CA Current

In a surprise move, Gov. Gavin Newsom appointed utility regulator Liane Randolph to head the California Air Resources Board. She will replace Mary Nichols in January. “I am beyond excited and honored to join the path-breaking team at CARB, which has been at the forefront of environmental progress for decades,” Randolph said. She committed to […]

The House Energy & Commerce Committee Nov. 20 focused on how to protect communities struggling with climate and environmental injustices as the nation attempts to reach a 100 percent clean energy economy. “It is an unfortunate, but inescapable, fact that where you live in this country determines the extent of the environmental health risks you […]

Trump’s claim that California’s Clean Air Act waiver is preempted by federal law drives state air regulators to look at other ways to slash climate pollution from the transportation sector. Two Republican federal energy regulators approve a proposal to alter the 40-year old law protecting small renewable projects and co-generation. The dissenting Democratic commissioner says […]

The California Public Utilities Commission says goodbye to President Mike Picker. The five commissioners also approve new decade-long energy efficiency targets and SDG&E’s $100 million heavy-duty vehicle electrification program. The California Independent System Operator gets a CEC pat on the back for being the new Reliability Coordinator. The Energy Commission also adopts impressive new rules […]

State energy agencies are delving into natural gas and electricity price spikes in Southern California. One major SoCal Gas supply pipeline remains out of service after it burst in 2017, while two other major utility pipelines are operating at reduced capacity due to age deterioration. Lawmakers and the governor are not rushing to any conclusions […]

State air regulators acted Oct. 25 to cut greenhouse gas emissions  by adopting a spending plan to advance electric vehicles and clean transportation and also by incorporating methane control standards for oil and gas producers into the state’s master air pollution control plan. The California Air Resource Board’s 2018-19 investment plan outlines $455 million of […]

California officials blasted the Trump Administration’s plan to freeze automotive greenhouse gas and fuel efficiency standards set under President Barack Obama during a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency public hearing on the proposal in Fresno Sept. 24. “For most of us, this is an issue about leaning forward, not backsliding,” said California Attorney General Xavier Becerra. […]

The California Energy Commission approved “drought-proofing” a desert power plant and modifying efficiency regulations for portable electric spas and battery chargers. It also okayed a handful of multi-million-dollar grants and loans at its April 11 business meeting. The Commission approved changes to the conditions of certification for soil and water resources for the 830 MW […]

Another big crowd filled a California Air Resources Board meeting Oct. 9 to develop a plan for how to spend $423 million in penalty money Volkswagen is paying for its major Smog Check cheating scandal. Under a straw man proposal developed by the Air Board, most of the focus is on reducing emissions from trucks, […]

The California Energy Commission April 7 launched the California Offshore Renewable Wind Energy Gateway, a website that provides geospatial information on ocean wind resources, ecological and natural resources, ocean commercial and recreational uses, and community values. The commission said it created the gateway to support the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management’s California Intergovernmental Renewable Energy […]

Production and refining of California’s heavy oil could be boosting greenhouse gases, according to two reports highlighted March 15 by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Production at the state’s Midway Sunset field outside Bakersfield, Carnegie said, “may be one of the world’s dirtiest and highest greenhouse gas emitters.” That’s because it requires producing high […]

Here’s California Current’s 2015 rundown of the best and worst in the energy world directly and indirectly affecting California. (more…)

With California’s latest legislation to clamp down further on greenhouse gas emissions signed into law, we see increasing movement toward creating a western-wide grid authority and regional wholesale market. (more…)

An energy use tax designed to discourage indoor marijuana growing in Arcata resulted in a drop in energy use of 1.3 million kWh since it was enacted in Nov. 2013. The High Energy Users Tax is aimed at those consuming over 600 percent of baseline. Revenue from the tax, according to the Mad River Union, finished paying […]

Carbon emissions rights went for about $12 a ton in last week’s joint auction by California and Quebec. (more…)

In an April 29 executive order, Gov. Jerry Brown requires that California greenhouse gas emissions fall 40 percent below 1990 levels by 2030. This interim target is set to help ensure that the state reaches an 80 percent reduction in carbon dioxide gases by 2050. (more…)

A coalition of 14 states and some industrial groups April 16 asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit three-judge panel to block the implementation of the Environmental Protection Agency’s pending Clean Power Plan. They argued the rule requiring an overall 30 percent cut in carbon emissions is over kill because […]

Federal legislation to gut the Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean Power Plan was used as another opportunity for the conservatives on the House Energy & Commerce Energy & Power Subcommittee to slam EPA’s efforts to stem climate change. (more…)

Dynegy gets until the end of 2020 at its 2,500 MW Moss Landing power plant to comply with the state’s policy to limit use of once through cooling at seaside power plants to reduce harm to marine life. That’s under an amendment to the policy the State Water Resources Control Board made at the company’s […]

A draft bill was introduced March 24 by Rep. Ed Whitfeld (R-KY) that cuts the legs off the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean Power Plan that directs states to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the electricity sector. (more…)