Obama

The Rise and Fall of Big Transmission

The alternatives may make more sense.

After 10 years of dramatic announcements and proposals, the reality today is that Big Transmission has fallen and it won't be getting up - not even for the Clean Power Plan. And the fall of Big Transmission is not a public policy failure. Rather, it never did make sense.
Byline: 

Steve Huntoon

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The Economics of Clean Power

And how the market has outmaneuvered the political forces, so far.

While former CEO Charles Bayless says that economics remains the driving factor behind the shifting sands, there are plenty who would put the blame on the Obama administration and its “War on Coal.”
Byline: 

Ken Silverstein

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State Utility Commissioners at Ground Zero

Ken Silverstein's picture
Submitted by Ken Silverstein on Tue, 2015-05-26 13:12
At issue in this new environmental paradigm is whether the states will take the lead, or the federal government. And nowhere is that more relevant than the EPA's Clean Power Plan.

State utility commissioners in all 50 states are under a lot of stress. First, they must formulate and plan for the future of their states’ electrical grids and at the same time, keep their eyes on the developments in Washington and on the EPA whose Clean Power Plan (CPP) is the elephant in their room. It could be argued that they have a job far worse than the Maytag repairman: Instead of having nothing to do, they have everything to do. Currently, they may have the most difficult job in the US.

Constitutional Controversy

Can EPA’s Clean Power Plan Pass Muster?

The Clean Power Plan’s fate may hinge on whether the federal government is seen as usurping states’ rights under the Fifth and Tenth Amendments. Harvard’s Law School professors debate the issue.
Byline: 

Ken Silverstein

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The Reselling of Coal

Its future rests with new technologies – not outdated PR.

If advanced coal generation is to reach fruition, then the coal sector will need a federal partner – one that it cannot afford to continue alienating.
Byline: 

Ken Silverstein

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Nuclear's New Chance

Reprocessing nuclear fuel is a sustainable and viable option.

Reprocessing nuclear fuel separates the uranium and the plutonium for the rest of the spent fuel, enabling plant operators to reuse the uranium. But concerns over nuclear proliferation are stopping it in this country.
Byline: 

Tim Echols

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New York's Natural Gas Path

The state is diverging from the national trend.

New York is taking its own path and outlawing the use of high-volume natural gas fracking. Yet, the state will remain a voracious consumer of natural gas that is fracked elsewhere. What gives?
Byline: 

Ken Silverstein

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Energy Politics are Combustible

Many in business back EPA, but the new Congress has yet to weigh in.

The comment period closes on EPA’s Clean Power Plan, but Congress is holding its cards close to the vest.
Byline: 

Ken Silverstein

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2014 Utility Regulators' Forum

Diversifying Utility Regulation: State regulators voice opinions as mixed as the nation’s geography.

Interviews with public utility commissioners from key states – New York, California, Maryland, and Georgia – on coal carbon, climate, and the revolution in retail. What they’re thinking. What they’re planning.
Byline: 

Ken Silverstein

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Triggering & Tailoring

What the Supreme Court said, and didn’t.

Justice Scalia saw the need for tailoring as proof that EPA’s Triggering Rule was mistaken.
Byline: 

Bruce W. Radford

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