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DOE official explains call to save coal, nuclear plants; coal appeal gets boost

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DOE official explains call to save coal, nuclear plants; coal appeal gets boost

DOE official explains agency's call to save coal, nuclear plants

U.S. Department of Energy Undersecretary Mark Menezes confirmed the department was considering a proposal for grid operators to buy power from at-risk coal and nuclear generation facilities to stave off plant retirements, using the national security rationale given in a memo on the proposal leaked last week. Speaking June 5 at an annual conference of the U.S. Energy Information Administration in Washington, D.C., Menezes cast the threat of coal and nuclear retirements as a dark spot on the bright energy future of the U.S. The DOE for months has touted the benefits of on-site fuel supplies, inherent to coal and nuclear facilities, as critical to grid reliability and resilience.

US coal's appeal for federal support is getting little help outside DC

U.S. coal interests are driving federal discussion on energy policy, but the industry still faces a lot of skepticism about its push for government intervention to keep older power plants from retirement. Many energy stakeholders balked at the recent revelation that the U.S. Department of Energy is considering exercising authority to direct system operators to purchase electricity from certain coal and nuclear power generators for two years. With a change in presidential administration, the coal sector has shifted from fighting new regulations or laws that govern coal mining and coal-fired generation to arguing that the current setup of U.S. energy markets is prematurely retiring coal to detrimental effect. In the process, those who do not stand to benefit have largely aligned against the effort.

Court gives coal, MSHA more time to negotiate Obama-era pattern violator changes

A group of coal operators and the U.S. government were granted an extended stay to negotiate a settlement over an Obama-era change to a mine safety rule that targets repeat violators of federal mine safety law. The plaintiffs, including the Ohio Coal Association and Murray Energy Corp., now have until Sept. 10 to negotiate a resolution to the lawsuit. The rule was introduced in January 2013 and was designed to make it easier for federal regulators to identify a mine as having a pattern of violations, a designation that subjects the operator to increased regulatory scrutiny. The entities challenging the law said the rule interfered with a company's due process rights because operations could be paused or slowed over citations that may later be contested or overturned.

Green group pushes for review of alleged self-bonding violations in 2 coal mines

Environmental group WildEarth Guardians is pushing for another look at Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association Inc.'s alleged violations of the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act related to self-bonding assurances at the Colowyo mine in Colorado and Dry Fork mine in Wyoming. WildEarth filed a request for an informal review with the Western Regional Director of OSMRE to look into the decision of Denver Field Division Chief for OSMRE's Western Regional Office Jeffrey Fleischman to decline to inspect and take enforcement action in connection with the advocacy group's complaint. The advocacy group cited several reasons why Fleischman's decision should be reversed, including the allegation that it violated Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act regulations.

US House passes FY'19 energy spending bill

The U.S. House of Representatives voted June 8 to pass a fiscal-year 2019 energy and water appropriations bill that would fund the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository while cutting spending on renewable energy and efficiency research. The bill, which the House passed 235-179, would provide $44.7 billion for the U.S. Department of Energy, Army Corps of Engineers and related agencies, up $1.5 billion from prior-year enacted levels and $8.17 billion above President Donald Trump's request.

A year later, Trump still eyeing Paris withdrawal as others move to fill gap

Twelve months after President Donald Trump pledged to withdraw the U.S. from the Paris Agreement on climate change, the nation remains a party to the accord even as the administration works domestically to roll back many of its environmental rules. Although no other countries have followed Trump's lead in deciding to leave the deal, experts say the president's announcement has undermined ongoing Paris accord implementation negotiations. Meanwhile, a number of U.S. cities, states and businesses have announced that they will step up their existing decarbonization efforts.