Environmental Law and Policy Center » Developing Clean Energy

Chicago Gets Geared Up For Electric Vehicles

pgray — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 21:26:57 +0000

With plug-in hybrid and electric vehicles ready to hit the marketplace, an article in the Chicago Tribune looks at whether Chicago is ready to support electric vehicle charging. The Chicago area is the third largest auto market in the nation, and with low-carbon sources of electricity available, it’s ideal location to use an plug-in vehicles to reduce global warming pollution.

Supporting plug-in vehicles means providing public charging stations, streamlining the process to install home charging stations and providing incentives to reduce the amount of pollution created by charging plug-in hybrid and electric vehicles. ELPC Executive Director Howard Learner told the Tribune, “We need to get the right policies in place, moving forward, soon. And when I say soon, I mean get them in place over the next six months to a year.” ELPC is working with the public and private sectors in Chicago to maximize the environmental benefits of plug-in vehicles.

Read the article here Learn more about plug-in vehicles at elpc.org/plug-ins

New Illinois Legislation Boosts Solar Power

pgray — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 19:02:50 +0000

ELPC Policy Advocate Madeleine Weil, Illinois Governor Pat Quinn, ELPC Policy Advocate Sarah Wochos and ELPC Co-Legislative Director Al Grosboll

On August 17, Illinois Governor Pat Quinn signed into law two bills that will create more than 5,000 new jobs and bring more than 3 million kilowatt hours of solar electricity to Illinois consumers by 2014. ELPC was instrumental in crafting and advocating for these bills, which will increase the number of solar installations around the state.

The Solar Ramp Up bill (HB 6202) sets annual targets for the amount of solar power used in Illinois between 2012 and 2015, these targets give industry a green light to invest in solar power and create new jobs, revenue and clean energy here in Illinois. The Homeowners’ Solar Rights Act (HB 5429) clarifies the rights of homeowners living in homeowner or condominium associations to put solar panels on the property and outlines a process for that to occur.

Read coverage from the Associated Press

Up to 135 Gigawatts of Wasted Energy Could be Captured by US Industries

pgray — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 16:45:34 +0000

Heavy industries like steel, paper and cement mills vent large amounts of heat in the course of their operations – over 135 gigawatts worth of energy that is wasted. Using existing technology, that heat energy could be captured and turned into enough electricity to power millions of homes – replacing highly pollution power plants. Turning waste heat into electricity makes more money for industrial facilities while avoiding global warming pollution and making the most of our natural resources. Facilities like the ArcelorMittal steel plant in Indiana have installed combined heat and power equipment that generates as much electricity as a 200 megawatt coal plant without burning any fossil fuels. Combined heat and power advocates believe this process could supply up to 20% of our nation’s energy needs.

New Storage Batteries Can Expand Wind Power’s Potential

pgray — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 16:47:14 +0000

On a Minnesota wind farm, developers have successfully completed tests of a one megawatt storage battery that can harness excess energy produced by strong winds and send it back into the grid when wind speeds slow down. The 80 ton battery could supply power to 500 homes for 7 hours. Currently, when wind turbines produce more power than the grid needs, they have to be shut down. This type of storage technology “represents a huge leap forward,” said ELPC Policy Advocate Matt McLarty, capturing more of the wind’s energy and offering a more consistent supply of electricity from clean, renewable sources.

BP’s Gulf Spill Heightens Concerns Over Whiting Refinery

pgray — Fri, 06 Aug 2010 20:33:28 +0000

ELPC worked with a coalition of environmental and citizen groups to successfully challenge the air permit for an expansion of BP’s Whiting, Indiana oil refinery that would enable the facility to process more oil from Canadian tar sands, and create huge amounts of new global warming pollution in the process. An article in Greenwire and The New York Times looks at how BP oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico might affect the planned refinery expansion.

“Putting economics above public safety and the environment appears to be a pervasive practice” at BP, said ELPC senior attorney Faith Bugel. “If there’s a loophole, the practice appears to be to find their way through it. Our concern is that what happened in the Gulf doesn’t happen here.”

Read the full article in the New York Times

New York Times: Pressure Building on Chicago’s Coal Plants

pgray — Fri, 06 Aug 2010 16:15:00 +0000

The campaign to clean up Chicago’s aging coal plants was featured in the New York Times on August 6. The article details the progress of the Chicago Clean Power Ordinance, legislation that would force the coal plants to drastically reduce carbon dioxide and particulate matter pollution. The ordinance was introduced by Alderman Joe Moore in April and has gained 14 cosponsors including Alderman Ricardo Muñoz of the 22nd ward, where the Crawford coal plant is located.

