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Stay up to date with the latest stories, insights, and announcements.As some federal energy incentives end, New York eyes substitutes
By Kat Friedrich, GreenBiz.
Quietly, while the United States focused on its national election, a set of federal clean-energy incentives phased out at the end of 2016. Now that they have vanished, states may seek to create replacements to keep these markets alive and help them grow.
For example, New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) is strategically replacing the missing incentives for renewable heating and cooling.
By Kat Friedrich, GreenBiz.
Quietly, while the United States focused on its national election, a set of federal clean-energy incentives phased out at the end of 2016. Now that they have vanished, states may seek to create replacements to keep these markets alive and help them grow.
For example, New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) is strategically replacing the missing incentives for renewable heating and cooling.
The decision to sunset the incentives was made long before the election. According to the United States Department of Energy, corporate tax credits for combined heat and powersystems, geothermal heat pumps, microturbine technology, hybrid solar lighting, small windinstallations and fuel cells all expired at the end of the year. For the residential market, credits for fuel cells, geothermal power and small wind installations ended at the same time.
The incentives were not necessarily timed to end when the markets matured. The current regional competitiveness of these technologies varies based on many factors.
Because the ground source heat pump market still requires upfront financing to thrive in New York, NYSERDA plans to allocate $15 million to support it over a two-year period. The individual incentives are $1,500 per ton for residences and $1,200 per ton for commercial or industrial buildings.
Icahn dismisses conflict of interest concerns as 'absurd'
By Matt Egan, NBC2 News.
NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Carl Icahn says it's "absurd" that Elizabeth Warren and other Democrats are claiming his new role as President Trump's regulation-buster creates a serious conflict of interest risk.
"I think that's completely ridiculous. I don't talk to Donald that often," Icahn told CNNMoney in a phone interview on Tuesday.
By Matt Egan, NBC2 News.
NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Carl Icahn says it's "absurd" that Elizabeth Warren and other Democrats are claiming his new role as President Trump's regulation-buster creates a serious conflict of interest risk.
"I think that's completely ridiculous. I don't talk to Donald that often," Icahn told CNNMoney in a phone interview on Tuesday.
The billionaire investor said his financial interests -- such as a major stake in an oil refiner subject to EPA regulation -- shouldn't prevent him from advising Trump.
"Would you say that Jamie Dimon, who knows banking, shouldn't talk to him because he also owns bank stocks? It's absurd to say that," Icahn said, referring to the JPMorgan Chase CEO.
Others don't agree. A watchdog group filed a complaint on Wednesday alleging that Icahn broke lobbying rules by using his new role to push the White House to change the EPA regulations that are hurting oil refiner CVR Energy.
Icahn was one of Trump's earliest supporters on Wall Street and after the election the new president tapped him to help get rid of "strangling regulations" that are hurting the American economy.
Watchdog presses U.S. lawmakers to probe Icahn's role with Trump
A government watchdog group, Public Citizen, said on Wednesday it has asked lawmakers to investigate whether Carl Icahn violated lobbying disclosure laws, a complaint the billionaire investor denied and called a "witch hunt."
The group said Icahn may have been acting as a lobbyist when he advised President Donald Trump to overhaul the U.S. biofuels program. Icahn, an unpaid adviser to Trump on regulation, submitted a proposal to Trump last month to change the U.S. Renewable Fuel Standard by shifting the burden of blending biofuels into gasoline away from oil refining companies, and further down the supply chain to marketers.
A government watchdog group, Public Citizen, said on Wednesday it has asked lawmakers to investigate whether Carl Icahn violated lobbying disclosure laws, a complaint the billionaire investor denied and called a "witch hunt."
The group said Icahn may have been acting as a lobbyist when he advised President Donald Trump to overhaul the U.S. biofuels program. Icahn, an unpaid adviser to Trump on regulation, submitted a proposal to Trump last month to change the U.S. Renewable Fuel Standard by shifting the burden of blending biofuels into gasoline away from oil refining companies, and further down the supply chain to marketers.
Public Citizen said that, because Icahn owns a controlling stake in a refinery that could benefit from the proposed change, he may have been required by a 1995 lobbying disclosure law to disclose his discussions with Trump on the subject as lobbying. The group said it has made its request for a probe in a letter sent to Congress on Wednesday morning.
"All of this has occurred with no record of any (Lobbying Disclosure Act) filings by or on behalf of Mr. Icahn," Public Citizen said in a copy of the letter provided to Reuters.
