Publications: GHG Reduction Technologies Monitor

Abby L. Harvey GHG Monitor 8/1/2014 Use of natural gas to generate energy is expected to increase under the Environmental Protection Agency’s proposed carbon emissions standards for coal-fired power plants, Janet McCabe, acting Assistant Administrator for the Office of Air and Radiation at the EPA, said during a lunch hosted by the American Gas Association […]

Abby L. Harvey GHG Monitor 8/1/2014 Businesses are feeling the effects of climate change and will be helped, not hurt, by proposed Environmental Protection Agency regulations on carbon emissions EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy said last week during a call hosted by Business Forward. “It’s important for us to remember that businesses are being hurt today, […]

Abby L. Harvey GHG Monitor 8/1/2014 Interagency collaboration between the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Energy in the drafting of the EPA’s carbon plan was no more than a “box-checking exercise,” Charles McConnell, former Assistant Secretary for Fossil Energy testified before the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology this week. “A true […]

Abby L. Harvey GHG Monitor 8/1/2014 Environmental Protection Agency officials heard from a wide range of individuals this week during a series of four, two-day-long public hearings on the agency’s proposed carbon pollution standards for existing coal-fired power plants. The hearings took place in Washington, Pittsburgh, Atlanta and Denver. Comments ranged from those calling for […]

As is our annual practice, GHG Reduction Technologies Monitor is taking a summer publication break and will not publish for the next two weeks. The next regular issue will be on your desk Aug. 22. In addition, we will issue a Special Bulletin should any major news break in the interim.

Abby L. Harvey GHG Monitor 8/1/2014 Delaying action to address climate change could cost the nation billions of dollars annually, according to a report released by the White House this week. “Delaying climate policies avoids or reduces expenditures on new pollution control technologies in the near term. But this short-term advantage must be set against […]

Abby L. Harvey GHG Monitor 8/1/2014 Dr. Grace M. Bochenek has emerged as the top candidate to serve as the new director of the National Energy Technology Laboratory, GHG Monitor has learned. Bochenek currently serves as Director of the U.S. Army’s Research, Development and Engineering Command’s (RDECOM’s) Tank Automotive Research, Development and Engineering Center (TARDEC). […]

Abby L. Harvey GHG Monitor 8/1/2014 Internationally, fossil fuels are remarkably under-taxed given their climate impacts, International Monetary Fund Managing Director Christine Lagarde said this week while presenting the findings of a new IMF study. “If you take coal for example, it’s about the dirtiest of all fuels you can think of. Yet, almost no […]

Abby L. Harvey GHG Monitor 8/1/2014 Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) this week pulled language from a bill to reauthorize the Export-Import Bank that would have reversed a restriction placed on the bank preventing the financing of coal plants unless they use carbon capture technology. The restriction in question, which the Ex-Im Bank approved in December, […]

Abby L. Harvey GHG Monitor 8/1/2014 Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) this week introduced legislation to establish a “cap and dividend” program to reduce carbon emissions. The “Healthy Climate and Family Security Act,” which will face an uphill battle in the Republican-controlled House, would cap carbon emissions, sell permits and return revenue from those sales […]

GHG Monitor 8/1/2014 ON THE INTERNATIONAL FRONT The University of Hull in the United Kingdom received £1.27 million this week to advance ongoing research into carbon capture technology. The grant was awarded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) to a consortium consisting of researchers from Imperial College London, the University of Leeds […]

Martin Schneider GHG Monitor 7/25/2014 Senate appropriators matched the Obama Administration’s $475 million request for the Department of Energy’s fossil energy R&D program in the FY 2015 Energy and Water Appropriations bill released by the full Appropriations Committee this week, though there is not expected to be further action on the legislation in the Senate. […]

Abby L. Harvey GHG Monitor 7/25/2014 Plans to develop an industrial carbon capture and storage network in the United Kingdom’s Teesside industrial center took a step forward late last week with the appointment of Pale Blue Dot Energy as project coordinator. The company brings the expertise to develop a business case for the proposed network […]

Abby L. Harvey GHG Monitor 7/25/2014 Environmental Protection Agency chief Gina McCarthy defended the EPA’s recently proposed emissions reductions standards for existing coal-fired power plants in testimony before the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee this week. “We’re doing exactly what everybody has asked EPA to do for a long time, which is, ‘You set […]

