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IOUs cut carbon emissions in 2020, though the footprint remains big for some

IOUs cut carbon emissions in 2020, though the footprint remains big for some Energize Weekly, June 30, 2021 Coal-fired generation and carbon emissions are down among the largest investor-owned utilities, but even with sharp drops in emissions, the carbon footprint for some companies remains large, according to survey data from the Edison Electric Institute (EEI).…

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Queue for electric generation and storage projects is growing across the U.S.

Queue for electric generation and storage projects is growing across the U.S. Energize Weekly, June 2, 2021 The queue of electricity generation and storage projects is growing year-on-year, reaching a total of 950 gigawatts (GW) of capacity by the end of 2020, according to a survey by the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. There are 750 GW of…

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Rising natural gas prices boost coal production and summer coal-fired generation

Rising natural gas prices boost coal production and summer coal-fired generation Energize Weekly, May 19, 2021 A steady rise in natural gas prices since the start of 2021 has given the U.S. coal industry a boost as electric utilities, the nation’s prime coal consumer, are set to switch to coal-fired generation this summer. The federal…

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Global energy demand is forecast to rebound in 2021, IEA says

Global energy demand is forecast to rebound in 2021, IEA says Energize Weekly, April 28, 2021 Global energy production and demand is set to rebound from their pandemic doldrums in 2021with energy consumption up 4.6 percent, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA). The agency said in its annual Global Energy Review that government stimulus…

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Cost of winterizing Texas electricity grid worth the expense, Dallas Federal Reserve says

Cost of winterizing Texas electricity grid worth the expense, Dallas Federal Reserve says Energize Weekly, April 21, 2021 The cost of weatherizing the Texas electric power system – which faced a major collapse during a February freeze – could run into hundreds of millions of dollars, but the expense would be worth it, according to…

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Xcel Energy plans to transform its Colorado grid, boosting renewables and closing coal plants

Energize Weekly, March 3, 2021 Xcel Energy – in one of the country’s most sweeping initiatives to reconfigure a gird – has announced an $8 billion plan to double its renewable energy generation and storage in Colorado, add transmission and close all its coal-fired power plants in the state by 2040. The plan, to be…

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Collapse of the natural gas system from wellhead to turbine fueled Texas’ blackout

Energize Weekly, February 24, 2021 The near collapse of Texas’ electric grid was caused in the main by a failure of the natural gas system from the wellhead to pipeline to gas turbine, according to an analysis by the International Energy Agency (IEA). “Texas has a power shortage because it has a gas shortage,” the…

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U.S. energy consumption will take years to rebound from pandemic, EIA says

Energize Weekly, February 10, 2021 It will take years for U.S. energy consumption and carbon dioxide emissions to return to 2019 levels after the severe impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the country’s economy and the global energy sector, according to the federal Energy Information Administration (EIA). Energy consumption in the agency’s “reference case” will…

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U.S. wind and solar generation set to soar in 2021, as coal-fired and nuclear plants close

Energize Weekly, January 27, 2021 The U.S. electricity generation fleet will continue its transformation in 2021 with wind and solar dominating new installations and nuclear and coal-fired plants steadily being retired, according to the federal Energy Information Administration (EIA). Power plant developers and utilities are planning for 39.7 gigawatts (GW) of new generating capacity in…

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After two bad years, global coal demand is set for a 2021 rebound, IEA says

Energize Weekly, December 30, 2020 Coal demand slipped an estimated 5 percent in 2020 – the largest annual decline since the Second World War – but the fuel is projected to rebound in 2021 on demand from China and Asia, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA). The 2020 decline follows a 1.8 percent drop…

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Coal continues its decline in the U.S. and Europe and its rise in Southeast Asia and India

Energize Weekly, December 9, 2020 Coal mining and coal-fired electricity generation in the U.S. and Europe continues to decline, but in Asia, coal-fired demand is projected to increase through 2030 thanks to national policies and Chinese financing. In the U.S., coal mine production capacity fell in 2019 to 590 million short tons – a 28…

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Voters weigh in on local and state energy issues from renewable energy to oil and gas taxes

Energize Weekly, November 11, 2020 Election returns on state and local energy issues were both literally and figuratively all over the map last week on issues ranging from renewable energy to oil and gas taxes. Voters in Alaska rejected a tax on oil operations while the industry was denied a tax break in Louisiana. Columbus,…

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