With time short, S.C. senators take up comprehensive energy bill Apr. 5, 2024 Utilities, conservation groups, and other stakeholders are all in agreement: South Carolina needs to expand its energy capacity to keep up with its growth. It’s a top priority for leaders in Columbia as well, but they face…
Tri-State G&T faced with co-ops leaving and a stalled rate increase sees bond ratings drop
Tri-State G&T faced with co-ops leaving and a stalled rate increase sees bond ratings drop Energize Weekly, April 10, 2024 Facing the departure of four member cooperatives and the failure to get federal regulators to approve a rate increase, Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association bonds were downgraded by two rating…
SC customers could pay millions for a new power plant that may only run at half capacity
SC customers could pay millions for a new power plant that may only run at half capacity April 1, 2024 Imagine South Carolina building a large power plant to meet future electricity demand, then not being able to fully use it. That’s a possibility under a new federal rule proposed…
Baltimore bridge collapse likely to pinch coal exports and energy-related imports
Baltimore bridge collapse likely to pinch coal exports and energy-related imports Energize Weekly, April 4, 2024 The collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge, after being hit by a container vessel, has blocked the Port of Baltimore, throttling imports and exports of a wide range of goods, including cars, sugar,…
Cox signs bill to keep coal plant open amid warnings of federal conflict
Cox signs bill to keep coal plant open amid warnings of federal conflict MARCH 21, 2024 Utah Gov. Spencer Cox signed a bill that would extend the life of the coal-fired Intermountain Power Plant, but amid pushback from the facility owner and the possibility of conflict with a federal agency,…
Hawaii Faces Lengthy Blackout Risk Amid Power-Plant Outages
Hawaii Faces Lengthy Blackout Risk Amid Power-Plant Outages March 25, 2024 The big island of Hawaii is at risk of blackouts through the end of April because several large power plants have broken down or are undergoing maintenance, the state’s main utility operator said. Hawaiian Electric on Monday asked customers…
AES Indiana files to convert Petersburg coal units to natural gas
AES Indiana files to convert Petersburg coal units to natural gas March 15, 2024 In filing a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity (CPCN) this week, AES Indiana sought the right to repower Petersburg Units 3 and 4 from coal to natural gas. This would make the utility the latest…
After being rebuffed by regulators, utilities file slimmed-down spending plans
After being rebuffed by regulators, utilities file slimmed-down spending plans March 18, 2024 State regulators are once again considering massive electric utility spending plans that would affect the state’s climate goals – and 5.4 million electric customers’ monthly bills – after rejecting previous versions late last year. The Illinois Commerce…
Methane emissions were flat in 2023 but still too high to curb climate change, IEA says
Methane emissions were flat in 2023 but still too high to curb climate change, IEA says Energize Weekly, March 20, 2024 Methane emissions from the production and use of fossil fuels reached 20 million tons in 2023, and while levels have been generally flat for the past five years, they…
EPA LEAVES OUT EXISTING NATURAL GAS-FIRED POWER PLANTS FROM CARBON RULE
EPA Leaves Out Existing Natural Gas-Fired Power Plants from Carbon Rule MARCH 8, 2024 The Biden administration’s recent announcement that it would hold off on regulating carbon emissions from existing natural gas-fired power plants means the agency will wait until after the election to regulate one of Pennsylvania’s largest sources…
New Jersey waters down proposed referendum on new fossil fuel power plant ban
New Jersey waters down proposed referendum on new fossil fuel power plant ban March 4, 2024 New Jersey lawmakers wanted to ask voters whether to ban new fossil fuel-fired power plants. And then they added a loophole big enough to drive a fleet of oil trucks through. A state Senate…
Xcel says big reason it needs to spend millions on new projects is regional grid’s reliability risks
Xcel says big reason it needs to spend millions on new projects is regional grid’s reliability risks MARCH 4, 2024 The growing risk of unreliability and potential expense of buying energy on the open market is a big reason why Xcel Energy wants to make significant investments in its infrastructure.…
Retired coal plant’s revival as natural gas station sparks debate across South Carolina
Retired coal plant’s revival as natural gas station sparks debate across South Carolina February 26th 2024 A retired coal-fired power plant in Colleton County may be revamped in the next decade. The plant would be a joint station between Dominion Energy and Santee Cooper. It will function as a natural…
