Environmental Law

In The News (October 2)

By Dennis Pfaff and Kevin Livingston, Editors

• The nuclear industry is asking for big loan guarantees from the federal government, with 17 companies submitting 19 so-called Part I applications to support the construction of 14 nuclear power plants; the companies are asking for $122 billion in guarantees, far exceeding the  $18.5 billion made available under the solicitation, according to a statement from the U.S. Department of Energy. As previously reported by Climate Law Update, Thelen LLP attorneys are following and analyzing the department's loan guarantee program.
• Federal policy-makers have taken few of the steps necessary if greenhouse emissions from coal-fired power plants are to be captured and stored underground, according to a new government report that adds to concerns the technology might not be ready for a long time, reports the Charleston Gazette. The full report, a summary and highlights were issued by the General Accounting Office.
• Global financial mayhem might be dimming prospects for a strong new worldwide pact to fight climate change -- and quelling interest in projects such as carbon capture -- but it might aid cheaper schemes such as insulating buildings to save energy, according to analysts cited by Reuters.
• On the other hand, there are some positive signs from the private sector, or at least the Chinese version, with word that the giant Chinese solar module maker, has made a big move into the United States market, announcing a joint venture with green energy financier MMA Renewable Ventures to build solar power plants, and said it would acquire California-based solar installer EI Solutions, according to Fortune's Green Wombat blog.
• And then there's Google, which wants to re-shape the country's energy systems --as indicated by word that it has launched a plan to wean the United States off burning coal and oil for power by 2030, and cut oil use for cars by 40 percent, says this Reuters dispatch.
• Ausra, Inc., a provider of large-scale solar thermal energy systems, has secured $60.6 million in its latest preferred equity financing, some of the proceeds of which will go toward completing its 5-megawatt solar thermal power project in California, the first plant in North America to incorporate the company's core technology, reports Clean Edge News.
• A new management team has taken over the administration of the federal government's premier renewable energy research arm, according to a statement from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory.
• Federal environmental officials have put forward a new strategy focusing on 40 specific actions for water program managers to take to respond to climate change, including actions to adapt clean water, drinking water, and ocean protection programs, from an Environmental Protection Agency statement. A full text of the strategy is also available.
• A potentially tasty contribution to the war against global warming comes from Greenpeace and that sweet icon of progressive capitalism, Ben & Jerry's, which have jointly launched the first ice cream freezer using climate-friendly technology in the United States, reports Environment News Service.  

Full post as published by Climate Law Update on October 02, 2008 (boomark / email).