Gleaning energy from ocean wind would seem to be a California ideal: It emits no greenhouse gases, has nearly no environmental footprint, and harnesses one of the state’s most powerful and plentiful natural resources. But engineering challenges, regulatory hurdles and concerns about the turbines’ impact on wildlife have, until recently, mucked any forward progress.

Offshore Wind Energy Policy California

"The Green Energy Repeal Act eliminates a piece of legislation that introduced disastrous changes to Ontario's energy system that led to rising electricity rates for families and businesses," said Minister of Energy, Northern Development and Mines, Greg Rickford. "By repealing this act, we're restoring planning decisions to municipalities that were stripped by previous government and ensuring local voices have the final say on energy projects in their communities."

Energy Policy Ontario

Mexico’s grid operator and regulator Cenace (the National Energy Control Centre) stated the suspension would allow president Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s new administration to review the tender mechanism’s scope and objectives. ...Results of the tender were initially due to be announced on 2 November, but this was pushed back to 18 December to provide greater visibility, Cenace stated.

Energy Policy Mexico

NRG and Calpine are asking Texas regulators to end the equal sharing of lost electricity costs and assign them to companies according to the distance the electricity moves along transmission lines, giving their coal and natural gas power plants, which are closer to Houston and other population centers, an advantage.

Energy Policy Texas

But David Sinclair with Louisville Gas & Electric brought up a number of practical hurdles t...For example, if the city were to produce renewable energy from within the county, it would take 20 percent of the entire land in Jefferson County to meet the city’s needs with solar and 90 percent with wind power, Sinclair said.

Impact on Landscape Energy Policy Kentucky

France plans to triple its onshore wind power capacity by 2030 and multiply by five its solar power generation, enabling it to boost the share of renewables in its energy mix to 40 percent, according to the energy plan presented on Tuesday.

Energy Policy Europe

Renewable energy supporters are bracing for a fight in the next legislative session. Help state lawmakers give to solar and wind companies must be renewed when lawmakers return to Austin in January.

Taxes & Subsidies Energy Policy Texas

As North Carolina lawmakers gather in Raleigh this week for an unusual lame duck session, clean energy advocates are bracing for a potential showdown over wind energy. A controversial ban on new wind farms is supposed to end Jan. 1, but observers fear the ban’s author, state Sen. Harry Brown, will push to extend it or make it permanent before its expiration date.  

Energy Policy North Carolina

After eight years of what some call obstructionist policies, renewables advocates look forward to Janet Mills in the Blaine House.

Energy Policy Maine

Solar PV projects won the entire 200MW of capacity offered in a technology-neutral tender pitting it against onshore wind. ...Sixteen solar projects have been selected at an average price of €54.94/MWh. Winners were selected purely on the basis of price... A similar technology-neutral tender in Germany in April yielded the same result with solar projects winning all of the available capacity.

Energy Policy Europe

Since 2015 there has been a steady erosion of this policy framework: energy efficiency spending has been cut, the cheapest forms of renewables have been locked out of the CfD auctions, support for small scale renewables has been slashed, and plans for renewable heat, new nuclear, and CCS have edged forward at the most glacial of paces.  

Energy Policy UK

The clean energy constitutional amendment Proposition 127 is on track to fail by a wide margin, as Arizona voters appear to have rejected a ballot measure that the state’s largest utility company claimed would raise utility bills. ...The measure would have required Arizona utilities to achieve 50 percent of their electricity sales from renewable sources like solar and wind, but not nuclear, by 2030. 

Energy Policy Arizona

As the Maine Wind Energy Act enters a second decade, developers say the state is unlikely to see strings of new turbine towers on the horizon, as market forces overtake policy directives. In 2018, only a 22-turbine wind farm in Hancock County and a four-turbine project in Oxford County have active permit applications. There are several reasons why.

Energy Policy Maine

More than 60 wind farms – most in Scotland – were compensated on October 8. The payouts topped the previous high of £3.4million, sparking fresh criticism of the Scottish Government’s ‘green’ agenda. In very windy conditions, the National Grid cannot cope with the extra energy turbines produce, so firms get ‘constraint payments’ to temporarily shut them down.

Energy Policy UK

“It’s unclear why a technology that is so expensive should be co-funded by U.S. taxpayers,” according to a statement Wednesday from Institute for Energy Research President Thomas Pyle. The $150 million project is eligible for as much as $50 million in federal funding.

Offshore Wind Energy Policy USA Ohio

More than $40 million has been spent to fight for and against a ballot initiative that would change the future of Arizona’s energy mix. Proposition 127 has also been the subject of an Arizona Supreme Court lawsuit and a battle over claims that language from the Attorney General’s Office undermined the initiative.

Energy Policy Arizona

Wind farm opponents aren’t interested in improving siting issues. They’d rather stop all energy infrastructure from being built, writes William Murray of the R Street Institute.

Energy Policy USA

A Montana utility case pending before federal regulators could set a precedent for how energy storage facilities paired with renewable generation will be treated under the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act (PURPA), a 1978 law intended to increase competition in power generation.

Energy Policy USA Montana

This study examines the impact of operating wind turbines on climate. The authors summarize the highlights of the study as a) Wind power reduces emissions while causing climatic impacts such as warmer temperatures; b)  the warming effect of operating turbines is strongest at night when temperatures increase with height; c) the nighttime warming effect was observed at 28 operational US wind farms; and d) wind’s warming can exceed avoided warming from reduced emissions for a century. The summary of the study is provided below. The full report can be accessed by clicking the links on this page.

Energy Policy USA

Consumers says that from May 2017 to May 2018 it received 398 interconnection requests for 1,800 MW of generation, with projects ranging from .15 MW to 20 MW. The average cost of these projects is $98.40 per megawatt-hour over a 20-year contract, which is “substantially higher” than the company’s contracts for three new wind projects at about $45 per MWh.

Energy Policy Michigan