21 Apr
An advisory board recommended April 18 staying the course on phasing out the use of large quantities of ocean water to cool coastal power plants. The phase out deadlines, set for the facilities in May 2010 by the State Water Resources Control Board, seek to address the decades of harm to the coastal ecosystem from […]
17 Dec
Here’s California Current’s 2015 rundown of the best and worst in the energy world directly and indirectly affecting California. (more…)
10 Dec
The California Energy Commission this week took the rare step of cancelling an active financial grant when it terminated a multi-million dollar award to a bioenergy company due to what the commission called “significant and unresolved financial irregularities.” (more…)
10 Dec
The Climate Registry Dec. 7 issued guidance for Southern California water agencies to use in calculating greenhouse gas emissions from the energy used to provide water to their customers and treat wastewater. (more…)
24 Sep
Two interveners who sought to undo the California Energy Commission’s authorization to change a planned power plant from a combined-cycle facility to a simple-cycle project were rejected by commission this week. (more…)
17 Sep
The California Public Utilities Commission Sept. 17 took a step towards establishing a framework to integrate, increase and compensate demand side and distributed energy resources. (more…)
20 Aug
Appliance efficiency standards, which could save the state more than 2.4 billion gallons of water in the first year alone, were approved during the California Energy Commission’s most recent business meeting. (more…)
9 Jul
The California Energy Commission this week approved the first edition of a guidebook for the state’s Water Energy Technology Rebate Program, a new effort to provide funding for technologies that meet certain criteria for saving both water and energy. (more…)
9 Jul
Energy demand is expected to grow a little more than 1 percent a year over the next decade, according to a preliminary energy demand forecast by the California Energy Commission. During a July 7 meeting, high, medium and low demand scenarios between 2016 and 2026 were presented, with the variations largely dependent on the growth […]
8 May
The California Public Utilities Commission May 4 continued laying out the parameters of its complex methodology for estimating the cost savings reaped from water efficiency devices and figuring out how to split the estimated savings among energy and water utility customers. That includes, for example, low flush toilets and other retrofits, which produce energy savings […]
30 Apr
The Senate Natural Resources Committee April 28 passed two bills: one promoting joint water and energy use efficiency and the other protecting non-potable groundwater supplies from fracking contaminants. (more…)
9 Apr
At the behest of Gov. Jerry Brown, the California Energy Commission April 8 passed emergency regulations that establish efficiency standards for water appliances. The standards will save energy too. (more…)
3 Apr
Mike Florio, California Public Utilities Commission member, was removed as the assigned commissioner on the San Onofre Nuclear Plant proceeding, according to a March 31 announcement by the CPUC chief administrative law judge, Karen Clopton. Commissioner Catherine J.K. Sandoval is now in charge of the proceeding, according to the U-T San Diego. (more…)
3 Apr
At a time when the mountain snowpack usually is at its peak after winter storms, Sierra snowpack levels are just 5 percent of their historical average, according to the last Department of Water Resources snowpack survey of the season. (more…)
CA Current