QUICK NEWS, June 8: CALIF SENATE IN 12-BILL CLIMATE MOVE; BLM OKS 1ST 3 WSTRN SOLAR ZONE PLANTS IN 10 MONTHS; TEXAS RENEWABLES ATTACK FAILS
CALIF SENATE IN 12-BILL CLIMATE MOVE Calif. Senate passes climate package aiming for 50% renewable power, halving petroleum use
Anne C. Mulkern, June 4, 2015 E&E Publishing
The California Senate passed a package of 12 bills that would advance the state’s strong efforts against climate change. S.B. 350 would codify the targets set by Democratic Governor Jerry Brown in his January inaugural to get the state to 50% renewables for electricity generation by 2030, cut oil use by 50%, and increase building energy efficiency by 50%. S.B. 32 would extend the state's landmark climate change law by requiring the California Air Resources Board to bring lay out and implement a plan to get the state’s greenhouse gas emissions 80% below the 1990 level by 2050. The bills were passed by the Senate Democratic majority without much support from Republicans. The package of legislation amounts to a “job killer,” according to the Senate Republican caucus. click here for more
BLM OKS 1ST 3 WSTRN SOLAR ZONE PLANTS IN 10 MONTHS Feds fast-track approval for 3 solar power farms
Timothy Cama, June 1, 2015 The Hill
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has approved the first three solar projects permitted under the Western Solar Plan, which pre-identified 19 Solar Energy Zones (SEZs) and set up streamlined permitting that allowed the projects to be processed in less than 10 months. The three Nevada sites have a total capacity of 440 MW and will be built by Invenergy, First Solar, and NV Energy. The companies won project rights in a June 2014 auction that brought the federal government a cumulative $5.8 million in leasing fees. Thoughtful planning at the landscape level and upfront public participation were keys to streamlining bureaucratic procedures and getting reduced permitting times that will make solar development in the six-state SEZs more attractive to developers, according to Interior Secretary Sally Jewell. click here for more
TEXAS RENEWABLES ATTACK FAILS Texas backing away from cutting support for wind, solar energy
James Osborne, 27 May 2015 Dallas Morning News
Texas legislation that would prematurely terminate the state’s $7 billion Competitive Renewable Energy Zones (CREZ) transmission build-out and end the state’s renewables mandate 10 years before it is set to expire, appears stopped in the House of Representatives after winning approval by the Senate in April. Powerful Republican Senator Troy Fraser, who sponsored Senate Bill 931. Advocates say ending the mandate early could have disrupted $40 million per year in payments from utilities to wind farms that were factored into financing at construction. Leaving the CREZ lines unfinished would have eliminated 2,000 MW of renewables carrying capacity that could be vital to Texas meeting emissions reduction goals. Last ditch moves by Senator Fraser to accomplish his goals through other legislation failed. click here for more
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