Xcel to exit coal nationwide by 2030 October 31, 2022 Xcel Energy plans to stop using coal nationwide by the end of 2030 after announcing Monday that it will speed up retirement of coal-fired units at its Tolk Generating Station in Texas. Xcel said it now plans to retire the…
War in Ukraine is speeding a global energy transition, hobbling Russian exports, IEA says
War in Ukraine is speeding a global energy transition, hobbling Russian exports, IEA says Energize Weekly, November 2, 2022 Global fossil fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions are slowing with oil, coal and natural gas either peaking or reaching a plateau by 2030, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA).…
Inside EPA’s climate strategy for power plants
Inside EPA’s climate strategy for power plants 10/24/2022 EPA’s game plan to comprehensively attack pollution from the coal-fired power industry began to take shape almost immediately following President Joe Biden’s inauguration, recently released records show. In early February 2021, senior EPA appointees briefed White House officials on a strategy that…
Global carbon capture capacity set to grow sixfold by 2030, BloombergNEF says
Global carbon capture capacity set to grow sixfold by 2030, BloombergNEF says Energize Weekly, October 26, 2022 Global carbon capture capacity, with more than $3 billion invested in the technology this year, is set to increase sixfold from current levels by 2030, according to an analysis by energy research firm…
Xcel Energy-Colorado positioned to lead clean energy transition, new president says
Xcel Energy-Colorado positioned to lead clean energy transition, new president says October 16, 2022 Robert Kenney took over as President of Xcel Energy-Colorado as the utility sought approval from state regulators for rate increases, a new clean energy plan and a proposal to reduce emissions from its natural gas system.…
Ontario’s electricity sector will need more natural gas generation: report
Ontario’s electricity sector will need more natural gas generation: report October 11, 2022 Ontario plans to secure more natural gas generation in order to fuel an expected surge in demand for electricity, the energy minister said Friday, the latest announcement in what critics describe as a scramble in the face…
PG&E Lays Out Plan to Sell Stake in Generation Capacity
PG&E Lays Out Plan to Sell Stake in Generation Capacity Sept. 29, 2022 PG&E Corp. executives have sketched out a plan to house the company’s non-nuclear generation assets in a new subsidiary, stakes in which could be sold to fund future safety and reliability investments. Representatives of the company’s Pacific…
Threat of recession and drop in oil demand and prices worry Permian producers
Threat of recession and drop in oil demand and prices worry Permian producers Energize Weekly, October 5, 2022 Even as oil production rebounds in the Permian Basin, industry executives are worried about a drop in demand due to a recession and remain dogged by rising costs and supply chain problems,…
NYPA, GE Successfully Pilot Hydrogen Retrofit at Aeroderivative Gas Turbine
NYPA, GE Successfully Pilot Hydrogen Retrofit at Aeroderivative Gas Turbine September 26, 2022 A pioneering GE aeroderivative gas turbine project to demonstrate hydrogen combustion as part of a retrofit at an existing U.S. natural gas power plant has successfully utilized blends of 5% to 44% hydrogen with natural gas—some of…
Argonne National Laboratory and Constellation look at producing hydrogen at NPPs
Argonne National Laboratory and Constellation look at producing hydrogen at NPPs 27 September 2022 Constellation Energy Corporation and the Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Argonne National Laboratory (ANL) have announced a long-term agreement to evaluate trends in the US energy system and develop technologies for more efficient, carbon-free power generation. One…
Global coal-fired generation spikes in 2021, even as wind and solar reach new highs
Global coal-fired generation spikes in 2021, even as wind and solar reach new highs Energize Weekly, September 28, 2022 The world recorded an unprecedent spike in coal-fired generation in 2021 – even as wind and solar generation also reached record levels, according to a report by Bloomberg NEF and Bloomberg…
Gas, a ‘bridge fuel,’ dominates U.S. power at any price
Gas, a ‘bridge fuel,’ dominates U.S. power at any price 09/20/2022 Surging natural gas prices normally result in booming coal generation. But 2022 isn’t normal. Power companies are shrugging off the highest gas prices in over a decade as they ramp up electricity generation at U.S. gas plants, which are…
Old coal-fired power plants could gain a second life as sites for nuclear units, DOE says
Old coal-fired power plants could gain a second life as sites for nuclear units, DOE says Energize Weekly, September 21, 2022 Old coal-fired power plants could have an economical, second life as sites for a new generation of nuclear power projects, according to a study by the U.S. Department of…
Could the Nation’s Coal Plant Sites Help Drive a Clean Energy Transition?
