General

By Kennedy Maize   Washington, D.C., June 16, 2011 — The Obama administration’s latest genuflection toward the smart grid, announced with considerable fanfare and a dog-and-pony show put on the by White House’s science office this week, was an empty spectacle. It featured a cast of stars: science advisor John Holdren, energy secretary Steve Chu, […]

By Kennedy Maize Washington, D.C., June 12, 2011 – Venture capitalist Vinod Khosla appears to relish the role of contrarian, something the world of “green” and “smart” energy, whatever those terms mean, lacks in abundance. So it was that Khosla recently appeared at the annual Energy Storage Association meeting and made a presentation that led […]

By Kennedy Maize Washington, D.C., June 1, 2011 – Maybe no electric utility in the country has a worse reputation for reliability that Pepco, which serves the nation’s capital and much of its Maryland suburbs. The company is under fire from District of Columbia and Maryland utility regulators for a record of storm-related blackouts over […]

By Kennedy Maize Washington, D.C., May 31, 2011 — By the time you read this, the event may have already happened. The Washington rumor mill is rumbling loudly that President Obama will name John Bryson, former California electric company executive, to be commerce secretary, replacing Gary Locke, who will be named U.S. ambassador to China. […]

By Kennedy Maize Washington, D.C., May 8, 2011 — Anyone who has followed energy politics in the U.S. for the past 15 years or so knows that Bill Richardson is a buffoon. Back in August 2003, following the mammoth Northeast blackout, Richardson famously said, “We are a major superpower with a third-world electrical grid.” Richardson […]

By Kennedy Maize Washington, D.C., May 2, 2011 – The Obama administration’s response to current high gasoline prices is so 1970s…or 1980s…or 1990s…or 2000s. Been there, done that, dead end. Washington seems to be perfumed with a silliness pheromone that gets loosed in the Nation’s Capital whenever gasoline prices go up. As pump prices climb, […]

By Kennedy Maize Washington, D.C., April 19, 2011 – An article in the Washington Post last week highlights why it is folly for government to try to pick winners in complex, technological markets. In this case, it is the market for cars, where the Obama administration is betting – with your money and mine – […]

By Kennedy Maize Washington, D.C., April 11, 2011 – Now that the children of all ages have stopped holding their breath until the government turns blue, we can get back to more important subjects, such as what the federal government should look like, how it should relate to the states, how much should it spend, […]

By Kennedy Maize Washington, D.C., March 14, 2011, 10:05 a.m. – Only France has been more resolute about relying on nuclear power than Japan. The reasons for both countries’ nuclear energy policies are generally the same: neither possesses much in the way of domestic energy resources. So nuclear power – including breeder reactors and a […]

By Kennedy Maize Washington, D.C., March 12, 2011, 10:30 a.m. EST – For those who covered both the Three Mile Island and Chernobyl nuclear disasters, there is an eerie symmetry with what is happening in Japan. In the prior cases – much different from each other and, most likely, very different from what is happening […]