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BLM hearings in Pittsburgh, Tuesday, June 28
by James Kotcon 24 Jun '16

24 Jun '16

I plan to go to this hearing Tuesday. Is anyone else interested in riding along? The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is holding six public hearings to receive public comments about coal mining on public lands, including one in Pittsburgh. This is your opportunity to tell the federal government to Keep Dirty Fuels in the Ground on public land, insist on fair royalties for the public, and demand an end to "self-bonding" by mining companies. Tuesday, June 28, 11:00 AM to 7:00 PM Press Conference and Rally: Tuesday, June 28, Noon Where: Hearing: Pittsburgh Convention Center 1000 Fort Duquesne Blvd. Pittsburgh (MAP) Press Conference and Rally: Courtyard Pittsburgh Downtown, 945 Penn Avenue, Pittsburgh (MAP) If you are not able to attend, consider sending comments via the attached link. https://sierra.secure.force.com/actions/National?actionId=AR0043719 Details: *An astonishing 40 percent of all coal produced in the United States comes from public, taxpayer-owned land. *The government recently put a hold on new federal coal leases to study the impact that coal mined on public lands has on our climate. This means we have an unprecedented opportunity to push this country towards a clean energy future and away from dirty fuels. For decades, the federal government has been leasing taxpayer-owned public lands to fossil fuel companies at bargain-basement rates. Taxpayer-owned land should be used to benefit the public, but the coal it generates puts billions of tons of carbon into our atmosphere, slows the growth of clean energy, and affects the health of communities near coal mines and power plants and everywhere in between. It’s clear the federal coal leasing program is out of date and out of step with our nation’s commitment to stop climate disruption -- and we have an opportunity to change that. *The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is taking public comments on the scope of its study looking at how our public lands are used for coal mining. Tell them it’s time that we keep the coal in the ground and use our public lands to reflect what’s best for our climate and communities*.

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Sierra Club letter details potential Atlantic Coast Pipeline antitrust violations
by James Kotcon 24 Jun '16

24 Jun '16

Here is a great new front on the ACP! The Virginia Chapter charges that the utilities building ACP "use their captive ratepayers to ensure a continuous demand for natural gas, to be supplied by the ACP". This means utilities "...have an incentive to build more natural gas generating plants in order to create more demand for gas from the ACP. This locks customers into paying for these gas plants for decades to come, regardless of what happens to gas prices, and regardless of whether ratepayers would be better off with alternatives like wind and solar.” The Federal Trade Commissions is being asked to investigate anti-trust violations. See more at: http://augustafreepress.com/sierra-club-letter-details-potential-atlantic-c… JBK

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Fw: WVU geologist examines impact of carbon dioxide released from mine drainage
by James Kotcon 18 Jun '16

