Budget & Policy

Abby L. Harvey GHG Monitor 5/8/2015 PITTSBURGH, Pa.— Motivation for investment in enhanced oil recovery (EOR) has taken a hit due to low oil prices and the shale gas revolution, which has provided the potential for quick income for investors, Steve Melzer, president of Melzer Consulting, said here last week at the 14th Annual Carbon […]

Abby L. Harvey GHG Monitor 5/8/2015 The Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality has been prohibited from developing a state implementation plan (SIP) to come into compliance with the Environmental Protection Agency’s proposed carbon emission standards for coal-fired power plants under an executive action signed by Republican Governor Mary Fallin late last week. The proposed regulation, […]

Abby L. Harvey GHG Monitor 5/8/2015 Peabody Energy CEO Greg Boyce stressed the importance of supporting the development of carbon capture, utilization and storage technology during a presentation at the IHS CERAWeek event in Houston last week. "All of us share the goals of a strong economy and healthy environment. But there is a far […]

Abby L. Harvey GHG Monitor 5/8/2015 Following successful pilot testing at the Energy & Environmental Research Center in North Dakota, CO2 Solutions is accelerating a demonstrating project of its enzyme-based carbon capture technology. The project was initially slated to run for 2,500 hours at Husky Energy’s Pikes Peak South, Saskatchewan, heavy oil site following installation […]

Abby L. Harvey GHG Monitor 5/8/2015 Southern Co. is exploring options for funding the construction of the Kemper County Energy Facility, a new build coal plant that will employ carbon capture, utilization and storage technology, in the wake of a Mississippi Supreme Court decision ordering the utility to return to ratepayers approximately $257 million collected […]

Brian Bradley NS&D Monitor 5/8/2015 WARRENSBURG, Mo.—Two senior nuclear triad leaders this week positively assessed their services’ communication records with Congress, days after the House Armed Services Committee approved legislation that would establish quarterly meetings between Pentagon brass and HASC after lawmakers raised concerns about the frequency of military-to-Capitol Hill briefings on nuclear forces. “What […]

Abby L. Harvey GHG Monitor 5/8/2015 PITTSBURGH, Pa.—The Department of Energy’s new Under Secretary for Science, Franklin Orr, stressed here last week the need for additional carbon capture, utilization and storage projects in the United States. . “We’ve actually been working on this for a while. … I think there’s really no question in all […]

Abby L. Harvey GHG Monitor 5/8/2015 PITTSBURGH, Pa.— The Canadian province of Alberta has taken significant steps to support the deployment of carbon capture and storage but as far as provincial funding of CCS projects is concerned, the province will likely be taking a step back for a while, James Allen, Assistant Deputy Minister of […]

Abby L. Harvey GHG Monitor 5/8/2015 PITTSBURGH, Pa.— Proponents of carbon capture, utilization and storage remain cautiously optimistic that the technology will be treated fairly in the new climate agreement hoped to be struck during the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change’s (UNFCCC) 21st Conference of the Parties (COP 21) to be held in Paris […]

Abby L. Harvey GHG Monitor 5/8/2015 Electricity generator TransAlta Corp. signaled late last week that it may take another stab at a carbon capture and storage demonstration. The company had abandoned plans for the $1.4 billion Project Pioneer CCS demonstration project in April 2012 citing trouble finding a buyer for the project’s CO2. “Our development […]

Brian Bradley NS&D Monitor 5/8/2015 Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) questioned on Wednesday during a Senate Defense Appropriations Subcommittee the top enlisted Defense Department official on why the U.S. needs a replacement for the air-launched cruise missile, and expressed concern that the replacement’s W-80 warhead will vie with nonproliferation activities for federal funding. “This is a […]

The following interview with Senate Energy and Water Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) was conducted April 29 by ExchangeMonitor Editor-in-Chief Mike Nartker. RW Monitor 5/8/2015 We’re right in the midst of appropriations season. As your subcommittee is working on its version of the FY 2016 energy and water bill, what are going to be […]

Abby L. Harvey GHG Monitor 5/8/2015 The European Council, European Parliament and the Latvian Presidency of the EU Council of Ministers this week informally agreed to a draft law reforming the EU Emissions Trading System by reducing the surplus of carbon credits available for trading. The agreement will now have to be agreed to by […]

GHG Monitor 5/8/2015 IN THE INDUSTRY Advancement in the field of carbon capture and storage in 2014 was significant, but further support is needed for the technology to reach its full potential as a climate change mitigation technology, according to the International Energy Agency’s Energy Technology Perspectives 2015 report released this week. CCS innovation hit […]

Kenneth Fletcher RW Monitor 5/8/2015 There is no evidence that former Deputy Energy Secretary Dan Poneman broke any ethics rules while at the Department of Energy regarding his future post as CEO of uranium enrichment firm Centrus Energy Corp., DOE Deputy General Counsel Eric Fygi said in an April 30 letter to Sen. John Barrasso […]

