Addressing Climate Change and Building a Renewable Energy Future

Senate Democrats Call for Ban on Arctic Offshore Drilling

A group of 10 Senate Democrats and one independent called for the Department of the Interior to block offshore drilling in the Arctic Ocean in its 2017-2022 drilling plan, in a letter to Interior Secretary Sally Jewell on Friday. The senators acknowledged they had already won a significant victory when the department

Merkley and Wyden Announce $70 Million For Renewable Energy Research

Portland, OR – Oregon’s Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden announced today that the Energy and Water Appropriations bill that passed the Senate this week includes $70 million for wave and geothermal energy research grants. Oregon State University (OSU), as a leader in wave and geothermal energy research, will be well-positioned

Merkley Statement on EPA Methane Rule

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Oregon’s Senator Jeff Merkley released the following statement after the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) finalized the first-ever national standards for methane pollution in the oil and gas industry: “Today’s announcement from the Environmental Protection Agency finalizing the first-ever national standards for dangerous methane pollution for new drilling

Senate Votes to Restore Funding for Wind Energy Research and Development

The U.S. Senate passed an amendment on April 26 that would restore funding for wind energy research and development (R&D) in fiscal year 2017 to $96.4 million—the same amount funded this fiscal year. The amendment passed by a vote of 54–42 as part of Senate consideration of the Energy and

Senate votes to increase wind energy funding

The Senate passed an amendment Tuesday that would keep funding for wind energy research and development at its current level and restore a cut that appropriators had put into their bill. The amendment, from Sens. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) and Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), would provide $95.4 million for the Department of Energy’s wind program, up

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