18 Jun '16

Yet another problem with acid mine drainage, greenhouse gas emissions. JBK. http://wvutoday.wvu.edu/n/2016/06/16/wvu-geologist-examines-impact-of-carbo… [http://wvutoday.wvu.edu//themes/wvutoday-new/images/facebook_share.png]<http://wvutoday.wvu.edu/n/2016/06/16/wvu-geologist-examines-impact-of-carbo…> WVU geologist examines impact of carbon dioxide released from mine drainage<http://wvutoday.wvu.edu/n/2016/06/16/wvu-geologist-examines-impact-of-carbo…> wvutoday.wvu.edu The collective estimated amount of carbon dioxide being released into the atmosphere from 140 coal mines across Pennsylvania is the equivalent to that of a small power plant, a new West Virginia University study finds. The collective estimated amount of carbon dioxide being released into the atmosphere from 140 coal mines across Pennsylvania is the equivalent to that of a small power plant, a new West Virginia University<http://www.wvu.edu/> study finds. Dorothy Vesper<http://geology.wvu.edu/people/faculty/dorothy-vesper>, associate professor in the Department of Geology and Geography<http://www.geo.wvu.edu/> at West Virginia University, and her research team, are using a meter designed for measuring carbon dioxide in beverages to more accurately measure carbon dioxide in mine drainage water. Using measurements from several sites and estimated values from United States Geological Survey data for 140 Pennsylvania mines, they calculated the amount of carbon dioxide released from abandoned coal mines. "Many people calculate carbon dioxide from alkalinity, or the capability of water to neutralize acid, so the pH has to be above five, but if you have a lot of carbon dioxide dissolved in the water, it forces the pH to fall below five and people just dismiss it and ignore it," Vesper said. "So, there is a bias in the way people typically estimate the carbon dioxide concentrations in water, and they've ignored this whole set of mine waters, but we're able to actually quantify them nicely. "A lot of those very low pH waters have plenty of carbon dioxide in them. " Mine drainage, a byproduct of areas active in ore or coal mining, has long been associated with contaminated drinking water, disrupted growth and reproduction of certain types of plants and animals, and infrastructure corrosion. Sulfate-rich mine water can dissolve the surrounding limestone, allowing carbon dioxide gas to be present in the water. When mine waters discharge at the land surface, some of the carbon dioxide releases into the atmosphere. "The gas is really high in mine waters and people who work with mine waters know that, but no one has quantified it in detail," said Vesper. "No one has really developed an accurate way to measure the carbon dioxide coming out, partially because it is very difficult." Vesper and her team measured carbon dioxide levels in the water at two mine portals and compared those data to estimated gas levels for a limited set of inactive mines across Pennsylvania. These findings - that the total amount of carbon dioxide released from those mines was found to be equivalent to that of a small power plant - have opened the door to larger studies determining the impact carbon dioxide evasion from mine drainage has on the environment. "I think right now, the next thing I want to do is get a better handle on this and get a much more quantitative assessment at more sites," Vesper said. "I think we're also going to work with some of the geographic information system researchers at the Davis College of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Design<http://davis.wvu.edu/> to see if we can do a larger scale estimate for Pennsylvania or West Virginia." This work was initiated with Harry Edenborn, Ph.D. as part of the National Energy Technology Laboratory's Regional University Alliance, a collaborative initiative of the NETL. Ongoing work is funded by the NSF-EPSCOR funded Appalachian Freshwater Initiative<http://afi.wvu.edu/> at WVU.

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300 million Alpha NR/DEP agreement
by Jonathan Rosenbaum 10 Jun '16

10 Jun '16

*DEP Reaches Agreement in Principle** **With Alpha Natural Resources* CHARLESTON, W.Va. – The West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection has reached an agreement in principle with the state’s largest coal operator, Alpha Natural Resources, which filed for bankruptcy in August 2015. The $300 million-plus agreement, which remains subject to a number of contingencies, will pave the way for the bonding and reclaiming of all Alpha’s legacy liability sites in West Virginia, as well as Alpha’s continuing operations in West Virginia.

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from UCS ask a scientist: Does UCS agree that natural gas is a good "bridge" to meet our energy demands while better more earth friendly options are developed?
by Paul Wilson 09 Jun '16

09 Jun '16

Ask a Scientist Matt S. of Kennesaw, GA, asks "Does UCS agree that natural gas is a good "bridge" to meet our energy demands while better more earth friendly options are developed?" Once accepted as conventional wisdom, the notion that we have to significantly increase our use of natural gas to transition the US power sector to low-carbon energy sources is now plainly wrong. Investments in renewable energy and energy efficiency have accelerated rapidly as costs decline and performance and reliability improve. This trend, combined with the growing awareness of the significant risks posed by an overreliance on natural gas, makes it clear that natural gas has at most a limited and complementary role to play in the move to a truly clean energy system. READ MORE <http://action.ucsusa.org/site/R?i=HAVtImyMO0jKnTiBlBHU_w> -- Paul Wilson Project Healing Waters Fly-fishing Sierra Club Military Outdoors 504 Jefferson Ave Charles Town, WV 25414-1130 Cell: 304-279-1361 "There is no forward until you have gone back" ~Buddha "In all things of nature there is something of the marvelous" ~ Aristotle JUSTICE, ONLY JUSTICE, SHALT THOU PURSUE. Deuteronomy 16:20

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Carl Pope on India-US Agreement on Clean Energy
by James Kotcon 08 Jun '16

