EPA LEAVES OUT EXISTING NATURAL GAS-FIRED POWER PLANTS FROM CARBON RULE

EPA Leaves Out Existing Natural Gas-Fired Power Plants from Carbon Rule MARCH 8, 2024 The Biden administration’s recent announcement that it would hold off on regulating carbon emissions from existing natural gas-fired power plants means the agency will wait until after the election to regulate one of Pennsylvania’s largest sources…

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Goldman Sachs-backed BESS developer Gridstor makes first ERCOT project acquisition

Goldman Sachs-backed BESS developer Gridstor makes first ERCOT project acquisition March 12, 2024 Gridstor, a developer of standalone battery energy storage system (BESS) assets, has acquired a 450MW/900MWh project in Texas, US, the company’s first in the booming ERCOT market. Gridstor announced last week (6 March) that it has bought…

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A massive proposed Wisconsin solar farm could wreak havoc on threatened prairie chickens

A massive proposed Wisconsin solar farm could wreak havoc on threatened prairie chickens March 2, 2024 The plan for a massive solar energy development in Portage County has caused conservationists to sound the alarm over the project’s potential detrimental impacts to Wisconsin’s threatened population of greater prairie chickens. The Vista…

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New Jersey waters down proposed referendum on new fossil fuel power plant ban

New Jersey waters down proposed referendum on new fossil fuel power plant ban March 4, 2024 New Jersey lawmakers wanted to ask voters whether to ban new fossil fuel-fired power plants. And then they added a loophole big enough to drive a fleet of oil trucks through. A state Senate…

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Xcel says big reason it needs to spend millions on new projects is regional grid’s reliability risks

Xcel says big reason it needs to spend millions on new projects is regional grid’s reliability risks MARCH 4, 2024 The growing risk of unreliability and potential expense of buying energy on the open market is a big reason why Xcel Energy wants to make significant investments in its infrastructure.…

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Lawmakers across the U.S., including in Md., seek to curb utility spending on politics, ads and more

Lawmakers across the U.S., including in Md., seek to curb utility spending on politics, ads and more March 5, 2024 After a string of scandals and amid rising bills, lawmakers in statehouses across the country, including in Maryland, have been pushing legislation to curb utilities spending ratepayer money on lobbying,…

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Poor grid interconnection policies are causing project backups across the U.S., study says

Poor grid interconnection policies are causing project backups across the U.S., study says

Poor grid interconnection policies are causing project backups across the U.S., study says Energize Weekly, March 6, 2024 The grid interconnection process in the U.S. is so “dysfunctional” that more than two million megawatts of generation and storage are waiting to be hooked up, according to an analysis by Advanced…

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DOE announces $45 million investment for cybersecurity research

DOE announces $45 million investment for cybersecurity research FEBRUARY 26, 2024 The Department of Energy on Monday announced a $45 million investment into cybersecurity research for the energy sector, including projects on artificial intelligence detection and response and quantum communication for the grid. DOE’s Office of Cybersecurity, Energy Security, and…

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Retired coal plant’s revival as natural gas station sparks debate across South Carolina

Retired coal plant’s revival as natural gas station sparks debate across South Carolina February 26th 2024 A retired coal-fired power plant in Colleton County may be revamped in the next decade. The plant would be a joint station between Dominion Energy and Santee Cooper. It will function as a natural…

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Rebooted commission could breathe new life into bills challenging Virginia’s largest utility

Rebooted commission could breathe new life into bills challenging Virginia’s largest utility February 26, 2024 Virginia clean energy champions have their fingers crossed that members of a resurrected legislative commission won’t water down four utility-focused bills when they meet in the off-season to reshape the failed measures for next year’s…

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US government may sue PacifiCorp, a Warren Buffett utility, for nearly $1B in wildfire cost

US government may sue PacifiCorp, a Warren Buffett utility, for nearly $1B in wildfire costs February 26, 2024 The U.S. government is threatening to sue PacifiCorp, a unit of Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway, to recover nearly $1 billion in costs related to the 2020 wildfires in southern Oregon and northern…

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Natural gas-fired generation, the backbone of U.S. electricity generation, varies by region

Natural gas-fired generation, the backbone of U.S. electricity generation, varies by region

Natural gas-fired generation, the backbone of U.S. electricity generation, varies by region Energize Weekly, February 28, 2024 Natural gas generation is the largest source of electricity in the U.S. and is used across the country, but the scale and efficiency of that generation varies region by region, according to an…

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Texas Lawmaker files bill that would allow the rest of the country to access Texas’ power grid

Texas Lawmaker files bill that would allow the rest of the country to access Texas’ power grid February 18, 2024 Congressman Greg Casar, D-Austin, says it is the first time it has ever happened in Congress: a bill was drafted and filed that would make Texas connect its power grid…

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Pioneering GE F-Class Hydrogen-Capable Gas Power Plant Begins Operations in Australia

Pioneering GE F-Class Hydrogen-Capable Gas Power Plant Begins Operations in Australia February 19, 2024 EnergyAustralia has begun operations at the 320-MW Tallawarra B gas-fired power station in New South Wales (NSW)—Australia’s first peaking power plant capable of operating on a natural gas and hydrogen fuel blend. The project’s start on…

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Texas Electric Utility Courts Unnamed Crypto Miners With Five-Year Deals

Texas Electric Utility Courts Unnamed Crypto Miners With Five-Year Deals Feb 17, 2024 In a recent report, the community-driven, nonprofit electric provider in Texas, Denton Municipal Electric (DME), is attracting interest from several crypto mining companies seeking to establish operations. These companies are eyeing a five-year agreement for powering their…

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Growing electricity demand from electric vehicles poses risks to the bulk power system, NERC says

Growing electricity demand from electric vehicles poses risks to the bulk power system, NERC says

