Energize Weekly, September 4, 2019 The Hawaiian Electric Company has issued a call for more than 900 megawatts (MW) of renewable generation projects – one of the largest procurements ever undertaken by a U.S. utility, the company said. The bid proposal calls for 594 MW of solar for Oahu, 135 MW for Maui and up…
Energize Weekly, September 4, 2019 The Colorado oil and gas industry is facing uncertain times as new state and local drilling regulations take hold, industry executives say, even as the state’s governor, Jared Polis, dismisses those concerns. That was the divide in sharp display the Colorado Oil and Gas Association’s (COGA) annual conference in Denver,…
Energize Weekly, September 4, 2019 Dominion Energy has launched a program to replace diesel school buses in Virginia with electric buses starting with 50 vehicles in 2020 and then a second phase – adding 200 buses each year through 2025 – with the ultimate goal of replacing all diesel buses by 2030. The price tag…
Energize Weekly, September 4, 2019 Average electricity prices in the U.S. edged up three-tenths of a percent in the most recent 12-month rolling period, which ended in May 2019, compared to the previous 12-month span, according to the federal Energy Information Administration (EIA). There were, however, sharp regional and state differences with falling rates in…
Energize Weekly, September 4, 2019 Sixteen mines in the Powder River Basin (PRB), which covers northeast Wyoming and southeast Montana, supply more than 40 percent of the coal produced in the U.S., and the bulk of that production is controlled by four companies, according to an analysis by the federal Energy Information Administration (EIA). The…
Energize Weekly, August 28, 2019 The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) board of directors at their August meeting approved a $10.6 billion budget for 2020 and a resource plan that could include up to 14 gigawatts (GW) of new solar capacity by 2038. The TVA, a federal agency, provides electricity to business customers and local power…
Energize Weekly, August 28, 2019 The U.S. had one the largest absolute increases in oil and natural gas production for a single country in history in 2018, according to the federal Energy Information Administration (EIA). In 2011, the U.S. had already surpassed Russia as the world’s largest producer of natural gas, and in 2018, it…
Energize Weekly, August 28, 2019 The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), in cooperation with university researchers and major auto manufacturers, has launched a $50 million program to develop electric and alternative-fuel technologies for trucks and off-road vehicles. The research projects will focus on gaseous fuels – including natural gas, bio-power and hydrogen – heavy-duty truck…
Energize Weekly, August 28, 2019 Vistra Energy said it will close four Illinois coal-fired plants, with 2,000 megawatts (MW) of capacity and 300 employees, by the end of the year to meet new state pollution rules. The Illinois Multi-Pollutant Standard (MPS) sets caps on emissions of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides, and required the shutdown…
Energize Weekly, August 28, 2019 Major U.S. shale operators, thanks to strong oil prices and more efficient operations, posted a sharp turnaround in the second quarter of 2019, showing positive cash flow for the first time on record, according to Rystad Energy, an Oslo-based energy consultant. In the second quarter, 35 percent of the 40…
Energize Weekly, August 21, 2019 Imports of silicon solar cells and modules rebounded in the first quarter of 2019 after a sharp drop when the Trump administration announced it would impose tariffs on them in January 2018. Photovoltaic (PV) module imports averaged 644,000 kilowatts (kW) a month in the first quarter of 2019, about 16…
Energize Weekly, August 21, 2019 World energy production – spurred by coal and natural gas – was up 2.2 percent in 2017 to 14,035 million tons oil equivalent (Mtoe) when compared to 2016, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA). Coal and natural gas output were each up by more than 120 Mtoe in 2017.…