Energy
Governor Unveils Ambitious Green Energy Program For New York
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Plans include new solar farms and off shore wind turbines, and more transmission lines across the state.
Economy
Families And Advocates Criticize PA’s Fracking Health Studies
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State announced $3.9 M studies after pressure from families of rare cancer patients in SW PA
Energy
NYSEG To Raise Rates Slightly, Scale Back Natural Gas
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Under the settlement, NYSEG would halt a proposed pipeline expansion in the Southern Tier and would stop promoting the use of natural gas and commit to net-zero growth in gas sales.
Energy
Cuomo, Lawmakers Unveil Bill Targeting Utility Companies Over Storm Response
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“Utilities do not have a mandate. They are legally required to provide adequate and reliable service that’s in the public interest … and they have dropped the ball far too long.”
New York State Bids For Large-Scale Renewable Energy Projects
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Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul tweeted it is “the largest ever combined solicitations for renewable energy ever issued in the U.S.”
Crime and Justice
PA Grand Jury Report On Fracking: State Failed To Protect Public Health
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Grand jury makes proposals on regulation, oversight of fracking industry
Energy
NYSEG Files Rate Case Settlement With New York’s Public Service Commission
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NYSEG electric customers would see about a 2.3% increase in the first year, with the average monthly customer seeing a monthly increase of $2.49.
Energy
PA Says 2 Gas Drilling Companies Committed Environmental Crimes. Here’s Why People Are Rarely Charged
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“When a crime is committed because of how a company does business, rather than an individual’s actions, we charge the company.”
Trump Administration Limits New York’s Power To Stop Oil And Gas Pipelines
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In recent years, climate activists and states have used the Clean Water Act to block pipelines and other fossil fuel projects. A new EPA rule makes that harder,
Energy
Study Finds Methane Leaks In PA Much Higher Than State Reports
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Estimates don’t capture leaks from ‘abnormal’ conditions, Environmental Defense Fund says
Energy
Gas Prices Begin To Creep Back Up As Parts Of The Country
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GasBuddy on Monday reported that the national average price for a gallon of gas has increased 1.5 cents in a week to $1.75.
Economy
Oil And Gas Companies Asked, Then Received Changes To Fed Coronavirus Stimulus Program
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Help with refinancing debt could help shale companies in PA
Energy
NYSEG Donates Additional $300,000 To Emergency Efforts
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“What we tried to do today is recognize some of those other organizations that are really on the front lines every single day doing this type of work around food and food care.”
App NEWS
Pipeline Explosion Resulted In Huge State Fine. Now, PA Has Found Hundreds Of New Violations
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Regulator, company at odds over erosion, hillside slips
Energy
The Struggling Coal Industry Hammered Further By Coronavirus
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‘Everything that can go wrong, has gone wrong’
New York Utilities See Increased Energy Consumption
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It’s a different story on the commercial side, with a lot of businesses around the state forced to close if they are considered non-essential.
Energy
After Two Nuclear Workers Test Positive, Energy Companies Require Social Distancing And Test For Symptoms
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Coronavirus cases at Limerick nuclear station raised concerns. Pa. plants say they’re working to prevent outbreaks during refueling outages.
Energy
Mine Workers’ Union Wants More Protections Against COVID-19
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“We are following government guidelines with distancing measures being taken, increased cleaning schedules in-place, and limits on gatherings of groups.”
App NEWS
Mariner East Construction Back On After Waiver Requests Approved
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Wolf administration grants all of Energy Transfer’s waiver requests
App NEWS
Energy Transfer Seeks Waiver To Continue Some Mariner East Work
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Company says state has allowed some work to continue.
App NEWS
PA’s Coronavirus Shutdown Order Appears To Include Mariner East Pipeline Construction
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Construction on the Mariner East pipeline appears to be halted by Gov. Wolf’s new order that shuts down all “non-life-sustaining” operations and businesses.
App NEWS
Electricity Usage Down Across Region, Which Helps Power Grid Staffing
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PJM had prepared for pandemics and even did dry-runs with their staff working from home.
App NEWS
Improper Disposal Of Cellphone Suspected In Taylor Garbage Fire
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According to the U.S. Fire Administration, between 2009 and 2017 lithium-ion batteries were the “root cause” of at least 195 fires.
App NEWS
Feds Lower Coal Mine Cleanup Funds For PA
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Pennsylvania is getting less money from the federal government this year to clean up its old abandoned mines.
App NEWS
Pennsylvania Poll Finds Registered Voters Split On Fracking Ban
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Support for a ban strong in cities and suburbs; weak in rural SW Pennsylvania
App NEWS
Despite GOP Compromise, PA Governor Says Drilling Bill Still Too Risky
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Republicans are pushing for looser regulations on conventional oil and gas drillers, who generally run small operations and work with relatively shallow wells.
Energy
Trump Wants To Roll Back Environmental Reviews Of Major Projects Like Pipelines
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“What will change is the unchecked power of just a handful of opponents to delay or block development of critical infrastructure projects that benefit the greater good.”
Energy
Study: Replacing Coal Plants With Natural Gas Cuts Pollution, Saved Lives
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Fracking pollution not included in study; could lessen health benefits, author says
App NEWS
PA Levies Record $30M Fine Against Pipeline Company
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The settlement also lifts a nearly year-long permit freeze on the company’s other pipeline projects, including the cross-state Mariner East pipelines.
App NEWS
Study: Shale Gas Development Has Brought Economic Benefits, Premature Deaths
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Carnegie Mellon University study focused on Pennsylvania, Ohio, West Virginia
Energy
Johns Hopkins Researcher: PA Should Ban Fracking
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“What would I say now? I would say because of the regional and local health concerns and concerns about climate change, we should stop fracking–everywhere.”
As Oil Prices Drop And Money Dries Up, Is The U.S. Shale Boom Going Bust?
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The boom that helped make the U.S. the world’s largest oil producer could be ending. Oil prices are down amid weak demand and investors no longer seem willing to write the industry a blank check.
Energy
PA Lawmakers, Criticizing Executive Order On Cap-And-Trade Program, Say It’s Their Call To Make
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Proposed bill would require Legislature to OK Pennsylvania becoming part of Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative
Economy
Despite Scotland’s Fracking Ban, Imported American Shale Gas Is Key To One Town’s Economy
|
Natural gas is mostly used for heating homes or fueling power plants. But when it comes out of the ground, it contains another key ingredient — ethane, a building block of plastics.
App NEWS
New Ethane Cracker Factories Raise Climate Change And Pollution Concerns
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To turn ethane into the building block of plastic, petrochemical companies are investing in ethane cracker plants, raising concerns about what these facilities could mean for air pollution and climate change.
Energy
PA Senator Takes Preventative Measures As Dems Call For Fracking Bans
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Pennsylvania’s Republican US Senator introduced a resolution he hopes will enable Congress to defeat future presidents’ fracking bans in court.
