Energize Weekly, September 12, 2018 Utility and power sector deals globally hit a record $180 billion in the first half of 2018, spurred by industry consolidation and renewable energy investments, according to a report by Ernst & Young (EY). The accounting and consulting firm’s second quarter “Power Transactions and Trends” report shows record investment even…
Energize Weekly, September 5, 2018 Wind generation, while facing some challenges in wholesale electricity markets, has continued to be competitive with prices for power purchase agreements and turbines continuing to fall, according to a new study by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). After reaching $70 a megawatt-hour long-term power purchase agreements (PPAs) in 2009,…
Energize Weekly, September 5, 2018 Power generation is one of the biggest consumers of water—used for cooling—in the U.S., but a small, though increasing number of plants are using dry cooling technology, according to the federal Energy Information Administration (EIA). Dry-cooled and hybrid plants, which use both water and air cooling, account for only 3…
Energize Weekly, September 5, 2018 Capital investment in the oil and gas industry grew rapidly after 2006 but has shown itself to be more volatile than overall capital investment, creating both a boon and a potential bane for the economy, according to an analysis by the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City. From 2006 to…
Energize Weekly, September 5, 2018 FirstEnergy Solutions (FES) announced Aug. 29 that it plans to shutter four fossil fuel-fired power plants with a total of 4,000 megawatts (MW) of generating capacity by 2022. “FES is closing the plants due to a market environment that fails to adequately compensate generators for the resiliency and fuel-security attributes…
Energize Weekly, August 29, 2018 A wind power developer has turned to Montana utility regulators and a federal law to resolve a payment dispute with NorthWestern Energy, the state’s largest utility, over four wind projects and a battery-storage facility it has proposed. Caithness Beaver Creek LLC (CBC) is seeking to develop the four projects, near…
Energize Weekly, August 29, 2018 The increased drilling of longer horizontal wells in shale oil and gas formations is fueling an escalating demand for the sand used to keep open fissures in rock after it has been fracked, leading to a $6 billion market by 2023, according to energy consultant IHS Markit. The market for…
Energize Weekly, August 29, 2018 A switch from coal-fired generation to a mix anchored by low-cost wind and solar could save the rural electricity cooperatives served by one western generation and transmission association $600 million by 2030, according to analysis by the Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI). RMI, a non-profit energy consultant, used the Tri-State Generation…
Energize Weekly, August 29, 2018 Xcel Energy and one of its largest Colorado customers, EVRAZ Rocky Mountain Steel, have struck a unique agreement that gives the steelmaker a fixed electricity rate for 23 years and a 240-megawatt solar installation at the plant. The Colorado Public Utilities Commission (PUC) has to approve construction of the photovoltaic…
Energize Weekly, August 29, 2018 Water demand for fracking and the flowback and produced water from fracked wells has soared with the amount of water being used up as much as 770 percent and flowback volumes increasing up to 1,440 percent in six years, according to a Duke University study. The increased water use and…
Energize Weekly, August 22, 2018 Corporate purchases of renewable energy worldwide in 2018 have reached 7.2 gigawatts (GW) and already surpass the all-time record set in 2017 by 33 percent. Long-term contracts to purchase wind and solar resources have been signed in 28 markets as the number of industries seeking clean energy resources is growing,…
Energize Weekly, August 22, 2018 Air pollution from U.S. manufacturing fell by 60 percent between 1990 and 2008 even as industrial output increased by 30 percent as a result of environmental laws and regulations, according to a study by University of California-Berkeley economists. The researchers analyzed newly available data on 1,400 products produced by U.S.…
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