This post originally appeared in November on Substack and is reprinted for archival purposes After more than a decade of regulatory huffing and puffing, the federal government has ordered a large coal-fired power plant to dispose of its coal ash in a lined pit or shut down. Last Friday (Nov. 18), the U.S. Environmental … More EPA Revives Coal Ash Disposal Regulation

Tough What’s tough? Life                                                What’s Life? A magazine How much does it cost? It costs twenty cents I only have a nickel Tough… That once familiar little bit of comic doggerel, referring … More Carbon: How Much Does It Cost?

In a canyon, in a cavern, Prospecting for a find, A rock hunter, a real punter, Lithium is on his mind. Lithium (chemical symbol LI): Third element on the Periodic Table of the Elements, after Hydrogen (1) and Helium (2), and the first solid element, as well as the first of the alkali family of … More The Great Lithium Rush of 2023

Holtec International has struck out in its pitch to the Department of Energy’s Civil Nuclear Credit Program for funds to revitalize the shuttered Pilgrim nuclear plant in Michigan while Pacific Gas and Electric has made it to first base on plans to extend the life of the operation Diablo Canyon two-unit nuke. The Biden administration’s … More DOE Nukes: Diablo Canyon Yes, Palisades No

A federal judge has rejected the Biden administration’s plan for resuming sale of leases to mine coal on federal land in the vast Powder River Basin (PRB) in Wyoming and Montana, the largest coal reserve in the nation and among those in the rest of the world. The PRB’s subbituminous coal accounts for 85% of … More PRB coal leasing: déjà vu all over again?

Some interesting recent nuclear news items worth reporting, at a time of the year when vacations dominate business and news is slow. Vogtle: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission on Wednesday (Aug. 3) gave thumbs up for Georgia Power to begin startup operations at its Vogtle 3 nuclear unit, signing off on the second phase of … More Nuclear Roundup: Vogtle 3, Hinkley B, Germany, EDF, Crocs

Nary a day goes by without an internet news story about a fusion energy “breakthrough,” often breathlessly claiming that the event significantly shortens the already glacial advance of energy that is “clean,” “endless,” and, we’ve heard this before, “too cheap to meter.” Some of the reporting is legitimate, some is hyperbolic. Some recent examples: ‘‘Holy … More Fusion confusion: limitless energy or dead end?

By Henry Sokolski     Iran’s nuclear program, oil, and human rights dominated Biden’s much-anticipated first presidential trip to the Middle East earlier this month. But there is one topic President Biden chose not to showcase during his visit with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman Al Saud—the Kingdom’s most recent interest in nuclear energy—and … More Commentary: arresting Chinese nuclear adventurism

While many economists argue that taxing carbon dioxide is the most efficient and effective way to reduce U.S. greenhouse gas emissions, new work by noted energy and environment economist Severin Borenstein, head of the Haas Energy Institute at the University of California Berkeley, will fuel skepticism about the conventional economic wisdom. Borenstein has long been … More Economists debunk carbon taxes

For many energy analysts who focus on reducing carbon dioxide emissions, hydrogen as a fuel is intriguing. Plentiful (the most plentiful element in the universe), odorless, colorless, tasteless, and very combustible. But H2 does not live alone. It is bound up with other elements, including with another plentiful element, oxygen, to form water, H2O. Hydrogen … More Bursting the hydrogen bubble?