EUCI Blog

Energize Weekly, June 13, 2018 Oil companies have cut the costs of shale drilling, leading to the resurgence of activity even without oil prices rebounding to pre-recession levels, though some of the high-priced plays are vulnerable to market forces, according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF). The key to the shale boom has been improved…

Energize Weekly, June 13, 2018 NV Energy announced a $2 billion plan to add more than 1 gigawatt of utility-scale solar and battery storage projects, but said the investment depends upon whether Nevada voters support an “energy choice” ballot measure in the fall. On June 1, NV Energy, a subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway Energy, submitted…

Energize Weekly, June 13, 2018 New York State has launched a $250 million expansion plan for electric vehicle (EV) charging stations and infrastructure with the aim of having 10,000 stations in place by 2021. The program—EVolve NY—will include initiatives by the New York Power Authority (NYPA) and private sector partnerships through 2025 to accelerate the…

Energize Weekly, June 13, 2018 Xcel Energy, Colorado’s largest electricity provider, submitted a plan to state regulators June 6 seeking to invest $2.5 billion in wind, solar and energy storage projects while closing two coal-fired power plants. The proposed Colorado Energy Plan (CEP) would add 1,100 megawatts (MW) of wind power, 700 MW of solar…

Energize Weekly, June 6, 2018 High levels of wind and solar on regional power grids can decrease electric wholesale prices by $5 to $16 a megawatt-hour (MWh), according to a study by the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. “Increasing penetrations of variable renewable energy (VRE) can affect wholesale electricity price patterns and make them meaningfully different from…

Energize Weekly, June 6, 2018 The power sector’s consumption of fossil fuels dropped in 2017 to levels not seen since 1994, as a result of closing aging coal plants and adding more efficient natural gas turbines, according to the federal Energy Information Administration (EIA). For the last four years, fossil fuel use has dropped steadily…

Energize Weekly, June 6, 2018 In a regional first, on a mild, sunny April day, New Englanders used more electricity from the grid while they were sleeping than they did at midday, according to grid operator ISO New England (ISO-NE). The game changer on April 21 was the 2,400 megawatts (MW) of solar capacity in…

Energize Weekly, June 6, 2018 The use of carbon pricing mechanisms by countries and regions, as a way to control greenhouse gas emissions, has tripled in the past decade and is poised to be more widely used in the coming years, according to the World Bank. Seventy jurisdictions—45 nations, 25 sub-national entities such as states,…

Energize Weekly, May 30, 2018 U.S. energy sector employment increased by 2 percent to 6.5 million jobs in 2017. While power generation posted big numbers, energy efficiency and biofuels were the fastest-growing areas, according to a report by the National Association of State Energy Officials. The U.S. Energy Employment Report, based on federal Bureau of…

Energize Weekly, May 30, 2018 PJM Interconnection, the nation’s largest grid, saw prices jump more than 80 percent to $140 a megawatt-day across most of its grid in the annual capacity market auction. But even with the hike, many nuclear power plants couldn’t successfully bid. The price increase was expected as a result of lower…

Energize Weekly, May 30, 2018 Coal-fired generation is being supplanted, for the most part, by cheaper natural gas turbines with $112 billion in new gas-fired power plants proposed or under construction, but those plants could face the same market fate as coal, according to an analysis by the Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI). The analysis by…

Energize Weekly, May 30, 2018 When it comes to electrical vehicles (EV), the focus has been on cars from Chevrolet’s Bolt EV to Tesla’s Model S, but the future of the EV market may rest with buses and trucks, according to new studies and initiatives. By 2030, Bloomberg New Energy Finance forecasts that 84 percent…