Category:

For U.S. power firms, EPA ruling barely a bump on road to natgas

For big U.S. power companies like FirstEnergy Corp, the Supreme Court’s decision knocking back landmark rules reducing air pollutants from coal-fired plants has arrived too late for them to turn away from a natural gas-fueled future. Big coal-fired generators said on Monday that they would press ahead with facility upgrades and plant closures even after the court invalidated one of President Barack Obama’s major environmental initiatives, which would set new limits on the amount of mercury and other hazardous pollutants. In a 5-4 decision, the court found that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) should have considered the compliance cost of the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS) rule. The EPA has estimated it would cost the power industry $9.6 billion a year to comply with the rule. While the prospect of a suspension in the rule – and increased demand for coal – cheered some investors on Monday, […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

4 more cities sign Global Clean Bus Declaration raising total to >40K ultra-low emission buses by 2020; London to trial BYD electric double-decker

« Wireless charging company Evatran gains $1.6M strategic investment from China Tier 1 supplier | Main | Tire-integrated triboelectric generator harvests electricity from rolling tire friction; est. up to +10% fuel econ » Four additional cities—Amsterdam, Lima, Catalonia (Barcelona) and Rome— signed up to the Global Clean Bus Declaration at the 1 st global Clean Bus Summit in London. The Global Clean Bus Declaration , developed by the Mayor of London Boris Johnson in partnership with the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group , launched in Buenos Aires in March 2015 with 20 original signatories. Bus manufacturers including BYD, Volvo, Wright Bus, Optare, Mercedes, Evo Bus, and Alexander Dennis attended the London summit and committed to supporting cities in delivering fleets of new ultra-low emission buses. The World Bank and Green Investment Bank have also signed up to this commitment. Cities of the Low Emission Vehicles Network collectively forged an […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Canadian oil producers back lower emissions

Canadian oil production group said it has a commitment to lowering emissions. Alberta government expected to raise carbon taxes on industry struggling to navigate weak crude oil market. Photo by Pattie Steib/Shutterstock CALGARY, Alberta, June 26 (UPI) — An industry group in the Canadian oil sands sector said it was committed to playing a greater role in the effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers said that, since 1990, the sector has spent more than $1 billion on technologies needed to produce oil with a lower environmental footprint. With climate action moving to the forefront of the global conversation, the industry group said it was prepared to do more . "We developed the technology to get the oil out of the sand – and we are just as committed to getting our carbon out of the air," CAPP President Tim McMillan said in a […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Lawmakers mull stricter air pollution control law

BEIJING, June 24 (Xinhua) — Chinese legislators are deliberating regulating emissions from boats and ships as the country clamps down on air pollution. According to a draft amendment to the Air Pollution Law, tabled to the National People’s Congress (NPC) Standing Committee for a second reading on Wednesday, ships on inland or river-to-sea waterways must use standard diesel as fuel to cut emissions. Ocean-going vessels will also be required to use fuels that conform to China’s environmental protection standards after stopping at Chinese ports, the draft read. The shipping sector accounted for around 8.4 percent of China’s sulphur dioxide emissions and 11.3 percent of nitrogen oxide emissions in 2013. The country is also home to eight of the world’s ten largest ports in terms of cargo handling capacities. According to the draft, vessels at berth should operate on land-based power provided by the ports. Ports, both new and existing, […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Obama Administration to Propose New Standards for Big Trucks

WASHINGTON—The Obama administration is set to propose Friday new standards for big trucks aimed at lowering fuel costs and cutting carbon emissions as part of President Barack Obama’s broad climate-change agenda. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Transportation Department will announce a suite of draft standards for big trucks, including garbage trucks, 18-wheelers and heavy-duty pickup trucks, according to a person familiar with the proposal. The standards will apply to big trucks built after 2018 and are a follow-up to the first-ever federal standards for big trucks that the Obama administration announced in 2011 that apply to models built between 2014 and 2018. The standards will also, for the first time ever, regulate trailers that are part of 18-wheelers and other big hauling trucks and issue tougher limits on the part of the truck hauling the trailer, called the tractor, according to multiple industry officials. The draft standards, […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Efficiency moderates effects of higher electricity prices under proposed Clean Power Plan

