Latest from E&E News
E&E News
12 hours ago
- Business
- E&E News
Study casts further doubt on the voluntary carbon market
A major global carbon market is facing renewed scrutiny with a new study questioning the credibility of auditors who decide the validity of projects that claim to help fight climate change. Auditors are a key part of the world's voluntary carbon market system, which lets major polluters unofficially offset their greenhouse gas emissions by funding projects such as forest protection. Although independent auditors are supposed to assess whether the projects actually are helpful, a recent study posted on the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School research site says they aren't. Advertisement The study says the system for how auditors are paid creates a conflict of interest that encourages them to approve projects.
E&E News
a day ago
- Business
- E&E News
Rulemakers play catch-up as data centers multiply
As tech companies flood the electric grid with new data centers, some states and utilities are crafting new rules to keep the artificial intelligence boom from outstripping power supply. In Texas, regulators are working on new requirements for data centers to better share costs and ramp down their power use if ordered by the state. Ohio regulators will force data centers in some areas to pay for their connection costs. And one of the nation's largest grid operators is offering faster connection studies for data centers in exchange for demand response programs. The flurry of moves reflect attempts to respond quickly to an unprecedented load growth without stifling an industry that has attracted billions of dollars in investment. Just this week, President Donald Trump announced more than $90 billion in data center investments at a summit in Pennsylvania and reiterated his pledge that the U.S. would lead the world in AI development. Advertisement Dan Diorio, vice president of state policy for the Data Center Coalition, said the industry is working with regulators and lawmakers, stressing AI's benefits and the role that large loads can play on the grid. 'We continue to emphasize that this is an industry that drives innovation, and this is an industry that is innovating every day because it has to,' Diorio said. 'And so what you don't want to do is ultimately create something that ends up imposing a one size fits all solution, or an inflexible solution. You don't want to create something where you try to push a square peg into a round hole.' A July report from the Clean Energy States Alliance noted that 'dramatic load growth' led by data centers, electrification and new manufacturing has put states on the back foot for electricity planning. Electricity demand nationally is forecast to rise 25 percent between 2023 and 2030, according to consulting firm ICF, and some states may see even more impact. State lawmakers have offered a range of bills this year to boost generation, add fees to data centers or otherwise protect the grid. But as the CESA report chronicles, the approaches have been varied and results remain mixed. 'More work is needed to advance these ideas and to formulate best practices,' the report found. Diorio said the data center industry's message to regulators this year was that they are 'one end user on a system experiencing a significant amount of load growth from a variety of different sources.' 'I think we were able to sort of shed some light on what some of the concerns are and what the best approaches are,' Diorio said. 'We'll continue those conversations through the remainder of the year and into 2026 and beyond.' Texas' 'kill switch' One of the most closely watched efforts is in the Lone Star State, where a milestone law will put up new barriers for data centers operating on the state's main electric grid. S.B. 6, which passed with bipartisan support, was written in response to forecasts that the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) grid could see peak demand as much as double between 2024 and 2031. The law could shake up how tech companies build in one of the nation's hottest markets for data centers and could offer a model to other regulators. The new rules will require developers to pay an up-front study fee to interconnect to the system and provide more transparency about whether the project will materialize. Grid operators and utilities have long complained about 'interconnection shopping,' where developers will apply in multiple places for projects that may not materialize. The law also sets new rules for data centers that bring their own power generation. Notably, it contains a so-called kill switch provision, a demand response program that will allow ERCOT operators to order large load customers to curtail their load or switch to backup generation during a grid emergency. That language was heatedly debated among lawmakers, but the bill's passage reflects a growing interest in making sure data centers don't hog power at the expense of households. 'The industry ultimately understands the reasoning behind that provision, though we have deep concerns about the potential for it being used without due consideration,' said Diorio. 'Data centers are 24/7, always-on facilities that are the backbone of our daily lives and the 21st-century economy, so it's important that any decision to temporarily restrict power to data centers is not taken lightly.' Implementation of the state bill — which now must go through state regulators and the ERCOT board — will be closely watched to see how it affects data center development. Maria Faconti, a partner with K&L Gates who works with energy market clients, said that developers are 'still very eager' to locate in Texas. The state has long been attractive for its relatively low electricity prices and its hands-off regulatory environment. 'Even when SB 6 was being considered, there was no stall in their interest,' Faconti said. 'The sentiment is still that Texas is pro-business and pro-data center. The biggest concern is whether this will impact their timelines.' New tariffs The ability of Texas lawmakers to change rules for data centers is somewhat unique, since ERCOT operates only within the state and is subject to oversight by the legislature. But there is growing interest among utilities in bringing demand response to the data center industry. An influential study from Duke University found that there is sufficient 'headroom' on the grid to bring online new data centers without new generation — if data centers curtail their electricity use during the handful of hours each year when the grid is most stressed. One example comes from Southwest Power Pool, the grid operator covering parts of 14 states in the center of the country. SPP's board is set to vote next month on a new policy that would shrink the interconnection study timeline for new data centers and large loads to just 90 days, as long as the entities agree to reduce demand when the grid needs it. The proposal also grants quicker studies for loads bringing their own generation. Casey Cathey, SPP's vice president of engineering, said the proposal reflected the speed to construction that tech companies wanted, while also tackling the main reasons the grid might fail. What's also notable, Cathey said, is the speed the proposal had to come together. The rules were released earlier this month in response to a May directive from SPP's board of directors. 'We came at this to be innovative, but still in the art of the possible,' Cathey said in an interview. 'We don't have time for a three-year study or even an 18-month study. There is an urgent need now.' In Ohio, regulators granted utility AEP Ohio's request to create a new class of tariff specifically for large loads like data centers that will force them to handle much of the costs they would add to the system. Under the tariff, data centers will pay a minimum monthly fee — set to 85 percent of the electricity requested or of the highest monthly bill in the past year — regardless of how much power is actually used. The tariff also adds financial requirements and an exit fee if a project is canceled. The new rules will only apply in AEP Ohio territory, covering approximately 1.5 million customers, but the move could offer a model as utilities find ways to handle load growth. Indiana has crafted a similar tariff and lawmakers in Oregon and Maryland passed bills this year directing their states to create new service categories for large loads. Other tariff-related bills are still pending in the open legislative sessions in New Jersey and California. Lawmakers in Virginia and Georgia, however, failed to move any legislation to regulate data centers this session, despite bipartisan concerns about electricity prices and reliability. In Georgia, consumer groups and environmental advocates had hoped the state Legislature would advance a bill from state Sen. Chuck Hufstetler (R) that would require data center owners to pay any new costs related to their facilities. The bill, however, never reached the floor. Other bills that would require more transparency also stalled, although they could be revived next year under the rules of Georgia's legislature. Bob Sherrier, an Atlanta-based attorney for the Southern Environmental Law Center, said that with tech ambitions only growing, there is urgency to enact some rules. 'Things are happening fast,' Sherrier said. 'These are big projects with real impacts on Georgians, and we need safeguards to protect them. The sooner we get them in place, the better.'
