Senate passes tax reform bill 51-49

Senate passes tax reform bill 51-49 | Google inks PPAs to offset 100% of its 2017 electricity needs | Analysis: Tech firms are driving US renewables boom Created for aquarianm@gmail.com |  Web Version ADVERTISEMENT December 4, 2017 News for wind power professionals and advocates SIGN UP ⋅   FORWARD Industry Update Senate passes tax reform bill 51-49 The Senate approved its proposed tax reform bill in a 51-49 vote early Saturday morning. The bill, unlike the version under consideration in the House of Representatives, would maintain the schedule wind energy Production Tax Credit phaseout, but may retroactively raise taxes for renewable energy investors through a provision called the Base Erosion Anti-Abuse Tax. Greentech Media (12/1)       Google inks PPAs to offset 100% of its 2017 electricity needs (Prakash Singh/AFP/Getty Images) Google has signed power purchase agreements for 536 megawatts of wind energy across four different US sites, bringing its total clean energy commitments for the year to 3,186 MW worldwide, according to the firm. The PPAs, the latest of which secures 140 MW from a 300-MW project under development by Enel in Oklahoma, is enough power to offset all of Google's electricity needs in 2017, although some has yet to become operational. Fortune (12/1),  Tulsa World (Okla.) (11/30)         Analysis: Tech firms are driving US renewables boom Google, Amazon, Etsy and other US tech companies continue to demand more renewable energy power purchase agreements. The Energy Department said data center energy usage is slated to increase 4% between 2014 and 2020, which will only continue to motivate big tech power purchase agreements with low-cost wind and other renewables. Bloomberg (free registration) (11/30)       Project Focus Cape Wind nixes offshore wind project after years of work Cape Wind Associates has officially canceled its project proposed for the Nantucket Sound off the coast of Massachusetts after more than 16 years of work, said Vice President of Regulatory Affairs Dennis Duffy on Friday. The project would have featured 130 offshore turbines. Cape Cod Times (Mass.) (tiered subscription model) (12/2),  Boston/The Associated Press (12/1)       MidAmerican orders more Vestas machines for Wind XI MidAmerican Energy has ordered an additional 70 megawatts' worth of V100 2-MW turbines from Vestas for its 2-gigawatt Wind XI project in Iowa, according to the companies. "We are pleased to continue working with MidAmerican Energy on this next phase of the Wind XI project," said Vestas Americas President Chris Brown. ReNews (UK) (12/1)       Operations & Maintenance US offshore wind R&D initiative to receive Energy Dept. funding boost The Energy Department has pledged a total of $20.5 million to the US Offshore Wind Research and Development Consortium for a four-year project designed to study offshore wind challenges unique to the US, according to the agency. The project will focus on wind farm and supply chain technology, wind resources, physical site composition and other potential issues. ReNews (UK) (12/1)       Orsted contracts Fugro to study 2 US offshore wind sites Orsted has tapped Fugro to conduct geotechnical studies at its Bay State and Ocean Wind offshore wind sites on the US East Coast, each of which can support an installed capacity up to 1 gigawatts, said the firms. The Bay State site is off the coast of Massachusetts, while the Ocean Wind site is 10 miles away from the New Jersey coast. ReNews (UK) (12/1)       Economy, Energy & Trends Opinion: Renewables are a smarter investment than pipelines Minnesota should invest in low-cost renewable energy sources like wind instead of wasting dollars building out fossil fuel pipelines, writes Andrew Twite, a senior policy associate for Fresh Energy. "Rather than investing in pipelines to support technology that soon will be obsolete, we should be focusing on new technology to ensure our leadership in a rapidly evolving transportation economy," he writes. Duluth News Tribune (Minn.) (12/3)       Policy Watch Opinion: CPP is a smart policy benefiting US economy The Clean Power Plan is a smart policy that benefits states like Pennsylvania, and the 3 million some Americans working in clean energy, writes Andrea Wittchen, president of Lehigh Valley Sustainability Network. Wittchen joined more than 500 US business leaders in sending a letter to President Donald Trump last week calling for the CPP to be maintained. The Morning Call (Allentown, Pa.) (12/2)       AWEA News Tens of thousands tell Congress: Don't let tax reform hinder wind's growth Since House Republicans introduced their tax bill on Nov. 2, tens of thousands of wind energy supporters have emailed, called and tweeted at their representatives to ask that they stand with American wind workers. In their own words, here are some of the reasons people want wind energy to continue to thrive. Read more.      Learn more about AWEA: AWEA Home | Events | Take Action AWEA Facebook | AWEA Twitter | AWEA LinkedIn CAREERS IN WIND powered by Area Manager DUKE ENERGY RENEWABLES - Lyford, Texas Database Developer AMERICAN WIND ENERGY ASSOCIATION - Dist. Columbia Member Relations Coordinator AWEA - Dist. Columbia View More Listings | Post a Job Those who restrain desire do so because theirs is weak enough to be restrained. William Blake, poet and artist      These stories were selected and summarized by independent editors at SmartBrief Inc., not by AWEA's staff, and do not represent AWEA positions. They reflect the variety of daily coverage of American wind power. Sign Up SmartBrief offers 200+ newsletters Advertise Learn more about the SmartBrief audience Subscriber Tools: Manage Subscriptions Update Your Profile Unsubscribe Send Feedback Archive Search Contact Us: Advertising  -  Elizabeth Kaufman Editor  -  Bryan McBournie Mailing Address: SmartBrief, Inc.®, 555 11th ST NW, Suite 600, Washington, DC 20004 © 1999-2017 SmartBrief, Inc.® Privacy policy |  Legal Information