The States' Modest Request of the EPA

Ken Silverstein's picture
Submitted by Ken Silverstein on Mon, 2015-08-17 15:30
Sixteen states, a full third of the 48 states effected, have asked the EPA to voluntarily stay implementation of the final Clean Power Plan regulations until the constitutional litigation over the rule is resolved.

While the final Clean Power Plan was meant to clarify the new regulations of the electrical grid, it has several things that can be quibbled with besides the 1,500-plus pages. Ultimately, the thorniest issue is the question of the constitutional right of the EPA, or for that matter any federal agency, to impose federal mandates on the electrical grid where none existed before.

Jobs, Jobs and Energy Jobs

Ken Silverstein's picture
Submitted by Ken Silverstein on Mon, 2015-08-10 14:50
With some 2 million jobs, and with their well-above-average compensation, benefits and job quality, electricity employment is an important slice of the nation’s workforce.

Job creation is paramount. Job creation in the energy sector is even more instrumental, for those who ply their trade there as we do. How often have we heard, for instance, that the solar industry - its residential rooftop segment especially - is creating jobs at remarkable rates of year-over-year growth? Much was made recently that solar has left the coal industry in the dust (pun intended) in terms of employment.

Time for 'Megawatts Without Borders'

Why can’t we fly in a portable power supply to aid a poor country in distress? Here may lie opportunity.

Zambia, the landlocked and poor country in Southern Africa, is suffering a crippling power shortage. Musing about this, I find it extraordinary that there are no reliable, affordable, and portable power supply units that could be brought in to help Zambia.
Byline: 

Llewellyn King

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The CO2 Opportunity

Converting emissions from coal-fired plants to gasoline, diesel, or jet fuel.

An economical commercial process is needed to provide an incentive for the utility industries to engender win-win support for governmental regulations on carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. The current approach is carbon capture and sequestration. Recently, however, an alternative has emerged: a proprietary process that converts CO2 into syngas (CO & H2). Thereafter, the syngas can be converted to fuels such as gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, methanol, and/or ethanol with the use of established mature technologies.
Byline: 

Gary C. Young, Ph.D., P.E.

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Open-Access Chronicles: The Backstory Behind Electric Restructuring

Part 3: When Competition Turns to War

By September 1997, Philadelphia Electric Co. had outflanked key opponents and filed a proposed partial settlement with the Penn. PUC to allow the company to recover costs that might become stranded under a new law (enacted a year before) that had brought a measure of competition to the state’s electric utility industry. Then Enron went to work.
Byline: 

William Pentland

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Regional Economic Benefits

Why are they ignored in transmission planning?

Why is there is there so much controversy about investments in transmission and distribution? We suggest it’s because the benefits are poorly understood – or even ignored.
Byline: 

Sam Flaim and Loren Toole

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Preparing for NERC CIP Version 5

A look at Its new guidelines for secure remote access

Several utility regulatory bodies have initiatives tailored to help secure remote access to the electric power grid from cybercrime. The most notable of these efforts comes from the North American Energy Reliability Corporation (NERC), with the realization of Version 5 of its Critical Infrastructure Protection (CIP) standard, which goes into effect on April 1, 2016.
Byline: 

Lila Kee

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Distributed Generation

Disruptive Technology or Regulatory Challenge?

Distributed generation marks a set of emerging technologies requiring creativity from utilities and regulators in introducing laws, policies, and economic incentives – to ensure that revenue streams are captured and that cost recovery reflects market reality.
Byline: 

Rob Neumann and Ralph Zarumba

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