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Stay up to date with the latest stories, insights, and announcements.Top Economists say a Carbon Price Above $40 is Needed to Meet Paris Climate Goal
By Inside Climate News.
The fossil fuels that President Donald Trump so brashly promotes may seem like cheap energy sources, but they carry hidden costs that all of society is paying for—from damage caused by extreme weather and rising sea levels to the impacts of severe droughts on food and water security.
As Trump was preparing to pull the United States out of its international climate commitments, some of the world's leading economists issued a report that puts a figure to the price on carbon needed to reduce emissions to rein in climate change and compensate for those external costs. It's significantly higher than what most major economies have in place today.
By Inside Climate News.
The fossil fuels that President Donald Trump so brashly promotes may seem like cheap energy sources, but they carry hidden costs that all of society is paying for—from damage caused by extreme weather and rising sea levels to the impacts of severe droughts on food and water security.
As Trump was preparing to pull the United States out of its international climate commitments, some of the world's leading economists issued a report that puts a figure to the price on carbon needed to reduce emissions to rein in climate change and compensate for those external costs. It's significantly higher than what most major economies have in place today.
The authors, led by former World Bank Chief Economists Nicholas Stern and Joseph Stiglitz, say carbon dioxide emissions will need to be priced at $40 to $80 per ton by 2020 to be high enough to change behaviors and shift investments away from high-emissions fossil fuels and toward cleaner energy. That rises to $50 to $100 per ton by 2030.
Even then, the report says, governments may need to pair a carbon price with other policies, such as efficiency standards, to lower emissions fast enough to keep global temperature rise well below 2 degrees Celsius, the goal of the Paris climate agreement.
"While the design of these packages will vary, based on national and local circumstances," the economists argue, "a well-designed carbon-pricing system is an indispensable part of a strategy for reducing emissions in an efficient way."
U.S. Senate Leaders hope to revive energy bill from previous session
By The National Law Review.
Revival of the Comprehensive Energy Bill
Last week, by unanimous consent, the House Energy and Commerce Committee advanced 11 bills governing energy infrastructure and efficiency. The bills address a range of issues including: skill preparation for energy-related jobs; improvement to hydroelectric licensing; retrofits for schools; increasing energy and water efficiency for federal facilities and amending monetary thresholds for mergers of FERC-regulated facilities. Several of the issue areas that these bills address were included in the larger comprehensive energy bill that Congress had tried but failed to pass last session.
Argus: Senators Continue Push for Icahn Documents
Houston, 8 June (Argus) — US senators this week pressed the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for communications between the regulator and presidential adviser Carl Icahn, the latest development in months of questions about the investor's role shaping policy that affects his businesses.
Five Democratic senators requested the EPA provide them all communications between regulatory officials in the agency and Icahn or individuals working on the behalf of Icahn or CVR Energy, a US independent refiner of which the New York investor owns at least 80pc.
Kings County, CA: Hanford forum will discuss dairy biogas plan
By John Lindt, The Sentinal.
California Division of Food & Agriculture will soon award between $29 million and $36 million for the installation of dairy digesters in California, which, they say, will reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Existing milk producers and dairy digester developers can apply for funding of up to $3 million per project for anaerobic digestion projects that provide quantifiable greenhouse gas reductions. The program requires a minimum of 50 percent of total project cost as matching funds.
By John Lindt, The Sentinal.
California Division of Food & Agriculture will soon award between $29 million and $36 million for the installation of dairy digesters in California, which, they say, will reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Existing milk producers and dairy digester developers can apply for funding of up to $3 million per project for anaerobic digestion projects that provide quantifiable greenhouse gas reductions. The program requires a minimum of 50 percent of total project cost as matching funds.
One developer, Maas Energy Works, is holding a community meeting June 8 to discuss a Kings County project that could pipe biogas from five to six dairies to a central digester – then be injected in the SoCal gas pipeline as renewable natural gas. The meeting will happen tonight at 6 p.m. at the Comfort Inn Sierra Room in Hanford. Founder Daryl Mass expects to lay out a plan to be done in phases, starting with two local dairies he would help build a digester at their ranches if their projects are funded through CDFA. Applications and all supporting information must be submitted by June 28. Awards will likely be announced by September and Maas expects some projects could be online by the end of the year.
Trump Administration's Clean Power Plan replacement being reviewed at OMB
By Robert Walton, Utility Dive.
Dive Brief:
- President's Trump's replacement for the Clean Power Plan is now being reviewed by the Office of Management and Budget, a necessary step before it can be released for public comment.
- The Hill reports the form of Trump's plan remains unknown, but it is expected to include a complete rollback of the Obama-era power plant rules.
- OMB typically takes about two months to review a rule, but can take additional time.
EIA updates short-term bioenergy forecasts
By Erin Voegele, Biomass Magazine.
