At a public hearing Tuesday on New Jersey’s Energy Master Plan, most of those who spoke criticized state policies, saying the state depends too much on fossil fuels to meet energy demands, falls short in promoting renewable energy, and does too little to curb energy use.

Ohio’s mandate that utilities find more of their power from renewable sources is hampering the state’s economic comeback, a study presented Monday to a state panel considering the future of those standards suggested.

The study, conducted by Utah State University, suggested that states such as Ohio with renewable electricity standards have not fared as well as […]

On Tuesday, Democrats maintained their hold on three Philadelphia seats in a special election. Former State Representative/City Councilman Ed Neilson, Donna Bullock, a former special assistant to City Council President Darrell L. Clarke and Joanna McClinton, former chief counsel to State Sen. Anthony H. Williams all won election to vacant seats created by two resignations and Sen. John Sabatina’s election to the upper chamber. As a result, Republicans continue with 119 members, and when the newly elected representatives are sworn in August 25, Democrats will have 84 House seats.

According to DCED, 12 Pennsylvania companies represented the commonwealth at the 2015 Global Petroleum Show in Calgary, Canada in June. The show is one of the largest energy events bringing together global producers, service companies and suppliers. The event this year had 63,000 attendees and 2,000 exhibiting companies from 95 countries.

The Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) this week announced the draft final revisions to the “Environmental Protection Performance Standards at Oil and Gas Well Sites” rulemaking (Chapters 78 and 78a). This revision continues DEP’s commitment to modernizing and strengthening the environmental controls employed by both the conventional and unconventional industries to assure the protection of public health, safety, and the environment.

Last week, the Environmental Protection Agency released the Clean Power Plan. In a press release issued the same day, the Wolf Administration said that Pennsylvania will use this as an opportunity to write a plan that could improve public health, address climate change, and improve our economy and power system.

House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton (R-MI), Senate Environment and Public Works Committee Chairman Jim Inhofe (R-OK), House Energy and Power Subcommittee Chairman Ed Whitfield (R-KY), Senate Clean Air and Nuclear Safety Subcommittee Chairwoman Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), Representative Morgan Griffith (R-VA), and members of both the House and Senate today sent a letter to Howard Shelanski, Administrator at the Office of Management and Budget’s (OMB) Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA). The letter to Administrator Shelanski raises concerns regarding the extraordinary legal and economic aspects of the EPA’s proposed 111(d) rule for fossil fuel-fired power plants.

The Senate Finance Committee last week passed a tax extenders package with a two-year extension of a wide variety of tax credit extensions, including a two-year extension of the renewable production tax credit. The credit can be claimed as a 2.3 cent per kWh tax credit for renewable electricity, or an alternative 30 percent investment tax credit. The credits, which expired at the end of last year, would be extended through the close of 2016.

The Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) is inviting manufacturers, retailers, service providers, agricultural businesses, and other small businesses to apply for a Small Business Advantage Grant to finance pollution prevention and energy efficiency projects.