08 Jun '16

This has some pretty amazing factoids, not the least of which is that the major barrier to renewables is not technological, it is simply whether the financing can be arranged as quickly as needed. Here is my favorite section: ...A draft report<http://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/is-canada-ready-for-a-world-awash-in…> prepared for Canadian government concluded demand for oil could fall so fast that producers simply dump their barrels on to a shrinking market, leaving high cost oil like Canada's, along with pipelines and other facilities, stranded. For a major oil producer to face a world where its reserves will fetch a price of "$0" would have been shocking a year ago. But in Calgary oil analyst Paul Sankey lectured the industry<http://www.ctvnews.ca/business/critics-call-on-oil-industry-to-pay-out-prof…>: "Demand forecasts are way too positive ... really, the essence of the opportunity for oil is to be dividend stocks to pay out. Not to attempt to grow, but actually to orderly liquidate." Shades of "The Coming Carbon Asset Bubble" by Blood and Gore from less than three years ago! (One WV coal company has already proposed giving away all its coal assets to anyone who would simply assume the environmental liabilities.) Full article is available at: http://ecowatch.com/2016/06/08/solar-power-obama-modi-agreement/ Jim Kotcon

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Fw: Synapse Looks at EIA's Early Release of its Annual Energy Outlook 2016
by James Kotcon 18 May '16

18 May '16

This is news you can use. According to this new analysis by US-DOE's Energy Information Agency, the EPA's Clean Power Plan is likely to be economically devastating to those who own fossil fuel reserves, but for consumers, the effect is relatively small. If trading of emissions allowances occurs, and costs are rebated to consumers, the actual consumer impact is near zero. The EIA has historically been very conservative in its forecasts, so much so that they have dramatically underestimated actual growth in renewables and assume essentially flat production, instead of the exponential increases reported by FERC. http://cleantechnica.com/2016/05/15/us-eia-responds-cleantechnica-lettercri… This may be useful when coal advocates tell you that the CPP will bankrupt America. JBK ________________________________ From: Synapse Energy Economics <bcopes=synapse-energy.com(a)mail80.suw13.rsgsv.net> on behalf of Synapse Energy Economics <bcopes(a)synapse-energy.com> Sent: Tuesday, May 17, 2016 4:31 PM To: James Kotcon Subject: Synapse Looks at EIA's Early Release of its Annual Energy Outlook 2016 Email not displaying correctly? View it in your browser<http://us1.campaign-archive2.com/?u=80ccfa970a5bcb075b62e4672&id=f312ef3591…>. [http://gallery.mailchimp.com/bef0f8c2ef390a88c3e173e7c/images/Synapse_small…]<http://synapse-energy.us1.list-manage.com/track/click?u=80ccfa970a5bcb075b6…> May 2016 All Publications<http://synapse-energy.us1.list-manage.com/track/click?u=80ccfa970a5bcb075b6…> Contact Us<http://synapse-energy.us1.list-manage.com/track/click?u=80ccfa970a5bcb075b6…> [https://gallery.mailchimp.com/80ccfa970a5bcb075b62e4672/images/35506952-12c…]<http://synapse-energy.us1.list-manage2.com/track/click?u=80ccfa970a5bcb075b…> [https://gallery.mailchimp.com/80ccfa970a5bcb075b62e4672/images/fec3f9c4-1be…] <http://synapse-energy.us1.list-manage.com/track/click?u=80ccfa970a5bcb075b6…> ________________________________ EIA Publishes Early Release of Annual Energy Outlook 2016 On