Legal & Regulatory

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) on July 28 issued a landmark order that reforms the generator interconnection process. The order is in response to a clear need for nationwide improvements due to a rapidly changing resource mix, market forces, and emerging technologies for power generation. Order No. 2023, Improvements to Generator Interconnection Procedures and Agreements, […]

Former Westinghouse Electric Co. Senior Vice President Jeffrey A. Benjamin’s motion to dismiss for grand jury bias a federal indictment issued in August 2021 alleging he concealed damaging information concerning the V.C. Summer nuclear expansion project schedule was granted by U.S. District Judge Mary Geiger Lewis on August 2, 2023, in Columbia, South Carolina. Benjamin […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) on July 31 accepted a standard design approval (SDA) application for NuScale Power’s VOYGR-6, a plant design that will be featured in the 462-MWe Carbon-Free Power Project (CFPP) proposed at an Idaho National Laboratory (INL) site. The milestone comes on the same day that CFPP submitted a limited work authorization […]

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has approved key transmission reforms aimed at clearing a staggering backlog of more than 10,000 generation and storage projects—more than 2,000 GW—stalled in interconnection queues across the country. Order 2023, a final rule unanimously adopted by FERC’s four commissioners at a July 27 open meeting and posted in full […]

The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) has spurred investment in carbon capture and sequestration (CCS), a key tool for decarbonization, by significantly increasing the tax credit for permanently sequestering carbon dioxide. However, many states lack comprehensive laws necessary for CCS projects to attract investment. That includes Texas, a global energy capital that boasts high storage potential. Regulatory […]

The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) recognizes the importance of boosting domestic U.S. manufacturing of clean energy equipment and provides a 10% bonus for the production tax credit and investment tax credit

In more than one RTO market, aggregators may find themselves in the position of making capacity offers for future delivery periods based on projections of how much aggregated capability they will have available in the future. This presents somewhat of a dilemma, as there are financial incentives to project aggressively. COMMENTARY Capacity revenues may play an […]

Severe convective storms, also known as severe thunderstorms, may not generate the same headlines as hurricanes, but these storms can pose a greater threat to inland solar and wind energy projects. The

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has wrapped up a final safety evaluation for Kairos Power’s 35-MWth Hermes “non-power” demonstration reactor, which the firm has proposed to build at the East Tennessee Technology Park Heritage Center site in Oak Ridge, and plans to begin operating by 2026. The NRC’s review, which concluded “no safety aspects that would […]

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in May 2023 published a proposed rule that would establish new source performance standards (NSPS) and existing source performance standards (ESPS) for greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from new, modified, reconstructed, and existing fossil-fuel fired electric generating units (EGUs). COMMENTARY The proposed rule, which EPA plans to promulgate pursuant to […]