A 10-year solar project in California aims to 'harvest the sun'

The Valley Clean Infrastructure Plan delivers economic value to growers, 
local governments and residents. (Map by Binh Nguyen, Canary Media )

Directors of the largest agricultural water agency in the U.S. are creating a plan to save California farmland from a decades-long water crisis, reports Jeff St. John for Canary Media.

The Valley Clean Infrastructure Plan will transform 136,000 acres of farmland that's no longer irrigable into 21 gigawatts of battery-back solar power, enough to power nine million houses, St. John explains.

The planned build will be the largest project not just in California or the U.S., but in the world, said Jeff Fortune, a third-generation farmer and the board president of the Westlands Water District.

The plans were approved in December, and the project may take 10 years or more, St. John reports. 

"The way we look at it is a new crop," a fifth-generation farmer and another director of the district, Jeremy Hughes, told St. John. "We're harvesting the sun and producing electricity."

In the next 20 years, the state will require four to five times as much new clean energy as the project will provide, according to another director, Ross Franson. 

Some states offer cash incentives for energy-efficient buildings; reducing emissions is their goal

Photo by Nadine Shaabana, Unsplash

Buildings use up energy resources, and in states focused on reducing their greenhouse emissions, shrinking building-energy consumption has become a goal. "Commercial and residential buildings account for 13% of greenhouse-gas emissions and 28% of energy consumption, according to federal energy estimates," reports Erika Bolstad of Stateline. Some states are "beginning to require that the owners of large buildings track how much energy they use and improve their efficiency," but the push for emission reductions ranges "from office buildings, big-box stores, hotels, apartments and other large commercial structures. . . . In some states, building owners who meet their energy targets early may be eligible for incentive payments."

Colorado and Oregon are two states with approved building performance standards that aim to make larger structures more climate-friendly, but changes to any sized building can help. Bolstad writes, "Ashley Haight of the ZERO Coalition, an organization working in Oregon to decarbonize buildings, said smaller buildings can voluntarily monitor their efficiency and emissions to be eligible for some of the state incentives. The exact amount of the incentives in Oregon has not yet been determined. But in Washington state, for example, building owners that demonstrate early compliance with the state's program are eligible for a one-time incentive payment of $0.85 per square foot of floor area."

Efficient buildings can create instant rewards because "they are cheaper to run because they have lower utility bills. And they often have better indoor air quality, a critical measure since most people spend 90% of their time inside a building," Bolstad reports. Cliff Majersik, a senior adviser for policy and programs at the Institute for Market Transformation, told Bolstad, "It makes them more attractive to tenants for a variety of reasons--the buildings become more comfortable, more productive places to work, better places to live, [with] lower vacancy rates."

Colorado state Rep. Cathy Kipp, a Democrat who helped write the state's 2021 building performance law, told Bulstad, "[Buildings] sit there. . . . You don't think of them as giving off energy or consuming energy. . . . Just changing the light bulbs out in a large building can have significant savings. . . . Companies that do the investment in making these changes, and then get their payback in their energy savings down the road. So there are ways for this to happen that are less expensive, and I think a lot of times it's just inertia and people not wanting to change."

"Oregon's proposed building performance standards don't cover agricultural or industrial structures, hospitals or residential buildings, including dorms and some historic buildings. However, many of those building types may still be required to measure and benchmark their energy efficiency as the law goes into effect," Bulstad explains. "And many of the state's buildings that range in size from 20,000 to 35,000 square feet must measure their efficiency and emissions based on how much electricity, gas, and other fuels a building consumes."

Despite aggressive rules to limit N.M. gas flaring, it goes on

Incomplete combustion in a flare, as pictured, generates
more emissions. (Photo from WildEarth Guardians)

“Laws without enforcement are just good advice.” --Attributed to Abraham Lincoln

In New Mexico, when Michelle Lujan Grisham became governor in 2019, she issued an aggressive executive order that "set a goal of reducing the state’s greenhouse-gas emissions by 45 percent from 2005 levels by 2030," reports Martha Pskowski of Inside Climate News. "In May 2021, New Mexico’s Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department adopted new rules that prohibit routine flaring and venting and require operators to achieve a 98% gas-capture rate by 2026." But state records from December and January "show venting and flaring increasing, not decreasing. According to the division, from November to December 2022 flaring increased 39 percent and venting increased 161 percent."

Delaware Basin is a rich section of the Permian Basin.
(Map by C. Cunningham, Albuquerque Journal)

Pskowski visited Carlsbad, N.M., in the heart of the Permian Basin, the nation's most productive oil patch, to see examples of how methane regulation is failing. "Transmission lines and flare stacks dot the horizon. . . . One flare sent off dark smoke, a sign that it wasn’t burning efficiently," Pskowski explains. "Flares are designed to eliminate methane from natural gas. But unlit flares and inefficient combustion mean that flaring still emits large amounts of methane, a potent greenhouse gas . . . . The Environmental Defense Fund’s Permian MAP project found that the Permian was the highest methane-emitting oil and gas basin in the nation. . . . advocates say that in the absence of rigorous state field enforcement, companies are continuing wasteful methane flaring and venting."

Environmental advocates aren't the only ones who have noted the lack of compliance. "Recent flyovers by the federal Environmental Protection Agency, independent monitoring by environmental advocates and NASA satellite imagery have documented significant methane releases," Pskowski adds. "To date, only two companies have been fined for unauthorized flaring since the rules went into effect. . . . industry watchdogs warn that counting on operators to self-report flaring and venting is a failing strategy." A state spokesman "said that the agency relies on inspections, audits and internal reviews to verify the data companies report. But its capacity for on-site inspections is severely limited. Funds are allocated for only 14 inspectors statewide, with two of those positions currently vacant."

After viewing videos of apparently bad flaring, Pskowski contacted four companies involved. "In one case, the company acted," and another said it "eliminated routine flaring at its U.S. operations in 2022 and met the 98 percent gas capture rules," she reports, adding that other companies didn't respond to her requests for comment. 

Senior Trump economic aide says coal no longer makes sense; encourages renewable energy

(Photo from the World Coal Association)

President Trump campaigned as the savior of the coal industry and the miners who have lost their jobs since its demise, but his most senior economic aide doesn't seem to be on board.

"Coal doesn't even make that much sense anymore as a feedstock," Gary Cohn said aboard Air Force One on Thursday, referring to raw materials that get converted into a fuel. Cohn, who serves as director of the National Economic Council, instead praised natural gas as "such a cleaner fuel" and one that America has become an "abundant producer of," Matt Egan reports for CNN Money.

Trump rarely talks about the potential of renewable energy, but Cohn has praised it. "If you think about how solar and how much wind power we've created in the United States, we can be a manufacturing powerhouse and still be environmentally friendly," he said. Cohn's comments jibe with what energy experts have been saying for some time, but don't seem to fit with Trump's stance.

"Cohn's words are especially significant, because Trump is expected to soon decide whether to keep the U.S. in the Paris climate accord, which is forcing governments in many countries to crack down on the carbon emissions from coal and other fossil fuels. World leaders, Democrats and some major companies have urged Trump not to ditch the landmark deal that represents the most significant effort to date to combat climate change," Egan writes. At least 22 Republican senators, including Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, have urged him to ditch it.

Trump followed through on his promise to end Obama's "war on coal" by signing an executive order in March that began unraveling his predecessor's signature efforts to combat climate change. "The problem is that Trump's deregulation push is unlikely to bring about the coal renaissance he wants," Egan notes. "That's because coal's dramatic downfall has come not from regulations, but has been driven by market forces, especially the abundance of cheap natural gas."

Offshore wind farms approved in Maryland would be nation's second and third largest

Deepwater Wind's block island wind farm
(HANDOUT photo)

The Maryland Public Service Commission on Thursday approved ratepayer subsidies to support a pair of wind power projects off the coast of Ocean City, Scott Dance reports for The Baltimore Sun. The commission said "the two projects—together expected to cost more than $2 billion—would position Maryland as a national leader in offshore wind energy." If built, they would be the nation's second and third largest offshore wind farms, behind one approved earlier this year between Long Island and Martha’s Vineyard.

"U.S. Wind, a subsidiary of Italian energy and construction company Toto Holdings SpA, plans to build 62 turbines at least 14 miles off the coast of Ocean City, a $1.4 billion project expected to start operating in 2020," Dance writes. "Skipjack Offshore Wind LLC, a subsidiary of Rhode Island-based Deepwater Wind Holdings LLC, plans a $720 million project including 15 turbines at least 20 miles off the coast, to launch in 2022." Deepwater, the company behind the only completed offshore wind farm, in Rhode Island, is developing the largest wind farm proposed earlier this year.

