Today, the United States District Courts for the Southern District of New York and District of Maryland handed down separate decisions holding EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt accountable for reducing dangerous smog pollution that travels across state lines and impedes downwind states’ ability to meet health-based national air quality standards.
E&E News reported yesterday that last year, coal executive Bob Murray presented Trump administration officials with six draft executive orders focused on ending clean air and water protections for dangerous coal pollution. The orders took aim at public health protections, several of which have since been targeted for elimination, significant roll-backs, or delay by federal agencies.
BOSTON, MA -- Hundreds of Boston residents and environmental leaders gathered outside the U.S. Conference of Mayors meeting this morning to urge Boston Mayor Marty Walsh to take more aggressive action on climate change.
Scandal ridden EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt released advanced notice of proposed rulemaking today. This step is in an effort to change how the EPA calculates the costs and benefits of its clean air and water protections - a precursor to Pruitt making it more difficult for the Agency to make strong, science-based rules to protect public health.
BOSTON, MA --At today’s International Mayors Climate Summit, Boston Mayor Marty Walsh announced he will be working with mayors from around the country on a bulk purchase of renewable energy.
Today, the Sierra Club challenged the approval by the West Virginia Public Service Commission of an amended power purchase agreement that will allow the dirty and uneconomic Grant Town coal-fired power plant to continue to operate, with West Virginia electric customers bearing the costs.
Wisconsin Public Service (WPS), a subsidiary of WEC Energy Group, and Madison Gas & Electric (MGE) announced that they propose to invest in 300 megawatts (MW) of new solar generation to be built at two sites in Wisconsin: 150MW near Two Rivers, WI and150MW near Dodgeville, WI.
Bloomberg reports that the Trump Administration is considering an order that would force grid operators across the country to buy electricity from failing coal and nuclear plants -- a move Bloomberg categorizes as “unprecedented intervention” into U.S. energy markets and an order that would raise electricity rates for Americans across the country.
Sierra Club and allies have entered into an agreement with Duke Energy Carolinas that will remove barriers to clean energy, decrease greenhouse gas emissions, and bring a $25 million investment in electric vehicle infrastructure that is unprecedented in the Southeast.
Philadelphia, P.A. — PJM Interconnection, the regional electric grid operator for 13 states including Pennsylvania, announced the results of its capacity auction yesterday. The auction ensures that the region has enough electric generating capacity to keep the lights on in 2021. These results confirm that PJM is continuing a trend of procuring much more generating capacity than is needed for the region. As of now, it exceeds the amount necessary by almost 6 percent, which equates to over 9,300 extra megawatts of excess power, or about 10 large power plants that are unnecessary. This extra capacity artificially adds about $530 million in costs for consumers with little reliability benefit.
BOSTON, MA -- The Baker Administration announced today that Vineyard Wind has been selected to construct an 800 megawatt (MW) offshore wind project in federal waters off the coast of Massachusetts. Simultaneously the State of Rhode Island announced it will enter into negotiations with Deepwater Wind to procure 400 MW of offshore wind energy.
Diné Citizens Against Ruining Our Environment, Amigos Bravos, San Juan Citizens Alliance, Center for Biological Diversity, and the Sierra Club filed a lawsuit today for an order requiring the EPA to finalize the Four Corners Generating Station’s water pollution permit. The EPA has missed two permitting cycles to update the coal plant’s National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) water pollution permit that was last issued in 2001.