The White House plans to propose cutting energy efficiency and renewable energy programs at the Department of Energy by 72%, pitting fossil fuels against wind and solar. Businesses are expected to weigh in.
Ken Silverstein
EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt told lawmakers on Tuesday that he favored a national fuel standard, putting in jeopardy the potentially stricter standards to be applied in California and Massachusetts and calling into question his earlier commitment to federalism and state rights.
As part of the Trump administration’s to peel back environmental regulations that it has deemed overly burdensome, it is now going after the “once in, always in” policy that is part of the Clean Air Act and that deals with mercury, arsenic and lead.
On site generation, microgrids and energy storage devices are making their way into the mainstream, allowing companies to not just avoid a loss of power but also improved environmental results.
More and more companies are implementing cloud-based solutions along with green energy programs to reach their environmental goals. What exactly are some doing?
The US Chamber of Commerice is advocating a 25-cent per gallon raise in the gas tax to fund infrastructure projects. That would be on top of the current 18.4 cents per gallon tax now for gasoline and the 24.4 cents per gallon tax for diesel fuel — something that would raise $375 billion over 10 years, it said.
New York City is suing BP, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, Exxon Mobil and Royal Dutch Shell, saying that each has contributed to global warming and has cost the city billions of dollars as it has tried to mitigate the harm done from such things as deviant weather patterns. The oil giants, though, are firing back, noting that they are on board with efforts to reduce heat-trapping emissions.
Federal energy regulators rejected a Trump administration plan to increase grid resiliency and reliability for corporations by subsidizing older coal and nuclear plants, saying it would deter investments in grid modernization.
Price has always been considered the primary obstacle to building out energy storage systems — until now. Xcel Energy said that it has received hundreds of bids to help it integrate energy storage into its wind and solar energy networks, which are making such systems ever-more competitive.
The Trump administration has now given formal notice that it will repeal an Obama-era rule that has strict standards for hydraulic fracking on public lands — all part of what the president says is his ongoing effort to rollback regulations and to encourage domestic energy production that will reduce cost for US manufacturers.
Eight states in the Northeast are suing the Environmental Protection Agency, alleging that it is failing to fulfill its legal obligations to protect them from ozone pollution emanating elsewhere in the country.
After coming under sharp criticism for attempting to ease the rules to protect coal miners from black lung disease, the Trump administration is now asking for public comment on the issue. The issue pits worker safety concerns against coal company desires, and profits.
