China to Build the First Small Modular Nuclear Reactor – Of Course -
"It will be China’s own Linglong One design, it will be about 125 MW, it will take about 5 years to build, and it will generate about a billion...more
Welcome to Volume 5, Issue 20 of Currents. In this issue, we discuss major and interesting topics such as IGCC coal power, BP and solar projects, using coal substitutes, Republican investments in EVs, cofiring, secure mineral...more
Welcome to Volume 5, Issue 18 of Currents. As always, we cover the gamut of hot topics in the energy industry. In this edition, we provide insights on issues at the local, state and federal levels, as well as international...more
Clearway Energy Acquires 264-MW Wind Farm in West Virginia -
"Located in Grant County, Mt Storm was put on stream back in 2008 and is feeding electricity into the PJM market."
Why this is important: Clearway Energy...more
Federal Lawmakers Seek Funds to Plug Orphaned Oil and Gas Wells -
"U.S. Sen. Ben Ray Luján, a Democrat from New Mexico, said plugging these wells is an important step to protecting communities and can help put people...more
WV Legislature Adopts Compromise Amendment to Natural Gas Property Tax Bill -
"HB 2581 would provide a revised methodology to value oil and natural gas properties by the State Tax Commissioner in response to a West...more
Oil Giants Win Climate Suit as Judges Push for Political Fix -
"New York City suffered another setback in its effort to make Exxon Mobil Corp., BP Plc and other energy companies help cover the public costs of dealing with...more
Welcome to Volume 5, Issue 11 of Currents. As we begin a new month. I'll remind everyone that we are continually looking to write about different topics...
In Shift, Oil Industry Group Backs Federal Price on Carbon -...more
World's Largest Coal Miner Coal India Bets on Solar, Eyes Further Mine Closures -
"Pramod Agarwal said its joint venture with state-run NLC India Ltd plans to invest around 125 billion rupees ($1.73 billion) in solar...more
U.S. Congress Launches Probe Into Multibillion-Dollar 'Clean Coal' Tax Credit -
"The U.S. Congress is investigating a multibillion-dollar subsidy for chemically treated coal that is meant to reduce smokestack pollution,...more
3/18/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Climate Change ,
Coal ,
Coal Industry ,
Electric Vehicles ,
Electricity ,
Energy Projects ,
Energy Sector ,
Oil & Gas ,
Renewable Energy ,
Tax Credits
Welcome to Volume 5, Issue 8 of Currents. Recently, my colleagues Joseph Schaeffer and Risa Katz-Albert recorded a webinar - Data Privacy and Security 101: Six Questions to Ask Yourself. They discuss basic introductory data...more
Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf Floats Natural Gas Tax to Pay for $3 Billion Pandemic Recovery Plan -
"Long a proponent of an extraction tax, Wolf said it could pay for improvements to workforce training and support, remove...more
Exxon, Chevron CEOs Discussed Merger Last Year -
"Chevron’s Mike Wirth and Exxon’s Darren Woods spoke as the Covid-19 outbreak hurt oil and gas demand, adding financial strain to both companies, Dow Jones said."
Why...more
Why the U.S. isn't in Desperate Need of the Keystone XL Pipeline -
"U.S. President Joe Biden fulfilled a campaign promise by scuttling the 1,897-kilometre pipeline."
Why this is important: While the rescission of the...more
In a Rare Rebuke, FERC Fails to Approve Mountain Valley Pipeline's Proposal -
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission deadlocked 2-2 on Mountain Valley’s request to bore under streams and wetlands along the pipeline’s...more
1/21/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Climate Change ,
Coal Mines ,
Cybersecurity ,
Energy Projects ,
Energy Sector ,
Energy Storage ,
FERC ,
Fossil Fuel ,
Oil & Gas ,
Pipelines
Welcome to our first issue of 2021! We have been publishing a weekly edition of Currents since 2017 and hope that you find it informative and helpful. Our goal for 2021 is the same -- provide access to interesting and...more
1/11/2021
/ Carbon Emissions ,
Coal ,
Coal Industry ,
Electricity ,
Energy Sector ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Exports ,
Fossil Fuel ,
Natural Gas ,
Oil & Gas ,
Renewable Energy ,
Trump Administration
Congress Reaches Compromise on Clean Energy Deal to be Attached to Government Funding Bill -