The U.S. Energy Infrastructure Administration has released the June edition of Short-Term Energy Outlook, predicting nonhydropower renewables will provide 9 percent of U.S. electricity generation in 2017, increasing to nearly 10 percent in 2018.
Wood biomass is expected to be used to generate 112,000 MWh per day this year, falling to 111,000 MWh per day next year. Waste biomass is currently expected to be used to generate 59,000 MWh per day in 2017, increasing to 60,000 MWh per day in 2018.
Xergi to supply Arla with biogas plant
By Jim Cornall+, Dairy Reporter.com, 07-Jun-2017
Xergi is to deliver its largest biogas plant to date, which will supply Danish dairy company Arla Foods with green energy for the production of milk powder in Videbæk, in western Denmark.
Obama air pollution rule put on hold for another year by U.S. EPA
By Timothy Cama, The Hill.
The EPA announced the delay in the ozone pollution rule enforcement late Tuesday, saying that EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt had notified state governors.
Under the new schedule, the EPA will make final decisions on which areas are out of compliance with the ozone rule by October 2018.
By Timothy Cama, The Hill.
The EPA announced the delay in the ozone pollution rule enforcement late Tuesday, saying that EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt had notified state governors.
Under the new schedule, the EPA will make final decisions on which areas are out of compliance with the ozone rule by October 2018.
Determinations on so-called nonattainment areas were going to be proposed this month and finalized this October under the original plan.
The letters to governors did not specify if other deadlines in the rule — including when states must submit plans to reduce ozone levels in areas that need reductions — would also be delayed.
“States have made tremendous progress and significant investment cleaning up the air. We will continue to work with states to ensure they are on a path to compliance,” Pruitt said in a statement.
“We are committed to working with states and local officials to effectively implement the ozone standard in a manner that is supportive of air quality improvement efforts without interfering with local decisions or impeding economic growth,” he said.
Portland, Multnomah County set 100% renewable energy goal
By Ted Sickinger, The Oregonian / OregonLive.
On the day the Trump administration withdrew from the Paris climate agreement, the City of Portland and Multnomah County committed to a goal of meeting 100 percent of community energy needs with renewable power by 2050.
That's everybody in the county. All of their electricity from renewables by 2035. And all their energy, including transportation, industry and natural gas use, with renewables by 2050.
By Ted Sickinger, The Oregonian / OregonLive.
On the day the Trump administration withdrew from the Paris climate agreement, the City of Portland and Multnomah County committed to a goal of meeting 100 percent of community energy needs with renewable power by 2050.
That's everybody in the county. All of their electricity from renewables by 2035. And all their energy, including transportation, industry and natural gas use, with renewables by 2050.
It was a historic occasion, and save the absence of City Commissioner Amanda Fritz, both the Portland City Council and Multnomah County Commissioners voted unanimously for the audacious, some would say impossible, goals.
Mayor Ted Wheeler called it "one of the longest resolutions ever adopted in the history of the city, but I think it is worthy of that title." Indeed, the city version included a veritable Christmas tree of commitments for more energy efficiency, demand control, community-based renewable energy, job training, transit expansion, electric buses, minority- and women-owned business participation, and climate justice measures such as rate protections, low transit fares and job training for low-income residents that could be disproportionately affected by climate change and the transition to clean power.
New study indicates that cold anaerobic digestion is viable
By Bioenergy Insight.
A new study has demonstrated the viability of using anaerobic digestion in a low-temperature (20°C) environment to convert solid food waste into renewable energy and organic fertiliser.
Researchers from Concordia’s Department of Building, Civil and Environmental Engineering (BCEE) in collaboration with Bio-Terre Systems Inc. have been using ‘cold-loving’ psychrophilic bacteria to break down food waste in a specially designed bioreactor. The outcome was the production of a specific methane yield comparable to that of more energy-intensive anaerobic digestion processes.
By Bioenergy Insight.
A new study has demonstrated the viability of using anaerobic digestion in a low-temperature (20°C) environment to convert solid food waste into renewable energy and organic fertiliser.
Researchers from Concordia’s Department of Building, Civil and Environmental Engineering (BCEE) in collaboration with Bio-Terre Systems Inc. have been using ‘cold-loving’ psychrophilic bacteria to break down food waste in a specially designed bioreactor. The outcome was the production of a specific methane yield comparable to that of more energy-intensive anaerobic digestion processes.
The study, written by Rajinikanth Rajagopal, David Bellavance and Mohammad Saifur Rahaman, is published in the journal Process Safety and Environmental Protection.
"There is enormous potential here to reduce the amount of fuel that we use for solid waste treatment," Rahaman explained in a statement from Concordia University.
"Managing and treating food waste is a global challenge, particularly for cold countries like Canada where the temperature often falls below -20°C and energy demands related to heating are high."
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