Exelon shuts down NJ nuclear plant as Irene nears

Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station/GettyImage

As Hurricane Irene approached, the nation’s oldest nuclear reactor was shut down tonight.

Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station is located in Lacey Township, just a few miles from the New Jersey coast.

Chicago-based owner Exelon Corp. decided to shut down plant even before high winds from the storm arrived, the Associated Press reported.

 “The Nuclear Regulatory Commission says Oyster Creek would have to shut down if onsite winds topped 85 mph.

But plant vice president Michael Massaro says it is prudent to do the shutdown early.

It went offline at 5 p.m.


“The plant went into service in 1969, and provides power for 600,000 homes in southern New Jersey.”

Follow our Hurricane coverage on Twitter at: @frankbrill and @enviropolitics

Our most recent posts:  
Trenton-based enviro-engineering firm’s new president
Court throws out fraud suit filed against LEED program 
New Jersey considering a floor price for solar credits
Follow today’s hearing on NJ’s energy plan on Twitter 
NJ appeals court: Environment trumps housing for poor
———————————————————————————————————————————-
Like this post? You’ll love our daily newsletter, EnviroPolitics

Try it free for 30 days!  No obligation. Cancel anytime with one click 

Exelon shuts down NJ nuclear plant as Irene nears Read More »

Trenton-based enviro-engineering firm’s new president

Lahbib Chibani, Ph.D., P.E., has been promoted to President of Sadat Associates, Inc., an environmental science and engineering consulting firm located in Trenton, NJ..

The former President of the company, Marwan M. Sadat, Ph.D., P.E., will now serve as the firm’s Chief Executive Officer.

Dr. Chibani has been with SAI for 22 years, most recently as Senior Vice President of Engineering. He has provided both engineering and project management services for many of SAIs most successful projects, including the Jersey Gardens Mall brownfield redevelopment project in Elizabeth, NJ, and The Tides at Seaboard in North Wildwood, NJ.

The Jersey Gardens Mall project was awarded the USEPAs Phoenix Award in 2001 for Region II, and was ranked nationally. The Tides at Seaboard was awarded the 2003 Award for Excellence in the environmental category from the New Jersey Business and Industry Association.

Born in Morocco, Dr. Chibani has worked extensively both in the US and abroad, in countries as diverse as Algeria, the Ivory Coast, Mexico, Colombia, Yemen, Jordan, Tunisia, Morocco, Armenia, the West Bank, and Saudi Arabia. He has directed and/or managed a variety of environmental projects, in such diverse areas as solid waste, hazardous waste, bio-remediation, maritime pollution, and site planning and redevelopment. He has extensive experience in computer modeling of civil and environmental engineering processes and financial and institutional studies.


Dr. Chibani performed his post-doctoral studies at the Computational Mechanics Institute in the UK. He received his Ph.D. in Civil Engineering from the University of Illinois, his M.S. in Civil, Hydraulic and Environmental Engineering from Rutgers University, and his B.S. in Civil Engineering from Mohamed V University in Rabat, Morocco.

Founded in 1986 by former New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection Assistant Commissioner Marwan M. Sadat, Ph.D., P.E., Sadat Associates handles a wide variety of environmental and civil engineering projects in the areas of geotechnical engineering, brownfield redevelopment, risk assessment, solid waste, landfill design and closure, hazardous waste, wastewater management and design, groundwater management, water supply design, air quality analysis, regulatory compliance, and dam safety.

Our most recent posts:  

Court throws out fraud suit filed against LEED program
New Jersey considering a floor price for solar credits
Follow today’s hearing on NJ’s energy plan on Twitter  
NJ appeals court: Environment trumps housing for poor
Which governor is ditching renewable energy?  
———————————————————————————————————————————-
Like this post? You’ll love our daily newsletter, EnviroPolitics

Try it free for 30 days!  No obligation. Cancel anytime with one click 

Trenton-based enviro-engineering firm’s new president Read More »

Court throws out fraud suit filed against LEED program

                  Updated  at 2:55 p.m. on August 8, 2011 to add related news stories

“”The U.S. District Court in New York City yesterday (August 17, 2011) dismissed a lawsuit charging the U.S. Green Building Council with false advertising over its Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification, “the Environmental Leader blog  reports.

“Henry Gifford, an energy efficiency professional, filed the class action suit in October. He alleged that USGBC has falsely claimed that its rating system makes buildings save energy. Gifford has claimed that buildings can receive the highest LEED ratings regardless of how much energy or water they use.

“USGBC said the court dismissed the federal false advertising claims “with prejudice,” meaning plaintiffs are barred from filing a new suit based on those claims, and also dismissed the plaintiffs’ false advertising claims made under state law.

“The court held that none of the plaintiffs in the action had alleged or could allege any legal interest that would be protected by their lawsuit, the council said.”

Read the entire story at: USGBC Beats LEED False Advertising Claims

Are you a member of the U.S. Green Building Council?  Or have had some other involvement with the organization’s LEED program?  What do you think about it? Share your thoughts in the Comment box below. If one is not visible, activate it by clicking on the tiny ‘comments’ link. 


Related:
$100M Lawsuit Against LEED Dismissed by Federal Judge
Gifford Lawsuit Against USGBC, LEED Dismissed 

Our most recent posts:  

New Jersey considering a floor price for solar credits
Follow today’s hearing on NJ’s energy plan on Twitter 
NJ appeals court: Environment trumps housing for poor
Which governor is ditching renewable energy?  
NJ court sides with developer on Highlands exemption


———————————————————————————————————————————-

Like this post? You’ll love our daily newsletter, EnviroPolitics

Try it free for 30 days!  No obligation. Cancel anytime with one click 

Court throws out fraud suit filed against LEED program Read More »

New Jersey considering a floor price for solar credits

[Updated on  8/22/11 to add two related stories]

The number of new solar energy systems generating electricity in New Jersey more than doubled last year.