E&E News
3 days ago
- Business
- E&E News
Probationary Interior employees can bring class-action lawsuit over firings
Probationary employees at the Interior Department who were targeted for mass firings earlier this year can now bring a class-action lawsuit challenging their treatment, a federal board ruled. The Merit Systems Protection Board, an independent, quasi-judicial executive branch agency, ruled Friday that 1,700 federal workers qualify as a class and can collectively challenge the Trump administration's mass firings in early February. 'This is a critical milestone for the nearly 2,000 employees who were illegally fired from DOI,' said Danny Rosenthal, a partner at the firm James and Hoffman. The Interior employees are also represented by attorneys with Brown Goldstein Levy; Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll; and Gilbert Employment Law. Advertisement That group includes National Park Service employees and other agencies within Interior. It remains unclear how many of the fired workers have returned to their jobs in the wake of the various court rulings that ordered the rehiring of those probationary workers as well as corrections to their employment records.
E&E News
3 days ago
- Business
- E&E News
EPA announces layoffs
EPA plans to lay off employees and eliminate its stand-alone science branch, confirming the office's demise that employees have anticipated for months. EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin announced Friday afternoon the agency is conducting a reduction in force, or RIF, affecting those in the Office of Research and Development. 'This reduction in force will ensure we can better fulfill that mission while being responsible stewards of your hard-earned tax dollars,' Zeldin said in a statement. Advertisement The agency did not provide figures for how many employees will receive a RIF notice in its announcement but did say that with 'organizational improvements,' EPA will save $748.8 million. Combined with other 'early out' options for employees, EPA's workforce will total 12,448 employees. That is down from 16,155 personnel in January. The research office housed roughly 1,500 employees toward the end of the Biden administration. Hundreds of employees are leaving the agency already. EPA has received 3,201 applications for the 'deferred resignation' program and early retirement. EPA earlier this year sent RIF notices to 280 environmental justice employees as part of the Trump administration's crackdown on 'woke' diversity initiatives. Contacted for this story, EPA spokesperson Molly Vaseliou said, 'The agency announced today its decision to restructure and eliminate' the research office to improve efficiency of operations and align statutory requirements. 'The next step in this process is to issue intent-to-RIF notices to individual employees,' Vaseliou said. Key ORD functions will be absorbed into EPA's existing air, water and chemicals programs or new science office directly underneath the administrator, according to Friday's announcement. ORD staffers have been bracing for layoffs since March, after draft reorganization plans indicating a majority of staffers would be fired or reassigned were leaked to the press. After EPA unveiled its first phase of reorganization, ORD employees were encouraged to apply for lateral reassignment positions available under other program offices. Senior-level officials earlier this week urged managers to make decisions, according to an internal email reviewed by POLITICO's E&E News. It's not clear how many employees will be reassigned to these positions. EPA earlier this week opened another period offering employees to take offers through the deferred resignation program — marking the third round since President Donald Trump took office in January. The research office 'is the heart and brain of the EPA, without it we don't have the means to assess impacts upon human health and the environment,' said Justin Chen, president of American Federation of Government Employees Council 238, EPA's largest union. Chen added, 'Its destruction will devastate public health in our country.' Contact reporters Ellie Borst on Signal at eborst.64 and Kevin Bogardus on Signal at KevinBogardus.89.
E&E News
3 days ago
- Business
- E&E News
Former Burgum chief of staff lands at EPA
Wynn Radford, who served as Interior Secretary Doug Burgum's chief of staff earlier this year, has joined EPA as chief of staff in that agency's Dallas-based regional office. Radford started as the EPA Region 6 chief of staff in April, according to his LinkedIn profile and EPA's website. He previously served as Interior's chief of staff starting in January of this year. He left that position by March, when JoDee Hanson, a longtime colleague of Burgum, assumed the role of acting chief of staff. Advertisement As chief of staff in the EPA regional shop, Radford is working for EPA Regional Administrator Scott Mason, who previously served as the deputy secretary of energy for Oklahoma and who worked at EPA during the first Trump administration.
