EnviroPolitics Blog

Energy Tech Future: Will we see you Monday in Philly?

Sorry for the late notice but want to alert you to an easy-to-get-to regional event on
Monday afternoon in Philadelphia that may be of value if you are involved in, or
interested in, the future of energy technology.

The New Jersey Technology Council is sponsoring the networking event (from 4 to 6)
for executives at Energy, Environmental, Educational and Non Profit organizations.

Keynote speakers are Laurie Actman, Deputy Director, Department of Energy’s EEB Hub, and Paul Sotkiewicz, Chief Economist, PJM Interconnection.

The pair will field questions from a panel that includes:
Robert Berta, Sales Manager, Silicon Power Corporation;
George Boyajian, VP, Business Development, Primus Green Energy; John Dempsey, Energy Efficiency Manager, Constellation Energy and Kelly Lewis, President, Lewis Strategic.

Frank Brill, the editor of EnviroPolitics, also will serve as a panelist and hopes you’ll introduce yourself so he can learn a bit about your company.

David N. Farsiou, a partner at, Woodcock, Washburn, will moderate the discussion.

David’s intellectual property law firm is hosting the event at its offices adjacent to Amtrak’s 30th Street Station in Philadelphia. (Circa Center, 12th Floor, 2929 Arch Street). Very convenient. You can forget about driving and parking. Just hop on any train in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Delaware that leads to 30th Street and get some work done while you’re en-route.

NJTC’s Paul Frank, also has arranged for two work-group sessions from 3 to 4.

You have your choice of attending an informal session on:

Alternative Energy (NEI
Corporation, Primus Green Energy and Silicon Power Corporation)
or…Smart Cities….Smart Regions (Drexel University and Insperity).

Click the link for more information, fees, and registration

Energy Tech Future: Will we see you Monday in Philly? Read More »

Enviros head to the beach- to slam offshore LNG (again)

Environmental organizations fighting a proposed LNG tank terminal off the coasts of New Jersey and New York have bashed it for two straight nights. Like the Beach Boys, tonight they’ll Do it Again.

Clean Ocean Action is hosting its own ‘public hearing’ in protest of the U.S. Maritime Administration’s decision to schedule only two opportunities for public testimony–neither
in a New Jersey shore community.

It starts tonight at 5:30 with an ‘open house,’ followed at 6 with a ‘Citizens Hearing.’

Where? Sea Bright Public Beach. 1099 Ocean Avenue, Sea Bright, NJ 07760

Is this likely to dissuade federal officials from approving Liberty Natural Gas’s application to construct their ‘Port Ambrose’ facility? Probably not. But it’s great guerrilla theater. It will attract one more day of media coverage (which does affect political decisions) and it keeps the troops energized.

If the prospect of a liquefied natural gas tanker port, anchored 17 miles off Jones Beach, N.Y., and 24 miles off Long Branch, NJ is of interest to you, then grab your board, jump in your woodie and join tonight’s Surfin’ Safari

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FirstEnergy to deactivate two coal power plants in Pa
Energy research project at Phila. Navy Yard in jeopardy
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Enviros head to the beach- to slam offshore LNG (again) Read More »

Two free issues of EnviroPolitics–Tack on 30 more today

If you are not a subscriber and haven’t had a chance to see a copy of our daily newsletter,
EnviroPolitics, you don’t know what you’re missing. Until now, at least.

Check out our most recent two issues below and discover why the the most successful environmental law firms, consultants, trade associations, businesses, lawmakers and regulators in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New York and Delaware find it to be an indispensable daily enjoyment.

If you like what you see (and we bet you will), take us up on a terrific offer–a full month’s subscription for free. That’s 30 individual issues. No obligation. No automatic extension. No gimmicks. No kidding.

Come and get it!

EnviroPolitics for Wednesday, July 10, 2013

EnviroPolitics for Tuesday, July 9, 2013

Like what you see? Jump on your free, 30-day trial subscription!

Feel free to share this with friends and associates.

Two free issues of EnviroPolitics–Tack on 30 more today Read More »

Enviros hope to sink LNG tanker plan off NJ/NY coast

Two years ago, environmental organizations in New Jersey and New York torpedoed a liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal proposed for coastal waters outside New York harbor. The kill shot was fired by New Jersey’s then new governor, Chris Christie, who exercised the veto power provided under federal law to governors in states affected by such projects.

The company that brought the plan, Liberty Natural Gas, has risen from the depths with a revised application that’s under consideration by the U.S. Maritime Commission.

The feds appear to be offering the company’s Port Ambrose project a gift by setting only two pubic hearings on the proposal and scheduling both of them this week, following the long July 4 holiday weekend, when public attention is more focused on sunny beaches than coastal shipping.

