EC September 2015

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3 discussions

Fwd: [Coal Volunteers List] Interesting graphs on how each state's power mix has changed in past 10 years
by James Kotcon 19 Sep '15

19 Sep '15

Click on the link from Mary Ann to see how WV compares to surrounding states in electricity generation. Jim Kotcon ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: James Kotcon <jkotcon(a)gmail.com> Date: Sat, Sep 19, 2015 at 1:44 PM Subject: Re: [Coal Volunteers List] Interesting graphs on how each state's power mix has changed in past 10 years To: Ned Ford <ned.ford(a)fuse.net> Cc: coal-volunteers-list(a)sierraclub.org Ned, it looks like the first chart on the link is the US total, and the numbers seem to match pretty closely with those from your chart, although it is not clear as this one ends in 2013. There have been some reports showing that fossil fuel use for electricity generation was up slightly in 2014, although that may have been weather related-due to the Polar Vortex and exceptionally cold winter in the eastern US. I note that West Virginia is falling further and further behind other energy-producing states like Texas, Wyoming, the Dakotas and Illinois, in RENEWABLE energy generation. Thank you for sharing. Jim Kotcon On Wed, Sep 16, 2015 at 2:02 PM, Ned Ford <Ned.Ford(a)fuse.net> wrote: > This is particularly good because it is based on MWh generation, and > avoids the mistake a lot of efforts make, which is to base assumed > generation on the relative shares of capacity. > > I wish they had included the total U.S. I'm pasting a graph that shows > total U.S. data over a similar period. > > - Ned > > > > On 9/16/2015 1:17 PM, Mary Anne Hitt wrote: > > Hello Beyond Coal team, > > I wanted to pass along this very interesting set of graphs, created by > NPR, on how each state's power mix has changed over the past 10 years, from > 2004 - 2014. Fascinating to see the the fall of coal and the rise of > renewables in so many states. While it's not all good news, especially the > rise of gas in some places, the trends are pretty remarkable (and to my > brothers and sisters in WV and KY, there's nowhere to go but up!). I > thought you might enjoy geeking out on these as much as I did. > > > http://www.npr.org/2015/09/10/319535020/coal-gas-nuclear-hydro-how-your-sta… > > Cheers, > Mary Anne > > -- > Mary Anne Hitt > Director, Beyond Coal Campaign > Sierra Club > Blog <http://sierraclub.typepad.com/compass/coal-director/> | Twitter > <http://twitter.com/#%21/maryannehitt> (@maryannehitt) > > 304-876-7064 (w) | 540-239-0073 (c) > www.beyondcoal.org > > -- > To access the Beyond Coal Campaign Resource Portal, go to: > <https://sites.google.com/a/sierraclub.org/beyond-coal-resource-portal/> > https://sites.google.com/a/sierraclub.org/beyond-coal-resource-portal/ > > To sign up for this list, email neha.mathew(a)sierraclub.org with the > subject and message "SUBSCRIBE #coal-volunteer" > --- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "#Coal-Volunteers" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to coal-volunteers-list+unsubscribe(a)sierraclub.org. > To post to this group, send email to coal-volunteers-list(a)sierraclub.org. > > > -- > To access the Beyond Coal Campaign Resource Portal, go to: > https://sites.google.com/a/sierraclub.org/beyond-coal-resource-portal/ > > To sign up for this list, email neha.mathew(a)sierraclub.org with the > subject and message "SUBSCRIBE #coal-volunteer" > --- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "#Coal-Volunteers" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to coal-volunteers-list+unsubscribe(a)sierraclub.org. > To post to this group, send email to coal-volunteers-list(a)sierraclub.org. >

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“Just Saying No” Won’t Stop the Clean Power Plan
by James Kotcon 19 Sep '15

19 Sep '15

It is looking more and more like WV will continue to oppose EPA's Clean Power Plan (Well, Duh!). There is still no clear answer as to whether DEP will move forward with a State Implementation Plan, but such a Plan would need legislative approval, which seems highly unlikely. In the event that WV does not submit either a SIP, or a Request for a SIP extension by Sept. 6, 2016 (less than a year away), a Federal Implementation Plan (FIP) will be imposed. Below is an excellent summary of what a FIP would look like (This was written by the Sierra Club's attorney, Elena Saxonhouse, and some of you may remember her from our work on the PATH line and the coal-to gas plant in Mingo County).. While the exact details will not be clear for a while, the general outlines are emerging. I encourage you to read this over, as we will need to be well-informed to be effective in the current political climate. http://www.sierraclub.org/compass/2015/09/just-saying-no-won-t-stop-clean-p… At this time, EPA has not yet published the final rule in the Federal register, and it seems likely not to do so until sometime into October, so DEP is unwilling to start planning until they have the exact wording in front of them. On the other hand, the DC Circuit Court this week threw out AG Patrick Morrisey's lawsuit against the CPP because the final rule has not yet been published. In addition, EPA will not have final details of the FIP rule until sometime next year, but it is already clear that a FIP will leave WV with less flexibility, fewer incentives, and less of a role for energy efficiency, all of which will increase costs to ratepayers. But n the end, EPA's rule is likely to survive, and the FIP will likely be implemented under approximately the same timetable, so all the posturing by our political leaders may score political points with the coal industry, but is unlikely to change the outcome. Jim Kotcon

