Your Source for Energy Jobs & Industry News
Government officials in Italy have implemented a new law that allows for nuclear energy to return in the country, four decades after voters banned the technology in a 1987 referendum. […]
The post Italy Passes Law to Bring Back Nuclear Energy appeared first on POWER Magazine.
Illinois on May 27 became the third state in the nation to pass legislation requiring coal ash protections beyond federal requirements.
The state’s House passed the Coal Ash Pollution Prevention Act (SB 9) in a 77-36 vote on Monday, only weeks after Senate passage of the bill in a 39-9 vote on May 9. The bill, sponsored by State Sen. Scott Bennett (D-Champaign) and State Rep. Carol Ammons (D-Champaign), now proceeds to Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s (D) desk, where it will likely be signed into law.
SB 9, which environmental groups lauded as a “groundbreaking bill,” amends the Illinois Environmental Protection Act by acknowledging that “[Coal combustion residuals (CCR)] generated by the electric generating industry has caused groundwater contamination and other forms of pollution at active and inactive plants throughout this [s]tate.”
Though it outlines some exceptions, the bill essentially prohibits the discharge, directly or indirectly, of any contaminants from a CCR surface impoundment into the environment. Under the bill, generators also cannot construct, install, modify, operator, or shutter any CCR surface impoundments without a permit from the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (ILEPA).…
Maryland on April 10 became the first state in the nation to pass legislation enacting a tax credit for residential and commercial energy storage installations.
The measure passed unanimously in the state Senate, and with a 101–11 vote in the House. Gov. Larry Hogan (R) is expected to sign SB 758 into law.
The bill offers up to $ 5,000 for residential installations, $ 150,000 for commercial installations, or 30% of the total cost of installations. Credits can only be claimed for systems installed between January 2018 and December 2022. The tax credit applies to all energy storage technologies.
Earlier this week, Maryland also passed HB 773, which calls for an energy storage technology study to determine how Maryland can use energy storage to open the path to a more reliable electric system.
According to the Energy Storage Association, in 2016, commercial deployment of energy storage systems grew more than 100% over the previous year and installed system costs plummeted another 30%.…