Legal & Regulatory
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Commentary
What RTOs and ISOs Can Learn from the Parable of the Fox and the Hedgehog
An ancient proverb imparts: the fox knows many little things, but the hedgehog knows one big thing. This insight is expanded through the moral of Aesop’s fable, “The Fox and the Hedgehog,” which
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Legal & Regulatory
Energy Security, Climate Change Initiatives Endure with Surprise U.S. Senate Deal
The inclusion of an estimated $369 billion in energy security and climate change investments in a July 27–unveiled U.S. Senate budget reconciliation proposal has prompted optimism from a range of energy sectors. Less than two weeks after negotiations on clean energy and climate provisions within the reconciliation package hit an impasse and suggested their demise, […]
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Legal & Regulatory
Are PJM’s Plunging Capacity Prices a Harbinger of Power Markets’ Demise?
Few observers outside the electric utility industry understand the U.S. power grid, often called the world’s largest machine. It’s three grids, actually—the Eastern Interconnect, the Western Interconnect, and the Texas Interconnect. Much of the Eastern and Western Interconnects are subdivided regionally into independent organizations—independent system operators (ISOs) or regional transmission operators (RTOs)—that monitor, coordinate, and […]
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Legal & Regulatory
DOE Grants California’s Request to Revise Civil Nuclear Credit Program Eligibility, Extends Deadline
The Department of Energy (DOE) has revised eligibility criteria for the first-award cycle of its $6 billion Civil Nuclear Credit (CNC) program and extended its application period to Sept. 6, 2022. The action responds to a request for adjustments from the California governor’s office to better address Pacific Gas & Electric’s (PG&E’s) 2,240-MW Diablo Canyon […]
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Legal & Regulatory
Understanding—and Planning—for Regulatory Challenges to Offshore Wind
Offshore wind projects have been bolstered by federal and state initiatives that support the technology to achieve emissions-reduction goals. However, development and grid integration of these projects
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Legal & Regulatory
Carbon Management Tax Policies Are Required to Achieve Net-Zero by 2050
President Biden signed the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) into law late last year, cementing his administration’s support for carbon management technologies and their essential role
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Commentary
Reaction Swift After Supreme Court Strips EPA’s Authority Over Emissions
Reaction on both sides of the issue was swift after the U.S. Supreme Court in a 6-3 vote said the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) should not have the authority to broadly regulate emissions of greenhouse gases (GHG) from the nation’s power plants. The case, West Virginia vs. EPA, could have ramifications for federal government […]
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Legal & Regulatory
Supreme Court Limits EPA Authority to Regulate Power Plant Emissions
The U.S. Supreme Court has curbed the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) options for limiting emissions of greenhouse gases (GHG) from power plants, an important environmental decision that could impact the federal government’s authority to enforce other regulations. The court in a 6-3 vote, with conservatives in the majority, on June 30 said the EPA does […]
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Nuclear
California Legislature Passes Bill to Support Reliability Reserve, Lifeline for Diablo Canyon Nuclear Plant
California’s State Legislature has passed a bill that could extend the operating lives of existing generating facilities slated for retirement, potentially providing a new lifeline for the 2,240-MW Diablo Canyon Power Plant (DCPP), which has a premature closure date in 2025. Both houses on June 29 passed AB-205 Energy, an energy trailer bill that Gov. […]
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Legal & Regulatory
AEMO Begins Cautious Lift of Australian Electricity Market Suspension
The Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) on June 22 initiated the first step to lift a suspension of its National Electricity Market (NEM), citing a “clear improvement in market conditions.” The measure comes more than a week since it indefinitely suspended spot markets in all regions of its NEM, given critical power generation supply shortfalls […]
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