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Fw: Come to the stream protection hearing Sept 17
by James Kotcon 16 Sep '15

16 Sep '15

FYI: I attended the Pittsburgh, PA hearing last Thursday. We organized a bus with 11 people from Morgantown, and 8 more from Waynesburgh and Washington, PA. The OSM allowed 2 minutes per speaker, but also had rooms set up for individuals to give comments to an OSM rep, or to submit written comments. Due to a press conference, most of us did not sign up until just before the hearing started, so we went later in the evening. Robert Murray of Murray Mining was present, and used the event to blast the Obama Administration, claiming that the OSM rules were blatantly illegal and an attempt to kill the coal industry, cripple America, and destroy our way of life. He was followed by a couple dozen of his employees who largely repeated the Murray Mining mantra. It was clear that Murray had bussed in a large number of miners (50-100), but they were mostly respectful. They all got up to leave when Murray left an hour into the hearing, and it appears they were just there because they were paid to be. But since most of them went first, they tended to get more press, so it was good to get our press conference in early. One issue that came up repeatedly was the request for a 180-day extension of the comment period. ODM has already extended it by 30 days (to Oct. 26), so this appears to be an attempt to delay the rule until after the Obama Administration leaves office. While I support public comment, it is important to keep in mind that we have already waited many years for this rule, and each day of delay is another day of polluted water, another day that the problems become worse, another stream that dies, and another family that loses their water. OSM needs to act now, not analyze this to death. For another story on the Pittsburgh hearing, see the story by Don Hopey at the link below. http://www.post-gazette.com/news/environment/2015/09/11/Both-sides-sound-of… [http://www.post-gazette.com/libercus/default/graphics/PGFacebook_ICON_1500x…]<http://www.post-gazette.com/news/environment/2015/09/11/Both-sides-sound-of…> Both sides sound off at hearing on new federal stream protection rule | Pittsburgh Post-Gazette The OSMRE says adoption of the rule would protect about 6,200 miles of streams nationwide over the next two decades. Read more...<http://www.post-gazette.com/news/environment/2015/09/11/Both-sides-sound-of…> Jim Kotcon ________________________________ From: WVEC - Bill Price <bill.price(a)wvecouncil.org> Sent: Wednesday, September 16, 2015 7:33 AM To: James Kotcon Subject: Come to the stream protection hearing Sept 17 [Donate]<http://wvecouncil.org/> West Virginia Environmental Council Action Alert Sep 16, 2015 View / Comment Online<http://wvecouncil.org/come-to-the-stream-protection-hearing-sept-17/> [Donate] <http://wvecouncil.org/join/> Hi to all those who care about West Virginia's streams Over the past two weeks, OSM has held hearings in Lexington, Pittsburgh, St. Louis and Denver on the draft stream protection rule that will help protect our most valuable natural resource: water. As a Sierra Club representative, I personally attended the Lexington and St. Louis hearings and can say that people are being heard when they step up and say that clean water is vital to our economy and our lives. The number of speakers in support of the rule has increased at each hearing. In St. Louis citizens matched the number of industry executives and polluter allied politicians. It's great to see the increased momentum as the series of hearings continues. We are not done yet! On Thursday, September 17th the hearing will be held at the Charleston Civic Center. This is the final hearing in the series and we should make it the best. I'd love to see you there supporting clean safe water and letting the Office of Surface Mining know that we support the efforts to protect our streams. The hearing begins at 5pm. You are welcome to attend our pre-hearing event at the Holiday Inn Express across the street beginning at 3pm. We will have some food, be able to prepare our comments and find out more about the hearings. Thank you! Bill Price, President West Virginia Environmental Council >From the WVEC Action Alert E-mail List Subscribe or Unsubscribe Online<http://wvecouncil.org/archive/action-alerts/>

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EC September 2015