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Swift (and Angry) Reaction to Trump Move to Save Coal, Nuclear Plants

June 3, 2018

Reactions from U.S. energy and legal and regulatory groups began pouring in minutes after the White House confirmed on June 1 that President Trump has directed the Department of Energy (DOE) to act immediately to stop the loss of uneconomic coal and nuclear plants.

White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said in a June 1 statement that President Trump believes in “total energy independence and dominance, and that keeping America’s energy grid and infrastructure strong and secure protects our national security, public safety and economy from intentional attacks and natural disasters.”

Because “impending retirements of fuel-secure power facilities are leading to a rapid depletion of a critical part of our nation’s energy mix, and impacting the resilience of our power grid,” the president has directed Energy Secretary Rick Perry to “prepare immediate steps to stop the loss of these resources, and looks forward to his recommendations,” she said.

The White House confirmation comes hours after the leak of a Trump administration draft memo outlining a plan for federal action to prop up coal and nuclear plants that were unable to compete in wholesale power markets and faced retirement.…

Trump Budget Backs Nuclear, Coal; Cuts Funding for Renewables

February 13, 2018

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The Trump administration’s fiscal year 2019 budget request released February 12 asks for more money to support fossil fuel-based power systems, but seeks funding below current levels for other energy initiatives, including renewable energy and energy efficiency.

The energy funding is part of a $ 4.4 trillion budget that features large increases in military spending, along with deep cuts to several domestic programs and entitlements, including Medicare, Medicaid, food stamps, and Social Security disability payments. Analysts immediately said it has little chance of being enacted by Congress as written, in part because of fears of what the proposal would add to the federal deficit over the next decade. A New York Times analysis said the proposed budget would add $ 984 billion to the federal deficit next year, and add about $ 7 trillion to the federal deficit over the next 10 years.

The proposal, Trump’s second since taking office in January 2017, is similar in many ways to his administration’s proposed 2018 fiscal year budget, which was rejected by Congress.…

As Trump Takes Over, Who Wields Power?

February 3, 2017

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What do we know as of February 1 about key Trump appointees responsible for administering White House policies affecting the power generation industry? Not much.

As the Trump administration settles in, how his teams at energy and environment agencies will implement his policy agenda remains unclear, as does his agenda. At the end of January, none of the Trump nominees for key energy and environment jobs had won Senate confirmation. The Senate Environment and Natural Resources committee approved former Texas Governor Rick Perry to be Department of Energy (DOE) secretary, by a bipartisan vote of 16–7 (the committee consists of 12 Republicans and 11 Democrats). Ryan Zinke (R-Mont.) got the nod to head the Interior Department by a 16–6 vote. Neither nomination has been scheduled for full Senate consideration.

Rick Perry, a former governor of Texas, is Trump’s pick as energy secretary.

The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee the same day punted on the nomination of Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt to be Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) chief, putting the vote off to the next day, February 1.…