20Nov

Keep Coal, Nukes Online

Via The Times-Tribune: Earlier this year, Energy Secretary Rick Perry commissioned a study to assess the health of America’s power grid. His subsequent report noted a decline in America’s “base-load” power, and urged steps to improve the reliability of the nation’s electric grid. The administration advocates an “all of the above” mix for the power […]
17Nov

Nuclear and Coal are Essential for Reliable Energy

Via The Hill: When a big storm is coming, people run out to the grocery store to stock up on essentials, in case they can’t get back to the store for a few days. Critical industries typically build the same thing into their planning, because they need to be able to keep operating if there’s […]
16Nov

Register Now for Clean Power Plan Hearing

Via The Williamson Daily News: Register now for Clean Power Plan hearing Nov. 16 is the deadline to register to comment at the only public hearing scheduled on the Trump Administration’s proposed rollback of the Clean Power Plan. The hearing is set for Nov. 27-28 at the West Virginia Capitol in Charleston. EPA head Scot […]
15Nov

Chatterjee Strategy

November 15, 2017 What response to Energy Secretary Perry’s proposal can we expect from FERC by its Dec. 11 deadline? FERC Chairman Neil Chatterjee provided a clue if not an answer: he proposed throwing a temporary “lifeline” to some coal plants in danger of retirement until the commission completes a robust assessment of grid reliability […]
14Nov

Have a Voice – Input Needed on Clean Power Plan Repeal

Via The Bluefield Daily Telegraph: Washington’s war on coal may be over, but it is still imperative for residents of the Mountain State to support the ongoing efforts of the Trump administration to repeal the harmful Obama-era Clean Power Plan. One way area residents can do this is by attending a public hearing planned for later this month […]
10Nov

Big Wind and Tax Reform

Via The Wall Street Journal: Conservatives make fun of indulgent liberal parents whose offspring remain dependents well into their 20s. But Republicans rewriting the tax code in Washington are coddling a millennial of their own: the wind lobby. In the 1980s wind power was dubbed an “infant industry” that needed federal help to grow. More […]
10Nov

Blackouts from Phoenix to Los Angeles if Coal Plant Shuts Down, Study from Coal Company Says

Via The Washington Examiner: A study being released Thursday will warn of brownouts and blackouts if the largest coal plant in the West is shut down in favor of natural gas-fired electricity. The study by consultants Quanta Technology and funded by coal giant Peabody was submitted to Arizona’s state utility commission. It supports keeping the Navajo Generating […]
08Nov

Pennsylvania’s Electric Grid Relies on Sturdy Baseload Power

Via The Bradford Era: America’s energy sector has reached an interesting crossroads. After eight years of the Obama administration working to dismantle the nation’s coal fleet, the Trump administration has swept into office and upended the apple cart. Earlier this year, Energy Secretary Rick Perry commissioned a study to assess the health of America’s power […]
08Nov

NOPR and the Tax Bill

Nov. 8, 2017 Last week the renewable industry was busily excoriating Energy Secretary Perry’s NOPR for offering “subsidies” to coal when suddenly it had to defend subsidies – its own. Renewable advocates were stirred to indignation after House tax writers proposed cuts to wind and solar largess that totaled $7.2 billion last year alone. Measures […]
07Nov

EPA Right to Plan for Hearing in WV

Via The Charleston Gazette-Mail: You may remember that when the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency was holding hearings on its Clean Power Plan, the agency was at pains to avoid giving people in coal states opportunities to comment. The 2015 hearings were held in Atlanta, Denver, Pittsburgh and Washington, D.C. Now, the EPA is planning to rescind […]