Recently in Government
Solar:
Riverside County has cut the fee it wants to charge for utility-scale solar power developments in the county by two-thirds, following a contentious campaign by the solar industry to get the fee rolled back.
Wind:
The question is, does all that investment make sense for an energy source that is less than predictable?
Government:
"Fracking has been done safely for decades," said Interior Secretary Sally Jewell. "There is no doubt that this essential tool will be used for decades to come."
Government:
As second-in-command at Interior, Hayes oversaw the implementation of Interior's development of programs such as the Solar Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement and its fast-tracking of wind energy developments on public lands.
Government:
The BLM has announced that it's taking measures to ensure that applications for solar and wind projects on the lands it manages are given higher priority than other potential uses.
Utilities:
The Board of Supervisors of the Bay Area's semirural Sonoma County has voted 4-1 to launch a publicly owned electrical utility, starting in unincorporated areas but eventually encompassing the entire county. If successful, the new utility would eventually take 220,000 home and business customers away from Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E.)
Transportation:
Fisker Automotive is testifying before a congressional committee to answer questions about that loan, which Republicans are calling "Solyndra on Wheels."
Concentrating Solar:
The concerns expressed in the letter may have serious ramifications for other BrightSource projects.
Government:
Jewell will inherit an Interior Department with a much sharper focus on aggressive energy development than the one her predecessor took on.
Utilities:
The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) has likely made some San Diego County residents very happy today with a decision not to allow San Diego Gas & Electric to buy power from the controversial proposed Pio Pico Energy Center and Quail Brush Power gas-fired power plants.
Government:
Under a new Obama Administration program, the BLM's energy development budget will be increased by 20 percent, with the money going to "streamline" permit applications for both renewable and non-renewable energy development on public lands, including monetary incentives for new oil and gas drilling.
Government:
The House Committee on Natural resources opens another front in the war of words between the Republicans and the Obama Administration, this time with an ethics inquiry into the Interior Department.
Government:
A new report released this month says that far from hindering the development of a new, greener infrastructure for the state, CEQA may have actually promoted such development compared to states with far less stringent environmental laws.
Government:
The U.S. Department of the Interior has granted final approval to two solar projects in the California desert and an unpopular Nevada wind project near the Mojave National Preserve.
Climate Change:
California's Air Resources Board has just released the results of its February auction of greenhouse gas emissions allowances, and it would seem the price of polluting isn't going up by much.
Government:
Ernest Moniz, likely to be nominated to succeed Steven Chu as Energy Secretary, has a history of pushing both natural gas fracking and aggressive nuclear power development.
Government:
In his 2013 State Of The Union, President Obama covered new ground on renewables only when talking about one of the least-sexy facets of the overall issue: energy conservation.
Government:
Sally Jewell is a bit of a dark horse, with far more of a track record in managing businesses than in setting policy. If confirmed, what will that mean for energy policy on public lands?
Government:
Steven Chu announced today that he will be stepping down from his post as Secretary of Energy as early as March. And Southern California Representative Darrell Issa chose the occasion of the announcement to issue a surprisingly ungracious statement marking Chu's departure.
Government:
Los Angeles City Councilman Eric Garcetti, one of more than a dozen candidates for mayor in the upcoming election, has said that as mayor he'll push for Los Angeles to generate about a fifth of its electrical power from the city's rooftops. Now his main competition in the race, City Controller Wendy Greuel, has signed onto that pledge.
News and analysis about renewable energy in California. Blog host Chris Clarke is an environmental writer of two decades standing. He currently lives in Joshua Tree and can be contacted at: rewire@kcet.org.
- Wind Power
- PV and Solar Thermal
- Energy Return on Energy Invested (EROEI)
- Watts and Watt-Hours, Kilo and Mega
- 'Enough To Power X Thousand Homes'
- The Grid
- Distributed Generation
- Conservation and 'Negawatts'
- Grid Storage
- PACE Loans, Feed In Tariffs and Net Metering
- Base Load and Peaking Power
- Capacity Factor
- Renewable Portfolio Standards
- Biomass
- Transportation and Renewable Energy
- Geothermal
