Energize Weekly, November 14, 2018 In the wake of a hard-fought battle over an oil and gas ballot initiative, Colorado political and industry leaders are looking for a path to comprise. Proposition 112, sponsored by the grassroots anti-drilling group, Colorado Rising, would have created a statute requiring oil and gas facilities to be set back…
Energize Weekly, November 7, 2018 The PJM Interconnection, the nation’s largest grid, can manage the announced closures of coal and nuclear plants even in the face of severe weather—but with the loss of additional generation, “the system may be at risk.” The assessment comes from the PJM’s Fuel Security Analysis released Nov. 1, which was…
Energize Weekly, November 7, 2018 The U.S. wind industry installed 612 megawatts (MW) of new wind power capacity during the third quarter of 2018, a 15 percent increase over the third quarter of 2017, according to the American Wind Energy Association’s (AWEA) quarterly market report. Project construction activity in the third quarter also set a…
Energize Weekly, November 7, 2018 After a sharp decline, global fuel subsidies rose in 2017—under pressure from rising oil prices, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA). Worldwide fossil fuel subsidies had fallen by almost half to about $250 billion between 2012 and 2016. In 2017, they rose 12 percent to $300 billion, according to…
Energize Weekly, November 7, 2018 U.S. crude oil production reached 11.3 million barrels a day in August, surpassing Russian output, and making the U.S. the world’s leading crude oil producer, according to the federal Energy Information Administration (EIA). Production records were set in several states. Texas posted a record 4.6 million barrels a day, followed…
Energize Weekly, November 7, 2018 The U.S. power sector will close a record 15.4 gigawatts (GW) of coal-fired power plants in 2018, as federal data shows a steady, long-term drop in carbon dioxide emissions from the sector. An assessment by the non-profit Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) projects the retirement of 44…
Energize Weekly, October 31, 2018 Dominion Energy issued a request for bids on Oct. 24 for 500 megawatts (MW) of solar and onshore wind generation as part of a plan to develop 3,000 MW of renewable resources in Virginia. Richmond, Va.-based Dominion Energy pledged to develop the wind and solar resources, enough to power 750,000…
Energize Weekly, October 31, 2018 Colorado—the leading state in the nation for community solar gardens—is set to get six more of the shared arrays, with a total of 10.3 megawatts (MW) of generation, on the state’s more rural Western Slope. The sites are all located along the Interstate 70 corridor and are being developed by…
Energize Weekly, October 31, 2018 The legal cannabis industry in the U.S. is becoming a big energy consumer, using 1.1 million megawatts-hours a year—enough to power 92,500 homes— with consumption projected to grow by 162 percent between 2017 and 2002, according to a study by New Frontier Data. “As more states transition from illicit markets…
Energize Weekly, October 31, 2018 Energy efficiency programs could dramatically cut greenhouse gas emissions even as economic activity doubled—but those programs’ gains slowed as efficiency policies have weakened, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA). Following two years of low growth, global energy demand grew by 2 percent in 2017, the fastest increase since 2010.…
Energize Weekly, October 24, 2018 Corporate renewable energy power purchases—which have spurred $15 billion in capital investment in the last eight years—have already set an annual record in 2018 led by tech companies. So far this year, corporate customers have purchased 4.96 gigawatts of renewable electricity through 59 deals, according to the Business Renewables Center,…
Energize Weekly, October 24, 2018 The PJM Interconnection, the largest U.S. wholesale electricity market, has in the last five years added the most natural gas-fired capacity of any grid in the country, according to the federal Energy Information Administration (EIA). PJM has seen the closure or announced closure of coal-fired and nuclear plants on its…