Abby L. Harvey GHG Monitor 7/25/2014 Investing in innovative energy technologies in the coal industry is a worthwhile risk, Tom Fanning, Southern Company Chief Executive Office said this week at an event in Washington sponsored by the Bipartisan Policy Center and the American Energy Innovation Council. Southern Co. owns the Kemper Country Energy Facility, a […]

Abby L. Harvey GHG Monitor 7/25/2014 While a national carbon tax could drive innovation in clean energy technologies, the feasibility of such a measure was questioned this week by a panel of experts at an event sponsored by the Bipartisan Policy Center and the American Energy Innovation Council. “A carbon tax is part of a […]

Abby L. Harvey GHG Monitor 7/25/2014 Construction began this week on a 2 megawatt carbon capture pilot project at Kentucky Utilities’ E.W. Brown Generation Station in Harrodsburg, Ky. The post-combustion system being tested at the plant was developed by the University of Kentucky’s Center for Applied Energy Research (UKCAER) and will be managed by the […]

Abby L. Harvey GHG Monitor 7/25/2014 Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz said this week that his Department is ready and willing to help invest in new promising energy technologies, particularly when it comes to utilizing its remaining loan guarantee authority.  “I want to say here, I want to make it very clear; we have approximately […]

Abby L. Harvey GHG Monitor 7/25/2014 In a 2-1 decision, a state appellate court ruled this week that the Illinois Commerce Commission has the authority to require other state utilities to foot some of the bill for the costly FutureGen 2.0 carbon capture and storage project. Commonwealth Edison Co. (ComEd) and a group comprised of […]

Abby L. Harvey GHG Monitor 7/25/2014 Fuel switching is key to developing the most cost-effective implementation plans to meet the Environmental Protection Agency’s new proposed emissions reduction regulations for coal-fired power plants, representatives from the Center for Strategic and International Studies and the Rhodium Group said this week in presenting the preliminary findings of a […]

GHG Monitor 7/25/2014 ON THE INTERNATIONAL FRONT India plans to double its clean energy tax in its FY 2015 budget, Minister of Finance Arun Jaitley announced last week. The tax, known as the ‘Clean Energy Cess,’ is levied on coal, peat and lignite to finance clean energy initiatives and fund research. In his announcement, Jaitley […]

Abby L. Harvey GHG Monitor 7/18/2014 The potential effects of recently proposed Environmental Protection Agency regulations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions on consumers are in the hands of the states, according to a report released this week by the Analysis Group. The regulations, proposed early last month, set carbon dioxide emissions reductions targets for each […]

Abby L. Harvey GHG Monitor 7/18/2014 House Democrats were unsuccessful this week in attempting to remove a provision from the Fiscal Year 2015 Interior and Environment Appropriations bill that would prevent the Environmental Protection Agency from using funding to carry out proposed regulations to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from existing and new coal-fired power plants […]

Abby L. Harvey GHG Monitor 7/18/2014 A new bill proposed by Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) to reauthorize the Export-Import Bank also contains language that would reverse a restriction placed on the bank preventing the financing of coal plants unless they use carbon capture technology. Such language, though, has been met with opposition from some of […]

Abby L. Harvey GHG Monitor 7/18/2014 NRG Energy and partner JX Nippon Oil Exploration announced this week that construction has begun at the Petra Nova Carbon Capture Project, which upon completion will be the world’s largest post-combustion carbon capture project. The project is due to be operational by the end of 2016, NRG spokesman David […]

Abby L. Harvey GHG Monitor 7/18/2014 With fossil fuels set to continue to play a large role in energy production for the foreseeable future, the development of carbon capture utilization and storage technology is vital to meeting global climate change abatement goals, International Energy Agency Executive Director Maria van der Hoeven told GHG Monitor on […]

Abby L. Harvey GHG Monitor 7/18/2014 Just over a month after signing a memorandum of understanding, CO2 Solutions and Neumann Systems Group (NSG) announced this week that due to “excellent” test results a pilot project slated for April 2015 has been moved up and will now take place in October. The pilot will test the […]