By Kennedy Maize Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Chairman Mark Christie last week downplayed the significance of President Trump’s new executive order on independent administrative agencies. In a session with reporters following FERC’s February open meeting — his first as FERC chairman — Christie said the order, which he has read twice, is largely business as … More FERC’s Christie reacts to Trump’s independent agency E.O.

By Kennedy Maize Presidential executive orders are not law. They do not override existing law. Yet that is the claim that President Trump and, more specifically Russell Vought, his Office of Management and Budget director, make in a Feb. 18 executive order, “Ensuring Accountability for All Agencies.” The order claims that “previous administrations have allowed … More Commentary: Trump’s independent agency power grab

By Kennedy Maize In his first day in office, Jan. 20, among other actions President Trump issued an 11-page executive order that repealed over 70 Biden administration executive orders and presidential memoranda. Many related to Trump hot-button issues such as DEI, Covid restrictions, gender identity, and climate change. Among them was one designed to aid … More Trump’s O&G conundrum: “Drill, baby, drill,” but not off our shores

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has approved a controversial plan to fast-track PJM grid connections for up to 50 new dispatchable gas-fired generators. PJM. the nation’s largest regional transmission organization, says it faces potential shortages as a result of new electricity demand as soon as next year. The order (ER25-712) allows the selected projects to … More FERC approves line-jumping PJM connections

By Kennedy Maize Donald Trump highlighted energy in the 2024 campaign and in the early days of his disruptive, chaotic administration. Many in the nuclear power business hope Trump will mean good news for their interests. They are probably wrong, although it’s unwise to rule out anything given Trump’s Brownian attention span. The available evidence … More Will Donald Trump produce gains for nuclear power interests?

By Kennedy Maize The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals has killed a Trump and Biden administration rule that allowed transportation of liquefied natural gas by rail. The case against the rule was led by the Sierra Club with several other national environmental groups signed on, along with 14 state governments and the Puyallup tribal government … More D.C. Appeals Court kills Trump-Biden “rail, baby, rail’ LNG rule

By Kennedy Maize Solar, solar everywhere  From the sun did drink; Solar, solar somewhere  The sun did not sink. Once upon a time, not that long ago, advocates of using sunlight to make electricity were in two camps. One group advocated using the energy from the sun to make heat, boil water, and use the … More Here’s the way the sun shines: older solar down, new solar up, overall growth

By Kennedy Maize The U.S. nuclear industry is pushing back against a possible independent National Academies scientific study of the weapons potential of new fuels for many advanced civilian reactor designs. On Jan. 2, the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) announced that it is evaluating High Assay Low Enriched Uranium (HALEU) powerplant fuels – fuels … More Nuclear industry, academics duel over HALEU and weapons

Is monopoly power coming to the independent, non-utility generating sector of the electricity business? A recent analysis from the University of California, Berkeley’s Energy Institute at Haas says the recent mega-merger of Constellation Energy and CalpineCorp. gives the combined company the ability to assert market power in several major electricity markets. On Jan. 10, Baltimore-based … More Does Constellation + Calpine = monopoly power?

Are small modular nuclear reactors so inherently safe they don’t require U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission review before they are built? That’s the claim Texas, Utah, and D.C.-based Last Energy, Inc. made in federal court late last year (Dec. 30). The two states and the developer of a 20-MW(e) reactor design asked the U.S. District Court … More Texas, Utah, and SMR developer attack NRC small reactor licensing