Tri-State won $2.5 billion to close coal plants, get new renewable energy for rural customers Oct 29, 2024 Tri-State Generation has won praise from environmental groups for an aggressive plan to build clean, renewable energy, and Friday the co-op won the financing to do it: $2.5 billion in federal loans…
New England’s last coal plant passed an emissions test. But part of it still needs repairs.
New England’s last coal plant passed an emissions test. But part of it still needs repairs. 10-29-2024 New England’s last running coal-fired power plant, Merrimack Station in Bow, passed an emissions test over the summer that it struggled to complete for more than a year. But only one of its…
Xcel announces retirement plans for remaining Colorado coal plants
Xcel announces retirement plans for remaining Colorado coal plants 10.21.2024 Xcel Energy Colorado has proposed next steps to identify new power generation to replace its retiring coal units, which are set to retire by 2030. The proposal is the first step in a two-phase regulatory process, which sets the stage…
Evergy plans to build two new natural gas plants in Kansas by 2030
Evergy plans to build two new natural gas plants in Kansas by 2030 October 21, 2024 Kansas’ largest electric utility will add two natural gas plants by the end of 2030, the company announced Monday. Evergy, which serves 1.6 million customers in Kansas and Missouri, plans to build combined-cycle natural…
World entering the “age of electricity” as demand outpaces all other forms of energy
World entering the “age of electricity” as demand outpaces all other forms of energy Energize Weekly, October 23, 2024 The world is set to enter the “age of electricity” as demand has grown more quickly than any other energy source and is set to accelerate even more, according to the…
New EPA Regulations Could Hinder Gas Plant Construction
New EPA Regulations Could Hinder Gas Plant Construction 10/14/2024 In April, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) finalized four significant regulations aimed at coal and natural gas-fired power plants (Power Plant Rules). The rules address air emissions, including greenhouse gasses (GHGs) and air toxics, wastewater discharge and ash disposal from coal-fired…
U.S. natural gas-fired electricity generation set new daily records in summer 2024
U.S. natural gas-fired electricity generation set new daily records in summer 2024 October 8, 2024 U.S. natural gas-fired power plants generated more than 7 million megawatthours (MWh) of electricity on August 2, 2024, according to our Hourly Electric Grid Monitor, making up almost half of all electricity generated in the…
The Country’s Second-Largest Coal Plant May Get a Three-Year Reprieve From Retirement. Why?
The Country’s Second-Largest Coal Plant May Get a Three-Year Reprieve From Retirement. Why? October 4, 2024 Duke Energy is proposing a three-year extension for the Gibson power plant in southwest Indiana, the second-largest coal-fired power plant in the country. Gibson, originally scheduled to close in 2035, would remain open until…
Wartsila to provide critical balancing capability for new Kentucky power plant
Wartsila to provide critical balancing capability for new Kentucky power plant September 26, 2024 Technology group Wärtsilä will supply the engineering and equipment for a new power plant project to be installed in Madisonville, Kentucky, USA. The order has been placed by Kentucky Municipal Energy Agency (KYMEA) and was booked…
The UK helped usher in the coal era – now it’s closing its last remaining plant
The UK helped usher in the coal era – now it’s closing its last remaining plant Sep 23, 2024 By the end of the month, the United Kingdom is set to shutter its last operating coal-fired power plant. The Ratcliffe-on-Soar power station in Nottinghamshire is slated to close on September…
Governor Gianforte Celebrates Nearly $1 Billion Energy Investment in Montana
Governor Gianforte Celebrates Nearly $1 Billion Energy Investment in Montana September 20 2024 Governor Greg Gianforte yesterday cut the ribbon on NextEra Energy Resources’ Clearwater Wind Energy Center in Miles City and celebrated the company’s nearly $1 billion investment in Montana. “We’re ramping up energy production in Montana with our…
NTEC receives DOE funding to study Four Corners carbon capture
NTEC receives DOE funding to study Four Corners carbon capture September 16, 2024 A minority owner of the Four Corners Power Plant received federal funding to study retrofitting the coal-fired generating station with carbon capture technology. The Navajo Transitional Energy Company—an enterprise division of the Navajo Nation—announced this week that…
Entergy Mississippi begins building new natural gas power station
Entergy Mississippi begins building new natural gas power station September 05, 2024 Entergy Mississippi LLC, which provides electricity to roughly 459,000 customers in 45 counties across the state, is building a new power station for the first time in 50 years. The new natural gas power station is expected to…
Promoters of clean-energy data centers in Virginia coal country unfazed by doubters
Promoters of clean-energy data centers in Virginia coal country unfazed by doubters September 10, 2024 Will Payne and Will Clear are all too aware of the skeptics. But those doubters only fuel the duo’s vision for Southwest Virginia. The former Virginia state energy office bureaucrats turned private-sector consultants have an…
Global clean tech and power market M&A led in 2024 by electricity generation deals
Global clean tech and power market M&A led in 2024 by electricity generation deals Energize Weekly, September 11, 2024 Global clean technology and power market mergers and acquisitions have totaled $105 billion with 234 deals so far this year, slightly ahead of the 2023 pace, according to Enverus Research Intelligence.…
West Virginia’s PSC faces lawsuit over coal-plant directive
West Virginia’s PSC faces lawsuit over coal-plant directive September 3, 2024 The Public Service Commission of West Virginia is facing legal challenges for its 2021 directive that Appalachian Power increase the usage of three of its coal plants. Critics say the utility is paying more to keep coal plants open,…
When are Colorado’s last coal-fired power plants closing?
