PA Environment Daily

OCTOBER 18, 2024

And, unfortunately for them, the energy market is pointing in the opposite direction. Fracked gas companies are seeing less build-out of new natural gas power plants because solar and wind power are so cheap. We will pay and the companies will eat the profits. It’s time to stop falling for this grift.

Natural Gas

A Greener Life

JULY 6, 2025

Key updates reflect a dynamic landscape, from shifting deforestation rates in the Amazon to ground breaking initiatives in clean energy. However, the country is diversifying its energy mix, and solar and wind power are expanding rapidly. Brazil’s Power Sector Overview.

2025

Union of Concerned Scientists

JANUARY 6, 2025

As the year kicks off with a very cold January weather forecast, US power grid operators and the regulators who oversee them are paying close attention to ensure that the grid failures of several past extreme winter storms dont happen again. These outages differ from other, more common types of outages.) Although much shorter than the 4.5

Fossil Fuels

PA Environment Daily

JUNE 11, 2025

"PITT OHIO's investments in renewable energy, power storage, and electric vehicles have enabled growth and hiring," said Justine Russ, Director of Sustainability and Business Intelligence at PITT OHIO.

Electricity

Scientific American

JULY 16, 2025

This June construction began on a wind-powered underwater data center about six miles off the coast of Shanghai, one of China’s AI hubs. Roughly 40 percent of the electricity consumed by an ordinary data center is for this purpose. She writes and reports about climate change and the clean energy transition.

Wind Power

A Greener Life

FEBRUARY 9, 2025

By Anders Lorenzen Data released by BloombergNEF (BNEF), the clean energy analysts body owned by Bloomberg , have shown that despite the uncertainty, on a global level, the cost of clean energy technologies continues to decline. Global costs fell by 21% last year for a typical fixed-axis solar farm.

Clean Energy

A Greener Life

APRIL 5, 2025

By Anders Lorenzen A leading energy think tank says that last month, less than half of the US electricity capacity came from fossil fuels. of generated electricity. As a result, clean energy sources generated the largest amount of electricity in the US last month, 50.8%a of US electricity generation.

Clean Energy

Union of Concerned Scientists

DECEMBER 12, 2024

For its part, the transmission advocacy group Clean Grid Alliance calls MISOs action the biggest regional grid upgrade ever in the United States. This round of upgrades will help unlock vast amounts of clean energy and strengthen the reliability and resilience of the power grid. This is enough to power more than 3.5

Clean Energy

PA Environment Daily

OCTOBER 24, 2024

Using an interactive online dashboard-- Renewables on the Rise 2024 -- documents the growth of six key clean energy technologies across the United States over the past decade and ranks states accordingly for solar power, wind power, battery storage, energy efficiency, electric vehicles and electric vehicle charging stations.

Renewable Energy

Union of Concerned Scientists

APRIL 21, 2025

The clean energy economy has been on an absolute rip-roaring tear. These are the policies that coiled the clean energy spring ; that assembled new workforces; that unlocked the economy-transforming, leveling-up types of investments that dont just prefer but require a long-term view. Two reasons.

Clean Energy

PA Environment Daily

AUGUST 10, 2025

Data Centers - By John Quigley, Senior Fellow, Kleinman Center for Energy Policy [PaEN] -- Post-Gazette Guest Essay: Pennsylvania May Not Have Enough Electricity For A.I. Data Centers Share The Blame, States Feel Pressure To Act [PA Included] -- MCall: As Electric Bills Rise Due To A.I. How Is A.I. How Is A.I. 11 Hearing On A.I.

Conservation

Legal Planet

JULY 24, 2025

This month’s federal budget and policy legislation rescinded billions of dollars in clean energy and climate-related infrastructure investments and halted the progress of many projects already underway, including major tax incentive and grant programs focused on wind and solar energy, vehicle electrification, and domestic manufacturing.