Energy
Trump Administration Proposes Rollbacks For Two Obama-Era Coal Pollution Rules
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Rules on coal ash ponds, wastewater from coal-fired power plants are targeted
App NEWS
Neighbors Of Mariner East Pipelines Will Urge A Regulator To Stop The Project. It Might Be Their Last Chance
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Almost a year after lines opened, residents will say the project remains a risk to public safety
App NEWS
PA, CNX Reach $1.48M Settlement On Abandoned Wells
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Resolves 2018 order involving more than 1,000 wells.
Economy
In Scotland, This Town Evolved With Its Refinery And The Arrival Of Shale Gas
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“The benefit is there’s employment in the area. But the rest of the town’s neglected and I don’t feel our town of Grangemouth benefits as much as it should, with an oil refinery on our doorstep.”
App NEWS
As Three Mile Island Stops Generating Electricity, This PA Community Is Bracing For Change
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Last Friday around noon, Three Mile Island nuclear power plant stopped producing electricity, part of Exelon Corp.’s plan to close and decommission the plant over the next 60 years.
App NEWS
With Three Mile Island Closed, Nuclear Advocates Shift Their Concerns To PA’s Other Plants
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Those people who support nuclear worry that without tax breaks, the plants will be shut out of a competitive energy market
App NEWS
Small Hydropower Plants Say New York Should Help Keep Clean Power Competitive
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Owners of existing clean energy power plants in New York say they’d like the same support from the state for their businesses that new ones get.
Energy
GOP Lawmakers In PA Re-Launch Pro-Natural Gas Package
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The raft of proposals serves as a rejection of Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf’s own energy plan.
Energy
Court Ruling Clears Way For Mariner East Construction To Restart
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The Commonwealth Court said last week that the Democratic senator, an outspoken critic of Sunoco, did not have personal or legislative standing to bring a complaint
Energy
In The UK, Fracking’s Not A Thing — So Shale Gas From PA Has Become Their Workaround
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For decades, the United Kingdom has relied on oil and gas from the North Sea. Those fields, first developed in the 1960s and 70s, are declining.
Energy
Environmentalists Pressure PA’s Governor For Faster Action On Methane Emissions
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Their call for action comes as the Trump administration works to loosen federal regulations on the powerful greenhouse gas.
App NEWS
At Grangemouth Refinery In Scotland, A Plastics Evangelist Says PA’s Shale Gas Is Vital
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The massive refinery and petrochemical complex in Grangemouth, Scotland, run by INEOS, was one of the first overseas plants to receive Pennsylvania ethane.
App NEWS
In Ithaca, Customers Deride Proposed NYSEG Increases
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Over 50 people at a public hearing called on the Public Service Commission to deny rate increase.
PA’s Energy Boom Began Years Before Trump Took Office
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President Trump tours a Pennsylvania petrochemical plant Tuesday to highlight the U.S. energy boom. Trump claims credit for surging oil and gas production, but the trend began before he took office.
Energy
Experts: Vapor Buildup Likely Led To Explosion At PA Pump Station
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For now, independent pipeline experts say the blast appears to have been caused by the relighting of a pilot in a flare used by Sunoco for burning off excess gases, at a time when vapor had accumulated there.
App NEWS
NYSEG’s Request To Boost Rates Criticized At Hearing
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More public input sessions on the NYSEG rate hike are set in Ithaca, Binghamton and the Adirondacks in the next week.
Energy
Sunoco Says Mariner East 2 System ‘Backfired’ During Maintenance
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The company did not explain what caused the backfire but apologized for the noise, which alarmed neighbors and fueled longstanding concerns about the safety of the new pipelines, which carry highly volatile natural gas liquids.
Anti-fracking movement
New York Study: Fracking Causes Environmental Damage, Birth Defects
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A New York metastudy details the adverse effects fracking has on Pennsylvania’s environment, its climate and human health.
Energy
PA Pipeline Foe Expected State Information On Mariner East Risk. But Now He’s Facing Court Fight
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An opponent of the Mariner East project says he will ask an appeals court to order the Public Utility Commission to disclose documents containing its calculations on the effects of an accidental release of natural gas liquids from the pipelines.
Energy
Three Mile Island Unit 2, Site Of Nation’s Worst Nuclear Accident, To Be Sold, Dismantled
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A Salt Lake City-based company is in talks to purchase and dismantle Three Mile Island’s long-mothballed Unit 2 reactor — the site of the nation’s worst nuclear accident in 1979.
Energy
Nation’s Largest Power Grid Operator Asked To Focus On Clean Energy
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The power grid operator has received appeals from around the country to ensure its next leader prioritizes clean energy.
Featured in Category
New York Adopts The Nation’s Most Aggressive Targets For Reducing Carbon Emissions
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New York Governor Andrew Cuomo signed legislation Thursday mandating 100% carbon-free electricity by 2040, and an 85% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. That’s below levels from 1990.
Energy
Trump Ditches Obama Climate Policy That Targeted Coal Emissions
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Pennsylvania is the third-largest coal producing state in the country. But coal generated electricity plants have struggled to compete with cheaper natural gas and renewable energy.
Energy
As States Diverge On Climate Policies, Nation’s Largest Power Grid Operator Grapples With Carbon Pricing
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PJM is now trying to walk a fine line between respecting states’ rights and figuring out how to incorporate their climate polices into its wholesale electricity market.
Energy
PA Judge Bars Release Of Document In Gas Drilling Suit
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A Washington County judge has issued a court order barring The Allegheny Front, StateImpact Pennsylvania and 90.5 WESA from publishing the content of a publicly available legal document obtained by a reporter for the news organizations.
Energy
Wolf Rejects PA Senate’s Infrastructure Proposal Funded By Forest Drilling
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After months of Democratic Governor Tom Wolf promoting a sweeping infrastructure plan funded by a tax on natural gas drillers, some Senate Republicans have come up with an alternative.
Finding New Opportunity For PA’s Old Coal-Fired Power Plant Sites
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Coal-fired power plants keep closing and communities around the country must decide what to do with those sites. Pennsylvania has a plan, aiming to create new jobs where the old ones have been lost.
Energy
NYSEG and RG&E Propose Increases In Electric And Gas Rates
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Under the proposal, NYSEG natural gas customers would see a 1.9% increase, or about $1.05 more per month.
Three Mile Island Nuclear Plant To Close
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The Three Mile Island nuclear power plant, site of the nation’s worst nuclear accident, will shut down by the end of September. Backers failed to secure subsidies to keep the plant operating.
App NEWS
Bipartisan Bills Have PA Powered 100% By Renewable Energy
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“It’s not just about the environment. It’s about jobs. These are great, high-paying jobs we can create by going to renewable energy.”
Energy
Maid Of The Mist Launching New Electric Boats
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“It seems natural for us to do that, with the hydroelectric power generation that goes on here.”
Energy
Congressional Hearing Focuses On Struggling PA Nuclear Industry
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Experts testified before a House Science, Space, & Technology subcommittee that nuclear energy is important in limiting air pollution from the power sector, and for national security.
