NRC Denies License for Proposed Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Plant

Calvert Cliffs Nuclear PlantFederal regulators denied a license Thursday to the French-controlled company for a proposed third nuclear reactor at the Calvert Cliffs nuclear power plant in Southern Maryland, giving the company 60 days to find a U.S. partner.  At the end of those 60 days, the three judges of the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board will be forced to terminate the company's application proceedings entirely. The decision follows...

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New Stormwater Management Rule in Washington, DC

"Making Stormwater Retrofits Pay"Creating a market for stormwater retrofits to harness self-interest, leverage river protections, and promote sustainable development in the District of ColumbiaBy Brian Van WyeIn a highly urban area such as Washington, D.C., vast impervious surfaces shed massive volumes of stormwater every time it rains. Stormwater retrofits that retain stormwater onsite have the potential to make D.C. “spongier,” that is, more closely...

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Continuous Emissions Monitoring System (CEMS)

Electric utility companies must meet stringent regulatory standards for environmental quality with a continuous emissions monitoring system (CEMS) that provides reliable and accurate data.Example:Figure 1: Oswald Generating StationThe Oswald Generating Station is a 510-megawatt (MW), combined-cycle, natural gas combustion turbine plant located in Pulaski County, 0.5 miles south of Wrightsville, Arkansas. The plant (Figure 1) consists of six...

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Big Coal Faces Steel Slowdown Amid Shale-Gas Pain

Four of the largest U.S. coal producers [Alpha Natural Resources Inc., Peabody Energy Corp., Arch Coal Inc. and Walter Energy Inc.] made $20 billion of acquisitions last year to reduce their dependence on the domestic power industry. They have completed takeovers that boosted sales of metallurgical coal used in steelmaking. The companies bet that the coal, which sells for a higher price than the thermal variety burned to generate electricity,...

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Pennsylvania DEP Amending Fracking Rules

The Pennsylvania State Department of Environmental Protection is proposing to make far-reaching amendments to oil and gas regulations governing Marcellus Shale gas developments.  The more than 100 proposed changes in a 23-page draft "concept paper" indicates stronger rules are needed to protect Pennsylvania's surface and groundwater resources.The document is the first step in a regulatory rewrite, required by the 2012 Act 13...

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Projected Natural Gas Prices Depend On Shale Gas Economics

Considerable uncertainty exists regarding the size of the economically recoverable U.S. shale gas resource base and the cost of producing those resources. Across four shale gas resource scenarios from the Annual Energy Outlook 2012 (AEO2012), natural gas prices vary by about $4 per million British thermal units (MMBtu) in 2035, demonstrating the significant impact that shale gas resource uncertainty has in determining future natural gas prices....

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Obama Administration Finalizes 54.5 MPG Fuel Efficiency Standard

The Obama Administration today finalized groundbreaking standards that will increase fuel economy to the equivalent of 54.5 mpg for cars and light-duty trucks by Model Year 2025. This will nearly double the fuel efficiency of those vehicles compared to new vehicles currently on our roads.The historic standards issued today by the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) build on the success of...

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The White House Forum on Urban Innovation

The Center participated in a forum at The White House yesterday that brought people from all over the country to share information about innovations in their respective areas.  The White House Forum on Urban Innovation is a part of a new set of conversations hosted by The White House to spotlight stories of social innovation on the ground.  The White House wanted to learn from pioneers who are driving change in challenging times and to...

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HUD Innovation of the Day

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has developed a new tool for highlighting innovations.  Innovation of the Day (IOD) was developed as a hub for collecting and disseminating innovative housing, community development, built environment, and urban practices. Its purpose is to crowd-source new models that can be leveraged not only within HUD, but by other agencies, municipalities, philanthropies, non-profits, and citizens....

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Center Partners With Water Management, Inc

Section 3 Water Conservation Jobs Training and Business Creation Program Center for Environment, Commerce & EnergyWater Management, Inc.HUD OutreachSection 3July 2012 WANTED: SECTION 3 WATER MANAGEMENT ENTREPRENEURS The Center for Environment, Commerce and Energy (Center) and Water Management, Inc (WMI) have partnered to offer water management entrepreneurial services to Public Housing Authorities and their residents. Section 3 businesses...

