GHG Monitor
1/9/2015
IN CONGRESS
Sen. Barbra Boxer (D-Calif.) announced this week that she will not seek re-election in 2016. In a video posted by the senator to her PAC for a Change website, she gave little explanation for the decision, save for a desire to “come home to this state that I love so much, California." Boxer was elected to the Senate in 1992 and served as chair of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee from 2007 to 2014. In a statement released following the announcement, Environmental Defense Fund President Fred Krupp praised Boxer for her environmental efforts. "Senator Boxer has effectively led the Senate defense against attacks on our critical environmental and public health laws. Americans are fortunate to have her continue in that role for the next two years. But after 2016, we will lose one of our most important Congressional voices on our most important issues. We are grateful to Senator Boxer for her unyielding work to protect the environment, and we will miss her presence in the Senate next term,” Krupp said.
IN THE WHITE HOUSE
The Obama Administration will release its Fiscal Year 2016 budget request on time on Feb. 2, the Associated Press reported this week. The first Monday in February is the deadline for the annual budget release, a date the Obama Administration has missed frequently in the past.
IN DOE
The National Coal Council will hold a virtual meeting on Jan. 29 to receive a report concerning the deployment of carbon capture and storage technology from the Council Policy Committee, according to a notice in the Federal Register this week. The NCC is a federal advisory committee to the U.S. Secretary of Energy that provides advice and guidance on policies that affect coal-related issues. Once the report is received and accepted it will be forwarded to the Secretary of Energy. The report, entitled Bridging the CCS Chasm: An Assessment of Opportunities to Advance CCS/CCUS Deployment, will be available for review on Jan. 21 on the NCC website.
ON THE INTERNATIONAL FRONT
The Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) announced early last week that they will extend the deadline for bids for the first phase of the Hassyan Clean-Coal Power Project by two months. Bids will now be accepted until March 26. DEWA shortlisted eight developers for the project in September including Mitsubishi; China Huadian Corporation; EDF International SAS; International Power SA; AXIA Power Holdings B.V.; Meiya Power Company Limited and Dubai Holding LLC; Korea Electric Power Corporation and ACWA Power; and Tenaga National Berhad and Chinese Machinery Engineering Company. According to a DEWA press release, the first phase of the project has a capacity of 1,200 MW and will use clean coal technology to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. The plant is expected to be operational by 2020 and will be located at the Saih Shuaib area on the Arabian Gulf coast in the Emirate of Dubai.
