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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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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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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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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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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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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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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PJM Urges Delayed Retirement of 840-MW Fossil Fuel Power Plant, Citing Reliability Impacts

PJM Urges Delayed Retirement of 840-MW Fossil Fuel Power Plant, Citing Reliability Impacts January 10, 2024 PJM has urged Talen Energy to delay its deactivation of two of four units at the 840-MW coal, oil, and gas–fired Herbert A. Wagner Generating Station in Maryland until transmission upgrades are put into…

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Solar generation continues expand rapidly on the U.S. grid while coal continues its decline

Solar generation continues expand rapidly on the U.S. grid while coal continues its decline

Solar generation continues expand rapidly on the U.S. grid while coal continues its decline Energize Weekly, January 17, 2024 Solar and coal-fired electricity generation are continuing to head in opposite directions over the next two years with solar being the leading source of new generation and coal activity falling to…

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Only a nuclear reactor can make Pueblo “whole” after Xcel Energy closes last coal-fired plant, local group says

Only a nuclear reactor can make Pueblo “whole” after Xcel Energy closes last coal-fired plant, local group says Jan 8, 2024 The only way Pueblo can be “made whole” after the closure of Xcel Energy’s massive, coal-fired Comanche Station is for the utility to replace it with an advanced nuclear…

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Coordination of Texas electric and natural gas sectors key in dealing with blackouts

Coordination of Texas electric and natural gas sectors key in dealing with blackouts

Coordination of Texas electric and natural gas sectors key in dealing with blackouts Energize Weekly, January 10, 2024 Better coordination between the Texas electric and natural gas industries is key to getting individual generating facilities up and running – a so-called blackstart – after a cold-weather blackout, according to a…

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Biden administration awards $9M grant to research carbon capture for proposed Southcentral Alaska coal power plant

Biden administration awards $9M grant to research carbon capture for proposed Southcentral Alaska coal power plant December 29, 2023 The University of Alaska Fairbanks is set to receive a $9 million dollar grant from the Biden administration to research a project that would aim to capture carbon emission from a…

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Energy cases to watch in 2024

Energy cases to watch in 2024 01/02/2024 Energy regulators’ power to address planet-warming emissions is in the crosshairs in federal courts in 2024. In one of the year’s biggest cases, the Supreme Court could rein in the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s ability to use 50-year-old laws to take bold action…

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Dominion regulator recommends rejection of utility’s long-term plan

Dominion regulator recommends rejection of utility’s long-term plan DECEMBER 12, 2023 A utility regulator with the State Corporation Commission is recommending the body reject Dominion Energy’s most recent long-term plan because of its inclusion of new natural gas plants. In her Friday recommendation, which will now go to the three-member…

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What Wyoming shows about going ‘carbon negative’ in coal country

What Wyoming shows about going ‘carbon negative’ in coal country 12/05/2023 Wyoming is highlighting a question at the center of the nation’s electricity mix: Can a coal state go “carbon negative”? Republican Gov. Mark Gordon’s stated goal for the nation’s top-producing coal state is to suck more carbon out of…

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IEA takes aim at oil and gas sector at COP28, industry offers an agreement to cut methane

IEA takes aim at oil and gas sector at COP28, industry offers an agreement to cut methane

IEA takes aim at oil and gas sector at COP28, industry offers an agreement to cut methane Energize Weekly, December 6, 2023 As the climate conference – COP28 – opened in Dubai, the International Energy Agency (IEA) fired a shot across the bow of the oil industry with an analysis…

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NYISO says “peaker plants” should remain open longer than expected to meet demand

NYISO says “peaker plants” should remain open longer than expected to meet demand November 28, 2023 In its Short-Term Reliability Process Report, the New York Independent System Operator (NYISO) said plants scheduled for retirement in May of 2025 may have to stay in service longer temporarily to keep the grid…

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NARUC establishes new gas-electric working group to tackle grid-related reliability

