Attacks On The U.S. Power Grid Are Surging Feb 21, 2023 The number of attacks with gunfire or vandalism on the U.S. power grid infrastructure surged last year and is likely to continue rising this year, too, a confidential analysis seen by The Wall Street Journal has shown. Last year,…
These “microreactors” could be the future of nuclear power
These “microreactors” could be the future of nuclear power February 18, 2023 One of the best ways to scale up the use of clean nuclear energy in the future might be to scale down the tech, with “microreactors” that can be built and deployed in a fraction of the time…
EPA undoes Trump-era power plant rollback
EPA undoes Trump-era power plant rollback 02/17/2023 A quixotic and clamorous regulatory saga perhaps unmatched in Clean Air Act history has ended — at least for now. In a final rule unveiled Friday, EPA restored the legal underpinnings of a 2012 set of regulations for emissions of mercury, a neurotoxin…
Xcel Energy uses Inflation Reduction Act for customer savings
Xcel Energy uses Inflation Reduction Act for customer savings Feb 19, 2023 Xcel Energy aims to save Minnesota customers over $1.4 billion in costs over the next 10 years and accelerate the transition to clean energy through provisions in the federal Inflation Reduction Act. Savings on projects in wind, solar,…
‘New era’ for wind industry as Vestas makes blade recycling breakthrough
‘New era’ for wind industry as Vestas makes blade recycling breakthrough 2/8/23 Vestas has unveiled a crucial new technology that could put an end to decommissioned wind turbine blades being sent for scrap. The Danish manufacturing company says its solution “renders epoxy-based turbine blades as circular”, without the need for…
Electric Vehicles Loom Large in U.S. Power Grid Modernization
Electric Vehicles Loom Large in U.S. Power Grid Modernization February 9, 2023 Since its inception, the U.S. electric grid has mostly operated smoothly as one synchronous machine with a one-directional flow of electricity to meet the nation’s predictable power needs. However, as older centralized thermal resources are being replaced with…
Duke Energy plans gas plants as it moves away from coal, but critics see higher cost and emissions
Duke Energy plans gas plants as it moves away from coal, but critics see higher cost and emissions February 14, 2023 Three years ago, Duke Energy opened its newest natural gas-fired power plant in Asheville, on the site of an old coal-fired plant. Duke wants to build more gas plants…
Extreme Northwest weather — hot and cold — drives new record at only WA nuclear plant
Extreme Northwest weather — hot and cold — drives new record at only WA nuclear plant FEBRUARY 10, 2023 The Pacific Northwest’s only nuclear commercial power plant set a new generation record in 2022, a year of weather extremes. The Energy Northwest’s Columbia Generating Station produced 9.8 million megawatt hours…
Connecticut consumers hit hard by dramatic spike in electric rates
Connecticut consumers hit hard by dramatic spike in electric rates Feb. 11, 2023 The majority of Eversource and United Illuminating Co. customers have begun receiving their first electric bills since rates were significantly increased, and some have reported seeing their bills nearly doubling. “Is this really happening?” Lydtz Thomas, a…
Renewables and nuclear set to cover global growth in electricity demand, IEA says
Renewables and nuclear set to cover global growth in electricity demand, IEA says Energize Weekly, February 15, 2023 New renewable and nuclear generation is set to meet 90 percent of the growing demand for electricity globally during the next three years, while increasing extreme weather will test grid resilience, according…
House bill aims to create lending institution for infrastructure projects
House bill aims to create lending institution for infrastructure projects Feb. 7, 2023 The bank would help finance work such as transportation projects, ports, electric grid security and broadband connectivity, according to the release. The bill also allows for broad discretion by the bank to invest in any infrastructure projects…
More than half of new U.S. electric-generating capacity in 2023 will be solar
More than half of new U.S. electric-generating capacity in 2023 will be solar FEBRUARY 6, 2023 Developers plan to add 54.5 gigawatts (GW) of new utility-scale electric-generating capacity to the U.S. power grid in 2023, according to our Preliminary Monthly Electric Generator Inventory. More than half of this capacity will…
FBI says Baltimore County woman plotted to ‘shoot up’ BGE electric substations
FBI says Baltimore County woman plotted to ‘shoot up’ BGE electric substations February 6, 2023 A Baltimore County woman has been arrested on charges for allegedly plotting to destroy electric substations in the Baltimore region, federal authorities said during a press conference on Monday. Sarah Beth Clendaniel was recorded detailing…
