November 17, 2010

Perhaps the nuclear renaissance has already begun. The restarting of one of the Tennessee Valley Authority's prominent facilities, in fact, may be a harbinger of things to come.

With the emphasis on meeting the expected future demand for electricity as well as reducing carbon emissions, the dynamics appear to be in place to rebuild the nuclear sector. But it is not that simple. Critics of the movement are arguing that the nuclear industry has a long history of cost overruns that are ultimately covered by taxpayers - a force that has made investors wary and one that has slowed the regulatory process.

November 15, 2010 
 

It's become the key question bandied about in energy circles: Which sector has received the most government help? Fossil fuels get five times the subsidies, say wind advocates - a point quickly countered by free marketers who note that coal and natural gas produce a lot more electricity than wind.

The discussion over how taxpayers' money should be allocated to the various energy sources is a good one. But what is often lost is that all such fuels will be needed to meet this country's expected demand for electricity - an amount that is often cited to be about 30 percent more than now over the next 20 years. As such, the government has a role to ensure that all forms are cleaner and reach their potential.

November 11, 2010

With a bruising national election out of the way, and Republicans and Democrats showing little inclination to embrace, how will a national energy policy emerge?

Will renewable portfolio standards continue to be cobbled together state by state, as has been the case for a number of years? About 30 states now embraced such standards.

November 10, 2010

The national electorate has spoken. So, too, have the people of California. They overwhelmingly rejected the efforts to sideline the state's global warming law in which critical new details are to be unveiled soon.

Nationally the message is one of reduced spending and limited government. But Californians are saying that such concerns do not contradict those of a healthier environment. In fact, the efforts led by two Texas-based oil companies to postpone greenhouse gas reductions there is turning out to be a colossal PR blunder and one that the greenies are trying to turn into a national mandate for environmental change.

November 09, 2010

The Environmental Protection Agency has a big choice to make: to regulate coal ash as a hazardous waste or to continue to oversee it as a solid waste with some added enforcement. Public comments end this month with a decision expected in December.

While the Obama administration would probably prefer the stricter guidelines, it is unlikely to expend the necessary political capital. With the Republicans now in charge of the House of Representatives, the president's team will extend an olive branch and instead choose to make more incremental changes -- to toughen disposal standards and to let the states maintain their leadership role.