A California judge dealt a major blow to the state’s cap-and-trade plans on Monday, ruling that regulators did not adequately consider alternatives for reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
San Francisco Superior Court Judge Ernest Goldsmith said the California Air Resources Board (CARB) must consider other approaches to meet the emissions targets set out by the state legislature in 2006.
Goldsmith said one such alternative approach includes a straight tax on carbon emissions.
California aims to begin carbon trading in 2012, but the CARB must now complete an analysis and satisfy the court, before an October deadline for adoption of the pending cap-and-trade regulation.
Plaintiffs in the case–the Association of Irritated Residents–say they fear the cap-and-trade plan will inadvertantly increase air pollution in some areas of the state.
Vermont Nuclear Plant Gets Extension
The United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission on Monday extended the operating license of the Vermont Yankee nuclear reactor plant, even though the plant has leaked radioactive material and uses a Mark 1 boiling water reactor-the type of reactor currently experiencing multiple failures in Japan.
"It is stunning that the Nuclear Regulatory Commission would rubber stamp the use of this aging reactor for another two decades, and it’s outrageous that it would do so just days after announcing a 90-day review in response to the crisis in Japan. This move calls into question the seriousness of that review," said Erich Pica, president of Friends of the Earth. "Vermont Yankee is home to the same type of reactor implicated in the nuclear emergency in Japan, and just last year aging pipes at Vermont Yankee leaked radioactive materials into groundwater, producing radiation readings 37 times the federal limit."
In 2010, the Vermont Senate voted 26 to 4 in favor of retiring the aging nuclear plant as scheduled. Vermont Governor Peter Shumlin has also strongly supported retiring the plant. A survey conducted in February 2010 found that 68% of Vermont residents would support closing Vermont Yankee in 2012.
In addition, a poll released this week by the Civil Society Institute found that more than half of Americans want "a halt to the United States extending the operating lifespan of its oldest nuclear reactors."
Oregon Launches of Statewide Clean Energy Works Program
Oregon launched a statewide Clean Energy Works program this week, following the successful completion of a pilot project in the city of Portland.
The pilot project reached its goal of 500 energy efficiency home upgrades and supported over 350 environmental jobs. The program now expands to 17 communities throughout the state.
In the next three years, Clean Energy Works Oregon anticipates enrolling 6,000 Oregon homes in the program, significantly increasing energy savings and spurring the support of 1,300 new jobs through 2013.
Clean Energy Works Oregon (CEWO) is a non-profit organization that offers loans that customers can repay through utility bills and streamlined installations of energy efficiency upgrades. The non-profit expects to leverage a $20 million grant provided by the Recovery Act into $120 million of economic activity.
Energy Efficiency Investments Could Save $14 Billion in Texas
A new study finds that investments in energy efficiency in Texas can meet the state’s growing electricity needs while saving businesses and households $14 billion on utility bills and creating 47,000 local clean energy jobs per year by 2030.
The study, by the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE), was commissioned by the Texas Clean Energy Coalition (TCEC) and integrated insights and data provided by Texas experts.
"Energy efficiency is easily the most affordable energy resource in Texas," said John A. "Skip" Laitner, Director of Economic and Social Analysis for ACEEE and author of the new assessment. "While a 20% to 30% efficiency gain over the next two decades may seem challenging, Texas is already finding energy efficiency resources at less than 4 cents per kilowatt-hour, compared to the expected cost of power from new generating plants of 6 to 10 cents. The really good news for Texas is that the cost-effective efficiency investments will also drive new employment opportunities."
The study examines a set of six alternative energy efficiency scenarios that cost-effectively reduce electricity demand. The assessment suggests that an expanded set of productivity investments across the residential, commercial, and industrial sectors would not only reduce the growth in electricity demand, they would actually reduce overall electricity consumption 12% to 19% below 2010 levels by 2030.
The combination of supply-side efficiency improvements, such as those made possible by combined heat and power technologies, and the expanded efficiency improvements in homes and businesses would save ratepayers a net $12 to $14 billion over the next two decades.
"We already knew that energy efficiency is the most cost-effective way to meet the state’s growing demand for energy," said former state Sen. Kip Averitt, chairman of the TCEC, a nonpartisan alliance that seeks to speed Texas’ transition to a new energy economy. "Now we have solid proof that common-sense energy efficiency would create jobs for Texas workers and produce an economic windfall for the Lone Star State."
The report is available at the link below.
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