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This paper builds on Freudenburg's concept of "privileged accounts" and Hajer's work on the discourse of environmental policy by analyzing the debate over coal-fired power in the United States before and after the 2016 presidential election. A mixed-methods analysis of qualitative interviews with federal energy policy actors shows that anti-regulation narratives were central to the discourse. Results highlight shifts in pro-coal narratives as members and supporters of the coal industry adapted their discursive strategies to align with political and market transitions: whereas respondents used varied narratives during the pre-election period, the core arguments in the post-election period revolved around a more cohesive set of narratives about legal opposition to regulations and the importance of coal as a source of affordable, reliable energy. Additionally, the themes of climate denial and coal jobs—documented as dominant in previous research—were relatively rare and remained peripheral to the central discourse coalitions identified in this study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The U.S. electric power sector has experienced a substantial shift of the generation mix since the turn of the century, moving from heavy reliance on coal‐powered generation to one drawing more from natural gas and, more recently, renewables. This transition has been forged by a mix of macroeconomic factors (recession and recovery); technological breakthroughs (horizontal drilling coupled with hydraulic fracturing; improvements in natural gas plant efficiency); clean energy policies at federal, state, and local levels of government; and private sector demands for carbon‐free energy sources. These factors have combined to reduce carbon emissions from electric power generation substantially this century. In this article we examine the extent of this transition, its causes, as well as the distinct American institutional factors steering it, including energy and environmental federalism, electoral politics, and the political economy of clean energy policy enactment and resistance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract In this paper we conduct an empirical analysis of the environmental and economic performance of coal-fired power plants in the United States. Using nonparametric methods for efficiency analysis we propose a theoretical framework that builds upon the restrictions of mass balances for production possibilities and explicitly takes into account heterogeneous fuel quality and prices of the fuel input. This heterogeneity influences both the cost of the production and the emission of environmentally harmful pollutants. Moreover, we analyze how the incorporation of transportation costs influences the cost efficiency of the electricity generating units and quantify the trade-off between environmentally efficient and cost-minimizing production of electricity. Highlights • A nonparametric model to estimate cost and environmental efficiency is proposed. • The model accounts for heterogeneous input quality and transportation costs. • Cost and environmental efficiency of U.S. power plants is evaluated. • Transportation costs significantly influence the results. • A trade-off between environmental and cost efficiency exists. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The US power sector is in a state of transition, prompted by significant shifts in technological innovations, energy markets, regulatory structures, and social pressures. As the electricity generation fleet changes, so too does the spatial & temporal distribution of the cooling water requirements for power plants. However, to date, these impacts have yet to be quantified. This study uses power plant-specific fuel consumption, generation, and cooling water use data to assess changes in the water withdrawn and consumed by thermoelectric power plants across 8-digit Hydrologic Unit Code (HUC-8) watersheds between 2008 and 2014. During this period, a few prominent trends are noted, including transitions in generation from coal-fired steam to natural-gas combined cycle units, from once-through cooling to wet recirculating towers and dry cooling systems, and from traditional fresh and saline surface cooling water to reclaimed water and groundwater sources. Total US cooling water withdrawals and consumption volume decreased from 2008 to 2014. The average water withdrawn per unit of electrical output decreased over this time, while changes in water consumption rates stayed relatively flat. Changes in water use at the watershed scale were unevenly distributed, as some water-scarce regions experienced increases in cooling water usage for thermal power plants, while others experienced significant water reductions and environmental benefits, especially where coal-fired generation was retired or retrofitted. The results from this study underscore the importance of evaluating water withdrawals and consumption at local spatial scales, as the water extraction, water quality and environmental health consequences of power plants on downstream users are non-uniform. