Facebook Instagram Linkedin RSS Twitter Youtube

Activists’ demands on coal ash cleanup are costly, unrealistic

Coal Pile at Mine

Kaitlin Schmidtke, Gulf Coast Executive Director of CEA leans in how activists’ demands on coal ash cleanup are costly and unrealistic. When it comes to energy safety, the Environmental Protection Agency, and human health protections enacted by the Obama Administration, there are reasonable, reliable and affordable policies put into place for this kind of clean up. These activists are nagging that coal ash ponds be completely excavated and moved into landfills.

“Mandating that all ponds be closed, excavated and sent to a new landfill regardless of a site’s condition could not only become more of a hazard to the environment, but the economic impact to the consumer would be massive.”

Read more – Al.com

Running Our Electric Grid Is Becoming More Like a Magic Show

Linemen Working on Transformer

Grid operators could double as magicians these days. The fact of the matter is that we are increasing our energy portfolios, relying on both traditional and renewable energies to support our needs. The problem is that our grid structure is built for the reliability that traditional energy sources provide. Wind and solar have less energy density and are not as predictable, which leaves grid operators spinning many more plates than they previously had to, to keep the lights on.

These challenges have real consequences, like the time prices in Texas surged 20 times higher than normal after the ordinarily strong West Texas winds didn’t blow on one day, or last year’s blackout in New York City.

“Unfortunately, this wasn’t New York’s first blackout in recent history. And sadly, it’s not hard to predict based on these political decisions that it won’t be its last. These events and the travails that grid operators face are an important early warning for us as we contemplate our energy future and manage the introduction of new sources into our power mix.”

CEA President David Holt lays out the facts in his analysis at NewsMax

Making the Safest Way to Move Energy Even Safer

Pipeline construction with welder

Any good engineer will tell you that infrastructure and safety go hand-in-hand, and it’s no different with energy pipelines. In fact, pipelines are already the safest way to transport oil and natural gas, according to the Department of Transportation. But even so, the industry and government are always working to make that record even stronger.

The Council for Dredging & Marine Construction Safety‘s Pipeline Task Force published a new safety guide, Pipeline Incident Prevention, that’s major step in building on America’s record of making pipelines the safest method of transporting energy. The guide is a public-private initiative with input from industry stakeholders and government agencies like the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Pipelines themselves are literal lifelines in a ton of communities throughout North America. It’s how we fuel cars, homes, and many of our current technologies. It’s how our families and small business have constant access to affordable, reliable energy all day, every day. That’s why America doesn’t sleep when it comes to making the safest even safer.

Read more and download the document here.

U.S. Now Leading Natural Gas and Oil Producer

Woman Fueling Car

The U.S. was importing as much as 60% of their oil in 2005. This was a major reason that gas prices would soar well above $3 per gallon throughout it’s history. For the first time, we’re keeping gas prices low, and it’s all thanks to our net exporting.

“Thanks to the US Shale Revolution the USA is now the leading natural gas producer and leading oil producer in the world. Instead of importing 60 percent of our oil we are now an oil exporter. Who would have thought this was possible in 2005? … Because of this US consumers have saved over $1.1 trillion in the past 10 years because of lower natural gas prices … Based on government data and a Consumer Energy Alliance report, in the last 10 years pollution in the USA is also down. The USA is the ONLY major country that is on target to meet the Paris Climate agreement.”

Read more – The Parkersburg News and Sentinel

Enough stalling. Let’s build it.

Minneapolis, Minnesota from Stone Arch Bridge

Minnesota State Director, Chris Ventura says enough is enough – stop delaying Line 3. Considering the pipeline has been around since the 1960s, an infrastructure upgrade is needed now.

“The current pipeline, built in the 1960s, needs to be modernized. The Line 3 replacement will continue to carry the vital energy supplies Minnesotans rely on in the most environmentally sound manner. And, it will bring high-paying union jobs and additional revenue to communities across the state and landowners who’ve already signed up for the project.”

Read more – StarTribune

Top 5 Energy Stories This Week

energy

This week in regular news we learned that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are stepping down as senior members of the Royal Family; Justin Bieber confirms he has Lyme disease; and a body language expert revealed who The Bachelor (Peter Weber) is vibing with in this week’s premiere. While, we love reading these stories, we wanted to share our favorite headlines from the energy sector. Catch up by checking out last week’s headlines here.

Man charging phone at airport

5Remember the good old days when a phone battery would last a week?

Monash University in Melbourne, Australia recently developed a lithium-sulphur battery that can keep a cell phone charged for FIVE days. This is also great news for electric cars and grid energy storage, as all three of these items currently use lithium-ion batteries. NewScientist covers the rest of the story here.

Electric Car Charging Station

4While the Tesla electric truck failed to wow, Chrysler released its hybrid electric Jeep Compass

The Consumer Electronics Show took place this week, and what better way to get the word out about a brand new SUV? Particularly an SUV that runs on electricity! While that may seem like an oxymoron, Fiat Chrysler is making good on its promise to electrify all of their vehicles by 2022. CNBC tells the tale here.

Solar Thermal Power Station

3The largest solar farm in the U.S. just made a deal on storage with Google

One of the biggest flaws of solar power is the ability to store energy. Typically, corporations that invest in renewables will buy an offsetting amount of kilowatt hours. However, with this deal we see that Google will match time consumption as it is happening. Green Tech Media gets into the nitty-gritty here.

