Environmental

The owner and management company of the Berkshire Power Plant—a 252-MW natural gas–fired combined cycle plant located in Agawam, Mass.—agreed to plead guilty on March 30 to felony charges that the companies violated and conspired to violate the federal Clean Air Act. The indictments against Berkshire Power Co. (BPC), the owner of the plant, and […]

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is obligated to review many different federal environmental standards on a recurring basis and update them if the agency deems it necessary for the protection of

A handful of attorneys general want to join forces on ongoing and potential investigations into whether fossil fuel companies misled investors and the public about the impact of climate change on their businesses. New York Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman announced the joint effort on March 29, during a one-day climate change conference for attorneys […]

A diverse coalition of major investor-owned utilities, public power authorities, and one of the largest independent power producers, as well as a combination of cities and states, clean energy groups, and environmental groups, filed briefs with the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals in support of the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) Clean Power Plan. The involved […]

“My sense as I speak to you here today is that nuclear energy is toast,” said New York Times Reporter Eduardo Porter, as he opened a panel discussion titled “Nuclear Energy and the Clean Energy Future” held at the New York University School of Law on March 23. “Despite the challenge from climate change that […]

Merrick Garland, chief judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, is President Obama’s nominee to the U.S. Supreme Court. Here’s a roundup of Garland’s more recent power sector rulings. July 2015: On Backup Generators Chief Judge Garland and senior circuit Judges Williams and Randolph repealed part of the Environmental Protection […]

The U.S. House of Representatives has passed, with bipartisan support, a bill that slackens emissions limits for power plants that burn coal refuse. The Satisfying Energy Needs and Saving the Environment (SENSE) Act passed the House with a 231–183 vote on March 15. However, the White House has said it strongly opposes the bill (H.R. […]

Construction of a 50-MWt plant that will demonstrate a novel oxyfuel natural gas power system using Allam Cycle technology with zero atmospheric emissions has kicked off in La Porte, Texas. The demonstration plant is being built by the technology’s developer, Durham, N.C.–based NET Power, along with Exelon Generation, CB&I, and 8 Rivers Capital. NET Power’s […]

Of nearly 18 GW of U.S. generating capacity permanently shuttered in 2015, 77% was conventional steam coal–fired. About 30% of that 13.7 GW in coal capacity was retired in April 2015, when the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS) rule went into effect, said the Energy Information Administration (EIA) on March […]

The Oregon Senate passed a bill on March 2 that will require electric companies in the state to eliminate coal-fired resources from their electrical supplies by January 1, 2030. The bill—which passed in the senate by a 17–12 vote—had already been passed by the Oregon House of Representatives (38–20). It now heads to Gov. Kate […]