Washington Post: United Airlines Is Flying on Biofuels
United Airlines will launch a new initiative that uses biofuel to help power flights running between Los Angeles and San Francisco, with eventual plans to expand to all flights operating out of LAX. It’s the first time an American airline will begin using renewable fuel for regular commercial operations, and the occasion is part of a bigger movement when it comes to clean transportation in the U.S.
The renewable fuel used to power United’s planes will be coming from a Los Angeles refinery operated by AltAir Fuels, which is using the facility to produce both renewable jet fuel and diesel fuel using a technology developed by Honeywell UOP, a major supplier and technology licenser in the petroleum industry. Back in 2013, AltAir and United announced their partnership, in which United will purchase up to 15 million gallons of biofuel over a three-year period.
PV Magazine: U.S. Trade Authorities to Rule on Import Duties for Silevo
SolarCity has received tremendous publicity from its plans to build its “gigafactory” in the state of New York, which will represent the largest PV module production facility located on one site, not only in the United States, but in the entire Western Hemisphere.
But while SolarCity is promising to bring jobs back to the United States, its high-efficiency module subsidiary Silevo appears to currently maintain manufacturing in China as well as California. The company, which SolarCity acquired in 2014, is now attempting to avoid U.S. import duties.
Washington Times: Bernie Sanders Goes Carbon-Neutral While Hillary Clinton Breaks Pledge
Sen. Bernard Sanders has outflanked Hillary Clinton on yet another key liberal issue, inking a deal to offset his campaign’s carbon emissions as a show of commitment to combating climate change, The Washington Times has learned.
Hillary Clinton, by contrast, appears to be breaking her own pledge to go carbon-neutral.
Despite assuring reporters last summer, after being caught flying in a private jet, that she would pay to offset greenhouse gases from her campaign travels, Clinton has yet to make any such payments, according to a Washington Times analysis. Carbon offset providers said they have even tried to connect with the Clinton campaign to help her, but have heard silence.
NPR: The U.S. Is Pumping All This Oil -- So Where Are The Benefits?
The U.S. has ramped up oil production so dramatically that it's joined Saudi Arabia and Russia as one of the world's largest producers.
Since this surge began in 2008, American production rocketed from 5 million barrels a day to nearly 10 million barrels a day at the high point last year.
More importantly, oil analysts confidently predicted that a tide of benefits would flow as freely as the oil now coming out of the ground.
NHPR: N.H. House Votes to Raise Cap on Net Metering
The New Hampshire House has backed a measure to lift the cap on a key solar energy program.
Currently, those generating solar power in New Hampshire can be reimbursed for sending excess energy back to the grid, but the cap on that reimbursement program is set at 50 megawatts. The House measure would increase that to 100 megawatts.