Budget & Policy

Lance Moore GHG Monitor 7/17/2015 States that opt out of the Environmental Protection Agency’s proposed carbon emission standards for coal-fired power plants would be hurting business and negating the opportunity to create their own specific compliance plans, as the EPA would have to submit a generic, less-effective plan as a replacement, said high-ranking executives of […]

Jeremy L. Dillon RW Monitor 7/17/2015 The Obama administration this week nominated Jessie Roberson to fill the vacancy on the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Roberson, who currently serves as Vice Chair of the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board, would return the commission to its full five members. If approved by the Senate, she would represent the […]

The Department of Energy’s Inspector General Gregory Friedman announced his plans to retire yesterday after serving for 17 years in his position as DOE’s investigative official. Friedman will step down effective Oct. 3, 2015, which would end his current run as longest serving Federal Inspector General at a cabinet-level agency. “While the mission is important, […]

The nominee to be the Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff yesterday told the Senate Armed Services Committee in testimony submitted before his confirmation hearing that he is “concerned” that completing nuclear modernization in the current budget environment will be “a challenge.” Air Force Gen. Paul Selva, currently commander of U.S. Transportation Command, […]

Brian Bradley NS&D Monitor 7/10/2015 The U.S. should modernize the Energy Department’s nuclear weapons complex to have a “full range of capabilities” to produce components for National Nuclear Security Administration life extension programs, Marine Gen. Joseph Dunford, President Barack Obama’s nominee to serve as the next Chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, stated in […]

Brian Bradley NS&D Monitor 7/10/2015 Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Ala.), Chair of the House Armed Services Strategic Forces Subcommittee, during a speech Wednesday on Capitol Hill said he is “confident” that Congress will support nuclear modernization even if it crowds out other planned defense investments. “Our recent HASC hearing made clear that DoD will fund the nuclear modernization […]

Abby L. Harvey GHG Monitor 7/10/2015 Cooperation between developed and developing countries in low-carbon research and development will help countries ease the burden of investment and avoid lock-in to high-carbon infrastructure, according to a report released this week by the Global Commission on the Economy and Climate, an  international initiative commissioned by Colombia, Ethiopia, Indonesia, […]

Abby L. Harvey GHG Monitor 7/10/2015 China, the world’s top carbon emitter, last week pledged to reduce its carbon dioxide emissions per unit of GDP by 60-65 percent from 2005 levels by 2030 in its Intended Nationally Determined Contribution (INDC) submitted to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. However, the commitments included in […]

Abby L. Harvey GHG Monitor 7/10/2015 SCS Energy will have another six months to obtain its application for certification for the Hydrogen Energy California (HECA) carbon capture and storage project, the California Energy Commission decided last week. The project’s application for certification had been challenged by the Sierra Club, which called on the State to […]

Abby L. Harvey GHG Monitor 7/10/2015 Senate Republicans on the Committee on Environment and Public Work this week voiced concern at the possibility that President Barack Obama may agree to a global climate deal in December without the approval of the Senate, going so far as to suggest the Senate intervene in the process. The […]

Abby L. Harvey GHG Monitor 7/10/2015 Mississippi Power must begin issuing refunds for 2013 rate increases issued to help pay for construction of the Kemper County Energy Facility, the Mississippi Power Commission ordered this week. The Kemper facility is a first-of-its-kind new build coal plant that will employ carbon capture, utilization and storage technology. In […]

Abby L. Harvey GHG Monitor 7/10/2015 The development of an industrial carbon capture and storage network in the United Kingdom’s most carbon-intensive area, Teesside, is feasible, according to a blueprint released last week by the Teesside Collective.  The project aims to outfit several high emission industrial facilities with carbon capture and storage technology and connect […]

Abby L. Harvey GHG Monitor 7/10/2015 In a June 29 letter to the nation’s Governors, a group of 45 Senate Democrats emphasized the need for States’ support in the development of a new national energy policy. The national energy policy has not been updated in more than a decade, the Senators write, and the best […]

Lance Moore GHG Monitor 7/10/2015 Through the Environmental Protection Agency’s proposed carbon emissions standards for existing coal-fired power plants, the United States is seeking to facilitate leadership and credibility in upcoming international negotiations to create a global climate policy, EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy said this week. The proposed regulation, due to be finalized in August, […]

Abby L. Harvey GHG Monitor 7/10/2015 The United Kingdom must amp up its support of carbon capture and storage to reach its long-term climate goals, according to a new report released this week by the Deep Decarbonization Pathways Project. The report finds that to decarbonize, the country must reduce emissions from power generation 85-90 percent […]

