Category: Renewable Energy

The IRA provides much needed support, but its shortcomings will come at the expense of southern communities.

8/23/2022

By Yvonne Cappel-Vickery, AAE Clean Energy Grid Organizer

The oil and gas leasing required by the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) as a condition for renewable energy leases will continue to place the Gulf of Mexico as a climate sacrifice zone, leaving Gulf frontline communities vulnerable.

The Deepwater Horizon’s 2010 catastrophic oil spill is a painful reminder of the financial, social, and environmental impacts of offshore fossil fuel production. Provisions of the IRA that encourage more industrial development will place increased pollution burdens on the backs of southern communities already suffering the harms of pollution, even as Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change says we need to stop expanding fossil infrastructure. The Gulf South must be spared from such a high climate burden.

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St. James Parish temporary blocks solar farms, despite pleas from Entergy CEO, advocates by David J. Mitchell

8/18/2022

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Article by David J. Mitchell
Originally published on The Advocate
August 18, 2022

After weeks of debate, St. James Parish officials adopted a temporary halt on new large solar complexes in the parish to take a closer look a rules for the land-intensive operations.

The St. James Parish Council voted 6-1 for the moratorium despite pleas from the backer of a 3,900-acre solar project in Vacherie that has rankled neighbors.

Entergy Louisiana's top executive urged the council not to approve the moratorium because of the poor signal it would send to investors. Environmental and community groups also opposed the measure as backward looking that would end up leaving the parish behind.

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Louisiana utility regulators blame Entergy for creating grid dependent on costly gas by Wesley Muller

8/5/2022

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Article by Wesley Muller
Originally Published on the Louisiana Illuminator
August 2, 2022

For years, utility giant resisted diversifying its fuel sources, critics say

With Louisiana residents receiving unprecedentedly high electricity bills, Democrats on the Louisiana Public Service Commission last week blamed Entergy Louisiana for the “mess,” saying the utility giant ignored calls to diversify its sources of fuel for power generation.

While some commissioners blamed Entergy for the problem, one advocate said the commission also bears responsibility. Logan Burke, executive director of the Alliance for Affordable Energy, said the commission never really pushed hard for renewables. The energy industry knew years ago that renewables were going to become the cheapest sources of power, yet the commission over the course of four years approved four new natural gas power plants in Louisiana, Burke said.

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Historic Transmission Projects Approved in the Midwest - What Happened to Planning for Louisiana?

7/27/2022

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By Yvonne Cappel-Vickery, AAE Clean Energy Grid Organizer

On July 25, the Midcontinent System Operator, also known as MISO, the regional transmission organization of which Louisiana is a member, approved the most extensive set of transmission projects to be approved in U.S. history.

The MISO Board of Directors' approval of Tranche 1 will result in more renewable energy projects and over 200,000 jobs. Approval of Tranche 1 is good news for everyone in the MISO footprint as it will encourage the transition to clean energy sources and increase grid reliability.

The projects approved are part of the Long Range Transmission Planning, aka LRTP.

Tranche 1 represents the first integration and includes 18 projects across the MISO Midwest subregion estimated at $10.3 billion

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Renewables Interactive Map from REN21

10/26/2012

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Check this out! The Renewable Energy Policy Network for the 21st Century created this interactive map to track renewable energy developments across the world. How does your country stack up?
Click here for the REN21 Interactive Map

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California Is Greener

10/15/2012

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California continues to improve its Green Building Standard Codes.

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Liquid Air Could Be Renewable Energy Storage Solution

10/12/2012

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Liquid air could work better than batteries or hydrogen for storing excess energy produced from wind turbines or other renewable energy sources during off-peak times, according to the Institution of Mechanical Engineers. A company in the United Kingdom is testing how the liquid air method—originally developed to power vehicles—could help use some of this “wrong-time” energy.

The method would use electricity from off-peak hours to take in air—removing carbon dioxide and water vapor in order to chill air to a cryogenic state. This turns what’s left, which is mostly nitrogen, to a liquid that is stored in giant vacuum flasks until demand increases and it can be warmed again. Re-expanding air could be used to drive turbines.

While the growth in renewables is among the contributing factors to the 9 percent reduction in carbon dioxide emissions in the U.S. since 2005, one analysis says this decline is unlikely to continue unless there are major departures from the way energy is currently produced and used. The report lays out specific energy-related changes that would need to occur between now and 2035 to have a chance at reducing carbon dioxide emissions to 38 percent below 2005 levels. These include: growth in renewables beyond the 5 percent electricity makeup today to 31 percent by 2035 as well as gains in residential, commercial and industrial energy-using equipment.

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The Watchdog

The IRA provides much needed support, but its shortcomings will come at the expense of southern communities.

St. James Parish temporary blocks solar farms, despite pleas from Entergy CEO, advocates by David J. Mitchell

Louisiana utility regulators blame Entergy for creating grid dependent on costly gas by Wesley Muller

Historic Transmission Projects Approved in the Midwest - What Happened to Planning for Louisiana?

Renewables Interactive Map from REN21

California Is Greener

Liquid Air Could Be Renewable Energy Storage Solution

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