The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) had a deadline of April 13 to impose the first-ever greenhouse gas limits on new power plants, but they did not finalize the proposal on time. EPA is in the process of altering the rule to make sure it can withstand any legal challenges that may come its way. The rule if implemented as it was written would require new power plants to emit no more than 1,000 pounds of carbon dioxide per megawatt hour of electricity produced. EPA is debating the possibility of establishing separate standards for coal-fired power plants and gas-fired power plants. There is no timetable for when EPA will announce their next move.

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Rep. Cartwright (D-PA) introduced the “Focused Reduction of Effluence and Stormwater runoff through Hydrofracking Environmental Regulation” (FRESHER) Act on March 14, which would remove a provision in the Clean Water Act (CWA), added by the Energy Policy Act of 2005, that exempts oil and gas sites from stormwater permitting requirements. The exemption applies to all uncontaminated runoff from oil and gas sites of any acreage. The FRESHER Act, if passed, would also require the Department of Interior (DOI) to study the impact of stormwater from oil and gas sites on surface water, groundwater and drinking water.

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Earlier this week, Sen. Murkowski (R-AK) released an energy blueprint, entitled “Energy 2020.” The blueprint was developed with seven principles in mind: producing more, consuming less, clean energy technology, energy delivery infrastructure, effective government, environmental responsibility, and an energy policy that pays for itself. Murkowski believes this can be done with more oil and gas production, reducing carbon emissions, and the development of a “trust fund” for clean energy. Her hope is the blueprint could serve as a basis for starting a comprehensive energy discussion in Congress, which may result in a number of small, bipartisan energy bills this year.

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President Obama called for the United States to step up and be a leader as the world transitions towards new energy technologies to help combat climate change during his inaugural address earlier this week. Obama hoped to have climate legislation passed during his first term, but was unsuccessful with his push. So he and his administration will make another effort to push for climate change legislation and regulations in his second term. He said, “We will respond to the threat of climate change, knowing that the failure to do so would betray our children and future generations.” He went onto say that fighting climate change is not a choice, but rather an obligation and that the obligation can be met with the development of new, cleaner energy technologies.

The House Energy and Power Subcommittee of the Energy and Commerce Committee will hold a hearing on September 20, 2012 to discuss H.R. 6172. The bill would prohibit the EPA Administrator from finalizing any rule that would put a performance standard for CO2 emissions on an existing or new source that is a fossil fuel-fired electric generating unit until carbon capture and storage is deemed technologically and economically feasible. The hearing will begin at 9:45 a.m. at 2123 Rayburn.

Last week, the National Enhanced Oil Recovery Initiative(NEORI), in conjunction with the Great Plains Institute(GPI) and the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions(C2ES), released a set of recommendations for enhanced oil recovery(EOR) on Capitol Hill. The highlight of the list of recommendations is a federal tax incentive for companies that capture and transport the CO2. NEORI estimates that the tax credit would lead to a quadrupling of current U.S. oil production from EOR to nearly 400 million barrels/year, and at the same time reduce CO2 emissions by roughly 4 billion tons over the next 40 years. The report also recommends that federal policies should complement state policies that already exist. The recommendations received bipartisan support from Sens. Baucus(D-MT), Conrad(D-ND), Hoeven(R-ND), Lugar(R-IN), and Congressmen Rick Berg(R-ND) and K.Michael Conaway(R-TX). Sen. Baucus said, “I applaud the National Enhanced Oil Recovery Initiative for bringing together such a diverse group of stakeholders and presenting this set of policy recommendations. Enhanced oil recovery is a critical element of our broad, all-of-the-above approach to pursuing energy independence for America. It is also a clear example of American ingenuity that is re-invigorating oil fields.”

For the first time in thirty years, the United States has approved the construction of a new nuclear power plant. Last week, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) voted to approve the issuance of the nation’s first Combined Construction and Operating License (COL), which will allow the construction of the nation’s first two nuclear units in 30 years at Plant Vogtle, near Waynesboro, Georgia. The COL is a streamlined process that addresses reactor design, construction, and operation of new nuclear units all in one licensing proceeding. Receipt of the COL signifies that full construction of the $14 billion facility can now begin in earnest. Plant Vogtle is jointly owned by the Municipal Electric Authority of Georgia (MEAG Power), Ogelthorpe Power Corporation, Georgia Power, and Dalton Utilities and will be operated by Southern Nuclear, a subsidiary of Southern Company. The co-owners are financing construction through a variety of means, including bond programs and pursuit of loan guarantees from the Department of Energy. The co-owners expect Unit 3 to begin operating in 2016 and Unit 4 in 2017.

A recent study published in the science journal Remote Sensing shows that NASA satellite data from the last 11 years (2000-2011) indicates that the Earth’s atmosphere has been able to release far more heat into space than those who pushed the theory of “Global Warming” believed. The study, by Drs. Roy Spencer and William Braswell, differs from predictions that have been made based on the United Nations computer models. Their study says that much less global warming will occur.

Dr. Spencer said in a press release, “The satellite observations suggest there is much more energy lost to space during and after warming than the climate models show.” Not only does the study show that far less heat is being trapped, but that the atmosphere sheds the heat into space a lot sooner than the United Nations models predicted. The information collected for the study came from the NASA Terra satellite.

A recent study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences states that despite the increase in greenhouse gas emissions from 1998 to 2008, global surfaces temperatures have leveled off. The researchers, led by Robert Kaufman, a professor at Boston University, believe that global surface temperatures have leveled off over this time due to the increase in sulfur pollution, particularly in China.

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The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee will a hold a hearing tomorrow on two carbon capture and storage (CCS) measures.

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