Philadelphia, P.A. — PJM Interconnection, the regional electric grid operator for 13 states including Pennsylvania, announced its grid reliability analysis for the FirstEnergy Solutions’ Beaver County Nuclear Power Plant today. The report states that transmission upgrades will be necessary to maintain grid reliability should the nuclear plant retire. Most of those upgrades are already planned and the plant should be able to retire as scheduled.
The Department of the Interior today unveiled a proposal, to be posted to the Federal Register next week, that would roll back offshore drilling safety rules. The blowout preventer rule was put in place by the Obama administration in response to the 2010 BP Deepwater Horizon disaster, which killed 11 people and spilled millions of barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico which continues to affect the coast and coastal tourism today.
MINNEAPOLIS - Today, the Minneapolis City Council unaimously approved the city’s commitment to transition to 100 percent clean, renewable energy by 2030. Minneapolis now represents the largest city in the Midwest and the 65th city in the country to establish a goal of transitioning entirely to clean, renewable energy.
The Michigan Public Service Commission (MPSC) approved DTE Energy’s nearly billion-dollar gas plant proposal for East China Township. The proposal drew opposition from customers, businesses, elected officials, and clean energy advocates that submitted expert testimony outlining the economic advantages of energy efficiency, renewable energy, and demand response over DTE’s gas proposal.
Yesterday, after saying he had nothing to hide, EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt failed to answer questions, caught himself in two lies, and proved he’s been unable to do his job. Even his former Republican allies are no long defending him. To boot, 58-percent of Americans think Donald Trump should fire Pruitt.
After months of preparation, Scott Pruitt failed to answer for his near endless scandals and illegal actions. Now, even his staunchest supporters are reportedly questioning whether Pruitt’s baggage is even worth it. He had months to prepare for today, and he even turned down overtures from the White House. When it came time to face Congress, Scott Pruitt was unable to answer Republicans, let alone Democrats’ questions. Instead he lied, he tried to deflect the blame, and he obfuscated. But at no point did Scott Pruitt ever answer for the fact that he’s abused taxpayer funds, that he’s ignored Donald Trump’s orders, and that he’s failed to uphold the public’s trust.
Sierra Club and its allies submitted more than 115 thousand comments today demanding scandal ridden EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt leave the Clean Power Plan in place.
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Today, Scott Pruitt faced harsh and at times hostile questions from both Democrats and Republicans while defending his ethical transgressions and illegal actions at the House Energy and Commerce Committee hearing. During the hearing, Pruitt admitted to giving his chief of staff the greenlight to give massive raises to his top aides. This contradicts Pruitt’s previous statements and Fox News interview where he denied any knowledge of the raises. Pruitt was also forced to answer questions about his sweetheart condo deal owned by the spouse of a fossil fuel lobbyist. Pruitt has repeatedly claimed that he paid market rate for the condo, even telling Trump that he has. However, the Daily Beast reported today that Pruitt’s lobbyist landlord charge others twice as much -- $100 a night -- just to hold events at the condo.
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Today, the Senate voted to approve Mike Pompeo’s nomination for Secretary of State.
The Bureau of Land Management in Montana deferred all 223 parcels subject to an oil and gas lease sale planned for June 12. The decision to postpone the lease sale results from a court decision last month finding the Miles City (Montana) and Buffalo (Wyoming) Field Office’s Resource Management Plans unlawfully overlooked climate impacts of coal mining and oil and gas drilling.