The United States Is Facing Electricity Famine
The United States Is Facing Electricity Famine Feb. 7, 2023 There are signs that we are heading towards an electricity famine; a life-threatening energy Holodomor throughout many areas of the United States caused by political decisions. The system is being set up to fail. This problem this time is not…
Judge dismisses lawsuit over TVA’s long-term deals
Judge dismisses lawsuit over TVA’s long-term deals Feb. 7, 2023 A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit by environmental groups that challenged how the nation’s largest public utility signs up local power providers for two-decade contracts. A ruling by U.S. District Judge Thomas L. Parker in Memphis last week sided…
Renewable tax credits and changes on the grid are making most coal-fired plants uneconomical
Renewable tax credits and changes on the grid are making most coal-fired plants uneconomical Energize Weekly, February 8, 2023 A combination of new federal incentives for renewable generation and a shift in the way electric grids are managed has led to a point where it is more expensive to operate…
California is lone holdout in Colorado River cuts proposal
California is lone holdout in Colorado River cuts proposal January 31, 2023 Six Western states that rely on water from the Colorado River have agreed on a model to dramatically cut water use in the basin, months after the federal government called for action and an initial deadline passed. California…
US solar PPA prices keep rising with demand set to grow further – LevelTen
US solar PPA prices keep rising with demand set to grow further – LevelTen January 31, 2023 US solar power purchase agreement (PPA) prices continued to climb in Q4 2022, as supply chain blockages and uncertain legislation increased costs for developers, according to renewables transaction infrastructure provider LevelTen Energy. Its…
FERC Directs NERC to Tighten Bulk Electric System Cybersecurity
FERC Directs NERC to Tighten Bulk Electric System Cybersecurity January 26, 2023 On January 19, 2023, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission issued a Final Rule directing the North American Electric Reliability Corporation to file for FERC review new or modified Reliability Standards that require internal network security monitoring (INSM) within…
Natural gas-fired power replacing coal-fired electricity in Pennsylvania
Natural gas-fired power replacing coal-fired electricity in Pennsylvania JANUARY 30, 2023 According to a new report by the U.S. Energy Information Administration, natural gas-fired power plants have replaced coal-fired power plants in Pennsylvania over the last two decades. In 2001, natural gas accounted for 2 percent of the electricity produced…
SNC-Lavalin, Aecon join team building North America’s first small modular reactor
SNC-Lavalin, Aecon join team building North America’s first small modular reactor 30.01.23 Canadian power company Ontario Power Generation (OPG) has retained Candu Energy, part of the SNC-Lavalin Group, and Canadian contractor Aecon to design and build a small modular reactor (SMR) at the Darlington nuclear plant in Ontario before the…
Senators explore power supply failure — especially natural gas — during Christmas storm
Senators explore power supply failure – especially natural gas – during Christmas storm January 26, 2023 The winter storm of Dec. 23-25 produced an unexpectedly high demand for electricity. Despite the surprise, PJM, the 13-state power grid organization — thought it had plenty of reserve on hand. But the power…
‘Absolutely crazy’: Wind turbine in Dodge County collapses
‘Absolutely crazy’: Wind turbine in Dodge County collapses Jan 20, 2023 Wednesday night the blades and top portion of a wind turbine came crashing down to the field below in a rural area of Dodge County, near the town of Herman. The impact scattered massive pieces of debris across the…
State lawmakers propose power grid protections after attacks
State lawmakers propose power grid protections after attacks January 22, 2023 When gunshots at two electrical substations cut power to thousands of central North Carolina homes for several days in early December, Republican state Rep. Ben Moss watched his vibrant district full of family farms, small businesses and sprawling golf…
CPS Energy will phase out coal, close Spruce plant
CPS Energy will phase out coal, close Spruce plant January 24, 2023 Before the end of the decade, the electricity powering San Antonio’s homes and businesses won’t rely on a polluting coal plant. But CPS Energy isn’t committing to all renewables just yet. The city-owned utility’s board voted 4-1 yesterday…
