SACE strongly supports the EPA implementing the strongest possible guidelines and standards to reduce carbon pollution from power plants and protect our environment and public health.
EPA is Finalizing New Power Plant Carbon Standards
In May of 2023, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed new standards and guidelines to tackle carbon pollution from gas and coal power plants. The standards aim to cut 600 million metric tons of carbon emissions by 2042. Now, EPA is working to finalize the rules by April 2024. These new carbon standards are a crucial step in the right direction: power plants are one of our nation’s most significant sources of climate pollution, contributing to increasing extreme weather events and endangering public health, especially here in the Southeast, and especially among our most vulnerable communities.
SACE strongly supports the EPA implementing the strongest possible guidelines and standards to reduce carbon pollution from power plants, and in August 2023, we submitted comments to EPA outlining our position.
Strong regulations on carbon emissions from power plants can help reduce pollution and protect our environment and public health. Strong standards can also complement federal initiatives such as the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) by helping combat the climate crisis at the national level and contributing to achieving the Biden administration’s goals of achieving 100% clean power by 2035 and a net-zero emissions economy by 2050.
The Southeast’s Weather Dilemma: Driven by Power Plants and Their Impact on Extreme Weather

Burning fossil fuels such as coal and gas in power plants releases toxic pollution and greenhouse gases; and these greenhouse gases in turn trap heat like a blanket in our atmosphere. The result is warmer summers that engulf communities, especially in the already-warm South, and cause urban heat islands. Strategically reducing carbon emissions from gas and coal power plants could alleviate burdensome heat while at the same time improving air quality, leading to healthier communities.
In the Southeast, communities are already grappling with the increasing impact of extreme weather events, widely attributed to climate change: record-breaking heatwaves, hurricanes, and rainfall mark distressing trends, emphasizing the critical need for immediate action.
Recent data concluding that 2023 was the hottest year on record around the globe and that the past ten years comprise the ten hottest years on record make the urgency for immediate action even more apparent. 2023 also had the most billion-dollar weather and climate disasters in U.S. history.
Here in the Atlanta area, we experienced the second-hottest year in 2023, with an average temperature of 2.3 degrees above the 30-year norm. These alarming trends underscore the critical need for robust measures to address the severe impacts of carbon emissions from power plants. These emissions are a known key contributor to the climate crisis and the associated extreme weather conditions we are increasingly witnessing.
Disproportionate Impact on Vulnerable Communities
The repercussions of climate change and pollution are not evenly distributed. Black, Brown, and low-income communities bear a disproportionate burden, and are often situated amid pollution hotspots and especially vulnerable to climate-related disasters. The inequitable distribution of environmental impacts exacerbates existing disparities, making it imperative to address the broader environmental concerns and the specific vulnerabilities of marginalized groups. Recognizing and rectifying these disparities is crucial to building a more just and resilient future for all.
Join Us – Stand Up for Strong Standards!
We at SACE are encouraging Southeast residents to sign onto the petition to President Biden to go big with the forthcoming final power plant carbon rules. Our communities need the strongest possible standards to help reduce the toll that the warming climate is taking on us. Will you please add your name?
The extreme weather of 2023 made it clear that there is no time to delay on taking strong action to reduce harmful power plant pollution. We need President Biden and his administration to act with resolve and help our communities move beyond the worst threats of the climate crisis.
Join us in building a sustainable and resilient Southeast – our actions today shape the future for generations.
The post 2023’s Record-Breaking Extreme Weather Makes Strong Power Plant Carbon Rules Even More Important appeared first on SACE | Southern Alliance for Clean Energy.
2023’s Record-Breaking Extreme Weather Makes Strong Power Plant Carbon Rules Even More Important
Renewable Energy
As Europe Shuns Chinese Turbines and Components, Who Will Fill the Gap?
Weather Guard Lightning Tech

As Europe Shuns Chinese Turbines and Components, Who Will Fill the Gap?
While most of Europe has spent most of this year itemizing reasons it cannot, should not, and will not use Chinese wind turbines or components, accusations and arm-twisting tactics have garnered most of the attention.
But we invite you to consider a future – maybe just five, or ten years from now?- in which those same countries and companies are eagerly awaiting orders from wind turbine manufacturing facilities in… India.
What?!
You know that the country has a lot of installed wind.
You may think – and many in the industry would agree – that India’s blade manufacturers are a few revs behind blade-makers elsewhere in the world. But the country is newly committed to manufacturing and it’s busy installing more – provided that it’s made in India, with Indian technology, by Indian workers.