Carbon Dioxide

PA Environment Daily

OCTOBER 20, 2024

13 Webinar On EPA Clean School Bus Grant Program [PaEN] -- TribLive: Plum School District Working To Cover Costs Of Adding Electric Buses To Fleet -- WHYY: Philly Property Owners Could Soon Face Fines If Their Electric Vehicle Chargers Don’t Work Help Wanted -- Sustainable Pittsburgh Executive Director Joylette Portlock, Ph.D

Clean Energy

PA Environment Daily

JANUARY 26, 2025

Shapiros FERC Complaint To Lower PJM Electricity Capacity Price Cap -- Broad+Liberty: US Senator McCormick Announces First PA Energy & Innovation Summit -- New Castle News: US Senator McCormick Plans PA Energy Summit, Touts Presidents Plan For Energy Dominance -- PennVEST Approves $288.2

Conservation

Union of Concerned Scientists

MAY 1, 2025

This short-term calculus poses a dire threat to numerous UCS priorities, from clean energy, to electric vehicles, to sustainable agriculture, to climate resilience, to reducing the threat posed by nuclear weapons. Tax credits supporting the clean energy transition.

Clean Energy

PA Environment Daily

JULY 6, 2025

In Allegheny County Violated Its Own Zoning Ordinance To Allow Shale Gas Well Pad, Pipeline To Be Built In A Residential Area -- Environmental Hearing Board Denies Request To End Appeal Of Catalyst Energy, Inc. Tioga County [PaEN] -- The Allegheny Front - Reid Frazier: Commonwealth Court Rules Elizabeth Twp.,

Natural Resources

PA Environment Daily

OCTOBER 18, 2024

Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced the investment of $24 million in 112 clean energy projects in Pennsylvania to create jobs and help lower their energy bills through the Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) and the Empowering Rural America (New ERA) program. USDA is also investing $20.5

Clean Energy

Legal Planet

JUNE 19, 2025

Cimate change provides a compelling reason to support clean energy. You might begin by pointing out that clean energy isn’t just a liberal thing. Texas is #1 for wind power, #2 (and rising) for solar, and #3 for EVs. clean energy sector. Using clean energy can save money.

Clean Energy

Legal Planet

MAY 7, 2025

Electricity! electricity generation for a whole month March 2025 thanks to record-high solar and wind power, according to data released by energy think tank Ember. This milestone, achieved in March 2025, represents a turning point in the evolving energy mix of the worlds largest economy, writes Robert Rapier.

Fossil Fuels

PA Environment Daily

JULY 3, 2025

On July 3, the PJM Interconnection issued a Hot Weather Alert for July 6 in its Western Region and for July 7 in its Mid-Atlantic and Southern Regions in its electric grid operations area covering 13 states-- including Pennsylvania-- and the District of Columbia. The last Hot Weather Alert just ended 7 days ago on June 26. Read more here.

Wind Power

Union of Concerned Scientists

JUNE 16, 2025

Here’s the clean energy momentum at stake, the threats to that momentum, and why there is still reason for hope. Years of clean energy progress, month by month The graph of progress on clean energy from the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) shown below says a lot about where we’ve come from, over the long term and in recent times.

Clean Energy

Legal Planet

NOVEMBER 14, 2024

Trump vociferously favors fossil fuels and has criticized renewables, especially wind power and electric vehicles. But renewables have powerful corporate champions and trade associations with support across the aisle in Washington, D.C. Gas and renewables often go hand in hand.

2025

PA Environment Daily

OCTOBER 20, 2024

Million To Allegheny Electric Cooperative Under Rural Energy Programs [PaEN] -- TribLive Guest Essay: We Must Build On, Not Kill, Clean Energy Momentum - by Adam Forgie, Mayor, Turtle Creek Borough -- DCED Begins Accepting Applications For PA Solar For Schools Grants Nov.

Conservation

Legal Planet

JULY 10, 2025

The Climate Center says California should adopt policies encouraging bidirectional EVs as a way to keep leading, and its hosting a webinar on July 24, The Affordability and Public Health Benefits of Bidirectional Electric School Buses. Grist reports that similar bills passed in Ohio, Tennessee, and Indiana.