May 17, 2016, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) published an early release of its Annual Energy Outlook (AEO) for 2016. This early release contains projections for two scenarios: a Reference case, which includes the effects of the Clean Power Plan, and a “No Clean Power Plan” case, which examines a future in which there is no Clean Power Plan. Final versions of each of these cases, along with projections for numerous other scenarios, will be available on July 7, 2016. Until then, here are some of the key highlights in the latest AEO: The AEO 2016 Reference case projects that the Clean Power Plan will raise electricity prices by just 3 percent compared to a future with no Clean Power Plan. As a result of the Clean Power Plan, EIA projects that average electricity prices in the years 2025 to 2030 will be 3 percent higher than a future with no Clean Power Plan. However, the AEO 2016 Reference case (inclusive of the Clean Power Plan) features electricity prices 3 percent below the electricity prices forecasted just last year in the AEO 2015 Reference case. Importantly, this 3 percent increase is limited just to electricity prices; EIA assumes that in the Clean Power Plan, electricity providers purchase CO2 allowances, the revenues of which are rebated to ratepayer bills (just as is currently done in Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative states<http://synapse-energy.us1.list-manage.com/track/click?u=80ccfa970a5bcb075b6…>). As a result, the full effect on out-of-pocket spending on electricity by ratepayers is lower than 3 percent, or even zero. The AEO 2016 Reference case models a 32 percent decrease in electric sector CO2 emissions in 2030 By following the mass-based approach to the Clean Power Plan, AEO 2016’s Reference case reduces electric sector CO2 emissions by over 30 percent by 2028 (compared to 2005 levels), and it sustains this reduction through 2040 (see Figure 1 below). This level of emissions is also nearly 30 percent lower than that projected in last year’s AEO 2015. Even in the No CPP case, CO2 emissions are significantly lower than both historical emissions (a reduction of 16 percent compared to 2005) and what was previously projected (a reduction of 11 percent compared to last year’s AEO 2015 Reference case). Figure 1. Electric power carbon dioxide emissions, historical and projected [https://gallery.mailchimp.com/80ccfa970a5bcb075b62e4672/images/7fe9e42f-436…] Read more<http://synapse-energy.us1.list-manage.com/track/click?u=80ccfa970a5bcb075b6…> highlights on the Synapse blog. ________________________________ Newsletter Subscription You are receiving this newsletter because we think you will find the information interesting and relevant to your work. If for any reason you don't wish to receive these emails, you may unsubscribe by emailing marketing(a)synapse-energy.com.<mailto:marketing@synapse-energy.com> Synapse Energy Economics, Inc. 485 Massachusetts Ave., Suite 2 Cambridge, MA 02139 www.synapse-energy.com ©2015 Synapse Energy Economics, Inc. All rights reserved. This email was sent to jkotcon(a)wvu.edu<mailto:jkotcon@wvu.edu> why did I get this?<http://synapse-energy.us1.list-manage.com/about?u=80ccfa970a5bcb075b62e4672…> unsubscribe from this list<http://synapse-energy.us1.list-manage.com/unsubscribe?u=80ccfa970a5bcb075b6…> update subscription preferences<http://synapse-energy.us1.list-manage.com/profile?u=80ccfa970a5bcb075b62e46…> Synapse Energy Economics · 485 Massachusetts Ave · Suite 2 · Cambridge, MA 02139 · USA

