Republicans in Pa. find one more way to slow adoption of RGGI

Jared WickerhamHomes in front of the Cheswick coal-fired power plant in Cheswick, Pa.


By Stephen Caruso Pittsburgh City Paper

A statewide program to limit carbon emissions from Pennsylvania power plant operators is set to become law — but slower than environmental advocates would like.

The state’s entry into the multi-state compact known as the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, or RGGI, calls for 58 fossil fuel-burning plants to buy at auction a credit for each ton of carbon they release into the atmosphere. The average price of a credit at the most recent auction was $13 per-ton of carbon.

The policy received a final stamp of approval from Attorney General Josh Shapiro’s office this week, the last step before it would typically be published and enacted.

However, this final step may be delayed until, at latest, early January 2022 due to a technical dispute between Gov. Tom Wolf’s administration and the legislative agency that circulates new laws and regulations, an important, albeit bureaucratic, step.

In a letter sent to the Department of Environmental Protection Nov. 30, the Legislative Reference Bureau — which publishes the new rules in the Pennsylvania Bulletin  — said it would not publicize RGGI, pending an ongoing push by the Republican-controlled General Assembly to block it.

State law allows the Legislature to block proposed regulations by passing a resolution and sending it to the governor’s desk.

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Amazon announces its first solar energy project in Georgia

Solar farm with a setting sun in the background.


By Abraham Kenmore Augusta Chronicle

Amazon is bringing a 70 megawatt solar farm to Burke County, according to a news release from the company Wednesday. The facility will be the first solar project from Amazon in Georgia. 

According to a press release, the internet giant is rolling out 18 new wind and solar projects around the world as part of an initiative to power the business entirely with renewable energy by 2025. The project in Burke County is one of eight announced today, along with projects in Ohio, Texas, Virginia and Arizona. Together, they will add 1 gigawatt of power to the company profile.

More: Solar manufacturing may expand further in Georgia, southeast under Build Back Better bill

The projects will supply power to Amazon’s corporate offices, its fulfillment centers and data centers sometimes referred to as server farms. Details about the new project in Burke County remain vague, however.

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Murphy’s picks to replace conservatonists on Pinelands Commission sets advocates on fire


By Jon Hurdle, NJ Spotlight

Gov. Phil Murphy’s new nominations to the Pinelands Commission have outraged environmentalists who said the new members would weaken environmental protections and make the 1 million-acre South Jersey preserve more vulnerable to development.

The critics said the nominees, all with corporate backgrounds, would replace three incumbents with long records as environmental advocates. These nominations, those critics said, are at odds with Murphy’s other policies of promoting clean energy and driving down climate-altering emissions.

In response to the storm of protest, the administration agreed Sunday to meet with the environmentalists on Monday to discuss the issue. The advocates consequently canceled a Monday news conference when they planned to urge Murphy to withdraw the nominations.

The newly re-elected governor on Thursday nominated Elvin Montero, deputy executive director of the Chemistry Council of New Jersey, a trade group, to replace Ed Lloyd, a retired environmental law professor who has sat on the commission since 2002.

Murphy also proposed that Davon McCurry, a government affairs official with the wind energy giant Orsted, should replace D’Arcy Rohan Green, an environmental advocate who has served on the Pinelands Commission since 2011.

And Laura Matos, an executive at Kivvit, a national communications and public relations firm, was nominated to replace Richard Prickett, a retired science teacher who joined the commission in 2012 and is its current chairman.

Read the full story here

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Lake Erie wind turbine project subject of upcoming Ohio Supreme Court hearing

Two residents challenge approval of Icebreaker project over threat to birds

By Mark Naymik (WKYC)

CLEVELAND — It’s a project that would harness the power of Lake Erie to power homes.

Dubbed Icebreaker, it would be the first freshwater wind farm in North America, built about eight miles off the Cleveland shoreline.

But the project has been stalled by a legal challenge, which has delayed a key approval from the Ohio Power Siting Board, the authority that signs off on energy projects.

The challenge is fronted by two Bratenahl residents — Susan Dempsey and Robert Maloney — who argue the project needs to better study the threat it poses to migrating birds.

Their case comes before the Ohio Supreme Court on Tuesday.

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New Jersey offshore Wind Port project wins national award

Officials break ground for the New Jersey Wind Port in Salem County.
Gov. Phil Murphy claps after the ground breaking ceremony for the New Jersey Wind Port in Lower Alloways Creek on Sept. 9, 2021.Dave Hernandez | For NJ Advance Media for NJ.com


By Bill Duhart | For NJ.com

The New Jersey Wind Port has won a national award as the best new infrastructure project in the country.

The facility in Lower Alloways Creek, Salem County, which broke ground in September, won the Strategic Infrastructure Project of the Year award at CG/LA Infrastructure’s 13th annual North America Infrastructure Leadership Forum last month.

“This award and the demonstrable interest the wind industry has already shown in the project once again confirm New Jersey as the capital of offshore wind in the United States,” Gov. Phil Murphy said in a statement.

Offshore wind is a central part of Murphy’s Energy Master Plan to achieve 100% clean energy by 2050. The state has committed to producing 7,500 megawatts of offshore wind energy by 2035.

Two South Jersey politicians who championed the project lost reelection bids last month. State Senate President Steve Sweeney and Deputy Assembly Speaker John Burzichelli, both 3rd District Democrats, have promoted offshore wind projects for more than two decades

Read the full story here

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