EnviroPolitics Blog

New law lets Orsted’s offshore wind energy project bypass New Jersey local government approval

By Wayne Perry, Associated Press

OCEAN CITY — New Jersey utility regulators used a controversial law Friday enabling them to bypass local authorities and grant approvals needed for an offshore wind project to proceed.

The state Board of Public Utilities granted Orsted, the Danish wind energy developer, approvals toward several easements and permits that authorities in Cape May County had refused to grant the company.

They used an amendment to New Jersey’s offshore wind law passed in 2021 and signed into law by Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy removing most local control over where offshore wind projects come ashore. The law enables an offshore wind developer to apply to the utilities board for an order superseding local control over such projects.

“I just want to assure the public that we don’t take these kinds of actions lightly,” said Joseph Fiordaliso, the board’s president. “There has to be a definite public need for the board to even consider this kind of action. This is something that the majority of us believe will benefit the citizens of New Jersey.”

Read the full story here

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DOE makes progress on concentrating-solar

A pilot project demonstrates high-temperature technology that can be used for energy storage, power production, industrial process heat, and fuel production

From the U.S. Department of Energy

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) celebrated the groundbreaking of its Generation 3 concentrating solar-thermal pilot facility at Sandia National Laboratories. This demonstration is the culmination of a $100 million research effort to develop next-generation concentrating solar-thermal power (CSP) plants and showcase storage technology that could provide one gigawatt of storage for one hour at a single plant.

The technology is an important part of achieving the Biden-Administration goal of a 100% clean energy economy by 2050. “Next-generation CSP has the potential to be a game-changer,” said Alejandro Moreno, Acting Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy.

“This pilot facility will demonstrate how CSP systems can meet the challenges of providing long-duration energy storage while reducing costs and complexity for solar thermal technology. At the same time, it also provides a pathway to commercialization for industrial process heat.”

Concentrating Solar Basics

DOE launched its Generation 3 (Gen3) CSP research effort in 2017, challenging the industry to develop and test new technologies to achieve high-temperature plants. The best commercially available technologies, which use mirrors to concentrate sunlight and heat molten salt on top of a tower, can only reach 565°C. DOE’s Gen3 CSP research initiative evaluated all viable pathways to operate a plant that could reach 720°C.

Based on research findings, DOE then selected Sandia to develop its technology, which uses sand-like ceramic particles instead of molten salt and can withstand temperatures greater than 800°C. These particles can be used to transfer and store heat or power a supercritical carbon dioxide (sCO2) turbine. If successful, this type of solar power plant could provide 100 megawatts of power continuously, around the clock, at a low cost.

Sandia received $25 million to build, test, and operate this facility at the National Solar Thermal Test Facility in Albuquerque, NM. To accelerate deployment and commercialization, Sandia is working with international researchers in Saudi Arabia and Australia to test variants of key system components.

The pilot is expected to be completed in 2024 and will prove that a particle-based plant could achieve DOE’s goal of making electricity-plus-storage from CSP even more affordable at 5¢/kWh. Learn more about DOE’s CSP research.

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EPA sets Mid-Atlantic PFAS ‘listening session’

PHILADELPHIA (February 16, 2023) – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is holding a virtual listening session on EPA’s PFAS Strategic Roadmap for residents living in EPA’s Mid-Atlantic Region Thursday, March 2 from 6-8 p.m.

This Zoom meeting will provide information about EPA’s ongoing work under the PFAS Strategic Roadmap and what it means for the mid-Atlantic region, which includes Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia and Washington, D.C.

The session will provide opportunities for communities to share feedback directly with EPA representatives about the actions described in the Roadmap. Residents interested in participating can register online at: https://pfascommunityengagement.org/register .

Background

In October 2021, EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan announced the Agency’s PFAS Strategic Roadmap—laying out a whole-of-agency approach to addressing per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS. The Roadmap sets timelines by which EPA plans to take specific actions and commits to bolder new policies to safeguard public health, protect the environment, and hold polluters accountable. The actions described in the PFAS Roadmap each represent important and meaningful steps to safeguard communities from PFAS contamination. Cumulatively, these actions will build upon one another and lead to more enduring and protective solutions.

