Legal & Regulatory

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has proposed a sweeping new licensing framework designed to push microreactors out of the lab and onto the grid at unprecedented speed. The proposed rule, called Part 57, is paired with a broader agency overhaul that earlier this year created the Office of Advanced Reactors (OAR), headed by longtime […]

Corporate America has become one of the most consequential forces shaping the U.S. electricity system. Speaking as a guest on The POWER Podcast, Rich Powell, CEO of the Corporate Energy Buyers Association (CEBA), explained how the country’s largest energy buyers are responding to unprecedented demand growth, betting on a widening mix of clean technologies, and […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has approved a subsequent license renewal (SLR) for Duke Energy’s Robinson Nuclear Plant, clearing the 54-year-old reactor to continue generating electricity in the Pee Dee region through 2050. The decision, announced on Thursday, comes roughly a year after Duke Energy filed its renewal application in April 2025. It extends Robinson’s […]

Next week, roughly 1,500 electric cooperative leaders will gather in Washington, D.C., to meet with lawmakers and federal agencies at a pivotal moment for the nation’s energy future. They represent not-for-profit utilities that power 42 million Americans—many in rural communities—and they are coming with a clear message: smart energy policies are urgently needed to address […]

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has set a June 2026 deadline to act in a high-stakes rulemaking that could redefine how massive new power users—including AI-driven data centers—connect to the U.S. interstate transmission system. In an April 16 order in its “Interconnection of Large Loads to the Interstate Transmission System” docket (RM26-4-000), the commission […]

Westinghouse has asked the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to renew and update the design certification for its AP1000 reactor, formally proposing Vogtle Unit 4’s as‑built configuration as the new standard reference plant for future AP1000 projects in the U.S. If accepted and docketed, the submittal—Revision 20 of the AP1000 Design Control Document (DCD)—would establish “a […]

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has approved another 20-year operating license for California’s lone nuclear power plant.

Since May 2025, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has issued more than 40 emergency orders and extensions under Section 202(c) of the Federal Power Act—more than in any comparable period in the past two decades. The orders have fallen into two broad categories: retirement deferrals, which compel utilities and grid operators to keep specific generating […]

Renewable energy developers, independent power producers, utilities and investors have spent the past several years navigating a shifting trade environment affecting solar modules, batteries and wind components. Due to a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision, that now has changed for those who have utilized international supply chains to build their qualifying electric assets.

Most commercial solar projects must now meet rigorous “physical work of a significant nature” requirements to establish federal tax credit eligibility.

In 2011, I published an article in the Boston University Journal of Science & Technology Law examining space-based solar power (SBSP) and the issue of property rights in space, and more specifically, in geostationary orbit (GEO), under the current regime of international treaties and policies.  Today, as the demand for computing power grows, that question […]

The Internal Revenue Service recently issued its long-awaited guidance on how to determine whether a clean energy project uses too much equipment from Chinese or other prohibited foreign entities to qualify for valuable federal clean energy tax.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC or the Commission) on February 19 of this year issued an Order on Rehearing and Clarification ruling that qualifying facilities (QFs) that are 20 MW or smaller cannot rely on their exemption from Federal Power Act (FPA) Sections 205 and 206 during periods when their Form No. 556 certifications are outdated due to any material changes from the original certification, such as changes in upstream ownership.

Seven of the nation’s largest artificial intelligence (AI) companies and hyperscalers signed a White House-brokered agreement March 4 committing to build, procure, or fund new generation capacity sufficient to cover the electricity demands of their data centers—and to pay for all grid infrastructure upgrades required to connect them, without passing those costs to residential or […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) on March 4 authorized staff to issue a construction permit for TerraPower’s Kemmerer Power Station Unit 1 in Kemmerer, Wyoming—the first commercial reactor the agency has approved for construction in nearly a decade, and the first approval for a commercial non–light water reactor design in more than 40 years. The […]

On April 24, 1996, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) issued Order 888, requiring all public utilities owning or operating interstate transmission facilities to file open-access

A resurgent nuclear industry cannot succeed unless the U.S. invests in the entire nuclear fuel cycle—from uranium mining to long‑term waste storage. Without strengthening this industrial backbone, nuclear power’s potential may remain more aspiration than reality.

Despite growing technical maturity, post-combustion carbon capture and storage (CCS) projects for power generation continue to face decisive hurdles. Integration complexity, financing structures, and risk

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has proposed the first dedicated federal licensing framework for commercial fusion machines, setting out a technology‑inclusive, risk‑informed approach under its 10 CFR Part 30 byproduct material rules rather than the power‑reactor framework used for fission plants. The proposed rule seeks to place regulatory oversight of fusion‑generated radioactive material within […]

The Department of Energy (DOE) has closed a $26.54 billion loan package—the largest single loan commitment in the agency’s history—with Southern Co. subsidiaries Georgia Power and Alabama Power to finance more than 16 GW of “firm” generation and more than 1,300 miles of transmission infrastructure and grid enhancement across the Southeast. The transaction, announced Feb. […]

The Department of Energy (DOE) has released specifications for 26 artificial intelligence (AI) challenges under its Genesis Mission that could reshape how power plants are designed, licensed, built, and operated. Several directly target nuclear plant deployment timelines, grid interconnection bottlenecks, data center load integration, fusion commercialization, and subsurface energy recovery. Launched via executive order on […]

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), the federal agency responsible for licensing and oversight of civilian nuclear facilities, on Feb. 4 said it would launch a sweeping organizational restructure intended to consolidate decision-making authority, integrate licensing and inspection teams, and align the agency with presidential directives for accelerated nuclear technology deployment. The reorganization will create […]

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has issued its first production-scale task orders under a $2.7-billion uranium enrichment program launched in 2024, awarding $900 million each to Centrus Energy Corp., General Matter, and Orano Federal Services to expand domestic capacity for conventional low-enriched uranium (LEU) and high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU) over the next decade. The […]

The Trump administration during both its terms has prioritized its efforts on reviving the coal industry by introducing a series of policy changes and executive actions intended to boost coal leasing and production on federal lands. Yet, despite these political moves, coal’s trajectory in the U.S. energy market has followed a different path.

A rapid succession of Section 202(c) emergency orders has forced utilities to keep more than 2 GW of coal capacity online in December alone, marking an unprecedented federal intervention in grid operations and triggering legal challenges from states and environmental groups. Across all orders issued since May 2025, the DOE has now stalled the retirement […]

On Dec. 8, 2025, U.S. District Court Judge Patti B. Saris of the District of Massachusetts granted summary judgment against the Trump administration declaring that the Jan. 20, 2025, executive memorandum directing federal agencies to halt wind energy development (and all related agency actions to implement the memorandum) were unlawful. Wind Energy in the U.S. […]

The last coal-fired power generation unit in Washington state, scheduled to close by year-end, is the latest U.S. coal facility ordered to remain in operation by the Trump administration. The U.S. Dept. of Energy (DOE) on December 16 told TransAlta, a Calgary, Canada-based independent power producer (IPP), to keep the 730-MW, coal-fired Centralia Unit 2 […]

In the push for more efficient and streamlined permitting processes, recent changes from Congress, the U.S. Supreme Court, and the executive branch have reshaped the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) landscape.

The past year saw a multitude of factors driving up electricity prices, including rapid growth in electricity demand, supply chain tightness, deployment delays for transmission and production projects, and an uncertain political and permitting climate. We expect all of these trends to continue in 2026. Changing economics have turned the justification for project development in […]

In the race to decarbonize and secure America’s energy future, nuclear power is once again in the spotlight. From advanced reactors to fusion breakthroughs, the promise of nuclear energy is clear.