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Water withdrawals for the energy sector are the largest use of fresh water in the United States. Using an econometric model of monthly plant-level electricity generation levels between 2001 and 2012, we estimate the effect of water scarcity on the US electricity fuel mix. We find that hydroelectric generation decreases substantially in response to drought, although this baseline generation is offset primarily by natural gas, depending on the geographic region. We provide empirical evidence that drought can increase emissions of CO 2 and local pollutants. We quantify the social costs of water scarcity to be $330,000 per month for each plant that experiences a one-standard deviation increase in water scarcity (2015 dollars), a relationship that persists under future projections of water scarcity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The U.S. Clean Power Plan (CPP) seeks to reduce CO2 emissions from electric power by 32% from 2005 levels, in part, by adjusting the generation mix. Generating technologies can substitute via two distinct, but interdependent mechanisms: i) utilization--i.e. adjustment of operations of existing capacity and ii) expansion--i.e. decommissioning and construction of capacity. We develop a framework for analyzing these interdependent mechanisms, then construct and validate an empirical model of the U.S. electricity sector using recent data. Assuming current low gas prices persist, increasing utilization of gas (at the expense of higher-emitting coal) will drive higher returns to gas capacity. As a result, under our business-as-usual scenario for 2030 (no CPP) we project approximately 26% less CO2 emissions than 2005 levels, indicating that the CPP target could be met with only limited policy intervention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For more than 20 years, the large-scale application of flue gas desulfurization technology has been a dominant cause of SO 2 emission reductions. From 1994–2004, electricity generation from coal increased, but the shift to low-sulfur coal eclipsed this. From 2004–2014, electricity generation from coal decreased, but a shift to higher-sulfur subbituminous and lignite coal overshadowed this. The shift in coal quality has also created a CO 2 emissions penalty, representing 2% of the sector’s total emissions in 2014. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We study whether to auction or to freely distribute emissions allowances when some firms participating in emissions trading are subject to price regulation. We show that free allowances allocated to price-regulated firms effectively act as a subsidy to output, distort consumer choices, and generally induce higher output and emissions by price-regulated firms. This provides a cost-effectiveness argument for an auction-based allocation of allowances (or equivalently an emissions tax). For real-world economies such as the Unites States, in which about 20 percent of total carbon dioxide emissions are generated by price-regulated electricity producers, our quantitative analysis suggests that free allowances increase economy-wide welfare costs of the policy by 40-80 percent relative to an auction. Given large disparities in regional welfare impacts, we show that the inefficiencies are mainly driven by the emissions intensity of electricity producers in regions with a high degree of price regulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the 1990s, state governments in the United States have diversified policy instruments to encourage the electric power industry to deploy renewable sources for electricity generation. This study identifies the trends and variations in renewable energy (RE) policy governance among states and examines the effectiveness of policy instruments in the deployment of RE sources for electricity production. This study explores 18 state legislative, RE-related regulations, programs, or financial incentives existing between 2001 and 2010 in 48 states in the United States. Renewable energy policies were classified into three types of policy approaches: command-and-control, market-based, and information instruments. Results suggest that authoritative approaches are more likely to be effective in the governmental intervention toward a pre-existing market, and information instruments and citizen participation became important in the power industry in the 2000s. In addition, it gives us some evidence that federal assistance under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 influenced the overall growth of the renewable electricity industry, in addition to state government-led policy designs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nuclear fusion of helium-3 (3He) can be used to generate electrical power with little or no radioactive waste and no carbon emissions. Some forty-four tons of this fuel could meet the electricity needs of the United States for a year. Although rare on Earth, an estimated one million tons of 3He has collected on the surface of the moon. While it would cost approximately US$17 billion to develop a mine producing one ton of 3He per year, such an operation is commercially viable over the medium term given the estimated value of that ton of fuel: US$3.7 billion. This article outlines the technical and economic issues related to 3He and its extraction, and it presents a novel approach to estimating the worth of the fuel. The potential of 3He as a future energy source is set in the context of global energy forecasts and international efforts to investigate lunar 3He resources—including a recent Chinese mission. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Results of life cycle assessments (LCAs) of power generation technologies are increasingly reported in terms of typical values and possible ranges. Extents of these ranges result from both variability and uncertainty. Uncertainty may be reduced via additional research. However, variability is a characteristic of supply chains as they exist; as such, it cannot be reduced without modifying existing systems. The goal of this study is to separately quantify uncertainty and variability in LCA. Methods: In this paper, we present a novel method for differentiating uncertainty from variability in life cycle assessments of coal-fueled power generation, with a specific focus on greenhouse gas emissions. Individual coal supply chains were analyzed for 364 US coal power plants. Uncertainty in CO and CH emissions throughout these supply chains was quantified via Monte Carlo simulation. The method may be used to identify key factors that drive the range of life cycle emissions as well as the limits of precision of an LCA. Results and discussion: Using this method, we statistically characterized the carbon footprint of coal power in the USA in 2009. Our method reveals that the average carbon footprint of coal power (100 year time horizon) ranges from 0.97 to 1.69 kg COeq/kWh of generated electricity (95 % confidence interval), primarily due to variability in plant efficiency. Uncertainty in the carbon footprints of individual plants spans a factor of 1.04 for the least uncertain plant footprint to a factor of 1.2 for the most uncertain plant footprint (95 % uncertainty intervals). The uncertainty in the total carbon footprint of all US coal power plants spans a factor of 1.05. Conclusions: We have developed and successfully implemented a framework for separating uncertainty and variability in the carbon footprint of coal-fired power plants. Reduction of uncertainty will not substantially reduce the range of predicted emissions. The range can only be reduced via substantial changes to the US coal power infrastructure. The finding that variability is larger than uncertainty can obviously not be generalized to other product systems and impact categories. Our framework can, however, be used to assess the relative influence of uncertainty and variability for a whole range of product systems and environmental impacts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Renewable energy resources have historically played a small role for electricity generation in the US. However, concerns such as security of energy supply, limitations and price fluctuations of fossil fuels, and threats of climate changes have encouraged US policy makers to think and debate about diversification strategy in the energy supply and promotion of renewables. The current paper discusses the role of renewable portfolio in the US energy action plan during 2010–2030. A system dynamics model is constructed to evaluate different costs of renewable energy utilization by 2030. Results show that while renewables will create a market with near 10 billion $ worth (in the costs level) in 2030, the total value of renewable energy promotion and utilization in the US will be more than 170 billion $(in the costs level) during 2010–2030. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: In order to secure the energy future and protect the environment, the U.S. is looking for renewable resources to meet the increasing energy demands for its electricity sector (which accounts for ≈ 40% of total U.S. energy consumption in 2011). The overall aim of this article is to summarize the possible approaches that can be used to improve and optimize the utilization of renewables for electricity generation in the United States. First, an overview is presented about the resource potential, current usage, and technical status of electricity generation from renewables (in the United States). Second, a number of economic, operational, regulatory, sustainability, and technical challenges that are likely to be encountered are identified. Third, strategies are outlined that can be used to minimize costs, deal with the spatial nature of renewables, smooth temporal variations associated with intermittency, and achieve successful integration of electricity generated from renewable resources into the U.S. power grid. Fourth, a sustainability assessment framework for renewable resource deployment (for electricity generation in the U.S.) is discussed. The framework considers multiple criteria (including cost, environmental and social impacts), thus giving a comprehensive assessment of each renewable energy resource (for electricity generation in the United States). Fifth, the current U.S. renewable energy policy is analyzed, and rigorous recommendations are made for optimizing future U.S. renewable energy policy that can permanently induce a long-term sustainable shift towards electricity generation from renewables. Finally, directions for future research are highlighted. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This paper examines the effects of market restructuring initiatives that introduced competition into the United States electricity industry on the thermal efficiency of electricity generation. An empirical model is estimated on annual data for over 950 plants from 1996 to 2006. Model estimates show that access to wholesale electricity markets and retail choice together increased the efficiency of investor-owned plants by about nine percent and that these gains stem from organizational and technological changes within the plant. Although not directly targeted by restructuring initiatives, similar efficiency gains are also found for municipality-owned plants. This result suggests that the potential benefits from competition have spilled over to public electricity generation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Forest plantations support several ecosystem services including biodiversity conservation. Establishment of a forest biomass-based industry could significantly change the age structure of forest plantations located in its vicinity and thus, could lead to a possible loss of biodiversity. Therefore, this study assesses spatiotemporal impacts of a forest biomass-based power plant