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  • Climate Change Litigation: Implications for States and Power Generators

    Climate change litigation in the U.S. has far outpaced climate litigation in any other jurisdiction. In fact, according to Teri Donaldson, partner with DLA Piper, more lawsuits concerning climate change have been decided or settled in the U.S. than in the rest of the world combined. “The success rate in these cases is very low,” […]

  • Europe’s New Coal Curtain: Eastern Europe Embraces Coal as Western Europe Deserts It—and Russia Is Still All In

    This story is being written as world leaders gather in Paris for the COP-21 climate summit. Much of the reason they are meeting is because of the widespread burning of coal and the resulting carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions that are altering the planet’s biosphere. Though the burning of coal is not the only reason the […]

  • Don’t Fear the Clean Power Plan, Chief EPA Lawyer Says

    The power sector should view the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) recent drive to tighten regulations on air and water emissions as an opportunity to improve its efficiency and environmental footprint rather than as an obstacle, said EPA General Counsel Avi S. Garbow at POWER magazine’s inaugural conference on legal issues in the generation industry. “We want […]

  • How to Protect Control Assets before the Cybersecurity Egg Cracks

    The target is on the back of industrial control systems (ICS) within the power and process industries. The number of attacks, as reported by the Industrial Control Systems Cyber Emergency Response Team (ICS-CERT), has increased sixfold since 2010. Control systems at industrial facilities present a more attractive target to hackers as they offer a greater

  • NRG CEO David Crane Steps Down, Joins The B Team

    NRG Energy announced on Dec. 3 that David Crane is stepping down as president and CEO of the company effective immediately. Crane had served in the position since 2003. During more than 12 years at the helm of NRG, he led the company through its emergence from bankruptcy to its current position as a leader […]

  • Much Ado About Clean Power Plan Vote

    The U.S. House of Representatives passed two joint resolutions on Dec. 1 designed to nullify the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) Clean Power Plan. The House votes come just two weeks after the Senate passed both resolutions on Nov. 17. Senate Joint Res. 23—sponsored by Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.)—provides for congressional […]

  • RWE CEO: Conventional Power Role Shifting from Baseload to Renewables Back Up in Europe

    Germany’s largest power generator RWE, following in the footsteps of its competitor E.ON, plans to split its company to bank on renewable energy and grid operations, which it says is the future for utility companies. If approved by RWE’s supervisory board, the Essen-headquartered company that produces more than 40% of its power from hard coal […]

  • THE BIG PICTURE: Nuclear Spins

    Editors note: Corrected (Dec. 7). A previous version of this infographic listed Russia’s nuclear total as 1.9 GW. It is 2.9 GW.

  • ERCOT Braces for Regional Haze Rule, Earlier Coal Retirements 

    A regional haze program final rule for Texas expected soon from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) could speed up the retirement of about 4.7 GW of coal-fired capacity, warns the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) in a new generation outlook. The grid operator’s Dec. 1–released “Report on the Capacity, Demand and Reserves (CDR) in […]

  • 15 Must-See Tweets from the 2015 Paris Climate Conference

    The 21st annual Conference of Parties (COP21) to review the implementation of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) began in Paris, France, on Nov. 30, 2015. COP21 is expected to be one of the largest international conferences ever held. There are hopes that COP21 will achieve a legally binding and universal agreement […]