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It’s not easy writing energy legislation, as the experience of the past demonstrates. Nor are the results always in the public interest.

What makes more sense to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from power plants—a cap-and-trade regime or a carbon tax? It’s a contentious issue among those who generate power and among academic economists and policy makers.

I was one of the scientists counted as supporting the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change 1996 report. It turns out that effort was bogus and intellectually dishonest.

A [state utility regulatory] commissioner asked recently, “By what metrics can I assess my commission’s performance?” That’s a tough question.

It’s not that the U.S. doesn’t have any energy policy, says this veteran of energy politics and head of a major Washington energy and environmental think tank. It’s that we have too many, and they aren’t coordinated and coherent.

The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee last week cleared by a 15–8 vote a broad energy bill that, among other things, would impose a federal renewable energy standard, reaffirm the government’s commitment to nuclear waste disposal, and implement grid cybersecurity measures.

There is no credible pathway toward prudent greenhouse gas stabilization targets without carbon dioxide emissions reductions from existing coal power plants, but the U.S. urgently needs technology options for these plants and policies that incentivize implementation, a new study from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) finds.

Duke Energy is planning a new nuclear power plant at the Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Portsmouth site in Piketon, Ohio, the company announced with partners AREVA, USEC Inc., UniStar Nuclear Energy, and the Southern Ohio Diversification Initiative (SODI) on Thursday.

The week brought news of key alliances around the world concerning important fossil fuel–fired projects with carbon capture potential.

California regulators on Friday approved a program that seeks to generate 500 MW of solar power through the deployment of thousands of solar photovoltaic (PV) panels on large commercial rooftops across Southern California. The approval marks the first time a California utility will own a significant renewable energy source.