Of course, similar domestic-focused policy currents are running through European countries – where wind OEMs are almost inarguably a decade ahead of Indian manufacturers. But there’s an important reason why we say, “watch India” in wind turbine manufacturing.
It’s because you might learn something.
If you follow The Uptime Wind Energy Podcast, you probably heard this discussion a few weeks ago. It wasn’t the headline story – we try to highlight as many major news items and trends that we can, and follow up as credible information becomes available. India’s quiet moves to strengthen its own renewable energy industries didn’t grab the headlines. But it comprised a good bit of our panelists’ discussion.
With India’s expanding manufacturing capacity, and Suzlon’s strategic offerings for the European market (Blue Sky), there are reasons for European developers to take a closer look at Indian manufacturers.
If Europe continues to squelch deals with Chinese manufacturers due to data security issues, India is a relatively obvious candidate to fill the void, for several reasons:
- The country has depth and breadth in R&D: India (Suzlon, specifically) has a track record of involvement and relationships across the continent, as it operates research and development centers in Germany, the Netherlands, and Denmark.
- Indian service providers have reach: Inox and Adoni Wind operate multiple wind turbine manufacturing plants and wind farms throughout several Indian states, and Apraava Energy has been commissioning wind projects, working with multiple OEMs, for more than 16 years.
- The country’s energy sector has size: Tata Power is estimated to be worth about US$16 billion and employs 22,000 people.
And major manufacturers from other countries have had a strong presence in the country for years:
- GE Vernova has turbine blade and nacelle manufacturing operations and multiple tech/R&D centers in India;
- Vestas has a R&D technology center in Chennai; and
- China’s SANY Wind has had assembly facilities in India since 2017, and in 2024, it signed a licensing agreement with JSW allowing SANY to manufacture blades and generators for JSW – enabling JSW Neo Energy to produce wind turbine generators and major components in-country.
So while there is hard data suggesting that India is already a global hub for wind turbines, sometimes the real strength comes from soft skills. Like sharing information.
We’ve noticed that Indian manufactures aren’t stingy with information. They share what they learn in the field and on the shop floor, so that the whole industry can move faster to solve problems. That bodes well for the industry overall, and particularly well for companies who figure out how to solve problems that some manufacturers aren’t even ready to admit to having.
We’ll be watching India with a great deal of interest in the coming months. Subscribe to The Uptime Wind Energy Podcast and follow along with us.
We’re not financial analysts. We’re engineers who watch the wind industry very closely. This is what we’ve noticed, and we thought it was worth sharing.
Where do you think you’ll be looking for solutions, components, and service providers in the next few years or the next decade? Tell us what you think. We’d love to hear from you.
As Europe Shuns Chinese Turbines and Components, Who Will Fill the Gap?
Renewable Energy
When You Write for Idiots, You Can Get Away with Anything
To the author of the meme here:
“Either” refers to two choices; “any” refers to three or more.
More importantly, it’s amazing how shamelessly the ultra-right wing exaggerates. The left side of the Democratic party would like to see the United States look like social democracies in places like Scandinavia. Having government programs that benefit the common person, e.g., Social Security, public schools, emergency relief, libraries, environmental responsibility, etc., does not equate to Stalinism.
Renewable Energy
Are Muslims “Dangerous?”
Some of my old prep school chums from the Class of 1973 convene via Zoom approximately every six weeks for a 90-minute discussion of current events, science, and anything else that sounds interesting.
Our professions range from medicine, law, finance, and business management. All from highly ranked colleges. Over 50% hold doctorate degrees.
Here’s something I find fascinating about the group: it includes one right-wing conservative. I don’t mean a Reaganite; I mean a Trump supporter. This guy is incapable of any thought that doesn’t come directly from Nexsmax.
It’s almost eerie how closely he toes the line of the far-right. Yesterday he echoed the Newsmax talking point and told the group that all Muslims holding public office are “very dangerous” and should be removed.
Now, the rest of us are sitting there, dumbfounded at this idea, unwilling waste our breath on this racist and utterly preposterous concept.
All this raises the question: How are our political viewpoints formed? How much of this is genetics? Epigenetics? Early childhood experiences? How do take a boy from among the best environments and turn him into someone who struggles to understand the most basic principles on which our country was founded?
https://www.2greenenergy.com/2026/11/09/principles-country-was-founded/
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