Growing electricity demand from electric vehicles poses risks to the bulk power system, NERC says Energize Weekly, February 21, 2024 The growing demand for electricity to charge electric vehicles (EVs) – depending upon the timing of the charging – could threaten the bulk power system, according to a study by…

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Western Maryland Electric Grid Stronger and More Resilient Following Smart Enhancements

Western Maryland Electric Grid Stronger and More Resilient Following Smart Enhancements 13 Feb, 2024 FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE: FE) subsidiary Potomac Edison has completed service reliability projects that will enhance electric service and minimize the impact of power outages for nearly 5,000 customers in Allegany, Frederick and Garrett counties. The two…

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New method utilizes hydropower project signals to monitor grid stability

New method utilizes hydropower project signals to monitor grid stability 12 February 2024 Scientists at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) and the University of Tennessee, Knoxville (UTK), have unveiled an algorithm designed to forecast electric grid stability by harnessing signals from pumped storage hydropower (PSH) projects. This innovation emerges as…

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Arizona utility regulators vote to kill renewable standards

Arizona utility regulators vote to kill renewable standards February 8, 2024 Let the market dictate how utilities do business. That was the message from Arizona utility regulators on Tuesday after they voted to begin the process of repealing the state’s energy efficiency and renewable standards. Solar industry advocates expressed disbelief,…

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Facing a growing crypto-mining sector, the U.S. to require reports of power use by miners

Facing a growing crypto-mining sector, the U.S. to require reports of power use by miners

Facing a growing crypto-mining sector, the U.S. to require reports of power use by miners Energize Weekly, February 14, 2024 Faced with a burgeoning cryptocurrency market and its rising demand for electricity, the U.S. government is going to collect monthly data on the industry’s use of power. The federal Energy…

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Oak Ridge public-private partnership looks to advance quantum tech for the power grid

Oak Ridge public-private partnership looks to advance quantum tech for the power grid FEBRUARY 1, 2024 A new cooperative endeavor based at Tennessee’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory unites public and private sector players to push forward advancements in the quantum sciences field, particularly for solutions to further secure the U.S.…

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Xcel plans higher electric rates during peak evening hours, lower overnight costs

Xcel plans higher electric rates during peak evening hours, lower overnight costs FEBRUARY 6, 2024 Xcel has asked state utility regulators to let it switch Minnesota electric customers to variable rates, which on summer weekdays would be seven times more expensive from 3-8 p.m. than between midnight and 6 a.m.,…

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Global investment in clean tech and energy transition reached a record $1.8 trillion in 2023

Global investment in clean tech and energy transition reached a record $1.8 trillion in 2023

Global investment in clean tech and energy transition reached a record $1.8 trillion in 2023 Energize Weekly, February 7, 2024 Global investments in the energy transition from fossil fuels to clean tech climbed 17 percent in 2023 to a record $1.8 trillion, according to a study by the energy research…

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Sunrun and PG&E Complete First Season of Innovative Residential Distributed Power Plant

Sunrun and PG&E Complete First Season of Innovative Residential Distributed Power Plant 29 Jan, 2024 Peaking at nearly 32 megawatts from 8,500 solar-plus-storage residential systems, Sunrun and Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) customers provided consistent, reliable clean energy to California’s power grid through the summer and fall of 2023…

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U.S. Oil Drillers Are Going Electric—and Hitting Speed Bumps

U.S. Oil Drillers Are Going Electric—and Hitting Speed Bumps January 29, 2024 In the country’s busiest oil field, frackers are devouring nearly as much electricity as four Seattles every day—and they are clamoring for more. Diamondback Energy, a major producer in the Permian Basin of West Texas and New Mexico,…

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Texas’ grid has gone 3 years without a crisis. Will it last?

Texas’ grid has gone 3 years without a crisis. Will it last? 01/30/2024 In the three years since deadly blackouts paralyzed Texas, two major winter storms have hit the electricity grid without plunging the state into blackouts. Texas has touted its success during those two events — Elliott in December…

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Energy Professionals welcome Pickering Nuclear life extension announcement

Energy Professionals welcome Pickering Nuclear life extension announcement Jan 30, 2024 The Society of United Professionals welcomes the government’s announcement to pursue the refurbishment of the Pickering B Nuclear Generating Station (PNGS). PNGS, and the thousands of high-quality union jobs that the plant supports, are a vital piece of the…

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Lawmakers propose to keep Utah running on coal and natural gas

Lawmakers propose to keep Utah running on coal and natural gas Jan 29, 2024 Republicans on Capitol Hill are working to keep coal and natural gas in Utah’s future. There’s a bumper sticker making its way around the Capitol this year. It reads simply, “powered by coal.” Rep. Colin Jack,…

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Energy giant Schneider Electric hit by Cactus ransomware attack

Energy giant Schneider Electric hit by Cactus ransomware attack January 29, 2024 Energy management and automation giant Schneider Electric suffered a Cactus ransomware attack leading to the theft of corporate data, according to people familiar with the matter. BleepingComputer has learned that the ransomware attack hit the company’s Sustainability Business…

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TVA reaches its highest weekend power demand during the cold temperatures

TVA reaches its highest weekend power demand during the cold temperatures Jan 21, 2024 Icy temperatures followed us into the weekend, and the Tennessee Valley Authority broke another peak power record along the way. The peak power demand on Sunday morning at 9 a.m. Easter Time was 34,284 megawatts, with…

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AES positioned to provide tech sector with growing renewable energy solutions

AES positioned to provide tech sector with growing renewable energy solutions January 19, 2024 With data centers and generative AI (GenAI) driving an enormous demand for power and major technology firms working to fulfill ambitious clean energy goals, AES Corp. said it is positioned as the premiere provider of renewable…

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