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  • Uranium Prices: Up, Up, and Away?

    Industry experts say raw uranium will face increased demand, reduced supply, and higher prices. Will the market bear out those predictions?

  • Will Plug-in Hybrids Cause Blackouts?

    Could demand from plug-in hybrid cars crash the grid? A DOE national lab addresses the issue.

  • The Best and Worst of U.S. Government Employers

    Working for Uncle Sam can be worthwhile or a life-sapping grind, depending on which agency employs you, according to a new survey by the U.S. Office of Personnel Management. Guess which agency ranked best. (Hint: It’s related to power.)

  • Enjoy the Battle

    Climate change legislation, despite its environmental focus, will raise vast sums of money. The Washington turf wars over how to spend the money will dwarf the skirmishes we’ve seen so far.

  • The Supreme Court and Best Environmental Practices

    Did a recent Supreme Court decision give a license to firms to use “best practices” concepts to gut effective environmental standards?

  • Go Ahead, Close Oyster Creek

    The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) in early April granted Entergy Nuclear an extended license for the Oyster Creek nuclear plant in New Jersey, the oldest operating nuke in the U.S. The plant will now be able to operate until 2029, unless the NRC at some point in the future grants a further license extension. Nuclear power advocate William Tucker, with tongue in cheek, advocated closing the plant and other elderly units in the Northeast, in a commentary in the National Review. Tucker’s comments are reprinted with permission.

  • Utility Customer Satisfaction: A Faith-Based Initiative?

    Does customer satisfaction play a meaningful role in guiding utility operations? Many utilities think it does, as do many regulators. The market apparently doesn’t. Data suggest that the jury is out on the question, and the intuitive answer may not match the empirical evidence.

  • TREND: Coal Industry’s Future Faces Challenges

    What role will coal play as the nation moves toward trying to reduce greenhouse gases? The picture is mixed, as these news stories from around the country demonstrate.

  • Cap-and-Trade Bill Clears House Committee

    After a week of long and heated arguments, the House Energy and Commerce Committee on Friday passed by a vote of 33 to 25 the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009, a massive 946-page bill that would set up a cap-and-trade program and a federal renewable energy standard.
    H.R. 2454 now heads to the House Ways and Means Committee, which will review the tax and trade implications of the bill. That committee could make more revisions to the bill.

  • U.S. Power Sales Plunge on Weak Economy

    U.S. power sales have plunged in the past six months on the back of an unprecedented demand decline that was caused by sharp contractions in the economy, and recovery is not anticipated until the 2010 to 2015 period, an analysis from Edinburgh-based Wood Mackenzie shows.