A standoff over a bill sought by Dominion Energy to boost the profitability of its Millstone nuclear power station temporarily stopped business in the closely divided House of Representatives on Wednesday, the final day of the 2017 legislative session. It failed to force a vote sought by Dominion.
Energy and Environment
Posted inEnergy & Environment, Money, Politics
Senate gives new life to Millstone relief bill
Dominion Energy and its allies in the Senate Republican caucus managed Wednesday to salvage elements of a bill intended to stabilize the profitability of Millstone Power Station, a nuclear plant that produces nearly all of Connecticut’s carbon-free electricity.
Posted inEnergy & Environment, Politics
Dominion Energy loses legislative fight over Millstone pricing
A long, intense and expensive lobbying campaign by Dominion Energy has failed to find the votes in the Connecticut General Assembly for legislation intended to improve the profitability of its Millstone Nuclear Power Station by changing the rules for procuring electricity.
Posted inEnergy & Environment
CT environmentalists vow to go it alone after Trump’s Paris exit
WASHINGTON — Connecticut environmental groups and the state’s Democrats decried President Donald Trump’s decision to pull the United States out of the Paris agreement on climate change and vow to keep up their efforts in the state to cut greenhouse gases blamed for global warming.
Posted inEnergy & Environment
CT’s delayed energy plan could mean trouble for Millstone bill
With TV ads and ferocious lobbying on both sides of the issue, it’s unclear whether any legislation to help out the Millstone Nuclear Power Station will survive this legislative session. A delay in the release of an updated state energy strategy isn’t helping matters.
Posted inEnergy & Environment, Politics
Blumenthal joins Dem effort to block Trump offshore drilling plan
WASHINGTON — Offshore drilling is the focus of the latest battle between environmentalists and the Trump administration. On Tuesday, a group of 15 Democratic senators reintroduced the Clean Ocean and Safe Tourism Anti-Drilling (COAST) Act to keep oil and gas drilling banned in the Atlantic and other coastal areas.
Posted inEnergy & Environment
Complaints persist even as shared solar (finally) nears finish line
After years of delays, shared solar may finally be close to its first test in Connecticut. But along with some cheers from its supporters, there’s still an awful lot of complaining over how it’s being handled.
Posted inEnergy & Environment, Politics
Trump review of national monuments includes New England Coral Canyons
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s latest executive order threatens newly won protections for an underwater national monument located 150 miles off the coast of Cape Cod. The president ordered a review of “national monuments,” including the New England Coral Canyons and Seamounts area, an ecosystem in the deep waters for the Atlantic Ocean.
Posted inEnergy & Environment, Politics
CT fires its first shots in battle with Trump over environment
The state could turn out to be one of the most uniquely qualified to challenge the Trump administration on environmental policy. “Connecticut fights way above its weight in a number of the areas on the national scene,” Attorney General George Jepsen said. “Environmental issues is one of those areas.”
Posted inEnergy & Environment, Money
Will CT catch or miss the boat on offshore wind energy?
Connecticut has the potential to become a major player in, and economic beneficiary from, offshore wind, all without putting a single turbine in state waters. But it may need to move fast and put a little economic skin in the game.
Posted inEnergy & Environment
Trump’s gesture to coal country falls flat in Connecticut
President Trump’s order rolling back many of his predecessor’s efforts to curb global warming was quickly denounced Tuesday in Connecticut, one of the northeastern states where successive Democratic and Republican gubernatorial administrations have supported policies to limit greenhouse gases.
Posted inEnergy & Environment
Nuclear brinksmanship: Does Millstone need help to stay open?
Lobbyists crowded into a committee room at the General Assembly to watch the inevitable advance Tuesday of a bill that sponsors say would simultaneously lower electric rates and stabilize profits generated by the Millstone Nuclear Power Station. Opponents say the bill would cost ratepayers and produce a windfall for the plant’s owner, Dominion Resources of Virginia.
Posted inEnergy & Environment, Money
Trump would slash CT environment funds; hit to Sound feared
The Trump administration called massive cuts to the Environmental Protection Agency an attempt to ease the burden of unnecessary federal regulations. Connecticut’s environmental commissioner called it an assault on public health and the environment.
Posted inEnergy & Environment, Transportation
Easing auto emissions rules would set back CT clean-air efforts
Anticipated action by the Trump administration to roll back auto emissions standards would threaten Connecticut’s greenhouse gas emission goals, its air quality and its push for more electric vehicles.
Posted inEnergy & Environment
New farmland harvest – solar energy – creating political sparks
Two well-intentioned environmental polices – one encouraging more renewable power and the other the preservation of farms and forestland – are colliding. They are pitting farmer against farmer and environmental interest groups against one another, putting state departments at odds, and raising the always explosive issue of private property rights versus state policy.