Uncategorized
PA Prosecutors Eye Potential ‘Environmental Crimes.’
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“All they’ve ever gotten is a slap on the wrist. It’s time for that to change. I’ll hold the oil and gas companies criminally liable for poisoning our air and our drinking water.”
Energy
PA Lawmaker Faces Backlash For Bringing Nazis Into Pipeline Debate
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“It’s a poor choice of words. It’s not a fair comparison. I mean these are working folk, these are salt-of-the-earth people.”
As Nuclear Waste Piles Up At A PA Power Plant, Private Companies Pitch New Ways To Store It
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Nuclear power plants in Pennsylvania and around the country are running out of room to store spent fuel. Private companies are pitching their own solutions.
App NEWS
One State, Two Disparate Visions For Natural Gas
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The state House Speaker and other Republican lawmakers announced a slate of bills Monday that are aimed at bolstering Pennsylvania’s natural gas industry.
Energy
State Senators Seek Answers From DEP Chief Over PA Pipeline
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“Why did they (state inspectors) grant these water permits the way they did? What was the rush in February, 2017? Did anyone put pressure on them to encourage that?”
Energy
Methane Hearing Draws Concern Over PA Rules
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Several members of the Senate Democratic Policy Committee met in Pittsburgh for a hearing on methane, the main component of natural gas and a potent greenhouse gas that contributes to climate change.
Energy
How Much Would A Nuclear Subsidy Add To A Pennsylvanian’s Electric Bill? Here’s A Breakdown
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The amounts shown represent the annual impact of HB 11 during reporting year 2019.
Education
As Baby Boomers Retire, Power Companies Look To Build The Next Generation Of Workers
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“We want to make sure you have the appropriate skilled, trained personnel on-hand to deal with providing that reliable service.”
App NEWS
Gas, Nuclear Lobbies Butt Heads As PA Senate Takes Up Nuclear-Rescue Bill
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“No real reason has been given to pass this legislation, other than we need the money to enhance our profit margin and to charge more for nuclear power.”
Energy
Political Fight Begins Over Bill To Rescue Pennsylvania Nuclear Industry
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The bills recognize nuclear plants as sources of carbon-free electricity and create new requirements about how electric utilities are to purchase power.
App NEWS
Sunoco Agrees To Settlement After Mariner East 1 Leak
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If approved, company will pay $200,000 fine and step up safety inspections of aging pipeline
Energy
PA Senate Introduces Nuclear Bailout Bill, Similar To $500 Million House Plan
|
Senate Bill 510 recognizes the plants as carbon free energy and adds nuclear power to the state’s Alternative Energy Portfolio Standard
Energy
40 Years Later, The Prospect Of A Three Mile Island Evacuation Remains
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“You can practice it in the best-case scenario, but what we know is people will be scared,”
Energy
PA Governor Pushes For Severance Tax By Highlighting Philly School Conditions
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The location was strategic, giving Wolf a chance to highlight the kind of infrastructure projects he’d like to complete with the $4.5 billion his administration says the tax would produce.
Energy
Japan Looks Beyond Electric Cars And Envisions A ‘Hydrogen Society’
|
The country has ambitious goals to become the “hydrogen society,” and right now, the focus is on its automakers.
Energy
Watchdog Group Wants A Nuclear Regulatory Commission Investigation At Three Mile Island
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The nuclear watchdog group is asking federal regulators to analyze what the group calls a “potentially dangerous and risky condition”
Crime and Justice
PA Attorney General, Delaware County District Attorney Launch Criminal Investigation Into Sunoco, Energy Transfer
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The Department of Environmental Protection has issued more than 80 violations, halted construction at times along the route, and fined the company $12.6 million.
Energy
PA Lawmaker Talks Up Nuclear Bailout Bill; Opponents Line Up To Trash It
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Opponents criticized the measure as too expensive and said it squanders an opportunity to fully address climate change.
Energy
PA Reaches $7M Deal Over 1,400 Abandoned Oil And Gas Wells
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Alabama company has until 2033 to plug wells or put them back into production
Education
After Three Mile Island Accident, This Carnegie Mellon Team Pitched A Novel Idea For Cleanup: Use Robots
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How a young team at CMU helped expand the fledgling field of robotics.
Crime and Justice
Investigation Into PA Pipeline Builder Energy Transfer Now Includes Grand Jury
|
Energy Transfer, parent company of Sunoco Logistics and builder of the Mariner East natural gas liquids pipelines, is the target of a Chester County grand jury investigation.
Energy
Report: Coal Ash Contamination Widespread In PA
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A new report finds coal ash pollution is leaking into groundwater at nine power plants around Pennsylvania and over 200 nationwide. West Pa. site has arsenic 372 times the ‘safe’ level
For Pennsylvanians Who Heat Homes With Coal, It’s Still King
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Nearly 130,000 homes in the U.S. still burn coal for heat. Despite decades of decline and concerns about climate change, companies in the coal home-heating business are optimistic about the future.
Energy
Energy Transfer CEO: ‘We’ve Made Mistakes’ In Building Mariner East
|
Sunoco’s parent company admitted it made mistakes in building the Mariner East pipelines through Pennsylvania, and told investors that it will do better in future, but its assurances failed to persuade critics that the project will become any safer for the public or more protective of the environment.
Energy
Read A Draft Of Pennsylvania’s Nuclear Bailout Bill
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Draft legislation aimed at helping Pennsylvania’s ailing nuclear industry would reclassify the plants as “zero emission energy” and create new requirements about how electric companies are to purchase power.
Energy
Could Membranes At Coal-Fired Power Plants Slow Climate Change?
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Pittsburgh researchers are working on potentially cheaper ways to capture carbon dioxide from coal-fired power plants. So-called “clean coal” technology is expensive, but some experts say it’s crucial to address climate change.
Business
Europe’s Investment In Offshore Wind Is Paying Off — For New York
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Europe’s investments in offshore wind have fueled better technology, more competition and cheaper capital for new projects. That’s driven down the cost of offshore power and now the US is capitalizing on the savings.
Energy
Bitter Cold Tests Electricity, Natural Gas Systems
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As residents of the mid-Atlantic and Midwest stayed indoors this week to avoid the Arctic air that swept the region, they used a lot of electricity and natural gas to keep warm.
Energy
Impact Fee Collected From Gas Drillers May Reach New Record
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The fee Pennsylvania collects from natural gas drillers is expected to reach a record $247 million this year, according to figures released Thursday by the state’s Independent Fiscal Office.
Energy
DA Blasts Mariner East Contractor’s Crass Threats Directed At Pipeline Opponent
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A worker on Sunoco’s Mariner East project has threatened a Chester County opponent of the pipeline on social media in two posts that included an obscenity.
Energy
Judges Say PA Unlawfully Issued Air-Quality Permits To Sunoco At Marcus Hook
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A Pennsylvania court said the Department of Environmental Protection unlawfully issued air-quality permits to Sunoco for its natural gas liquids plant at Marcus Hook in Delaware County, and it ordered the department to re-do its analysis over whether the plant should be subject to two sets of emissions rules.
