Western states consider forming electric utility, ousting PacifiCorp

By Kennedy Maize Utah, Wyoming, and Idaho are making preliminary moves that could split up investor-owned PacifiCorp, based in Portland, Ore., and owned by Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway. PacifiCorp has two operating subsidiaries, Pacific Power, located in Portland, serving Oregon, northern California, and southeastern Washington, and Rocky Mountain Power, located in Salt Lake City. Rocky… More Western states consider forming electric utility, ousting PacifiCorp

How the Trump EPA’s discarded ‘gold bars’ turned to fool’s gold

By Kennedy Maize The Trump administration’s shoot from the hip approach to governance has suffered more foot wounds at the hands of the U.S. courts. A federal district court judge in Washington last week (Apr. 15) reversed EPA’s order to freeze $27 billion in funds allocated last year under the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act to… More How the Trump EPA’s discarded ‘gold bars’ turned to fool’s gold

Does Trump’s “zero based regulatory budgeting” make any sense?

By Kennedy Maize A Britishism – “gobsmacked” – characterizes much of the reaction to President Trump’s April 9 executive order that attempts to impose supermarket pull-dates on energy regulations. It is titled the “Zero-Based Regulatory Budgeting to Unleash American Energy” order. “Unlawful and destructive,” says Clint Vince, the esteemed head of the energy practice at the… More Does Trump’s “zero based regulatory budgeting” make any sense?

Trump’s Greenland: Micro nukes, high-speed rail, and anarcho-capitalism?

By Kennedy Maize President Trump’s strange lust to acquire Greenland, the world’s largest island, sparsely populated and part of Denmark, is largely unaccompanied by any notion of just what America might do with this frozen land. According to Reuters, billionaire tech mogul and PayPal founder Peter Thiel and some of his tech cronies have a… More Trump’s Greenland: Micro nukes, high-speed rail, and anarcho-capitalism?

Trump on coal: Dig, baby, dig; burn, baby, burn; die, miners, die

By Kennedy Maize President Trump last week issued four of his many, often meaningless, executive orders, these aimed at rejuvenating the declining U.S. coal industry. He said his goal is “reinvigorating America’s beautiful, clean coal industry.” Taken together, it seems that Trump drew his policy initiatives entirely from his Office of Management and Budget and… More Trump on coal: Dig, baby, dig; burn, baby, burn; die, miners, die

Guest Commentary: DOE data center plans, DOGE firings don’t mix

By Dan Yurman The Department of Energy (DOE) last week (Apr. 3) announced a plan to boost U.S. artificial intelligence efforts and lower energy costs by co-locating data centers and new energy infrastructure at up to 16 DOE sites. There are multiple problems with DOE’s plan. The first is that complex and lengthy federal site… More Guest Commentary: DOE data center plans, DOGE firings don’t mix

Drill, sergeant, drill: Pentagon promotes geothermal for military bases

By Kennedy Maize The Department of Defense, working through the U.S. Air Force, on Feb. 28 selected 11 companies that are eligible for contracts with military to pursue geothermal technologies for electric generation at military bases. In a solicitation issued last September, the Air Force said it is “seeking novel approaches to generate electricity at… More Drill, sergeant, drill: Pentagon promotes geothermal for military bases

O&G execs blow raspberries at Trump’s ‘drill, baby, drill’ meme

By Kennedy Maize “‘Drill, baby, drill’ is nothing short of a myth and populist rallying cry. Tariff policy is impossible for us to predict and doesn’t have a clear goal. We want more stability.” That comment comes from a purposely unnamed oil and gas executive commenting on the state of the industry come in the… More O&G execs blow raspberries at Trump’s ‘drill, baby, drill’ meme