The caution displayed by the Maryland Public Service Commission over BG&E’s smart meter proposal can be explained, in part, by the debate over Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) installation in California. Some Californians are even taking to the streets: Thursday morning, about a dozen people launched a demonstration against the SmartMeters at a Pleasure Point vehicle [...]
Entries Tagged as ‘Uncategorized’
September 3, 2010
BP’s High Wire Act Continues — Why Marylanders Should Worry
While the jockeying was under way in June over the proposed BP victims’ compensation fund, Maryland Energy Report identified President Obama’s dilemma: Here is President Obama’s balancing act. On the one hand, BP may fall into crisis if its liability for damages is not somehow limited and made predictable — the swift and cruel judgement [...]
August 31, 2010
EPA Cannot Sweep Toxic Coal Ash Under the Rug
When coal is burned, roughly ten percent remains behind in mineral form that is contaminated with toxic heavy metals. In coming years, as more coal-fired plants install scrubbers, this proportion will rise. The already large stream of toxic coal combustion residues (CCRs) will grow significantly. At present, we have only a patchwork of state regulations. [...]
August 23, 2010
PATH Contractor Investigated for Defrauding Taxpayers
A New Jersey construction firm that exploited its close ties to the Cheney-Bush Administration to win massive war contracts is under investigation by the Justice Department for over-billing taxpayers for work in Afghanistan and Iraq. The company, the Louis Berger Group, is also a major contractor on the controversial, coal-by-wire Potomac-Appalachian Transmission Highline (PATH). AP [...]
July 29, 2010
More Question Marks Over Calvert Cliffs III
Constellation Energy has entered into a partnership with state-owned EDF to construct a third reactor at Calvert Cliffs based on Areva’s EPR design. Current Areva projects are slipping behind schedule and EDF has raised the projected cost of Flamanville by 25 percent. EDF is building a 1,650-megawatt, Areva SA-designed EPR at Flamanville in Normandy and [...]
July 24, 2010
Links to More Information on PATH
Maryland Public Service Commission (Case 9223) The Power Line: The View from Calhoun County Maryland Sierra Club: Transmission Transmission Lines Citizens Against Kemptown Electric Substation PATH LLC Piedmont Environmental Council Opposition to Coal-by-Wire Transmission Stop PATH WV Sierra Club West Virginia Chapter: Powerline Campaign Stewards of the Potomac Highlands: PATH Sugarloaf Conservancy No More Towers [...]
July 23, 2010
Federal Law Requires a Full EIS for PATH
The Potomac-Appalachian Transmission Highline (PATH) will run for over 270 miles from the John E. Amos coal-fired power plant in West Virginia to a massive new transformer substation in Mt. Airy, Maryland. The path of PATH cuts across National Forest and National Park property. The National Park Service (NPS) is the lead federal agency charged [...]
July 21, 2010
O’Malley and Markell Ask Obama to Help Spark Offshore Wind
Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley has teamed up with Delaware Governor Jack Markell in a letter to President Obama asking him to join their states in signing up for power from offshore wind. The proximity of Washington, D.C., to the mid-Atlantic’s offshore wind resources, coupled with the number of federal agencies and military installations in and [...]
July 13, 2010
O’Malley Joins East Coast Governors to Challenge Transmission Bailout
Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley joined a bipartisan group of governors from ten other states in a letter opposing a Congressional plan to subsidize unnecessary new high-voltage power lines that would span the nation. (This follows an earlier joint effort to accelerate offshore wind development.) While the proposal is touted as “green” because a few land-based wind [...]
July 2, 2010
New Research Can Help EmPOWER Maryland
Governor O’Malley’s EmPOWER Maryland initiative aims to cut energy consumption fifteen percent by 2015. Most of the reductions will come by way of energy efficiency programs implemented by our state’s utilities. Energy efficiency is quicker, cheaper, cleaner and more secure than other options like new interstate transmission lines or new nuclear power plants. The Maryland [...]