Icahn did not respond to Reuters requests for comment but described the complaint in an opinion piece on The Hill website as a "gross misstatement of the facts" and said he had vetted his activities with lawyers.
Committee Democrats join in pressing Trump to restore quorum at FERC
By US Senate Committee on Environment and Natural Resources.
Pairing Republican and Democratic Nominees Consistent with Commission’s Long-Standing Tradition of Bipartisanship
Washington, D.C. – Today (March 8), Ranking Member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) and 15 other Democrats wrote President Trump regarding several openings on the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) that are preventing the commission from fully functioning.
By US Senate Committee on Environment and Natural Resources.
Pairing Republican and Democratic Nominees Consistent with Commission’s Long-Standing Tradition of Bipartisanship
Washington, D.C. – Today (March 8), Ranking Member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) and 15 other Democrats wrote President Trump regarding several openings on the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) that are preventing the commission from fully functioning.
FERC has a long tradition of bipartisanship; most votes within the commission are unanimous. In 2016, less than two percent of the orders issued included a dissenting opinion. The senators said: “We hope that your nominees will be prepared to continue this tradition, and we intend to review them through that lens during the confirmation process.”
In addition to the three vacant commission seats, a fourth seat currently held by Commissioner Colette Honorable is scheduled to expire on June 30. By law, not more than three members of FERC may be members of the same political party. Historically, both Republican and Democratic presidents have nominated people recommended by the Senate leader of the party that does not hold the presidency. “We expect you will honor this long-standing practice in nominating individuals to serve on the commission,” the senators write.
FERC lost its quorum on February 3 when Commissioner Norman Bay resigned after President Trump replaced him as chair. Bay had told the president’s transition team that he would resign when the president named a new chair of the commission. A quorum of at least three commissioners is required before decisions that require a vote of the commissioners can be issued.
EPA watchdog to review emissions testing checks after VW case
By David Shepardson, Reuters.
A U.S. Environmental Protection Agency watchdog plans to review whether the agency's internal controls are effective at detecting vehicle emissions fraud, the EPA's Office of Inspector General said.
In a memo dated Monday, the inspector general said it will "begin preliminary research to determine whether the EPA’s existing internal controls are effective at detecting and preventing" light- and heavy-duty vehicle emissions fraud.
By David Shepardson, Reuters.
A U.S. Environmental Protection Agency watchdog plans to review whether the agency's internal controls are effective at detecting vehicle emissions fraud, the EPA's Office of Inspector General said.
In a memo dated Monday, the inspector general said it will "begin preliminary research to determine whether the EPA’s existing internal controls are effective at detecting and preventing" light- and heavy-duty vehicle emissions fraud.
In September 2015, the EPA said it would review all U.S. diesel vehicles following an admission from Volkswagen that it installed software in 580,000 vehicles allowing them to emit up to 40 times the legally permissible level of pollution.
That extensive review prompted a delay in certification of some new diesel models last year.
VW sold vehicles with excess emissions for more than six years without EPA detecting the illegal software. VW, which is set to plead guilty on Friday as part of a plea agreement with U.S. prosecutors, has agreed to offer to buy back about 500,000 vehicles and agreed to spend up to $25 billion in the United States to address claims from owners, environmental regulators, states and dealers.
US cities plan to move forward on battling climate change, no matter what Trump does
By Brooks Rainwater, Contributor, Business Insider.
Cities are centers for environmental leadership. Mayors throughout the country, regardless of party, champion climate mitigation solutions. We all need clean air and clean water, and it is not just a local problem, but one that is reliant on leadership at all levels.
As the nation recently tuned in for the President’s address to a joint session of Congress, city leaders looked for leadership on critical issues facing their communities.
By Brooks Rainwater, Contributor, Business Insider.
Cities are centers for environmental leadership. Mayors throughout the country, regardless of party, champion climate mitigation solutions. We all need clean air and clean water, and it is not just a local problem, but one that is reliant on leadership at all levels.
As the nation recently tuned in for the President’s address to a joint session of Congress, city leaders looked for leadership on critical issues facing their communities.
Instead of providing specific solutions, President Trump singled out great American cities — including Detroit, Baltimore and Chicago — to illustrate his views on public safety and economic opportunity. What we didn’t hear, however, was how those issues coincide directly with the continued need for resilient, energy efficient, and innovative communities.