Could the Nation’s Coal Plant Sites Help Drive a Clean Energy Transition? SEPTEMBER 13, 2022 The nation’s coal power plant sites that helped build the U.S. economy during the country’s electrification could play a huge role once again in helping the nation transition to clean energy. A new U.S. Department…
EQT to Buy Marcellus Gas and Pipeline Assets for $5 Billion
EQT to Buy Marcellus Gas and Pipeline Assets for $5 Billion September 6, 2022 EQT Corp., the largest US natural gas producer, agreed to acquire a privately held competitor in a $5.2 billion deal to expand holdings in the prolific Marcellus shale. Read more
War and pandemic are leading to a surge in government support for fossil fuels, study says
War and pandemic are leading to a surge in government support for fossil fuels, study says Energize Weekly, September 7, 2022 The combination of the COVID pandemic and the war in Ukraine has spurred an almost doubling in government support for fossil fuel production among major economies, according to an…
Duke Energy and Siemens gas power plant achieves Guinness World Record
Duke Energy and Siemens gas power plant achieves Guinness World Record August 26, 2022 Duke Energy’s Lincoln Combustion Turbine Station has been certified by Guinness World Records for having the “most powerful simple-cycle gas power plant.” The facility is powered by Siemens Energy’s SGT6-9000HL (60Hz) turbine. This record-setting turbine has…
Texas grid avoids summer blackouts with $1 billion in extra spending
Texas grid avoids summer blackouts with $1 billion in extra spending August 25, 2022 Texas’ electric grid operator has powered through record demand this summer by paying more to keep higher reserves and rewarding industrial consumers to cut usage, a combination that has added more than $1 billion to power…
Ameren may turn to natural gas to make up for shuttering Rush Island coal plant
Ameren may turn to natural gas to make up for shuttering Rush Island coal plant AUGUST 17, 2022 Ameren Missouri may restart natural gas burners to offset the court-ordered shuttering of a coal-fired power plant that violated federal law, the company told state regulators Wednesday. The St. Louis-based electric utility…
Texas natural gas exports to Mexico hit a record but a regional shortage may loom
Texas natural gas exports to Mexico hit a record but a regional shortage may loom Energize Weekly, August 24, 2022 West Texas natural gas exports to Mexico reached a record in May, but the combination of growing Mexican exports and new Gulf Coast liquified natural gas (LNG) terminals could leave…
National Grid’s first-of-its-kind renewable energy RFI validates a fossil-free energy strategy for the Northeast
National Grid’s first-of-its-kind renewable energy RFI validates a fossil-free energy strategy for the Northeast August 16, 2022 National Grid has located robust stocks of renewable natural gas (RNG) and hydrogen potentially available for its customers in Massachusetts and New York through the Company’s first-of-its kind Northeast clean energy request for…
Climate bill: Could coal communities shift to nuclear?
Climate bill: Could coal communities shift to nuclear? August 13, 2022 A major economic bill headed to the president has “game-changing” incentives for the nuclear energy industry, experts say, and those tax credits are even more substantial if a facility is sited in a community where a coal plant is…
Developers set to add 44 gigawatts of new generation to the U.S. grid, EIA says
Developers set to add 44 gigawatts of new generation to the U.S. grid, EIA says Energize Weekly, August 17, 2022 Fifteen gigawatts (GW) of new utility-scale electric generating capacity were added to U.S. grid in the first half of 2022, with another 29 GW projected to come online by year’s…
Climate bill cuts carbon emissions and inflation while boosting economy, studies say
Climate bill cuts carbon emissions and inflation while boosting economy, studies say Energize Weekly, August 10, 2022 The climate, healthcare and budget bill passed by the U.S. Senate Aug. 7 will help curb both greenhouse gas emissions and inflation while providing a modest boost to the economy, according to three…
3 issues to watch as heat strains the grid
3 issues to watch as heat strains the grid 08/01/2022 From the Pacific Northwest to coastal New England, millions of Americans have endured sweltering temperatures in recent weeks, driving record energy consumption and offering a snapshot of emerging risks facing the nation’s power system. While grid operators say the electricity…
US power system, PJM reliability storm clouds loom amid transition: exec
