Last New York Coal Plant Set to Close
The post Last New York Coal Plant Set to Close appeared first on POWER Magazine.
The last operating coal-fired power plant in New York state could close by mid-February. Somerset Operating Co. on Nov. 15 asked the New York State Public Service Commission to waive the state’s 180-day notice requirement to shutter the 675-MW plant, asking regulators to allow the facility to close as early as Feb. 15, 2020.
Somerset in a news release Monday said it is retiring the plant due to stricter state emissions regulations, and also said poor economics led to its decision. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and state regulators earlier this year adopted rules to further reduce carbon dioxide emissions from power plants, designed to end coal-fired power generation in the state by year-end 2020. The state also has set a goal of 100% carbon-free energy by 2040.
Owner Plans Data Center at Site
The plant’s owner, Riesling Power LLC, has proposed building a $ 550 million data center on the 1,800-acre site of the Somerset plant, located on the shore of Lake Ontario in Niagara County.…
Nuclear Waste Bill Gains Traction in the House
The post Nuclear Waste Bill Gains Traction in the House appeared first on POWER Magazine.
A bill to amend the Nuclear Waste Policy Act (NWPA) of 1982 and give the Department of Energy (DOE) the authority to site, build, and operate one or more interim storage sites that would consolidate spent nuclear fuel (SNF) from decommissioned nuclear reactors has passed out of committee and been reported to the full House of Representatives.
The full U.S. Energy and Commerce Committee amended the May 2019-introduced “Nuclear Waste Policy Amendments Act of 2019” (H.R. 2699) by voice vote on Nov. 20. The committee received it from the subcommittee on Environment and Climate Change on Sept. 26. It now goes to the full House, where its future is uncertain. However, Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Frank Pallone, Jr.—a Democrat from New Jersey—was hopeful that it would move the nation closer to a “real national solution for moving spent fuel to an interim facility and, ultimately, to a permanent repository.”…
‘GREEN Act of 2019’ Extends Tax Credits for Renewables
The post ‘GREEN Act of 2019’ Extends Tax Credits for Renewables appeared first on POWER Magazine.
The Ways and Means Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives on Nov. 19 released a draft tax package for clean energy projects that includes a five-year extension of the 30% solar Investment Tax Credit (ITC), along with new incentives for energy storage.
The legislation also supports incentives for electric vehicles (EVs), offshore and onshore wind farms, and energy efficiency measures, among other items.
“This bill will build on existing tax incentives that promote renewable energy and increase efficiency and create new models for technology and activity to reduce our carbon footprint,” Mike Thompson (D-Calif.), chairman of the Subcommittee on Select Revenue Measures, said in a statement Tuesday.
Critics of the package include six groups—Americans for Tax Reform, Americans for Prosperity, the Center for a Free Economy, FreedomWorks, Heritage Action, and the National Taxpayers Union. Those groups earlier Tuesday shared a letter and asked lawmakers not to extend tax credits or give more support for renewable energy, saying phaseouts of credits adopted in 2015 should be continued.…