The Maryland wind farms "are expected to prevent emissions of hundreds of thousands of pounds of carbon dioxide and create some 5,000 jobs and $74 million in state tax revenue," Dance writes. "The two companies have until May 25 to accept a set of conditions requiring certain levels of job creation and investment the commission laid out in its decision.

Electric execs say Trump's moves for coal won't have much effect on their shift away from the fuel

Amid President Trump's promises to revive the coal industry, six coal-fired power plants have closed since November and more than 40 are set to close within the next four years, Coral Davenport reports for The New York Times. That includes Arizona's Navajo Generating Station, the largest coal-fired power plant in the West, which is expected to seize operations by 2019.

"Trump campaigned on a pledge to restore the limping American coal industry, vowing to bring jobs and production back to a sector that has been on a steady decline for over a decade," Davenport writes. "But to do that, he would have to revive demand for coal by electric utilities, which for decades have been the largest consumer of the heavily polluting fuel. Nearly all the coal mined in the U.S. generates electricity."

Electricity executives say Trump’s rollbacks of Obama administration regulations "make little difference to them," Davenport writes. "They still plan to retire coal plants—although perhaps at a slightly slower pace—and, more significant, they have no plans to build new ones." One reason is that electric utilities, like Southern Co., plan investments "on a 50-year horizon, the expected life span of a new power plant. Its planners do not see coal as economically viable in that time frame."

In 2005, 71 percent of American Electric Power's output was coal-fired, but is now 47 percent and is expected to keep going down, Davenport notes. At the same time its natural-gas share has increased from 20 percent to 27 percent. "Over the next three years, the company plans to invest about $1 billion in new wind and solar generation and $3 billion in new transmission lines to move that electricity."

"With or without the Clean Power Plan, power companies say, coal is simply no longer the fuel of choice for keeping the lights on in America—and they do not expect it to make a comeback," Davenport writes. "Cheaper natural gas and renewable sources like wind and solar power have replaced it. This decision is also driven by economics. Electric company executives are including in their long-term profit-and-loss calculations an expectation that the federal government will eventually tax or regulate carbon dioxide pollution."

Climate skeptics sending teachers a book and DVD; National Geographic offers contrary info

"A libertarian think tank that rejects the scientific consensus on climate change" has mailed 25,000 public-school teachers its book and DVD Why Scientists Disagree About Global Warming, and plans to reach 200,000 teachers, Katie Worth reports for PBS's "Frontline." The Heartland Institute "dismisses multiple studies showing scientists are in near unanimous agreement that humans are changing the climate," Worth reports.

A more scientific approach appears in the April edition of National Geographic, which lists the things everyone should know about climate change. Last year was the warmest on record, "1.69 degrees Fahrenheit warmer than the 20th century average," the magazine reports. Warming trends didn't come from one or two sources, but from thousands of weather stations, buoys, ships and satellites. "No natural cause explains the half-century warning trend. The sun's output cycles up and down every 11 years; volcanic eruptions sporadically cool the planet. Meanwhile, human-emitted greenhouse gases form a steadily thickening blanket that traps heat at the Earth's surface."

Nine of 10 scientists agree that climate change is occurring and they have the data to back it up, National Geographic reports. Ice is melting fast, sea levels are rising and the weather is getting more intense, led by an increase in heat waves, droughts and flooding.

Climate change has negatively affected wildlife, as rising temperatures depress some animal and plant populations, "driving species toward the poles, shifting migration and patterns," the magazine reports. That has led to extinction of some species, with regions being transformed, ice loss forcing some animals to land, alpine ecosystems being squeezed off mountaintops and warming ocean temperatures triggering coal bleaching and die-offs at reefs.

Overall, 47 percent of species surveyed in a 2016 study "had vanished from areas they'd previously occupied on the warm edge of their range." A 2015 study found that 16 percent of species risk global extinction if the climate warms by eight degrees, which could occur by 2100 if emissions are not cut.

The main thing to take away from climate change is that we can do something about it, National Geographic says. "The cost of solar energy is plummeting. Even without a carbon tax, renewables soon may be cheaper sources of electricity." A 2016 study found that every ton of CO2 we emit melts 32 square feet of Arctic ice, or 525 square feet annually. National Geographic notes, "Every energy-saving building, retired gas-guzzler and acre of preserved forest helps. But none of it will help much if the world doesn't switch to carbon-free energy support soon."

