Article Archive

Critiquing Clean Power

Submitted by meacott on Thu, 2015-04-23 11:11
Carbon dioxide is filling up courtrooms and boardrooms – even as the Environmental Protection Agency seeks to cut its release into the atmosphere. The debate centers on the EPA’s Clean Power Plan, set to be finalized this summer.

Carbon dioxide is filling up courtrooms and boardrooms - even as the Environmental Protection Agency seeks to cut its release into the atmosphere. The debate centers on the EPA's Clean Power Plan, set to be finalized this summer.

Electrifying Microgrids

Submitted by meacott on Wed, 2015-04-15 22:19
When the nation’s capitol recently went dark – right in the middle of Cherry Blossom season – the lights went on in the halls of energy firms. It’s about changing the face of the American grid – to reduce society’s dependence on its interconnectivity and to, instead, encircle campuses or important buildings with enclosed systems, or microgrids.

When the nation's capitol recently went dark - right in the middle of Cherry Blossom season - the lights went on in the halls of energy firms. It's about changing the face of the American grid - to reduce society's dependence on its interconnectivity and to, instead, encircle campuses or important buildings with enclosed systems, or micro-grids.

EPA and States Square Off Over Mercury

Submitted by meacott on Thu, 2015-04-02 16:09
In the current Supreme Court case known as State of Michigan v. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Michigan and 22 other states have sued the EPA over new regulations that were designed to further reduce the level of mercury, arsenic and acid gases emitted by power plants. That's almost 50 percent of the states that are feeling beleaguered by EPA's ever expanding power grab.

In the current Supreme Court case known as State of Michigan v. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Michigan and 22 other states have sued the EPA over new regulations that were designed to further reduce the level of mercury, arsenic and acid gases emitted by power plants. That's almost 50 percent of the states that are feeling beleaguered by EPA's ever expanding power grab. The current Supreme Court case is the first example of what many people are calling the EPA's waging of war on the states.

Creative Disruption

Submitted by meacott on Wed, 2015-03-25 11:45
Fifteen years into the 21st Century, the utility industry is being asked to think forward, beyond 2050. To some, that’s a bit of a stretch for a mostly regulated enterprise that has been producing power and sending the electrons reliably for the last 150 years or so. To many others, though, it’s past time for an evolution.

Fifteen years into the 21st Century, the utility industry is being asked to think forward, beyond 2050. To some, that's a bit of a stretch for a mostly regulated enterprise that has been producing power and sending the electrons reliably for the last 150 years or so. To many others, though, it's past time for an evolution.

Clean Power Plan: Has EPA Overstepped?

Submitted by meacott on Thu, 2015-03-19 08:14
While it must be noted that the constitutionality of EPA newly-claimed authority to take control of the U.S. Electrical Grid is still in doubt, it is still worth asking the EPA why they gave up on "Cooperative Federalism," especially given its historical successes.

The idea of "Cooperative Federalism" began with the New Deal in the 1930's, when it came to include a division of responsibilities among the states and the federal government agencies of electric power and distribution. By the passage of the Clean Air Act of 1970, the EPA set the minimum standards for the states to best implement their individual utility plans to meet air pollution goals with approval of the EPA.