In November 2022, EPA released “A Year of Progress Under EPA’s PFAS Strategic Roadmap,” which underscores key actions taken by the agency during the first year of implementing the PFAS Roadmap. EPA continues to implement a whole-of-agency approach, advancing science, and following the law to safeguard public health, protect the environment, and hold polluters accountable. Concurrently with this one-year progress report, EPA announced that it will hold virtual community engagement events in each EPA Region in 2023, which EPA’s Mid-Atlantic Region is announcing today.

These engagements align with recommendations from the National Environmental Justice Advisory Council and EPA’s Roadmap commitment to engage directly with stakeholders. Recognizing the unique and pervasive impacts of PFAS on Tribal communities, EPA is also planning to hold a session specifically designed to hear from our Tribal partners.

More information on EPA’s efforts on PFAS is available at www.epa.gov/pfas

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Authorities examine ‘unusual mortality events’ as ninth dead whale washes up in New Jersey

By Gloria Oladipo, The Guardian Feb 15 2023 12.18 EST

A ninth dead whale has washed up on the New Jersey coastline, as conservationists and local authorities investigate the causes of an unusual number of such deaths along the US east coast.

The humpback was found in Manasquan, New Jersey, on Monday.

The whale was removed from the beach on Tuesday and taken to the county landfill for a necropsy and to collect tissue samples, a spokesperson for Noaa Fisheries, part of the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration, told Gothamist.

The whale is one of many recently found dead off New York and New Jersey. At least 10 humpback whales have died in east coast waters in 2023, six near New York and New Jersey, CBS reported.

Noaa Fisheries is investigating the cause of such “unusual mortality events”, data for which has been collected since 2016.

Conservatives and some conservationist activists attribute the rise in deaths to increasing offshore wind projects, calling on federal authorities to do more to protect the coastline.

But federal officials have pushed back against claims that wind turbines are to blame, saying evidence does not support the contention wind energy projects cause whale fatalities.

Read the full story here

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In NJ, Gov. Murphy calls for all-electric cars,100-percent clean energy by 2035

Gov. Phil Murphy on Wednesday announced the state will move up its goal to reach 100 percent clean energy by 15 years and require all new cars sold in the state to be electric by 2035. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

By Megan VerHelst, Patch Staff

NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ — Gov. Phil Murphy on Wednesday announced the state will move up its goal to reach 100 percent clean energy by 15 years — an initiative that will also require new cars sold in the state to be all-electric by 2035.

Murphy made the announcement during a speech at Rutgers University. The decision to move the state’s 100 percent clean energy goal from 2050 to 2035 was among six environmental actions Murphy plans to enact to achieve the “Next New Jersey,” he said.

“These bold targets and carefully crafted initiatives signal our unequivocal commitment to swift and concrete climate action today,” Murphy said in a statement. “We’ve turned our vision for a greener tomorrow into a responsible and actionable roadmap to guide us, and it’s through that pragmatic, evidence-based approach that we will ultimately arrive at our destination.”

Murphy signed three executive orders Wednesday aimed at combatting climate change. Among the state’s goal to reach 100 percent clean energy by 2035, one order calls for the installation of zero-emission heating and cooling systems in 10 percent of all low-to-moderate income residential properties by 2030.

Another order calls for the state Board of Public Utilities to research the possibility of a natural gas utility in New Jersey.

The move to require all-electric cars by 2035 is among some of the most aggressive actions taken to tackle climate change in the nation.

In August, California Gov. Gavin Newsom officially banned the sale of new gasoline-powered cars in the Golden State by 2035. The mandate requires all new vehicles to have zero emissions and be free of fossil fuel emissions.

The California Air Resources Board will require 35 percent of new passenger vehicles sold in the state by 2026 to produce zero emissions. By 2030, that number will climb to 68 percent.

Read the full story here

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