Abby L. Harvey GHG Monitor 7/10/2015 Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt (R) filed a lawsuit late last week calling for injunctive relief from the Environmental Protection Agency’s proposed carbon emissions standard for existing coal-fired power plants. The proposed regulation, dubbed the Clean Power Plan, requires states to develop action plans to meet federally set carbon […]

Abby L. Harvey GHG Monitor 7/10/2015 The Western Governors’ Association released a policy resolution late last month that outlines actions to be taken to support the advancement of enhanced oil recovery (EOR) in the West. According to the resolution, 63.3 billion barrels of oil could be economically recovered if EOR is adopted on a large-scale. […]

GHG Monitor 7/10/2015 IN EPA The Environmental Protection Agency sent its proposed draft of the federal implementation plan (FIP) for compliance with proposed carbon emissions standards for existing coal-fired power plants to the White House Office of Management and Budget this week. The proposed FIP will be implemented in states that do not submit a […]

An external review of The Aerospace Corporation’s recent study of plutonium disposition options rejects Aerospace’s life cycle cost estimates for the Mixed Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility and a downblending alternative for disposal of surplus plutonium, and projects similar costs for both programs, according to a report released yesterday. The Nuclear Infrastructure Council posted the review, which […]

Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Ala.), Chair of the House Armed Services Strategic Forces Subcommittee, during a speech in Washington yesterday said he is “confident” that Congress will support nuclear modernization even if it crowds out other planned defense investments. “Our recent HASC hearing made clear that DOD will fund the nuclear modernization programs everyone here knows we need,” […]

ExchangeMonitor Publications & Forums publishes professional newsletters and creates, manages and sponsors forums, colloquiums and workshops to facilitate an exchange of views and information among government officials, private industry executives, non-governmental organizations and other entities on critical national and international programs and policies. The company’s primary areas of focus are: the Department of Energy’s Office […]

ExchangeMonitor Publications’ set of newsletters has long been a vital source of information for Congressional staff on a variety of topics related to DOE management, the Department’s cleanup program, the National Nuclear Security Administration, radioactive waste disposal and efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. We offer complementary subscriptions to Hill staffers to any of our […]

The South Carolina Governor’s Nuclear Advisory Council (GNAC) will hold a public meeting Thursday, which will include an update on  the MOX facility. It will be the first time in at least eight years that a GNAC meeting has hosted an Energy Department official to speak about alternatives to the Mixed Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility […]

Rep. Joe Courtney (D-Conn.), Ranking Member of the House Armed Services Seapower and Projection Forces Subcommittee, during a full House Armed Services Committee hearing on nuclear deterrence Thursday said he hopes the Defense Department will clearly articulate whether the Congressionally established Sea-Based Deterrence Fund is the appropriate method to fund the Ohio-class Replacement (OR). “What […]

Jeremy L. Dillon RW Monitor 6/26/2015 A defense-only repository would prove cost effective and time efficient compared to comingling it with commercial waste, Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz said in a May 15 letter to House Energy leaders, released this week. House lawmakers previously questioned the wisdom behind the decision to “de-comingle” the two waste […]

Jeremy L. Dillon WC Monitor 6/26/2015 A defense-only repository would prove cost effective and time efficient compared to comingling it with commercial waste, Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz said in a May 15 letter to House Energy leaders, released this week. House lawmakers previously questioned the wisdom behind the decision to “de-comingle” the two waste […]

Jeremy L. Dillon RW Monitor 6/26/2015 The Senate Energy and Natural Resource Committee has delayed its hearing on pending nuclear waste legislation until Aug. 4. The committee had planned to hold a hearing on the legislation in early July, but it appears to have postponed the hearing. Calls to committee were not returned this week. […]

Abby L. Harvey GHG Monitor 6/26/2015 Global action taken now to combat climate change will lead to economic and health benefits long-term, according to a report released this week by the Environmental Protection Agency. The report compares two scenarios, one in which global temperature rise is limited to 2 degrees Celsius and one in which […]

Lance Moore GHG Monitor 6/26/2015 The Energy Technologies Institute, a public-private partnership based in the United Kingdom, late last week announced a £2 million request for proposals (RFP) for early development plans for a second phase carbon capture and storage project to build off infrastructure created for the “Phase 1” projects currently under development in […]

Abby L. Harvey GHG Monitor 6/26/2015 Fears that the Environmental Protection Agency’s proposed carbon regulations for existing coal-fired power plants will be too much for the nation’s natural gas infrastructure to bear are unfounded, according to a new study published this week by the Advanced Energy Economy Institute (AEE Institute). The study explores what effect […]