John D. Wilson co-wrote this blog.
What’s the future for energy in the Tarheel state? This week, the North Carolina Utilities Commission (NCUC) considered the energy plans of Duke Energy, Progress Energy and Dominion Power. Each year, North Carolina utilities are required to update their 15-year plan. An Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) explains how each utility [...]
Last week in Atlanta, the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA) held their annual meeting, which brought together leaders from over 900 Electric Membership Cooperatives (EMCs) across the country. The annual meeting provides an opportunity for EMC leaders to discuss issues facing their cooperatives and strategies to ensure the long term stability of individual EMCs. [...]
On February 1, 2010 President Obama had his first exclusive interview with the YouTube community after his State of the Union Address. Over 11,000 questions were submitted and only 0.2% were selected. A video question from the Southern Energy Network was chosen that challenged President Obama’s controversial pledge to provide tens of billions of dollars [...]
In recent months, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has taken great strides to improve air quality and protect the environment by proposing stricter standards for ozone and sulfur dioxide, and begin regulation of coal ash waste and greenhouse gases. If these standards and regulations are implemented, they could inhibit the development of new coal-fired power [...]
Industry lobbyists are working hard to influence the EPA’s decision on whether to classify coal ash as a hazardous substance. According to a recent reports by the Wall Street Journal and New York Times, White House officials have held nearly twenty meetings with industry groups since last October to discuss the possible implications of classifying [...]
Update on January 20, 200: Washington Post editorial on Murkowski’s intentions with EPA and the Clean Air Act.
If you are too young to remember polluted waterways that caught on fire or cities as ‘dark as night by 11am‘ due to poor air quality, then you came of age as our water and air were protected [...]
How long will it take before the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) lives up to its responsibility to protect human health and the environment? With respect to coal combustion waste, apparently a little longer. The EPA’s December 17th announcement that it will delay a proposal for regulating coal combustion waste (CCW) is another disappointing turn in [...]
Another New Coal Plant Proposed in South Georgia by Power4Georgians
Power4Georgians is at it again. Just recently, citizens in Ben Hill County started hearing rumors that Power4Georgians, a consortium made up of Snapping Shoals EMC, Central GA EMC, Washington County EMC, Upson EMC, and Cobb EMC is looking to develop another 850 MW coal-fired power plant [...]
Recently in the Southeast we’ve had some exciting announcements about utility plans to begin retiring and repowering some of their oldest and dirtiest coal plants. By our estimate, eleven retirements are in the works representing over 25 million tons of annual carbon dioxide emissions. As the proverbial ‘writing on the wall’ gets clearer that global [...]
Both open-burning and rotting are worst-case scenarios for the climate.
