NY Governor Wants Zero-Carbon Electricity by 2040

A “politically easy” move or an ambitious target?

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced Monday that he will push for New York to transition to 100 percent clean electricity by 2040, in a statement outlining his agenda for early 2019. 

The announcement places New York in a small but growing group of states, including neighboring New Jersey, as well as California, Hawaii and most recently Washington, that have announced goals or legally committed to 100 percent clean energy.

Top Senate lawmakers see chance to revamp US energy policy

The United States needs to update its energy policy to reflect the boom in natural gas and oil production that has boosted manufacturing jobs, said the top Democrat on the Senate energy committee on Thursday.

Ron Wyden, who is in line to take over the panel's gavel in January, said he sees the opportunity for "transformative energy policy" to both spur jobs created by the newfound wealth of energy while also protecting air and water from pollution.

A bill that will remove barriers for renewable natural gas

Assembly Bill 1900, authored by Assemblyman Mike Gatto (D-Los Angeles), a bill which removes barriers to the development of renewable natural gas (RNG) as a fuel in California and will save local rate-payers millions on their utility bills, was signed by Governor Brown today.

In conjunction with AB 2196 (joint authored by Assemblymen Gatto and Wesley Chesbro), AB 1900 will save the millions of Californians who get their power from municipal utilities hundreds-of-millions of dollars by protecting the municipal utilities’ contracts for biomethane.

California Bills for Biogas

As part of the package of 19 clean energy bills that California Gov. Jerry Brown signed into law on September 27, there are three in particular that will provide a boost to anaerobic digestion and biogas projects in the state.

The first of these, SB 1122, will require electric utilities to purchase in aggregate 250 MW of capacity from bioenergy projects that commence operation on or after June 1, 2013.

What has policy brought us in California?

Government support for renewable energy is a subject of national debate. In particular, many are scrutinizing the Federal Production Tax Credit for wind energy -- absent legislative action, it expires in December.

Policymakers across the political spectrum are asking questions like "has government support of renewable projects been effective?" and "should government support be continued or scrapped?" Investors in renewable energy are similarly interested in how policies can best provide stable support to help the industry mature.

PA Governor says yes to shale but no to solar

This December, the Corbett Administration will start handing out up to $20 million of taxpayer dollars over the next three years to businesses, local governments, non-profits and schools to buy natural gas powered trucks up to $25,000 per vehicle. At the same time the Governor has refused to support a proposed law to extend financial incentives for state’s solar industry.

The Governor is on record as declaring state incentives which aid shale gas development are positive and cost effective while incentives for solar energy are expensive and a drain on taxpayers.

Legislative wrap up: Energy stances on renewable investments, merger payback, opt-out fee for smart meters and state transmission ownership lost steam

The most prominent energy issues in the Vermont Legislature this year seem to be the ones that didn’t happen.

For what seemed like half the session, lawmakers quibbled over whether to intervene in a Public Service Board docket to require utilities to give $21 million in windfall money to ratepayers. That legislation never came to fruition.

The House spent a large part of the session polishing a law that would require the state’s utilities to purchase set amounts of renewable energy. That big energy bill barely made it through, and when it did, the renewable energy mandate was stripped out.

GOP congressional reps ‘energized’ over legislation

Three Republican members of the Colorado congressional delegation have proposed three bills to streamline and enhance domestic energy production. But critics of the so-called “Three Stooges” of energy bills say the proposed legislation moves away from long-term solutions in the name of a quick political opportunity to attack President Barack Obama’s administration and Democratic proposals in a tightly contested election year.

Setting an energy standard

When it comes to renewable energy goals, Colorado keeps raising the bar. It was the first state to implement a renewable energy standard (RES) back in 2004 and has twice raised it, now boasting one of the highest in the nation at 30 percent by 2020.

While Colorado and over half of the other states have embraced renewable energy goals and continue to raise and polish them, some have not acted at all. That’s particularly true in the Southeast. While a few southern states have been quietly investigating the possibilities of their own standards, some will likely never adopt an RES, unless they are required by federal law.

Florida House passes energy bill

After three years attempting to pass a renewable-energy package, the Florida House overwhelming backed the energy plan that has been ushered through the Capitol by Florida Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam.

HB 7117, which passed 113-1 with bipartisan support on Monday, is designed to expand renewable-energy production tax credits, allow local governments to use discretionary sales tax revenue to assist homeowners who make energy-efficiency improvements, and reduce the state’s dependence on natural gas that is pumped into Florida along two pipelines from the Gulf Coast. 

“Florida’s House of Representatives sent a clear message today that Florida is ready to diversify its energy portfolio, expand energy production and create much-needed jobs for Floridians,” Putnam said. 

US clean energy standard proposed in Senate

Hoping an inclusive, flexible approach will draw support, Sen. Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.) recently introduced the Clean Energy Standard Act of 2012.

The bill will will attempt to push large retail utilities to get their electricity from cleaner - but not necessarily renewable - sources.

Bingaman (D-N.M.), chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, had tried before to mirror state renewable portfolio standards with a federal renewable electricity standard, but his legislation never gained real traction. 



