Portland, Ore. — In response to today’s Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) ruling on the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) “Environmental Redispatch and No Negative Pricing policy,” Rachel Shimshak, executive director of non-profit advocacy group Renewable Northwest Project, issued the following statement: We are pleased that the Commission has ruled on this issue and has determined that BPA’s “Environmental Redispatch and No Negative Pricing Policy” is discriminatory. With these questions answered, Renewable Northwest Project is eager to continue working with BPA and regional partners toward solutions to over-generation that are economical, equitable and good for the environment.
Big Solar Comes of Age
December 19, 2013
The largest solar thermal plant in the world opens in California’s Mojave Desert, after a debate that pitted renewable energy against a threatened tortoise. The Ivanpah solar plant is one of seven big solar farms scheduled to open in California in the coming months, as a result of the state’s push to produce one third […]
Obituary: Larry L. Berg
December 8, 2013
Los Angeles Times | Link to article July 30, 1939 – November 28, 2013 Dr. Larry L. Berg, long-time commentator on California and national politics and founder of the Jesse M. Unruh Institute of Politics and Government at the University of Southern California, passed away at his home in Calabasas, CA on Thanksgiving. Dr. Berg […]
Imperial Valley agencies develop plan to save ailing Salton Sea
December 7, 2013
After 2017, the Salton Sea could be at risk of receding further. The new goal is to raise funds for restoration through the sale of geothermal energy. Los Angeles Times | By Tony Perry | Link to article SAN DIEGO — With an ominous deadline approaching, two feuding Imperial Valley agencies have put aside their […]
BP oil refinery waste piles up on Southeast Side
October 18, 2013
Chicago Tribune | By Michael Hawthorne | Link to article Just south of the Chicago Skyway bridge, a dusty byproduct of the Canadian oil boom is piling up in huge black mountains along the Calumet River. More is on the way. A lot more. By the end of the year, the oil giant BP is […]
Solar Plant Generates Power For Six Hours After Sunset
October 11, 2013
KCET.org/ReWire | By Chris Clarke | Link to article A solar thermal power plant in the Arizona desert just showed that solar power doesn’t have to stop working when the sun goes down. On Wednesday, Abengoa Solar announced that its 280-megawatt Solana plant near Gila Bend, Arizona, which just started delivering power to Arizona’s largest […]
V. Manuel Perez pushes for renewable energy bill support
September 19, 2013
The Desert Sun | By K Kaufmann | Link to article Pèrez lining up support for plan that puts added focus on Salton Sea’s potential PALM DESERT — Assemblyman V. Manuel Pèrez is looking for support from Coachella Valley officials and business leaders for an ambitious bill to push California utilities to procure more than […]
Why the U.S. Power Grid’s Days Are Numbered
August 22, 2013
Bloomberg News/businessweek.com | By Chris Martin, Mark Chediak, and Ken Wells | Link to article There are 3,200 utilities that make up the U.S. electrical grid, the largest machine in the world. These power companies sell $400 billion worth of electricity a year, mostly derived from burning fossil fuels in centralized stations and distributed over […]
California cannot afford a Teapot Dome
August 12, 2013
SFGate.com/SF Chronicle | By Fran Pavley | Link to article In 1922, U.S. Interior Secretary Albert Fall secretly gave away the rights to oil fields in Elk Hills, just west of Bakersfield, and Teapot Dome, Wyo., for a pittance. After a series of congressional hearings revealed that these natural resources had been leased at millions […]
