The OurEnergyLibrary aggregates and indexes publicly available fact sheets, journal articles, reports, studies, and other publications on U.S. energy topics. It is updated every week to include the most recent energy resources from academia, government, industry, non-profits, think tanks, and trade associations. Suggest a resource by emailing us at info@ourenergypolicy.org.
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In April, Maryland became the second state after New York to ban hydraulic fracturing,
better known as fracking. This action may affect industry’s access to pockets of the
Marcellus Shale formation, one of the nation’s largest oil and gas plays.
One need look no further than to the numerous local ordinances banning fracking to realize
that absent public confidence in the regulatory system, the oil and gas industry can lose
its access quickly. Former Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar often said that unless common
standards exist to ensure that fracking of natural gas is done safely and responsibly,
the …
The Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management (DOE) is responsible for the safe cleanup of sites used for nuclear weapons development and government-sponsored nuclear energy research. Low-level radioactive waste (LLW) is the most volumetrically significant waste stream generated by the DOE cleanup program. LLW is also generated through commercial activities such as nuclear power plant operations and medical treatments.
The laws and regulations related to the disposal of LLW in the United States have evolved over time and across agencies and states, resulting in a complex regulatory structure. DOE asked the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine to …
View Full ResourceThe Clean Air Act requires that transportation fuels contain a minimum amount of renewable fuel. This renewable fuel standard (RFS) was established by the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (EPAct05; P.L. 109-58) and amended by the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (EISA; P.L. 110-140). The RFS includes scheduled volume mandates that grow each year (starting with 9 billion gallons in 2008 and ascending to 36 billion gallons in 2022), with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) determining the annual volume amounts following 2022. Within the overall RFS, there are sub-mandates for advanced biofuels, including cellulosic biofuel, biomass-based diesel, …
View Full ResourceEstablished by Congress as an amendment to the Clean Air Act, the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) mandates that U.S. transportation fuel contain a minimum volume of biofuel. The mandated minimum volume increases annually and can be met using both conventional biofuel (e.g., cornstarch ethanol) and advanced biofuel. For a biofuel to be applied toward the mandate, it must be used for certain purposes (transportation fuel, jet fuel, or heating oil) and meet certain environmental and biomass feedstock criteria. A variety of factors (e.g., infrastructure, technology, the E10 blend wall, and limited federal assistance) have led to challenges in meeting volume …
View Full ResourceSolar photovoltaic (PV) power generation is poised to revolutionise the electrical system in countries around the world. From around 2% in 2016, the share of global electricity generated from solar PV to grow to as much as 13% by 2030, according to this report from the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA). The solar industry’s expansion is driven primarily by cost reductions, with the report anticipating further cost declines by up to 59% in ten years.
Letting in the Light examines PV technology, economics, applications, infrastructure and policy, along with their broader impact, highlighting the global PV industry’s prospects for the …
View Full ResourceThe recent boom and bust of unconventional oil and gas development, or “fracking,” has reopened serious questions about resource management in many U.S. states. While the oil and gas boom generated revenue, jobs, and economic development, the recent bust has adversely impacted state budgets due to declining industry investments in exploration and production and job cuts.
The boom-bust cycle of unconventional oil and gas development highlights the need for strategic management by state governments of fracking-related revenues, not only to minimize the less desirable aspects of the boom-bust cycle but also to enhance long-term prosperity. States can address these challenges …
View Full ResourceTo comply with U.S. environmental regulations, the power industry has made (and continues to make) significant capital investments in air emission control technologies to remove sulfur dioxide (SO2), particulate matter, nitrogen oxides (NOx), mercury, and other emissions at coal-fired power plants. Environmental regulations such as the Title IV Acid Rain program, the OTR NOx Budget Trading program, the Clean Air Interstate Rule (CAIR), the Cross-State Air Pollution Rule (CSAPR), and the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS) have already spurred more than $110 billion (nominal) of capital investments in new and retrofitted air emission controls at U.S. coal-fired generating units …
View Full ResourceIn this white paper, ICF International experts provide an assessment of challenges and opportunities for wind projects. ICF believes that despite challenges such as scheduled expiration of the Production Tax Credit (PTC), limited transmission capability in premium resource areas and increasing competition from solar generation, wind generation will continue to grow its market share in the next decade due to regulatory dynamics incenting renewables (CPP and expanded RPS) and technological improvements.
ICF believes a combination of policy and technology related factors likely will encourage further new development. Forthcoming contract and hedge expirations for existing facilities will drive increasing merger and …
View Full ResourceThe U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has proposed to strengthen the national clean air standard for ozone to protect public health. Ground-level ozone (the primary constituent of smog) contributes to respiratory damage, asthma attacks, lung disease, damage to the cardiovascular system, hospitalizations and premature deaths. Ozone is formed from air pollution emitted by power plants, factories, motor vehicles, and other sources . According to EPA’s independent science advisors and leading medical organizations, the current ozone standard is not adequate to protect children, seniors, asthmatics, and others from serious harm. EPA has specifically proposed to strengthen the current standard of 75 …
View Full ResourceNERA Economic Consulting’s latest update (August 2015 Update) to its economic impact analysis of EPA’s proposed ozone rule reiterates what past analyses and manufacturers have consistently concluded—a strict new ozone rule would be more economically damaging than any single regulation in U.S. history.
In its August 2015 Update, NERA leveraged detailed work it provided on behalf of the Texas Council on Environmental Quality (TCEQ)—the regulatory agency charged with implementing this and previous ozone standards—to update its analysis for the other 47 states. NERA’s methodology for assessing economic impacts is the same as it was in its February 2015 report and …
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