First Bitcoin Mining Powered By Nuclear Energy To Open In The U.S. In Q1 This Year
First Bitcoin Mining Powered By Nuclear Energy To Open In The U.S. In Q1 This Year January 23, 2023 Positioning bitcoin mining with carbon-free sources, like nuclear energy, offers enormous benefits to the cryptocurrency industry as digital assets grow in popularity, acceptability, and engagement with the broader economy. World Nuclear…
PUC approves electric market redesign in ‘big step for ERCOT’
PUC approves electric market redesign in ‘big step for ERCOT’ Jan 19, 2023 The Public Utility Commission of Texas on Thursday approved a redesign of the state’s electric market, recommending a new model they said will improve grid reliability, but critics said could pass more costs onto the consumer. The…
Electricity generation global demand for fossil fuels is about to peak, RMI says
Electricity generation global demand for fossil fuels is about to peak, RMI says Energize Weekly, January 25, 2023 The world has reached – or is close to reaching – peak demand for fossil fuels for generating electricity as the installation of cheaper renewable generation continues to grow, according to an…
Substation attacks may lead to new energy security rules in 2023, experts say
Substation attacks may lead to new energy security rules in 2023, experts say Jan. 17, 2023 Amid a growing cyber threat to the U.S. electric grid, 2022 ended with a spate of physical attacks that could portend new security rules for some energy infrastructure, say experts. “The physical substation attacks…
Japan’s ‘clean coal’ power experiment is starting to bear fruit
Japan’s ‘clean coal’ power experiment is starting to bear fruit January 16, 2023 On a small island in western Japan’s Hiroshima prefecture, reachable only by a 30-minute ferry ride from the mainland, a decadelong attempt to prove coal can be made “clean” is drawing to an end — though its…
Coal-to-nuclear plans may speed up reactor build in series
Coal-to-nuclear plans may speed up reactor build in series January 16, 2023 New nuclear projects, especially first-of-a-kind (FOAK) technology, are expected to be expensive and difficult to plan efficiently as their deployment must also include the creation of new supply chains, the training of a new workforce, and the construction…
Puerto Rico to privatize power generation amid outages
Puerto Rico to privatize power generation amid outages January 15, 2023 Puerto Rico announced Sunday that it plans to privatize electricity generation, a first for a U.S. territory facing chronic power outages as it struggles to rebuild a crumbling electric grid. The move marks the beginning of the end for…
Winter Storm Elliott stressed regional electric grids across the U.S. in different ways
Winter Storm Elliott stressed regional electric grids across the U.S. in different ways Energize Weekly, January 18, 2023 Winter Storm Elliott, the bomb cyclone with freezing temperatures and blizzard conditions that swept across the U.S. east of the Rockies, sparked a wave of outages with its impacts varying from regional…
US to Help Mexico Pay for Ambitious Solar Plan, Official Says
US to Help Mexico Pay for Ambitious Solar Plan, Official Says January 10, 2023 The US wants to help Mexico bankroll its ambitious plan for a slew of solar parks along their border, which is likely to require private funds and development bank loans, according to top diplomat focused on…
Biden declares emergency in California as more winter storms advance
Biden declares emergency in California as more winter storms advance JAN 9 2023 President Joe Biden on Monday declared an emergency in California after a barrage of deadly winter storms has prompted widespread power outages and flooding since last week. Extreme downpours, high winds and flash floods have caused at…
India expects utilities’ annual coal demand to surge about 8% after renewables shortfall
India expects utilities’ annual coal demand to surge about 8% after renewables shortfall January 10, 2023 India expects its power plants to burn about 8% more coal in the fiscal year ending March 2024, according to a senior government official and a power ministry presentation, after the country missed its…
Holtec seeks $7.4 billion loan for expansion tied to new reactor
Holtec seeks $7.4 billion loan for expansion tied to new reactor Jan. 9, 2023 Holtec International Inc. has applied for a $7.4 billion federal loan to fund expansion expected from future sales of a company-designed nuclear reactor. Holtec would tap the loan to boost capacity to make parts at its…
AEP Ohio asking for rate increase to boost system reliability after last summer’s storms
AEP Ohio asking for rate increase to boost system reliability after last summer’s storms Jan. 6, 2023 Several months after powerful storms whacked AEP Ohio’s transmission system and forced the power company to turn off electricity to some Columbus-area neighborhoods to avoid a larger power loss, AEP is now asking…