US power system, PJM reliability storm clouds loom amid transition: exec 01 Aug 2022 PJM Interconnection could be heading for power system reliability issues as coal-fired power generation continues to retire, little to no new natural gas-fired power plants are likely to be built, and most incremental capacity comes from…
North American power grid faced extreme weather and cyberattack risks in 2021
North American power grid faced extreme weather and cyberattack risks in 2021 Energize Weekly, July 27, 2022 The North American electric grid faced unprecedented challenges from severe weather, cyberattacks and problems with natural gas supplies in 2021, but with except one exception – in Texas – utilities and grid operators…
EXPERTS CONCERNED TEXAS POWER PLANTS WILL START TO DIE AMID HEAT WAVE
Experts Concerned Texas Power Plants Will Start to Die Amid Heat Wave JUL 17, 2022 The power grid in Texas is not doing okay. Crypto mining rigs shut down earlier this week to prevent blackouts and price hikes, and now, experts are worried the state’s power plants won’t be able…
Q2 oil and gas mergers and acquisitions hit by volatile equity and commodity markets
Q2 oil and gas mergers and acquisitions hit by volatile equity and commodity markets Energize Weekly, July 20, 2022 Oil and gas sector mergers and acquisitions (M&A) buffeted by market volatility slipped in the second quarter of 2022 to $12 billion – an 18 percent decline from the first quarter…
U.S. Supreme Court ruling won’t change coal’s downward trend in the power sector
U.S. Supreme Court ruling won’t change coal’s downward trend in the power sector Energize Weekly, July 13, 2022 The U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling limiting federal regulation of power plant greenhouse gas emissions will not do much to reverse the decline of coal-fired generation or greenhouse gas emissions, according to two…
Fossil-fuel electric generation challenged in Texas heat wave, raising reliability questions
Fossil-fuel electric generation challenged in Texas heat wave, raising reliability questions Energize Weekly, July 6, 2022 An early season heat wave in May tested the Texas grid, raising questions about the relation of baseload, fossil-fuel generation to wind and solar, according to analysis by the Institute for Energy Economics and…
Wisconsin coal plants to keep running amid reliability, supply chain concerns
Wisconsin coal plants to keep running amid reliability, supply chain concerns Jun 24, 2022 Three of Wisconsin’s largest coal-fired power plants will continue operating for at least another two years. Alliant Energy and the WEC Energy Group each announced plans Thursday to delay previously announced retirements of the Columbia Energy…
Oil and gas production rising in the Permian Basin in the face of mounting costs
Oil and gas production rising in the Permian Basin in the face of mounting costs Energize Weekly, June 29, 2022 Oil and gas production in Texas and New Mexico – the most productive U.S. fields – increased in the second quarter of 2022, even as operators face rising costs and…
Ameren aims to charge customers for closure of Rush Island coal plant
Ameren aims to charge customers for closure of Rush Island coal plant June 21, 2022 The costs to close the region’s second-largest power plant, after decades of Clean Air Act violations, are rising. Electric utility Ameren has proposed the construction of $244 million in electric lines and other upgrades before…
New York grid operator sees generating margins shrinking, increased reliability risks
New York grid operator sees generating margins shrinking, increased reliability risks Energize Weekly, June 22, 2022 The buffer of extra generating capacity – the reserve or reliability margin – is shrinking in New York State as fossil-fuel plants retire faster than renewable sources are being added, according to an assessment…
Georgia Power retiring some coal units this year but backing off on battery storage
Georgia Power retiring some coal units this year but backing off on battery storage Jun 13, 2022 Georgia Power would retire two coal-burning units and two gas-fired turbines at two power plants by the beginning of August under an agreement filed with the state Public Service Commission (PSC) Monday. But…
U.S. LNG exports soar as Europe scrambles to fill gap left by Russian cutback
U.S. LNG exports soar as Europe scrambles to fill gap left by Russian cutback Energize Weekly, June 15, 2022 Exports of U.S. liquified natural gas (LNG) to Europe soared in the first four months of 2022 and are poised to grow even more as the European Union (EU) scrambles to…
Natural Gas Price Forecast – New Highs Ahead
Natural Gas Price Forecast – New Highs Ahead June 6, 2022 Natural gas prices have moved back towards yearly highs as the bullish trend remains strong. The solid demand for energy in the U.S. and worldwide continues to push energy prices higher, so traders may soon push natural gas prices…
