Pollution risks worsening global water scarcity: Study FEBRUARY 6, 2024 Water scarcity could affect three billion more people than previously expected by mid-century, with increased pollution rendering river sources “unsafe” for humans and wildlife, researchers warned Tuesday. The UN’s climate science panel has said that around half the world’s population…
Lawmakers look to send more state funds to clean up New Mexico’s abandoned oil wells
Lawmakers look to send more state funds to clean up New Mexico’s abandoned oil wells Feb 5, 2024 A bipartisan New Mexico Senate bill intended to unlock more state funding for the clean up of abandoned oil and gas wells was endorsed by industry leaders during the 2024 Legislative Session.…
$1.5 billion DOE loan aims to restart Palisades
$1.5 billion DOE loan aims to restart Palisades Jan 31, 2024 The Palisades nuclear power plant in Covert, Mich., may become the first in the United States to be restarted after permanent shut down—with help from a $1.5 billion loan being championed by the Biden administration. Holtec International could receive…
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…
U.S. Oil Drillers Are Going Electric—and Hitting Speed Bumps
U.S. Oil Drillers Are Going Electric—and Hitting Speed Bumps January 29, 2024 In the country’s busiest oil field, frackers are devouring nearly as much electricity as four Seattles every day—and they are clamoring for more. Diamondback Energy, a major producer in the Permian Basin of West Texas and New Mexico,…
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,…
Record M&A in the fourth quarter of 2023 is driven by ExxonMobil and Chevron deals
Record M&A in the fourth quarter of 2023 is driven by ExxonMobil and Chevron deals Energize Weekly, January 31, 2024 Upstream oil and gas mergers and acquisitions hit a record $144 billion in the fourth quarter of 2023 driven by two mega-deals – ExxonMobil’s $65 billion acquisition of Pioneer Natural…
Tennessee natural gas pipeline decision ignites fiery debate
Tennessee natural gas pipeline decision ignites fiery debate January 22, 2024 The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has approved plans to build a natural gas pipeline to supply a power plant the Tennessee Valley Authority plans to build near Clarksville, Tennessee, at the site of TVA’s biggest coal plant. Despite opposition…
Chesapeake to become top US natural gas producer with $7.4 billion deal for Southwestern
Chesapeake to become top US natural gas producer with $7.4 billion deal for Southwestern January 11, 2024 Chesapeake Energy (CHK.O), agreed to buy smaller rival Southwestern Energy (SWN.N), in an all-stock transaction valued at $7.4 billion, a deal that will make it the largest independent U.S. natural gas producer. The…
World’s most advanced battery energy storage system comes online, speeding Hawaii’s transition to 100% renewable energy
World’s most advanced battery energy storage system comes online, speeding Hawaii’s transition to 100% renewable energy 11 Jan, 2024 Plus Power™ announced it has begun operating its Kapolei Energy Storage facility on Oahu, Hawaii, the most advanced grid-scale battery energy storage system in the world, helping transition the state’s electric…
First Uranium Mines to Dig in the US in Eight Years Begin Operations Near Grand Canyon
First Uranium Mines to Dig in the US in Eight Years Begin Operations Near Grand Canyon January 15, 2024 Three uranium mines have gone into production along the Arizona-Utah border, with more on the way elsewhere in the Mountain West, as market conditions for the mineral needed for nuclear energy…
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…
Puget Sound Energy says region set new record for electrical demands
Puget Sound Energy says region set new record for electrical demands January 15, 2024 Puget Sound Energy says the region set a new record for demand on the natural gas and electrical systems on Friday. A faulty fiber optic cable temporarily took down one of its gas storage facilities in…
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…
Analysts Look at Oil Demand Growth in 2024 and 2025
Analysts Look at Oil Demand Growth in 2024 and 2025 January 09, 2024 In a new report sent to Rigzone, analysts at Standard Chartered projected that global oil demand growth “will stay above the longer-term average” in 2024 and 2025. The analysts forecast increases of 1.54 million barrels per day…
Energy Department has cyber threats to infrastructure in mind with $70 million funding offer
Energy Department has cyber threats to infrastructure in mind with $70 million funding offer JANUARY 5, 2024 The Department of Energy is offering $70 million in funds toward research and development for technology that would protect delivery infrastructure against cyber-related threats and other physical hazards, part of what a senior…