Colorado co-ops say Xcel Energy mismanaged natural gas supplies during 2021 storm
Colorado co-ops say Xcel Energy mismanaged natural gas supplies during 2021 storm Energize Weekly, January 11, 2023 The fallout from the soaring natural gas prices created by Winter Storm Uri in 2021 continues as four rural Colorado electric cooperatives have filed a complaint with federal regulators saying they were overcharged…
Meet the renewable energy source poised for growth with the help of the oil industry
Meet the renewable energy source poised for growth with the help of the oil industry 01/01/2023 One of the oldest forms of clean power is ready for a comeback — and it’s not wind or solar. Geothermal energy — the technology that harnesses the heat beneath the Earth’s crust —…
Two Puyallup men charged in Pierce County power substation attacks
Two Puyallup men charged in Pierce County power substation attacks January 3, 2023 Two Puyallup men alleged to have attacked four Pierce County power substations over Christmas weekend will appear in U.S. District Court Tuesday. Matthew Greenwood, 32, and Jeremy Crahan, 40, were arrested Dec. 31, and face charges of…
Sweden turns to France as it looks to buy two new nuclear reactors
Sweden turns to France as it looks to buy two new nuclear reactors January 3, 2023 Sweden and France could be set to join forces to build new nuclear power stations in the Nordic nation, to boost domestic power production and guarantee security of supply. Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson…
Hackers stole data from multiple electric utilities in recent ransomware attack
Hackers stole data from multiple electric utilities in recent ransomware attack December 27, 2022 Hackers stole data belonging to multiple electric utilities in an October ransomware attack on a US government contractor that handles critical infrastructure projects across the country, according to a memo describing the hack obtained by CNN.…
Pleasants Power Purchase Under Consideration in West Virginia PSC Order
Pleasants Power Purchase Under Consideration in West Virginia PSC Order JAN 3, 2023 An order from the West Virginia Public Service Commission last week approving rate increases for two power companies also included a provision for those companies to evaluate the possible purchase of the Pleasants Power plant. In an…
Energy efficiency investments jump in 2022 spurred by energy security concerns
Energy efficiency investments jump in 2022 spurred by energy security concerns Energize Weekly, December 28, 2022 Global investment in energy efficiency – from building renovations to public transport to electric vehicle infrastructure – increased 16 percent in 2022, reaching $560 billion as efficiency gains grew fourfold, according to the International…
Developer of 1,200 MW offshore wind farm asks Massachusetts regulators to dismiss PPAs
Developer of 1,200 MW offshore wind farm asks Massachusetts regulators to dismiss PPAs 12.19.2022 The developer of Commonwealth Wind in Massachusetts asked state regulators to dismiss their review of power purchase agreements tied to the 1,223 MW offshore wind farm. Avangrid has cited economic conditions such as supply chain disruptions,…
Entergy Louisiana files proposed 10-year Entergy Future Ready resilience plan
Entergy Louisiana files proposed 10-year Entergy Future Ready resilience plan 12/19/2022 Today, Entergy Louisiana filed its proposed Phase I Entergy Future Ready resilience plan with the Louisiana Public Service Commission. Phase I seeks approval of the first five years of a 10-year resilience plan that would aim to accelerate the…
Global coal use is on course to hit all-time high this year, IEA says
Global coal use is on course to hit all-time high this year, IEA says DEC 19 2022 Global coal use is on course to increase by 1.2% to hit a record high this year, according to a report from the International Energy Agency. It comes at a time of significant…
Holtec to reapply for funding to restart Palisades
Holtec to reapply for funding to restart Palisades 20 December 2022 Holtec agreed in 2018 to purchase the plant for decommissioning from operator Entergy, completing the acquisition in June. In July, Holtec – with the support of Governor of Michigan Gretchen Whitmer – submitted an application for funding under the…
PG&E wildfire and catastrophe proposal may trigger higher monthly bills
PG&E wildfire and catastrophe proposal may trigger higher monthly bills December 19, 2022 Higher monthly bills might jolt PG&E customers due to the utility’s request that state regulators allow the company to collect more revenue for its spending linked to wildfires and catastrophes. PG&E wants to recover costs that arose…