Energy
High Tech Car Sniffs For Natural Gas Leaks
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Peoples Gas in western Pennsylvania has outfitted a vehicle that will drive over 950 miles of the utility’s pipelines in Pittsburgh this year using a high-tech system to find places where methane leaks into the air.
Crime and Justice
Following Court Ruling, PA Drillers Must Pay Millions In Outstanding Fees
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Natural gas companies must pay millions of dollars in outstanding impact fees to the state, following a recent Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruling.
‘No Evidence Of Extraterrestrial Activity,’ As New York City Is Bathed In Blue Light
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Utility company Con Edison says the light emanated from “a sustained electrical arc flash that was visible across a wide area.” Witnesses had many other ideas.
Energy
Efficiencies, Pipelines Help Propel PA Gas Production In 2018
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Natural gas production in Pennsylvania is expected to reach a new high by year’s end: 6 trillion cubic feet. Drillers extracted 13 percent more gas in the first three quarters of 2018 than during the same period the previous year, according to a recent report from the state’s Independent Fiscal Office.
Economy
Spills, Shutdowns And Legal Challenges: A Tumultuous Year For Mariner East 2
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Sunoco said in November that it would start operations of the frequently delayed Mariner East 2 pipeline by the end of 2018.
Energy
Solar Co-ops Grow In Pennsylvania
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While the bulk of solar energy in Pennsylvania exists in the eastern half of the state, co-ops are popping up across western part of the commonwealth to help people go solar.
Crime and Justice
District Attorney Opens Criminal Investigation Into Mariner East Pipeline Project
|
The Chester County District Attorney said Wednesday he is opening a criminal investigation into Sunoco’s Mariner East pipeline project because it has caused sinkholes, contaminated water and has resulted in “not so subtle bullying” of residents.
binghamton
Gasoline Prices At Their Lowest Point In 2018
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Cheaper to produce winter blend gas, a low demand and low oil prices have all contributed to pump prices reaching their lowest point of the year.
Energy
PennEast Pipeline Can Take New Jersey Lands Using Eminent Domain
|
The PennEast Pipeline Co. can take private land through eminent domain to build a natural gas pipeline, a New Jersey federal judge ruled on Friday.
Energy
PA Unveils Proposal To Reduce Emissions From Existing Oil, Gas Wells
|
Pennsylvania environmental officials have come out with a plan to reduce leaks from thousands of the state’s oil and gas wells.
Energy
Judge Denies Emergency Petition For Mariner East Shutdown
|
Suit brought by seven residents fails on all four requirements
Featured in Category
A New Coal Mine’s Opening In Pennsylvania. Is Trump To Thank?
|
“We’re not dead yet, we’ve still got a pulse in Mahanoy City. Thank God Trump lifted all the regulations on coal…coal is gonna be king.”
Crime and Justice
Judge Grants First Eminent Domain Case To PennEast in Pennsylvania
|
A federal judge granted PennEast Pipeline Co. the right of eminent domain to build its pipeline on a property in Carbon County, in the first ruling of its kind over the controversial project in a Pennsylvania court.
binghamton
GasBuddy: Not The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year On The Road
|
For some, this may be the most wonderful time of the year, but it also can be a more hazardous time on the roads. That’s according to GasBuddy, which is out with a new study that suggests drivers are 175 percent more aggressive during the holidays than the rest of the year.
Energy
Mariner East Pipelines: Judge Reviews Request For Immediate Shutdown
|
STATE IMPACT PENNSYLVANIA – An administrative law judge for the state Public Utility Commission heard testimony this week on whether Sunoco can operate its controversial Mariner East pipelines — a set of export lines moving natural gas liquids across Pennsylvania — while the judge reviews a request to permanently shut down the lines.
Energy
Report: PA Nuclear Plants, Including Three Mile Island, Could Be Saved If Lawmakers Act
|
Pennsylvania could avoid a “devastating and permanent blow” to its economy and environment if it considers the ways other states have helped bail out their own failing nuclear plants, according to a long-awaited legislative analysis.
Energy
State Officials Push Growth Of Wind Power In New York
|
If New York state hopes to reach a goal of getting half of its electricity from renewable resources by the year 2030, wind energy will have to be part of the formula. That was the focus of a wind summit held in Syracuse this week, and boosters of wind power are optimistic it will happen.
Energy
Leaky Coal Ash Pond Seeks New Pollution Permit From PA
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Permit will cover 16 newly discovered seeps coming out of Little Blue
Education
Mariner East 2 12-Inch Pipe Passed Safety Inspections, PA Tells School Superintendents
|
STATE IMPACT PENNSYLVANIA – A 12-inch pipeline that Sunoco plans to use as a temporary part of the Mariner East project has passed state and federal safety inspections, according to a letter from the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission’s head of pipeline safety.
Energy
New Plan Calls For 10% Solar Power In PA By 2030
|
Pennsylvania could lower its greenhouse gas emissions, create jobs, and improve public health if it got more power from the sun. That’s according to a new report from the state Department of Environmental Protection.
Energy
Sunoco Expects Hybrid Mariner East 2 To Start Operating By Year’s End
|
STATE IMPACT PENNSYLVANIA – Sunoco’s Mariner East 2 pipeline across Pennsylvania will begin operating in the current quarter, the company’s parent, Energy Transfer, said on Thursday.
Energy
PA Regulators Adopt New Policy, Clearing Confusion Over Electric Vehicle Charging Stations
|
STATE IMPACT PENNSYLVANIA – Pennsylvania utility regulators approved a new policy aimed at clarifying rules about how power is resold, in an effort to promote investment in public electric vehicle charging stations.
Energy
Study: There’s No Electric Grid Emergency (At Least For The Next 5 Years)
|
STATE IMPACT PENNSYLVANIA – The grid operator for the mid-Atlantic region released a long-anticipated study about whether coal and nuclear plant retirements present a threat to its electric supply.
Energy
Sen. Toomey Raises Alarms About Trump’s New Ethanol Policy
|
STATE IMPACT PENNSYLVANIA – Philadelphia area refineries are raising alarms about the costs of a recent move by President Donald Trump to boost corn-based ethanol. Following through on a promise made to Iowa voters, Trump directed the Environmental Protection Agency to allow sales of so-called E-15 fuel throughout the entire year.
Energy
PA Orders Revolution Pipeline Owner To Fix Erosion Problems
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STATE IMPACT PENNSYLVANIA – State regulators have ordered the owner of a pipeline that experienced a catastrophic explosion last month to fix inadequate erosion control measures in several locations along its route.
Energy
Energy Secretary Perry Stumps For ‘All Of The Above’ Energy In PA
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STATE IMPACT PENNSYLVANIA – Energy Secretary Rick Perry traveled to Philadelphia and South Jersey Thursday, speaking to a water conference and visiting a nuclear manufacturing plant in Camden.
