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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 […]

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 […]

EPA Plans Coal-country Hearing on Obama Climate Rule Repeal

Via The Hill:   The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will hold a public hearing this month in West Virginia on its plan to repeal the Obama administration’s climate change rule for power plants. The hearing will be in Charleston and stretch over two days, Nov. 28 and 29. By comparison, the Obama administration held four […]

Pennsylvania’s Electric Grid Relies on Sturdy Baseload Power

Via The Meadville Tribune: 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 […]

EPA to Hold Public Hearing in Charleston on Clean Power Plan

Via The Bluefield Daily Telegraph: CHARLESTON — State residents will have a chance to tell federal regulators their views on an emissions restriction plan that the Trump Administration is trying to repeal because of its impact on the coal industry. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) announced Thursday that the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) will hold a public […]

A Majority of Americans Support Safeguarding Base Load Energy

Via World Coal: As the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) this week closed its comment period on a proposal from the Department of Energy (DOE) that FERC take swift action to address threats to baseload power provided by coal and nuclear, the majority of Americans showed support for the proposal. According to Morning Consult for […]

U.S. Becoming Too Dependent on Natural Gas for Energy

Via the Las Cruces Sun-News: There is no overstating the extent to which the United States is quickly becoming over-dependent on one fuel for production of electricity – natural gas. This growing reliance exposes consumers of natural gas and electricity to the risk of sudden spikes in prices – and a loss of reliability. Parts […]

US Electric Grid is Too Vulnerable to Not Have a Backup Plan

Via The Hill: If there is one undisputed role for the federal government, it is to protect its people as best it can. From national defense to public health, governments of every party can agree on this much. Today, a debate is simmering over a new but little-known threat — the weakened reliability of the […]

North Carolina Could Benefit from Changes to Electric Grid

Via The Herald-Sun: 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 upended the apple cart. Earlier this year, Energy Secretary Rick Perry commissioned a study that noted a sizable decline in America’s “baseload” power, and urged steps […]

A Ghostly Story

October 31, 2017 Here’s a scary thought for Halloween. Imagine you’re a well-paid Washington reporter covering, say, the environment and energy beat. You’ve reported on the colossal loss of coal jobs in Appalachia – more than 60,000 since 2010 [MISI consultants, Oct. 26] – and you wrote sympathetically about federal job training programs promised for […]