Kenneth Fletcher NS&D Monitor 5/8/2015 There is no evidence that former Deputy Energy Secretary Dan Poneman broke any ethics rules while at the Department of Energy regarding his future post as CEO of uranium enrichment firm Centrus Energy Corp., DOE Deputy General Counsel Eric Fygi said in an April 30 letter to Sen. John Barrasso […]

Sen. Diane Feinstein (D-Calif.) questioned yesterday during a Senate Defense Appropriations Subcommittee the top enlisted Defense Department official on why the U.S. needs a replacement for the air-launched cruise missile, and expressed concern that the replacement’s W-80 warhead will vie with nonproliferation activities for funding. “This is a large expense, and it competes for funding […]

There is no evidence that Former Deputy Energy Secretary Dan Poneman broke ethics rules while at the Department of Energy regarding his future post as CEO of uranium enrichment firm Centrus Energy Corp., DOE Deputy General Counsel Eric Fygi said in an April 30 letter to Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.). Poneman, who left DOE last […]

The Department of Energy is reducing its uranium transfers used to pay for DOE cleanup and downblending programs under the latest Secretarial determination for the transfers, released late last week. DOE will transfer up to 2,100 metric tons of natural uranium in 2016, compared to the  2,705 metric tons allowed under the Secretarial determination completed […]

FY 2017 Budget Would Need to Double to Meet Requirements, Officials Say WC Monitor 5/1/2015 The Fiscal Year 2017 budget for the Richland Operations Office at Hanford would need to double to meet environmental cleanup requirements, according to the Department of Energy. DOE Hanford officials presented budget information for public comment this week in advance […]

Industry Takes Issue With DOE Revisions to Market Report Kenneth Fletcher WC Monitor 5/1/2015 Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) is calling for more transparency and oversight by the Department of Energy on uranium transfers to the metal commodities firm Traxys that are used to fund cleanup work at the Portsmouth site after the recent appointment of […]

White House Issues Veto Threat Mike Nartker WC Monitor 5/1/2015 In the face of a veto threat from the White House, House lawmakers late this week approved the Fiscal Year 2016 Energy and Water Appropriations bill, which funds the Department of Energy’s cleanup efforts. Rep. John Garamendi (D-Calif.) was unsuccessful in an attempt to amend […]

Kenneth Fletcher WC Monitor 5/1/2015 The Department of Energy issued late last week its implementation plan for last year’s Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board recommendation calling for strengthened emergency preparedness and response capabilities. The DNFSB recommendation was prompted in part by DOE’s response to the 2014 truck fire and radioactive material release at the Waste […]

Mike Nartker WC Monitor 5/1/2015 The House Armed Services Committee voted 60-2 late this week to approve its version of the Fiscal Year 2016 defense authorization bill, which sets authorized funding levels for defense environmental cleanup sites. During a lengthy markup hearing on the bill April 29, lawmakers rejected an amendment proposed by Rep. John […]

Staff Reports WC Monitor 5/1/2015 The United States has an opportunity to start disposing of defense nuclear waste sooner and at less cost by abandoning a one-size-fits-all approach, said Mary Louise Wagner, senior adviser to the energy secretary, at a regional forum arranged by the Bipartisan Policy Center this week. But separate disposal of high-level […]

Staff Reports RW Monitor 5/1/2015 The United States has an opportunity to start disposing of defense nuclear waste sooner and at less cost by abandoning a one-size-fits-all approach, said Mary Louise Wagner, senior adviser to the energy secretary, at a regional forum arranged by the Bipartisan Policy Center this week. But separate disposal of high-level […]

Jeremy L. Dillon RW Monitor 5/1/2015 Two Nevada House lawmakers failed this week to remove funding for Yucca Mountain in the House 2016 Energy and Water Appropriations bill during the floor amendment process. Reps. Joe Heck (R-Nev.) and Dina Titus (D-Nev.) both offered amendments that would eliminate the $150 million reserved for the Department of […]

Industry Takes Issue With DOE Revisions to Market Report Kenneth Fletcher RW Monitor 5/1/2015 Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) is calling for more transparency and oversight by the Department of Energy on uranium transfers to the metal commodities firm Traxys that are used to fund cleanup work at the Portsmouth site after the recent appointment of […]

Brian Bradley NS&D Monitor 5/1/2015 Expressing concern about Russia’s recent behavior, including its alleged violation of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty and invasion of Ukraine, two Republican Senators this week criticized Secretary of State John Kerry’s  statement this week  that a 2013 U.S. offer to Russia for bilateral nuclear weapon reductions below New START levels […]

Kerry Announces Current Stockpile Size of 4,717   Todd Jacobson NS&D Monitor 5/1/2015 Concerned about an increased emphasis on nuclear weapons dismantlement, the House Armed Services Committee this week added language to the Fiscal Year 2016 National Defense Authorization Act that would cap the National Nuclear Security Administration’s dismantlement budget at $50 million over the […]