Energy
Sunoco: Mariner East 2 Delayed To 2020 And Offers Substitute
|
STATE IMPACT PENNSYLVANIA — Sunoco said late Wednesday it will begin to pump natural gas liquids across the state by joining three new and existing pipes because its long-delayed Mariner East pipeline project won’t be ready for another two years.
Energy
PA Awards Water Quality-Related Grants Funded By $12.6M Penalty Against Sunoco
|
STATE IMPACT PENNSYLVANIA — Remember the $12.6 million penalty on Sunoco for dozens of permit violations during construction of the Mariner East 2 pipeline? The Department of Environmental Protection said at the time it would turn that penalty into grants for projects related to water quality, watershed restoration and stormwater management. The DEP just put out a list of where that money is going.
Energy
Indictment: Russian Military Targeted PA Nuclear Power Company
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STATE IMPACT PENNSYLVANIA – A federal indictment filed this week alleges Russian hackers targeted a nuclear power company near Pittsburgh beginning in 2014, in addition to anti-doping agencies throughout the world.
Energy
PA’s Atlantic Sunrise Pipeline Goes Into Full Service This Weekend
|
A major new natural gas transmission pipeline will come online this weekend. Oklahoma-based Williams Partners said it has received approval from federal regulators to put its Atlantic Sunrise pipeline into full service on Oct. 6.
Energy
PA House Panel To Take Up Gas Royalties Bill, But Not The One Advocates Hoped For
|
STATE IMPACT PENNSYLVANIA – A state House committee plans to vote next week on a bill that could offer some help to people who allege they’ve been cheated out of royalty money from natural gas companies, but the measure falls short of what many landowners had hoped for.
Energy
PA Moving Forward With Emission Rules For Existing Oil And Gas Sources
|
STATE IMPACT PENNSYLVANIA – The state Department of Environmental Protection is moving forward with plans to regulate harmful air pollution from Pennsylvania’s thousands of oil and gas sites.
Energy
Shale Industry: Taxpayers Should Foot Part Of The Bill For Oil And Gas Oversight
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STATE IMPACT PENNSYLVANIA – Since the Marcellus Shale industry took off a decade ago, there seemed to be a consensus that Pennsylvania’s oil and gas companies would pay for the oversight — the time, personnel, and equipment state environmental regulators need to do their jobs.
Energy
FERC Urged To Block Tree-Cutting Before Final Decisions On PennEast Pipeline
|
STATE IMPACT PENNSYLVANIA – The Delaware River Basin Commission asked a federal regulator to prevent PennEast cutting trees in the basin before it issues any approval for its controversial natural gas pipeline project in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, according to documents released on Wednesday.
Energy
Over Half Of PA Gas Wells Used ‘Secret’ Chemicals For Fracking Or Drilling, Report Says
|
Drillers withheld information on at least one chemical in some 2,500 wells, citing trade secrets
Energy
Bringing The Forest Back After Shale Gas
|
Pennsylvania is trying to figure out how to regrow forests after fracking.
Food and Farms
New York State Fair’s Butter Sculpture Will Be Converted Into Electricity
|
ROCHESTER, NY (WXXI) – What happens to the butter sculpture at the New York State Fair once the event is over? Well, for the third year, it will be recycled and used for electricity.
Energy
Environmentalists Promise They’ll Sue To Stop Power Plant’s Pollution of Susquehanna River
|
Four environmental organizations are threatening to sue the owner of a York County coal-fired power plant over pollution they say is discharging into the Susquehanna River.
binghamton
Solar Energy Advocates Want New York Governor To Reinstate Net Metering For Compensation
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SYRACUSE, NY (WRVO) – Solar energy advocates are calling on Gov. Andrew Cuomo to change the way the state determines compensation for solar projects.
Energy
Flaws In Pipeline Coating Prompt Sunoco To Replace A Section Of Mariner East 2
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Delaware County township confirms excavation of new line. It’s scheduled to be operational in about a month.
Energy
Trump Administration Unveils Plan To Replace Obama’s Signature Climate Initiative
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The Trump administration on Tuesday unveiled its proposal to replace the Obama administration’s signature climate initiative, the Clean Power Plan, weakening rules designed to limit emissions from coal-fired power plants.
Energy
Fracking Industry Water Use Rises As Drills Extend, Study Says
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Marcellus region shows smallest increase in water use but quadruples frack waste from 2011-16
Energy
Federal Regulators Sued After Denying Rehearing Requests For PennEast Approval
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STATE IMPACT PENNSYLVANIA – Environmental groups are suing the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission over its approval of the proposed PennEast natural gas pipeline, saying the regulator ignored legal requirements to consider the project’s climate-change impacts, and failed to establish that the pipeline is needed.
Energy
Environmental Groups, New York Politicians Want To Opt Out Of Nuclear Subsidy Program
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SYRACUSE, NY (WRVO) – After U.S. Energy Secretary Rick Perry came to Oswego County last week to praise the state’s support of nuclear power plants, several environmental groups and New York politicians sent a letter to state leaders saying the opposite.
Energy
As More Storms Roll In, How Will Power Companies Keep The Lights On?
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Utilities need to be acting now to better prepare for severe weather, an expert said
Economy
In Rarity For GOP, PA Congressman Pushes For Carbon Tax
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STATE IMPACT PENNSYLVANIA – In a rare move for Republican lawmakers, U.S. Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick of Bucks County and Carlos Curbelo of Florida have teamed up to introduce a climate change bill — a big one.
Energy
U.S. Energy Secretary Pushes To ‘Make Nuclear Cool Again’ At FitzPatrick Nuclear Plant
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SYRACUSE, NY (WRVO) – U.S. Energy Secretary Rick Perry and Rep. John Katko (R-Camillus) toured the FitzPatrick Nuclear Power Plant in Oswego County Wednesday as part of his push to “make nuclear cool again.”
Economy
Trump’s Plan For LNG Exports To Europe May Not Have Much Impact In Pennsylvania
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STATE IMPACT PENNSYLVANIA – President Trump wants more natural gas exported to Europe. Liquified natural gas plays a significant role in the trade deal with the European Union, and the president wants Europe to buy less from Russia.
Energy
Natural Gas Development In PA State Forests Has Slowed Significantly
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STATE IMPACT PENNSYLVANIA – The build out of natural gas infrastructure in Pennsylvania’s state forest system has slowed dramatically in recent years, according to a new report from the Department of Conservation and Natural resources.
Energy
PA Orders Companies To Plug Over 1,000 Abandoned Oil, Gas Wells
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STATE IMPACT PENNSYLVANIA – State environmental officials have ordered three companies to plug more than 1,000 abandoned oil and gas wells.
Energy
New Mariner East Troubles: Spill In Western PA, Exposed Pipeline Outside Philadelphia
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STATE IMPACT PENNSYLVANIA – Sunoco is facing more challenges to its troubled Mariner East pipelines with a major spill of drilling fluids into a Cambria County wetland and the exposure of a section of the existing Mariner East 1 line in Chester County near Philadelphia.
