Energy Secretary Research Articles

Negotiating failure: understanding the geopolitics of climate change

Negotiating failure: understanding the geopolitics of climate change

Washington Post headline: “The physicist at the forefront of talks with Iran”

<xhtml:span xmlns:xhtml="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en">In Energy secretary Ernest Moniz, veteran reporter Steven Mufson sees multifaceted usefulness to the Obama administration.</xhtml:span>

Washington Post op-ed: Energy secretary Ernest Moniz champions Iran nuclear deal

The physicist believes that “the recently concluded negotiation represents an important step toward a safer world.”

Questions and answers with Ernest Moniz

The energy secretary wants the labs to play a greater role in the agency’s strategic planning; defends administration’s “all of the above” approach to energy policy.

Stakeholder Issues Play Key Role in Shale Future

Stakeholder Engagement As the shale revolution changes the map of oil and natural gas development and shifts the balance of production between regions, public acceptance is an increasing challenge. The unconventional resource boom has brought intensive drilling and production operations to areas often unaccustomed to these activities and frequently more populous than traditional petroleum development areas. A variety of public concerns have assumed a high profile, including the environmental issues of water use; perceived risk to groundwater aquifers; waste disposal; truck traffic, dust, and noise; and emissions. While the success of production from shales and other tight-rock formations draws attention nationally and globally, its future depends much on the attention and reception it receives locally. As shale drilling has surged, public eyes may be more focused on the community impacts of oil and gas operations than ever before. Some jurisdictions have imposed moratoria or even bans on the use of hydraulic fracturing, which is an essential component of the success of shale development. The risk of similar measures and additional restrictions spreading to other areas is real. There is increasing industry recognition of the need to reach out to communities, share information, and listen to stakeholders. Enactments such as fracturing moratoria and bans are “the single thing that can stymie more development in these unconventional resource plays,” said Clay Bretches, chief executive officer of Sendero Midstream. Formerly vice president of E&amp;P services and minerals at Anadarko, Bretches chaired the coordinating subcommittee of the North American Resource Development Study for the National Petroleum Council’s (NPC’s) report, “Prudent Development— Realizing the Potential of North America’s Abundant Natural Gas and Oil Resources,” presented to the United States Secretary of Energy in September 2011. For the industry, Bretches and others said, sustainable success in field development demands an increased willingness and ability to engage all stakeholders, including communities and local governments, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), and a variety of industry-related bodies. This is in addition to higher levels of government that are customarily involved. The need for increased stakeholder engagement was emphasized in the “Prudent Development” report.

Moniz takes new crosscutting approach to DOE’s R&amp;D programs

<xhtml:span xmlns:xhtml="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en">The Energy Secretary wants to recast his department’s relationship with the national laboratories as a strategic partnership.</xhtml:span>

Carbon Capture Ramps Up

An international energy industry partnership and the Department of Energy plan to construct what will be the world’s largest carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) facility at an operating coal-fired power plant. If successful, the project would be a game changer. It would demonstrate a profitable way to retrofit commercial-scale coal-fired plants and allow them to continue burning coal while complying with expected future limits on new carbon dioxide emissions. The Petra Nova project at an NRG Energy power plant near Houston is a 50-50 joint venture between NRG and JX Nippon Oil & Gas Exploration. The CCS system construction price is expected to hit $1 billion, with the firms contributing $300 million each and the ventureborrowing $250 million. DOE is providing $167 million for what Energy Secretary Ernest J. Moniz says is a first-of-a-kind project. When completed in 2016, it is intended to capture 1.6 million tons of CO2 annually ...

Obama nominates nuclear and defense official as deputy energy secretary

Obama nominates nuclear and defense official as deputy energy secretary

Negotiation Lessons from the Under Secretary for Thugs

Bill Richardson has had a remarkable career. He has been an eight-term member of Congress,United States ambassador to the United Nations,United States secretary of energy,and a two-term governor of New Mexico,becoming along the way a force within the Democratic Party, a leading Hispanic American politician,and a presidential hopeful in 2008. In the course of that career,he has developed a particular professional sideline — negotiating with international adversaries of the United States, a rogue’s gallery that has included Fidel Castro, Hugo Chavez, Saddam Hussein, two generations of North Korean Kims,and two Congolese Kabilas — both father and son — as well as an assortment of warlords and tribal leaders.Often the subject of those negotiations was the release of hostages and political prisoners,a task at which Richardson has been surprisingly successful, leading one wag within President Bill Clinton’s administration to label him“the Under Secretary for Thugs.” But “thugs” is not the word that Richardson uses to describe his negotiating counterparts — he chooses to call them“sharks”instead,a perhaps more apt and somewhat less pejorative term. Sharks, after all, are forces of nature that must feed their hunger or die.The people with whom Richardson negotiated also had a hunger that needed to be fed — a hunger for power. Sharks, as Richardson reminds us, are to be found not only in the waters of the Third World, but also in both houses of Congress, the White House, state capitals, town halls, and sometimes even our own homes.

Dr Chu Goes to Washington

For the opening of its Autumn Symposium, the College de France had the pleasure of welcoming Steven Chu, former US Secretary of Energy. Steven Chu started his career at the Bell laboratories, an extraordinary breeding ground for young scientists, several of whom were subsequently awarded a Nobel Prize. In 1997, he himself received the Physics Nobel Prize, along with two other researchers: Claude Cohen-Tannoudji, Professor at the College de France, and William D. Phillips of the National Inst...

