Energy

State hearing set this week for large-scale solar farm proposal in Cayuga County | Politics | auburnpub.com

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State hearing set this week for large-scale solar farm proposal in Cayuga County | Politics | auburnpub.com

significant step in the state's review of a massive solar farm proposal for northern Cayuga County takes place this week when the board that decides if the project can move forward holds an evidentiary hearing.

The state Board on Electric Generation Siting and the Environment has scheduled the hearing to start Friday morning. It will be held via web conference and teleconference.

The evidentiary hearing follows back-and-forth filings made by state agencies, a concerned citizens group and the project's developer, Florida-based NextEra Energy Resources. The company wants to build a 200-megawatt solar power facility in a project area of about 1,900 acres that would be located completely within the town of Conquest. The town does not have authority to approve or reject the proposal.

NPR

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What Russia cutting off energy to Poland and Bulgaria means for the world : NPR

The Russian national energy giant Gazprom announced on Wednesday that it was cutting off natural gas exports to Poland and Bulgaria over the countries' refusal to pay in rubles.

It was seen as a way for Russia to prop up its unstable currency and also retaliate against its European neighbors for Western sanctions related to the invasion of Ukraine.

It also marked a new front in the war. Russia, which has grown more isolated from a Europe increasingly aligned with the United States, signaled it was willing to use the continent's heavy reliance on Russian natural gas as political leverage.

Been clicking through to those ads for Smarter New York Energy

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Been clicking through to those ads for Smarter New York Energy, a website put together by the the Warm Thoughts Communications firm, a communications organization out of New Jersey that has been contracted by NYS Propane Gas Organization to oppose the Climate Leadership and Communication Act.

I did a little more digging using the property tax records and the listing for the NYS Propane Gas Organization’s address on their website (5315 Perry City Rd, Trumansburg, NY 14886) is the home address of Bill Overbaugh, Vice President, of Ehrhart Propane in Trumansburg. Nice 50 acre property though with a lake. That said, looking at their website, it looks like they are under new leadership.

The NYS Propane Gas Organization has a webpage asking for contributions:

Donate Now to Fight the CLCPA!

Give your financial support to our CLCPA Battle Fund so we can pay for crucial advocacy efforts that are not fundable with our PERC dollars. We are asking smaller companies to support with $5,000; larger companies $10,000. Make your donation via the form below.

For details on how we plan to spend the money, here is a video presentation. Contact our Executive Director for the password.

Warm Thoughts Communications is an interesting firm, as it looks like they are mostly made up of former heating oil and propane company staffers, and their work is mostly communications for the home heating industry. The CLCPA Battle Fund effort is probably a side job, with most of their work more mundane, putting out marketing websites for local heating oil and propane companies.

It’s interesting how concerned about that heating oil and propane dealers really are about the Climate Leadership and Communication Act to be putting out such a big media effort. It’s not like oil heating or propane heating is going to disappear tomorrow — it will take decades to replace home heating systems with heat pumps. But they have to also see the the writing on the wall. Maybe they have hope they can turn the political tide, but climate change isn’t going away nor is electrification going away.

NYISO Podcast Ep

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NYISO Podcast Ep. 19: How We Removed Barriers to Clean-Energy Resources Coming Onto the Grid

The proposal was created to make it easier for clean-energy resources such as solar or wind to take part in the competitive, wholesale markets that serve the New York grid. The project was overwhelmingly supported by stakeholders, following months of discussion on how to reconcile capacity market rules with the state’s Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA).

Why is this change important, how did it come about, and how will it help bring us to a zero-emissions grid by 2040? Vice President for External Affairs and Corporate Communications Kevin Lanahan recently interviewed two of the primary authors of the proposal, also known as Comprehensive Mitigation Reform, for our latest Power Trends podcast. He spoke to Director of Market Design Mike DeSocio, and Manager of Capacity Market Design Zach T. Smith.