Energy
Independent Study Examines Public Safety Risks Of Mariner East Pipelines
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Community group commissions ‘quantitative risk analysis’ after county council deadlocks on proposal
Energy
New York State Denies Application For Finger Lakes Propane Storage Facility
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ROCHESTER, NY (WXXI) – The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) is rejecting a proposal to put a controversial gas storage facility on the shore of Seneca Lake.
Energy
Federal Appeals Court Dismisses Pipeline Case That Charged FERC With Bias
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Ruling: Agency’s pipeline approvals not linked to its funding
Energy
Schuyler County Reverses Position On Propane Storage Project
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ROCHESTER, NY (WSKG) – Already facing opposition from local municipalities and hundreds of businesses and property owners, a Houston company’s plans to store propane and natural gas in abandoned salt mines on the shore of Seneca Lake has been dealt another blow.
Energy
Report: Attracting Solar Farms Vital To Bolstering Renewable Energy
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STATE IMPACT PENNSYLVANIA – Clean energy advocates and environmental officials say bringing solar farms to Pennsylvania needs to happen if the state wants to significantly boost how much energy it gets from the sun.
NY Assembly Fails To Vote On Bill That Would Stop Romulus Trash Incinerator
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ITHACA, NY (WSKG) – A bill that would have stopped a proposed trash incinerator in the Town of Romulus failed to get a vote in the New York legislature before the session ended last week.
Energy
Rachel Carson Trail Has A New Feature: A Fracking Well
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Rig forced relocation of part of trail named for environmental icon
Energy
Cayuga Power Plant To Convert From Coal to Natural Gas
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On Friday, the operators of the Cayuga Power Plant announced their plans to convert one burner of the coal-fired plant to compressed natural gas. Anticipating the announcement, protesters attended a Tompkins County Legislature meeting earlier in the week.
climate change
Study: Methane Emissions Cancel Near-Term Climate Benefits Of Natural Gas
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STATE IMPACT PENNSYLVANIA – A new study published today in the journal Science finds climate-damaging methane emissions from the nation’s oil and gas industry are nearly 60 percent higher than Environmental Protection Agency estimates — effectively negating the near-term benefits of burning more natural gas.
Coal
Coal Ash Uncovered: New Data Reveal Widespread Contamination
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For generations, coal power has fueled American prosperity. But for each shovelful thrown into the furnaces, a pile of ash was left in its place.
As Nuclear Struggles In PA And New York, Climate Change Motivates A New Generation Of Engineers
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The number of people graduating with nuclear engineering degrees has more than tripled since 2001. Many say they are motivated by climate change.
Energy
PA Governor Signs Bill To Help Finance Clean Energy, Efficiency Projects
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STATE IMPACT PENNSYLVANIA – Governor Tom Wolf signed a bipartisan bill Tuesday, aimed at helping commercial property owners finance the costs of installing renewable energy, water conservation, and energy efficiency upgrades.
Energy
Senator Schumer Wants Safety Regulations For Trains Carrying Crude Oil
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ROCHESTER, NY (WXXI) – A new report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration says the amount of crude oil being shipped by rail through New York state has increased. This includes Bakken crude oil, a highly volatile version of crude oil.
Energy
Report: Draft Memo Points To Trump Invoking National Security In Bailing Out Coal, Nuclear
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Plan could cost ratepayers more in mid-Atlantic, guarantee profits for some power plants
Energy
Voices of Energy: Virginia McGrath
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More than 2 million people work in energy efficiency across the United States. It makes up the largest sector of the nation’s clean energy workforce. Virginia McGrath has held one of these jobs for three years. She’s an energy auditor for Pittsburgh’s Conservation Consultants Incorporated.
Energy
Three Mile Island’s Future Bleak As It Fails At Power Auction
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STATE IMPACT PENNSYLVANIA – The future of Exelon’s unprofitable Three Mile Island nuclear power plant looks even bleaker after company said today it failed at an annual auction for the future sale of its electricity.
Energy
NYSEG And RG&E T Pay $3.9M To Settle March 2017 Windstorm Violations
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ROCHESTER, NY (WXXI) – The New York State Public Service Commission says that its staff, along with RG&E, NYSEG and other parties have a proposed settlement over the way the two utilities responded to the March 2017 windstorm.
Energy
Plans To Promote Cheaper, Renewable Energy On Agenda At Regional Climate Summit
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SYRACUSE, NY (WRVO) – Central New York is taking the next step in the fight against climate change with something called Community Choice Aggregation, or CCA. It’s going to be one of the major topics at a regional Climate Solutions Summit in Syracuse this weekend.
Energy
PA’s Abandoned Mines To Get $55M In Cleanup Money
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STATE IMPACT PENNSYLVANIA – The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection will spend $55 million on abandoned mine cleanup projects around the state.
Energy
As Transit Agencies Inch Toward Electric Buses, Environmental Groups Want More Progress
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STATE IMPACT PENNSYLVANIA – Environmental advocates in Pennsylvania want to see a faster switch to electric buses to help eliminate emissions that can worsen asthma and cause other health problems.
Energy
Study Shows Exposure To Fracking Chemicals Impairs Immune System In Mice
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ROCHESTER, NY (WXXI) – University of Rochester researchers say a new study offers some clues about the potential affects of groundwater contaminated by fracking chemicals on the immune system.
CA, PA And NY Sue The EPA To Protect Obama-Era Fuel Efficiency Standards
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California is leading a lawsuit challenging the Trump administration’s plan to weaken car emissions standards. EPA chief Scott Pruitt says the rules, designed to fight climate change, are too strict.
Energy
PA House Panel OKs Bill To Gut Environmental Standards For Conventional Drillers
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TATE IMPACT PENNSYLVANIA – A state House committee has approved a controversial bill to eliminate many environmental requirements for Pennsylvania’s conventional oil and gas industry.
Energy
As Natural Gas Use Rises, Regional Power Authority Will Study ‘Fuel Security’
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STATE IMPACT PENNSYLVANIA – As low natural gas prices force more coal and nuclear plants to retire, the grid operator for 65 million customers in the mid-Atlantic region says it will look at whether it’s becoming more susceptible to outages forced by extreme weather or cyber-attack.
Energy
As Nuclear Power Loses Ground To Natural Gas, Environmentalists Are Torn
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STATE IMPACT PENNSYLVANIA – The natural gas boom was supposed to help the electric sector lower its carbon footprint by replacing old, carbon dioxide-spewing coal plants with newer, lower-emitting natural gas plants. And to a degree, that’s happened. As coal plants have retired, carbon emissions from the power sector have decreased.
Economy
Gasoline Prices Creep Toward $3 Per Gallon Ahead Of Summer Travel Season
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STATE IMPACT PENNSYLVANIA – Gasoline prices in Pennsylvania will likely hit the $3-per-gallon mark this week, their highest level since 2014.
Energy
Following Spills, PA Stops Pipeline Work At Delaware County Site
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STATE IMPACT PENNSYLVANIA – More than 100 spills have occurred during the construction of the Mariner East 2 pipeline, and now, another troublesome spot has emerged in Delaware County outside Philadelphia.