NARUC establishes new gas-electric working group to tackle grid-related reliability November 28, 2023 At its annual meeting and education conference last week, the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC) launched a new 15-month gas electric working group to improve reliability for both the gas and electric industries. “The safety…

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Clean energy jobs growth worldwide surpasses fossil-fuel sector jobs which saw a decline

Clean energy jobs growth worldwide surpasses fossil-fuel sector jobs which saw a decline

Clean energy jobs growth worldwide surpasses fossil-fuel sector jobs which saw a decline Energize Weekly, November 29, 2023 Clean energy employment is growing more rapidly than fossil-fuel jobs across the globe and accounted for the majority of the 67 million jobs in the energy sector in 2022, according to an…

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Giant batteries drain economics of gas power plants

Giant batteries drain economics of gas power plants November 21, 2023 Giant batteries that ensure stable power supply by offsetting intermittent renewable supplies are becoming cheap enough to make developers abandon scores of projects for gas-fired generation world-wide. The long-term economics of gas-fired plants, used in Europe and some parts…

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Georgia Power says economic growth reason for updated plan to generate more electricity

Georgia Power says economic growth reason for updated plan to generate more electricity Nov. 13, 2023 Georgia Power recently filed an updated Integrated Resource Plan with the Georgia Public Service Commission, citing the need to support recent economic growth. But an environmental group opposed a portion of the proposed update…

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Fossil-fuel producing countries set to blow past climate targets for oil, natural gas, and coal

Fossil-fuel producing countries set to blow past climate targets for oil, natural gas, and coal

Fossil-fuel producing countries set to blow past climate targets for oil, natural gas, and coal Energize Weekly, November 15, 2023 Fossil-fuel producing countries are set to turn out double the amount of coal, oil, and natural gas between now and 2050 needed to keep the increase in global warming to…

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Partial owner of Xcel’s newest and last coal plant awarded judgement over year-long power outage

Partial owner of Xcel’s newest and last coal plant awarded judgement over year-long power outage NOVEMBER 4, 2023 A Denver District Court jury recently awarded an electricity distributor $26.45 million after the distributor sued Xcel Energy over what it called mismanagement of a power plant. CORE Electric Cooperative sued Xcel…

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The problem with making green hydrogen to fuel power plants

The problem with making green hydrogen to fuel power plants 10 October 2023 Today, utility Florida Power & Light will begin operations at its Cavendish NextGen Hydrogen Hub, one of the country’s first green hydrogen facilities. The 25-megawatt project will use solar power to split water into oxygen and hydrogen…

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Ameren wants to build two gas power plants. Critics call them ‘a big concern.’

Ameren wants to build two gas power plants. Critics call them ‘a big concern.’ Sep 27, 2023 Regional electric utility Ameren said Tuesday that it aims to build two natural gas power plants over the next decade, a revelation that appears to conflict with corporate goals to slash carbon emissions…

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Xcel plans to replace Colorado power plant in Pueblo with renewable energy battery system

Xcel plans to replace Colorado power plant in Pueblo with renewable energy battery system SEPTEMBER 25, 2023 Xcel Energy recently announced its intent to construct a long duration energy storage system at the site of a coal-fired power plant in Pueblo. Once operational, the system in Colorado “will allow Xcel…

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Dominion to seek air permit for proposed Chesterfield gas plant

Dominion to seek air permit for proposed Chesterfield gas plant SEPTEMBER 14, 2023 Dominion Energy’s plans to build a new natural gas plant in Chesterfield will require a state permit for major new sources of emissions, state air quality regulators said Wednesday. Mike Dowd, the Department of Environmental Quality’s director…

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Indigenous tribes urge federal officials to deny loan request for Superior, WI natural gas plant

Indigenous tribes urge federal officials to deny loan request for Superior, WI natural gas plant September 11, 2023 Indigenous tribes in Minnesota, Michigan and Wisconsin have asked federal officials to deny a utility’s request for a loan to help build a natural gas-fired power plant on the shores of Lake…

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Losing member co-ops, Tri-State seeks to sell its electricity on the wholesale power market