Wall Street Journal editorial: “Moniz breaks the taboo against selling US crude overseas”

The newspaper, usually hostile to the Obama administration’s energy policy, finds itself agreeing with the new energy secretary.

Conning the IADC Newsletters:Wind Power and Nuisance Litigation

This article originally appeared in two parts in the April 2013 and May 2013 Environmental and Energy Law Committee newsletters. AROUND THE GLOBE people seek ways to provide ever increasing demands for electric power to developing--and developed--nations while minimizing the impact power production has on our environment. Regardless of one's personal view as to whether fossil fuels have negatively impacted our environment, the global perception of fossil fuels upon the environment has resulted in a quest for viable alternative energy sources and joint efforts between the private sector and governments around the world to bring to market reliable and renewable sources of energy as never before. One of the alternative sources of energy that has received much focus, and investment, in the last decade is wind power. purpose of this paper is to outline basic issues that arise when current day wind power sources are installed. To do so, we will briefly address international issues pushing development of alternative energy sources, such as wind power, and we will outline basic issues encountered when installing a wind power site. We will then specifically address issues that have consistently arisen around the globe in an array of tribunals by those who allege problems resulting from wind power sources by way of nuisance (or nuisance type) claims against wind power companies. 1. International Treaties And Federal Laws Have Had A Direct Impact Upon Development Of Renewable Energy Sources Such As Wind Energy On December 11, 1997, an international treaty known as the Kyoto Protocol was adopted. (1) At the time of this writing, the Kyoto Protocol has been signed by 84 nations or territories with a total of 192 nations or territories acceding to the agreement since its enactment. (2) Under the Kyoto Protocol, limits on greenhouse gas emissions were set for thirty seven industrialized nations. (3) Under the Kyoto Protocol, at the simplest level, nations are essentially required to reduce their footprint. This is accomplished through regulation of the amount of carbon dioxide emitted in the nation by both public and private sources. There are multiple mechanisms under Kyoto Protocol to accomplish this goal. One of the mechanisms involves International Emissions Trading. This is commonly known as the trading of carbon credits. By trading carbon credits, private entities can essentially buy compliance with the limitations imposed by the Kyoto Protocol. The mitigation of carbon footprints through the support of alternative projects, such as reforestation (tree planting), grasslands restoration, or the use of solar or wind energy is one way of reducing one's carbon footprint, and is known as carbon offsetting. (4) Through the trade of carbon credits, alternative energy projects have been offered a global investment source never before comprehended. United States has not yet acceded to Kyoto, but there is certainly pressure for the United States to participate in Kyoto Protocol. Though not a response to Kyoto, federal legislation and federal directives somewhat akin to Kyoto Protocol have been enacted in the United States. Federal measures are not aimed at reducing greenhouse emissions as much as to encourage development of additional energy sources, which has the same ultimate effect over time. U.S. Department of Energy summarized obligations of public utilities within the U.S. to use renewable resources as a source of consumer energy as follows: (5) Energy Policy Act of 2005 (EPACT 2005; Pub. L. 109-58) requires, in part, that the President, acting through the Secretary of Energy, shall seek to ensure that, to the extent economically feasible and technically practicable, of the total amount of electric energy the Federal government consumes during any fiscal year, the following amounts shall be renewable energy: a) Not less than 3 percent in fiscal years 2007 through 2009 b) Not less than 5 percent in fiscal years 2010 through 2012 c) Not less than 7. …

Energy Secretary Focuses on Agency Agenda, Climate Change, and Fracking at Hearing

U.S. Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz and Republican members of Congress found some common ground on energy issues such as nuclear power and the current shale oil and gas boom during a 13 June congressional hearing. However, there was some contention about the need to move forward in dealing with climate change, the definition of an “all‐of‐the‐above” energy strategy, and the direction the Department of Energy (DOE) has taken.

Moniz fends off climate change skeptics at his congressional debut

The new Energy Secretary also discussed particle physics, fracking, and nuclear waste. The new Energy Secretary also discussed particle physics, fracking, and nuclear waste.

New U.S. energy secretary Moniz calls climate change a high priority

Climate change is “an extraordinarily high priority,” Ernest Moniz, the new secretary of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), said during a 22 May town hall meeting 1 day after being sworn into office.

Obama nominates Moniz as next energy secretary

Obama nominates Moniz as next energy secretary

Ernest Moniz is likely next US secretary of energy

Ernest Moniz is likely next US secretary of energy

NSF director Suresh, Energy secretary Chu announce resignations

Two high-profile scientists in President Obama's first administration will not be serving in his second.

Romney, Obama surrogates spell out candidates’ energy policies

Presidential candidates differ sharply on government involvement in energy R&D and climate change. But both favor more nuclear power and fracking.

Air Transport Association of America v. Energy Secretary: Clarifying Direct Effect and Providing Guidance for Future Instrument Design for a Green Economy in the European Union

In a preliminary ruling on Air Transport Association of America v. Energy Secretary, the Court of Justice of the European Union delivered a groundbreaking decision. The case is concerned with the legality of the inclusion of the aviation sector in the EU emission trading scheme (ETS). As such, it poses many interesting legal questions from the points of view of EU external relations and EU environmental law, but ultimately what the case represents is a resounding victory for the EU and its Member States in confirming the legality of the inclusion of aviation in the EU ETS.