Renewable energy mandate bill revived
WASHINGTON DC - Senators are making another push at requiring utilities to use more renewable energy such as wind, solar and geothermal.
The Senate energy committee chairman, New Mexico Democrat Jeff Bingaman, and other senators are now hoping to pass a bill that would mandate utilities get 15 percent of their energy from such sources by 2021. They will try to get the legislation passed in a lame duck session after the election.
The move comes after an Associated Press story that efforts for such a mandate, known as a renewable electricity standard, had stalled in the Senate.
Nevada Democrat Harry Reid, the Senate majority leader, did not include the mandate in his energy bill despite a big lobbying push by environmental groups, renewable energy providers, more than half the nation's governors and even some utilities.
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Romania moves to terminate talks with Chinese partner in nuke project
BUCHAREST - Romania's government has mandated the managing board of local nuclear power producer Nuclearelectrica to initiate procedures for terminating negotiations with China General Nuclear Power Group (CGN) on building two new reactors at the Cernavoda nuclear power plant.
The government also mandated the managing board to analyse and draw up strategic options on the construction of new electricity generation capacities from nuclear sources.
The company will negotiate the termination of the agreement signed in 2015 for developing and operating units 3 and 4 at Cernavoda.
At the end of last month, Economy Minister Virgil Popescu said that the collaboration with the…