Mary Beth Gentleman, a former co-chair of the energy practice at law firm Foley Hoag and current Hillary Clinton volunteer, said that the presumptive Democratic nominee for president would likely have coattails if elected, resulting in a switch to a Democratic-controlled U.S. Senate, but a takeover of the U.S. House appears far less likely. While there may be opportunities for bipartisan energy legislation, a continuation of the legislative stalemate may continue.
“I think the Clinton approach will be to avoid legislation, if at all possible, avoid anything that is fully dependent on both houses passing something. Instead, she would use other tools in the toolbox [such as agency actions and executive orders] to advance a clean energy agenda,” she said.
Republicans would likely maintain control of both houses of Congress if Donald Trump, the party’s presumptive nominee, is elected president, said David Tamasi, a senior vice president at Rasky Baerlein Strategic Communications. The Trump campaign eschews traditional staples such as position papers, detailed policy discussions and other documents that signal the legislation he might pursue.
But based on a speech Trump gave in North Dakota at the end of May that called for promoting domestic fossil fuel production and weakening EPA, “his energy policy is absolutely in lock-step with what the Congressional leadership has been pushing,” Tamasi said. “There’s absolutely no daylight on that between them.”
Natural gas pipelines are primarily under the jurisdiction of FERC, but important reviews of them — and of transmission lines like Northern Pass — occur under EPA’s National Environmental Policy Act, said John Moskal, senior adviser for energy policy and infrastructure in EPA Region 1, which comprises New England.
“We’ve been dealing mostly with gas pipeline projects, whereas 10 years ago it was all LNG import terminals,” he said. “Natural gas has been part of the picture here for a long, long time.”
Marc Nascarella, director of the Massachusetts Department of Public Health’s environmental toxicology program, said the state is unique in that 351 towns have health departments with input into power plant siting issues. And there are three components to every local review, he said.
“Environmental problems are extremely emotional. Environmental solutions are highly technical. … Environmental policy or environmental decisions are highly political. If there is a concern that this power plant is going to cause a health impact, and the political force gets the emotive response behind it, the science be damned,” he said.
This adds a layer of complexity to a project that may require modifications by the developer, he added.
OG&E sued FERC in December 2014, arguing that when it agreed to join SPP, it gave up some transmission planning rights in return for the right of first refusal. The utility said FERC couldn’t meet a higher legal burden to negate that part of the membership agreement, which predated Order 1000.
The Department of Energy has failed to protect whistle-blowers at its nuclear plants from retaliation, a Government Accountability Office 
Baltimore Gas and Electric may recover nearly $1.2 million it spent on the Mid-Atlantic Power Pathway (MAPP) project, which was canceled by the PJM Board of Managers in 2012, under a 
FERC has approved an application to conduct a feasibility study for an 8-MW hydro facility outside of Richmond, Va., at the existing Bosher Dam on the James River. The proposed project would use the existing 12-foot-high dam and create a 1,000-acre impoundment area, with new intakes, a new tailrace and four 2-MW turbines, along with a new powerhouse and substation.
Two jointly proposed pipeline projects to move Marcellus and Utica shale gas in Ohio to the Midwest and Canada received a favorable draft environmental impact statement from FERC.
The Department of Energy is providing $15 million for algae-based biofuel projects in California and Florida. The grants are aimed at furthering the commercialization of biofuels as a renewable, affordable fossil fuel replacement, it said.
The House passed a $32.1 billion funding bill for the Interior Department and EPA, about $1 billion less than what the Obama administration requested, and a $64 million cut over current spending levels. The bill includes a number of riders intended to block EPA water, power plant and coal mining regulations.
A report by Bloomberg New Energy Finance shows that renewable energy funding has fallen 23% for the first six months of the year compared to last year. It said investments globally were about $116.4 billion for the first half of the year. Second-quarter investments were $61.5 billion, 12% higher than the first quarter, but still 32% lower than the $90 billion for the same period last year.
Unit 2 at the Donald C. Cook nuclear plant in Berrien County, Mich., returned to service last week after being shut down for six days because of a steam leak.
The first new U.S. nuclear plant to be built in two decades is closer to being deployed after the Tennessee Valley Authority last week completed a key performance test on the reactor.
The plan’s aim is to reduce peak load on the utility’s distribution system and includes programs to encourage the use of smart thermostats, demand response, LED lighting and technologies that improve the efficiency of air conditioners.
Ranger Solar is conducting an environmental assessment for a solar farm of up to 80 MW that could break ground in 2018.
The state has hired two companies to analyze the financial impact of a hypothetical rupture of Enbridge’s underwater pipelines, collectively called Line 5, in the Straits of Mackinac and to explore potential alternatives to their route. Enbridge will pay $3.5 million for the studies but declined to oversee the work.
The Utilities Commission says two nonprofits must put up a $98 million bond to go forward with an appeal of a permit given for a new Duke Energy gas-fired power plant. The commission originally set the bond at $10 million, but an appellate court told it to recalculate the bond based on “competent evidence.”
Two administrative law judges are recommending that the Public Utility Commission fine Blue Pilot Energy $5 million for charging its variable-rate customers high prices during the polar vortex of 2014.
The Commission on Environmental Quality renewed and expanded a wastewater permit for Dos Republicas Coal Partnership, allowing the company to expand its current operations near the Mexican border and mine up to 6,300 acres for low-quality coal.
Adam Bell, SPP’s interregional coordinator, told the committee July 8 that the two RTOs have not nailed down the scope, but that it may not be limited to the Dakotas’ seam with the Western Area Power Administration, as MISO would prefer. The two grid operators agreed May 31 to take a “targeted” look at the newly created seam. (See “SPP, MISO Agree to Conduct ‘Targeted’ Joint Tx Study,” 