Legal & Regulatory

Source: POWER During IHS CERAWeek in Houston in early March, POWER Editor Gail Reitenbach sat down with Heiner Markhoff, president and CEO of GE Power & Water’s Water & Process Technologies, to ask him about several issues of concern to power plants.  Though the “water/energy nexus” theme has gained prominence recently, Heiner Markhoff’s comments underscored […]

This has not been the best of times for state regulators trying to control the future of their regional power markets. In September, a federal court in Maryland shot down that state’s attempt to force the

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is calling for public comment and information on approaches to updating radiation protection standards for nuclear power operations. The standards have not been updated since they were originally issued in 1977. The agency issued an Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on Feb. 4 in the Federal Register and related fact […]

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) last week proposed to approve revisions to a Texas state plan to regulate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the state. If finalized, likely later this year, the EPA will rescind its Federal Implementation Plan (FIP) that is currently in place and grant the state GHG permitting authority.  According to the […]

A year ago, on Feb. 12, 2013, President Obama issued Executive Order 13636, titled “Improving Critical Infrastructure Cybersecurity.” The Executive Order instructed the National Institute of Standards and

Mexico’s much-awaited constitutional energy reform, passed on Dec. 12 by the federal congress and a week later by the required majority of state congresses, could spark increased private participation in

EU’s Highest Court Says French Onshore Wind Tariff Is Illegal. The Court of Justice of the European Union (EU) ruled on Dec. 19 that a French regulatory mechanism allowing network distributors—namely

Allowing nuclear generators to operate some of the existing 100 U.S. nuclear reactors longer than their 60-year licensed limit could help offset a potentially massive power supply gap that could ensue as those

Japan and South Korea, countries that depended heavily on nuclear power before the Fukushima catastrophe in 2011 (Figure 3), separately released draft long-term energy plans in December, both placing renewed

Approximately 150,000 plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs) are already on the road in the United States, according to various reports. These vehicles include relatively wallet-friendly PEV options like the

President Obama has nominated current Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) Director of Enforcement Norman Bay to head the agency, upon confirmation, replacing Jon Wellinghoff, who left his post in November and jumping him over Acting Chairman Cheryl LaFleur. Bay’s nomination is the second to replace Wellinghoff, who left to join Portland, Ore., law firm Stoel […]

Oklahoma has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to review a lawsuit that challenges the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) authority to reject a state regional haze plan and replace it with a federal implementation plan (FIP). Last July, in a 2–1 decision, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit upheld the EPA’s rejection of […]

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) must issue a proposed revision of its Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) Subtitle D rules regulating coal combustion residuals no later than Dec. 19, 2014, under a consent decree reached between the agency and environmental groups that was filed in federal court today.  The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia […]

President Obama spoke briefly about energy in his State of the Union address on Tuesday night, though he declared at the outset: “The all-of-the-above energy strategy I announced a few years ago is working, and today, America is closer to energy independence than we’ve been in decades.” That statement rejected recently expressed concerns from 18 […]

Issuance of the revised final Waste Confidence Decision and Temporary Storage Rule will be delayed until at least early October, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) announced on Thursday.  The NRC cited “time lost” and a “lapse of appropriations” during the October 2013 government shutdown, which has forced the federal regulatory body to “reschedule several public […]

 The Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) proposed New Source Performance Standards (NSPS) for greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from new power plants violates the Energy Policy Act (EPACT) of 2005, a suit filed in federal court by the state of Nebraska alleges.  The state alleges, as have a number of Republican lawmakers, that the EPA relied on […]

The Democrat-controlled Colorado Senate on Jan. 15 blocked a bill that would have reversed the state’s controversial renewable energy mandate for rural electric cooperatives. Colorado has had a renewable portfolio standard (RPS) since 2004, when it became the first state in the U.S. to mandate a percentage of renewable generation in retail electricity sales, but […]

The EPA published the latest version of its new source performance standards (NSPS) for carbon pollution from new power plants in the Federal Register on Jan. 8, setting in motion a 60-day public comment period. The action stems from the 2007 Supreme Court decision in Massachusetts v. EPA that defined greenhouse gases as an air […]

The controversial federal production tax credit (PTC) bestowed on new wind farms of $0.023/kWh for the first 10 years of their operation expired on Tuesday, but the impact of that policy lapse isn’t immediately clear. Originally enacted in 1992, the federal renewable electricity PTC has been renewed and expanded numerous times—most recently by the American […]

A tidal wave of pent-up federal regulations could surge across much of the electricity industry in 2014. In recent years, Congress has been unable to enact new laws in energy, which has led a frustrated

The business environment for generating companies worldwide continues to become increasingly complex, and not just as a result of regulations. Even in the U.S., the concerns and constraints faced by generators

This is expected to be the year when modest economic growth at last returns to a recession-hit Europe. Recent depressed power demand from industry has already allowed the 27 countries of the European Union

Cows get little respect these days. Except, of course, when cow is in the form of a two-inch-thick steak cooked medium-well and served still sizzling from the grill. Others prefer their beef served in a sack passed through a window. Either way, your favorite serving of beef is under attack. First came the revelation that […]

On August 9, 2013, President Obama signed into law the “Hydropower Regulatory Efficiency Act of 2013” (the “Act”).  This legislation, passed with overwhelming support in the House and Senate, streamlines the regulatory approval process for certain hydroelectric power (“hydropower”) projects.  Perhaps more importantly, the Act reflects bipartisan recognition of the benefits of hydropower. According to […]

Renewable portfolio standards (RPSs) have been remarkably successful in boosting renewable generation, especially in the western U.S., where most states enjoy large areas of prime wind and solar potential

A federal judge in Washington, D.C., issued a formal order today giving the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) 60 days to set a deadline for issuing revised coal ash regulations, agreeing with a coalition of environmental groups that the agency has failed to timely complete its review process in accordance with provisions of the Resource Conservation […]

Following up on a similar decision in Maryland last month, a federal court threw out New Jersey’s attempt to spur construction of new power plants outside of PJM’s capacity auctions, saying that it was an unconstitutional state attempt to interfere with the wholesale power market. New Jersey’s Long-Term Capacity Pilot Project (LCAPP), enacted in 2011, […]

With the recent push for the regulation of carbon dioxide emissions from new and existing power plants (see “Turning the Heat Up on Carbon Emissions” in the October 2013 issue of POWER), the science behind this action needs to be revisited. The regulation of carbon dioxide emissions will apply to all fossil fuel energy sources; […]

The cost of producing electricity by natural gas and coal finished 2012 in a dead heat and future cost trends are very difficult to predict. One can read the projections (not predictions) by the U.S. Energy Information Administration and find evidence that coal is disadvantaged based on the rising cost of environmental compliance but the […]

A federal court on Sept. 30 shot down Maryland’s drive to spur construction of a new combined cycle power plant outside of PJM’s capacity auctions. Ruling in favor of various entities that had sued to block the plan, the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland found that the state’s order last year for […]