Some existing U.S. coal and nuclear plants have failed in competitive wholesale markets for several years, mostly for sound commercial reasons. The driving factor has been the astonishing rise of low-cost natural gas, thanks to new technologies. Horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing have turned the tables on electric generation. State and federal subsidies for wind … More No-fault capitalism: Trump, coal, and nukes
Political heat appears to be increasing under an electric policy issue that has been simmering for several years. The issue is changes to the 1978 Public Utilities Regulatory Policies Act (PURPA). Those who want significant changes to the venerable law describe it as “reform.” Opponents more often call it “gutting” the law. PURPA is arguably … More PURPA: Reform or wreck?
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission today formally began a process announced at the end of December during the first meeting chaired by Kevin McIntyre, issuing a notice of inquiry to review the agency’s 1999 policy statement (“Certification of New Interstate Natural Gas Pipeline Facilities – Statement on Policy”) on how it will certify new natural … More FERC embarks on formal review of gas pipeline approval process
Political and economic aftershocks continue from the nuclear expansion woes in South Carolina and Georgia. In the Palmetto State, the 45% minority owner of the abandoned $9 billion, two-unit V.C. Summer nuclear plant, state-owned Santee Cooper, last week filed a motion with the South Carolina Public Service Commission seeking to intervene in the consideration of … More More political and economic fallout from S.C, Ga., nuclear projects
James Robb, picked in March to head the North American Electric Reliability Corp., took office as the CEO of the Atlanta-based reliability overseer of the continental electric grid, on Monday (April 9). He comes to NERC after a sex and domestic violence scandal involving his predecessor, Gerry Cauley, led to a major NERC executive suite … More New NERC leader Robb takes the helm
It seems so easy: Bundle distributed energy – rooftop and community solar photovoltaic arrays, storage, small hydro, landfill gas, and energy efficiency – and sell it as generation in competitive wholesale markets. It’s not so easy after all, as this week’s two-day technical conference at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission established beyond a doubt. The … More Aggregating DERs in wholesale markets is a heavy lift
The giant PJM Interconnection today, after intense and contentious internal discussions, filed a “you pick ‘em” proposal at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to deal with state-mandated programs to subsidize uncompetitive nuclear, coal and renewable capacity. The 477-page PJM filing offers two different proposals to FERC, suggesting that the feds adopt the one that pleases … More PJM to FERC on the RTO’s subsidy pricing plans, pick one
Rex J. Fleming, in the March 27 issue of the journal Environmental Earth Sciences, writes, ”The results of this review point to the extreme value of CO2 to all life forms, but no role of CO2 in any significant change of the Earth’s climate.” This is a direct challenge to the current scientific orthodoxy that … More Former NOAA scientist challenges climate orthodoxy
Have the North American Electric Reliability Corp.’s physical security standards made the U.S. grid more secure? A recent analysis by the Congressional Research Service says the record is incomplete, “a work in progress.” The March 18 report – “NERC Standards for Bulk Power Physical Security: Is the Grid More Secure? – finds that “although it … More U.S. grid physical security a work in progress?
FirstEnergy Corp.’s troubled competitive generating companies late Saturday, March 31, filed for federal Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in the Northern District of Ohio, in the company’s home city of Akron. The move is the latest in what appears to be the end game in the company’s attempt to rid itself … More FirstEnergy seeks Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection