Coast Guard Failed to Engage Offshore Wind Energy Developers

Posted by & filed under Coast Guard, Posts, Captured Regulators.

offshore wind energy developers For the last six months, we have attempted to get basic questions answered about the U.S. Coast Guard’s offshore wind energy study and a Working Group that was tasked with determining how offshore wind farms — a priority for President Obama — could be safely integrated with the shipping industry off the Eastern Seaboard. After five… Read more »

Nevada PUC’s “Energy Guy” David Noble Shown the Door

Posted by & filed under TOP STORIES, Home Page Categories, Posts, States, Captured Regulators, Nevada.

David Noble Turmoil has enveloped the Nevada Public Utilities Commission. And for good reason. Now Gov. Sandoval has pushed out Commissioner David Noble, where he began his career as an administrative attorney in 1997, before being appointed by Sandoval as a commissioner in 2011, and reappointed in 2012. David Noble was the prime mover behind the PUC’s “Christmas… Read more »

Why Did the Coast Guard’s Offshore Wind Energy Study Ignore Europe?

Posted by & filed under Coast Guard, Posts.

According to information obtained from a source involved in the Coast Guard study on integrating a proposed offshore wind energy industry and shipping off the Eastern Seaboard, and research conducted by Checks and Balances Project, no one from the Coast Guard had any meaningful engagement during the course of the study with individuals, companies or organizations… Read more »

Who Wrote USDA Secretary Vilsack’s Letter Promoting Wood Pellets as a Power Source?

Posted by & filed under TOP STORIES, Featured Story, Posts, Captured Regulators, Tree-Burning.

Burning forests in the tropics is a major source of carbon pollution, a problem President Obama has pushed to end as recently as during a visit to Indonesia last Fall. Why, then, would U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Tom Vilsack undercut that priority by promoting the burning of wood pellets from southern U.S. forests… Read more »

Commissioner Stump’s Curious Role as Fundraiser for School Choice Arizona

Posted by & filed under TOP STORIES, Arizona, Home Page Categories, Posts, States, Captured Regulators.

Peter Ward Bob Stump has been development director for School Choice Arizona (SCA) for a decade. During eight of those years, he has also been a commissioner of the Arizona Corporation Commission. Commissioners are allowed to have outside jobs. It’s only when there are legal or ethical conflicts of interest that it becomes a problem. One obvious… Read more »

Why Does NAFO Push Tree-Burning to Make Electricity?

Posted by & filed under TOP STORIES, Home Page Categories, Posts, Tree-Burning.

Lobby’s Declaration that Tree-Burning is Carbon Neutral is Based on Pseudoscience Industrial tree-burning to generate electricity produces more carbon pollution per megawatt-hour than coal. But a powerful Washington, DC lobbying group – the National Alliance of Forest Owners (NAFO) – wants to recognize tree-burning as a zero-pollution alternative to wind and solar. The notion is… Read more »

Coast Guard Still Won’t Provide Basic Information About Offshore Wind Energy Study

Posted by & filed under TOP STORIES, Coast Guard, Home Page Categories.

Why Are Working Group Members Being Concealed?  Nearly four months after we asked the U.S. Coast Guard basic questions about their “final report” on how to integrate a proposed offshore wind energy industry off the Eastern Seaboard – a study that concludes commercial shipping is incompatible with offshore wind turbines – the Coast Guard still… Read more »

Statement on Arizona Municipal Court Judge Randall Warner’s Dismissal of C&BP Lawsuit

Posted by & filed under Arizona, States, Captured Regulators.

A Statement by Executive Director Scott Peterson   “Checks and Balances Project was founded six years ago to ask tough questions of government officials, lobbyists, and corporate managers who stand in the way of sustainability. Despite today’s action, we’re celebrating the progress we’ve made in Arizona over the past year. “Our pressure on the Corporation… Read more »