Man Using Computer

2Many consumers pause on cryptocurrency, as it remains a foreign concept to them

That being said, throwing in the fact that these “cryptocurrency mines” have a negative impact on the environment could create a longer delay of introduction to mainstream sources. Researchers at the University of New Mexico found that the environmental costs of cryptocurrency mining are larger than previously realized. Science Daily gives the scoop here.

Two steel construction workers welding metal

1Small business runs this country, especially in the energy industry

The Department of Energy announced this week that they are awarding $32 million in grants to small business research and development. One-hundred fifty-eight grants in total will be shared among 118 companies to support innovation and job creation. The DOE shares full details here.

NEPA Overhaul a Victory for Environment, Families, and the Economy

Town Hall

Consumer Energy Alliance applauds the White House Council on Environmental Quality for taking this first and important step towards modernizing the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).

Over the past 40 years, NEPA has become synonymous with uncertainty, delay, and wasted investment. The delay and dollars lost in the NEPA process is time that American families and small businesses are not working and adds to the cost of the energy they need to sustain the American way of life.

“We applaud the Administration’s decision to strengthen NEPA by introducing efficiency to a stringent regulatory process that is the envy of the world, while removing obstacles to developing energy projects that are crucial to the health of the entire American economy,” Consumer Energy Alliance President David Holt said.

The regulations released today, when implemented, demonstrate that environmental stewardship, American jobs, and affordable energy rates can and must go hand-in-hand.

NEPA Modernization Provides Much Needed Regulatory Certainty

Town Hall

Washington, D.C. – National Ocean Industries Association (NOIA) President Erik G. Milito issued the following statement after the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) issued proposed changes to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) guidelines:

“After nearly four decades, the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) has become associated with inherent uncertainty, prolonged project delays and stifling of investment. It does not have to remain this way. Today’s proposed modernization balances the need for infrastructure investment and project development with environmental stewardship. Ultimately, NEPA modernization and clarification will enable a more efficient, effective and timely regulatory process.

“From agriculture to energy to forestry to manufacturing to transportation, NEPA impacts almost every sector of the U.S. economy. NEPA modernization will help secure investments in U.S. projects, strengthen U.S. job creation and will benefit every American. For NOIA members, smart NEPA reforms can ensure that they are able to continue building a better world through energy security and economic growth and provide a higher standard of living for Americans and consumers throughout the world.”

##

The National Ocean Industries Association (NOIA) represents and advances a dynamic and growing offshore energy industry, providing solutions that support communities and protect our workers, the public and our environment.

Greenhouse Gas Emissions Fell in 2019

Worker in a manufacturing facility

Greenhouse gas emissions fell 2.1 percent in 2019. A welcome bit of information, but not surprising as several states have reported falling emissions; despite an uptick in energy production and population growth. The U.S. really is the leader in environmental stewardship and energy development – just as CEA has been reporting for years.

Read more – The Washington Post

Consumer Electronics Show – How Much Energy is Used to Host The World’s Largest Electronic Trade Show?

Circuit board for electronics

The Consumer Electronics Show is THE place to see next-generation innovations in the consumer technology industries. This year’s event is expected to attract about 180,000 attendees and the latest devices from more than 4,500 companies will be unveiled.

Electronics Eat Energy

As a country where people routinely pay an eye-popping $1,000 for the latest smart phone, Americans certainly love our electronics. What we rarely think about is just how much energy these items take to be produced. From mining and fuel consumption to manufacturing and transporting them to stores. There’s a lot of energy cost that we, as consumers, tend to overlook. With that in mind, let’s talk about the kind of energy and power it takes to put on the world’s largest electronics trade show.

Venues Contribute to a Large Carbon Footprint

There are three big pieces of the energy pie in a show like CES. The power for the venue, air charter and ground transport. Event venues use a lot of energy, since they’re set up to house thousands of people. Not to mention they need tons of power outlets for cameras, microphones, computers and stage lighting. Considering electronics is the middle name of the show, energy consumption is through the roof.

And that’s after it’s all set up, through a massive logistical operation using air and ground transport.

Transportation Contributes Even More So

With so many companies pouring in to hawk their latest and greatest products innovations, it takes tons of air charters and cargo flights to bring those in. Flights carry a large carbon footprint. Despite the fact that clean energy extremists keep “flight-shaming” us, they don’t have an alternative solution for our modern transportation requirements; so we tack on those miles.

For those that don’t fly in their equipment and sales teams, there are plenty of trucks packing on the miles as well. Even though the trucking industry has cut emissions by 98 percent and fuel consumption in new heavy-duty trucks by up to 23 percent through efficiency improvements; according to the American Trucking Associations, trucks still have a carbon footprint. There will be a lot of diesel consumption for just this one trade show.

Check Your Carbon Cost

Any way you slice it, a show this size eats up a ton of energy. We’re all for exciting, improved technology and it’s important that we, as consumers, are aware of the carbon cost of attending these events and buying these products. Understanding the big picture of our carbon footprints is the first step in creating thoughtful, realistic plans to reduce them.

1...959697...338Page 96 of 338

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

© Consumer Energy Alliance