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…
Energize Weekly, June 12, 2019 While the deployment of carbon-free electricity generation advanced in 2018, many key technologies are lagging in the pace needed to reach international goals, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA). “The world is currently not on track to meet the main energy-related components of the Sustainable Development Goals agreed on…
Energize Weekly, May 29, 2019 After a three-year slide, global energy investment stabilized in 2018 at just more than $1.8 trillion dollars—as spending on oil, natural gas and coal increased, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said. Investments in renewable generation and energy efficiency, however, stalled in 2018, according to the IEA’s World Energy Investment 2019…
Energize Weekly, May 29, 2019 Xcel Energy reached a settlement with a group of clean energy and labor organizations to close two Minnesota coal-fired power plants and clear the way for it to buy a natural gas-fired plant. Under the agreement signed May 20, Xcel will shutter the 511-megawatt (MW) Allen S. King coal plant…
Energize Weekly, May 22, 2019 The U.S. power sector is forecast to consume about 555 million short tons of coal to produce electricity in 2019—the lowest amount since 1979, according to the federal Energy Information Administration (EIA). Coal will still be the second-largest source of generation in 2019, providing 996 million megawatt-hours (MWh) of electricity—24…
Energize Weekly, May 15, 2019 Summer electricity generation in 2019 is forecast to be down 2 percent from last summer to 1,168 million megawatt-hours (MWh) with a sharp drop in how much of that power is provided by coal-fired plants. The energy mix for the summer highlights the ongoing shift in the generating portfolio with…
Energize Weekly, April 24, 2019 Among the economic threats posed by climate change are risks to municipal bonds, commercial real estate investments and the utility sector, according to an analysis by BlackRock and the Rhodium Group. “Our work with Rhodium Group shows a rising share of U.S. metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) will likely be hit by climate…
Energize Weekly, February 6, 2019 Coal production in the U.S. was down nearly 3 percent year-on-year to 755 million short tons in 2018, with mines continuing to close, despite an increase in prices and exports, according to federal Energy Information Administration (EIA) data. Coal production slipped in three of the five major coal-producing basins as…
Energize Weekly, November 28, 2018 Heavy industry carbon emissions—less of a focus and harder to curb than the power sector’s—could be reduced to zero by 2060 at cost of just a fraction of global Gross Domestic Product (GDP), according to a new study by the nonprofit Energy Transitions Commission. The challenge in reducing industrial and…
Energize Weekly, January 10, 2018 Xcel Energy received an “unprecedented” response to a call for new generation projects for its Colorado subsidiary with more than 430 proposals, according to a report filed by the utility with the Colorado Public Utilities Commission. “For comparison, the Company received 55 bids in the 2013 All-Source Solicitation,” Xcel said…
Energize Weekly, January 3, 2018 Utility-scale renewable energy generation surpassed nuclear generation for the first time in three decades in March and April of 2017, according to the federal Energy Information Administration (EIA). While the phenomenon appears to be temporary, in 2017, it is marked by a series of trends that may realign generation sources…
Energize Weekly, January 3, 2018 The utility industry faced a tumultuous 2017 with big policy initiatives from Washington and strong underlying trends continuing to challenge the sector. Many of the year’s big stories came from the Trump administration, but markets and corporate decisions also played a big role in defining 2017. And despite the high-profile…