As electric demand grows and generating resources become smaller and more diversified, the current model of the electric grid needs fundamental change, according to a new report from the Silicon Valley venture capital firm of Andreesen Horowitz. Instead of the conventional approach of a bigger, heftier, more interconnected grid, a radically different, decentralized and localized,… More Is smaller better for a modern electric grid?

In a decision that has sparked controversy, the California Public Utilities Commission last week (May 30) adopted scaled-back regulations on community solar projects. The order followed complaints by the state’s three large investor-owned electric utilities that more ambitious programs would shift costs to their customers who don’t have access to the community solar projects. Community… More CPUC rejects enlarged community solar plan

A severe tornado this month in Iowa, not uncommon, had an unfamiliar outcome. As described in a photo in the New York Times, “In the trail of a tornado, a wind turbine is bent in half like a cheap straw, its hub engulfed in flames and thick black smoke, its blades on the ground.” In… More Exploring the differences between wind and solar

The Biden administration is hoping to pull off a historic diplomatic feat, resolving multiple, ancient fractures in the Middle East in one stroke. The knife to cut through this regional Gordian knot, in the administration’s view, is Saudi Arabia. It’s an unlikely and potentially dangerous endeavor that could jeopardize the 56-year-old Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, celebrating… More Commentary: The risks of an Israeli, U.S., Saudi diplomatic trifecta

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has rejected a plan by the Alabama government for a state plan to manage coal wastes, the latest in a long-running battle over how to dispose of the toxic residue of decades of generating electricity with coal. EPA said the plan state environmental officials submitted was inadequate in multiple ways… More EPA dumps Alabama coal ash disposal plan

The U.S. Department of Energy this week  issued rules to implement the Biden administration’s new pseudo-ban on Russian enriched uranium nuclear fuel. DOE outlines how users can take advantage of the four-year delay built into the legislation that Congress passed earlier this month. The ban itself extends to 2040. Biden signed the bipartisan legislation May… More DOE lays out Russian LEU ban waiver process

How significant and radical is the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s latest, newest attempt to foster long-failing interstate electric transmission? A recent analysis from Keith Goldberg of the Washinton law firm of Morgan, Lewis & Bockius takes a deep look at the impact of FERC’s May Order 1920, including its roots, its reach, and its future.… More Scoping the meaning of FERC’s Order 1920

It was a low key announcement from the Interior Department’s Bureau of Land Management last week (May 16). Implementing a recent federal court ruling from Montana, BLM proposed to end new leases for existing mines in the Powder River Basin (PRB) in Wyoming and Montana. The reaction from coal states and coal industry interests was… More Commentary: Coal interests cry crocodile tears

Predictably, a 25-state group and the nation’s rural electric cooperatives have sued the Biden administration’s Environmental Protection Agency over proposed new rules designed to reduce coal-fired power plants’ greenhouse gas emissions. The EPA rules rely on carbon capture and sequestration to achieve its aims, despite questions about the maturity of the technology. Attorneys general Drew… More States, co-ops sue EPA over coal plant CO2 plan

A sharply divided Federal Energy Regulatory Commission adopted a sweeping electric transmission reform Monday (May 13), featuring a blistering dissent from Commissioner Mark Christie, the only Republican member, and a pointed defense of the order from Commissioner Allison Clement. The commission adopted a new approach to regional electric transmission planning and construction in the face… More Fractured FERC adopts landmark transmission order