Category: Dateline Washington

Presidential hopeful Michael Bloomberg recently announced that if elected he will phase out coal power in the U.S. by 2030. He made this proclamation standing in the pouring rain in front of a retired coal power plant, telling...

by conor bernstein Questions continue to arise about the cost and technical feasibility of moving to an emissions-free grid by 2050. Or, in the case of the Green New Dealers, making that jump even sooner. At a recent hearing on...

by conor bernstein Are renewable sources of power ready to stand on their own two feet? Ask wind and solar boosters and the answer would seemingly be yes. The story we’re being told is that after decades of government support,...

by conor bernstein Lost in the noise of what candidates and pundits want for the nation’s energy future is what Americans want. While the rollout of candidates’ energy plans has turned into a game of one-upmanship on who can ban...

by conor bernstein The North American Electric Reliability Corp. (NERC) analyzes the reliability of our electricity supply. So, it’s with good reason that eyebrows were raised when NERC CEO Jim Robb told the Federal Energy...

by conor bernstein It has long been suspected that renewable portfolio standards are an incredibly costly and inefficient energy policy. Yet, they have grown in popularity and ambition with 29 states and the District of Columbia...

by conor bernstein How valuable is a balanced, diverse mix of energy sources? Just ask the Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO), the grid operator that manages the electricity grid for much of the U.S. Midwest and...

by luke popovich When you think of our industry today, imagine a spry, healthy senior — suddenly hit in a crosswalk by a drunk driver who runs a red light. The victim is now out of intensive care, regaining with the help of...

In my downtown Washington neighborhood, a sign above my friend’s parking space waxes philosophical about a chronic urban problem: Is there life after death? Park here and find out. At times over the last few years, many in the...

During the President Barack Obama administration, serving in the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Fossil Energy was a thankless task, like being a stand-up comic in a penal colony. Clearly there is a need for comic relief,...

It was the 17th century English playwright William Congreve who claimed “Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.” Congreve never met the renewable fuels industry.Wind and solar lobbyists reacted furiously to a proposal by...

Last month, two seemingly disparate events showed how some in the President Donald Trump administration are holding fast to promises and principles. Both events encouraged a respect for state partnership and the welfare of coal...