OLYMPIA, Wash. – Lawmakers are considering stricter carbon standards for fuels used in cars and trucks. … Similar to the Climate Commitment Act, Washington’s Clean Fuel Standard sets targets over time to reduce carbon emissions from transportation fuels, with a marketplace of credits and deficits for fuel producers who are below and above the standards. […]
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Washington drivers feel higher gas prices as carbon costs soar
Carbon prices for air pollution allowances have climbed again, impacting drivers with higher gas prices across the state. The Department of Ecology announced that allowances sold for $50 each at the March auction, a 24% increase from December. According to the Washington State Standard, this latest sale will generate an additional $230 million for the […]
Washington carbon auction prices rise again
Prices for air pollution allowances under Washington’s cap-and-trade law climbed again at the state’s first auction of the year. …. It’s the second auction in a row where prices were up, following a slump before voters rejected a ballot measure last year that would have repealed the law. Prices last September fell below $30 after […]
Washington farmers face challenges as Climate Commitment Act increases supply costs
WASHINGTON – The Climate Commitment Act, designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, is causing challenges for farmers in Washington. The act sets pollution caps for the state’s largest polluters. Bre Elsey, Director of Governmental Affairs with the Washington Farm Bureau, highlighted that while large-scale farmers receive exemptions, small and medium-sized farms are not benefiting. … […]
Make WA’s landmark Climate Commitment Act more accountable
Reducing carbon emissions is the fundamental goal of the state’s vanguard environmental policy known as the Climate Commitment Act. But measuring its success relies upon federal data that’s been taking years to compile and disclose. Results from 2021 were released earlier this month, an unacceptable lag that blinds Washingtonians from accurately assessing whether this consequential […]
Editorial: Washington’s carbon limits won’t help climate
Those opposed to green schemes that line some pockets and pick other pockets are called “climate deniers” by those who deny reality. Only reality deniers will see in the Washington Department of Ecology’s latest greenhouse gas inventory any sign the state is moving toward complying with its own carbon-reduction law. …. The problem is Washington […]
Lawmakers must blackout-proof the state’s energy transition
Imagine an unusually frosty New Year’s Day in the future and the power’s gone out. Seventeen people are due at 3 p.m., expecting salmon and football, and your oven and TV are just useless boxes. The local utility says there’s no downed trees causing an outage; instead, the power grid cannot keep up with the […]
Sheri Call: Washington’s supply chain at risk with EV mandates
New zero-emission vehicle mandates on the trucking industry are creating serious challenges for trucking fleets, who face limited and costly options in order to operate legally in Washington state. That should concern all of us, since almost 90% of consumer goods arrive by truck. At issue is the state’s adoption of California’s Advanced Clean Trucks […]
Energy demand from data centers growing faster than West can supply, experts say
Data centers being rapidly built in the West are becoming an “emerging risk” to electrical grid reliability in the region, according to regional transmission experts. New data centers, which can be built in as little as 18 months, are far outpacing the growth in new electrical energy supply and transmission, according to members of the […]
Washington state ‘increasingly at risk’ for rolling blackouts
(The Center Square) – A proposed battery energy storage system near Goldendale under consideration by the Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council would, if ultimately approved by Gov. Jay Inslee, be able to provide 200,000 homes with electricity for up to four hours. It’s a facility that Washington residents might need if the state is unable […]