The Quad Report

By Henry Sokolski Earlier this month, the House introduced a resolution of disapproval to the U.S.-Saudi nuclear cooperative agreement. The resolution might fail but it’s likely only the opening round of a longer fight. Next year, the House and Senate may condition the deal’s implementation. This requires legislation, but the legislative door is largely open. Under … More Guest Commentary: Defanging the Saudi Nuclear Deal the Saudi

By Kennedy Maize Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has responded to Donald Trump’s declared trade war with its northern neighbor with terms Trump can understand: iron, steel, oil, exports, and money. On Oct. 1 Carney announced the Canadian government will fast track a long-proposed crude oil pipeline from Alberta to British Columbia. Formerly known as … More Canada strikes back in Trump’s trade war with energy

By Kennedy Maize The federal government-owned Tennessee Valley Authority, the nation’s largest publicly owned electric generation and transmission enterprise, has been releasing a flurry of announcements about deals to put new, smaller nuclear plants on its generating menu. The deals involve potentially multi-billions of dollars in investments. The announcements include action by the U.S. Nuclear … More Is TVA serious about new, small nukes…or is it just flirting?

By Kennedy Maize The annual United Nations sponsored gigantic gabfest on global warming is peeking above the horizon. The 31st “Conference of the Parties” to the UN’s Framework Convention on Climate Change, aka COP31, is scheduled to kick off in Antalya, Turkey, on November 9 and run through November 20. Ministerial-level pre-COP meetings start today … More The next UN climate change conference is on the way

By Kennedy Maize New controversies have added to the swirl surrounding the nation’s oldest and largest regional independent operator of the high-voltage electric transmission system, the PJM Interconnection. PJM controls high-voltage electric transmission in 13 largely mid-Atlantic states and the District of Columbia, a total of about 67 million customers. The RTO’s most recent capacity … More FERC slams PJM emergency auction; PJM committee shuts out states

By Kennedy Maize While President Trump’s quixotic efforts to reverse the decline on what he calls his “beautiful clean coal” has failed, a pernicious aspect of that industry has increased: black lung. Last month, the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine published a new study from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and … More Coal miner disease surges in Trump administration

By Kennedy Maize Two Federal courts have upended more of the nefarious acts of the Trump administration’s energy and environmental policy gurus — Dr. Arbitrary and Capt. Capricious — and Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin. Just days apart, federal judges in D.C. and Rhode Island have reversed a move by Environmental Protection Agency Director … More Two federal courts upend EPA cut of Biden solar energy grants

By Kennedy Maize Something positive has happened for the U.S. coal business in Wyoming. It has nothing to do with the Trump administration’s feckless attempts to boost what the President calls his “beautiful clean coal,” prompting eye-rolling outside 1600 Pa. Ave. and beyond. In a pilot project, Peabody Energy, the Union Pacific railroad, and Mexico’s … More A bit of good news for a declining U.S. coal industry

By Kennedy Maize September has been the cruelest month when it comes to the highly hyped, long anticipated U.S. “nuclear renaissance.” On July 8, New Jersey based Holtec Nuclear Corp. dropped a 400-page document on the doorstep of Washington’s Securities and Exchange Commission, seeking approval to sell common stock to the public. The planned “Initial … More U.S. “nuclear renaissance” ups and downs

By Kennedy Maize Has the U.S. got it wrong in the way we finance the poles and wires that bring power to our communities? Veteran energy economist Severin Borenstein, faculty director of the UC Berkeley’s Haas Energy Institute (and also a member of the California Independent System Operator governing board) says the answer is yes. … More What’s wrong with how we pay for poles and wires?