Recently in Energy policy Category

John Hofmeister is persisting in his promotion of the idea of a Federal Reserve-type board to set and manage US energy policy, but it certainly seems as though the prospects for it are even dimmer than they were when he was talking about it a couple of years ago.

The former president of Shell flogged the notion Wednesday at Platts' 4th Annual Global Energy Outlook Forum. US energy policy has proven to be an "unwinnable and hopeless way forward," he said at the New York City event. "How much hydrocarbons should we be using in 2040? In 2060? We have no idea what it could look like."

Taking a cue from Consumer Reports, the Electric Power Research Institute has published a handy Generation Technology Reference Card, which uses the device of circles colored to depict a technology's performance on a set of performance qualities. It seems to be a useful quick reference for those already in the know, and a dandy handout for people who are unfamiliar with power generation but want to know why generation choices are made.

The natural gas industry may be more ready than anybody to gear up for the newly constituted Congress -- at least when it comes to advertising and advocacy.

Not only has the industry had TV commercials and print ads running, it also has Capitol Hill covered -- at least all those congressional office minions who are forced to ride the Metro to and from work.

Last week's 33rd anniversary of the Surface Mining Reclamation and Control Act, also known as SMCRA, marked an important milestone in the development of the Powder River Basin coal fields, as does November's upcoming 20th anniversary of the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments, which mandated reductions in sulfur emissions.

More often overlooked in the development of the region, which now annually accounts for about 40% of US coal production, is the construction of the so-called Joint Line, a 100-mile stretch of railroad in northeastern Wyoming used by Union Pacific and BNSF Railway that serves the six largest coal mines in the country.

A dispatch from our colleague Peter Maloney, who, far from his New York base found a welcome moment of candor in Singapore:

It's refreshing every once in a while to hear a politician speak candidly about energy policy.

During the World Cities Summit in Singapore, MM Lee was asked whether or not Singapore could become energy independent. That's Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew, Singapore's first prime minister and the man credited with moving the island nation into the ranks of developed countries. (Singapore ranks fourth in GDP per capita, according to the International Monetary Fund, two notches above sixth-ranked United States.)

Although the minister mentor post is largely an honorary position -- it was created in 2004 and Lee Kuan Yew was appointed to it by his son, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong -- what MM Lee says still carries a lot of weight

Jon Stewart took time on June 16 to skewer the United States' energy policy -- or, rather, the lack thereof -- over the last 40 years. "The Daily Show" pieced together clips of every president dating back to Nixon promising variations on a "clean energy future" and "breaking the addiction to foreign oil" in a fairly devastating eight-minute segment.

He showed the "Groundhog Day" experience triggered by President Obama's speech Tuesday night: presidents saying the same thing over and over and over ...

TV newsman John Stossel is catching flak from journalists for headlining an event put on by the Institute for Energy Research, a Washington think tank that promotes fossil fuels.

Stossel's signature mustache appears on the group's website advertising the June 4 event in Houston. A promo video leaves the impression that the audience can expect a policy platform from Stossel, not just analysis from a detached journalist.

"I went to the belly of the beast and survived," Barclays natural gas analyst Tom Driscoll told his clients in a phone message Friday morning.

The beast?

A panel discussion Thursday night at New York City's Cooper Union: "Hydro-fracking for Natural Gas -- how this 'clean' fuel technology threatens our water, our health, our landscapes, and our energy future."

Whew.