Energy
Called A Rubber Stamp By Critics, FERC Reviews Approval Policies For Natural Gas Pipelines
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STATE IMPACT PENNSYLVANIA – The federal government has opened a review on whether its policies governing approval of interstate natural-gas pipelines should be revamped, an issue often raised by critics of the rapid expansion of industry infrastructure in New Jersey.
Elections
Nixon And Hawkins Hit Governor On Energy Policies
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ALBANY, NY (WSKG) – Two of Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s political opponents were at an Earth Day rally on climate change attended by hundreds at the state Capitol Monday, where they said the governor’s energy policies are far from adequate.
Energy
Bill Takes ‘Principled Position’: By 2050, PA Should Use Only Renewable Energy
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STATE IMPACT PENNSYLVANIA – A bipartisan group of state legislators want Pennsylvania to aim for 100 percent renewable energy by the middle of this century.
Economy
Five Takeaways From StateImpact Pennsylvania’s Forum On Gas Royalties
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StateImpact Pennsylvania hosted an educational forum Monday in Towanda, Bradford County to examine how Pennsylvania and other major energy-producing states are dealing with disputes of oil and gas royalties.
Energy
Fracking Dispute Heads To Court With PA’s Environmental Rights Amendment At Center Of Lawsuit
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STATE IMPACT PENNSYLVANIA – A dispute over a local law that opens up much of a Pittsburgh suburb to oil and gas drilling has made it to a Westmoreland County courtroom.
Energy
PA To Spend $25M To Clean A Dozen Abandoned Coal Mine Sites
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STATE IMPACT PENNSYLVANIA – Pennsylvania announced approval of $25 million in funding for cleanup of abandoned mines at 12 sites around the state.
Energy
Mayor From Puerto Rico Aims To Rebuild, Modernize Grid
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STATE IMPACT PENNSYLVANIA – Six months after Hurricane Maria tore through Puerto Rico, 200,000 residents still lack electricity, the mayor of the island’s capital city told a crowded Carnegie Mellon University ballroom Wednesday night. Carmen Yulín Cruz, who received a master’s degree from CMU in the 1980s, came back to the campus to speak at “Energy Week” alongside Pittsburgh’s mayor. She said the situation in Puerto Rico is still dire for many. “You have no idea what it is to spend months and months and months with not a flicker of light,” she said. “We don’t want energy to be able to bathe in warm water or to have air conditioning, we want it so our children can go to school.
Energy
Poll: Public Concern Grows Over Natural Gas Industry’s Environmental Impact
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STATE IMPACT PENNSYLVANIA – A majority of Pennsylvanians still support the natural gas industry, but a new opinion poll shows the number of people concerned about its environmental impact is growing.
Energy
Jessup Frustrated With PA’s Response To Yellow Power Plant Smoke
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Residents of Jessup say they are not satisfied with the response from the state Department of Environmental Protection, after a new natural gas power plant spewed yellow-colored smoke and prompted health complaints earlier this month. The Invenergy plant being built in Lackawanna County started emitting noxious smoke on March 3. According to Jessup Borough Council President Jerry Crinella, DEP sent two people to investigate on March 6, but after they walked around, they said they couldn’t see or smell anything. Read full story here.
Energy
Sunoco Spills Drilling Fluid Into Lebanon County Creek For Third Time
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Sunoco spilled more drilling fluid into a Lebanon County creek on Thursday as it resumed construction for its controversial Mariner East pipelines at that location.
economy
National Grid Rate Hikes Approved By State Public Service Commission
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SYRACUSE, NY (WRVO) – The New York State Public Service Commission has approved of National Grid rate hikes. Over the next three years, the monthly electric and gas bills of residential customers could increase by about $16 dollars. The plan includes a discount program for low-income customers.
Energy
Ginna Nuclear Plant Back Up To Full Power
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ROCHESTER, NY (WXXI) – The Ginna Nuclear Power Plant is now back up to full capacity. The plant was offline late last week because of a power problem at a transformer that was not part of Ginna, and is located offsite.
Energy
Ginna Nuclear Plant Back Online, But Not At Full Capacity
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ROCHESTER, NY (WXXI) – The Ginna Nuclear Power Plant in Wayne County is partially back on line. As WXXI News reported last week, the plant had to be taken off-line last Thursday due to an electrical problem off site, at a nearby RG&E transformer.
Energy
Yellow Smoke, Health Complaints Prompt Investigation At Scranton Gas Power Plant
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SCRANTON, PA (State Impact PA) Pennsylvania environmental regulators are looking into health complaints after residents say a natural gas power plant being built near Scranton started emitting noxious, greenish-yellow smoke over the weekend.
Energy
Federal Government Unveils $55M Cleanup At PA’s Abandoned Mines
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Ryan Zinke, President Trump’s Interior Secretary, came to Western Pennsylvania to tout the federal government’s abandoned mine cleanup program. It was an appropriate setting.
Energy
Author Answers Hot-Button Questions On Fracking, Including Climate Impact
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As Pennsylvania’s gas boom helps propel the United States away from coal-fired power, one energy researcher says the impact on climate change will be a wash. Burning natural gas for electricity emits less carbon dioxide than burning coal. That’s good news for climate change in the short term, but a number of other factors negate the long-term benefits of transitioning to more natural gas power, said Daniel Raimi, a senior research associate with the think tank Resources for the Future. Read full story here.
Energy
How A Reporter’s #NoDAPL Photo Wound Up In The Russia Investigations
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I stumbled across a Washington Post story this morning that describes how Russia’s Internet Research Agency tried to manipulate the debate over energy-related issues in the United States via social media.
Energy
Environmental Groups Seek Injunction To Halt Mariner East 2 Pipeline Construction
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Several environmental groups have asked the Commonwealth Court for an injunction to halt Sunoco/Energy Transfer Partners’ Mariner East 2 pipeline construction.
Economy
Royalties: Why Some Strike It Rich In The Natural Gas Patch, And Others Strike Out
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When natural gas companies approached Charlie Clark and Jim Barrett about the minerals under their farms, the northern Pennsylvania landowners in neighboring counties both decided to let them drill.
Energy
Sunoco Appeals PA’s Stop Work Order
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Sunoco is appealing the Department of Environmental Protection’s January 3 order to halt construction on the Mariner East 2 natural gas liquids pipeline.
Energy
National Grid Rate Increase Would Expand Affordability Program, Critics Fear More Shutoffs
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SYRACUSE (WRVO) – If a National Grid rate hike is approved by the state Public Service Commission, residential customers could be paying $16 more a month on their electric and gas bills over the next three years. Critics say the increase could hurt the most vulnerable.
economy
Delaware River Basin Fracking Ban Hearings Focus On Environment, Economy
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The Delaware River Basin Commission heard its first public comments on the proposal to ban fracking in the watershed this week in Wayne County and Philadelphia. If the DRBC approves the proposal, it would cement a current de-facto moratorium on drilling. But it remains controversial.
