Eastern States Resist Paying for Delivery of Midwest Wind Power

jbailey — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 12:43:29 -0600

A coalition of utilities have announced their opposition to a series of 765-kilovolt transmission lines, more than double the capacity of the current 345-kilovolt lines. The lines are proposed as a way to send electricity from the Dakotas, Iowa and Minnesota to Chicago and points east. "If Iowa wants to build a transmission line for their energy, we have no objection. But Iowa or the Midwest should pay for it," said Ian Bowles, secretary of energy and environmental affairs in Massachusetts. New England states want to produce their own wind energy from offshore farms.

New Wind Data Finds a Windier, More Self-Reliant Midwest

jfarrell — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 07:48:25 -0600

Five Midwest states (Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan and Ohio) could get nearly all their electricity from wind, according to updated maps from the Institute for Local Self-Reliance (ILSR). New data from Wind Powering America mean that 32 states could get all of their electricity from in-state resources, even more than initially revealed in ILSR's ground-breaking report last fall, Energy Self-Reliant States. The revised estimates come from the National Renewable Energy Lab's Wind Powering America project and are the first nationwide update since the early 1990s.

John Farrell Explains the Benefits of Decentralized Energy on KBOO

admin — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 11:36:07 -0600

The Obama administration's energy policy jumps the shark: why nuclear is a bad deal and carbon-captured coal is anything but clean. Senior Research John Farrell discusses this and the smarter strategy of a decentralized renewable energy future with KBOO host Bill Resnick.

The rules we make now will decide our energy future. Listen to the interview here.

Britain Moves Feed-in Tariffs to a Whole New Level

admin — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 13:16:23 -0600

In a truly groundbreaking move for the English-speaking world, Britain's Department of Energy & Climate Change (DECC) has released a full suite of renewable energy tariffs that go into effect in April. Britain will become the first country in the world to offer a comprehensive system of tariffs for renewable heat, including tariffs for solar domestic hot water and ground-source heat pumps among others.

Instead of Cap and Trade, Cap and Dividend

dmorris — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 10:56:50 -0600

A new and vastly improved climate change policy has come out of nowhere to capture the imagination of state and national policymakers: "Cap and dividend." It works like this: Step one, impose a carbon cap. Step two, auction off all carbon allowances. Step three, return most of (if not all) the revenues generated to all households on a per capita basis.

Supreme Court Removes Clean Energy Policy Detour

jfarrell — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 09:46:47 -0600

In a largely unheralded move last week, the Supreme Court removed an unnecessary and unpopular detour from the road to a clean energy economy, preserving the right of states to refuse new high voltage transmission lines. At issue was the right of the federal government to override a state’s veto of a new transmission line. Electric utilities had appealed the Piedmont Environmental Council’s victory in a lower court decision, but the high court’s refusal to review means that states will retain the authority to refuse new high voltage transmission lines.

A New Outside-the-Beltway Climate Bill Deserves Support; Why Won't Enviros Get Behind It?

dmorris — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 14:51:34 -0600

Cap and Trade is one approach for limiting our global warming pollution but there is a different climate change proposal in Congress called the CLEAR Act. It's simple, deserves to be looked at closely and looks to be the start of a winning alternative to the complicated system of cap and trade.

On Energy Questions, State's Leaders Should Listen Better

dmorris — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 09:28:46 -0600

How many times do the people have to be proven right before their political leaders listen to them? The recent cancellation of Big Stone II by its investors brings that question to mind.

Back in 2006, seven Minnesota utilities asked the South Dakota Public Utilities Commission for permission to build a large coal fired power plant in that state. At the same time they asked the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission for permission to build a high voltage transmission line to bring that plant's electricity into Minnesota, where more than half of its output would be consumed.

President’s Smart Grid Grants are not a Transmission Superhighway, Thankfully

jfarrell — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 14:59:33 -0500

There’s good news and bad news in President Obama’s announcement Wednesday of 100 grants totaling $3.4 billion to build a smarter electric grid. The good news is the grants. The bad news is that President Obama continues to conflate the need for a smart grid with the need for a new national high voltage grid.

A little heresy on transmission

jfarrell — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 20:15:55 -0500

The last thing renewable energy needs right now are new transmission lines.

This statement is heresy in the green community, but there’s a danger that the increasing focus of green energy advocates on a new nationwide transmission superhighway may undermine the pursuit of near-term renewable energy goals.