Bingaman launches uphill battle with 'clean' power proposal

Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Chairman Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.) floated highly anticipated legislation Thursday to reduce power plant pollution by mandating greater use of low-carbon energy sources.

The legislation, known as the Clean Energy Standard Act of 2012, faces major hurdles in Congress, but will likely serve as a rallying cry for Democrats and renewable energy groups, which suffered a brutal defeat when climate legislation collapsed in the Senate in 2010.

Legislation introduced for National Clean Energy Standard

Legislation introduced this morning would set the first national standard for clean energy in the US.

Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Chair Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) introduced the Clean Energy Standard Act of 2012, which would require utilities to source a set percentage of their energy from "clean" sources.  Although the kinds of energy defined as "clean" are much broader than Renewable Energy Standards, in place in 29 states, the legislation has little chance of passing the GOP-dominated House. Included in "clean" energy are renewables, nuclear, natural gas and clean coal.

Florida must get serious about renewable energy

A year later and with only days left in the 2012 session, Florida may once again try to pass a renewable energy bill that will not produce renewable energy. Florida’s HB 7117 and SB 2094 have proven just that, to even include Tea Party rallies in opposition.

ESA applauds bipartisan Gibson-Thompson Bill to create energy storage ITC

The Electricity Storage Association (ESA) applauded news this week that U.S. Reps. Chris Gibson (R-NY) and Mike Thompson (D-CA) introduced legislation that would create an investment tax credit (ITC) for energy storage technologies of all types and help jumpstart an industry that has enormous potential to increase the reliability, security, and efficiency of the nation's electric grid.  The Storage Technology for Renewable and Green Energy Act (STORAGE) Act (H.R. 4096) is the House companion legislation to S. 1845, introduced by Sens. Ron Wyden (D-OR), Jeff Bingaman (D-NM), and Susan Collins (R-ME). 

"We are delighted that Rep. Chris Gibson, who has championed energy initiatives and transmission issues in his Congressional district, and Rep. Mike Thompson, a staunch supporter of clean energy technologies, understand the value of energy security and have taken such a strong interest in energy storage," said Brad Roberts, Executive Director of the ESA. "Energy storage technologies help all resources – whether renewable, natural gas, coal, or nuclear – run more smoothly. Our innovations have been tested on the grid and proven to be of enormous benefit; this tax credit will help developers secure private sector equity and debt financing for their projects."

Jamaica energy minister says can’t afford light bill, switching to solar

Stating that he could no longer afford the high cost of electricity provided by the Jamaica Public Service Company (JPS), Minister of Mining and Energy Phillip Paulwell said he was now installing a solar-energy system at his home and he urged Jamaicans to do the same.

“As the minister of energy, I am going to incorporate renewable energy at my home. And if every single person look at how much you spend, and put aside that money to pay for a solar system, in seven to 10 years, you would have paid for it, and then, thereafter, the cost you derive from that is zero,” he said.

Addressing the People’s National Party (PNP) Region Three meeting of its Regional Executive Council yesterday at the Pembroke Hall High School in North West St Andrew, Paulwell said it was an essential investment and urged Jamaicans to take up the solar-energy system loan being offered by the National Housing Trust (NHT).

Virginia: McDonnell announces 2012 energy policy agenda

As part of his effort to make Virginia the "energy capital of the East Coast," Gov. Bob McDonnell issued his energy policy agenda for the 2012 General Assembly session on Thursday, including money to develop wind energy off the coast, a fund to begin converting the state's fleet of vehicles to alternative fuels, and incentives for utilities to invest in renewable energy research.

"Only by aggressively developing all types of energy and removing bureaucratic hurdles to this development will we be able to meet our energy needs and reduce our nation's dependence upon foreign sources of energy," McDonnell said.

Vermont Statehouse 2012: A legislative preview

On Tuesday, 180 lawmakers will converge on the Statehouse after a seven month hiatus for Round 2 of the 2011-2012 biennium. Judging from interviews with committee chairs, the upcoming session will be fast and furious. Lawmakers have an impressive array of complicated issues to address in four short months, and there is little expectation that the session will drag past the first week in May (this is an election year after all).

Vermont: Shumlin releases final, “scrubbed” version of Comprehensive Energy Plan

It’s official.

Vermont’s Comprehensive Energy Plan is final. But that’s just the beginning. With the official goal of meeting 90 percent of the states energy needs from renewable sources by mid-century, meeting that ambitious target is the hard part.

The state currently receives about 25 percent of its energy from renewable sources. Despite a legislative mandate, it has been more than a decade since the state produced a comprehensive energy plan. Now, three months, thousands of comments and more than 18 meetings later, the final version is out.

USA: Bipartisan tax credit would open market for energy storage

The Electricity Storage Association (ESA) applauds Senators Ron Wyden (D-OR), Susan Collins (R-ME) and Senate Energy Chairman Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) for introducing the Storage Technology for Renewable and Green Energy Act of 2011 (STORAGE). This investment tax credit for energy storage technologies of all types is expected to jump start an industry that has enormous potential to increase the reliability, security and efficiency of our nation's electric grid.