on the age structure of surrounding forest plantations at landscape level. A cellular automata approach was adopted and interactions between economic objectives of forest landowners and a power plant owner punctuated by forest growth and management characteristics were considered. These spatiotemporal impacts were jointly assessed for four separate scenarios and four different power plant capacities using appropriate landscape-level indices. Slash pine ( P inus elliotti L.) was selected as a representative species. Results indicate that the age structure of surrounding forest plantations continuously fluctuates with respect to each year of power plant operation. However, the age structure, once disturbed, never becomes comparable to the original age structure. We also found that the mature plantations were harvested during early years of power plant operation and were never observed again for the remaining years of power plant operation. This was particularly true for high capacity power plants. Similarly, high value of selected spatial index at the end of power plant life for a high capacity power plant relative to the original low value of the same index indicates aggregation of remaining plantation ages at landscape level. Establishment of low capacity forest biomass-based power plants and adoption of an integrated regional level planning approach could help in maintaining original age structure characteristics of surrounding forest plantations to a large extent. This might help in sustaining various ecosystem services including biodiversity conservation obtained from forest plantations in a long run. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Biomass is expected to become an important energy source in U.S. electricity generation under state-lead renewable portfolio standards. This paper investigated the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions for energy generated from forest resources through pyrolysis-based processing. The GHG emissions of producing pyrolysis bio-oil (pyrolysis oil) from different forest resources were first investigated; logging residues collected from natural regeneration mixed hardwood stands, hybrid poplar cultivated and harvested from abandoned agricultural lands, short rotation forestry (SRF) willow plantations and waste wood available at the site of the pyrolysis plant. Effects of biomass transportation were investigated through a range of distances to a central pyrolysis facility through road transport by semi-truck. Pyrolysis oil is assumed to be converted to electrical power through co-combustion in conventional fossil fuels power plants, gas turbine combined cycle (GTCC) and diesel generators. Life cycle GHG emissions were compared with power generated using fossil fuels and power generated using biomass direct combustion in a conventional Rankine power plant. Life cycle GHG savings of 77%–99% were estimated for power generation from pyrolysis oil combustion relative to fossil fuels combustion, depending on the biomass feedstock and combustion technologies used. Several scenario analyses were conducted to determine effects of pyrolysis oil transportation distance, N-fertilizer inputs to energy crop plantations, and assumed electricity mixes for pyrolysis oil production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses a study concerning the electricity generation in the U.S. using a System Dynamics (SD) model. It mentions that the Causal Loop Diagram was used to examine all the possible electrical sources taken relation to all consumption sectors in the U.S. Moreover, the model identifies leverage points that will move the system toward lessened dependence upon carbon-based fuels and to greater dependence upon renewable energy sources including geothermal energy.

The regulation of greenhouse gas emissions from the electricity sector within a cap-and-trade system poses significant policy questions on where to locate the point of compliance. Electricity markets often cross national or other regulatory boundaries, so that electricity generated within the boundary may comply with expectations but imported electricity may not. The question addressed in this article is where to locate the point of compliance in the electricity sector — where in the supply chain linking fuel suppliers to generators to the transmission system to retail load-serving entities should the obligation for measurement and compliance be placed? This problem is examined in the specific context of California's legislative requirements and particular energy markets, with the implications of the different policy options explored. The conclusion offered is that one particular approach to regulating the electricity sector — the 'first-seller approach' — would be best for California. The alternative 'load-based approach' has had a head start in the policy process but would undermine an economy-wide market-based emissions trading programme. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present an empirical model of optimal operation of nuclear power plants. The optimal lifetime is the solution to an optimal stopping problem: The plant is closed when the expected discounted losses from continued operation exceed the discounted costs of decommissioning. We forecast the evolution of the nuclear power industry under the current regime of 40-year operating licenses and for a policy allowing 20-year license extensions. We conclude that the extension would double the expected discounted value of U.S. nuclear power plants and double the undiscounted electrical power output of the U.S. nuclear industry over its remaining lifetime. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]