January 25, 2008

Burning coal creates a sensitive waste that could ultimately become a beneficial byproduct used in building materials and cement.

Coal waste actually falls under the guidelines set for non-municipal, non-hazardous waste. The rules governing its disposal are vague, allowing the substance to be regulated by the state that establishes the appropriate rules for each site. At present, most such waste is buried in landfills. But promising technologies are emerging that allow it to be converted into other, more useful products.

January 21, 2008

Consumers respond to retail sales. And so the thinking goes they might react in kind to changing electricity prices - if they could track them. After studying this concept for one year, the Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory proclaimed that, on average, participants saved 10 percent and during peak periods, they saved 15 percent.

It's never been a question of whether the tools would develop to allow such efficiencies. It's always been an issue over whether consumers would respond to the supply and demand curve that electricity follows. Researchers now conclude that by using relatively simple web-based programs, they will do so.

January 18, 2008

Piles of ugly waste-coal dot Pennsylvania's landscape. But now an international power plant designer will take that abandoned mine cast-off and use it to create steam and additional electricity. Sithe Global, which is applying for permits to build such a 300-megawatt power plant, says that there is enough waste-coal to last well into the future.

Waste-coal, which is poor quality coal that is mixed in with dirt and which has sat idle for decades, poses a serious threat to the landscape and to local water quality. By reusing it, power companies not only mitigate those hazards but they also harness what would otherwise be a continuing menace.

January 14, 2008

Transmission developers may be in for a jolt. A proposed project to supply power throughout the East has come under fierce opposition. As it stands now, the 240-mile, 500 kilovolt line will get rejected by at least the West Virginia Public Service Commission, which will have jurisdiction over 114 miles of it.

It's a prickly ordeal. PJM Interconnection, which operates the transmission grid for much of the East Coast, says that the proposed Allegheny Energy power line is necessary to accommodate an annual growth in electricity consumption there of 1.6 percent over the next decade. But West Virginia's citizen activists and environmentalists are arguing that property values will drop while pristine surroundings will get ruined -- and all for the benefit of those in other states.

January 11, 2008

California is flexing its muscle. It is now suing the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for preventing it from strengthening its standards for tailpipe emissions in cars.

It's a classic case of whether federal laws should supersede those of the states when the two come into conflict. Typically, conservatives prefer to give localities greater say as they are the ones closer to the communities that will be regulated while liberals tend to like centralized power at the federal level. In this latest test, the opposite is occurring. So, California officials have vowed to challenge the Bush administration's ruling in the federal courts to forge ahead with its tougher air pollution rules.

January 9, 2008

The nuclear sector's prospects got a little brighter over the holidays. Congress passed legislation to provide loan guarantees to lenders of up to $18.5 billion to facilitate the development of next generation nuclear plants. But the thorny issue of where to store the spent fuel remains unresolved, leaving nuclear operators no option but to store that radioactive material on site.

With the world focused on lessening the level of greenhouse gas emissions, the subject of nuclear energy is gaining increasing attention. Both proponents and opponents of the $18.5 billion earmark reacted to the news, with the former saying it would go a long way toward ushering in a new era of electricity generation while the latter saying it diverts valuable resources away from cleaner and safer forms of energy.

New Energy Law to Phase Out Today's Common Incandescent Lamps, Probe-Start Metal Halide Ballasts

by Craig DiLouie, Lighting Controls Association
Posted January 2008

On December 19, President Bush signed H.R. 6, the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, into law.

The legislation is the result of a year-long legislative process that resulted in several modifications before congressional passage in December, and a final product that would receive White House support.