In the news today…
Coal:
- Bloomberg reports a 17-megawatt generator, built for $245 million, is set to open in April at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, just 100 miles from the state’s only coal mine. This is the first coal-fired plant to open in the U.S. since 2015.
- Politico Pro and E&E Energywire report President Trump wants to bail out a coal plant in Kentucky that is supplied by one of his top supporters, Bob Murray. The Tennessee Valley Authority says the plant is unnecessary and would be too expensive to keep around, but Trump wants the federally owned utility to change its mind before a key board vote this week.
- Power Engineering reports residents in western Kentucky want to keep the last coal-fired power plant situated at a Tennessee Valley Authority generation station. Hundreds rallied over the weekend to try and save the coal-fired unit at the Paradise Fossil Plant, according to several news reports.
- E&E Daily reports House Democrats yesterday demanded the DOI prove why it canceled a survey of studies linking mountaintop-removal coal mining to illness and disease — the latest in a series of document demands associated with controversies pre-dating Democratic control of the House.
TSCA:
- Inside EPA reports at least 22 states are ramping up efforts to approve chemicals management legislation despite the sweeping overhaul of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) that some proponents hoped would end a patchwork of state chemicals rules, with observers saying states are “filling in” regulatory gaps EPA cannot address under the toxics law.
Climate:
- E&E News PM reports House Democrats are renewing pressure on EPA to explain rollbacks for three major climate rules in the face of experts’ warnings of the urgent need to cut greenhouse gas emissions globally.
- E&E Energywire reports a law enacted last year that boosts federal tax credits available to companies using carbon capture and storage could lead to the removal of nearly 50 million metric tons per year of carbon dioxide from power plants by 2030, equivalent to taking about 7 million cars off the road, according to a new analysis.
- Axios reports one of the biggest concerns about the use of technology to capture carbon dioxide emissions is that it would displace renewable energy and deepen dependence on fossil fuels, but a new report out today suggests that’s largely unlikely to happen.
Natural Resources:
- E&E Daily reports a broad public lands package that includes provisions from nearly every senator advanced in the upper chamber last night, with a final passage vote expected today.
Energy:
- Politico Pro reports regulators are in town for the annual winter meeting of the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners, where officials from EPA, FERC and the DOE will address the audience on issues related to the regulation of utilities across the U.S.
- Los Angeles Times reports Los Angeles is abandoning a plan to spend billions of dollars rebuilding three natural gas power plants along the coast, Mayor Eric Garcetti said Monday, in a move to get the city closer to its goal of 100% renewable energy. With coal, now nearly removed from the city’s energy mix, it’s time to start planning for a future with zero planet-warming energy sources, Garcetti said — and that means no natural gas.