Natural gas-fired generation, the backbone of U.S. electricity generation, varies by region
Natural gas-fired generation, the backbone of U.S. electricity generation, varies by region Energize Weekly, February 28, 2024 Natural gas generation is the largest source of electricity in the U.S. and is used across the country, but the scale and efficiency of that generation varies region by region, according to an…
Pioneering GE F-Class Hydrogen-Capable Gas Power Plant Begins Operations in Australia
Pioneering GE F-Class Hydrogen-Capable Gas Power Plant Begins Operations in Australia February 19, 2024 EnergyAustralia has begun operations at the 320-MW Tallawarra B gas-fired power station in New South Wales (NSW)—Australia’s first peaking power plant capable of operating on a natural gas and hydrogen fuel blend. The project’s start on…
New 1.2-GW Natural Gas-Fired Plant Announced for Texas
New 1.2-GW Natural Gas-Fired Plant Announced for Texas Feb 13, 2024 A Texas-based energy company has announced plans to build a 1.2-GW natural gas-fired power plant in Lee County, Texas, with construction expected to begin in 2025. Sandow Lakes Energy Co. on Feb. 12 said it would build the plant…
U.S. Thermal Coal Finds New Life Overseas
U.S. Thermal Coal Finds New Life Overseas Feb 6, 2024 US thermal coal exporters recorded more than $5 billion in overseas sales in 2023, shipping upwards of 32.5 million metric tons of the high-polluting power fuel, according to Reuters, citing data from ship-tracking firm Kpler. These coal export earnings were…
Red tape closes power plants before replacements ready
Red tape closes power plants before replacements ready Feb 2, 2024 Despite the key positions states like Ohio and Pennsylvania hold to solve future energy problems, shifting the power grid from coal and natural gas to wind and solar isn’t as easy as flipping a switch. A cadre of Pennsylvania…
Global investment in clean tech and energy transition reached a record $1.8 trillion in 2023
Global investment in clean tech and energy transition reached a record $1.8 trillion in 2023 Energize Weekly, February 7, 2024 Global investments in the energy transition from fossil fuels to clean tech climbed 17 percent in 2023 to a record $1.8 trillion, according to a study by the energy research…
Lawmakers propose to keep Utah running on coal and natural gas
Lawmakers propose to keep Utah running on coal and natural gas Jan 29, 2024 Republicans on Capitol Hill are working to keep coal and natural gas in Utah’s future. There’s a bumper sticker making its way around the Capitol this year. It reads simply, “powered by coal.” Rep. Colin Jack,…
Global coal exports and power generation hit new highs in 2023
Global coal exports and power generation hit new highs in 2023 January 18, 2024 Worldwide electricity generation from coal hit record highs in 2023, while thermal coal exports surpassed 1 billion metric tons for the first time as coal’s use in power systems continues to grow despite widespread efforts to…
PJM Urges Delayed Retirement of 840-MW Fossil Fuel Power Plant, Citing Reliability Impacts
PJM Urges Delayed Retirement of 840-MW Fossil Fuel Power Plant, Citing Reliability Impacts January 10, 2024 PJM has urged Talen Energy to delay its deactivation of two of four units at the 840-MW coal, oil, and gas–fired Herbert A. Wagner Generating Station in Maryland until transmission upgrades are put into…
Solar generation continues expand rapidly on the U.S. grid while coal continues its decline
Solar generation continues expand rapidly on the U.S. grid while coal continues its decline Energize Weekly, January 17, 2024 Solar and coal-fired electricity generation are continuing to head in opposite directions over the next two years with solar being the leading source of new generation and coal activity falling to…
Only a nuclear reactor can make Pueblo “whole” after Xcel Energy closes last coal-fired plant, local group says
Only a nuclear reactor can make Pueblo “whole” after Xcel Energy closes last coal-fired plant, local group says Jan 8, 2024 The only way Pueblo can be “made whole” after the closure of Xcel Energy’s massive, coal-fired Comanche Station is for the utility to replace it with an advanced nuclear…
AES Closes California Natural Gas-Fired Plant
AES Closes California Natural Gas-Fired Plant January 4, 2024 AES Corp. has ended operations at one of the group’s four remaining natural gas-fired power plants in California. AES on Dec. 31 shut down its 1,300-MW Redondo Beach Generating Station, a facility that operated at less than full capacity in recent…
Coordination of Texas electric and natural gas sectors key in dealing with blackouts
