Smart solar energy advancement or disloyalty?

 

Energise

The federal Energy Department’s Solar Energy Technologies Office has made the following announcement:

“Today, the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) SunShot Initiative announced up to $30 million in new projects to support the integration of solar energy into the nation’s electric grid, while diversifying the nation’s electricity sources and improving the reliability and security of the electric grid. SunShot will fund 13 projects with a total of up to $30 million to develop next-generation grid planning and operation tools that help to integrate more solar power with the grid. “
[See the full news release here]

So far, no response from the fossil-fuel crowd in White House. Do you think they will let this stand or will resignations be demanded for ‘disloyalty’? 

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Twin-party sponsors for economic development PACE bill

States where PACE programs are in operation

Legislation that would allow local Pennsylvania governments to work alongside private lenders on low-cost and long-term conservation projects and energy efficiency on industrial properties has been introduced in the state Senate by Democrat John Blake (Lackawanna) and Republican Guy Reschenthaler (Allegheny).


SB-234 would establish Pennsylvania’s Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) program. Currently, 33 states plus the District of Columbia authorize PACE financing for clean energy and energy efficiency projects; this includes a diverse group of states such as Alabama, California, Georgia, North Carolina, New Jersey, New York, Ohio and Texas.

According to the sponsors, PACE (Property Assessed Clean Energy) is a financing mechanism that enables low-cost, long-term funding for energy efficiency, renewable energy, and water conservation upgrades to commercial or industrial properties. The upfront capital is then paid back in the form of a voluntary property tax assessment on the specific, improved building. PACE can pay for new heating and cooling systems, lighting improvements, solar panels, water pumps and insulation. It is an economic development tool that enhances property values and employment opportunities, lowers the cost of doing business, expands the use of energy saving technologies.

A local government chooses to participate in or develop a PACE financing program, so the program is voluntary. PACE financing does not require any public funds – in fact, general obligation debt financing is prohibited. Local communities merely collect the assessment on the improved building and remit it for payment on the debt incurred from the building’s energy-efficiency and clean energy technology upgrades. 

“Presently, the upfront cost of installing energy-efficient or clean energy technology can be prohibitive,” the sponsors wrote in a message accompanying the bill”s introduction. “Our legislation provides a common sense, market-driven, and voluntary solution to this problem – one that has proven to work across the United States.”

The sponsors say the legislation is supported by numerous stakeholders, including:

BlueGreen Alliance
Conservation Consultants Inc. (CCI)
Delaware Valley Green Building Council (DVGBC)
Energy Coordinating Agency (ECA)
E2
The Efficiency Network (TEN)
First Fuel Software Inc.
Honeywell Building Solutions
International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW), Third District and Locals 5, 81, 229, 712
Keystone Energy Efficiency Alliance (KEEA)
MaGrann Associates
National Electrical Contractor Association (NECA), Western PA and Penn-Del-Jersey Chapters
Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC)
The Nature Conservancy, Pennsylvania Chapter
Penn Future
PennEnvironment
Pennsylvania Municipal League
Pennsylvania Solar Energy Industries Association (PASEIA)
Pittsburgh City Council
SmartWatt 
Solar Unified Network of Western Pennsylvania (SUNWPA)


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Sanders, Cruz to debate future of Obamacare next Tuesday


The Hill reports:

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) will go to battle next week in a debate over the future of ObamaCare.
Sanders and Cruz, who both ran for their party’s nomination in the 2016 presidential race, will square off in a debate airing on CNN next Tuesday, Feb. 7 at 9 p.m.
The debate will be moderated by CNN’s Jake Tapper and Dana Bash. The debate comes as Republicans in Congress craft a plan to repeal and replace former President Barack Obama’s signature healthcare law.
A promo for the debate aired during CNN’s town hall with House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, and news quickly spread on social media.

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Will Trump order throw enviro-rulemaking into chaos?

REUTERS/Carlos Barria

The environmental blog Grist reports:

On Monday, the president signed “a big one”: an executive order mandating that for every new regulation created, two regulations must be eliminated.
The order also says that the total cost of regulatory changes should be zero. Rules related to the military, national security, and foreign affairs are exempted, of course.
Experts are scratching their heads over what this will mean. “The whole rule-writing area is now in complete chaos and environmental rules are going to be caught up in that,” said Georgetown environmental law professor Hope Babcock.
“An agency can’t just say here’s a regulation and goodbye two,” said Georgetown law professor William Buzbee. “Every change in regulation requires a new rulemaking. What this will really do — this is requiring so much work — is most agencies will have incentives to avoid doing any rulemaking.”
And getting rid of regulations isn’t easy. The president has to “faithfully execute” all laws and cannot undo agency regulations that enforce laws like the Clean Air Act. Any rollback, such as eliminating a species from the endangered list, would have to be completed in accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act, which takes time, according to Babcock. “You can’t just by executive fiat rescind a rule,” she said.
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Pa. Senate Republicans take new shot at union dues


The Associated Press reports today:
Republicans in the Pennsylvania state Senate are making another attempt to end the ability of public-sector labor unions to collect full dues and political action committee contributions through payroll deductions from members’ paychecks.
The GOP-controlled Senate State Government Committee cast an 8-4 party line vote Tuesday to advance the legislation and a resolution to amend the constitution.
The bill passed the Senate 26-23 in 2015, but died in the House last year. It is also opposed by Democratic Governor Tom Wolf.
The bill would bar the state, school districts and local government employers from deducting any portion of union dues that underwrite political activity and union political action committee contributions from the paychecks of unionized workers.
Only deductions that pay for contract negotiation costs and other non-political activity would be allowed.
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Local congressmen divided on Trump immigration order

Dave Davies reports for NewsWorks:

As demonstrators swarmed to airports to protest President Trump’s executive order on refugees and immigrants, our region’s Congressional representatives have had to figure out what they think about the travel ban.
It was easy for Democrats. Many made their way to Philadelphia International Airport to join protesters, including Philadelphia U.S. Rep. Bob Brady, Pennsylvania U.S. Sen. Bob Casey, South Jersey Rep. Donald Norcross, and Delaware U.S. Sen. Tom Carper and Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester.
For Republicans it was a trickier calculation, since their party holds the White House.
All seven GOP Congressional representatives I contacted issued statements expressing some degree of concern about Trump’s order or its implementation. None was available for an interview except U.S. Rep. Charlie Dent of the Leigh Valley, a critic of Trump during last year’s campaign.
In a phone interview, Dent said the order was overly broad and badly implemented. “This was not properly vetted, and the implementation has been very rough,” he said, “and that’s why I’ve called on the administration to halt enforcement of this action until more people can take a look at it.”
Dent, who represents a large Syrian immigrant population, is the only area representative contacted who explicitly called on the administration to stop enforcing the order.
Finding fault, but not too much

Because there’s no pending Congressional action on the order, every representative can craft his or her own critique. There’s no need to give the Trump order a clear thumbs up or down.
The most supportive of local Republicans was New Jersey U.S. Rep. Tom MacArthur, who represents swaths of Burlington and Ocean counties.  He said while Trump’s order “could have been implemented better, I applaud him for acting. Our new president deserves the chance to make our country safer and I will work in Congress to help the Administration settle on a long-term fix that protects our people and our values.”  
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