UPDATE, April 4: Some leading Democratic members of Congress urged teachers to throw the books away, Hanna Hess of Greenwire reports.

Utility plans 11 wind farms in seven states

Xcel Energy announced plans for 11 new wind farms in seven states—Colorado, Iowa, Minnesota, New Mexico, North Dakota, South Dakota and Texas—that the company says would "save the region’s customers about $8 billion over a 30-year period." Xcel said it "expects to see at least a 45 percent reduction company-wide in carbon emissions from 2005 levels by 2021, if it is able to fully implement approved and proposed renewable energy plans."

Albuquerque Journal photo

Daniel Cusick reports for Climatewire, "Officials said the new wind-power capacity will come from the construction of company-financed and built wind farms, as well as through power-purchase agreements with independent wind energy developers. The new wind capacity, along with expansions in both utility-scale and distributed solar generation, will help Xcel meet a projected 45 percent reduction in carbon emissions from 2005 levels by 2021."

The proposed wind farm in South Dakota, the largest ever there, would bring "an anticipated $1 billion investment to the state," Megan Raposa reports for the Argus Leader in Sioux Falls. Xcel said the project "is expected to have more than 100 wind turbines, which will produce enough energy to power more than 300,000 homes. The 600 megawatts expected in the South Dakota farm bring significantly more energy to Xcel customers than existing wind farms, which average 150 to 200 megawatts of wind power."

The wind farm in eastern New Mexico also would be the state's largest, "generating enough power to supply about 194,000 homes per year," Kevin Robinson-Avila reports for the Albuquerque Journal. Xcel, which serves about 385,000 customers in eastern New Mexico and west Texas, where another farm has been proposed, said the two farms would save customers "about $2.8 billion over the next 30 years." (Albuquerque Journal photo)

Five Midwestern states get at least 21% of electricity from wind power, led by Iowa at 36.6%

Iowa, Kansas, Oklahoma, North Dakota and South Dakota now get at least a fifth of their electricity from wind energy, Daniel Cusick reports for Climatewire. Data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration shows that Iowa gets 36.6 percent of its electricity from wind, South Dakota 30.3 percent, Kansas 29.6 percent, Oklahoma 25.1 percent and North Dakota 21.5 percent. The next highest state is Vermont, 15.4 percent. The U.S. total is 5.5 percent.

By virtue of having smaller populations, Iowa, Kansas, Oklahoma, North Dakota and South Dakota "now claim cleaner power portfolios than many larger, greener states—including California, where renewable energy has long been a government priority," Cusick writes. From 2015 to 2016 wind share's total electricity generation grew by 6.7 percent in Oklahoma, 5.5 percent in Kansas and 5.1 percent in Iowa. Texas leads the nation in overall wind power produced, but its overall share is 12.6 percent, placing it 11th behind the top five states and Colorado, Idaho, Maine, Minnesota and Vermont.

Last year, Iowa became the first state to generate more than one third of its electricity from wind.

"According to EIA, turbines operating in 40 states generated a record total of 226 million megawatt-hours of electricity during 2016, approximately four times the amount of power produced by solar panels and approaching what hydroelectric dams generated," Cusick writes.

The American Wind Energy Association said in a statement, "With 99 percent of wind turbines located in rural areas, wind power's steady growth as a share of the nation's electricity supply has been accompanied by a surge of investment in rural America," estimated at $13.8 billion last year.

Renewable energy outpacing coal for jobs; industry says wind, solar can boost rural communities

Renewable-energy advocates say wind and solar energy, not coal, can revive rural communities, Chris Martin reports for Bloomberg. Wind-farm developers employed more than 100,000 workers and the solar industry more than 200,000 at the end of 2016, compared to 65,971 coal mining jobs at the beginning of 2016, says U.S. Energy Department data.

"Leaders of the solar and wind industries say the rural areas that missed out on economic growth under President Obama are benefiting from the expansion of clean energy," Martin writes. "And that growth isn’t driving the collapse of coal mining, according to Abigail Hopper, the recently hired chief executive officer of the Solar Energy Industries Association." Hopper told Martin, “These are good paying, local jobs that the solar industry is creating everywhere.”

