Legal & Regulatory

President Trump wants to provide financial support to struggling coal and nuclear power plants. He’s told the Department of Energy (DOE) to make it happen. But a bipartisan group of lawmakers on Capitol Hill, along with commissioners from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), made it clear June 12 they don’t support federal government intervention […]

St. Michael, MN (June 2018) – U.S. Water announces that on May 25, 2018, the United States District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin overturned a decision by a unanimous Federal Court jury that U.S. Patent Nos. 8,415,137 and 8,609,399 relating to U.S. Water’s pHytOUT® deposit control technology were valid. U.S. Water plans to […]

Xcel Energy, citing “historically low” costs for wind and solar power, said it wants to double its generation from renewable sources. Colorado’s largest utility also said it will retire two coal-fired units representing 660 MW at its Comanche Generating Station in Pueblo at least 10 years ahead of schedule. The changes were outlined in a […]

Reactions from U.S. energy and legal and regulatory groups began pouring in minutes after the White House confirmed on June 1 that President Trump has directed the Department of Energy (DOE) to act immediately to stop the loss of uneconomic coal and nuclear plants.  White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said in a June 1 […]

A draft memo circulated by the Trump administration before the National Security Council urges federal action to force grid operators to buy power from uneconomic coal and nuclear plants. Bloomberg on May 31 first pointed to the existence of the 41-page memo, which is dated May 29 and distributed Thursday. The memo outlines plans for a […]

The U.S. is pouring funding into developing new fuel technology for advanced nuclear reactors in a bid to help the flagging industry. On April 27, it awarded General Atomics (GA) $3.2 million for two projects that the San Diego, California-based company is developing, including an accident tolerant fuel (ATF) solution that the company says is […]

Nameplate renewable capacity surged to more than 2,000 GW worldwide at the end of 2016, constituting more than 28% of total generating capacity (Figure 6). Most (56%) was hydropower, followed by wind (23%), and then solar, mostly from photovoltaic (PV) at about 15%. According to the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) the expansion was fueled […]

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s (FERC’s) recent Order 841, “Electric Storage Participation in Markets Operated by Regional Transmission Organizations [RTOs] and Independent System Operators

To sustain unprecedented economic growth, lift hundreds of millions out of poverty, and attract investment, African countries are taking bold steps to expand electricity infrastructure. Are the continent’s

Over the past decade, together with my students and colleagues at Duke University and other academic institutions, I have conducted scientific research and published 13 scientific articles on different aspects

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) on May 29 told the U.S. 7th Circuit Court of Appeals that Illinois’ nuclear subsidy program does not preempt federal statute, siding with the state and Exelon Corp. in a contentious legal fight that has divided the power sector. The case, now […]

The first of about 400 workers remaining at the soon-to-close Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station in New Jersey will begin leaving their jobs over the next few weeks, according to a notice filed this month by Exelon Corp. with the state’s Department of Labor and Workforce Development. The Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) filing […]

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) is poised to approve a revised reliability standard to ensure reliability during geomagnetic disturbances (GMDs). FERC staff on May 17 issued a notice of proposed rulemaking (NOPR) urging its commissioners to approve Reliability Standard TPL-007-2, which the North American Electric Reliability Corp.(NERC)  developed in response to FERC’s September 2016-issued Order […]

In addition to the record-breaking number of women running for office, we are also seeing an uptick in women getting involved within the energy sector—an industry long dominated by men. Although the energy sector still remains one of the least gender-diverse sectors, more and more women are creating green energy initiatives, founding renewable energy companies, […]

Wind power capacity in the U.S., whose explosive growth has tripled since 2008—even overtaking hydropower to become the nation’s largest source of renewable electricity—could face a period of stagnation once the production tax credit (PTC) is phased out in 2021. Analysts at WINDPOWER 2018 in Chicago last week called the period between 2021 and 2026 […]