graph of residential electricity prices and expenditures, as explained in the article text Republished June 11, 2015, 9:30 a.m. to clarify expected electricity generation differences in certain regions. EIA’s recently released analysis of the Environmental Protection Agency’s proposed Clean Power Plan (CPP) rule finds that electricity prices are expected to rise. However, efficiency and price-induced conservation moderate the projected increase in consumer electricity bills. Implementation of the proposed rule causes electricity prices to increase compared with prices projected in Reference case (baseline) as new generating capacity is built and operated and as investments are made to improve the operating efficiency of existing electric generators. As coal-fired generators are retired, the increased use of natural gas for generation leads to higher natural gas fuel prices. Demand-side energy efficiency (EE) is another compliance option for emissions reductions under the proposed plan. Electric utilities and government programs can create incentives for consumers […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

IHS CERAWEEK: EPA’s McCarthy says Clean Power Plan will not impact reliability

Gina McCarthy, administrator of the US Environmental Protection Agency, said Thursday there is "absolutely no scenario that I will accept where [electricity] reliability comes into question" as the agency’s Clean Power Plan nears implementation. McCarthy, speaking in Houston at IHS CERAWeek, said the CPP, which calls upon the US power sector to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 30% below 2005 levels by 2030, mainly through the retirement of coal-fired power plants, should be considered a major plank in the nation’s low-carbon future. McCarthy reminded the audience the program has been under development for three years. She said that, to date, there have been 3.9 million comments on the plan filed with the agency by industry participants and individuals. McCarthy attended the CERAWeek conference last year, where she announced that the CPP was coming. At that time she said she was on a mission to listen to what the industry […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

U.S. energy-related carbon dioxide emissions increase in past two years

Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Monthly Energy Review For the second year in a row, energy-related carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions in the United States have increased. However, unlike 2013, when emissions and gross domestic product (GDP) grew at similar rates (2.5% and 2.2%, respectively), 2014’s CO2 emissions growth rate of 0.7% was much smaller than the 2014 GDP growth rate of 2.4%. Energy-related CO2 emissions are the largest component of overall U.S. greenhouse gas emissions. On March 31, 2015, the United States officially submitted its emissions-cutting target to the United Nations, committing to reducing U.S. greenhouse gas emissions 26%-28% from 2005 levels by 2025. This follows President Obama’s 2009 pledge to reduce U.S. greenhouse gas emissions to 17% below 2005 levels by 2020. As discussed in a previous article , changes in CO2 emissions reflect changes in economic and energy-related indicators. The previous two years have largely followed the […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

EPA: US greenhouse gases up 2% in 2013; increased coal consumption, cool winter

Total US greenhouse emissions were 6,673 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent in 2013, an increase of 2% (127.9 MMT CO 2 Eq.) over the prior year, according to the EPA’s newly published Inventory of US Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks: 1990–2013 . Total US emissions have increased by 5.9% from 1990 to 2013. The increase from 2012 to 2013 was due to an increase in the carbon intensity of fuels consumed to generate electricity due to an increase in coal consumption, with decreased natural gas consumption, according to the report. Additionally, relatively cool winter conditions led to an increase in fuels for the residential and commercial sectors for heating. The transportation sector was the second largest sector source, at 27%. Transportation emissions increased as a result of a small increase in vehicle miles traveled (VMT) and fuel use across on-road transportation modes. By sector, power plants were […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

India launches air quality index to give pollution information

Delhi was ranked the most polluted city on Earth in 2014 India has launched its first air quality index, to provide real time information about pollution levels. The index, announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, will initially monitor air quality in 10 cities. Last year the Environmental Preference Index ranked India 174 out of 178 countries for air quality. The rising and health-endangering pollution has been mainly blamed on a huge increase in vehicles, particularly diesel-driven cars, on Indian roads. Polluting industries, open burning of refuse and leaves, massive quantities of construction waste and substantial loss of forests have also led to high pollution levels in cities. A World Health Organization (WHO) survey last year found that 13 of the most polluted 20 cities in the world were in India. The capital, Delhi, was the most polluted city in the world , the survey said. It is a leading […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple