WASHINGTON, Jan. 13 -- The American Action Forum issued the following commentary on Jan. 12, 2024: * * * CRA Tracker: Congressional Review Act in Recent Years By Dan Bosch and Dan Goldbeck EXECUTIVE SUMMARY * The Congressional Review Act (CRA) allows Congress to effectively void rules promulgated by federal agencies. * Due to the CRA's structure, however, it has been seldom used as to be successful, and it typically must be used when a new president from a different party than the predeces  more

OAK RIDGE, Tennessee, Jan. 12 -- The U.S. Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory issued the following news release: Researchers demonstrated that stainless steel and other metal alloys coated with hexagonal boron nitride, or hBN, exhibit non-stick or low-friction qualities along with improved long-term protection against harsh corrosion and high-temperature oxidation in air. Metal alloys -- mixtures of two or more metals -- are created to be strong, durable and resistant to corro  more

WASHINGTON, Jan. 13 -- The Center for Strategic and International Studies issued the following commentary on Jan. 12, 2024: * * * The Siege of Gaza's Water By Natasha Hall, Anita Kirschenbaum and David Michel On October 9, in response to the October 7 assault by Hamas militants, Israel's defense minister ordered a "complete siege" on the Gaza Strip, including the halting of electricity, food, water, and fuel sent to Gaza from Israel. Clean water is unavailable for most living in Gaza, and Is  more

WASHINGTON, Jan. 12 -- The Center for Strategic and International Studies issued the following commentary on Jan. 10, 2024: * * * What Can Federal Authority Do for Transmission? By Cy McGeady The Power Line is a newsletter series that reviews key stories in the electric power sector--ranging from grid reliability, transmission issues, and emergent technology and business models. The Power Line will highlight the connections and relevance between the sector's technical, local, and often esote  more

LAS VEGAS, Nevada, Jan. 13 -- The Consumer Technology Association issued the following news release on Jan. 12, 2024: The Consumer Technology Association(R) (CTA) today announced the recipients of its CES(R) 2024 Green Grants, which provides $125,000 in total funding to three Nevada organizations focused on sustainability. 2024 recipients are a statewide tree planting program, a food rescue program, and a solar charging project. For over a decade, CTA has contributed nearly $800,000 through g  more

WASHINGTON, Jan. 13 -- The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee issued the following news release on Jan. 12, 2024: Renewable electricity and energy independence may have been the topic of Rep. Mike Levin's recent conversation with Roll Call, but the takeaway was much larger: the congressman's commitment to bipartisan problem-solving and getting things done for California families. Over the past year alone, Levin has... * Passed two monumental bipartisan bills supporting veterans and h  more

FARMINGDALE, New York, Jan. 13 (TNSres) -- The State University of New York's Farmingdale State College issued the following news release on Jan. 12, 2024: Farmingdale State College (FSC) today announced the addition of two new electric vehicles to its campus vehicle fleet, bringing to five its total of electric (EV) or hybrid vehicles, and moving closer to its goal of going fossil fuel free by 2035. The two 2023 Nissan Leaf vehicles are four-door compact size cars and join a 2013 Nissan Leaf,  more

ATLANTA, Georgia, Jan. 13 (TNSres) -- Georgia Institute of Technology issued the following news: Georgia Tech researchers have engineered one of the world's first yeast cells able to harness energy from light, expanding our understanding of the evolution of this trait -- and paving the way for advancements in biofuel production and cellular aging. You may be familiar with yeast as the organism content to turn carbs into products like bread and beer when left to ferment in the dark. In these ca  more

HATFIELD, England, Jan. 13 -- The University of Hertfordshire issued the following news: As part of an international team using NASA's James Webb Space Telescope, University of Hertfordshire astronomers have helped to discover a brown dwarf (a celestial object more massive than Jupiter but smaller than a star) exhibiting an unusual infrared emission from methane resembling an aurora. While methane in emission is a feature observed in gas giants like Jupiter and Saturn, the discovery is unexpec  more

NEW YORK, Jan. 12 -- The IEEE Sensors Journal, a journal that says it features design, fabrication, manufacturing and application of devices and electronics and physics aspects of sensors from the IEEE Sensors Council, published research articles on the following topics in its Jan. 1, 2024 edition: Here are excerpts: * * * * Featured Article: * Rule the Joule: An Energy Management Design Guide for Self-Powered Sensors * Clinical Analysis and Detection of Creatinine by Conventional Methods a  more

AUGUSTA, Maine, Jan. 12 -- The Maine Public Utilities Commission issued the following order (No. 2023-00250) on Jan. 11, 2024: * * * VERMONT RENEWABLE GAS, LLC, Request for Approval of Certification For RPS Eligibility Pertaining to Lyndon Biogas Electric Facility ORDER GRANTING NEW RENEWABLE RESOURCE CERTIFICATIONS BARTLETT, Chairman; and SCULLY and GILBERT, Commissioners I. SUMMARY On September 27, 2023, Vermont Renewable Gas, LLC requested certification of its 2.2 megawatt (MW) biogas g  more

AUGUSTA, Maine, Jan. 12 -- The Maine Public Utilities Commission issued the following order (No. 2022-00047) on Jan. 11, 2024: * * * VERSANT POWER, Request for Approval of Certification For RPS Eligibility (Two Facilities) ORDER GRANTING NEW RENEWABLE RESOURCE CERTIFICATIONS BARTLETT, Chairman; SCULLY and GILBERT, Commissioners I. SUMMARY Versant Power (Versant)'s petition filed on November 1, 2023 requests certification of two solar facilities totaling 4.70 Megawatts (MW) as Class I and C  more

WASHINGTON, Jan. 11 -- Sen. Joe Manchin, D-West Virginia, issued the following news release: Washington, DC - Today, the U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee held a hearing to examine federal electric vehicle (EV) incentives including the federal government's role in fostering reliable and resilient electric vehicle supply chains. During the hearing, Chairman Joe Manchin (D-WV) discussed his concerns with the Administration breaking the law by issuing proposed rules not in line wi  more

ST. PAUL, Minnesota, Jan. 12 -- The Minnesota Utilities Commission issued the following decision involving Core X Minnesota Propco LLC, Bridgewater Township, Steele-Waseca Cooperative Electric, Otter Tail Power Co., Minnesota Power and Northern States Power Co. dba Xcel Energy: * * * INTRODUCTION DECISION ITEMS 1. Details 2021-291 PULLED * E002/GR-21-630 Northern States Power Company d/b/a Xcel Energy In the Matter of the Application by Northern States Power Company d/b/a Xcel Energy for  more

NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE, England, Jan. 13 (TNSres) -- Newcastle University issued the following news release: * * * Newcastle University research turns to ancient hot springs to explore the origins of life on Earth. * * * The research team, funded by the UK's Natural Environmental Research Council, investigated how the emergence of the first living systems from inert geological materials happened on the Earth, more than 3.5 billion years ago. Scientists at Newcastle University found that by mix  more

NEW YORK, Jan. 13 -- The New York Health and Hospitals issued the following news release on Jan. 12, 2024: New York City Department of Citywide Administrative Services (DCAS) Commissioner Dawn M. Pinnock and NYC Health + Hospitals President and Chief Executive Officer Mitchell Katz, MD, today announced the completion of the first-ever solar panel installation at NYC Health + Hospitals. The 55KW installation atNYC Health + Hospitals/Elmhurst will supplement the facility's daily energy use with c  more

WASHINGTON, Jan. 13 -- Optics Express, a peer-reviewed journal from the Optical Society that emphasizes scientific and technology innovations in all aspects of optics and photonics, published research articles on the following topics in its Jan. 1, 2024 edition: Here are excerpts: * * * 3D IMAGE ACQUISITION AND DISPLAY: TECHNOLOGY, PERCEPTION AND APPLICATIONS: - Fourier Optics, Image and Signal Processing * Visualization and quantization of 3D retinal vessels in OCTA images - Instrumentati  more

COLLEGE PARK, Maryland, Jan. 13 -- Physical Review D, a journal that says it covers particles, fields, gravitation and cosmology from the American Physical Society, published research articles on the following topics in its Dec. 15, 2023 edition (Vol. 108, Issue 12). Here are excerpts: * * * LETTERS: * Can Bekenstein's area law prevail in modified theories of gravity? * Relativistic drag forces on black holes from scalar dark matter clouds of all sizes * Distinguishing Jordan and Einstein  more

SANTA MONICA, California, Jan. 13 -- Rand issued the following commentary on Jan. 12, 2024: * * * Critical Minerals Can Pave the Road to More Robust International Development By Elisa Yoshiara and Fabian Villalobos The road to clean energy goes through a historically dirty industry: mining. In the developing world especially, mineral extraction and processing has historically caused not just environmental contamination but also corruption and displacement of local livelihoods. Can it be diff  more

WASHINGTON, Jan. 13 -- Sen. Joe Manchin, D-West Virginia, chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, issued the following news release on Jan. 11, 2024: Today, the U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee held a hearing to examine federal electric vehicle (EV) incentives including the federal government's role in fostering reliable and resilient electric vehicle supply chains. During the hearing, Chairman Joe Manchin (D-WV) discussed his concerns with the Administr  more

WASHINGTON, Jan. 12 -- Sen. Laphonza Butler, D-California, issued the following news release on Jan. 11, 2024: Today, U.S. Senators Alex Padilla and Laphonza Butler (both D-Calif.) announced that California was awarded $168.5 million for the deployment of publicly accessible electric vehicle (EV) charging and alternative fueling infrastructure. The funding comes through the U.S. Department of Transportation's Charging and Fueling Infrastructure Discretionary Grant Program, which was created by   more

CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand, Jan. 12 (tnsRES) -- The University of Canterbury issued the following news release: * * * Renewable energy solutions could change the way we store solar and wind. * * * An environmentally friendly and safer alternative to lithium-ion batteries, redox-flow batteries are used for grid storage, but they are big --usually the size of a shipping container--slow and expensive. New research by Te Whare Wananga o Waitaha | University of Canterbury (UC) PhD candidate Soph  more