Losing member co-ops, Tri-State seeks to sell its electricity on the wholesale power market

Losing member co-ops, Tri-State seeks to sell its electricity on the wholesale power market Energize Weekly, September 13, 2023 Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association, a wholesale power supplier for rural electric cooperatives, is seeking to sell excess power on the open market as it loses some of its biggest members.…

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West Virginia coal-fired power plant targeted for deactivation to be restarted for hydrogen use

West Virginia coal-fired power plant targeted for deactivation to be restarted for hydrogen use August 31, 2023 A West Virginia coal-fired power plant that had been targeted for deactivation was restarted Wednesday under a new owner that plans to retrofit the facility to use hydrogen to generate electricity, Gov. Jim…

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California’s energy mix is changing but natural gas still the No. 1 source

California’s energy mix is changing but natural gas still the No. 1 source AUG. 25, 2023 Some things are changing in California’s mix of energy sources for electricity generation, but others are not. With policymakers looking to derive 100 percent of the state’s electricity from carbon-free sources by 2045, the…

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TVA Plans to Invest $15 Billion Over the Next Three Years to Meet Region’s Growth

TVA Plans to Invest $15 Billion Over the Next Three Years to Meet Region’s Growth Aug. 28, 2023 During the decade before COVID, TVA’s seven-state region saw almost no electric load growth. Post-COVID, the region has experienced tremendous economic growth, fueled by several factors. The Tennessee Valley Authority Board of…

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State power grid operator calls on Texans to conserve energy late Sunday

State power grid operator calls on Texans to conserve energy late Sunday AUG. 20, 2023 The state’s electric grid operator is asking Texans to limit their power use on Sunday between 7 and 10 p.m., the second such request in three days as extreme heat continues to grip the state.…

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Inflation Reduction Act could unleash $3 trillion in renewable energy investments

Inflation Reduction Act could unleash $3 trillion in renewable energy investments

Inflation Reduction Act could unleash $3 trillion in renewable energy investments Energize Weekly, August 23, 2023 The $1.2 trillion in incentives proposed under the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) will spur about $3 trillion investment in renewable energy technology over the next decade, according to Goldman Sachs Research. Goldman Sachs…

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Public meeting held to address proposal to close four coal plants in Western Kentucky

Public meeting held to address proposal to close four coal plants in Western Kentucky Aug. 14, 2023 People from across Western Kentucky voiced their concerns over a proposal to close several coal plants. In Madisonville, the Public Service Commission hosted a public comment session Monday to address a recent proposal…

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PSC to retire several coal, natural gas plants

PSC to retire several coal, natural gas plants Aug 4, 2023 The Kentucky Public Service Commission (PSC) will provide several opportunities over the next month for the public to receive information and provide comments regarding Louisville Gas and Electric and Kentucky Utilities’ (LG&E/KU) request to retire four coal-fired electric generating…

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Michigan PSC approves DTE Energy’s Integrated Resource Plan, setting path to net zero emissions by 2050

Michigan PSC approves DTE Energy’s Integrated Resource Plan, setting path to net zero emissions by 2050 July 28, 2023 DTE Energy received approval for its CleanVision Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) this week from the Michigan Public Service Commission (MPSC), greenlighting a clean energy plan that will speed the end of…

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Global temperatures are rising in 2023 and so is worldwide consumption of coal and oil

Global temperatures are rising in 2023 and so is worldwide consumption of coal and oil

Global temperatures are rising in 2023 and so is worldwide consumption of coal and oil Energize Weekly, August 2, 2023 As the world sizzles, with July the hottest month on Earth since records have been kept, consumption of coal and oil – the two main sources of climate-warming greenhouse gases…

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NV Energy wants $1.8B to replace Nevada’s last coal plant

NV Energy wants $1.8B to replace Nevada’s last coal plant July 20, 2023 NV Energy is committing to shutting down its last coal plant by 2025, the utility announced Wednesday, and will spend nearly $2 billion to do it. The news comes after questions were raised early this year on…

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