ELPC Executive Director Howard Learner told the New York Times, “The reality is the coal comes from Wyoming, other states get the power, Midwest Generation gets the profit, and Chicago gets the pollution and health costs.”

ELPC has been actively supporting the ordinance and helped pass 2006 regulations that greatly reduced mercury pollution from Illinois coal plants.

Illinois Coal Plant Expected to Raise Electricity Rates, Fuel Global Warming

pgray — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 17:23:17 +0000

The Chicago Tribune reports that the cost of a new coal plant under construction in southern Illinois has more than doubled to $4.4 billion, an increase which will affect residents in the Illinois towns that signed long-term contracts to purchase power from the plant. The Prairie State coal plant, built by Peabody Energy, the world’s largest private coal company, will burn coal from Peabody’s nearby mine, generating 1600 megawatts of electricity and generating 13 million tons of global warming pollution each year, the equivalent of putting 2 million more cars on the road.

Some argue that coal is the cheapest source of electricity available, but proposed federal regulations on carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases could add additional costs to the power from this plant.

ELPC opposed the construction of the plant. As Executive Director Howard Learner told the Tribune, “These cities and towns are captive buyers at the mercy of Peabody and its ever-increasing costs. People are going to pay higher rates for more pollution. That isn’t a winning formula.”

Read the full story in the Chicago Tribune.

Howard Learner in Chicago Tribune: Illinois Can be a Solar Energy Leader

pgray — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 15:44:51 +0000

A feature in the Chicago Tribune looks at the growth of solar power in Illinois. With solar equipment becoming more affordable and supportive policies in place to encourage solar energy in Illinois and other states, solar is beginning to take off in the Midwest. ELPC Executive Director Howard Learner told the Tribune that Illinois’ recent legislation to ramp up solar power development will create at least 5,000 new green jobs in Illinois and that developers are planning more solar power plants around the state, similar to the 10 MW plant completed in Chicago this year.

“Illinois has the opportunity to be a very significant solar energy leader between the two coasts,” Learner said.

Read the full article in the Chicago Tribune

ELPC Holds Washington Briefings on New Energy Crop Program

pgray — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 19:40:05 +0000

On June 21st and 22nd, ELPC held briefings in Washington, D.C. to educate House and Senate staff on the environmental and energy benefits of sustainably-grown “energy crops.” ELPC, in partnership with National Farmers Union (NFU) and the 25x’25 Alliance, convened the briefings, which featured speakers from ELPC, National Wildlife Federation, the University of Illinois, and industry organizations. Moderated by ELPC Staff Attorney and Policy Advocate Karen Bridges, the briefings focused on the federal Farm Bill’s Biomass Crop Assistance Program, or “BCAP.”

Sustainable biomass and biofuel crops could become an important clean energy resource, but farmers want to be sure there’s a market for these crops before they plant them, and power producers want to be sure there’s a supply of these crops before they buy them. BCAP was intended to help break this “chicken and egg” dilemma by offsetting a portion of the costs of growing and harvesting new energy crops and other biomass feedstocks. Congress passed BCAP in the 2008 Farm Bill, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is just starting to fully implement it.

With this briefing and related activities, ELPC is seeking to persuade USDA to hard-wire strong environmental protections in the BCAP rules and prioritize the right energy crops for development. If grown and harvested correctly, BCAP can boost on-farm income, help rural communities, and improve environmental quality.

Click here to view presentations on BCAP from National Wildlife Federation, Anna Rath, Show Me Energy Cooperative and University of Illinois.

For more information on BCAP and other Farm Bill Energy Title programs, please visit FarmEnergy.org.

Study Confirms Scientific Consensus on Climate Change

pgray — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 15:56:03 +0000

The work to promote clean energy and reduce global warming pollution has been based on the research of climate scientists, the vast majority of whom have found for decades that human activity is causing global warming. But there are climate scientists who disagree, and some skeptics have called into question whether this scientific consensus actually exists.

A new study from researchers at Stanford University compiles a database of scientists actively working on climate change and identifies their positions on human caused global warming. The study found that over 97% of the top experts on climate science believe that global warming is happening and human activity is the cause, while many of those identified as climate skeptics are not actively publishing in the field.

Read coverage in the New York Times here.

Read the study here.