One problem is that the top 10 congressional districts for wind energy are all in Republican-dominated red states, Martin writes. Trump's victory, and his pledge to revive the coal industry, hasn't helped. "The Bloomberg Global Large Solar Energy index has dropped almost 13 percent since Trump was elected, compared with a 6.7 percent gain in the broader S&P 500 index."

"While Trump criticized wind turbines as bird killers during the campaign, his pick for Energy Secretary, former Texas Gov. Rick Perry, helped his state become the largest producer of wind power," Martin writes. "Wind developers expect to attract $60 billion in private investment under existing tax credits over the next few years as installations ramp up, and will double the power sent to the grid to about 10 percent, from about 5 percent today. That, and the built-in sunset provisions that came with the tax-credit extensions, may help preserve the policies as Trump and the Republican-controlled Congress consider changes to the tax system."

Nation's largest offshore wind farm approved between Long Island and Martha’s Vineyard

Parcels identified for wind-power development
along the Eastern seaboard. Deepwater Wind
is in the large red area. (NYT graphic)

The nation's largest offshore wind farm received approval Wednesday, Diane Cardwell reports for The New York Times. The farm, approved by the Long Island Power Authority, would be placed on "the waters between the eastern tip of Long Island and Martha’s Vineyard."

"The farm, with as many as 15 turbines capable of powering 50,000 average homes over all, is the first of several planned by the developer, Deepwater Wind," Cardwell writes. "It will be in a 256-square-mile parcel, with room for as many as 200 turbines, that the company is leasing from the federal government." The project is expected to cost $740 million.

"The turbines, each roughly 600 feet tall, would be connected to a substation in East Hampton by a 50-mile undersea cable," Cardwell writes. Deepwater officials said unlike other proposed projects it will have little to no effect on ocean views, which has been a concern for many residents. They expect the farm is to begin transmitting power by the end of 2022, meaning construction would need to begin by 2020.

The wind farm falls in line with New York Democratic Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo's goal of drawing 50 percent of the state’s power from renewable sources by 2030, Cardwell writes. "That goal includes 2.4 gigawatts of offshore wind, enough to power 1.25 million homes," the largest commitment to offshore wind in the U.S.

First large-scale 'clean coal' plant in U.S. is operational; different type to be started up Jan. 31

Petra Nova project (Energywire photo by Edward Klump)

The first large-scale "clean coal" plant in the U.S. was declared operational on Tuesday, Chris Mooney reports for The Washington Post. The Petra Nova project by NRG Energy and JX Nippon Oil & Gas Exploration Corp., is near Houston. "The companies say that the plant can capture over 90 percent of the carbon dioxide released from the equivalent of a 240-megawatt ... coal unit, which translates into 5,000 tons of carbon dioxide per day or over 1 million tons per year. They’re calling it 'the world’s largest post-combustion carbon capture system (CCS).'”

Another clean-coal plant, operated by Mississippi Power, a subsidiary of Southern Co., was supposed to be the first commercial clean-coal facility, but delays have put the project several years and billions of dollars behind schedule. It is now set to be operational on Jan. 31, Mooney reports. The "plant has been designed to turn lignite, a type of coal, into a gas called syngas, stripping out some carbon dioxide in the process. The syngas is burned for electricity and the CO2 is ... shipped to an oil field to aid in additional oil recovery."

Christa Marshall and Edward Klump report for Energywire, "Analysts say the plants are starkly different, considering that one involves a retrofit of a plant that captures CO2 after burning coal and the other involves gasifying coal and pre-combustion capture. Along with building a gasification plant from scratch, Kemper is testing its new Transport Integrated Gasification technology to turn coal into synthetic gas for the first time."

President-elect Donald Trump "hasn't specified in detail whether he supports CCS incentives," reports Energywire. "The leading proposal in Congress to boost CCS is expanding an existing tax credit for carbon storage called Section 45Q. It remains unclear, though, how much an expansion would help prompt new projects by itself, particularly on power plants."

Vermont asst. attorney general says cash payments to get residents to vote for wind farm were legal

Area proposed for the wind farm. (Map by
Meadowsend Timberlands Ltd., which owns the land)

Developers have found a legal way to pay Vermont residents to cast votes on Nov. 8 in favor of approving the state's largest wind project, Katharine Seelye reports for The New York Times. "The project would consist of 24 turbines, each nearly 500 feet tall, and generate 82.8 megawatts of power, enough to light 42,000 homes for a year if the wind kept blowing, though the houses could be in Connecticut or Massachusetts."

