South Carolina: The perfect case study for new EPA power plant rules | TheHill

By Frank Knapp Jr.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has released proposed rules for reducing carbon emissions from the nation’s power plants in an effort to address the negative impacts of climate change.  Power plants contribute about 40 percent of the country’s carbon pollution.

Transitioning to a clean energy economy is thus very important and it is clear that EPA rules for states to control carbon pollution are needed.

Read more: http://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/energy-environment/208068-south-carolina-the-perfect-case-study-for-new-epa#ixzz33t5b6m7b
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PSC Elects Officers

On June 4, 2014, the Public Service Commission of South Carolina elected Commissioner Nikiya "Nikki" Hall to serve as Chairman and Commissioner Swain E. Whitfield to serve as Vice-Chairman for the period beginning July 1, 2014 and ending June 30, 2016.

Energy Efficiency Strategy Benefits From A Portfolio Approach

Heather ClancyContributorThe issue of how to finance energy efficiency continues to evolve. Since the program was launched in 2011, more than $1.77 billion in vehicles such as equity re-investment, distributed generation contracts, and tax-exempt leases have helped organizations achieve their goals. That doesn’t include the roughly $1.4 billion in performance contracts being used by the federal government; right now, this sort of financing isn’t used very much by the private sector, Vargas said. “Some people will tell you it’s a red herring,” she said.

Obama’s climate rule clocks in at 645 pages | TheHill

By Tim Devaney - 06/02/14 12:31 PM EDT
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The public will have 120 days to comment on the first version of the rules. After that, the EPA will read through the comments and is likely move forward with a final version.

Read more: http://thehill.com/regulation/energy-environment/207911-obamas-climate-rule-clocks-in-at-645-pages#ixzz33a7JU9GE
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Are Higher Prices the Future of Energy?

By Reuben Brewer 
May 25, 2014

That's the technology causing such a fuss at Southern's Kemper plant. In fact, U.S. Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz called Kemper "a plant of the future" because of carbon capture. That's how important the technology is. In fact, he went so far as to say, "We're going to need not 10 maybe 100 more of these plants across the country in the future."

Duke Energy eyes another step in Progress merger integration - Orlando Business Journal

John Downey May 27, 2014, 5:47am EDT

Duke Energy (NYSE: DUK) is preparing to take another step in its integration ofProgress Energy, asking regulators to let its two Carolinas utilities share power plant capacity.

Governments Await Obama’s Move on Carbon to Gauge U.S. Climate Efforts - NYTimes.com

By CORAL DAVENPORTMAY 26, 2014

WASHINGTON — President Obama is expected to announce on Monday an Environmental Protection Agency regulation to cut carbon pollution from the nation’s 600 coal-fired power plants, in a speech that government analysts in Beijing, Brussels and beyond will scrutinize to determine how serious the president is about fighting global warming.