Secretary of Energy Rick Perry took part in a ribbon-cutting ceremony to mark the opening of Petra Nova, the world’s largest post-combustion carbon capture project, which was completed on schedule and on budget. The large-scale demonstration project, located at the W.A. Parish power plant in Thompsons, Texas, is a joint venture between NRG Energy (NRG) and JX Nippon Oil & Gas Exploration Corporation (JX).
Ten years ago, the HVACR Industry Alliance was formed to act as the “unified voice of the North American heating, ventilation, air-conditioning, and refrigeration industry.”
On March 21, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) issued Federal Register notices announcing further delays in the effective date of the final rules on test procedures for walk-in coolers and freezers and for residential central air conditioners and heat pumps.
The Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) recently announced that 74 project teams have attracted more than $1.8 billion in private-sector follow-on funding since the agency’s founding in 2009. The announcement was made at the eighth annual ARPA-E Energy Innovation Summit at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center in National Harbor, Maryland.
White House chief of staff, Reince Priebus, issued a memorandum declaring a government-wide freeze on new or pending regulations. The HVAC industry has generally reacted positively to this news, feeling that this freeze gives HVAC organizations more time to explain to the administration why these regulations should not be published.
ACCA, the Indoor Environment & Energy Efficiency Association, applauds the introduction of bipartisan legislation that would permanently kill the onerous death tax. The Death Tax Repeal Act of 2017 was introduced this week by Sen. John Thune, South Dakota Republican, and by Reps. Kristi Noem, South Dakota Republican, and Sanford Bishop, Georgia Democrat.
While several organizations lobbied Congress for an extension, the U.S. House of Representatives failed, again, to extend the geothermal heat pump tax credits via a stopgap spending bill signed Dec. 9, 2016.
While it appears regulations will be vetted more carefully under Trump’s administration, it appears contractors are divided on which regulation they would like to see eliminated first.
The rooftop air conditioner standards — which will cover new units found on low-rise buildings, like hospitals, schools, and big-box stores — will take effect in two phases, increasing minimum efficiency by about 10 percent as of Jan. 1, 2018, and by 25-30 percent as of Jan. 1, 2023.