Energize Weekly, July 24, 2019 Natural gas, despite growing concerns about its role creating greenhouse gases, continues to provide “quick wins” for carbon emissions reductions and clean air improvements, according to a study by the International Energy Agency (IEA). In the United States, for example, there has been a 70 percent increase in natural gas-fired…
Energize Weekly, July 17, 2019 Global power mergers and acquisitions (M&A) reached $158 billion in 2018, making it the second most active in the last five years, according to GlobalData, a London-based data and analytics company. The number of deals was down a little more than 4 percent to 622 for 2018 when compared to…
Energize Weekly, July 10, 2019 Utilities are moving to close coal-fired power plants and add more renewable generation, but the large role played by new gas-fired power plants is drawing fire from environmental groups, arguing that no more fossil fuel-based units should be built. In the last two weeks the Tennessee Valley Administration (TVA), Xcel…
Energize Weekly, July 10, 2019 Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association is going ahead with its deliberations on moving from state to federal regulatory oversight even as one of its rural Colorado electric cooperatives has gone to court to block the action. Tri-State’s decision to seek regulation by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has also…
Energize Weekly, July 3, 2019 Duke Energy Indiana has proposed 20-year plan under which it move up the retirement of more than 4,100 megawatts (MW) of coal-fired plants and make major investments in natural gas-fired and renewable generation. Duke laid out its “roadmap” in its integrated resource plan filed with Indiana regulators June 20. It…
Energize Weekly, July 3, 2019 Renewable electricity generation surpassed coal-fired generation for the first time in April, according to the federal Energy Information Administration (EIA). Renewable generation accounted for 23 percent of electricity generation in April compared to 20 percent for coal. “This outcome reflects both seasonal factors as well as long-term increases in renewable…
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 26, 2019 After Colorado and New Mexico passed clean energy laws giving them more oversight of the Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association, the wholesale power provider is considering seeking federal regulation to blunt the state initiatives. Westminster, Colo.-based Tri-State provides 95 percent of the electricity to 43 rural electric cooperatives in four…
Energize Weekly, June 19, 2019 A multipronged, draft energy plan aimed at getting New Jersey to 100 percent clean energy by 2050 was unveiled June 10 by the state Board of Public Utilities (BPU). The plan looks to address transportation, energy consumption by buildings, grid modernization, as well as a net-zero carbon electricity generation and…
Energize Weekly, June 19, 2019 Wind generation, which has been the dominate form of renewable energy for corporate clean energy in power purchase agreements, is running “neck and neck” with solar in 2019, according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF). Globally, companies had signed deals for 2.8 gigawatts (GW) of solar and 2.8 GW of…
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…