There are many pundits writing about the U.S. electricity markets today who hope that their readers haven’t studied market behavior and competitive price formation. They want their readers or listeners to accept their narrative and believe that keeping struggling generators in the market will be a costly market intervention resulting in higher customer prices. The…
Fred Krupp, the president of the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), published a commentary in the Wall Street Journal titled How Local Utilities Gamed the Natural Gas Market. The article subtitle briefly explains his theory – They booked large orders and then cancelled at the last minute, which pushed electric prices up by 20%. Krupp’s commentary…
South Korea, Japan and Taiwan, three historically large markets for uranium and fuel cycle services, have been under siege by organized antinuclear opponents who have made the most from Fukushima to rally public support for their efforts. To paraphrase a cliché, nuclear energy opponents did not let an attention-getting crisis go to waste. As a…
It’s probably safe to say that nearly everyone who talks or writes anything about energy and power has made the mistake – perhaps only as a typographical error – of writing or saying “gigawatt” in a situation where the correct term is “gigawatt-hour”. Those of us who have real understanding of the topic, however, will…
The UN Environmental Program (UNEP) has rejected the World Nuclear Association’s (WNA) offer to provide financial support to the 8th Annual Sustainable Innovation Forum (SIF). Described by its chairman as the “largest business-focused side event during the annual Conference Of Parties” the event is scheduled to take place alongside COP23 in Bonn, Germany. Originally accepted as a gold sponsor…
Supporters of South Korean nuclear energy are celebrating today. Earlier this morning, a citizen’s panel decided that President Moon Jae-in had made a mistake by halting the Shin Kori 5 & 6 construction projects. The 471-member panel, formed by President Moon to provide advice about his plan to phase out one of the world’s most successful…
The intense conversation Energy Secretary Rick Perry purposely initiated with his Sept. 29 letter to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission continues to occupy the attention of specialists. The direction was concise: implement pricing rules that protect electricity generators that meet certain requirements from being pushed into early retirement. The marching orders came with an aggressive but…
If his goal was to stimulate a conversation with a rapid approach to concluding action, Energy Secretary Rick Perry has scored a victory with his recently proposed Grid Resiliency Pricing Rule. During the past couple of weeks, the insular world of energy policy wonks has talked of little else, numerous congressional hearings have been held…
Disclaimer: I have been buying stocks in uranium producers for more than a decade. I accelerated my purchasing in 2011 when stock prices fell after Fukushima. I’ve added to my holdings each time there was a big drop in stock prices. I am a contrarian who likes to buy high quality assets when they’re on…
“Is having 100% renewable energy for a country feasible?” This question was recently posed on Thinkable. Dr. Gene Preston, a man who has been professionally specializing in grid reliability studies since his 1997 dissertation on the subject, answers “Exceptionally unlikely.” He doesn’t stop there; his answer includes enough detail to persuade all but the most…
National Clean Energy Week was conceived in June by the Coalition of Responsible Energy Solutions. During July and August the organizers attracted partners, sponsors and speakers. They developed a week-long agenda and located venues for the expo, symposium and panels. Festivities began with a welcome reception for invited guests at Google’s Washington, D.C. office on…
One of the most sweeping changes to the U.S. electricity supply market in the past two decades may be implemented before the coming winter heating season. The brief bottom line of the change is that eligible power sources will be able to participate in a details-to-be-determined rate structure that allows the owner to recover its “fully allocated costs”…