Economy
Tariff Could Hurt PA Solar, But Won’t ‘Slam The Door Shut’
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Pennsylvania’s solar industry will feel the effects of the Trump administration’s move to place a tariff on foreign-built solar panels, but it won’t stop solar installations in the state, according to industry experts.
Energy
Judge Fines Environmental Attorneys $52,000 For ‘Frivolous’ Injection Well Suit
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A federal judge has ordered a pair of attorneys for an environmental group to pay $52,000 in legal fees to an energy company because, the judge said, they filed a “frivolous” legal challenge to a fracking waste injection well in Indiana County. U.S. Magistrate Judge Susan Paradise Baxter of the Western District of Pennsylvania ruled the attorneys, Thomas Linzey and Elizabeth Dunne, should pay part of Pennsylvania General Energy’s (PGE) legal fees for advancing a “discredited” legal argument that had already been defeated in prior decisions. In addition to the fine, the judge referred Linzey to the state Supreme Court Disciplinary Board for additional discipline. Read full story here.
Energy
A Surge, Then A Fade For Pennsylvania’s Wind Industry
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While the wind power industry booms across the United States thanks to favorable federal and state policies, the development of new wind farms has stalled in Pennsylvania. More than two dozen wind farms popped up across the state leading up to 2012, but only one in the years since. Read full story here.
Coal
Federal Commission Kills Trump’s Plan To Save Coal Plants
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An independent federal commission terminated a Trump administration proposal that would have propped up struggling coal and nuclear plants. On Monday, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission — an independent body with both Republican and Democratic members – unanimously rejected the Department of Energy’s “Grid Resiliency Pricing Rule.”
The plan would have forced grid operators to guarantee “full recovery of costs” plus “a fair rate of return” to power plants that can keep 90 days of fuel on-site. Only coal and nuclear plants can do that. Read full story here.
economy
Report: Mariner East Pipelines Could Have $9-Billion Impact
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The Mariner East pipelines and related plant could have a potential $9 billion financial impact in the state over six years, according to a report by the firm EconsultSolutions. Sunoco/Energy Transfer Partners, which is building the $2.5 billion pipeline, paid for the report. It analyzes the economic benefits of the Mariner East 1, 2, and 2X pipelines that will carry natural gas liquids from the western part of Pennsylvania and eastern Ohio about 350 miles across the state to a processing and export facility in Marcus Hook, Delaware County. Read full story here.
Energy
Trump Proposes Oil And Gas Drilling Off The Atlantic Coast
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President Trump wants to open up almost all federal waters to offshore drilling, including waters along the coasts of New Jersey and Delaware. The draft proposalcould lead to the largest lease sale ever. But the plan would face substantial opposition along the New Jersey and Delaware shorelines. Read full story here.
Energy
PA Says iPads And New App Means More Oil And Gas Inspections
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Pennsylvania regulators are slowly playing catch up when it comes to technology. After years of yearning for the latest digital tools, the state Department of Environmental Protection was recently able to send its oil and gas inspectors out into the field with iPads. The change has cut down the time and tedium of filing paper reports. Scott Perry, head of DEP’s Office of Oil and Gas Management, said inspectors are using a new app (created in conjunction with PennDOT) and said it has helped increase productivity — amounting to more than $500,000 annually, or about the cost of having six new inspectors. Read full story here.
Energy
Study: New York Behind On Clean Energy Investments
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SYRACUSE (WRVO) – A new study argues that New York state leaders needs to substantially ramp up their green investments to protect the climate. The pro-clean energy coalition New York Renews helped fund the study from the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, which finds New York’s public and private sectors currently invest $6-7 billion a year into renewables like wind and solar and energy efficiency projects. One of the study’s authors Robert Pollin says that needs to increase five fold to about $31 billion a year if New York state is to reduce its carbon dioxide emissions 50 percent by 2030. “New York state already has very ambitious goals and has a policy infrastructure in place and those are quite favorable developments, the problem is that the level of commitment in terms of funding and regulatory enforcement is just not there,” Pollin said. “There’s no way the state is going to get to this 2030 goal unless it gets much more serious about encouraging and supporting private investments and expanding public investments.”
Trump Administration Coal Plan Could Have Big Impact On Pennsylvania
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The Trump administration’s plan to prop up money-losing coal and nuclear plants could have a big impact on how Pennsylvanians get their electricity. Federal regulators will now decide what to do with it. The Department of Energy has asked the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to act on its proposed “Grid Resiliency Pricing Rule.” The plan would likely help a few energy companies in the mid-Atlantic, but it would just as likely make ratepayers in the region pay more for their electricity. State utility commissions, grid operators, and the oil and gas and renewables industries have all voiced opposition. Read full story here
Lawmakers Consider Tax Breaks For Oil And Gas
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As lawmakers hash out differences between the tax bills in front of Congress, they must decide whether to keep a proposed tax break for oil and gas investors — and just how big the reduction should be. Both the House and Senate versions cut the tax rate for owners of oil and gas companies that operate as publicly traded partnerships. These companies, such as Shell and Energy Transfer Partners operating in Pennsylvania, span many aspects of the industry, from drillers to pipeline operators to gas processors and oil refiners. Read full story here.
New York’s Fracking Ban Isn’t All It’s Cracked Up To Be
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In 2014, Gov. Andrew Cuomo made a bold statement by banning hydraulic fracturing in the Empire State, declaring alongside his health commissioner that “no child should live near” a shale-gas well because of its potential harm.
The governor’s proclamation made him a hero among environmentalists and persona non grata in the oil and gas industry. Energy in Depth, an industry-funded website, criticized Cuomo for basing the moratorium on dubious science “to kowtow to Yoko Ono, Mark Ruffalo, and all of the environmental pressure groups in New York.”
In truth, though, the picture is murkier, and Cuomo’s ban is less than absolute. Moratorium notwithstanding, New York is still reaping the rewards of fracking, importing shale gas from neighboring Pennsylvania and preparing to process it in a mammoth power plant under construction 65 miles northwest of New York City. Read full story here.
News
PA Eyes New Land For Abandoned Mine Cleanup
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Environmental officials in Pennsylvania have long focused on cleaning up the most hazardous old mines, but they plan to start addressing other abandoned mining sites that pose fewer public health dangers. Patrick McDonnell, secretary of the state Department of Environmental Protection, announced Tuesday that his agency is developing a program aimed at converting these spaces into recreation areas. “Traditionally the moneys we’ve had available for mining have been focused on dangerous highwalls, major stream impacts, things like that,” he said. Red full story here.
Science
Could You Power Your Home With A Bike?
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NPR’s Skunk Bear Blog received a great question from a listener. The answer brought them to the upstate New York. An NPR listener (with what may be the best Twitter handle ever — Booky McReaderpants) inquired whether a home can be powered by bicycle-powered generator. https://youtu.be/xbUxt2x4InE
It’s an interesting issue about energy and the modern world. And the short answer comes from just running the numbers.