"A bipartisan energy package hitched to the spending bill includes provisions to boost technologies such as advanced nuclear...more
12/23/2020
/ Biden Administration ,
Blockchain ,
Climate Change ,
Coal Industry ,
Electricity ,
Energy Projects ,
Energy Sector ,
Energy Storage ,
Exports ,
Oil & Gas ,
Renewable Energy ,
Solar Energy ,
Transmission Grid ,
Wind Power
Welcome to our 46th issue of Currents for 2020. Our Energy Practice Group looked at current energy articles, and we also explain the significance of every article. These issues peaked our interest this week, and we have...more
New Law Pushes Appalachian Power Toward More Renewable Energy -
"Appalachian — which for years has relied heavily on coal and more recently natural gas to serve about 500,000 western Virginia customers — will acquire 210...more
11/20/2020
/ Biden Administration ,
Coal Industry ,
Coal-Fired Generation ,
Electricity ,
Energy Sector ,
EU ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Hydrogen Power ,
NASA ,
Natural Gas ,
Nuclear Power ,
Oil & Gas ,
Renewable Energy
U.S. Court Suspends Key Permits for Equitrans Mountain Valley Pipeline -
"A U.S. federal appeals court issued a stay of key water crossing permits needed to complete construction of Equitrans Midstream Corp’s 300-mile...more
11/13/2020
/ Carbon Emissions ,
Coal ,
Coal-Fired Plants ,
Electricity ,
Energy Projects ,
Energy Sector ,
Hydrogen Power ,
Imports ,
Natural Gas ,
Oil & Gas ,
Petroleum ,
Pipelines ,
Renewable Energy ,
Steel Industry
U.S. Department of Energy: Oil and Gas Production to Account for 68 Percent of Energy Consumption Over Next Two Decades -
"Natural gas is increasingly powering plants to produce electricity, but oil and natural gas are...more
11/3/2020
/ Carbon Capture and Sequestration ,
Carbon Emissions ,
Coal Industry ,
Department of Energy (DOE) ,
Electricity ,
Energy Sector ,
Natural Gas ,
Nuclear Power ,
Oil & Gas ,
Pipelines ,
Renewable Energy
Mountain Valley Says Natural Gas Pipeline Timing Depends on Litigation, U.S. Approvals -
“'As the litigation process progresses and as we receive additional information from FERC regarding potentially releasing the...more
10/17/2020
/ Batteries ,
Biodiesel ,
Biomass ,
Carbon Emissions ,
China ,
Climate Change ,
Coal Industry ,
Coal-Fired Plants ,
Conversion ,
Energy Sector ,
Energy Storage ,
Environmental Litigation ,
EU ,
FERC ,
Hydropower ,
Japan ,
Natural Gas ,
Nuclear Power ,
Oil & Gas ,
Petroleum ,
Pipelines ,
Plant Closures ,
Renewable Energy ,
Solar Energy ,
Trump Administration ,
United Nations
More Federal Permits Handed Down as MVP Presses FERC for Construction Restart -
"The Mountain Valley Pipeline LLC told FERC that it has received a series of key federal waterbody crossing permits, bolstering its case to...more
10/6/2020
/ Airlines ,
Cap-and-Trade ,
Carbon Taxes ,
China ,
Climate Change ,
Coal ,
Coal Industry ,
Coal-Fired Plants ,
Construction Project ,
Divestiture ,
Electricity ,
Energy Costs ,
Energy Information Association (EIA) ,
EU ,
Federal Bans ,
FERC ,
Fossil Fuel ,
France ,
Green Energy ,
Natural Gas ,
Offshore Drilling ,
Offshore Wind ,
Oil & Gas ,
Permits ,
Plant Closures ,
Renewable Energy ,
Russia ,
Trump Administration
U.S. Shale Producers Race for Federal Permits Ahead of Presidential Election -
"Federal permitting in the largest U.S. oilfield in the Permian Basin, located in Texas and New Mexico, is up 80 percent in about the last three...more
9/23/2020
/ Air Pollution ,
Biodiesel ,
Biomass ,
Clean Air Act ,
Climate Change ,
Coal ,
Coal Industry ,
Energy Sector ,
Environmental Litigation ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
EU ,
Exports ,
Exxon Mobil ,
Fossil Fuel ,
Imports ,
India ,
Joe Biden ,
Methane ,
Oil & Gas ,
Permits ,
Petroleum ,
Pipelines ,
Popular ,
Power Infrastructure ,
Presidential Elections ,
Renewable Energy ,
Rollbacks ,
Shale Gas ,
Trump Administration
Spain Shuts Down Half of Its Coal Power Stations -
"The move away from coal is driven predominantly by fundamental economics, although these are amplified by emissions trading schemes and other measures."
Why this is...more
9/17/2020
/ Bill Gates ,
Biodiesel ,
Biomass ,
Charging Stations ,
Coal Industry ,
Coal-Fired Plants ,
CPUC ,
Electric Vehicles ,
Electricity ,
EU ,
Financial Institutions ,
Grid Energy Storage ,
Natural Gas ,
Nuclear Power ,
Oil & Gas ,
OPEC ,
Paris Agreement ,
Petroleum ,
Plant Closures ,
Public Utilities Commission ,
Renewable Energy ,
Shale Gas ,
Spain