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…
Innovative water treatment tech could help remove forever chemicals
Innovative water treatment tech could help remove forever chemicals DECEMBER 27, 2023 The Tampa Water Department is exploring suspended ion exchange technology as a way to address PFAS contamination to meet new federal standards. The new year will ring in new water safety regulations for public water systems as the…
American Electric Power (AEP) to Sell Stake in New Mexico Asset
American Electric Power (AEP) to Sell Stake in New Mexico Asset Dec 28, 2023 American Electric Power Co. Inc. AEP and PNM Resources Inc. PNM have inked a deal to divest 50% stake each in New Mexico Renewable Development, LLC (“NMRD”) to Exus North America Holdings, LLC for approximately $230…
New Mexico officials propose regulations for reuse of fracking wastewater
New Mexico officials propose regulations for reuse of fracking wastewater December 29, 2023 New Mexico environmental officials have proposed a new regulatory framework for reusing wastewater with a focus on the used, salty byproducts of oil and natural gas drilling in a major U.S. production zone. The Environment Department announced…
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…
Japan’s nuclear power plants largely undamaged following quake
Japan’s nuclear power plants largely undamaged following quake Jan 2, 2024 Japan’s nuclear power plants along the Sea of Japan coast escaped serious damage in the New Year’s Day earthquake that struck the Noto Peninsula in Ishikawa Prefecture. But the 7.6 magnitude quake, which triggered tsunami warnings from Hokkaido to…
Hawaii completes assessment of Oahu energy system and critical infrastructure
Hawaii completes assessment of Oahu energy system and critical infrastructure December 29, 2023 The Hawaii State Energy Office (HSEO) recently concluded work on an initiative called the O‘ahu Energy System and Critical Infrastructure Vulnerability and Resiliency Assessment. The assessment involved a comprehensive hazard and risk assessment of O’ahu’s critical energy…
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…
FERC sets exit fee formula ending four-year battle between Tri-State G&T and its largest co-op
FERC sets exit fee formula ending four-year battle between Tri-State G&T and its largest co-op Energize Weekly, January 3, 2024 After a four-year battle over how much it will cost the Colorado electric cooperative United Power to leave its wholesale power provider, Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association, federal regulators settled…
PFAS Treatment Efforts Are Costing More Than Manufacturer Settlements Can Provide
PFAS Treatment Efforts Are Costing More Than Manufacturer Settlements Can Provide December 13, 2023 Even as the largest manufacturers are being held financially responsible for the introduction of a pervasive class of contaminants into the environment, many water systems across the U.S. continue to face challenges in funding treatment solutions.…
FBI: Play ransomware gang has attacked 300 orgs since 2022
FBI: Play ransomware gang has attacked 300 orgs since 2022 December 18th, 2023 The ransomware gang behind several devastating attacks on major American cities has allegedly launched more than 300 successful incidents since June 2022, according to cybersecurity officials in the United States and Australia. The FBI joined the Cybersecurity…
Duke Energy finishes first floating solar project in Florida
Duke Energy finishes first floating solar project in Florida December 18, 2023 An almost 1 MW floating solar array entered service last week in Florida, as part of a pilot from Duke Energy’s Vision Florida program – a first for the state. The new array consists of more than 1,800…
Xcel Energy natural gas, electricity bills to lower in 2024
Xcel Energy natural gas, electricity bills to lower in 2024 Dec 15, 2023 Xcel Energy told Colorado customers Friday that they can anticipate lower heating bills in the first quarter of 2024 because the wholesale cost of natural gas has decreased. Xcel said the average residential natural gas customer could…
Major oil companies atop a cash-flow wave reduce debt, increase shareholder payouts
Major oil companies atop a cash-flow wave reduce debt, increase shareholder payouts Energize Weekly, December 20, 2023 The world’s five largest oil companies, riding a wave of high energy prices, pulled in $613 billion in cash flow between January 2021 and September 2023, which they used to reduce debt and…
Feds propose 20-year ban on mining, oil and gas drilling on 225,000 acres in Thompson Divide
Feds propose 20-year ban on mining, oil and gas drilling on 225,000 acres in Thompson Divide Dec 12, 2023 The Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management plan to remove 224,713 acres from possible mining or oil and gas drilling for the next 20 years would seem worthy of an…
