Commentary

Christoph Frei The global energy environment is increasing in complexity and uncertainty. We are in a much more challenging world than previously envisaged. The World Energy Council’s (WEC) analysis has

Cows get little respect these days. Except, of course, when cow is in the form of a two-inch-thick steak cooked medium-well and served still sizzling from the grill. Others prefer their beef served in a sack passed through a window. Either way, your favorite serving of beef is under attack. First came the revelation that […]

Do you remember the many predictions in past years that oil production has peaked world-wide and we will soon deplete this natural resource? M. King Hubbert, a petroleum engineer with the Shell Research Lab, developed his theory of Peak Oil  in 1956, predicting U.S. production of oil would peak between 1965 and 1970 and thereafter […]

Coal projects continue to be met with NIMBY [Not in My Back Yard]-type groups protesting coal companies’ efforts to start new projects. Although these projects can create plenty of jobs, they are met by opposition groups who cite environmental concerns. The coal seam Medicine Bow Project in Wyoming is estimated to create 6,000 jobs, but […]

The Obama administration recently changed its nomenclature on a topic of much interest to readers of this publication and those in the power industry. The administration has said it prefers to talk about its policies advancing a “resilient grid” as opposed to its previous emphasis on developing a “smart grid.” The new policy thrust, for […]

The purpose of regulation is to align private behavior with the public interest. That public interest imposes two chief obligations. The first obligation is the utility’s obligation to serve the public. This obligation must be defined by commission-established standards for performance. The second obligation is the commission’s obligation to compensate the utility. This compensation must be based on the […]

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has put forward three excuses to justify its increasing regulatory authority over the natural gas, an authority that was specifically given to the States in the 2008 Energy Policy Act. The first was the excuse that fracking has caused pollution of potable water wells. After years of searching, the […]

As we announce Top Plant award winners in the nuclear category this month, the global nuclear power industry is at an unusual point in its history: mired in controversy and caution, yet championed by an

Paul Smith A few short years ago, our nation was scrambling to import natural gas from abroad, and an energy-secure America was little more than a pipe dream. Oh, the difference a decade makes. Advances in

In February 2013 I wrote an editorial entitled “Where’s the Warming?” My argument was that the IPCC was facing a significant problem in writing the then-upcoming AR5 because the most recent global temperature data was showing a drop in global average temperatures contrary to its computer model results. One of the reviewers of the draft […]