Concerned that the results of the gubernatorial election could dampen future wind projects in the state, Spanish energy developer Iberdrola Renewables offered to dole out cash to residents of Windham and Grafton to get their votes, Seelye writes. Iberdrola offered to give Windham $1 million a year for 25 years and that "it would also set aside $350,000 each year for direct payments to Windham’s 311 registered voters—$1,125 apiece annually, or $28,135 over 25 years, which a voter could accept or not. In Grafton, the company set aside $215,000 for voter payments. The town’s 504 registered voters would each receive $427 a year, or $10,665 over 25 years."

"Many residents called the offer an attempt at undue influence, if not an outright bribe" and opponents of the project accused the company of buying votes, Seelye writes. "But Michael O. Duane, senior assistant attorney general, said the payments did not violate state law." He said "the proposal 'doesn’t say that the funds go only to those people who signed a sworn statement that they had voted for it.'"

When asked if the company was trying to buy votes, Iberdrola spokesman Paul Copleman said the company "was merely responding to what residents had said they would need to win approval, and that the developer would abide by the result," Seelye writes. In fact, the cash idea came from residents, not the company, said Kathy Scott, a Windham resident who helped negotiate the package.

Scott "said her group saw them as a way to 'level the playing field' with second-home owners, many of whose homes have high assessments and who would benefit more from the tax cuts. (Although second-home owners pay 60 percent of the town’s taxes, they cannot vote here, a sore point for them.)," Seelye writes.

Critics of the project fear it will have negative environmental effects, and that "turbines, roadways and infrastructure are destroying habitats, increasing flood risks and scarring the landscape much the way mountaintop mining has scarred West Virginia," Seelye writes. "They also complain about noise, lower property values and blighted views."

Nation's largest proposed wind farm expected to be approved 30 miles off end of Long Island

The nation’s largest offshore wind farm could soon be built in eastern Long Island, Frank Eltman reports for The Associated Press. Thomas Falcone, CEO of the Long Island Power Authority’s board of directors, said the utility is expected on Wednesday to approve the proposed 90-megawatt, 15-turbine wind farm east of Montauk. Falcone said Long Island customers could begin receiving power by the end of 2022. (Flickr image: An offshore wind energy farm)

"The turbines would be placed about 30 miles offshore, putting them over the horizon and out of view of land," Eltman writes. "The project would produce enough energy to power approximately 50,000 homes in the Hamptons. Deepwater’s proposal also includes plans to build two new battery energy storage facilities. The facilities will consist of lithium-ion battery technology designed and installed by General Electric; they will be used when LIPA is facing peak demand for electricity." (Read more)

'Clean coal' power-plant project is a debacle, puts financial burden on customers in a poor state

A "clean coal" power plant that was designed to be a model "for future power plants to help slow the dangerous effects of global warming;" that was supposed to "bring thousands of jobs to Mississippi, the nation’s poorest state; and to extend a lifeline to the dying coal industry" is two years behind schedule and nearly $5 billion over budget, Ian Urbina reports for The New York Times, offering new details of a promised boon that is appearing more like a boondoggle. (Wikipedia map: Kemper County)

"The Kemper project is a story of how a monopoly utility, with political help from the Mississippi governor and from federal energy officials who pressured state regulators in letters to support the project, shifted the burden of one of the most expensive power plants ever built onto the shoulders of unwitting investors and some of the lowest-income ratepayers in the country," Urbina writes.

"Kemper’s rising price tag and other problems will probably affect the Environmental Protection Agency’s proposed rules on new power plants, and also play into broader discussions about the best way to counter climate change. EPA regulations in effect require new coal plants to have carbon capture technology but are being held up in federal court partly by arguments that the technology is not cost-effective."

"The plant and its owner, Southern Co., are the focus of a Securities and Exchange Commission investigation, and ratepayers, alleging fraud, are suing the company," Urbina writes. "Members of Congress have described the project as more boondoggle than boon. The mismanagement is particularly egregious, they say, given the urgent need to rein in the largest source of dangerous emissions around the world: coal plants."

