DEQ will host its previously announced March 5 public outreach meeting on petroleum coke from 4-7 p.m. to better accommodate the schedules of attendees. The date and location remain the same.More

Today, I’m traveling to southern California to participate in the dedication ceremony for the Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System. As the largest concentrating solar power (CSP) plant in the world, Ivanpah harnesses the abundant sunlight of the Southwest United States to provide power on a massive scale. The facility has the capacity to generate 392 megawatts (MW) of clean electricity — enough to power 94,400 average American homes. Most of the power generated by the system will be sold under long-term power purchase agreements to Pacific Gas & Electric and Southern California Edison Company.More

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today announced enforcement actions that will require 35 home renovation contractors and training providers to take additional steps to protect communities by minimizing harmful lead dust from home renovation activities, as required by the EPA’s Lead Renovation, Repair, and Painting (RRP) Standards. These standards provide important, front-line protection for children and others vulnerable to exposure to lead dust that can cause lead poisoning.More

Since January 2014, Exelon Generation’s nuclear fleet produced electricity reliably around the clock, unaffected by ice, snowstorms and frigid temperatures that have dominated the new year. Exelon has 10 nuclear power plants in Illinois, Pennsylvania and New Jersey that operated continuously throughout January, producing more than 12 million megawatt-hours of electricity in the month.More

More than 400 company executives representing more than 150 Michigan manufacturers gathered in Sterling Heights recently to engage in brief, one-on-one “matchmaking” sessions with corporate kingpins, hoping to win the chance to branch out into the world of aerospace.More

Today the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced over $3 million in grants to research institutions to better understand how chemicals interact with biological processes and how these interactions may lead to altered brain development. The studies are focused on improving EPA’s ability to predict the potential health effects of chemical exposures.More

The Energy Department will present a live webinar titled “Solar Forecasting Metrics” today, from 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time.More

The City of St. Ignace makes the most of its Lake Huron waterfront location providing significant coastal public access and year-round activities. One example is the upcoming annual U.P. pond hockey tournament played on Lake Huron’s Moran Bay—one of the few such events in which the “pond” is one of the Great Lakes! The tournament’s 30 rinks will be visible from the new section of the Huron Boardwalk constructed last summer by the City of St. Ignace with the support of a Michigan Coastal Zone Management grant.More

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will hold a public hearing on Thursday, February 6, 2014 on the proposed carbon pollution standards for new power plants. More