The news media has been saturated with stories about Bitcoin, mostly by folks who simply don’t get it. Bitcoin is confounding conventional ideas of currency and value. In the meantime, Bitcoin continues to make financial speculators, large and small, massive profits, while generating enormous media hype and false analogies to the tulip bubble of 1637. … More Forget Bitcoin, the real story is blockchain
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Jan. 8 gave a thumbs down to the proposal by the Trump administration and Energy Secretary Rick Perry for special treatment of nuclear and coal generation in federally-regulated wholesale electric markets. FERC terminated the rulemaking initiated by Perry (RM18-1-000) Sept. 29 on grid resilience and reliability. In its 31-page order … More FERC says ‘nope’ to Perry NOPR
Anxiously awaiting the Tesla Model 3 electric vehicle for which you plunked down $1000 19 months ago to get in the queue for delivery of the more “affordable” of the company’s trendy vehicles? Don’t hold your breath. Nor should the 600,000 others who bought the Tesla promises for what appears to be a phantom vehicle. … More More tears for Tesla
As a polar vortex (shades of 2014) grips much of the U.S., challenging the U.S. electricity system, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission is scheduled Jan. 10 to reveal its views on the notice of proposed rulemaking it published last year at the behest of Energy Secretary Rick Perry. The proposal would essentially kill existing wholesale … More The polar vortex and the Perry NOPR
The coming year should be mixed for the global oil and gas industry, according to S&P Global Platts “2018 Energy Outlook.” Inventories declined during 2017, says the analysis, almost eliminating the global surplus. 2018 should see U.S. shale production lead global supply to grow faster than demand, but stocks will continue to decline. That could … More Backwardation into 2018
With a full complement of five commissioners for the first time in months, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Dec. 21 got off to fast start, including agreeing to review its controversial process for granting approval of natural gas pipelines. The commission also issued a proposed rule to heighten reporting of cybersecurity issues through the North … More Revitalized FERC off to a fast start
The Republican tax plan about to pass Congress and get President Trump’s signature is proof positive that the United States does not have a national “energy policy.” And that’s a good thing. During the Obama administration, national energy policy was “all of the above.” That’s my idea of a good national energy policy: a meaningless … More Who needs a national energy policy? Not the U.S.
When U.S. Environmental Protection Agency head Scott Pruitt spent four days in early December in Morocco touting imports of U.S. LNG, it had Washington energy mavens scratching their heads. What the heck does EPA have to do with exports of U.S. natural gas? Energy Secretary, Commerce Secretary, Secretary of State, all would make sense if … More Does EPA’s Pruitt have political plans?
Three studies released in recent days – the North American Electric Reliability Corp.’s “2017 Long-Term Reliability Assessment,” the Energy Information Administration’s “Short-Term Energy Outlook,” and natural gas guru Andy Weissman’s “Natural Gas Market Update,” – provide no holiday cheer for the U.S. nuclear and steam coal industries. All three reports see continued slow growth or … More No holiday cheer for coal and nukes
The Trump administration illegally withheld $91 million in fiscal year 2017 research funding at the Department of Energy’s Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E), violating the 1974 Impoundment Control Act, according to a Government Accountability Office report yesterday. GAO said that under the law, “Agencies may only withhold budget authority from obligation if the President has … More GAO: Trump impounded $91M in DOE funds illegally