Current global climate policy efforts “cannot fly,” says Roger Pielke Jr., an environmental studies professor at the University of Colorado, Boulder (and also an expert on sports governance). In the Spring issue of the journal Issues in Science and Technology, Pielke writes, “What the world’s leaders have been able to agree on will not prevent … More Pielke: Current global climate policies ‘cannot fly’

Gridlocked. Dysfunctional. Polarized. U.S. Congress? No, South Carolina as it tries to deal with the collapse of the V.C. Summer nuclear construction project. The South Carolina government’s attempt to figure out how to recover from the multi-billion-dollar collapse of SCANA’s Corp.’s V.C. Summer two-unit new nuclear plant is a mess. In the latest development – … More S.C.’s V.C. Summer efforts stalled

In a surprise move, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission member Robert Powelson announced on Thursday that he would leave his FERC seat in mid-August to take a job as CEO of the National Association of Water Companies. A long-time state and federal regulator, Powelson has had a major role in regulation of water. In a terse … More FERC’s Powelson steps down

A conservative energy analysis group charges that the Trump administration’s draft plan to aid economically uncompetitive nuclear and coal generating plants, pitched at strengthening grid resilience, will do the opposite. The Houston-based Institute for Energy Research says, “The administration’s proposal would undermine the profit and loss system by socializing the losses of these power plants, … More Conservative energy group slams Trump ‘resiliency’ plan

To understand the Trump administration’s latest plan to sell off federal electric transmission systems, it’s worth consulting that great American philosopher Lawrence “Yogi” Berra: “It’s déjà vu all over again.” The administration’s government reorganization plan, unveiled last week, contains a proposal to sell off the transmission assets of the Tennessee Valley Authority, the Southwestern Power … More Trump Plan to privatize federal electric transmission surfaces again

Don’t count coal out globally. While battered in the U.S. market, coal is holding its own around the rest of the world, according to BP’s annual “Statistical Review of World Energy,” one of the best annual assessments of the state of energy around the globe. “Coal consumption increased by 25 million tonnes of oil equivalent … More Worldwide coal not down and out

The same day that Moody’s Investors Service lowered its outlook for utilities, based on rising debt, investment banker Morgan Stanley says it’s a good time to load up on some utility stocks. Morgan Stanley analyst Michael Wilson has upgraded the utility sector to “outperform” the broader stock market. Low-risk stocks, such as those for utilities, … More Morgan Stanley likes utility stocks as a defensive play

Moody’s Investors Service has lowered its outlook for U.S. regulated utilities from stable to negative. The credit rating service said Monday, “This marks the first time the regulated utilities sector has carried a negative outlook since Moody’s began conducting sector outlooks.” The source of the revised outlook is the Trump administration-Republican federal tax reform, which … More Moody’s lowers utility credit outlook to negative

The Trump administration’s nascent, second-generation plan to bail out uncompetitive coal and nuclear plants, bypassing the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, got a decided thumbs down from the Republican-dominated FERC and several Republican Senators on Tuesday. Greentech Media commented, “Outside of politicians from coal states, the DOE’s plan doesn’t have many supporters in Washington.” The Senate … More Trump’s coal-nuke bailout lacks GOP support

Four years ago, I wrote in POWER magazine, “Geoengineering: A practical climate work-around or just plan crazy?” At the time, and still today, the mainstream approach to global warming was political and administrative, under the idea that the world could come together and mount a planet-wide plan to cooperatively reduce carbon dioxide emissions. Based on … More Climate change geoengineering gets a boost