Energy Policy

Regarding Ivy Main's Jan. 1 Local Opinions commentary, " Dominion Power's wind and solar facade " and the Jan. 8 response from Paul D. Koonce, " The right energy mix for Virginia ": Our company enjoyed the dubious distinction of receiving two cease-and-desist letters from Dominion Virginia Power last year, as Ms. Main noted. We had just entered into a 20-year agreement to sell electricity from Virginia's largest solar energy project, which we installed at Washington and Lee University.

Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli II on Thursday sketched the outlines of a comprehensive energy policy that would promote all available sources, from nuclear energy to biomass, while emphasizing the importance of coal and the pursuit of offshore oil. Cuccinelli, a Republican who is hoping to succeed Gov. Robert F. McDonnell (R), is in a tight race with Terry McAuliffe, a former Democratic National Committee chairman and fundraiser who has touted his record as an entrepreneur.

A day after he received more votes than any politician in state history, Virginia's senator-elect, Democrat Mark R. Warner, pledged yesterday to help jump-start the economy and develop a new national energy policy. Relaxed and casually dressed, Warner spent the day planning his two-month transition, which will include hiring staff and attending "senator school" to learn how to serve in Congress. At his campaign office in Alexandria, he thanked his volunteers and called the longtime politician he will replace, Sen. John W....

The Obama administration is leaning toward revising its landmark proposal to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from new power plants , according to several individuals briefed on the matter, a move that would delay tougher restrictions and anger many environmentalists. The discussions center on the first greenhouse gas limits for power plants, which were proposed by the Environmental Protection Agency nearly a year ago. Rewriting the proposal would significantly postpone any action and also might allow the...

John Rowe, CEO of utilities giant Exelon, talks to The Post's Steve Mufson about why America has failed to create an energy policy. We haven't had an energy policy in this country in the two decades I've been in the utility business. We've had fits and starts toward one, but never a cohesive policy. The left always wants more of the next generation technology. Wind and solar are the current favorites. The right wants more of the heavy industrial technologies — nuclear and coal particularly.

Retired Marine Gen. James Jones Former national security adviser; co-chair, Bipartisan Policy Center's Energy Project An excerpt from Washington Post Live's recent Smart Energy conference. America's energy policy today is largely the result of piecemeal attempts over five decades to answer tactical questions in response to contingencies and short-term market fluctuations. Private energy companies invest far less to create new technologies than other industries, partly because the scale of...

On two controversial issues set to come before Congress after their August recess -- a health-care overhaul and energy policy -- the latest Washington Post-ABC News poll finds public opinion sharply riven by partisan leanings. On energy, the political climate is far more favorable to the proposals coming from President Obama and the Democrats in Congress. About six in 10 say they back those changes, with a majority saying they approve of the way Obama is handling the issue. By contrast, 45 percent support the health care...

IN A SPEECH at Georgetown University this week, President Obama promised to slash America's dependence on foreign oil. Mr. Obama wants to produce more crude oil domestically, invest in biofuels, encourage the use of natural gas in vehicle fleets, and require cars and trucks to be more efficient. This sort of talk is politically appealing, especially when gasoline prices are up. But it's not the principle on which America's energy policy should turn. Oil prices reflect a world market, and, as the...

Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli II on Thursday sketched the outlines of a comprehensive energy policy that would promote all available sources, from nuclear energy to biomass, while emphasizing the importance of coal and the pursuit of offshore oil. Cuccinelli, a Republican who is hoping to succeed Gov. Robert F. McDonnell (R), is in a tight race with Terry McAuliffe, a former Democratic National Committee chairman and fundraiser who has touted his record as an entrepreneur.

As each presidential campaign attempts to use energy as a wedge issue, it's worth noting that both candidates and parties rely on an "all of the above" approach to energy policy, even if they define it somewhat differently. In general, the GOP approach puts emphasis on fully developing coal, oil, natural gas and nuclear, and supports renewable energy primarily through private-sector investments, not government support. The Democrats' approach includes a greater...

