Legal & Regulatory

Behold, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC): Cheryl LaFleur, chairman and sole commissioner. Thanks to a largely feckless Trump administration, the five-member FERC now consists of only one member, leaving the commission, an important energy infrastructure agency, continued partially crippled for lack of a quorum. FERC has been hobbled since early February, when Trump demoted […]

Beyond the bitter disputes that have recently cropped up between Ukraine and Russia concerning Russia’s 2014 annexation of Crimea and the subsequent separatist violence in Ukraine’s Donbass region

The world’s nuclear sector saw a flurry of activity during April and May, though most of it wasn’t good news.  First Unit at Barakah Built, but Regulatory Delays Prevail. Initial construction activities

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) approved a settlement with GDF SUEZ Energy Marketing NA Inc. (GSEMNA) in February 2017, in which GSEMNA agreed to pay civil penalties of $41 million and disgorge

With low particulate loading common in stack emissions these days, particulate matter measurement can be difficult using traditional techniques. Microscopical measurement of particle-size distributions offers

The new administration in Washington, D.C., has a sharply different vision for the development and use of our nation’s abundant energy resources, including coal. These riches are seen as a strength, not

 The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Department of Army, and Army Corps of Engineers have proposed a rule to rescind the controversial Waters of the U.S. (WOTUS) rule, which asserts federal authority over small bodies of water. The rule, also known as the “Clean Water Rule,” was promulgated by the EPA and the U.S. Army […]

If the Trump administration’s efforts to roll back the Clean Power Plan (CPP) are successful, the nation could miss out on 560,000 potential jobs and a boost of $52 billion to the gross domestic product (GDP), according to a report released by Environmental Entrepreneurs (E2). “From states with relatively small populations like Maine and Montana […]

The Trump administration says it’s not going to pick winners and losers when it comes to energy generation, but it sure doesn’t seem to like wind and solar, judging from a recent presentation by Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke. The nation needs a diverse energy mix, including nuclear, coal, natural gas, and renewables, several energy industry […]

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) said PJM can restart two coal-fired units at Dominion Energy’s Yorktown, Va., power plant, two months after the aging units were shut down because they could not meet federal emissions standards. The emergency order from the DOE, issued June 16, allows the units to run during the hot summer […]

Georgia Power officials say the utility continues to work with its partners in the troubled Vogtle nuclear plant to firm up construction timelines and determine the costs to complete two new units at the facility. At the same time, a group opposed to the project and two long-time project consultants say ballooning costs should put […]

Increased use of less-expensive natural gas and renewable sources of energy for power generation is putting financial pressure on U.S. nuclear power plants, according to an analysis of electricity costs from Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF). Nicholas Steckler, an analyst for BNEF, in a June 14 report said nuclear operators are losing about $2.9 billion […]

The administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) reportedly left a Group of Seven summit on climate in Bologna, Italy, after the opening session of the two-day event, just days after President Donald Trump said the U.S. would pull out of the Paris climate agreement. Scott Pruitt, the Oklahoma attorney general before being tapped […]

A nuclear plant construction project in Georgia that is years behind schedule and billions of dollars over budget has been given a lifeline that at least temporarily eases concerns about its future. Toshiba, the parent company of Westinghouse, and Southern Company subsidiary Georgia Power, majority owner of Plant Vogtle near Augusta, on June 9 reached […]

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is giving states an extra year to develop air quality plans related to the 2015-National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for ground-level ozone. In a June 6 letter sent to U.S. governors, EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt announced that the extended deadline for promulgating initial area designations for the rule issued […]

Although I’m sure some readers will consider the title of this column hyperbole, coal is back. It’s back in the public discourse, and that’s largely due to the Trump administration. President Trump was

Coal generation in Europe was walloped—twice—in April. Early in the month, members of EURELECTRIC, a pan-European power sector association of more than 3,500 companies, announced that it would cease

The English Supreme Court is due to hear an appeal on the long-running dispute in connection with the Robin Rigg Offshore Wind Farm. The decision promises to be significant for the offshore wind industry, its

A lot of different methods are available to encourage compliance with company policies and regulations, but some are more effective than others. One that has worked well for GE and its customers inspires

The conversation at the ELECTRIC POWER Conference and Exhibition, as underscored by comments made in its keynote address and at the annual event’s executive roundtable, was optimistic yet cautious, owing to

Exelon Corp. said it plans to retire the Three Mile Island (TMI) nuclear power plant around September 30, 2019, unless policy reforms are enacted in Pennsylvania. The company used a similar ploy in Illinois to pressure lawmakers into passing the state’s Future Energy Jobs bill, which provides subsidies for nuclear power plants. In that case, Exelon […]

Virginia’s governor has directed the commonwealth’s environmental quality agency to establish regulations to curb its carbon emissions from power plants via a carbon trading scheme by the end of this year.  Executive Directive 11 signed by Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D) on May 16 instructs the Department of Environmental Quality to develop a proposed rule to […]

The Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs May 17 advanced a number of bills that could have significant impacts on the future of energy regulation in the future. Four of the bills— the Regulatory Accountability Act (RAA), the Regulations from the Executive in Need of Scrutiny (REINS) Act, the Midnight Rules Relief Act, […]

President Trump on Monday made two nominations to fill vacancies at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), which, if confirmed, would restore the agency’s quorum and ability to take action. Neither nominee was a surprise. Both names had long circulated in Washington. The mystery was why it took so long—three months—for the administration to fill […]

Community choice aggregation (CCA) is only allowed in seven states currently, but recent developments in California have investor-owned utilities there worried. They fear losing up to 80% of their retail load

New York’s electricity system and markets face a blizzard of changes, driven by policy, politics, and economic forces. The New York Independent System Operator and the New York State Energy Research and

Power project financing demands are constantly changing. The current model for structuring project finance transactions began with the emergence of independent power producers (IPPs). Many IPPs only wanted to

Community choice aggregation (CCA) continues to emerge as a favorite tool for towns, cities, and counties interested in pursuing local control over their energy supply, increased renewable electricity

In two separate actions over the past 24 hours, the D.C. Circuit granted the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) request to suspend cases challenging the Clean Power Plan and the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS).   The orders are the latest in a series of similar actions over the past month by the D.C. Circuit that […]

Natural gas supply and price, along with lower electric demand and the growth of renewables, have been far more responsible for the decline in the U.S. coal industry than environmental regulations, according to a new study by Columbia University’s Center on Global Energy Policy and the Rhodium Group, a New York consulting firm. That means […]