Public must come first at Florida PSC

E. L. Jacobs, Jr.

As a former chair of the Florida Public Service Commission, I am concerned that recent actions in Tallahassee to dismantle the PSC send the message that the views of the working and bill-paying public count for nothing. Those actions show contempt for balancing the interests of ratepayers with politics.
What other meaning could [...]

An oil spill but no energy bill: where do we go from here?

To many people, it seemed inevitable that 2010 would be The Year we passed The Climate & Energy Bill to overhaul the way we make and consume energy in this country.  The stage was set in 2008 when Democrats gained control of both the Congress and the White House and pledged to reduce carbon pollution.  [...]

Two new Tennessee programs set to help residents and businesses save energy and reduce costs

The State of Tennessee announced two separate energy efficiency programs this week: one to assist residents in the purchase of energy efficient heating and cooling equipment, and the other to provide low interest financing to Tennessee businesses for energy efficiency and renewable energy retrofits.
On Monday, the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development (ECD) announced [...]

New Tax Credit for CHP in North Carolina

On August 2nd, North Carolina Governor Beverly Perdue signed into law HB 1829, an expanded Combined Heat and Power (CHP) and renewable energy tax credit.  For the first time, investments in CHP systems are now eligible for North Carolina’s 35% renewable energy tax credit. This new incentive sponsored by Representative Paul Luebke and supported by [...]

Dysfunctional politics continues to stall confirmation of TVA Board nominees

Nearly a year after President Obama nominated four people to fill vacant seats on TVA’s Board of Directors, and 6 months after the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works unanimously approved the nominations, it seems backdoor politics and partisan bickering are keeping the Board nominees from final confirmation by the Senate.
We see no reason [...]

Bloated costs for Florida IOU energy efficiency programs

Two weeks ago, SACE provided detailed analysis and findings based on evaluation of proposed energy efficiency programs filed by Florida power utilities. Over the past couple of days, one of those utilities responded.
Progress Energy Florida feels that our comments “should not be considered ” by the Florida Public Service Commission (PSC).  Progress Energy also says [...]

Too little, too late? Congress may fail to move from oil spill to a robust energy bill

After decades of scientific data gathering, years of growing public and business support and more than three months of an unmitigated environmental catastrophe, it is reasonable to expect that citizens and leaders would all support a paradigm shift in U.S. energy policy.
In fact, even before BP’s Gulf oil disaster began, President Obama and Congress promised [...]

Realizing Success with Efficiency in Georgia

This blogpost was co-authored by Marcus Strong, energy policy intern for SACE in the summer of 2010.
Often in politics, we don’t immediately see the effects of actions, whether it’s a decision maker’s vote on a piece of legislation, a court overturning a case, or a constituent writing to Congress urging a stand [...]

Join Hands Across the Sand this Saturday

On summer weekends visitors and residents alike head to beaches across our region to surf, fish, swim and play. One hard reality of the still-ongoing Gulf oil disaster is that at least 100 miles of Gulf coastline cannot welcome people or animals due to the oil and tar balls that continue to wash up [...]

Beyond Petroleum - How communities and decision makers are responding to the Gulf oil disaster

Although the oil continues to gush and new photographs of oil-soaked birds and wetlands are circulated daily, some residents and leaders in the Gulf region are looking beyond the current petroleum disaster to seek needed long-term solutions.
Tonight hundreds of people (organizers report upwards of 500 RSVP’s as of this morning) will gather in St. Petersburg [...]