Westinghouse, Bloom Energy to accelerate large-scale hydrogen production in nuclear industry; high-temperature integrated electrolysis
Westinghouse, Bloom Energy to accelerate large-scale hydrogen production in nuclear industry; high-temperature integrated electrolysis 07 June 2022 Westinghouse Electric Company and Bloom Energy Corporation have entered into a Letter of Intent to pursue clean hydrogen production in the commercial nuclear power market. The companies are teaming to identify and implement…
Here’s what has to happen before CPS Energy can shut down its last coal plant
Here’s what has to happen before CPS Energy can shut down its last coal plant June 6, 2022 In recent months, and with San Antonio facing stricter air quality regulations, calls to diversify CPS Energy’s generation portfolio and speed up the closure of the J.K. Spruce coal-burning power plant have…
Duke Energy Wants to Quit Coal Early, But Regulators Say No
Duke Energy Wants to Quit Coal Early, But Regulators Say No May 26, 2022 Duke Energy Corp. planned to close its last six coal power plants in the Carolinas by 2030 to accelerate the company’s carbon-cutting goals. South Carolina regulators said no—ordering the US utility to keep the plants open…
NYSEG and RG&E Announce “Reliable Energy New York” Plans
NYSEG and RG&E Announce “Reliable Energy New York” Plans May 26, 2022 Today, New York State Electric & Gas (NYSEG) and Rochester Gas and Electric (RG&E), subsidiaries of AVANGRID, Inc. (NYSE: AGR), announced the companies have filed proposed changes to delivery rates with the New York State Public Service Commission…
G7 decide to “predominantly” decarbonise grid by 2035, but drop 2030 coal exit date
G7 decide to “predominantly” decarbonise grid by 2035, but drop 2030 coal exit date 29 May 2022 The environment, climate and energy ministers of the Group of Seven western industrialised states (G7) have agreed to largely decarbonise their electricity sectors within 13 years. Following their meeting in Berlin, the ministers…
Gas generation down across US West this spring as renewable capacity grows
Gas generation down across US West this spring as renewable capacity grows 23 May 2022 Recent growth in renewable generating capacity across the Western US is putting downward pressure on gas-fired power burns this spring in a trend that’s only likely to accelerate in the years ahead. Read more
West and Midwest U.S. face summer electricity shortfalls due to heat, drought, and fire
West and Midwest U.S. face summer electricity shortfalls due to heat, drought, and fire Energize Weekly, May 25, 2022 The West and Midwest U.S. risk severe electricity shortfalls this summer due to high temperatures, drought, severe storms and wildfire – all driven by a changing climate, according to the North…
Nuclear plant owner Talen Energy Supply files for bankruptcy
Nuclear plant owner Talen Energy Supply files for bankruptcy May 11, 2022 Talen Energy Supply, the owner of the Susquehanna nuclear power plant in Salem Twp., has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The Woodlands, Texas-based company, a unit of Talen Energy Corp. which runs 18 power generation facilities, filed for…
High pump prices the result of a suite of market issues and not simply price gouging, study says
High pump prices the result of a suite of market issues and not simply price gouging, study says Energize Weekly, May 18, 2002 Oil companies have been in the crosshairs of lawmakers for either price gouging or not producing enough oil as gasoline pump prices have soared, but a new…
California Power Officials Warn of Power Shortfalls This Summer Amid Increasing Strain from Climate Change
California Power Officials Warn of Power Shortfalls This Summer Amid Increasing Strain from Climate Change May 6, 2022 California power regulators are warning of power shortages and possible blackouts this summer as the state’s electrical grid faces increasing strain from drought and extreme heat. “We know reliability is going to…
BPUB customers to see higher bills as program ends
BPUB customers to see higher bills as program ends May 8, 2022 After getting the go-ahead from the Brownsville City Commission on May 3, the Brownsville Public Utility Board announced on May 4 that it will be updating its electric, water and wastewater rates. Read more
Power demand to grow in Tennessee Valley as economy electrifies, TVA CEO says
Power demand to grow in Tennessee Valley as economy electrifies, TVA CEO says April 28, 2022 Tennessee will soon become the No. 1 state for electric vehicle production as part of a power shift that could nearly double electricity demand in the Tennessee Valley over the next three decades, the…
