Nuclear Energy

Nuclear energy includes stories on the efforts to increase nuclear energy efficiency through modernized plant design and more efficient reactors. We also include information on nuclear waste disposal and storage.

EL Pro Policy & Enforcement Briefing: CASE Report, Solyndra Probe, Keystone XL, Halliburton

Policy & Enforcement Briefing: CASE Report, Solyndra Probe, Keystone XL, HalliburtonThe Coalition for Affordable Solar Energy (CASE) has found that levying 100-percent import duties on Chinese-made solar cells and modules may cost more than ...

February 1, 2012

EL Pro Policy & Enforcement: EU 2020 Targets, Japan Nuclear Safety, Light-Duty Vehicle Emissions

Policy & Enforcement: EU 2020 Targets, Japan Nuclear Safety, Light-Duty Vehicle EmissionsA European Commission analysis said that raising the EU's 2020 emission reduction target to 30 percent may be less costly than previously reported. The cost ...

January 20, 2012

EL Pro Policy & Enforcement Briefing: Keystone XL Delayed, Solar Tariffs, EDF Hacking

Policy & Enforcement Briefing: Keystone XL Delayed, Solar Tariffs, EDF Hacking The Obama administration announced Thursday that it will delay a decision on the controversial Keystone XL pipeline until after the 2012 election, The New York ...

November 11, 2011

EL Pro Policy & Enforcement Briefing: China Bulb Ban, Toxics Reporting, Superfund Renewables

Policy & Enforcement Briefing: China Bulb Ban, Toxics Reporting, Superfund RenewablesChina is the latest country to ban the import and sale of incandescent light bulbs, Reuters reported. The country's National Development and Reform ...

November 7, 2011

EL Pro Policy & Enforcement Briefing: Energy Department Probe, Arizona Copper Mining, Cape Wind Setback

Policy & Enforcement Briefing: Energy Department Probe, Arizona Copper Mining, Cape Wind Setback President Obama has promised House Republicans investigating the government's aid to to the now-bankrupt solar firm Solyndra that a former business executive will lead an independent ...

October 31, 2011

EL Pro Policy & Enforcement Briefing: Solar Zones, Ozone Hearing, Carbon Tax

Policy & Enforcement Briefing: Solar Zones, Ozone Hearing, Carbon Tax Interior Secretary Ken Salazar (pictured left) on Thursday announced a revised plan to establish solar energy zones in Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico and Utah, ...

October 28, 2011

EL Pro Policy & Enforcement Briefing: FERC Regulations, Wastewater Rules, Fines for ConocoPhillips and Sherwin-Williams

Policy & Enforcement Briefing: FERC Regulations, Wastewater Rules, Fines for ConocoPhillips and Sherwin-WilliamsThe Federal Energy Regulatory Commission announced that it has published three final rules on Thursday, dramatically shaking up the payment method for transmission, particularly in the ...

October 21, 2011

EL Pro Policy & Enforcement Briefing: Gulf Spill Penalties, Deepwater Wind, China Nuclear Push

Policy & Enforcement Briefing: Gulf Spill Penalties, Deepwater Wind, China Nuclear Push The House of Representatives voted on Thursday to postpone the EPA's so-called boiler MACT rules that would regulate emissions from commercial and industrial boilers, The ...

October 14, 2011

EL Pro Policy & Enforcement Briefing: Keystone XL Conflict, Wisconsin Wind Rules, Coal Ash Pushback

Policy & Enforcement Briefing: Keystone XL Conflict, Wisconsin Wind Rules, Coal Ash Pushback The State Department allowed a company with close financial ties to TransCanada to perform a crucial environmental impact study of the proposed Keystone XL pipeline, ...

October 10, 2011

EL Pro Policy & Enforcement Briefing: Calif. Cap and Trade, Final DOE Loans, UK Retrofit Push

Policy & Enforcement Briefing: Calif. Cap and Trade, Final DOE Loans, UK Retrofit Push The California Supreme Court has ruled that air-quality regulators may establish a cap-and-trade system of pollution credits, while the state appeals a lower court judge's order ...

