February 27, 2026

“Precedent Setting Achievement”

by Keith Schneider0

The director of the Michigan Department of Energy, Labor, and Economic Growth last week lauded Traverse City Light & Power for pursuing a renewable energy strategy that fits northwest Michigan’s reputation as a green region, and “complements all the assets and progressive trends this region represents”. Stanley “Skip” Pruss, who is one of Governor Jennifer Granholm’s closest advisors and a nationally known clean energy leader, also supported the utility’s proposal to generate a portion of …

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Michigan Clean Energy Chief — Transcript About TC Biomass Plant

by Keith Schneider0

Stanley “Skip” Pruss, the director of the Michigan Department of Energy, Labor, and Economic Growth and a nationally regarded clean energy leader, was in Traverse City last week. The visit came the day after EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson announced that the federal government would use the Clean Water Act to tame the rapacious mining practices in the Appalachian coal belt involving removing the tops of mountains. Jackson is proposing to lower limits on salinity in …

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Opposition to Biomass Impedes Clean Energy Development

by Keith Schneider2

Mode Shift has reported the clean energy transition is being impeded by civic opposition to wind projects, solar projects, new transmission lines, and geothermal projects.  This post is the latest in the series and focuses on wood biomass. The Portland Oregonian, in an article in March, counted 18 states where wood biomass energy proposals are encountering stiff civic resistance. One of those states is Michigan, where a plan by Traverse City Light & Power to …

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Obama’s 3 Heaters, And A Wild Pitch

by Keith Schneider0

The Obama administration threw heaters this week to influence climate and energy policy and practices. The first announcement — to end a long-standing moratorium on offshore oil drilling — was seen as a wild pitch. The president said the Interior Department would open large swaths of the Atlantic, Gulf, and Alaskan coasts to oil and natural gas development. The drilling zone on the East Coast extends from Delaware to the central coast of Florida. The …

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Spreading Ticks and Other Climate-Related Actions

by Keith Schneider2

Just in time for April Fool’s Day, the National Wildlife Federation today released its analysis of shifting habitats of ticks and other migrating critters with a tongue in cheek title, “They Came from Climate Change.” “The horrifying hordes of Climate Invaders are upon us–creeping up from lower elevations, attacking from foreign countries, and settling into areas where once they were unable to survive,” notes the marketing copy. The current vibe is irony and humor. The …

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Koch Industries Finances Climate Denier Factions

by Keith Schneider0

The work to achieve a climate and energy bill in the United States is moving with considerably slower momentum this spring than it did at the same time last year. A number of factors contribute, not the least of which is the time and focus that the White House and Democrats in Congress devoted to enacting a national health care bill, which passed earlier this month.  Another factor is the flagging U.S. economy and the …

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Diving Deep for Geothermal Energy Finds Acceptance and Political Heat on Surface

by Keith Schneider4

One of the potential success stories of clean energy development on private and federal lands in the West involves NV Energy, which announced in February that it will purchase 32 megawatts of renewable energy from a planned Central Nevada geothermal plant. The Ram Power Corporation is developing the Clayton Valley Geothermal Project, which is scheduled to begin construction in 2012.  It is one of five geothermal leases that Ram Power has acquired from the Bureau …

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New Transmission Lines Invite Public Uproar in 7 States

by Keith Schneider0

On March 2 more than 60 residents of Canyon City, Idaho appeared at a public hearing to consider a new 500-kilovolt transmission line that might run through their county. Most weren’t happy about it. “They brought us in late and they haven’t fulfilled their public involvement responsibilities,” said Ken Holliday, a rancher. The public concern that residents displayed about Idaho Power’s 250-foot corridor, and the 150-foot tall towers that would command its route, is a …

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Resistance to Solar Energy in California, Southwest

by Keith Schneider1

The Solar Energy Industries Association last week made public a national poll that found strong citizen support for adding the energy of the sun to the nation’s portfolio. The timing of the results was meant to coincide with the Federal government’s review of big solar thermal projects proposed on public lands in the West. The poll, though, masks another emerging clean energy trend in the desert. A good number of citizen activist groups are pushing …

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In Washington, Climate and Energy Moves A Bit

by Keith Schneider0

Now that passage of health care legislation proved that Congress is still capable of acting on big ideas, Washington this week was aflutter with action on the climate and energy bill. White House Legislative Affairs Director Phil Schiliro, and the president’s energy and climate adviser, Carol Browner, met mid-week with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. Topic: developing a strategy to corral the 60 votes needed to pass the measure in the Senate. The same day …

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