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Texas, California and U.S. West may face electricity reliability challenges this summer

Energize Weekly, June 26, 2019 There is adequate generating reverse to meet summer electricity demands in most of the U.S., while Texas, California and the West may face challenges, according to the North American Reliability Corp. (NERC) 2019 summer assessment. NERC, a nonprofit corporation overseeing regional electricity reliability in the Lower 48 United States, Canada…

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New York passes sweeping climate action plan to get to net-zero carbon emission by 2040

Energize Weekly, June 26, 2019 A bill passed by the New York state legislature sets the goal of boosting renewable power, including poorer communities in the transition to clean energy and getting the state to net-zero carbon emissions by 2040 for all economic activity. The legislation, passed on June 20, is supported by Gov. Andrew…

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Big increases in fossil fuel consumption places world on an unsustainable path, BP says

Energize Weekly, June 26, 2019 The strong growth in global energy demand in 2018 is a sign that the world is on an “unsustainable path,” according to the BP Statistical Review of World Energy. Global energy demand was up 2.9 percent and carbon emissions grew by 2 percent in 2018, faster than at any times…

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Tri-State seeks FERC regulation to avoid Colorado and New Mexico oversight on rates

Energize Weekly, June 26, 2019 After Colorado and New Mexico passed clean energy laws giving them more oversight of the Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association, the wholesale power provider is considering seeking federal regulation to blunt the state initiatives. Westminster, Colo.-based Tri-State provides 95 percent of the electricity to 43 rural electric cooperatives in four…

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Southwestern U.S. solar resource leads to top performance for PV solar installations

Energize Weekly, June 19, 2019 Some of the most robust state solar energy plans are in states such as Massachusetts and New Jersey, but the most robust solar resource is, perhaps not surprisingly, the Southwest based on performance analysis by the federal Energy Information Administration (EIA). In the analysis of photovoltaic (PV) solar generating capacity…

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Two coal-fired units at Montana’s Colstrip Power Station to close at year’s end

Energize Weekly, June 19, 2019 Two of the four coal-fired units at Colstrip Power Plant in eastern Montana will close at the end of the year – 30 months ahead of schedule, the operator, Talen Energy, announced on June 11. A controversial legislative effort to save the Colstrip plant died in the Montana legislature this…

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New Jersey unveils a broad plan to reach 100 percent clean energy target by 2050

Energize Weekly, June 19, 2019 A multipronged, draft energy plan aimed at getting New Jersey to 100 percent clean energy by 2050 was unveiled June 10 by the state Board of Public Utilities (BPU). The plan looks to address transportation, energy consumption by buildings, grid modernization, as well as a net-zero carbon electricity generation and…

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Wind and solar running ‘neck and neck’ in global corporate power purchases in 2019

Energize Weekly, June 19, 2019 Wind generation, which has been the dominate form of renewable energy for corporate clean energy in power purchase agreements, is running “neck and neck” with solar in 2019, according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF). Globally, companies had signed deals for 2.8 gigawatts (GW) of solar and 2.8 GW of…

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OPEC imports to the U.S. fall to their lowest level in more than three decades

Energize Weekly, June 19, 2019 U.S. crude oil imports from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) fell in March to 1.5 million barrels a day, the lowest level in 33 years, based on data from the federal Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) “Petroleum Supply Monthly.” The drop to a level not seen since March…

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Massachusetts energy agency calls for another 1,600 MW of offshore wind, doubling state’s target

Energize Weekly, June 12, 2019 Massachusetts energy officials have proposed doubling the state’s offshore wind capacity by adding another 1,600 megawatts (MW) by 2030. The state has already awarded one 800-MW offshore project and is set to select another 800-MW project in the fall. After an economic analysis and a review with stakeholders, the Massachusetts…

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Horizontal drilling is key to nearly all oil and gas production from tight formations in 2018

Energize Weekly, June 12, 2019 Horizontal wells accounted for 96 percent of the oil production from tight geological formations, such as shale, in 2018, up from 15 percent in 2004, according to data from the federal Energy Information Administration (EIA). The horizontal wells, with laterals that can run two miles or more underground, also accounted…

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U.S. energy storage installations set a record in the first quarter of 2019

Energize Weekly, June 12, 2019 U.S. energy storage installations hit a quarterly record in the first three months of 2019 with 148.8 megawatts (MW) of new capacity, according to a market report by Wood Mackenzie Power & Renewables and the Energy Storage Association (ESA). The first quarter of 2019 installations were 6 percent higher than…

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