President Obama solicited ideas on a wide variety of energy and climate issues in a meeting Thursday with more than a dozen outside experts and business executives, with an eye toward what he might accomplish in his second term through executive action and public-private partnerships, according to participants. Topics included steps to promote energy efficiency, how to modernize the nation's electrical grid to make it more resilient and "green," as well as the need for more information about ...

When Thomas Steyer — a San Francisco billionaire and major Democratic donor — discusses climate change , he feels as if one of two things is true: What he's saying is blindingly obvious, or insane. "I feel like the guy in the movie who goes into the diner and says, ‘There are zombies in the woods and they're eating our children,' " Steyer said during a recent breakfast at the Georgetown Four Seasons, his first appointment in a day that included...

Months ago, when the Republicans still believed they had a chance of retaking the Senate, Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) started to think about what she would do if she became chairman of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee. No need to worry about that. But Murkowski went ahead anyway and drew up a blueprint about how Congress might address energy issues. She unveiled the plan last week: " Energy 20/20: A Vision for America's Energy Future . " The cover...

Automakers debut new car models at Detroit's North American International Auto Show, but they come to the Washington Auto Show to talk green technology and energy policy. Last week, Energy Secretary Steven Chu delivered the show's keynote, highlighting the Energy Department's "EV Everywhere Grand Challenge" — an initiative aiming to make electric vehicles more affordable by 2022. The Energy Department announced an initiative — the "Workplace Charging Challenge" — to...

Calling himself "a passionate advocate" for energy policy, Sen. John Kerry said Thursday that climate change was among the top international threats facing the United States, cheering environmentalists and disappointing oil industry officials, who have been watching how his confirmation as secretary of state could affect the fate of the Keystone XL pipeline. In his opening statement before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Kerry said that American foreign policy "is defined by...

KIEV, Ukraine — Gazprom's foreign customers are asserting themselves more boldly in their dealings with the giant Russian energy company. French, German, Slovakian and Turkish companies have renegotiated their contracts for natural gas; the European Union has launched an antitrust investigation ; and Lithuania recently filed a $1.9 billion legal claim against Gazprom over alleged price gouging. But no country is more bound up in Gazprom's increasingly troubled fortunes than Ukraine.

COEBURN, Va. — Wearing helmets, headlamps and uniforms streaked with grime, the workers at Paramont Coal sound weary of fighting. They are in the middle of what they call a long-running "war on coal" that is threatening their livelihood and stoking fury directed at the federal government. "When the president said that you can build a coal plant, but it'll bankrupt you — he did a good job," said Jack Blanton, 59, a supervisor at the Toms Creek plant, referring to remarks Barack Obama made as a...

BOULDER CITY, Nev.—President Obama traveled here to the Nevada desert Wednesday to highlight the future of solar energy – and ridicule Republicans for trimming back federal funding to develop it. "If some politicians get their way, there won't be any more public investments in solar energy," Obama said at the Copper Mountain Solar 1 plant, about a half-hour's drive southeast from Las Vegas. "These folks dismiss the promise of solar power and wind power and fuel-efficient cars.

Regarding C. Boyden Gray's Oct. 12 Washington Forum commentary, " Beyond a breezy energy policy ": Most people agree that keeping electric bills low is a good thing. After all, the average American household spends more than $1,200 a year on electricity. What Mr. Gray missed when he discussed wind energy is that adding it to the power grid helps keep electric bills low. And he ignored the incentives available to all other forms of electrical generation. All forms of energy receive subsidies.

T he recent debate over the wind-production tax credit ignores the big picture of how electricity is produced in this country. Our national energy policy should be focused on finding reasonable, science-based solutions to making all electricity production cleaner, more secure and more economical. Fights over costly stove-piped initiatives such as the wind tax credit distract from this larger goal. The major distraction comes from the widespread assumption that kilowatt-hours — the basic units of electricity — are...