http://www.powermag.com POWER Mag en-us 2010 Tue, 16 Mar 2010 5:27:59 EDT A loosely knit coalition of state leaders and environmental activists petitioned the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in late 2007 for interpretive guidance on the corporate obligation to disclose material information about all aspects of climate change. The petitioners received what they asked for and a little bit more.... http://www.powermag.com/issues/departments/speaking_of_power/2501.html Mon, 1 Mar 2010 0:00:00 EST Congress snubbed the biomass power industry in 2004 when open-loop biomass power plants were given only half the production tax credits (PTCs) received by other renewable sources, such as wind, solar, and geothermal. It further dissed open-loop biomass plants by authorizing the credit for only five years (it expired December 31, 2009) rather than the 10 years given to other renewables. Why is the biomass power industry not getting the policy respect and equity with other renewable technologies that it deserves?... http://www.powermag.com/issues/departments/speaking_of_power/2438.html Mon, 1 Feb 2010 0:00:00 EST David Letterman has entertained us with his "Late Show" Top Ten list since 1985. In keeping with this issue’s theme of forecasting the future of the power industry, I’m going to step out with my top 10 list of what to expect in the next... http://www.powermag.com/issues/departments/speaking_of_power/2353.html Fri, 1 Jan 2010 0:00:00 EST Assume, for the moment, that the U.S. Congress is unable to agree on legislation aimed at reducing carbon emissions from industry, vehicles, and power plants (the carrot approach). Further, assume that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) eventually promulgates rules that require power plants to reduce carbon emissions (the stick approach). Have you given any thought to the range of possible best available control technologies (BACT) that the EPA might require under the Clean Air Act (CAA)?... http://www.powermag.com/issues/departments/speaking_of_power/2297.html Tue, 1 Dec 2009 0:00:00 EST July 17, 1955, was the first time electricity generated by a U.S. nuclear power plant flowed into a utility grid. The experiment required Utah Power & Light to disconnect itself from the power lines to the 1,200 residents of Arco, Idaho, and plug in the Argonne National Laboratory experimental boiler water reactor, BORAX-III. The plant produced merely 2 megawatts for more than an hour, as planned, after which linemen reconnected the town’s grid to the utility. Since then, the U.S. nuclear industry has demonstrated excellence in operations, but more than 50 years after that first nuclear power supply, it is lagging far behind even developing nations in new construction.... http://www.powermag.com/issues/departments/speaking_of_power/2236.html Sun, 1 Nov 2009 0:00:00 EDT In this column last month I quoted Indian Environmental Minister Jairam Ramesh to represent India’s intention to not agree to any legally binding emissions targets at the Copenhagen Climate Change Conference in December. That conference will start formal negotiations of a follow-on agreement to the Kyoto Protocol. A number of readers wrote to say that they believe India and China, despite their protestations to the contrary, will cave to international pressure and at the end of the day agree to some binding carbon emissions limits. I disagree.... http://www.powermag.com/issues/departments/speaking_of_power/2172.html Thu, 1 Oct 2009 0:00:00 EDT The stage is being set for negotiating a successor agreement to the Kyoto Protocol. The U.S. is trying to exert some leadership in the international climate change debate by attempting to build consensus for binding carbon emission reductions prior to the upcoming Copenhagen meeting. Meanwhile, carbon legislation is, thankfully, stalled in the Senate, and developing countries are rejecting our entreaties. You can’t win if other countries don’t want to play.... http://www.powermag.com/issues/departments/speaking_of_power/2116.html Tue, 1 Sep 2009 0:00:00 EDT In their recent endangerment finding draft technical support document (TSD), scientists at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) conclude that carbon dioxide emissions are a public health hazard and should be regulated under the Clean Air Act. Federal law requires that regulations be based on scientific information that is "accurate, clear, complete, and unbiased"; the most recent available; and collected by the "best available methods." The EPA’s TSD on carbon emissions violates all of these requirements.... http://www.powermag.com/issues/departments/speaking_of_power/2056.html Sat, 1 Aug 2009 0:00:00 EDT I was putting the finishing touches on this month’s editorial when I received an email from a reader who owns a company that serves the power industry. He was very complimentary of an article I recently wrote. "Goes without saying," I was thinking to myself. However, actually saying it goes a long way in my book, and I enjoy hearing from readers — at least most of the time.... http://www.powermag.com/issues/departments/speaking_of_power/1988.html Wed, 1 Jul 2009 0:00:00 EDT Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar, speaking in Atlantic City on April 6, added more hot air to the discussion about offshore wind when he stated that windmills off the East Coast could generate enough electricity to replace most, if not all, of the coal-fired power plants in the U.S. I’m disappointed Salazar didn’t take a few minutes for fact-checking and back-of-the-envelope ciphering before his speech.... http://www.powermag.com/issues/departments/speaking_of_power/1928.html Mon, 1 Jun 2009 0:00:00 EDT