23 item(s) were returned.
The U.S. Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has issued their final definitions of financial products regulated under the Dodd-Frank Act. The rule maintains that forward contracts, which cover delivery of physical goods and, according to Platts, currently constitute most energy market trades are not swaps, which are purely financial exchanges. Examples of forward contracts in energy markets include environmental commodities, peak supply contracts, tolling agreements and many natural gas supply contracts. The ruling is significant because it keeps much of energy market outside of the jurisdiction of the CFTC, which is expanded by the Dodd-Frank Act. The ruling has been been called… [more]
View InsightA House vote on H.R. 4480, the Strategic Energy Production Act of 2012, also being cited as the Domestic Energy and Jobs Act, has brought a veto threat from the White House and the introduction of 27 amendments from Representatives. The Congressional Research Service reports that the bill would direct the Secretary of Energy to develop a plan to increase the percentage of federal lands leased for oil and gas exploration, development, and production, and would require that additional federal land be put under production if the Strategic Petroleum Reserve is tapped. The bill also calls for a streamlining of the drill permitting… [more]
View InsightOver the past several years individuals and organizations across the political spectrum have called for a comprehensive national energy policy. For example, the CEO of American Electric Power (AEP) recently called for a comprehensive, multi-decade policy, citing the power sector’s desire for regulatory certainty. “One of the biggest challenges [for AEP], certainly from a regulatory perspective,” he said, “[is that] regulations tend to change based upon what administration is in place. Really we do need an element of consistency there.” Robert Rapier, author of the R-Squared column at Consumer Energy Report, also supports the need for more stable energy policies.… [more]
View InsightBloomberg Government has published The Twilight of Coal Power?, an assessment of how EPA’s new greenhouse gas rules might affect coal-fired power plants. The report concludes that although coal will remain in the energy mix for decades due to existing plants, the EPA’s new rule will effectively ban new coal plants. The new rules require that fossil plants not exceed 1,000 lbs. of CO2/MWh. Scott Segal, executive director of the Electric Reliability Coordinating Council, which represents utility interests, warns that EPA’s rule will disrupt utility hedging by eliminating coal from the fuel mix and “depriving the market of its flexibility.”… [more]
View InsightThe Bureau of Land Management (BLM), an arm of the Department of the Interior (DOI), last updated its hydraulic fracturing (“fracking”) rules in 1988, before many current technologies and techniques were adopted. Now, after more than 20 years, BLM has released a set of proposed changes to the regulations, including a requirement for disclosure of the chemicals used in fracking on federal lands, and standards for gas well construction. Currently, most fracking occurs on private lands, and is subject only to state regulations. A recent report found that only 5% of active shale wells in the past decade were on… [more]
View InsightIn response to a request from the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) has released its Analysis of Impacts of the Clean Energy Standard Act of 2012. Committee chairman Jeff Bingaman (D-NM), introduced the Act, which aims to increase low-carbon power generation in the U.S. by more than 80% by 2035 utilizing a market-based system of tradable energy credits. Beginning in 2015, utilities would be required to sell an increasing percentage of energy from clean energy sources. Utilities could generate electricity from clean sources to meet the Act’s requirements, or could purchase clean energy… [more]
View InsightThree recent efforts – two private, and one public – could shape the future of U.S. shale gas and oil development. The Marcellus Shale Coalition (MSC), an industry group, released Recommended Practices: Site Planning, Development and Restoration, offering general guidance for natural gas professionals developing or restoring shale plays in the Marcellus. Days later, the Appalachian Shale Responsible Producers Group (ASRPG), led by Andarko Energy, released their Recommended Standards and Practices, which again provides general guidance to well operators and shale play developers. Ohio Governor John Kasich has pushed legislation to the state’s legislature that the his office hopes will… [more]
View InsightLast week the EIA reported that natural gas-fired power generation will increase by as much as 17% in 2012, while coal is expected to decrease 10%. This shift away from coal and toward natural gas is largely tied to gas’ low price, as well as projections of the impacts of increasingly strict federal regulation on power plants. In March, natural gas spot prices averaged $2.18MMBtu, their lowest level since 1999. Then on April 11th, the NYMEX May gas futures contract settled at a 10-year low of $1.984/MMBtu [EIA]. Despite low gas prices, some utilities express hesitancy about over-committing to gas-generated… [more]
View InsightOn March 27, 2012 the Environmental Protection Agency, under the authority of the Clean Air Act, released proposed greenhouse gas standards for newly constructed power plants. The rules would require that “new fossil‐fuel‐fired power plants meet an output‐based standard of 1,000 pounds of CO2 per megawatt‐hour (lb CO2/MWh gross).” Combined-cycle natural gas plants should be able to meet this requirement, and coal- or petroleum coke-fired plants would be able to with emerging technologies such as carbon capture and storage. The proposed rules elicited varied response from advocacy groups, many of which were highlighted in this Los Angeles Times article. Environmental… [more]
View Insight“Jobs, the Energy Sector, and Government” February 16th, 2012 Capitol Hill, Washington, DC Opening Remarks: WILLIAM SQUADRON, President, OurEnergyPolicy.org Speakers: KENNETH P. GREEN, Resident Scholar, American Enterprise Institute JIGAR SHAH, CEO, Carbon War Room ROBERT H. TOPEL, Professor, Urban and Labor Economics, Booth School of Business, University of Chicago YOSSIE HOLLANDER (moderator), Founder and Chairman, OurEnergyPolicy.org MR. SQUADRON: Thank you all for coming. There’s still a few people outside coming in, in a little bit of a line, but we should get started, because I know all of you have busy schedules, and we appreciate your taking the… [more]
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