From the editor: Clean Power Plan, policy and illusion
The Trump Administration’s pledge to repeal CPP should not distract us from the fact that this was not an ambitious policy to begin with.
Could a moderate influence be coming to the EPA?
Axios reporters Jonathan Swan and Amy Harder are reporting Scott Holmstead could be appointed as the deputy to Climate Change denier EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt and that he might curb some of Pruitt’s worst instincts – but solar advocates shouldn’t be jumping for joy just yet.
Trump appoints fossil-fuel apostle to head renewable energy office
In keeping with his habit of appointing people who want to destroy the agencies they head, the president appointed outspoken renewables critic Daniel Simmons to Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE).
Trump Admin fires first shots in its new War on Science
Reports say the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy is under siege by the Department of Energy, with funds frozen and officials refusing to tell the researchers why. Should the scientists at NREL and Sunshot be nervous?
The slow walk: Interview with Nathan Serota of BNEF on Trump’s executive order
Yesterday U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order to roll back federal regulations on the fossil fuel industry while ordering a review and a re-write of the Clean Power Plan. This morning pv magazine talked with Bloomberg New Energy Finance Senior Analyst Nathan Serota about what the solar industry should expect from this sea change in federal regulatory direction.
Back to the future: EPA’s proposed budget lowest since 1976
President Trump’s proposed budget, announced this morning, slashes the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s budget by 31%, making it the lowest inflation-adjusted amount spent on the agency in 40 years.
Go West: California to recruit federal climate scientists
California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) President Michael Picker will travel to Washington D.C. tomorrow to recruit Climate Change, renewable energy and environmental scientists as the Federal government’s environmental priorities shift.
Potential EPA, DOE deputies come to bury, not praise, agencies
As President Donald J. Trump prepares to unveil his 2017 budget to the nation tonight, rumors are swirling about who the second-in-commands will be at the Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Energy – and the news isn’t good for fans of solar or the environment.
House considers eliminating the EPA
H.R. 861, introduced last week by freshman Congressman Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), has one simple objective stated right in its title: to terminate the Environmental Protection Agency.
Trump transition team appoints fossil fuel advocates, climate action opponents to DOE, EPA, Interior
The list of ideologues appointed reads like a who’s-who of Koch brothers-funded right-wing think tanks.