When are Colorado’s last coal-fired power plants closing? Aug 27, 2024 Coal may be on its way out in Colorado’s power picture, but it’s definitely still here. About a third of Colorado’s electricity is still generated by 10 coal-fired power units around the state. That should drop to zero by…
Why Mississippi coal is powering Georgia’s data centers
Why Mississippi coal is powering Georgia’s data centers Aug 27, 2024 Last October, Georgia Power approached regulators with what it said was a crisis. Unless they did something soon, they discovered, the growing demand for electricity would outpace production sometime in the winter of 2025. Georgia’s Governor Brian Kemp and…
ERCOT successfully navigates heat wave, new peak demand record
ERCOT successfully navigates heat wave, new peak demand record Aug 26, 2024 Despite record temperatures last week and a new peak demand record, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas said it was able to maintain service without conservation requests, which it required last summer. Large additions of renewables and battery…
North Omaha coal plant transitioning to natural gas by 2026
North Omaha coal plant transitioning to natural gas by 2026 Aug 20, 2024 The north Omaha coal plant is moving away from using coal. The president and CEO of the Omaha Public Power District said during a committee meeting Monday that the plant will be transitioning to natural gas in…
AES plans $1.1B investment to convert Petersburg units from coal to gas
AES plans $1.1B investment to convert Petersburg units from coal to gas August 13, 2024 AES Indiana, Pike County government officials and community leaders Thursday celebrated the announcement of approximately $1.1 billion in investments over the next two years to convert Petersburg Generating Station Units 3 and 4 from coal…
US coal stockpiles hit highest levels since 2020
US coal stockpiles hit highest levels since 2020 8.5.2024 Coal stockpiles at U.S. electric power plants totaled 138 million short tons at the end of May, the most since the first half of 2020 when the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic reduced electricity demand and coal consumption, according to analysis…
SRP Sets New Record for Amount of Energy Delivered to Customers
SRP Sets New Record for Amount of Energy Delivered to Customers August 6, 2024 Arizona public power utility Salt River Project recently set a new record for the amount of energy delivered to its retail customers. On Sunday, Aug. 4, between 5 and 6 p.m., SRP delivered its highest system…
DC Circuit rejects bids to put hold on EPA power plant carbon rule
DC Circuit rejects bids to put hold on EPA power plant carbon rule Jul 22, 2024 The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit on Friday rejected requests to put a hold on an Environmental Protection Agency rule limiting greenhouse gas emissions from power plants while litigation…
Before key hearings in North Carolina, Duke Energy makes tiny concessions to big gas ambitions
Before key hearings in North Carolina, Duke Energy makes tiny concessions to big gas ambitions July 18, 2024 Before pivotal hearings that begin Monday, Duke Energy has made a few small concessions to its plans for a giant fossil fuel buildout in North Carolina, winning over the once-skeptical state-sanctioned ratepayer…
Power plant coal shipments dropped 8 percent in 2023 but will see a slight rebound in 2024
Power plant coal shipments dropped 8 percent in 2023 but will see a slight rebound in 2024 Energize Weekly, July 24, 2024 Coal shipments in the U.S. decreased 8 percent in 2023, continuing a two-decade trend as more coal-fired power plants are retired, although deliveries could see a bump this…
With electricity demand predicted to double, Dominion Energy looks to add “peaker plants”
With electricity demand predicted to double, Dominion Energy looks to add “peaker plants” July 16, 2024 In 2020, Virginia became the first southern state to lay out a legal mandate for a carbon-free electrical grid. That’s why it was a surprise to many when Dominion Energy announced plans to build…
Oglethorpe Power acquires 465 MW natural gas-fired plant
Oglethorpe Power acquires 465 MW natural gas-fired plant 7.8.2024 Oglethorpe Power announced the acquisition of Walton County Power, a 465 MW, three-unit combustion turbine generation facility in Monroe, Georgia. The facility was purchased from Mackinaw Power Holdings, an affiliate of the global investment firm, The Carlyle Group. Walton County Power…
Arizona voters will vote on going green fast or keeping fossil-fuel choices in the mix
Arizona voters will vote on going green fast or keeping fossil-fuel choices in the mix July 8, 2024 Three seats on the Arizona Corporation Commission are up for grabs in the coming primary and general elections, and the results of these votes will help set the state’s water and power…
Texas to double $5 billion state fund aimed at expanding the power grid
Texas to double $5 billion state fund aimed at expanding the power grid JULY 1, 2024 The state of Texas plans to double a state fund aimed at expanding the power grid as demand for electricity is expected to nearly double over the next six years. The state will look…
How Chevron’s fall could remake the energy sector
How Chevron’s fall could remake the energy sector 07/01/2024 The Supreme Court’s decision Friday to give judges more authority over federal agencies creates new hurdles for the Biden administration as it seeks to promote low-carbon energy and address climate change. Forty years after the justices first decided Chevron v. NRDC,…
Despite bad weather and forced power plant outages the nation’s grid was reliable in 2023
Despite bad weather and forced power plant outages the nation’s grid was reliable in 2023 Energize Weekly, July 3, 2024 Even in the face of extreme weather events and higher rates of forced outages at generating facilities, the U.S.-Canadian electric grid remained “reliable and secure” in 2023, according to the…
Major coal CCS project hits delays, cost spikes
Major coal CCS project hits delays, cost spikes 06/25/2024 The lead developer of one of the world’s largest carbon capture proposals is delaying a final decision on construction, citing challenges such as “uncertainty” created by EPA’s final power plant rule. Developers of Project Tundra — which envisions capturing up to…
Record temperatures will increase electricity demand, but not natural gas or coal prices
Record temperatures will increase electricity demand, but not natural gas or coal prices Energize Weekly, June 26, 2024 Record temperatures are set to increase electricity demand this summer, but analyses find that a combination of ample gas storage and more renewable generation will help prevent a spike in natural gas…
Ontario’s new energy minister says natural gas plants must stay ‘to help fuel our economy’
Ontario’s new energy minister says natural gas plants must stay ‘to help fuel our economy’ June 13, 2024 Ontario’s new energy minister says the fast-growing province can’t afford an “ideological” push to wean its electricity system off fossil fuels even as concerns about climate change mount. “I cannot underscore this…
Big energy projects moving fast, face $150 billion a year in cost overruns, Bain & Co. says
Big energy projects moving fast, face $150 billion a year in cost overruns, Bain & Co. says Energize Weekly, June 19, 2024 The scale and speed of the energy transition risks project delays and setbacks leading to cost overruns of 15 percent to 20 percent, equal to $150 billion a…
NRG Applies to the Texas Energy Fund to Bring Essential Dispatchable Power to ERCOT
NRG Applies to the Texas Energy Fund to Bring Essential Dispatchable Power to ERCOT Jun 10, 2024 Today, NRG Energy Inc. (NYSE: NRG) submitted the first of three loan applications to the Texas Energy Fund (TEF) to develop the previously announced 1,600 megawatts (MW) (1.6 Gigawatts) of new quick-start natural…
Babcock & Wilcox to proceed with coal-to-biomass plant conversion
Babcock & Wilcox to proceed with coal-to-biomass plant conversion JUN 4, 2024 Babcock & Wilcox (B&W) has been granted a limited notice to proceed (LNTP) by NorthStar Clean Energy to begin work on a Bioenergy with Carbon Capture and Storage (BECCS) conversion of a former coal-fired power plant in Filer…
AI is poised to drive a doubling in data center electricity demand by 2030, studies say
AI is poised to drive a doubling in data center electricity demand by 2030, studies say Energize Weekly, June 5, 2024 Data centers, spurred by increased artificial intelligence applications, could double their demand for electricity in the U.S. reaching 9.1 percent of the nation’s electricity load by 2030, according to…