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Exelon and First Solar

In September, 2011, Exelon Corporation acquired Antelope Valley Solar Ranch One, a 230-megawatt (MW) solar photovoltaic (PV) project under development in northern Los Angeles County, Calif., from First Solar, which developed and will build, operate, and maintain the project. Construction has started, with the first portion of the site expected to come online in late 2012 and full operation planned for late 2013.When fully operational, AV Solar Ranch...

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Center Seeking Keystone Pipeline Construction Contract

The Center and its pipeline construction partner, S.L. Sibert Management and Construction Company (SLSMC), are pursuing contracting opportunities on the proposed Keystone XL pipeline project.  The Center hopes the pipeline, TransCanada, will select our team to construct a portion of the pipeline.  The Center would assure that appropriate environmental protections are in place and SLSMC has extensive experience in pipeline construction.The...

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Mitt Romney Energy Plan

Mitt Romney released his new energy plant in a white paper and it focuses on developing domestic fossil fuels like oil, gas and coal. Romney's plan would make states the custodian of energy production on federal lands within their borders and allow them to implement their own federally-approved leasing practices. Such a move would effectively shift responsibility for permitting, leasing and environmental regulation from the Department of the Interior...

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Shipbreaking in Brownsville, Texas

Special ProjectsChairman, Doc SloanESCO Shipbreaking SiteAlthough most shipbreaking is done overseas, there are a few shipbreaking companies in the United States.  Ship breaking in the United States is booming at the moment, as congressional mandates to reduce the rotting hulks in the three Ghost Fleets of the nation are being implemented. These mothball fleets are composed primarily of US Maritime Administration (MARAD) reserve ships, initially...

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Natural Gas Key To Renewable Energy Use

Combined-Cycle Gas Turbine Plants Solve Intermittency Problem of Wind & Solar How do we develop an energy future that copes with the variability of solar and wind energy? Non-renewable natural gas seems destined to play a larger role in ushering in a greater penetration of renewable energy. It's the only practical utility-scale source of energy that can be to help match fluctuations in load.While gas supply and pricing have historically...

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Natural Gas v. Coal

According to data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA), natural gas accounted for 28.7 percent of total generation during the first quarter of 2012, compared with 20.7 percent during the same quarter last year. In contrast, coal's portion of total generation declined from 44.6 percent to 36.0 percent over the same period. Even more drastic numbers can be seen when comparing the amount of gas generation in March 2012 to March of last year....

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Court Strikes Down EPA Cross State Air Pollution Rule

The United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, in a 2-1 ruling today, said the Environmental Protection Agency had exceeded its authority in the way it apportioned the cleanup work among 28 upwind states, called the Cross-State Air Pollution Rule.  The rule addressed how to deal with states whose own air was clean enough, but were hosts to power plants, refineries and other industrial plants that emitted...

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Natural Gas & Renewables Dominate 2012 Capacity Additions

During the first half of 2012, 165 new electric power generators were added in 33 states, for a total of 8,098 megawatts (MW) of new capacity. Of the ten states with the highest levels of capacity additions, most of the new capacity uses natural gas or renewable energy sources. Capacity additions in these ten states total 6,500 MW, or 80% of the new capacity added nationally in the first six months of 2012. Most of the new generators built over...

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Resources For The Future: New Shale Gas Research

"A Review of Shale Gas Regulations by State"Experts at Resources For The Future (RFF) analyzed regulations in the 31 states that have significant shale gas reserves to identify how 20 important regulatory elements are applied in each state.The maps in this project show the preliminary results of these efforts for approximately 20 important regulatory elements in each state in the continental United States.  The purpose of these maps is to...

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GAO Report on EPA Regulations and Electricity

The General Accounting Office (GAO) recently completed a report (summary) on the effects of Environmental Protection Agency regulations on the electric utility industry ("EPA Regulations and Electricity: Better Monitoring by Agencies Could Strengthen Efforts to Address Potential Challenges").  EPA recently proposed or finalized four regulations affecting coal-fueled electricity generating units, which provide almost half of the electricity in...

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Pipelines

The nation’s network of more than 2.5 million miles of pipeline is largely regulated by the Department of Transportation’s (DOT) Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) and state entities. Part of this network consists of more than 200,000 miles (estimated) of onshore "gathering" pipelines, which transport hazardous liquid and natural gas products from wells to processing facilities and to larger transmission pipelines. Many...

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