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Environmental

Perfect Superstorm

Since Obama won reelection, we must ask whether we’d rather have EPA cracking down on carbon emissions, or whether a legislated framework would be better for everyone.

Category: 
Frontlines
Sidebar: 
Author Bio: 

Michael T. Burr is Fortnightly’s editor-in-chief. Email him at burr@pur.com

Deck: 

Could carbon taxes emerge in the election aftermath?

Multi-pollutant Emissions Control

Conflicting demands for complying with EPA’s MATS rule favor a single control technology to deal with multiple types of power plant emissions.

Category: 
Technology Corridor
Sidebar: 
Author Bio: 

Kevin Crapsey is vice president of corporate strategy and development at Eco Power Solutions.

Deck: 

MATS compliance now, with flexibility for the future.

Solution in Search of a Problem

Utilities seeking financing for environmental upgrades should look to the markets for debt and equity, rather than trying to securitize those costs.

Image: 
Figure 1 - Securitization by Purpose (% of Total)
Figure 2 - Risk Compression Caused By Securitization
Category: 
Transactions Business & Money
Sidebar: 
Author Bio: 

Thomas Feldman is a principal at Concentric Energy Advisors.

Deck: 

Securitization fails the test for financing environmental capex.

Maximum Burden

Although EPA claims its tough new clean air regulations will improve public health, in fact they’ll measurably degrade the health of Florida seniors.

Image: 
Figure 1 - Florida Residents 65 years or Older
Figure 2 - Utility MACT and Florida Elders
Category: 
Op Ed
Sidebar: 
Author Bio: 

Roger H. Bezdek (rbezdek@misi-net.com) is president of Management Information Services Inc. He’s authored several articles for Fortnightly since 1996, most recently “Energy Subsidy Myths and Realities,” June 2012.

Deck: 

The electricity price increases from the proposed EPA Utility MACT will act as a regressive tax on the elderly.

Least-Risk Planning

The D.C. Circuit’s CSAPR ruling reinforces the benefits of planning ahead and keeping options open. A diverse portfolio strategy reduces risks and costs.

Sidebar: 
Author Bio: 

Ken Colburn (kcolburn@raponline.org) and David Farnsworth are senior associates at the Regulatory Assistance Project (RAP). John Shenot is an associate, Camille Kadoch is a research and policy analyst, Elizabeth Watson is energy and environment fellow, and Rebecca Wigg is a communications associate at RAP.

Deck: 

The Homer City decision increases uncertainty—but rewards forward thinking.

Federal Feud

When Revolutionary War veteran Daniel Shays led an attack on the federal Springfield Armory in January 1787—the spark that ignited the federalist movement—he scarcely could’ve guessed that now, 225 years later, his spiritual descendants would still be fighting that very same battle.

Sidebar: 
Author Bio: 

Bruce W. Radford (radford@pur.com) is Fortnightly’s publisher, and Michael T. Burr (burr@pur.com) is the editor-in-chief.

Deck: 

The jurisdictional battle rages on, with FERC and EPA squaring off against the states.

Cleanup Time

Ongoing litigation over EPA rules raises compliance risks and costs. North Carolina utilities, however, benefited from the state’s forward thinking.

Category: 
Op Ed
Sidebar: 
Author Bio: 

David Hoppock (david.hoppock@duke.edu) is a research analyst and Sarah Adair (sarah.adair@duke.edu) is an associate in research at Duke University’s Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions in Durham, N.C.

Deck: 

Retrofitting early protected North Carolina ratepayers.

What Price, GHGs?

Renewable portfolio standards and other green energy rules put a price on environmental benefits. Calculating this price can help clarify the social value of GHG reductions.

Image: 
Figure 1 - Implied CO2 Externality Values of Carbon Reduction Policies
Figure 2 - Ranges of Implied CO2 Externality Values
Category: 
Business & Money
Sidebar: 
Author Bio: 

Philip Q Hanser is a principal with The Brattle Group, and Mariko Geronimo is an associate with the firm. The views in this article are theirs and not those of The Brattle Group or its clients.

Deck: 

Calculating the implied value of CO2 abatement in green energy policies.

Mitt Romney and You

The Republican nominee’s energy plan doesn’t say much about electricity or natural gas. But what it does say should sound familiar to anyone who’s followed energy policy for more than four years.

Category: 
Frontlines
Sidebar: 
Author Bio: 

Michael T. Burr is Fortnightly’s editor-in-chief. Email him at burr@pur.com

Deck: 

Bold plan for independence, or more partisan overreach?

The Methane Myth

The EPA’s new method for measuring the amount of methane that escapes from natural gas wells is based on flawed data. Oklahoma’s attorney general says this misguided policy decision treads on state regulatory authority and stifles resource development.

Category: 
Op Ed
Sidebar: 
Author Bio: 

E. Scott Pruitt is attorney general of Oklahoma and chairman of the Republican Attorneys General Association.

Deck: 

Incompetence and overreach at the EPA.

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