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Renewables Are Leaving Natural Gas In The Dust This Year
by James Kotcon 17 May '16

17 May '16

In 2014 and 2015, Renewables were two-thirds of new generation. In the first quarter of 2016, it is in excess of 98 %. And that does not even count the residential solar, only facilities larger than 1 MW. JBK In the first three months of 2016, the U.S. grid added 18 megawatts of new natural gas generating capacity. It added a whopping 1,291 megawatts (MW) of new renewables. The renewables were primarily wind (707 MW) and solar (522 MW). We also added some biomass (33 MW) and hydropower (29 MW). The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's (FERC) latest monthly "Energy Infrastructure Update<http://www.ferc.gov/legal/staff-reports/2016/mar-infrastructure.pdf>" reports that no new capacity of coal, oil, or nuclear power were added in the first quarter of the year. Full story is at: http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2016/05/16/3778542/grid-70-times-renewable… Jim Kotcon

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Lobbying Continues Unabated on EPA's Clean Power Plan
by Duane 14 May '16

14 May '16

http://www.bna.com/lobbying-continues-unabated-n57982070620/ Lobbying Continues Unabated on EPA's Clean Power Plan By Anthony Adragna, Bloomberg BNA, May 3, 2016 Near-impossible odds of legislative success and upcoming oral arguments in federal appeals court haven't deterred entities from continuing aggressive lobbying of Congress on the Environmental Protection Agency's Clean Power Plan. More than 130 entities reported lobbying on the centerpiece of President Barack Obama's domestic efforts on climate change during the first quarter of 2016, according to disclosures reviewed by Bloomberg BNA. That number is virtually unchanged from a year ago when efforts to stop the regulation were at a near-fever pitch in Congress. Lawmakers have previously passed legislation and resolutions of disapproval to overturn or block the regulation, but support was always well below the levels needed to override the stroke of Obama's veto pen. Despite that reality, many of the entities reported lobbying Congress on those same efforts during the first quarter of 2016. The continued lobbying doesn't surprise academics and other outside experts. “This is hardly surprising,” Lee Drutman, a senior fellow with New America, told Bloomberg BNA May 3. “The passage of legislation is just the first battle in the endless fight on almost every issue. There's always another venue, and another opportunity for lobbying, another chance to make your case. Especially when you have lots of paying corporate clients.” Diversity in Groups Represented As in previous reporting periods, the entities lobbying on the Clean Power Plan ranged from major public health organizations to large publicly traded companies to coal companies (139 ECR, 7/21/15). Among the companies lobbying on the centerpiece of the Obama administration's domestic efforts on climate change were Westrock Co., Alcoa Inc., Tesla Motors Inc., Xcel Energy Inc., Occidental Petroleum Co. and Siemens AG. Public health and environmental advocates, including the Sierra Club, the Natural Resources Defense Council, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Heart Association and the Catholic Health Association of the United States, all disclosed lobbying on the Clean Power Plan. Southern Co., Vectren Corp., Duke Energy Co., Calpine Corp., NorthWestern Energy Corp. and Entergy Corp. are among the energy interests that also said they pushed Congress on the regulation. Entities Lobbying on Issue Entities lobbying on the issue were identified through a search of lobbying records with the keywords “Clean Power Plan,”“111(d),” the number of the resolution of disapproval passed by Congress ( S.J. Res. 24) and two pieces of legislation (H.R. 2042; S. 1324) that would impede or outright kill the EPA's regulatory efforts under Section 111(d) of the Clean Air Act. After Obama vetoed both resolutions of disapproval Dec. 18, 2015, congressional aides and lawmakers said they were unlikely to try to override them. Oral arguments in a federal appeals court case challenging the regulation are slated for June 2 and possibly June 3 (West Virginia v. EPA, D.C. Cir., No. 15-1363, oral argument 6/2/16). Lobbying Interest Not Surprising Despite the shift away from Congress to the courts in the fight over the Clean Power Plan, observers said they were not surprised lobbying efforts continued. Congress remains influential in the debate surrounding the EPA rule, some said. “Whether or not litigation is the best strategy, Congress retains the ability to influence the process ... so it makes sense that industry lobbyists would continue to spend time talking to them,” Lisa Gilbert, director of Public Citizen's Congress Watch, told Bloomberg BNA. “I am slightly surprised that the amount of money spent would be exactly the same, but I’d imagine they are also spending comparable resources on every potential avenue that might influence the outcome.” Jennifer Victor, a professor of legislative politics at George Mason University, told Bloomberg BNA many of the groups lobbying on the EPA rule have the primary purpose of advocacy before Congress. Others are membership-based and may feel pressure to show they are doing something, she said. “Some pretty big shift in the political landscape would be necessary for them to curtail this kind of activity,” Victor said, such as a change in administration or the end of litigation on the Clean Power Plan. See also: www.FrackCheckWV.net

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from Other Words: King Coal is Headed to Prison
by Paul Wilson 04 May '16

04 May '16

1. King Coal Is Headed to Prison <http://act.ips-dc.org/site/R?i=uq1uValgMJ1yav7bPyNPiw> / Jim Hightower *Don Blankenship is the first murderous coal executive to get put behind bars.* -- Paul Wilson Project Healing Waters Fly-fishing Sierra Club Military Outdoors 504 Jefferson Ave Charles Town, WV 25414-1130 Cell: 304-279-1361 "There is no forward until you have gone back" ~Buddha "In all things of nature there is something of the marvelous" ~ Aristotle JUSTICE, ONLY JUSTICE, SHALT THOU PURSUE. Deuteronomy 16:20

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