A federal appeals court has struck down a moratorium on new leases for mining coal on federal land that goes back to the final days of the Obama administration. The decision is unlikely to have much impact in light of the diminishing role of coal in the U.S. economy. In an unpublished decision, a three-judge… More Court ends federal coal leasing moratorium—ho,hum
By Henry Sokolski As Washington grapples with declassifying what it knows about nuclear weapons that Russia may deploy in space, there is another significant nuclear deployment that the Executive refuses to discuss at all — Israel’s possession of nuclear weapons. Washington has sat on this “worst kept secret” now for nearly six decades using a… More Guest commentary: Israel has nukes, it’s time to admit it
As the U.S. Supreme Court Wednesday (Feb. 21) held oral arguments on the legality of the Environmental Protection Agency’s “good neighbor” policy to limit upwind states from polluting downwind states, two legal constructs dominated the discussion: “severability” and the court’s “emergency docket.” The case is “Ohio et al v. EPA” brought by several states and… More Supreme Court examines cross-state air pollution
After years of foot dragging, Alabama Power is taking a small step to deal with the potentially dangerous coal ash pond at one of its power plants. It’s a slow, incremental step. The Alabama Power ash ponds remain in a protracted dispute among the utility, state regulators, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The Birmingham-based,… More Alabama Power makes coal ash pond movement
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission yesterday (Feb. 15) denied preliminary permits for development of pumped hydro on Navajo tribal land, announcing a policy that projects on sovereign tribal lands must have tribal support. The rejection of preliminary permits came for energy storage projects, some of which would consist of multiple components, all on Navajo land… More FERC, citing Navajo Nation sovereignty, dumps pumped storage permits
Ohio-based electric utility holding company FirstEnergy last Friday (Feb. 9) announced a retreat from its 2030 greenhouse gas reduction goal and a reprieve for two large West Virginia coal-fired power plants. The same day, a state court in the company’s headquarters city of Akron indicted and arraigned two former top FirstEnergy executives and the former… More FirstEnergy: Retreat on coal, more criminal fallout
The PJM Interconnection will hold its newly-configured capacity auction for the 2025-2026 year starting June 12 and closing June 18, aiming to avoid the near-catastrophe in 2022’s holiday season Winter Storm Elliott. The revised auction responds to two Federal Energy Commission orders to the nation’s largest regional transmission organization designed to reform a capacity market… More PJM to roll out reformed capacity market auction in June
Wyoming’s dominant Republican Party is in turmoil over the fraught topic of climate change, an important issue in the nation’s largest coal producer and location for the largest uranium reserves and second largest uranium production. The issue pits the state’s governor, Mark Gordon, who is pushing a policy position that the Cowboy State should work… More Climate politics roils Wyoming GOP
Hydrogen, the “Holy Grail” of energy for some who follow energy policy and politics, is a futile endeavor, and the Biden administration’s “green” hydrogen push is “a multi-billion dollar boondoggle,” according to a new analysis from the conservative Manhattan Institute. Hydrogen, writes economist Jonathan Lesser, “green or otherwise, is not a useful energy resource because… More Manhattan Institute on the hydrogen “boondoggle”
Holtec dodges N.J. criminal charges New Jersey-based Holtec International last Tuesday (Jan. 30) agreed to pay its home state a $5 million fine in order to avoid criminal prosecution for falsifying documents related to a 2018 state-awarded tax break program. The development in New Jersey could scuttle widespread rumors, most likely spread by Holtec, that… More Nuclear Gatherings: Palisades, Vogtle 4, Hinkley Point, France