PJM submits FERC-mandated capacity market proposal, with a twist
Responding to federal regulators' determination that its existing capacity market design is unjust and unreasonable, the PJM Interconnection developed a proposal for mitigating the impact of state-subsidized resources on its capacity market.
But rather than simply finding a way to implement the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's concept of the appropriate revamped market design, the grid operator incorporated into its proposal a price adjustment mechanism it previously floated — and the agency previously rejected — albeit with modifications aimed at addressing the commission's concerns.
Acting EPA head says agency aims to save coal plants with new emissions rule
The Trump administration's Affordable Clean Energy rule, a proposal to replace an Obama-era environmental regulation on the power sector, was designed to ensure coal continues to be burned to generate electricity in the U.S., the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's acting administrator, Andrew Wheeler, said at an energy conference in Washington, D.C.
Trump administration picks DOE policy director McNamee to be FERC commissioner
The White House moved to fill the fifth spot at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, announcing that it intends to nominate U.S. Department of Energy official Bernard McNamee for a term that expires June 30, 2020.
California becomes 1st US state to require women on corporate boards
California Gov. Jerry Brown on signed into law a requirement that publicly traded companies headquartered in the state have female board directors, making the state the first in the nation to enshrine such a corporate governance mandate.
DOE official: White House still mulling policy to halt early plant closures
The White House is still reviewing recommendations from the U.S. Department of Energy on how to avoid further premature retirements of coal-fired and nuclear power plants, a DOE official told lawmakers.
Stakeholders largely back NEPOOL alternative over ISO-NE fuel security plan
While some debate continues among stakeholders over whether an out-of-market mechanism for ensuring fuel security is appropriate even on a temporary basis, many say an alternative developed by the New England Power Pool for keeping certain power plants from retiring would be preferable to one proposed by the ISO New England. In particular, they support setting a higher bar than the grid operator has proposed for determining when it should enter into a cost-of-service agreement with a generator at risk of closing.
US appeals court upholds NY zero-emissions credit program
A federal appeals court upheld New York's program to effectively subsidize qualifying nuclear power plants in the state based on their zero-emissions attributes.
US EPA's plan to revisit mercury rule analysis moves forward, but impact unclear
The Trump administration has advanced its plan to reconsider the cost-benefit analysis used by the Obama administration to justify its rule restricting mercury and other toxic pollutants. While some industry advocates are saying the change may have little practical impact, clean air advocacy groups and environmental attorneys are warning the move could spark new attempts to completely overturn the rule.
US EPA proposes to relax smog standard monitoring requirements
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is proposing to give states more flexibility by allowing state regulators to relax monitoring requirements for large industrial plants and power generators that emit smog-forming pollutants.
US EPA to consider merging key science offices
Career leadership with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has developed a reorganization plan designed to "reduce redundancies" within the agency's main research office, but critics say the changes could limit the role science plays in policy decisions.
Investors, others ask US SEC to mandate, streamline corporate ESG disclosures
Citing a boom in corporate sustainability disclosures and the challenges of trying to compare that information, a group of U.S.-based investors, related groups and securities law professors have asked federal regulators to establish mandatory standards for environmental, social and governance reporting.