RNG NEWS
Stay up to date with the latest stories, insights, and announcements.Pipeline Safety Bill Unanimously Approved by House Energy Committee
By Charlie Passut, NGI's Daily Gas Price Index.
After tweaking a controversial section on emergency orders, the House Energy and Commerce (E&C) Committee unanimously approved a pipeline safety bill to reauthorize the Natural Gas Pipeline Safety Act for five years, beginning in fiscal year (FY) 2017.
The bill, also known as the Pipeline Safety Act of 2016, is HR 5050. House lawmakers must now merge two individual bills in the chamber before taking the combined bill to the floor for a final vote.
"Pipeline safety is something that we should all take seriously and it's been a priority of mine since I became chairman following the spill in southwest Michigan that impacted the Kalamazoo River," said Rep. Fred Upton (R-MI), the E&C chairman. "While an accident can happen in an instant, the damage takes years to fix, underscoring the need for strong safety laws."
EPA advances state incentives despite hold on climate rule
By Timothy Cama, The Hill.
The Obama administration is moving forward with a state incentive program related to its contentious climate change rule, even though the regulation itself is on hold.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on Tuesday sent a proposal with details of the program to the White House Office of Management and Budget for its review, the final step before the program can be formally proposed to the public.
The Clean Energy Incentive Program is designed as the carrot to the Clean Power Plan's stick. The EPA is planning to give states credit for establishing certain renewable energy or energy-efficiency projects before the Clean Power Plan would take effect and require changes to reduce power companies' greenhouse gas emissions.
$22.5 Million in Projects Awarded for Clean Buses, Infrastructure
Federal Transit Administration, via Sustainable City Network.
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Transit Administration announced the latest project selections for the Low and No-Emission Vehicle Deployment Program, known as Low-No. Seven transit providers in five states will receive a share of $22.5 million toward transit buses and related facilities that utilize battery-electric, fuel cell, and other innovative technologies to reduce harmful greenhouse gas emissions and improve operating efficiency.
"This Administration is committed to investing in an economy powered by clean transportation," said U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx. "The Department of Transportation is proud to build on the successful Low-No program to put more American-made, energy-efficient buses into service across America."
FTA awarded the FY 2015 funds after a highly-competitive review process that prioritized transit agencies and bus manufacturers with strong records in building, deploying, and operating clean buses and infrastructure. The Low-No program helps advance President Obama’s vision for a 21st Century Clean Transportation System and the Department’s Beyond Traffic framework for investing in a strong and sustainable transportation network that will meet the needs of our nation in the years ahead.
Governor Announces $150 Million for Renewable Energy Projects
By New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, via Sustainable City Network.
ALBANY, N.Y. -- Governor Andrew Cuomo announced $150 million in funding to support large-scale renewable energy projects across the state. This funding will facilitate public-private partnerships to advance the Governor’s Reforming the Energy Vision strategy and ensure the state meets its goal of generating 50 percent of its electricity from carbon-free renewable energy projects by 2030.
"This state is a national leader in combatting climate change and with this investment, we are taking our unprecedented efforts one more step toward a cleaner and greener New York," said Governor Cuomo. "This funding will advance large-scale energy projects, continue build a clean energy economy, and generate opportunity for New Yorkers for generations to come."
Natural gas vehicles market to be driven by increasing utilization of eco-friendly vehicular fuels
By Transparency Market Research.
Transparency Market Research presents a research report on the global natural gas vehicles market for the 2015-2023 period. The report, titled “Natural Gas Vehicles Market – Global Industry Analysis, Market Size, Share, Growth, Trends and Forecast 2015 – 2023,” analyzes the various facets of sustainability of natural gas vehicular fuels in the long run. The report presents development trends and technological advancements that will have a bearing on this market during the forecast period.
That dependence on fossil fuels and crude oil for energy needs is not environmentally sustainable is well recognized. As such, the need to use clean, inexpensive, and natural fuels available in abundance is the need of the times. Natural gas is a clean substitute for conventional fuels such as diesel or gasoline and is also eco-friendly and low in cost. Compressed natural gas (CNG) or liquefied natural gas (LNG) are produced from natural gas and offer several economic, environmental, and policy benefits over other fossil fuels.
EPA says broad language of Clean Air Act justifies Clean Power Plan
By Robert Walton, Utility Dive.
Dive Brief:
- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has filed a final brief with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia that signals the end of legal briefing for the case, defending the Clean Power Plan by pointing to the broad language Congress used in the Clean Air Act, Argus reports.
- EPA's filing marks the end of the briefing stage of the case. Oral arguments will be heard June 2; the court is working on an expedited basis, after the U.S. Supreme Court delayed implementation of the rule.
- According to the EPA, the Clean Air Act requires the agency to implement the "best system of emission reduction;" lawyers have focused on the word "system" to mean a broad range of measures across the industry.
Carbon Fee Debate Goes Mainstream in Washington State
By John Upton, Climate Central.
As governments worldwide begin imposing fees on pollution to try to protect the climate, a debate over dueling approaches — one that has long been restricted to conferences and academia — is becoming prominent in Washington state.
Washington voters will decide in November whether to introduce a carbon tax on fossil fuels and electricity from coal and natural gas, with the goal of slowing global warming while reducing taxes on sales and manufacturing and keeping total tax revenue flat overall.
If Initiative 732 passes, the Evergreen State would buck a national trend in which other states have been adopting a different system for carbon pricing — that of cap-and-trade, in which pollution levels are capped and allowances to release pollution are sold and traded.
Ethanol groups criticize US climate plan for excluding biofuels
By Erin Voegele, Ethanol Producer Magazine.
On April 22 a ceremony was held at United Nations headquarters in New York to coincide with Earth Day during which several nations, including the U.S., signed the Paris Agreement that aims to limit global temperatures rise to below 2 degrees Celsius. Leaders in the U.S. ethanol sector have criticized the U.S. for not include biofuels in its plan.
According to information published by the Renewable Fuels Association, the agreement will enter into force when at least 55 countries collectively representing at least 55 percent of global emissions sign on in support of the agreement.
Leading up to the Paris Agreement, countries submitted individual plans, known as Intended National Determined Contributions, which outline how they plan to meet greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction targets. While 37 countries have included biofuels in their INDCs, the U.S. has not.
Extending Ohio's Freeze on Renewable Energy Standards Will be Met With Opposition
By Peter Krause, Cleveland.com.
You can bet that the debate over Senate Bill 320 will be hearty, if not contentious. The bill, introduced Monday by Ohio State Sen. Bill Seitz, a Republican from Cincinnati, calls for extending the freeze on the renewable-energy requirements imposed on the state's investor-owned utilities. It would also freeze energy-efficiency mandates.
Green-minded advocates and those who see the development of renewable energy as a way to create jobs are dismayed. They believe Ohio is heading backward. Seitz, on the other hand, doesn't buy all the talk about jobs and said he believes renewable energy is overpriced.
Energy Bill Faces Tight Calendar, Partisan Divide in the House
By Rich Heidorn, Jr., RTO Insider.
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate overwhelmingly passed its first major energy bill in almost a decade Thursday but faces a tight calendar to reach agreement with the House, where Republicans approved their own measure with little Democratic support.
Cantwell (left) and Murkowski
The Senate’s Energy Policy Modernization Act of 2015 passed 85-12, with support of all but a handful of Republicans. The House’s North American Energy Security and Infrastructure Act cleared 249-170 in December with support from only three Democrats.
President Obama has threatened to veto the House bill but expressed support for most of the Senate provisions.
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