Environmental activists, however, apparently never go on vacation. Clean Ocean Action, which led the fight in 2011, sounded the alarm and turned out a room-full of opponents last night at the first hearing held in Long Branch, NY.

Tonight is New Jersey’s turn. The concluding hearing will be held from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.at the New Jersey Convention and Expo Center in Edison. It will be preceded by an open house from 4:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.

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The port is planned for a site 17 miles off Jones Beach, N.Y., and 24 miles off Long Branch, N.J. Liquefied natural gas would be shipped to the site in vessels capable of converting it back into gas form. The gas would then be connected to an existing 22-mile long pipeline serving Long Island and New York City.
Roger Whelan, Liberty’s CEO, said in a statement that the proposal is similar to a terminal already operating near Boston. He said a similar plan is in the works near Tampa, Fla. He claimed the project will provide 600 jobs and inject $90 million into the regional economy. While Liberty Natural Gas says the facility is intended to accept LNG from other countries, environmental opponents believe it eventually would be exploited by the gas industry as an export facility to ship relatively inexpensive U.S. Natural gas abroad.

This would be a boon to companies drilling for natural gas in Pennsylvania today and perhaps, in the future. in New York. It’s also a big reason why many opponents, this time around, come from the anti-fracking camp in Pennsylvania and New York.

The irony underlying the controversy is that, while the liberal Democratic federal Obama administration appears to be greasing the path for the project, New Jersey’s right-leaning Republican governor, often vilified by activist organizations like the Sierra Club, may be the environmental community’s only hope of stopping it.

Public comments on the proposal (Docket number USCG-2013-0363) will be accepted online until July 23. For more information, visit http://www.regulations.gov

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Enviros hope to sink LNG tanker plan off NJ/NY coast Read More »

FirstEnergy to deactivate two coal power plants in Pa

Hatfield’s Ferry Power Station in Masontown, Pa

[Related story ‘FirstEnergy won’t convert’ added at 4:33 p.m.]

FirstEnergy Corp. (FE) says it plans to deactivate two coal-fired power plants in Pennsylvania, citing the cost of compliance with current and future environmental regulations, along with a continued low market price for electricity.

The company announced that its Hatfield’s Ferry Power Station in Masontown, Pa., and Mitchell Power Station in Courtney, Pa., will be deactivated by Oct. 9. The total capacity of the plants is 2,080 megawatts, representing about 10% of the company’s total generating capacity, and about 30% of the estimated $925 million cost to comply with the Environmental Protection Agency’s Mercury and Air Toxics Standards.

FirstEnergy said about 380 plant employees and generation-related positions are expected to be affected. The company has 16,495 employees, according to FactSet.

Following the deactivation of the Hatfield’s Ferry and Mitchell power stations, FirstEnergy’s fleet will consist of 56% coal, 22% nuclear, 13% renewables and 9% gas/oil. It will have a generating capacity of more than 18,000 megawatts.

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The company said with the latest deactivations, in addition to the nine plants it announced for deactivation last year, nearly 100% of the power generated by FirstEnergy will come from resources that are either non- or low-emitting.

FirstEnergy’s $4.4 billion acquisition of Allegheny Energy Inc. in early 2011 made it one of the largest electricity producers in the U.S. The company serves customers in Maryland, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York and West Virginia.

First Energy won’t convert coal-fired power plants to dual firing for now

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Energy research project at Phila. Navy Yard in jeopardy

Climate change nothing to sneeze at: Ask your nose

Gas drilling royalty group opposes bill on Corbett’s desk

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Pre-summer votes on environmental bills in NJ Senate

FirstEnergy to deactivate two coal power plants in Pa Read More »

Energy research project at Phila. Navy Yard in jeopardy

The Energy Efficient Buildings Hub, an ambitious Pennsylvania State University research venture that was hailed as a cornerstone of the Navy Yard redevelopment when it was founded in 2010, is in danger of getting its plug pulled, the Philadelphia Inquirer reports today.

Sen. Diane Feinstein (D- Calif) who chairs the U.S. Senate Appropriations subcommittee that oversees energy and water development recommended at a June 25 hear that funds be cut for the Philadelphia center “because of poor performance and failure to meet technical milestones.”

But Inquirer reporter Andrew Maykuth writes that advocates of the project suspect that politics is at play, as Feinstein’s state includes several national laboratories that are competing for the same pot of federal energy money.

Read the full story at: Navy Yard Hub project in jeopardy

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For thorough coverage of environmental news, issues, legislation and regulation in NJ, PA, NY & DE, try a FREE subscription to EnviroPolitics. Our daily newsletter also tracks NJ & PA environment and energy bills–from introduction to enactment
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