week’s edition of energyNOW!
Today, API Executive Vice President Marty Durbin told...
The world’s energy demand will soar by more than 50 percent over the next 25 years, with China and India leading the surge, according to the Energy Information Administration’s International Energy Outlook 2011, released today.
Acting EIA Administrator Howard Gruenspecht says those two developing nations are expected to account for half of the world’s projected 53 percent increase in energy demand by 2035. In 2008, they accounted for 21 percent of the world’s energy consumption, but the...
energyNOW! publishes a daily roundup of top news and opinion on energy and the environment. Inclusion of articles does not mean endorsement.
GOVERNMENT/REGULATION
Obama to propose $1.5 trillion in new tax revenue (via Associated Press)
OIL SANDS/KEYSTONE XL
Michael Bromwich, who has overseen the reorganization of the nation’s offshore drilling regulation, will remain with the Department of Interior when his agency is overhauled at the end of the month.
Interior Secretary Ken Salazar announced today that Bromwich will take the helm of the newly formed Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement on Oct. 1, when it splits off from the Bureau of Ocean...
The man who donated $5 million of his own money to help defeat California’s Proposition 23 is now putting his money and influence into another clean-energy campaign.
Tom Steyer, whose money helped launch a campaign to counter oil companies such as Valero and Tesoro in last year’s battle over whether to delay California’s AB32 emissions law, is the co-chair of The Center for the Next Generation. The...
energyNOW! publishes a daily roundup of top news and opinion on energy and the environment. Inclusion of articles does not mean endorsement.
CLIMATE/ENVIRONMENT/EMISSIONS
More Americans believe world is warming: Reuters/Ipsos (via Reuters)
Climate change boon to UK seafood (via BBC)
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Former Vice President Al Gore’s latest advocacy campaign on climate change, “24 Hours of Reality,” culminates at 7 p.m. EDT, when Gore, himself, is scheduled to appear in New York City in the last of the program’s 24, 1-hour segments. Gore also helped kick off the program last night and participated in some panel discussions.
Each segment features a city in a different time zone around the globe. A series of celebrity hosts, including Heidi Cullen, Gloria Reuben and Renee Zellweger, introduce a resident of...
Almost a year after the nation’s largest offshore oil spill was stopped, the U.S. offshore drilling regulator says the permitting process has become more streamlined and picked up steam.
“We are making progress. We are getting better at processing permit applications,” Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement Director Michael Bromwich said today at a hearing of the House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources.
The agency imposed strict new safety requirements for drillers...
energyNOW! publishes a daily roundup of top news and opinion on energy and the environment. Inclusion of articles does not mean endorsement.
CLIMATE/ENVIRONMENT/EMISSIONS
Greenhouse gas proposal to miss deadline: EPA chief (via Reuters)
Al Gore's '24 Hours' On Climate Change (via NPR)
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The Obama administration is pushing back against suggestions that its $535 million loan guarantee to now-bankrupt solar manufacturer Solyndra was rushed through without thorough investigation of the company’s finances.
In prepared testimony for his appearance this morning before the Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, the head of the Department of Energy’s Loan Programs Office, Jonathan Silver, cited the Bush...
energyNOW! publishes a daily roundup of top news and opinion on energy and the environment. Inclusion of articles does not mean endorsement.
SOLAR/WIND/RENEWABLES
Emails: Obama White House Monitored Huge Loan to 'Connected' Firm (via ABC News)
The Interior Department has unveiled proposed new offshore drilling safety regulations.
The new rules build on requirements imposed last year in the wake of the massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, requiring companies to identify risks at every stage of their work. Under the plan proposed today, companies would be required to have third parties audit their compliance plans.
Today’s proposal also requires that companies establish who has ultimate authority for decisions on operational safety...
energyNOW! publishes a daily roundup of top news and opinion on energy and the environment. Inclusion of articles does not mean endorsement.
GOVERNMENT/REGULATIONS
Fight over EPA regulations heats up (via The Hill's E2 Wire)
Luminant sues EPA, says it will shut two coal units, cut 500 jobs (via Fuel Fix)
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energyNOW! publishes a daily roundup of top news and opinion on energy and the environment. Inclusion of articles does not mean endorsement.
NUCLEAR
Explosion at French nuclear site of Marcoule (via BBC)
Vermont Yankee Nuclear Plant: Trial To Start In State's Bid To Close Plant (via Huffington Post)
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The Department of Energy has completed another loan guarantee to a solar company, even as the investigation into the aid it provided Solyndra deepens.
The DOE today announced...
energyNOW! publishes a daily roundup of top news and opinion on energy and the environment. Inclusion of articles does not mean endorsement.
