04Aug

Supercharging the Reliability Crisis

For all of the focus on energy policy in Washington, attention to the unfolding grid reliability crisis remains alarmingly absent. In fact, some of the principal causes of the crisis are receiving fresh reinforcement while substantive efforts to address the forces weakening the nation’s supply of power have yet to materialize. Even as grid regulators […]
27Jul

Surging Natural Gas Prices Underscore the Need for Fuel Diversity

Consumers are finally getting some relief at the gas pump but the prices for natural gas and electricity are now soaring. As the economy treads water, fighting off recession, a new variant of energy-driven inflation is knocking at the door. With the U.S. now the world’s largest LNG exporter, and the U.S. gas market increasingly […]
25Jul

Coal Is at the Heart of Efforts Overseas to Keep the Lights On

Via The White Mountain Independent: We must stop pretending our nation’s coal power plants are unessential. The loss of coal generation is undermining our energy security, contributing to inflation and risking rolling blackouts. What’s happening is that we are dismantling essential generating capacity far faster than it is being replaced with reliable alternatives. This haphazard, […]
23Jul

U.S. Should Begin Exporting More Coal to European Nations

Via The Wheeling News-Register: Against the backdrop of war in Ukraine, U.S. coal shipments to Europe are playing a quiet yet critical role in keeping the lights on from Rome to Amsterdam. If the shipments continue through the winter — and are ramped to replace the loss of Russian fuel — they will save millions […]
13Jul

European Energy Independence with U.S. Coal

This week, Fatih Birol, the head of the International Energy Agency, warned that the global energy crisis is likely to get worse before it gets better, adding the coming winter for Europe, “will be very, very difficult.” His remarks reflect the increasing likelihood that Russia will completely cut off the flow of its natural gas […]
11Jul

Coal prices soar to record highs on strong demand from a Europe in crisis

Via The Washington Examiner: Domestic coal prices have shot to record territory as the global energy crisis and the European Union’s impending Russian coal ban drive European power customers to seek out imports from the United States. European countries contending with significantly pricier natural gas are staring down a shortage of gas supplies this winter, leading them to switch back to more of […]
06Jul

Coal Remains Globally Essential

Perhaps The Economist announcing an “end to coal” last year was just a bit premature. As The Wall Street Journal just reported, from Asia to Europe and the U.S., coal is once again having a moment. Energy shortages, rediscovery of the importance of energy security and energy-driven inflation are all driving a new, voracious appetite […]
05Jul

Creating Our Own Electricity Crisis

Via Inside Sources: Across the country, electricity grid operators are finding themselves short of generating capacity when power demand spikes. The situation has become so tenuous that energy regulators are warning of rolling blackouts for entire regions of the United States. A leading culprit for this grid reliability crisis: our energy policy. According to the […]
30Jun

Reining in the EPA

Today, in a majority decision in West Virginia v. EPA, the U.S. Supreme Court placed important limits on the authority government agencies have to unilaterally issue transformative regulations of vast economic and political significance. The court ruled that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) doesn’t have the authority under the Clean Air Act to force […]
29Jun

California and Texas Blackouts Could Be Coming, Energy Experts Warn

Via Inside Sources: It could be a cruel summer for millions of Americans who are not only paying big energy bills but also worried the AC will conk out. That is because energy experts warn, several regions face potential blackouts and much higher utility bills. The Midwest electric grid has “a high risk” of failure […]