Volunteers surging to the shore to clean up after Sandy

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Almost three months since Superstorm Sandy ravaged scores of shore communities in New Jersey and New York, residents and municipalities are still struggling with the job of digging out and rebuilding their homes, towns and coastal environments.

Fortunately, there has been no shortage of people willing to pitch in to help and a New Jersey environmental organization has taken up the challenge of matching eager volunteers with needy projects.

Clean Ocean Action has launched Waves of Action For the Shore, a year’s worth of volunteer projects, educational events and environmental restorations. It’s also established a valuable web site (ForTheShore.org) where homeowners and towns can register cleanup projects and volunteers can learn about project dates, locations, numbers of workers needed, and the type of work involved.

At the organization’s initial event on December 8, more than 1,300 volunteers participated in cleanups in 31 New York and New Jersey towns.

Several thousand volunteers are expected for the organization’s next big event on January 19, Martin Luther King Day.

In the interview above, Tavia Danch, Education Coordinator for Clean Ocean Action, talks with EnviroPolitics Editor Frank Brill about her organization’s ambitious volunteer effort. Listen in to learn how you, your family and co-workers can get involved.

Related environmental news stories:
‘Waves of Action’ surge along the Jersey Shore
January 19th, 2013 – Projects in New Jersey
Collecting old Christmas trees to help shore up N.J. dunes

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Pipeline company sues to block Pa. fracking opponents

It’s not exactly news when environmental organizations go to court to block developments or other projects that they view as potentially harmful. But what about when a pipeline company sues to block the activists who are trying to block the pipeline?

Times-Tribune reporter David Singleton explains: Pipeline company sues to block opponents

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For thorough coverage of environmental news, issues, legislation and regulation in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, try a FREE subscription to EnviroPolitics, our daily newsletter that also tracks environment/energy bills–from introduction to enactment
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Pipeline company sues to block Pa. fracking opponents Read More »

Solar energy pictures in New Jersey: The dull and bright

New York Times photo

A report in today’s NJSpotlight paints a pretty depressing picture of New Jersey’s formerly red-hot solar energy marketplace.

In December, preliminary figures from the state Office of Clean Energy indicate that just nine megawatts of new arrays were installed in New Jersey that month, a significant drop-off from the rapid pace of previous months, when 42 megawatts were developed in October 2011 alone.

The decline reflects a steep drop in the prices that owners of solar systems earn for the electricity their arrays produce, which have fallen from a high in the mid-$600 range 18 months ago to as low as $70 in recent days. That collapse has dried up investment in New Jersey’s solar market, once second behind only California in the number of solar installations.

“Everyone I talk to says the money has left New Jersey,’’ said Fred DeSanti, a lobbyist who represents a number of solar and renewable energy businesses. “It’s absolutely dead.’’

But the Wall Street Journal has some upbeat news.

Public Service Electric & Gas Co., the state’s largest power supplier, is nearing completion of a program to mount 175,000 solar panels on utility poles along highways and residential streets. Those involved with the $200 million project say it’s the largest installation of its type in the world.

The last of the 3-by-5-foot solar panels—which weigh about 25 pounds and are mounted on angles part-way up the poles to maximize exposure to the sun—is scheduled to be installed in early April. The panels were going up at a rate of 300 a day until Sandy interrupted the process. Some 120 solar poles were damaged by the storm, according to utility spokesman Michael Jennings.

The combined energy generated by the panels, 40 megawatts, would be able to power more than 6,000 homes, according to the utility.

Read the full stories:

New Jersey Solar Sector Stalls and Falls
Sun Power, Pole by Pole

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Solar energy pictures in New Jersey: The dull and bright Read More »

‘Renewable’ advocates lose nuke suit but gain an opening

“In an interesting decision issued last Friday, the Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, in Beyond Nuclear v. NextEra Energy Seabrook, affirmed the decision by the NRC rejecting a challenge to Seabrook’s relicensing posed by a coalition of environmental groups. The decision seems clearly correct, but raises an important policy issue that is likely to recur as renewable energy technologies advance…”

So writes Foley Hoag partner Seth D. Jaffe in a blog post today sent to clients and friends.

To learn more about that “important policy issue” and what comfort the decision offers renewable energy advocates, read Seth’s full post at:

Can Wind Energy Serve As Baseload Power? The First Circuit Agrees with the NRC That, For Now, The Answer Is “Not Yet.”

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*******************************************************************************************************
For thorough coverage of environmental news, issues, legislation and regulation in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, try a FREE subscription to EnviroPolitics, our daily newsletter that also tracks environment/energy bills–from introduction to enactment
***********************************************************************************************************

‘Renewable’ advocates lose nuke suit but gain an opening Read More »

Oyster Creek nuclear plant under Sandy spotlight tonight

The amount of energy generated by New Jersey environmental activists likely could power quite a few households if captured tonight at a public hearing in Toms River on the safety
of the Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station.

Groups like the New Jersey Environmental Federation and the New Jersey Sierra Club will
be calling for the closure of the nuclear facility in Lacey Township, where a floodwater surge generated by Superstorm Sandy caused the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to issue an alert as the water came within four inches of backup pumps used to prevent a meltdown
of the plant.

Tonight’s meeting of the Oyster Creek Safety Advisory Panel will be held between 6 p.m.
and 7:30
p.m. in room 119 of the Ocean County Administration Building, 101 Hooper Avenue, Toms River, NJ 08754.

The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) advises members of the public who would like to speak to fill
out a request card upon arrival. Each person will have
five minutes to address the panel.
Written comments will also be accepted.

Panel members are DEP Commissioner Bob Martin,
Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness Director Edward Dickson and
independent consultant Dr. Adam Cohen.
The meeting was originally scheduled to take place in
November, but was rescheduled
due to Superstorm Sandy.

In an alert to its members, the Environmental Federation says that the nuclear plant
“has the exact same flawed and
antiquated water reactor design as Fukushima.”
The Federation is calling for additional protections at the plant and an updating of its evacuation plan.

The NJ Sierra Club, in a statement, said:“The NRC instead
of being a regulator has been a cheerleader for the industry. If they were
concerned about safety they would not give the oldest plant in the nation a 20
year license. This is the eighth incident at the
plant since it had been re-licensed There needs to be an independent
investigation not just the NRC to make sure that this is plant is safe.”

What do you think? Let us know in the comment box below. If one is not visible, activate it by clicking on the tiny ‘comments’ line.

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Oyster Creek nuclear plant under Sandy spotlight tonight Read More »

2013 alternative energy picture not bright in New Jersey

At the start of 2013, New Jersey‘s prospect for a greater reliance on alternative energy is far from promising.

The development of a wind-turbine farm off the coast is more doubtful than ever, the once high-soaring solar sector has gone into an eclipse, and an alternative energy vehicle policy hasn’t yet pulled away from the curb.

NJ Spotlight‘s energy and environment writer Tom Johnson surveys the landscape in
For Energy Sector, 2013 Brings Another Chance to Grapple With Unresolved Issues.

Across the border, New York State has announced that it is investing $250 million in alternative energy projects as part of its Renewable Portfolio Program. The chosen projects will be announced by early summer and are supposed to be generating electricity by May 1
of next year.

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Tax-credit Extension Won’t Be Much Help to NJ Offshore Wind Farms
In the UK, Renewable energy is creating jobs but coal-fired electricity is rising too
The Solar Energy Outlook for 2013
Biomass Industry Outlook 2013: Dogged by Regulatory Uncertainty

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