Coal

The fiscal year 2014 Energy and Water Appropriations Bill released by the U.S. House Appropriations Committee this week slashes $1.4 billion in funding to Department of Energy renewable energy and scientific research programs, including an 80% spending cut on the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) program.

The House Energy and Commerce Committee on Wednesday advanced a set of four bills that it said would "improve" environmental regulations and increase state authority, including legislation that would task states—not the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)—with the responsibility to set up coal ash disposal rules.

Duke Energy’s long-awaited but controversial and cost-overrun-plagued integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) coal plant began commercial operation on June 7 in Knox County, Ind.

South Carolina Electric & Gas (SCE&G) last week announced that startup of the $6.3 billion nuclear extension under construction at its V.C. Summer plant could be delayed by up to a year owing to delivery issues. The SCANA Corp. subsidiary, which last year identified six coal-fired units that would be retired or switched to natural gas to comply with looming Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS), also said it plans to accelerate retirement of two units by the end of this year.

A report recently released by the Congressional Research Service (CRS) identifies policy goals—and their fundamental differences—identified in the 2012 presidential election and as highlighted in recent energy-related legislation. Among the nation’s energy priorities are to stabilize oil and gas markets, create natural gas pipeline infrastructure, dispose of nuclear radioactive waste, and replace conventional energy resources with renewables.

A much greater coal power burn is expected this summer in reaction to an anticipated rebound in natural gas prices, suggests a recent reliability assessment from staff at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). Among other key aspects of the new report is that while electric reliability for the rest of the nation will be adequate, Texas could see a significant chance of an energy emergency.

A new version of coal ash legislation introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives on Monday sets minimum federal standards for coal residuals from coal-fired power plants, but it gives states—not the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)—responsibility for crafting their own permit programs.

In a report released on May 13, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) presents data on energy-related carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions for each state by year, fuel, sector, and other breakouts for the years 2000 through 2010.