Australia’s largest coal-fired power plant Eraring in Lake Macquarie to stay open for two extra years
Australia’s largest coal-fired power plant Eraring in Lake Macquarie to stay open for two extra years 22 May 2024 The Eraring Power Station in Lake Macquarie will remain open for an additional two years beyond its original 2025 closure date in a deal between Origin and the NSW state government.…
America’s largest coal source may be losing federal business. But not without a fight
America’s largest coal source may be losing federal business. But not without a fight May 20, 2024 The Biden administration announced plans to end new coal leasing in the Powder River Basin, which produces nearly half of the country’s coal—much to the chagrin of top Wyoming lawmakers. The Bureau of…
Zombie coal plants could threaten the US energy transition
Zombie coal plants could threaten the US energy transition 14 May 2024 On the banks of Maryland’s Patapsco River, about 10 miles south of Baltimore, there’s an aging coal plant that pretty much everyone wants to shut down. Local community activists, environmental groups, state officials, even the company that owns…
Coal-Fired Mill Creek Generating Station Readies for New 7HA.03 Gas-Fired Unit
Coal-Fired Mill Creek Generating Station Readies for New 7HA.03 Gas-Fired Unit Apr 30, 2024 Louisville Gas and Electric Co. and Kentucky Utilities Co. (LG&E and KU) will replace two aging coal generation units at Mill Creek Generating Station in Kentucky—a combined 600 MW—with a 645-MW GE Vernova hydrogen-ready 7HA.03 gas…
AI could drive a natural gas boom as power companies face surging electricity demand
AI could drive a natural gas boom as power companies face surging electricity demand MAY 5 2024 Natural gas producers are planning for a significant spike in demand over the next decade, as artificial intelligence drives a surge in electricity consumption that renewables may struggle to meet alone. After a…
Replacing old coal-fired plants with small nuclear reactors could be an economic boon
Replacing old coal-fired plants with small nuclear reactors could be an economic boon Energize Weekly, May 8, 2024 The steady pace of coal-fired plant closures in the U.S. is leaving gaps in the economies of dozens of communities and creating risks to electricity reliability. One solution addressing multiple problems could…
G7 offers leeway to Germany, Japan in deal to quit coal by 2035
G7 offers leeway to Germany, Japan in deal to quit coal by 2035 April 30, 2024 Energy ministers from the Group of Seven (G7) major democracies agreed on Tuesday to end the use of coal in power generation during the first half of the next decade, but gave leeway to…
Internet data centers are fueling drive to old power source: Coal
Internet data centers are fueling drive to old power source: Coal April 17, 2024 A helicopter hovers over the Gee family farm, the noisy rattle echoing inside their home in this rural part of West Virginia. It’s holding surveyors who are eyeing space for yet another power line next to…
PacifiCorp scales back renewables
PacifiCorp scales back renewables April 16, 2024 PacifiCorp, parent company to Wyoming’s largest utility, Rocky Mountain Power, has issued major updates to its Integrated Resource Plan, a blueprint that highlights key changes to the company’s business strategy and its ever-evolving energy portfolio. The update shines a light on the world…
North Dakota’s Dept. of Commerce looking at nuclear power to meet the increasing demand for electricity
North Dakota’s Dept. of Commerce looking at nuclear power to meet the increasing demand for electricity April 15, 2024 North Dakota’s Commerce Department has begun studying whether nuclear power could be used to help meet the increasing demand for electricity. That demand is being driven – in part – by…
New England’s last coal plants set to shutter, ushering in era of green energy
New England’s last coal plants set to shutter, ushering in era of green energy April 6, 2024 The final coal-fired power plants in New England are slated to shutter in the coming years, making it the second region to phase out the energy source that powered the U.S. economy for…
