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Huge wind project moves forward despite states’ objections

Huge wind project moves forward despite states’ objections

By on 28 Mar 2016commentsShare

The Department of Energy announced Friday it will permit a major expansion of the nation’s wind energy lines.

The power line project, which will move 4,000 megawatts of power from Texas and Oklahoma through Arkansas and into the Southeast, has faced opposition from landowners and state leaders, but the DOE used a provision in the Energy Policy Act of 2005 to bypass state approval of the project. It is projected to cost $2.5 billion and bring power to 1.5 million homes.

While clean energy advocates may be celebrating, not everyone is as pleased.

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“Basically this decision says that Washington, D.C., knows more than the people of Arkansas do about whether to build across the state giant, unsightly transmission towers to carry a comparatively expensive, unreliable source of electricity to the Southeast where utilities may not need the electricity,” said Tennessee Sen. Lamar Alexander. “This is the first time federal law has been used to override a state’s objections to using eminent domain for sitting electric transmission lines. It is absolutely the wrong policy.” The Republican senator has received a 20 percent lifetime score on his environmental voting record by the League of Conservation Voters, which is admittedly better than most of his peers.

The DOE, however, says the project will do much to modernize the nation’s energy grid, as well as help address climate change from carbon emissions.

“Moving remote and plentiful power to areas where electricity is in high demand is essential for building the grid of the future,” said Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz in a statement. “Building modern transmission that delivers renewable energy to more homes and businesses will create jobs, cut carbon emissions, and enhance the reliability of our grid.”

The effort to modernize the grid has largely stalled since the ’80s, as the New York Times reports, despite increasing urgency from the threat of climate change. While the company building the line, Clean Line Energy Partners, will be required to acquire the land the lines are built across, the developers will be able to use eminent domain if negotiations fail by invoking the Energy Policy Act.

Construction is projected to begin in 2017.

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Huge wind project moves forward despite states’ objections

Posted in alo, Anchor, Everyone, FF, GE, LAI, LG, ONA, PUR, Radius, Uncategorized, wind energy, wind power | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Huge wind project moves forward despite states’ objections

More of America’s wind turbines are actually being built in America

More of America’s wind turbines are actually being built in America

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Homegrown.

The equipment that’s powering America’s wind energy boom is increasingly being made right at home.

In 2007, just 25 percent of turbine components used in new wind farms in the U.S. were produced domestically. By last year, that figure had risen to 72 percent, according to a new report from the U.S. Department of Energy. And exports of such equipment rose to $388 million last year, up from $16 million in 2007.

This happened even as the U.S. was installing a whole lot of turbines. More than 13.1 gigawatts of new wind power capacity was added to the U.S. grid in 2012, representing $25 billion of investment. That made wind the nation’s fastest-growing electricity source last year, faster even than natural gas–fueled power.

Unfortunately, there were job losses in the sector last year, with the number of wind industry manufacturing jobs falling to 25,500 from 30,000 the year before. That’s because there was a lull and some factory closures after a mad scramble to fulfill orders placed before a federal tax credit expired. (It was renewed for this year, but its future is still up in the air.)

The better news is that the number of workers both indirectly and directly employed by the sector grew to 80,700 in 2012, up from 75,000 the year before.

And as the wind energy sector has grown, so too has the diversity of companies that comprise it, as shown in this chart from the DOE report:

Energy DepartmentClick to embiggen.

John Upton is a science fan and green news boffin who tweets, posts articles to Facebook, and blogs about ecology. He welcomes reader questions, tips, and incoherent rants: johnupton@gmail.com.

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More of America’s wind turbines are actually being built in America

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Obama admin wants hundreds of tiny nuclear reactors built in U.S.

Obama admin wants hundreds of tiny nuclear reactors built in U.S.

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The Department of Energy is working on a strategy that could see as many as 50 small modular nuclear reactors built by the private sector every year by 2040. Many would be sold to the U.S. government; others would be exported and some more might even be imported.

