PENNSYLVANIA The largest of the iconic big-iron coal-fired power plants in the iconic coal state of Pennsylvania will shut down by June 2. According to the Pa. Environment Digest Blog, NRG, operator of the Homer City generating plant, told the PJM Interconnection regional transmission organization March 31 it would shutter the three-unit, 1,915-MW plant 50… More Coal: Ups and Downs for the Former King
The U.S. House last week (Mar. 30), in a barely bipartisan vote, approved a Republican Party goal: major energy and environmental legislation. Its title is “House Resolution 1: Lower Energy Costs Act.” The H.R. 1 denomination indicates its priority on the part of the House Republican leadership. The bill passed by 225-204 (221 Republicans and… More H.R. 1: Good, Bad, Irrelevant?
By Henry Sokolski Henry Sokolski is executive director of the Nonproliferation Policy Education Center, a Washington area group advancing “a better understanding of strategic weapons proliferation issues. NPEC educates policymakers, journalists, and university professors about proliferation threats and possible new policies and measures to meet them.” On Tuesday (Mar. 28) The Wall Street Journal’s, “Too… More Guest Commentary: Over-classification: How Bad Is It, What’s the Fix?
The White House plans to issue an ultimatum to Mexico in coming days, designed to force Mexican president Andres Manuel Lόpez Obrador (AMLO) to abandon his plans to return to energy protectionist policies that characterized Mexican oil and power for most of the 20th Century. In an exclusive report, Reuters reported Monday (Mar. 27), “The… More Energy Issues Arise Between U.S., Mexico
“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it” – philosopher, poet, and novelist George Santayana (1863-1952). Looking back at the slow-motion collapse of the U.S. nuclear power industry, which began with cockeyed optimism and ended in finger-pointing recriminations, should offer lessons as global warming provides a compelling rationale for a rebirth. Are… More Commentary: Is Nuclear’s Past Becoming Its Present?
Gas-fired combustion turbines used as peaking units in electric generation, filling in gaps when demand exceeds supply, are here to stay, at least for a while, according to a new report in the peer-reviewed journal Environmental Science and Technology. Claims that lithium-ion battery storage will replace the gas-fired “pollution cannons,” prolific producers of NOX, particulates,… More Gas Peakers Out, Li-ion Batteries In? Not Yet
Do the problems of offshore wind power development blow away the advantages? The case against offshore wind is gaining prominence. Speaking at CERA Week in Houston earlier this month, NextEra Energy CEO John Ketchum blasted offshore wind as a bad choice for renewable power. Ketchum’s views are particularly cogent, as Florida-based NextEra is the world’s… More Offshore Wind: On Again, Off Again?
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission has new doubts about the NuScale Power’s SMR design. The NRC last Friday (Mar. 17) announced that it will begin examining problems it has identified with the design of the NuScale 77-MW small modular reactor. Earlier, the NRC gave “preliminary” approval to the pressurized water reactor, leading up to the… More Big Stories on Small Reactors
“The markets are not alright,” Federal Energy Regulatory Commissioner Mark Christie told the commission’s March meeting today (March. 16), following the FERC staff’s presentation of its 2022 market update. “Specifically, the capacity markets are not alright.” The veteran state regulator, who served nearly 17 years on Virginia’s State Corporation Commission, said that the multi-state regional… More FERC’s Christie: Capacity Markets Are Failing
A bipartisan push has emerged in the Senate supporting carbon capture and use, to supplement existing authority for CO2 capture and sequestration. Sens. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) and Bill Cassidy (R-La.) on Feb. 28 unveiled the Captured Carbon Utilization Parity Act (CCU Parity Act). An analysis by the BakerHostetler national law firm said the legislation “would… More What To Do with Captured Carbon?