Coordination of Texas electric and natural gas sectors key in dealing with blackouts Energize Weekly, January 10, 2024 Better coordination between the Texas electric and natural gas industries is key to getting individual generating facilities up and running – a so-called blackstart – after a cold-weather blackout, according to a…
Biden administration awards $9M grant to research carbon capture for proposed Southcentral Alaska coal power plant
Biden administration awards $9M grant to research carbon capture for proposed Southcentral Alaska coal power plant December 29, 2023 The University of Alaska Fairbanks is set to receive a $9 million dollar grant from the Biden administration to research a project that would aim to capture carbon emission from a…
Energy cases to watch in 2024
Energy cases to watch in 2024 01/02/2024 Energy regulators’ power to address planet-warming emissions is in the crosshairs in federal courts in 2024. In one of the year’s biggest cases, the Supreme Court could rein in the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s ability to use 50-year-old laws to take bold action…
Grid monitor warns of blackout risks as coal plants retire
Grid monitor warns of blackout risks as coal plants retire 12/14/2023 Rolling blackouts are a rising threat across the U.S. as aging power grids collide with extreme weather, rising electricity demand and a shift to cleaner fuels, the nation’s top grid monitor warned Wednesday. In a report, the North American…
Dominion regulator recommends rejection of utility’s long-term plan
Dominion regulator recommends rejection of utility’s long-term plan DECEMBER 12, 2023 A utility regulator with the State Corporation Commission is recommending the body reject Dominion Energy’s most recent long-term plan because of its inclusion of new natural gas plants. In her Friday recommendation, which will now go to the three-member…
What Wyoming shows about going ‘carbon negative’ in coal country
What Wyoming shows about going ‘carbon negative’ in coal country 12/05/2023 Wyoming is highlighting a question at the center of the nation’s electricity mix: Can a coal state go “carbon negative”? Republican Gov. Mark Gordon’s stated goal for the nation’s top-producing coal state is to suck more carbon out of…
IEA takes aim at oil and gas sector at COP28, industry offers an agreement to cut methane
IEA takes aim at oil and gas sector at COP28, industry offers an agreement to cut methane Energize Weekly, December 6, 2023 As the climate conference – COP28 – opened in Dubai, the International Energy Agency (IEA) fired a shot across the bow of the oil industry with an analysis…
NYISO says “peaker plants” should remain open longer than expected to meet demand
NYISO says “peaker plants” should remain open longer than expected to meet demand November 28, 2023 In its Short-Term Reliability Process Report, the New York Independent System Operator (NYISO) said plants scheduled for retirement in May of 2025 may have to stay in service longer temporarily to keep the grid…
NARUC establishes new gas-electric working group to tackle grid-related reliability
NARUC establishes new gas-electric working group to tackle grid-related reliability November 28, 2023 At its annual meeting and education conference last week, the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC) launched a new 15-month gas electric working group to improve reliability for both the gas and electric industries. “The safety…
Clean energy jobs growth worldwide surpasses fossil-fuel sector jobs which saw a decline
Clean energy jobs growth worldwide surpasses fossil-fuel sector jobs which saw a decline Energize Weekly, November 29, 2023 Clean energy employment is growing more rapidly than fossil-fuel jobs across the globe and accounted for the majority of the 67 million jobs in the energy sector in 2022, according to an…
Giant batteries drain economics of gas power plants
Giant batteries drain economics of gas power plants November 21, 2023 Giant batteries that ensure stable power supply by offsetting intermittent renewable supplies are becoming cheap enough to make developers abandon scores of projects for gas-fired generation world-wide. The long-term economics of gas-fired plants, used in Europe and some parts…
Georgia Power says economic growth reason for updated plan to generate more electricity
Georgia Power says economic growth reason for updated plan to generate more electricity Nov. 13, 2023 Georgia Power recently filed an updated Integrated Resource Plan with the Georgia Public Service Commission, citing the need to support recent economic growth. But an environmental group opposed a portion of the proposed update…
Fossil-fuel producing countries set to blow past climate targets for oil, natural gas, and coal
Fossil-fuel producing countries set to blow past climate targets for oil, natural gas, and coal Energize Weekly, November 15, 2023 Fossil-fuel producing countries are set to turn out double the amount of coal, oil, and natural gas between now and 2050 needed to keep the increase in global warming to…