October 3, 2011

EL Pro Policy & Enforcement Briefing: TRAIN Act, Pa. Shale Ruling, Ethanol Cutbacks

Policy & Enforcement Briefing: TRAIN Act, Pa. Shale Ruling, Ethanol CutbacksThe House of Representatives on Friday approved legislation that would establish an interagency committee to weigh the economic costs of any new EPA rules, and also ...

September 26, 2011

EL Pro Policy & Enforcement Briefing: GHG Rules Delay, BP to Blame, New Superfund Sites, $20m Northrop Cleanup

Policy & Enforcement Briefing: GHG Rules Delay, BP to Blame, New Superfund Sites, $20m Northrop CleanupThe EPA said on Tuesday that it would not meet a court-ordered Sept. 30 deadline for issuing rules governing greenhouse gas emissions from power plants and ...

September 16, 2011

EL Pro Policy & Enforcement Briefing: Double Counting Biofuels, Regulatory Timeout, Stricter Offshore Standards

Policy & Enforcement Briefing: Double Counting Biofuels, Regulatory Timeout, Stricter Offshore StandardsThe Obama administration has told a federal court that it has no objection to reopening lawsuits brought by both industry and environmental groups challenging national ...

September 14, 2011

EL Pro Policy & Enforcement Briefing: CA Tweaks Environmental Reviews; Hecla Settles; RGGI All-Time Low

Policy & Enforcement Briefing: CA Tweaks Environmental Reviews; Hecla Settles; RGGI All-Time LowA group of environmentalists has launched a campaign urging EPA administrator Lisa Jackson not to resign, after President Obama ordered the agency to scrap a ...

September 12, 2011

EL Pro Policy & Enforcement Briefing: $4.5m Chevron Settlement, Supercommittee, Opening the Everglades

Policy & Enforcement Briefing: $4.5m Chevron Settlement, Supercommittee, Opening the EvergladesChevron has reached a $4.5 million settlement with Salt Lake City and the state of Utah to pay for cleanup costs at two oil spills that polluted ...

September 7, 2011

EL Pro Policy & Enforcement Briefing: EPA Lawsuits Pricetag, Climate Talks, Solar Grants

Policy & Enforcement Briefing: EPA Lawsuits Pricetag, Climate Talks, Solar GrantsThe Department of Justice spent about $3.3 million annually between 1995 and 2010 to defend the EPA from lawsuits brought by industry, environmental and citizens ...

September 2, 2011

EL Pro Policy and Enforcement Briefing: Regulation Repeals, Exxon in the Arctic, Wind Energy

Policy and Enforcement Briefing: Regulation Repeals, Exxon in the Arctic, Wind EnergyThe leadership of the GOP majority in the U.S. House of Representatives told its membership that it will seek to repeal or delay ...

August 31, 2011

EL Pro Policy & Compliance Briefing: PNM Penalty, Efficient Refrigerators, Chemical Secrecy

Policy & Compliance Briefing: PNM Penalty, Efficient Refrigerators, Chemical SecrecyA federal judge overseeing hundreds of lawsuits against BP alleging financial losses after last year's oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico on Friday allowed most ...

August 29, 2011

EL Pro Policy & Enforcement Briefing: Raw Material Reporting, XL Go-Ahead, ConocoPhillips Sued

Policy & Enforcement Briefing: Raw Material Reporting, XL Go-Ahead, ConocoPhillips SuedThe EPA on Thursday said it would delay reporting rules that will require manufacturers and power plants to submit information on ...

August 26, 2011

EL Pro Policy & Enforcement Briefing: Nuclear Fears, Strange Bedfellows, EPA Review

Policy & Enforcement Briefing: Nuclear Fears, Strange Bedfellows, EPA ReviewThe Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) completed a final version of its regulatory review plan on Tuesday to comply with President Barack Obama's ...

August 24, 2011