*The post originally appeared in the Grand Forks Herald as an opinion piece.
Our region’s coal and electric power industry stands at a crossroads. Low-cost natural gas, declining costs of renewable energy, and shifts in consumer and industry preferences toward lower emission technologies are transforming our energy economy. Fossil fuels contribute to energy security, affordability and reliability. Thanks to technology, they can also play an important role in a low-carbon energy future. Continue reading »
Recently, top coal, electric power, oil, ethanol, and other companies, key industrial labor unions and prominent national environmental and climate organizations joined forces for the first time in
Amidst the deeply polarized presidential race and congressional politics, something remarkable happened this month –
New 
Acting on a directive from the President, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is currently developing draft federal regulations to guide states in reducing carbon dioxide emissions from existing power plants under the Clean Air Act. States will use the federal guidelines to devise plans that take into consideration state-specific and regional concerns. 
This week I traveled to Houston Texas to take part in the 2012 Transatlantic Science Week – Energy Technology Workshop. I gave a presentation titled – Technical and Social Challenges when North Dakota becomes the second largest oil producing state in the USA. The Great Plains Institute is working to help build continued collaboration between the energy-rich Norway and North Dakota.
Coal power generation in the U.S. stands at a crossroads. Abundant low-cost natural gas, federal environmental requirements and uncertainty over future regulation of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are driving the closure of older, less-efficient coal units and cancellation of planned investments in new coal generation capacity. 