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…
Refunds on horizon for Colorado solar customers facing utility delays, after thousands waited months to connect to the power grid this year
Refunds on horizon for Colorado solar customers facing utility delays, after thousands waited months to connect to the power grid this year DECEMBER 1, 2023 In a state known for its sunshine, Colorado homeowners have been struggling to go solar this year. The Colorado Public Utilities Commission found the utility…
Williams increases DJ basin gas gathering, processing assets through closed deals
Williams increases DJ basin gas gathering, processing assets through closed deals Nov. 30, 2023 Williams, Tulsa, Okla., closed two transactions that now position the company as the third largest gatherer in the Denver-Julesburg (DJ) basin, the company said in a release Nov. 30. The acquisitions have a combined value of…
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…
Eversource announces new discount rate to begin Friday in Connecticut
Eversource announces new discount rate to begin Friday in Connecticut Nov 30, 2023 Eversource’s new discount rate for low-income households in Connecticut will start Friday, according to an announcement Thursday from the energy company. The rate is for customers defined as having “financial hardship.” Depending on a household’s income, the…
Water utility cyberattacks underscore ongoing threat to OT
Water utility cyberattacks underscore ongoing threat to OT Dec. 5, 2023 U.S. officials urged water utilities and industrial sites to employ basic configuration safeguards like securing internet-facing devices and changing default passwords following a series of attacks. The Iran-linked attacks against drinking and wastewater systems in the U.S. highlights longstanding…
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…
Greek shippers exit Russian oil trade as U.S. tightens price cap scrutiny
Greek shippers exit Russian oil trade as U.S. tightens price cap scrutiny November 23, 2023 Three major Greek shipping firms have stopped transporting Russian oil in recent weeks in order to avoid U.S. sanctions now being imposed on some shipping firms carrying Russian oil, four traders told Reuters and shipping…
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…
As Arkansas bows out of Entergy fight over Grand Gulf, Louisiana regulators dig in
As Arkansas bows out of Entergy fight over Grand Gulf, Louisiana regulators dig in Nov 26, 2023 Utility regulators in Mississippi and Arkansas have both settled a contentious fight over Entergy’s alleged mismanagement of its massive Grand Gulf nuclear plant, after Arkansas abruptly accepted an offer it had rejected a…
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…
ERCOT cancels additional capacity request for winter, CEO says Texas grid is ‘adequately’ prepared
ERCOT cancels additional capacity request for winter, CEO says Texas grid is ‘adequately’ prepared November 19, 2023 The state’s power grid won’t add any additional capacity this winter, according to an ERCOT statement. ERCOT said it made this decision after weighing various factors and accounting for a limited market response.…
Entergy’s nuclear plant north of Baton Rouge was forced into temporary emergency shutdown
Entergy’s nuclear plant north of Baton Rouge was forced into temporary emergency shutdown November 21, 2023 Entergy’s River Bend nuclear power plant near St. Francisville was forced into a temporary emergency shutdown over the weekend due to a technical issue, but was brought back online the following day, officials said.…
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…
PG&E bills to soar next year after regulators approve 13% rate increase Thursday
PG&E bills to soar next year after regulators approve 13% rate increase Thursday Nov 16, 2023 Monthly bills for Pacific Gas and Electric Co. customers will climb even higher next year after California regulators on Thursday unanimously approved allowing the utility giant to increase its rates for electricity and natural…
Global LNG market stable for this winter, but there will be more volatility down the road
Global LNG market stable for this winter, but there will be more volatility down the road Energize Weekly, November 22, 2023 Ample gas inventories in the U.S. and Europe and increased liquified natural gas (LNG) export and import capacity will likely meet global needs this winter, but growing demand over…
US plans to buy 1.2 million barrels of oil for Strategic Petroleum Reserve
US plans to buy 1.2 million barrels of oil for Strategic Petroleum Reserve November 13, 2023 The U.S. plans to buy 1.2 million barrels of oil to help replenish the Strategic Petroleum Reserve after it sold off the largest amount ever last year, the Energy Department said on Monday. The…
