Legal & Regulatory

Australia in July became the first nation to abolish a price on carbon, after the Senate passed the Abbott government’s repeal bills by a vote of 39–32. Yet the country’s carbon conundrum continues because Prime Minister Tony Abbott must still get his Direct Action Plan, a proposed replacement for the country’s emissions trading scheme, to […]

Calpine Corp. has its hands in two deals with large power companies—selling a plant to Duke Energy in Florida while buying a plant from Exelon Corp. in Massachusetts. On Aug. 25, Calpine announced that it has agreed to buy Exelon’s 809-MW Fore River Generating Station, which is located about 12 miles southeast of Boston, for […]

Geographically and politically, Texas and Germany are on opposite sides of the world, but both believe strongly in competitive energy markets, and both have largely deregulated their power industries. Now both are reconsidering their market designs. Its easy to think that Germany and Texas could not be more different. One is northern, cold, and Old […]

North Carolina’s Legislature last week became the first in the nation to approve a sweeping coal ash bill, but the state’s governor isn’t fully endorsing it.  Both the House and the Senate on Aug. 20 approved the Coal Ash Management Act (S.B. 729), a measure that became an urgent legislative priority after Duke Energy’s February […]

Strategies for compliance with the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards led the list of topics covered during the Power Plant Pollutant Control “MEGA” Symposium held Aug. 19–21, in Baltimore, Md., but carbon dioxide (CO2) control solutions and sessions dealing with water problems weren’t far behind. The conference—hosted by the U.S. Department of Energy, the Electric […]

Europe’s third-largest power provider last week revealed it may be forced to shut down more conventional power plants compromising a total of 1 GW and terminate 470 MW in supply contracts if market conditions in Germany do not improve.  RWE has blamed “political intervention” for “making [its] business challenging”—and specifically, the subsidized expansion of renewables […]

NRG Energy is the latest company in a string of generators choosing to cease burning coal at generating units to comply with environmental rules.   An environmental action plan to reduce air pollution in Illinois released by the New Jersey–based company on Aug. 7 proposes to retire the 251-MW coal-fired Unit 3 at the 761-MW […]

American Electric Power (AEP) has agreed to close a coal plant and make changes at two others to resolve alleged Clean Water Act (CWA) violations. According to consent decrees filed in two West Virginia federal district courts, the company on Friday agreed to settle allegations from numerous citizen groups that the coal-fired John E. Amos, Kammer, […]

Judging by the long-running dispute between the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the State of Texas over greenhouse gas permitting under the Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD) program, one might assume GHG permitting in Texas has been stalled, or at least slowed. That assumption would be wrong according to an announcement from the EPA this […]

A significant reform of Germany’s aggressive renewable energy laws passed its final hurdle on July 11, setting the country on a more market-based path toward future growth. The bill was developed and approved by Chancellor Angela Merkel’s coalition government of Social Democrats and Christian Democrats. Because they are the two largest parties, the legislation was […]

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Consensus is that the locus of world energy demand has shifted away from the U.S. and Europe to Asia, driven by the soaring economies of the 10 countries that make up the Association of Southeast Asian Nations

France will cap its nuclear power capacity at the current 63.2 GW, forcing closures if new reactors come online, and instead boost renewable generation if a bill unveiled by its energy ministry in mid-June

The past week saw a flurry of Congressional hearings probing how the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) proposed carbon pollution rules will affect grid reliability and the economy.  On Reliability  The U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee on Tuesday summoned the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s (FERC’s) four sitting commissioners and future chair Norman Bay to testify on […]

Interest in the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) carbon pollution standards for existing power plants—the “Clean Power Plan,” proposed under the authority of the Clean Air Act Section 111(d)—was so high that the agency had to add double the days and double the rooms at all four locations this week. At all locations, power industry speakers […]

Per a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will no longer require Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD) or Title V permits for large sources of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, Office of Air and Radiation head Janet McCabe told the agency’s 10 regional administrators in a July 24 memo.  The memo outlines […]

The Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) June 2–proposed carbon rule for existing power plants favors nuclear, renewable, and natural gas combined cycle sources, but it also grants coal-heavy states wide flexibility to meet carbon goals with continued coal use, EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy told lawmakers at a Senate oversight hearing on Wednesday.  Six Democrats and six […]

A standard to enhance physical security at critical power system facilities submitted by the North American Electric Reliability Corp. (NERC) will need modifications before it can be approved, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) said last week.  FERC ordered NERC on March 7 to develop and submitnew reliability standards requiring owners and operators of the […]

Constellation Energy Nuclear Group (CENG)—a joint venture between Exelon Corp. and EDF Group—filed a petition on July 11 with the New York State Public Service Commission (NYPSC) in an effort to keep the R.E. Ginna Nuclear Power Plant in Ontario, N.Y., operating. Ginna—a 581-MW single-unit pressurized water reactor located along the south shore of Lake […]

The Department of Energy (DOE), NRG Energy Inc., and JX Nippon Oil & Gas Exploration Corp. announced on July 15 that construction has begun on the first commercial-scale post-combustion carbon capture retrofit project on an existing coal-fired power plant in the U.S. The Petra Nova Carbon Capture Project is expected to capture 90% of the […]

The White House on Wednesday threatened to veto a proposed $34 billion House bill setting FY 2015 spending for the Department of Energy (DOE), the Department of Interior, and the Army Corps of Engineers, saying it “significantly underfunds” investments to develop clean energy technologies.  The 2015 Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies Appropriations Act (H.R. […]

Fourteen members of the World Trade Organization (WTO)—including the U.S., China, the European Union (EU), and Japan—on Tuesday launched negotiations to eliminate tariffs or custom duties on wind turbines, solar products, and other environmental goods.  The first phase of negotiations between the 14 WTO members, which make up 86% of the global environmental goods trade, […]

Sure, the Nest Learning Thermostat is smart, user-friendly, and downright sexy, but at $249, it’s more a luxury item than a mass-market appliance. Indeed, Nest thermostats are highlighted in upscale real estate listings alongside marble countertops and stainless steel appliances. Although Nest has done well since its debut in 2011, with almost a million units […]

With quickly approaching deadlines for achieving renewable portfolio standard goals, the likely lapse of a critical exemption this month may increase the challenges for meeting those mandates. Approximately four years ago the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) took the first step in regulating greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from electric generating units (EGUs) by promulgating the […]

The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee on Wednesday managed a contentious 13–9 vote to approve President Obama’s nomination of Norman Bay to become head of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). Before the vote, the committee’s chair, Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.) said the White House and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) had agreed […]

Thirty-two projects—most headed by universities—were awarded grants of various amounts totaling $100 million by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) for Energy Frontier Research Centers (EFRCs). The projects were selected from more than 200 proposals. Of the projects, 10 were new while the other 22 received renewed funding. Awards ranged from $2 million to $4 […]

On the heels of the Environmental Protection Agency’s carbon emissions proposal for existing power plants, the Canadian government last week issued draft regulations to curb emissions from industrial boilers and heaters, stationary engines, and the cement manufacturing sector.   The Multi-sector Air Pollutants Regulations (MSAPR) proposed on June 3 are a part of the federal government’s […]

On June 9, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) announced six recommended actions designed to improve transparency of Department of Energy (DOE) uranium transactions. The recommendations were developed following a review of four transactions that took place in 2012 and 2013 between the DOE and USEC Inc. USEC is a supplier of nuclear fuel to […]

The Department of Commerce preliminarily ruled that China is subsidizing certain crystalline silicone photovoltaic (PV) products at a rate of 18.56% to 35.21%, marking another win for SolarWorld.  Commerce announced its affirmative preliminary determination in a new countervailing duty (CVD) investigation on imports of PV cells, modules, laminates, and panels. The agency calculated a preliminary […]

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released its “Clean Power Plan” proposal today, which spurred a wide range of responses. Environmental groups applauded the guidelines while fossil fuel proponents decried the end of affordable energy. Power plants are the largest source of carbon pollution in the U.S., accounting for roughly one-third of all domestic greenhouse gas […]