That’s good news, right?  Yes, but, as usual, there’s a catch.

New Jersey uses a market-based, supply-and-demand system to subsidize the cost of solar panel installations. It has helped to propel the state into the #2 spot nationally (only California has more solar panels). Read below how the system works and you’ll understand the ‘catch.’

A simplified version of how New Jersey’s SREC system works 

  1. When a business, town, school or individual homeowner has solar panels installed, they receive a certain number of Solar Renewable Energy Certificates (SRECs) based on the amount of energy the system will generate.
  2. The owners of energy plants that emit greenhouse-gas-producing carbon dioxide (CO2) are required by the state to buy enough SRECs each year to offset the amount of CO2 that their plants release to  the atmosphere.
  3. The price of the SRECs depends on the number of solar systems in operation. With fewer systems, the demand for available certificates pushes the price that power plant operators are willing to pay for the credits higher. Similarly, as the number of systems increase, the demand (and price) for individual SRECs decreases.
The ‘catch’ is that, as New Jerseyans continue to install solar panels, SREC prices continue to fall–and they’re falling fast. Once pegged at $600, individual credits were trading this week at $115, according to Flett Exchange, which tracks the market.

Without the prospect of a substantial SREC price, the cost of installing a solar systems becomes less attractive to homeowners and others. So solar installations slow down and fossil-fueled energy use continues to grow.

What can be done to improve the value of solar certificates?

The state’s Board of Utilities, which regulates and promotes clean energy programs, is giving thought to setting a floor price for SRECs, according to a news story in yesterday’s Star-Ledger. 
Meanwhile, in the state legislature, the Energy and Environment Committee held several hearings on S-2317, sponsored by committee chairman Bob Smith. The bill would accelerate by one year state requirements for how much renewable energy must be produced (portfolio standards), forcing power companies to buy more SRECs. The bill passed the Senate in late June and awaits action in the Assembly.
If you haven’t already, use the signup form in the upper right-hand column to subscribe to this blog. We’ll keep you up to date on regulatory, legislative and other developments that will influence the future of solar energy in New Jersey.

Follow today’s hearing on NJ’s energy plan on Twitter 
NJ appeals court: Environment trumps housing for poor 
Which governor is ditching renewable energy? 

NJ court sides with developer on Highlands exemption
Oil industry: Fracking can’t harm groundwater. Really?   

———————————————————————————————————————————-

Like this post? You’ll love our daily newsletter, EnviroPolitics

Try it free for 30 days!  No obligation. Cancel anytime with one click 

New Jersey considering a floor price for solar credits Read More »

Follow today’s hearing on NJ’s energy plan on Twitter

The New Jersey Legislature is not broadcasting today’s joint Senate and Assembly environmental committee hearing on the state Board of Public Utilities’proposed

Energy Management Plan.

But some attendees in the audience are posting updates on Twitter.

If you’re on Twitter, use hashtag #njemp (for New Jersey Energy Management Plan)
to follow along.

———————————————————————————————————————————-

Our most recent posts: 

NJ appeals court: Environment trumps housing for poor

NJ court sides with developer on Highlands exemption
Oil industry: Fracking can’t harm groundwater. Really? 
Wind energy proposal leaves NJ regulators guessing 
  
———————————————————————————————————————————-

Like this post? You’ll love our daily newsletter, EnviroPolitics

Try it free for 30 days!  No obligation. Cancel anytime with one click 

Follow today’s hearing on NJ’s energy plan on Twitter Read More »

NJ appeals court: Environment trumps housing for poor

    [Updated at 4 p.m. on 8/16/11 and at 4:18 p.m. to add two related news stories]

For months, advocates for the poor and advocates for the environment, usually liberal soul-mates, have been butting heads in New Jersey over providing for affordable housing in the state’s environmentally sensitive Highlands region.

Yesterday, the affordable housing advocates came away with the headache while the enviros emerged smiling as a state appellate court ruled that development restrictions in the Highlands Act can proceed.

The Star-Ledger reported that housing advocates slammed the decisions, saying the Highlands plan does nothing to spur construction of homes or apartments for low- and moderate-income residents.

“There are no regulations at all in the Highlands,” said Kevin Walsh, counsel to the Fair Share Housing Center. “The Highlands Council is making things up as they go along. That’s not the way our government is supposed to work.”

Eileen Swan, executive director of the Highlands Council, said the council is “very pleased” with the ruling.

“It affirms our work,” she said. “The method by which the regional master plan was adopted was more rigorous than any rule making. We are always very careful to go back to the Highlands Act and make sure we are always consistent with it.”

Read the entire Star-Ledger story here. NJ Spotlight story here  Bergen Record story here.

———————————————————————————————————————————-
Our most recent posts: 
Which governor is ditching renewable energy?
NJ court sides with developer on Highlands exemption
Oil industry: Fracking can’t harm groundwater. Really?
Wind energy proposal leaves NJ regulators guessing
Up next: Moving PA’s Marcellus Shale gas to market
 
———————————————————————————————————————————-

Like this post? You’ll love our daily newsletter, EnviroPolitics

Try it free for 30 days!  No obligation. Cancel anytime with one click 

NJ appeals court: Environment trumps housing for poor Read More »