BATON ROUGE, La. (May 16, 2018) – State regulators endorsed another element of Entergy Louisiana’s plan to modernize its generation fleet with today’s vote to approve an agreement for the company to buy a 361-megawatt plant to be built in Washington Parish. The agreement unanimously approved by the Louisiana Public Service Commission calls for Entergy […]

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) over the past two weeks has made a string of funding announcements, including nearly a half-billion dollars of new investment in power-related initiatives. The funding backs advancements in cybersecurity, advanced nuclear, solar, bioenergy, fuel cells, geothermal, and energy storage. $25 Million for Cybersecurity.On April 16, the DOE’s Office of […]

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has issued an official timeline for rulemaking that would potentially revise the Obama administration’s 2015 effluent limitations guidelines and standards (ELGs) for steam electric power plants. In its May 2-released Final 2016 Effluent Guidelines Program Plan, the EPA said it will potentially revise the stringent Best Available Technology (BAT) effluent […]

An electric cooperative that provides wholesale power and services to customers in 22 counties in western Kentucky has told state regulators it intends to end an operating agreement at a 312-MW coal-fired plant in Henderson, which could lead to the plant’s retirement. Big Rivers Electric on May 1 told the state Public Service Commission (PSC) […]

Dominion Energy plans to build eight new natural gas-fired power plants and speed the pace of its renewable energy efforts, according to the utility’s integrated resource plan (IRP) filed with Virginia regulators on May 1. The company also said its future plans focus on regulations on carbon emissions in part because Virginia is considering joining the […]

A three-year-long initiative spearheaded by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in collaboration with industry has yielded a blueprint that establishes best operational and safety practices and recommended technologies for flying commercial drones beyond the visual line of sight (BVLOS). As part of the FAA’s 2015-chartered Pathfinder Initiative, the agency partnered with three private companies to […]

The more I review the Yucca Mountain political boondoggle, the more I am convinced the stalemate will have to be resolved through a grassroots public campaign. At the outset of the Yucca startup, the

After the meltdowns at Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant in March 2011, Congress directed the Department of Energy (DOE) to support development of new fuel designs that could tolerate loss-of-cooling

Regulatory uncertainty, changing resources, and an industrywide drive to cut costs and boost flexibility and efficiency are among a growing list of challenges that are prompting new approaches to treat power

Despite pleas by environmental groups for more time to review recent dumps of groundwater monitoring data from power companies, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is forging ahead to finalize a proposed overhaul of the Obama administration’s 2015 final Coal Combustion Residuals (CCR) rule. The EPA’s 45-day comment period for the agency’s March 1 proposed rule, […]

Nevada law has included net metering provisions for more than 20 years. Net metering is an arrangement that allows energy generated by a customer’s leased or purchased solar system to offset monthly power bills. It also permits excess energy supplied to the grid to earn credits, which are then automatically applied to future billing periods […]

A report released this week by The Brattle Group says that if four nuclear power plants in Ohio and Pennsylvania are allowed to retire early it will cause “substantially higher emissions of CO2 and other pollutants” and that there will be “a significant increase in electricity prices” not only in the two states, but also […]

The Colorado Springs City Council, which also serves as the board for community-owned Colorado Springs Utilities (CSU), approved the settlement of a lawsuit brought against the city’s downtown coal-fired Martin Drake Power Plant, an agreement that in part promises CSU will look at options for 100% of its power to come from renewable sources as […]

Debate continues over a proposed $1.5 billion power plant that would be built in North Bergen, New Jersey, and would send electricity to New York City. The project includes a 1,200-MW combined cycle facility, along with a 6.5-mile 345-kV underground and submarine cable that would go through Bergen County, under the Hudson River, and connect […]

Two recent project announcements indicate that the U.S. offshore wind sector is burgeoning, bolstered by falling prices and ramped-up political support. A credit ratings agency warns, however, that the sector’s growth could increasingly pressure profit margins of merchant generators in New England, New York, and New Jersey. On March 14, Danish offshore giant Ørsted and […]