"Kemper’s rising price tag and other problems will probably affect the EPA’s proposed rules on new power plants, and also play into broader discussions about the best way to counter climate change," Urbina writes. "EPA regulations in effect require new coal plants to have carbon capture technology but are being held up in federal court partly by arguments that the technology is not cost-effective."

Report: Best rural electric co-ops in states where legislation enacted to meet efficiency targets

The best rural energy efficiency programs are in states such as Minnesota and Iowa, which "have enacted legislation directing rural electric cooperatives and generation and transmissions to fund demand side management and/or meet energy savings and peak load reduction requirements," states a report by the Southwest Energy Efficiency Project. "In addition to the impacts of legislation, these states and G&Ts have developed a collaborative program infrastructure that helps to design and implement effective programs on a statewide or regional basis." (Southwest Energy Efficiency Project graphic)

In other states, such programs "are a mixed bag when it comes to energy efficiency, largely depending on whether state policy directs co-ops to meet efficiency targets," Robert Walton reports for Utility Drive. The report "does not broadly call out rural electrical cooperatives for efficiency failings, but it highlights weaknesses at a handful of power providers and suggests policy changes could push greater energy savings."

The report states: "The data demonstrates that in states where cooperatives are regulated by EERS, with the exception of Arizona, cooperatives achieve maximum savings levels at 1.00 percent or higher." The report found that "in states with a strong collective program design and implementation infrastructure, whether sponsored by a state or created by a group of cooperatives working together, 'cooperatives have saved more than those states where rural electric cooperatives develop and operate programs independently.'"

"Energy Central reports on the report's recommendations, including states taking legislative action to bolster efficiency efforts at cooperatives and using an integrated resource planning process to push energy saving initiatives," Walton writes. "Effective programs leadership and an emphasis on least-cost resources are also keys to promoting efficiency, the report found."

Vermont approves power line from Canada to supply renewable electricity to region

In an attempt to make the switch from power plants to renewable energy, Vermont utility regulators have approved a plan to build a 1,000-megawatt transmission line that uses Canadian electricity to feed the regional power grid, Wilson Ring reports for The Associated Press. "TDI New England is still awaiting its final federal permits before it can begin construction and contracts to deliver power, but the system could become the first piece of a system to supply renewable electricity to Massachusetts, Connecticut and Rhode Island." (The proposed TDI New England route through Vermont is in blue.)

"Unlike the Northern Pass project proposed for northern New Hampshire, the $1.2 billion, privately funded TDI project faced no significant opposition in Vermont, something unusual for the state," Ring writes. The main reason is that the project, which would provide power to about one million homes, would be out of sight, with almost 100 miles of cable at the bottom of Lake Champlain and the other 50 miles buried underground.

"To win approval from Vermont regulators, TDI agreed to fund $720.9 million in payments and benefits over the expected 40-year life of the project once the line is carrying electricity," Ring writes. "It includes $263 million for Lake Champlain cleanup projects, almost $109 million for renewable energy programs and $135.7 million in benefits to Vermont electric ratepayers. And those figures don't include construction jobs or jobs once the line is in operation."

Clean coal project in rural Mississippi two years behind schedule, over budget by $4.7 billion

A rural Mississippi power plant that is now at least two years behind schedule of opening was supposed to show "the world how to burn coal without spewing climate-warming carbon pollution into the air," reports The Associated Press. Construction costs are already three times above original estimates—at $6.5 billion—making the Kemper County (Wikipedia map) plant "one of the most expensive power plants ever built and pushing up electric bills for Mississippi Power's 186,000 customers."

"Carbon capture entails catching the carbon emissions from a power plant or cement or steel factory and injecting them underground for permanent storage," reports AP. "It's a proven technology that would allow the world to keep burning coal, oil and gas for energy while releasing little of the heat-trapping gas that scientists say is the main cause of global warming. Despite decades of research and pilot projects, however, carbon capture is still waiting for its breakthrough, illustrating how hard it is for the world to do something about global warming even when the tools are there."

While environmental groups have opposed clean coal, pushing for 100 percent renewable energy, spiraling costs shut down carbon capture projects in Norway and Britain, reports AP. "But authoritative bodies like the International Energy Agency and the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change say that without deploying carbon capture technology on a large scale, the world may not be able to reach the U.N. goal of keeping man-made warming below 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit), which governments hope will stave off some of the worst floods, droughts and heat waves associated with rising temperatures."

