[Source: Los Angeles Times] All of California’s electricity will come from clean power sources by 2045 under legislation signed by Gov. Jerry Brown on Monday, the latest in a series of ambitious goals set by the state to combat the effects of climate change. Brown hailed the move as another example of the state’s global Read More…
Tag: clean power
New EPA chief makes clear: the easing of environmental rules will continue
[Source: Inside Climate News] Former energy lobbyist Andrew Wheeler said he will continue the deregulatory course set by Scott Pruitt, without the scandals that plagued his predecessor. In his first Congressional testimony since taking over the Environmental Protection Agency’s leadership in July, Andrew Wheeler tried to reassure lawmakers that the scandal-scarred agency will get a fresh Read More…
California revives 100-percent carbon-free energy bill
[Source: Associated Press] California lawmakers on Tuesday revived a long-stalled proposal to set a goal of generating 100 percent of the state’s energy from carbon-free sources. With other controversial and high-stakes energy legislation also moving forward, California lawmakers face an array of decisions with vast implications for the Western energy grid, the future of renewable Read More…
Green jobs still a small fraction of the California economy
[Source: California Center for Jobs and the Economy] As part of its ongoing research and analysis of trends and policies affecting the California economy, the California Center for Jobs and the Economy issued a new report today assessing the extent to which the state has transitioned to a Green Economy and concluding that green job Read More…
Proposed California solar mandate could add $10,500 to cost of a house
[Source: San Francisco Chronicle] California may soon become the first state in the nation to require that virtually every new home be equipped with solar panels. The California Energy Commission on Wednesday is expected to mandate solar arrays on almost all new single-family houses built after Jan. 1, 2020, as part of the state’s fight Read More…
Stunning drops in solar, wind costs mean economic case for coal, gas is ‘crumbling’
[Source: Think Progress] Prices for solar, wind, and battery storage are dropping so rapidly that renewables are increasingly squeezing out all forms of fossil fuel power, including natural gas. The cost of new solar plants dropped 20 percent over the past 12 months, while onshore wind prices dropped 12 percent, according to the latest Bloomberg Read More…
Paramount refinery sold as part of $72 million deal
[Source: Los Angeles Business Journal] A renewable diesel and jet fuel refinery in Paramount has been sold to Boston-based biofuel producer World Energy as part of a deal reportedly worth $72 million. The Paramount refinery was the core asset of renewable jet and diesel producer AltAir Paramount LLC, which also owned an adjacent tank farm. Read More…
NRG subsidiary to close three power plants in Southern California
[Source: Los Angeles Times] In another sign of the state’s power glut, three Southern California gas-fired power plants owned by a subsidiary of energy firm NRG Energy Inc. will close over the next few months. The NRG Etiwanda Generating Station in Rancho Cucamonga, which began operations in 1962, will be retired as of June 1. Read More…
Expect environmental battles to be ‘even more significant’ in 2018
[Source: The New York Times] If 2017 was the Trump administration’s year of grand pronouncements declaring an end to environmental regulations, 2018 will be the year of trying to finish what it started. Despite President Trump’s proclamation in the Rose Garden that the United States will withdraw from the Paris climate agreement, the United States Read More…