Tag Archives: electricity
Renewing Colorado: How Green Energy is Working There
In six years, Colorado has diversified its electricity mix and built a thriving renewable energy industry while maintaining stable electricity bills. We have seen the cost of renewable energy credits for large photovoltaic solar projects decline by 75 percent, and wind in Colorado is now a least-cost energy resource. Continue reading
Are Coal Power Plants Now Too Expensive to Pursue?
A coal project starting today might well be nearing completion just in time for its obsolescence. There’s no guarantee for anyone, but those that tie themselves up with enormous financial commitments to centralized projects that do not support the emerging paradigm are sure to have a tougher time surviving. Continue reading
Coal Power Produces Majority of North America’s Emissions
Research from the report shows power plants contribute 33% of the region’s greenhouse gas emissions, and the majority of those emissions can be tied to the combustion of coal. For the U.S. and Canada, coal-fired power plants alone are responsible for 98% of all mercury released from fossil-fuel electric generation and 88% in Mexico. Continue reading
Officials Argue For, Against Westar Rate Hike
Westar’s requested rate bump is 5.85 percent, which would add about $6.44 per month to the average 900 kilowatt-hour residential electric bill. Continue reading
Thirsty Power Plants Threaten Watersheds, Study Finds
Coal-fired plants alone account for 67 percent of freshwater withdrawals by the power sector and for 65 percent of the water completely consumed by it. So many plants rely on water-cooling that they accounted for 41 percent of the withdrawals of freshwater in the United States in 2005. Continue reading
EPA Empowered to Oversee Shale Extraction
Production from shale formations has grown from a negligible amount just a few years ago to almost 15 percent of total U.S. natural gas production and this share is expected to triple in the coming decades. By 2035, natural gas, generally, will make up about 45 percent of the utility generation market. Continue reading
Kansas Energy and the Bremby Decision: Four Years Later
Efforts continue to obscure the facts, derail the rule of law, and deny the public interest in order to benefit the coal plant project and its special interest allies, but Mr. Bremby’s decision four years ago remains as visionary and important an act of public service now as it was in October of 2007. Continue reading
Solar and Wind Could Power the West Right Now, All of America by 2026
If Americans installed local solar at the same torrid pace as Germany, we could already power most of the Mountain West, could have a 100 percent solar nation by 2026, while enriching thousands of local communities with new development and jobs. Continue reading
New Missouri Renewable Energy Proposal Submitted
by Chris Blank for The Kansas City Star A supporter of a voter-approved law that demands Missouri utilities use more renewable energy filed a proposal Friday for a new requirement after the original has faced years of stumbling blocks. PJ … Continue reading
Economists: Every $1 of Electricity from Coal Does $2 in Damage to U.S.
According to the prestigious American Economic Review, harm from coal-fired electrical plants costs more than twice as much as the electricity they generate. All told, coal plants cause $53 billion in damage every year. And none of that even takes climate impacts into account. Continue reading