Climate Change

PA Environment Daily

JULY 2, 2025

This version of the bill removes a proposed tax on solar and wind and includes incentives for clean firm technologies like geothermal and advanced nuclear. However, it also quickly phases out clean energy tax credits that are crucial for lowering costs for families and creating family-sustaining careers.

Renewable Energy

PA Environment Daily

APRIL 8, 2025

On April 4, the PJM Interconnection sent a letter to the President supporting Presidential exemptions from the federal Clean Air Act requested by 13,900 MW of electric generation in the PJM region. Photos: Keystone and Conemaugh power plants.)

Clean Air Act

Union of Concerned Scientists

DECEMBER 1, 2022

DTE’s proposal, known as an integrated resource plan, describes how the utility intends to fulfill its customers’ electricity needs over the next 20 years. These types of long-term energy plans include forecasting the amount of electricity customers will need and examining different options for supporting that need.

Clean Energy

Union of Concerned Scientists

JUNE 15, 2022

We at the Union of Concerned Scientists think a lot about wind power. In honor of Global Wind Day , here’s a roundup of what we’re seeing and what we’ve been thinking—five facts about wind energy to keep in mind as you celebrate, or at least make note, on June 15. Wind power is big, and getting bigger.

Wind Power

Union of Concerned Scientists

AUGUST 21, 2024

Earlier this month, the US Department of the Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service hosted a public hearing on their recent proposed rules governing implementation of the Section 45Y Clean Electricity Production Credit and the Section 48E Clean Electricity Investment Credit. My testimony is copied below.

Electricity

Union of Concerned Scientists

DECEMBER 22, 2022

The renewable energy transition involves harnessing epic forces of nature. Sleek solar panels forged from silver and silica from the depths of the Earth translate the sun’s blindingly fiery light energy into electricity. Batteries help store surplus energy. Source: UniEnergy Technologies / Wikimedia Commons. Source: UCS.

Wind Power

Union of Concerned Scientists

APRIL 24, 2023

There’s good news in the recently released official data on electricity generation in the United States in 2022: renewable energy has continued to grow, coal power has continued to drop, and renewables are now firmly ahead of coal for the first time ever. They offer a lot of good news about clean energy progress.

Clean Energy

Union of Concerned Scientists

JANUARY 22, 2024

When it comes to the transition to clean energy, 2023 was quite a year for progress: record-breaking amounts of solar installed in the United States, a solid drop in carbon emissions from the US power sector, more than one million electric vehicles sold in the country for the first time, “breakneck” growth in renewable energy globally, and more.

Clean Energy

Union of Concerned Scientists

DECEMBER 22, 2022

Lithium-ion batteries are essential for decarbonizing transportation through electric vehicles and building a resilient, renewable energy grid through energy storage batteries. By 2050, battery recycling could supply 22 to 27% of lithium, 40 to 46% of nickel, and 45 to 52% of cobalt needed for electric vehicles in the US.

Recycling

Union of Concerned Scientists

APRIL 3, 2023

Illinois’ Climate and Equitable Jobs Act (CEJA) sets a bold goal for the state—no carbon pollution from electricity generation by 2045, which means zero global warming emissions from coal- and gas-fired power plants. Illinois legislators and clean energy advocates celebrate CEJA’s signing in September 2021.

Electricity

Union of Concerned Scientists

JULY 25, 2022

Today, the regional entity overseeing much of the electric power grid in the Midwest—the Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO)—approved a set of major new transmission system upgrades that will bring billions of dollars in benefits to the region while better enabling states and utilities to pursue transitions to clean energy.

Solar Power

Union of Concerned Scientists

JULY 22, 2022

Unfortunately, the Minnesota Legislature failed to act on climate and clean energy investments this session, leaving progress toward a more affordable, equitable, healthy Minnesota on the table. Most Minnesotans are familiar with their local electricity utility, since that’s who bills them for electricity they provide.

Renewable Energy

Legal Planet

APRIL 29, 2024

Climate policy has been boosted by dramatic changes in the economics of clean energy. Wind power costs fell by half from 2008 to 2021. The Department of Energy estimates the cost of an electric vehicle lithium-ion battery pack declined 89% between 2008 and 2022.

Fossil Fuels