UTILITIES/GRID/TRANSMISSION
San Diego Utility Restores Power to Almost Half of Blacked-Out Households (via Bloomberg)
energyNOW! publishes a daily roundup of top news and opinion on energy and the environment. Inclusion of articles does not mean endorsement.
UTILITIES/GRID/TRANSMISSION
San Diego Utility Restores Power to Almost Half of Blacked-Out Households (via Bloomberg)
The North Anna Nuclear Power Station's two reactors could be safely restarted following last month's 5.8 magnitude East Coast earthquake, but Dominion Virginia Power officials said today they will keep the plant offline pending more inspections and tests.
Officials and engineers from Dominion delivered the assessment to NRC regulators this afternoon at a hearing that Dominion had requested to discuss their response to the Aug. 23 quake, which was centered near the plant. They also showed photographs...
U.S. Rep. Fred Upton (R-MI), chairman of the House energy panel and a member of the congressional “super committee” looking for ways to cut the national debt, says part of the answer lies in boosting U.S. energy production.
The federal government can get closer to balancing the budget “not with tax increases, but by harnessing our nation’s great resources,” Upton said in a statement released today at the first meeting of the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction....
The Department of Energy isn't letting Solyndra's recent bankruptcy and likely default on most of a $535 million loan guarantee deter it from offering more backing to solar technology firms. DOE announced today that it is awarding a $150 million loan guarantee to 1366 Technologies, which makes silicon wafers used in solar cells. Yesterday, it announced it will guarantee 80 percent of a $344 million loan to SolarCity Corp., which installs residential rooftop solar systems.
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energyNOW! publishes a daily roundup of top news and opinion on energy and the environment. Inclusion of articles does not mean endorsement.
GOVERNMENT/REGULATIONS
Obama takes center stage (via The Hill's E2 Wire)
Republican says Arctic drilling can help cut deficit (via The Houston Chronicle)
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Record-breaking heat waves, 100-year floods, unprecedented tornado outbreaks, extended droughts – this has been a year of weather extremes in the United States, and according to one group of climate scientists, these events are no coincidence. In a conference call sponsored by Climate Communication and Weather Underground, the researchers said they believe these events have been influenced by human...
energyNOW! publishes a daily roundup of top news and opinion on energy and the environment. Inclusion of articles does not mean endorsement.
OIL/GASOLINE/DRILLING
Oil industry: Boost in energy could create 1M jobs (via Associated Press)
Chevron strikes oil in deep-water Gulf (via The Houston...
The owner of a Virginia nuclear plant that shut down during last month’s East Coast earthquake will brief U.S. nuclear regulators tomorrow on when it could restart.
Officials from Dominion Resources Inc., which owns the North Anna nuclear plant, will attend a hearing at U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission headquarters in Rockville, Maryland, the agency said in a statement. The North Anna plant, located near Richmond, Virginia, sits 12 miles from the epicenter of the earthquake that struck the...
With his approval ratings slumping and the presidential primary campaign kicking into high gear, President Obama is scheduled to address Congress tomorrow night on his latest proposal for creating jobs in the stagnant U.S. economy. The speech comes as House Republicans are preparing a series of votes aimed at dismantling regulations...
energyNOW! publishes a daily roundup of top news and opinion on energy and the environment. Inclusion of articles does not mean endorsement.
OIL/GASOLINE/DRILLING
BP looking to ramp up activity in Gulf of Mexico: exec (via Reuters)
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President Obama announced today he’s pulling back new smog standards from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, a move that won praise from the fossil-fuel industry and criticism from environmentalists.
Obama said in a statement he’s asked the EPA to withdraw its draft National Ambient Air Quality Standards for ozone. Ground-level ozone is formed when pollution from power plants, cars and other sources reacts with sunlight. It...
energyNOW! publishes a daily roundup of top news and opinion on energy and the environment. Inclusion of articles does not mean endorsement.
AIR POLLUTION
Obama decides against change in ozone standards (via USA Today)
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energyNOW! publishes a daily roundup of top news and opinion on energy and the environment. Inclusion of articles does not mean endorsement.
CLEAN TECH
Solar energy company collapse a worrisome sign for 'green-tech' hopes (via Mercury News)
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Last Wednesday was a big milestone for people who care about public health and a livable climate. Two utilities announced the planned closure of nine coal plants.
Read more ...
Today, in the UK, the world's oldest nuclear power plant shut down.
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The U.S. led the world in clean energy investment in 2011, but China retained the top spot in the latest Renewable Energy Country Attractiveness Index from Ernst & Young.
Read more ...
Today's morning news roundup - all the energy and climate coverage you need to read.
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