Jersey enviros look to topple power line proposal

Like fellow-activists in New York state (Catskill Mountainkeeper rallying opposition to NYRI power line), New Jersey environmental organizations have come out swinging against a proposed high-power line through a section of the state’s northern tier.

The state’s largest power utility, PSE&G, is expected to asked the state Board of Public Utilities to approve the 45-mile, 500-kilovolt power line that the company wants to build at a cost of $650 million. It would run from the town of Hardwick in Warren County, through Sussex and Morris counties to Roseland in Essex County.

PSE&G says the line is necessary to prevent overloads and blackouts on the power grid.

“No one disputes that North Jersey’s electricity highways are congested and need relief to avoid price spikes and blackouts in the future. But New Jersey’s energy future should not be tied to dirty coal plants in Ohio and Pennsylvania, when home grown renewable energy and energy efficiency can provide the solution,” said Dena Mottola Jaborska, the executive director of Environment New Jersey, at a media event held with regional municipal leaders yesterday in Montville, Morris County.

“We cannot support or oppose this project without answers to our concerns,” stated Byram Township councilman Scott Olson, speaking on behalf of six municipalities who have formed a coalition to address this proposal.

“We do not feel that PSE&G has shown a proven need for this expansion, or that all other options have been exhausted and this is the only viable alternative to address their needs. And they have yet to prove the potential for health effects are lessened or that the economic impact to our municipalities and our residents will be addressed,” Olson said.

Feel free to add your opinion by clicking on the “comments” line below.

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Catskill Mountainkeeper rallying opposition to NYRI power line

The Catskill Mountainkeeper is urging its members and friends to attend scheduled public hearing and speak out against the New York Regional Interconnect (NYRI), a proposed 190-mile, high voltage, direct current transmission line. It would run through seven New York counties and 38 municipalities.

The Mountainkeeper claims the project:

* Does not result from a regional or statewide planning process;

* Is not required to address electric system reliability concerns, and

* Fails to consider new programs designed to reduce energy demands through conservation.

The environmental organization has posted a list of talking points for opponents to use in arguing against the project and a schedule of public hearings that are under way and will end on Nov. 6.

Have an opinion on the NYRI? To share it with fellow readers of this blog, just click on the “comments” line below and have at it!

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Energy bills light up New Jersey Legislature today

Today, at its final voting session before Election Day, the New Jersey Assembly will consider the following four environmental bills encouraging alternative energy development and energy conservation:

A-843 Chivukula, U.J. (D-17)
Provides for equal opportunity for businesses to apply for certain energy-related incentives and funding.

A-849 Chivukula, U.J. (D-17) and Voss, J.M. (D-38)
Directs the BPU to establish certain energy-conservation programs.

A-1558 Greenstein, L.R. (D-14) and Watson Coleman, B. (D-15)
Requires developers to offer solar energy systems in certain new home construction.

A-2550 Lampitt, P.R. (D-6); Chivukula, U.J. (D-17); Wagner, C. (D-38)
Permits location of certain wind and solar facilities in industrial zones.

Last Thursday, the Senate Economic Growth Committee amended and released one of two energy bills on its meeting agenda.

That measure, S-1066, Smith, B. (D-17), permits developers to qualify for low-interest loans from the NJ Economic Development Authority when building a high performance green building.

It was amended by removing a requirement that the building have at least a 15,000-square-feet in total floor area and by adding alternative rating systems to establish standards for environmental sustainability.

A second energy bill, S-1065, Smith, B. (D-17), which would permit electric public utilities, electric power suppliers and basic generation service providers to enter into certain agreements with building owners for use of solar energy systems for such buildings, was held at the sponsor’s request.

Following today’s session, the Legislature will be in recess until November 13 when both houses return to a full day of committee meetings.

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Two NJ bills would help green-minded builders

Dozens of bills have been introduced in the New Jersey Legislature this session designed to encourage builders and developers to incorporate environmentally friendly construction standards, materials–and even alternative energy systems–in all new buildings.

On Thursday, Oct 23, the Senate Economic Growth Committee will consider two such bills.

S-1065 Permits electric public utilities to enter into agreements with building owners under which the utility would install or provide for the installation of solar systems to generate some or all of the building’s energy needs, including heating and cooling systems.

S-1066 Permits a developer to qualify for low-interest state loans when building a high performance green building. What’s a high-performance green building? The legislation defines it as “a building having at least 15,000 square feet in total floor area that is designed and constructed in a manner that achieves at least a silver rating according to the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System as adopted by the United States Green Building Council.

[Editor’s note: Click here to learn more about LEED rating systems]

The sponsor of both bills is Senator Bob Smith, D-Middlesex County, who is chairman of the Senate Environment Committee.

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Congress also bails out wind and solar industries


Tucked inside the $700 billion federal bailout bill for the nation’s financial sector is a lifesaver for the renewable energy industry.

For more than a year, the nation’s solar and wind lobbies have been fretting that Congress might not extend renewable energy credits before they expire on Dec. 31.

Locally, solar installers have testified before environmental committees in the New Jersey legislature that the industry would collapse without the credit extensions.

Congressional supporters of alternative energy spotted their opportunity when financial markets signaled that a meltdown was approaching and President Bush urged quick action on the bailout bill.

They managed to slip the renewable energy extension provisions, worth an estimated $17 billion, into the bailout bill and Bush, responding to the economic emergency, had no choice but to sign it.

The new law contains:- An 8-year extension of the residential and business Investment Tax Credit (ITC) for solar, small-wind and geothermal systems

– The elimination of the US $2,000 cap on the residential ITC

– The elimination of the prohibition on utilities from obtaining the ITC – Authorization of US $800 million for clean energy bonds for renewable energy generating facilities

– A 1-year extension of the Production Tax Credit (PTC) for wind projects

– A 2-year extension of the PTC for geothermal facilities – A 2 year ITC for marine energy technologies (tidal, wave, current, ocean thermal)

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Is Honda’s new Prius-fighter the one for me?

Much to my surprise, at 110,000 miles, my 1997 Dodge Intrepid is still humming along. But winter is approaching. I need four new tires, the front windshield has a crack on the lower right passenger side and the brakes occasionally send back funereal tones.
It could be time for a new–or at last newer car–and I need advice on which way to go.

As one who wishes to limit his own personal contribution to the oil companies’ excess profits, the idea of driving a hybrid is appealing. One that’s caught my attention is the Insight (pictured above), which Honda unveiled last week at the 2008 Paris International Auto Show.

The C-Questor blog posted an interesting piece today on the five-door hatchback which will go on sale here in the spring at prices that may be $2,000 less than the Prius’s MSRP.

These days, I spend much more time in front of the computer screen than behind the wheel. Last year, I probably didn’t drive more than 7,000 miles. So I wonder how much gas I’d actually be saving with a hybrid and whether that savings in gas would offset the added cost of a hybrid vehicle.

What do you think? Does a new hybrid, like the Insight, make sense? With my limited driving needs, would buying a used hybrid be a better move? Maybe I should be looking for a standard car that gets better than average gas mileage?

Or, with the GM Volt and other all-electric vehicles only a year or so away from production, should I turn my 18-mpg Intrepid over to a good mechanic, make the necessary repairs, buy new tires, and hope to coax another year or more out of it?

Let us know by clicking on the tiny “comments” link below. Tell us what vehicle you’re driving (or would like to be driving) and why.

And thanks for your help!

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