In Kempter County, the estimated price tag for the plant when it was announced in 2006 was $1.8 billion, reports AP. That rose to $2.9 billion when construction began in 2010, with costs including improved carbon capture technology and an adjoining coal mine. "In a sprint to grab federal tax credits, Mississippi Power started construction with only 10 percent of the design completed. The company underestimated how much concrete, steel, pipe and cable and how many workers it would need to build the plant. Some parts had to be torn out and rebuilt because of design changes associated with constructing a first-of-its-kind plant."

While Mississippi Power officials say they are wrapping up work on the project, "an engineer hired by state regulators testified in October that it is highly unlikely the utility will meet its June 30 deadline," reports AP. "The project is likely to forfeit $372 million in tax credits because of delays, and shareholders of Southern Co., owner of Mississippi Power, have absorbed $2.3 billion in losses."

Changing attitudes in China leading global coal use to historic declines

Global coal use is on a historic decline mainly because of changing attitudes in China, which is responsible for about half of global coal demand, Ewa Krukowska reports for Bloomberg. China’s battle against pollution, its economic reforms and its efforts to promote renewable energy are largely responsible for global use of coal falling "2.3 percent to 4.6 percent in the first nine months of 2015 from the same period last year, according to a report released Monday by the environmental group Greenpeace. That’s a decline of as much as 180 million tons of standard coal, 40 million tons more than Japan used in the same period."

"The report confirms that worldwide efforts to fight global warming are having a significant impact on the coal industry, the biggest source of carbon emissions," Krukowska writes. "The decline in coal use will help reduce greenhouse-gas emissions that are blamed for heating up the planet. To limit the rise in global temperatures to 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit)—the level scientists say cannot be exceeded if the world is to avoid catastrophic climate change—emissions from coal must fall 4 percent annually through 2040, according to Greenpeace."

In China coal "use in the power sector fell more than 4 percent in the first three quarters, and imports declined 31 percent, according to the report," Krukowska writes. "Since the end of 2013, the country’s electricity consumption growth has largely been covered by new renewable energy plants."

In the U.S., the "share of coal used to generate electricity in the U.S. will fall to 36 percent this year from 50 percent a decade ago," Krukowska writes. "More than 200 coal-fired power plants, with total capacity of 83 gigawatts, have been scheduled for retirement, including 13 gigawatts expected to retire this year." (Read more)

North America's first offshore wind farm ready to roll; could cut Block Island energy bills by 40%

Block Island, part of Rhode Island, is home to about 1,000 year-round residents and 15,000 summer visitors. It also has some of the nation's highest energy costs, with residents—who frequently lose power—relying on expensive, noisy, diesel-fueled generators that require millions of liters of diesel shipped by ferry, reports The Economist. All that could be changing "because Block Island is soon to be home to North America’s first offshore wind farm." (Maine Aerials photo by Dave Cleaveland: Block Island)

"On July 26 the first 'steel in the water' for the foundation of the small offshore wind farm was installed three miles off the coast," reports The Economist. "The five turbines, each with six-megawatt capacity, will be working by autumn 2016. Deepwater Wind, the company behind the project (which is privately financed at a current cost of $250 million), expects the farm to cut energy bills for the island by 40 percent. The farm will produce more energy than the island needs, enough for 17,000 homes, so surplus energy will be used on the mainland."

"Block Island is the pilot program for the nascent American offshore wind industry," reports The Economist. "If successful, Deepwater will develop a farm with 200 turbines, between Martha’s Vineyard and Block Island. The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, which oversees renewable projects in federal waters, has issued nine commercial offshore wind leases to companies all along the eastern seaboard. If these areas are built to capacity, some 3,000 offshore turbines could generate enough energy to light up the equivalent of New Jersey. More offshore wind projects are in the works in New Jersey, near Atlantic City, as well as in North and South Carolina and New York."

As part of the Environmental Protection Agency's Clean Power Plan that calls for using more renewable energy, "39 states have some sort of land wind project," reports The Economist. "Wind and other renewable, such as solar panels, have had much support from the Obama administration, beginning with stimulus funding in 2009 from the $800 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. It was designed to kick-start the economy by investing in 'shovel-ready' projects. Green energy may have received as much as $90 billion." (Read more)