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Surging supply and plummeting prices during 2011 have worked a sea change in America’s energy policies and use of natural gas. How long can it go on?

Timing is (almost) everything when it comes to building new power plants. Nobody knows that better than AEP, which finally got a happy ending to a story that took over a decade to complete.

The 2000s saw dramatic growth in gas-fired power generation capacity. But, surprise–this growth was also accompanied by the retirements of numerous older gas-fired plants.

The rapid growth of gas extraction by hydraulic fracturing has drawn increasing allegations of property damage and health risks. In many cases, these allegations are being followed by a wave of lawsuits.

Whatever your role in gas-fired power, there’s one constant these days: You probably aren’t bored.

Gas extraction by hydraulic fracturing is not new, but the controversy over it is. While the process carries some notable risks, the potential and promise of fracking argue in favor of responsible development and regulation, not an outright ban.

Hydraulic fracturing has been growing in popularity as a means of extracting natural gas for several years. It was in 2011 that media and public attention began to focus on its possibilities and risks, bringing with it controversy and increasing concern.

UK power company Drax has canceled a 290-MW biomass power plant proposed for construction in North Yorkshire, citing high costs for transporting fuel to the £1.4 billion ($2.19 billion) inland plant and a lack of financial and regulatory support from the UK government.

The UK and France on Friday signed a landmark agreement to strengthen cooperation on civil nuclear energy between the two countries, reaffirming their enthusiasm for nuclear power. The agreement, made nearly a year after the Fukushima accident in Japan, seeks to help the countries achieve energy security within the European Union’s low-carbon energy policy framework.

Vermont’s attorney general on Saturday appealed a federal district court’s January decision that invalidated two Vermont statutes and ruled that Entergy could operate the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant beyond a state-mandated shutdown deadline of March 21, 2012.