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The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on Friday issued a revised proposal to curb carbon emissions from new power plants that sets separate standards for new gas-fired and coal-fired power plants. The agency also revealed it is developing new carbon standards for existing power plants. Separate Standards for Coal and Gas and Forthcoming Existing Plant Standards […]

About $30 million will be spent on the development of new tools and technologies to strengthen protection of the nation’s electric grid and oil and gas infrastructure from cyber attack, the Department of Energy (DOE) announced today. The funds will go to 11 projects undertaken by energy sector organizations in California, Georgia, New Jersey, North […]

Republicans in the House and the Senate introduced a new bill on Wednesday that would place new restrictions on the power of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). The Nuclear Regulatory Commission Reorganization Plan Codification and Complements Act (NRC Reorganization Act) would guide the NRC’s policy and rulemaking actions and “clarify” the role and scope of […]

“One company’s [NERC CIP] violation can be another company’s lesson learned.” That was just one of the comments during opening presentations at the EnergySec Summit in Denver this week that focused on the fact that human behavioral change is as important as advanced technology solutions for securing the North American electricity system—and energy systems globally. […]

Before this month, it’s likely few Americans had even heard of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), let alone understood what it does. An unprecedented battle over Ronald Binz, the former head of the Colorado Public Utility Commission (CPUC) whom President Obama nominated in June to replace outgoing FERC chairman Jon Wellinghoff, may have changed […]

Natural gas demand in the U.S. is poised to grow strongly over the next two decades, and there’s no mystery where all that gas will be going. Analysts at the recent LDC Mid-Continent Gas Forum in Chicago agreed that the biggest growth potential—as much as 15 Bcf/d—is in gas-fired power. “It’s clear the majority of […]

Ending a tumultuous battle over the future of electricity in the state, the California Legislature passed a wide-ranging revision of its ratemaking structure last week. Despite the contentious subject, the bill, AB 327, was approved by a broad bipartisan majority and garnered widespread support from the state’s three investor-owned utilities, the residential solar industry, and […]

An unusual extreme heat wave spanning two days this week combined with local equipment issues in Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, and Pennsylvania forced regional grid operator PJM Interconnection to take localized emergency measures to avoid the possibility of an uncontrolled blackout over a larger area. Soaring temperatures on Tuesday (Sept. 11) and Wednesday (Sept. 12) pushed […]

Solar trade remedies set by U.S. Department of Commerce determinations are weakened by Chinese solar producers who fail to show they are “free of Chinese government control,” Oregon-based SolarWorld argues in an appeal filed in an international trade court last week. The move is the latest development in an escalating trade war between the U.S. […]

China’s historical solar photovoltaic (PV) price advantage is driven by economies of scale and supply chain development—not direct government subsidies or low labor costs, as is the prevailing belief—suggests a new study from the Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). The study recently published in the […]