South Korea will reportedly invest 37 trillion won ($28.5 billion) over the next 13 years in several new nuclear, coal, and natural gas power plants to improve fuel efficiency and cut emissions.

Nearly a 100 projects around the world—with more than 80 of them in the U.S.—are assessing various aspects of carbon capture and storage (CCS), a database released last week by the American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity (ACCCE) shows.

Demand response and advanced metering programs have made significant progress in serving more consumers across the country, says a new Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) report that charts the expansion of these energy-saving programs since 2006.

By Kennedy Maize At a pleasant Christmas dinner with friends last week, a smart diner posed a question: when should the government or the market have known that the U.S. (and the world’s, as it turns out) financial system was in life-threatening peril? After pausing to scratch my head, I proffered an idea: it all […]

Two days before Christmas, the Federal Appeals Court for the District of Columbia reinstated (PDF) the Clean Air Interstate Rule (CAIR) while the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) makes changes to it. Judge Judith W. Rogers said, "The parties’ persuasive demonstration, extending beyond short-term health benefits to impacts on planning by states and industry with respect to […]

By Kennedy Maize Some of my friends on the left have been lamenting the Cabinet choices of president-elect Barack Obama. One of them wrote in an email recently, “As the new government was put together, brick by brick, a disturbing pattern emerged. Time and again, those who had braved the perils of the Clinton… threat […]

By Kennedy Maize Here’s an interesting new wrinkle on wind power, from a researcher at the University of Illinois. According to Somnath Baidya Roy, turbulence from large wind farms can harm growth of crops in the local countryside. Baidya Roy notes that in recent years, wind power has moved from small, isolated turbines to large […]

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) last week admitted it would not finalize two air pollution rules that would have eased restrictions on coal power plants before the incoming administration takes office on Jan. 20.

Steven Chu, the 1997 Nobel physics laureate who now directs the U.S. Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in California, will be President-elect Barack Obama’s energy secretary. Lisa Jackson, chief of staff for New Jersey’s governor, will head the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Nancy Sutley, deputy mayor of Los Angeles, will lead the White House Council on Environmental Quality.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) on Monday approved by a 5-0 vote the licensing and installation of the nation’s first commercial hydrokinetic power station.