The strategy is being pitched as a way to plug energy holes as the nation’s coal power plants are retired. Never mind all that cheap wind and solar that’s coming online, hey Obama?

From Greenwire:

“We have a vision of having a whole fleet of [small modular reactors] produced in factories,” [DOE nuclear power official Rebecca] Smith-Kevern told a regulatory conference in Bethesda, Md. “We envision the U.S. government to be the first users.”

DOE this week announced a second wave of million-dollar cost-share grants to help the industry design and license the modular reactors, which the administration defines as factory-built plants of less than 300 megawatts that are shipped by truck, barge or rail to construction sites for assembly.

The department awarded the first grants under its $452 million cost-share program to veteran reactor designer Babcock & Wilcox, which is building two small units at the Clinch River site in Oak Ridge, Tenn.

Some are skeptical that these small reactors would be as cost-effective as the government anticipates:

Ed Lyman, a senior scientist with the Union of Concerned Scientists, said capital cost per kilowatt — not the cost of building a reactor itself — is what matters.

“Small plants, of course, cost less than large plants, but they also generate less electricity,” Lyman said. “And with the economies of scale factor, small plants will cost more per kilowatt than large plants unless there is some major cost savings somewhere to offset this factor.”

If mini-reactors do spread far and wide, might we then start seeing some of the most darling nuclear meltdowns ever?

John Upton is a science aficionado and green news junkie who

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blogs about ecology

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johnupton@gmail.com

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Obama admin wants hundreds of tiny nuclear reactors built in U.S.

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We’ve heard it all before: E15 opponents trot out tired arguments at Congressional hearing

We’ve heard it all before: E15 opponents trot out tired arguments at Congressional hearing

Posted 26 February 2013 in

National

Today, executives from AAA and the American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) are on Capitol Hill, attempting to cast doubt on the safety of the renewable fuel known as E15. Since we expect to hear the same tired arguments trotted out once again this afternoon, let’s take a look at the parties involved:

According to its own website, AAA touts “tools to help motorists save on the high price of gas.” But if AAA were truly trying to help their members save money on gas, they would support increased access to lower-cost renewable fuel. AAA also prides itself on helping Americans drive safely. If that’s the case, they should support the most extensively trialed fuel in history: E15. E15 has been put through the paces exhaustively, with 6.5 million miles of testing. It seems strange to us that a group ostensibly responsible for protecting American motorists would spend time and resources attacking a renewable fuel that saves consumers money at the pump and provides a much needed alternative to oil.

As for the AMA, the EPA states explicitly that E15 is not intended for motorcycle engines, so we’re mystified as to why they’re testifying today: is it possible they signed up for the wrong hearing?

The most egregious part of today’s proceedings is not so much who is testifying, but who is not. Despite this being a hearing on the safety of E15, not a single ethanol expert has been invited to speak. So in lieu of a balanced panel, here are a few questions we’d ask this afternoon:

Has the EPA approved E15? Is E15 approved for use by any car or light truck model year 2001 or later? Is it legal to use E15 in a motorcycle?
Did DOE conduct extensive peer-reviewed, standardized testing of 86 cars that represented all major vehicle models, which were each operated up to 120,000 miles—or over 6 million miles in total—to ensure that E15 would not harm a vehicle?
Did DOE find any increased risk of engine damage from using E15?
As the House Science Committee members know, methodology can often skew the results of any study. How does CRC’s testing methodology compare to that used in millions of miles of testing conducted for EPA by DOE and various national laboratories? Was this testing conducted over an extended period or just a few months? How many cars were tested and how?
Do the witnesses on this panel receive funding from the oil or refining industries in support of their work on E15, fuels, or any other portion of their organization’s portfolio of policy work?

Hopefully, the members of the House Science Committee will make sure that these questions receive the answers that American taxpayers and consumers deserve.

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We’ve heard it all before: E15 opponents trot out tired arguments at Congressional hearing

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