As drastic shifts in climate continue to arise at an alarming rate around the globe, we can't pretend that this is a time where binary choices are still on the table. Ice sheets are shrinking, oceans are warming, and we have seen 15 of the 16 warmest years on record happening since 2001. It is imperative to do all we can to support — not degrade – the necessary global effort to alleviate challenges brought on by these changes.
However, there have been multiple reports that appear to point us in the wrong direction, including reports that speculate on cuts to the Department of Energy (DOE), the Environmental Protection Agency(EPA), and even pulling the United States out of the Paris Climate Agreement . While the new administration has not firmly stated its views on the future of these critical departments and whether it will ultimately invalidate the climate agreement, these moves would lead to a perilous future.
House GOP Targets Purported EPA Use of 'Secret Science'
By Timothy Cama, The Hill.
House Science Committee Chairman Lamar Smith (R-Texas) is once again going after what he see as the use of "secret science" in Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rulemaking.
Smith introduced the Honest and Open New EPA Science Treatment Act (HONEST Act) Monday, the latest iteration of his proposal to reform how the EPA uses science.
Xebec Receives Multiple Hydrogen and Renewable Natural Gas Purification Orders Worth CDN 2.6 Million
Via SAT PR News.
MONTREAL, (QC) / TheNewswire / March 6, 2017 – Xebec Adsorption Inc. (TSXV: XBC) („Xebec”), a global provider of gas generation, purification and filtration solutions for the industrial, energy and renewables marketplace, announced today that it has received orders for CDN 2.6 million for multiple purification systems. Orders originate from Taiwan, France and Canada, all to be delivered in 2017.
Grant for Biogas Feasibility Study Awarded to DeKalb
By The Brookhaven Post.
DeKalb County, GA, March 6, 2017 – The Post Reports – The DeKalb County Department of Watershed Management (DWM), CEO Michael Thurmond and Commissioners accepted a $25,000 grant from Georgia Environmental Finance Authority (GEFA) during their February 28th meeting. The award will fund a biogas generator feasibility study at the Pole Bridge Wastewater Treatment Plant, according to a County release.
Some Foresee a Coming Clean-Air War Between Trump and California
By Robinson Meyer, The Atlantic.
In the weeks after the election of Donald Trump, friends and journalists called Deborah Sivas with roughly the same question: How bad could things get?
Sivas is a professor of environmental law at Stanford University, and she has decades of experience working as a litigator for environmental-rights groups. She knows how hostile new presidents can overturn green protections and she knows how lawsuits from friendly states and nonprofits can shore up those rules.
So when reporters asked about the fate of signature Obama-era issues—the Clean Power Plan, the Paris Agreement, the Dakota Access pipeline—she replied that they should focus on an issue with less name recognition. It seemed likely, she said, that the Trump administration and its allies in the car industry would attack California’s ability to regulate greenhouse-gas pollution from car tailpipes.
By Robinson Meyer, The Atlantic.
In the weeks after the election of Donald Trump, friends and journalists called Deborah Sivas with roughly the same question: How bad could things get?
Sivas is a professor of environmental law at Stanford University, and she has decades of experience working as a litigator for environmental-rights groups. She knows how hostile new presidents can overturn green protections and she knows how lawsuits from friendly states and nonprofits can shore up those rules.
So when reporters asked about the fate of signature Obama-era issues—the Clean Power Plan, the Paris Agreement, the Dakota Access pipeline—she replied that they should focus on an issue with less name recognition. It seemed likely, she said, that the Trump administration and its allies in the car industry would attack California’s ability to regulate greenhouse-gas pollution from car tailpipes.
This may sound niche. But if Trump revoked the special federal waiver that gives California this power, it could hinder the ability of the United States to address climate change for decades to come, she said.
It now appears that her instincts were correct. On Saturday, The New York Timesreported that Scott Pruitt, the new administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, was exploring how to withdraw this waiver from California. The announcement could come later this week, when the Trump administration begins to roll back nationwide regulations on pollution from car tailpipes.
“We hear a lot about Paris and the Clean Power Plan, but this [waiver] is a big part of it too,” Sivas told me. “These were the years—2017 and going forward—when the curve was supposed to bend a lot on car emissions.”
The probable withdrawal has so far avoided attracting significant activist attention, perhaps because the idea of the waiver is difficult to explain or because at first glance it appears to be a local issue affecting only Californians.
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