Charlie Coggeshall, SACE Renewable Energy Manager, also contributed to this post. Last month the Tennessee Valley Authority proudly announced what they considered to be good news: That their 2013 Green Power Provider (GPP) program had already met its 2013 solar application target as of April 24th. Even though there is still a strong demand for [...]
Recently I presented at the 15th annual Alabama Water Rally, which is the yearly meeting of the Alabama Rivers Alliance. The presentation focused on the report, Freshwater Use by U.S. Power Plants, a product of the Energy and Water in a Warming World (EW3) Initiative, which details the vast amounts of water required for thermo-electric power [...]
Last week I had the privilege of accompanying experts from the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) on a three-day tour of Georgia and Alabama to highlight coal plants that should be considered for retirement. UCS is a national, science-based non-profit that advocates for policy decisions that are based on credible research. UCS’s report, Ripe for [...]
A new report from the Arise Citizens’ Policy Project released March 1, “Public Utility Regulation Without the Public: The Alabama Public Service Commission and Alabama Power” [PDF] details ways Alabama’s utility regulatory system leaves customers paying some of the highest bills in the country and Alabama Power profiting far more than other utilities nationwide. According [...]
There’s nothing like a heaping serving of data to really drive a point home – and that’s exactly what the Environmental Protection Agency does with its most recent report of plant-by-plant emissions data. EPA’s 2011 Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program report is loaded with emissions data from 1,594 fossil fuel plants across the nation. The resoundingly [...]
‘Squirreling’ is banned at the World Schools Debating Championships. What, you don’t know what squirreling is? Or what it has to do with energy efficiency? Well, today is your lucky day! According to those who set the rules for debate competitions, squirreling is the unreasonable redefinition of a term in debate in favor of the team [...]
This blog by Waterkeeper Alliance and Tennessee Riverkeeper originally appeared on EcoWatch’s website. Click here to view the EcoWatch blog. Citing ongoing coal waste contamination at Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA)’s Colbert Fossil Plant, conservation groups have charged that the facility is violating the Clean Water Act and that failure to address these violations will result in a lawsuit. As outlined [...]
Slow and steady wins the race, they say. Though Alabama was off to a better start, it’s beginning to look like the state of Mississippi is going to surpass Alabama in their support for energy efficiency in the near future! As I wrote about 18 months ago, Mississippi Public Service Commission (PSC) released proposed energy [...]
Onshore wind power can work and be profitable in Alabama. That’s according to Pioneer Green Energy, the experienced wind energy developer behind the Shinbone Wind Energy Center proposed near Gadsden, in northeastern Alabama. The project will sell 18.4 MW of electric capacity to the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), roughly equivalent to 2/3 of the total electricity used by homes in the county where the project is located.
Those fighting for the mountains and those who make the mountains their home have won a crucial victory. On Thursday, November 15, 2012, Patriot Coal became the first U.S. operator to stop large-scale mountaintop removal (MTR) coal mining. Patriot Coal is known for destructive large-scale mining projects in Central Appalachia, an area of the country [...]