Partial owner of Xcel’s newest and last coal plant awarded judgement over year-long power outage
Partial owner of Xcel’s newest and last coal plant awarded judgement over year-long power outage NOVEMBER 4, 2023 A Denver District Court jury recently awarded an electricity distributor $26.45 million after the distributor sued Xcel Energy over what it called mismanagement of a power plant. CORE Electric Cooperative sued Xcel…
Three Rivers Energy dedicates new $1.3 billion power plant near Morris
Three Rivers Energy dedicates new $1.3 billion power plant near Morris October 26, 2023 The new $1.3 billion Competitive Power Ventures (CPV) Three Rivers Energy plant started over eight years ago is finally up and running, and Three Rivers Energy celebrated with a dedication and groundbreaking on Wednesday. CPV Three…
Global oil, coal, and gas demand to peak by 2030: IEA
Global oil, coal, and gas demand to peak by 2030: IEA October 24, 2023 Many countries have mandated that automobiles, businesses, and more employ clean energy initiatives, aimed at reducing their carbon footprint. The rate of production and adoption of things like electric cars and the use of solar energy…
U.S. natural-gas fired plant additions to increase again in 2023, EIA says
U.S. natural-gas fired plant additions to increase again in 2023, EIA says 10.16.2023 New U.S. natural gas-fired capacity additions are expected to total 8.6 GW in 2023, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). 16 natural gas-fired plants are expected to come online this year, EIA said in its…
The problem with making green hydrogen to fuel power plants
The problem with making green hydrogen to fuel power plants 10 October 2023 Today, utility Florida Power & Light will begin operations at its Cavendish NextGen Hydrogen Hub, one of the country’s first green hydrogen facilities. The 25-megawatt project will use solar power to split water into oxygen and hydrogen…
Ameren wants to build two gas power plants. Critics call them ‘a big concern.’
Ameren wants to build two gas power plants. Critics call them ‘a big concern.’ Sep 27, 2023 Regional electric utility Ameren said Tuesday that it aims to build two natural gas power plants over the next decade, a revelation that appears to conflict with corporate goals to slash carbon emissions…
Xcel plans to replace Colorado power plant in Pueblo with renewable energy battery system
Xcel plans to replace Colorado power plant in Pueblo with renewable energy battery system SEPTEMBER 25, 2023 Xcel Energy recently announced its intent to construct a long duration energy storage system at the site of a coal-fired power plant in Pueblo. Once operational, the system in Colorado “will allow Xcel…
Dominion to seek air permit for proposed Chesterfield gas plant
Dominion to seek air permit for proposed Chesterfield gas plant SEPTEMBER 14, 2023 Dominion Energy’s plans to build a new natural gas plant in Chesterfield will require a state permit for major new sources of emissions, state air quality regulators said Wednesday. Mike Dowd, the Department of Environmental Quality’s director…
Indigenous tribes urge federal officials to deny loan request for Superior, WI natural gas plant
Indigenous tribes urge federal officials to deny loan request for Superior, WI natural gas plant September 11, 2023 Indigenous tribes in Minnesota, Michigan and Wisconsin have asked federal officials to deny a utility’s request for a loan to help build a natural gas-fired power plant on the shores of Lake…
Losing member co-ops, Tri-State seeks to sell its electricity on the wholesale power market
Losing member co-ops, Tri-State seeks to sell its electricity on the wholesale power market Energize Weekly, September 13, 2023 Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association, a wholesale power supplier for rural electric cooperatives, is seeking to sell excess power on the open market as it loses some of its biggest members.…
West Virginia coal-fired power plant targeted for deactivation to be restarted for hydrogen use
West Virginia coal-fired power plant targeted for deactivation to be restarted for hydrogen use August 31, 2023 A West Virginia coal-fired power plant that had been targeted for deactivation was restarted Wednesday under a new owner that plans to retrofit the facility to use hydrogen to generate electricity, Gov. Jim…
California’s energy mix is changing but natural gas still the No. 1 source
California’s energy mix is changing but natural gas still the No. 1 source AUG. 25, 2023 Some things are changing in California’s mix of energy sources for electricity generation, but others are not. With policymakers looking to derive 100 percent of the state’s electricity from carbon-free sources by 2045, the…
