LNG global building boom faces risk from renewable energy, climate policies, report says

LNG global building boom faces risk from renewable energy, climate policies, report says

Energize Weekly, July 10, 2019 The natural gas industry is making $1.3 trillion in infrastructure investments to create a global liquefied natural gas (LNG) market but those capital expenditures may be at risk from competitive renewable energy prices and the prospect of climate regulations, according to Global Energy Monitor. The…

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Oil and gas merger activity rebounds in Q2 2019 as Occidental-Anadarko deal dominates

Oil and gas merger activity rebounds in Q2 2019 as Occidental-Anadarko deal dominates

Energize Weekly, July 10, 2019 Oil and gas industry merger and acquisition (M&A) activity in the second quarter of 2019 saw a rebound from the first quarter’s historic lows reaching $65 billion for the period, according to DrillingInfo, an industry consultant and data analyst. The quarter was dominated by the…

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Utilities to close coal-fired units but plans to replace them with natural gas draws fire

Utilities to close coal-fired units but plans to replace them with natural gas draws fire

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…

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Colorado co-op sues to block Tri-State’s move to FERC regulation, state lawmakers also concerned

Colorado co-op sues to block Tri-State’s move to FERC regulation, state lawmakers also concerned

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…

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Duke Energy Indiana looks to close 4,100 MW of coal-fired plants, adding natural gas and solar

Duke Energy Indiana looks to close 4,100 MW of coal-fired plants, adding natural gas and solar

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…

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Renewable generation temporarily overtakes coal-fired generation in April, the EIA says

Renewable generation temporarily overtakes coal-fired generation in April, the EIA says

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…

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Wood Mackenzie puts the cost of transition to all renewable energy at $4.5 trillion

Wood Mackenzie puts the cost of transition to all renewable energy at $4.5 trillion

Energize Weekly, July 3, 2019 The cost of transforming the U.S. electric grid to totally renewable energy in the next 10 to 20 years would be $4.5 trillion given current technology, according to a study by energy-and-industry consultant Wood Mackenzie. At a time of competing climate plans among Democratic presidential…

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Texas, California and U.S. West may face electricity reliability challenges this summer

Texas, California and U.S. West may face electricity reliability challenges this summer

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…

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Tri-State seeks FERC regulation to avoid Colorado and New Mexico oversight on rates

Tri-State seeks FERC regulation to avoid Colorado and New Mexico oversight on rates

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…

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Many clean generating technologies lagging in their deployment rates, the IEA says

Many clean generating technologies lagging in their deployment rates, the IEA says

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…

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Tri-State G&T rejects $500 million offer to replace coal-fired power plants with renewables

Tri-State G&T rejects $500 million offer to replace coal-fired power plants with renewables

Energize Weekly, June 5, 2019 The Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association has rejected a multi-million dollar offer by Guzman Energy to buy three of Tri-State’s coal-fired plants, close them down and supply the association with electricity from a generation mix heavily tilted toward renewables. Guzman, a Miami-based energy contractor and…

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U.S. oil production seen as a moderating force in coping with oil market price volatility

U.S. oil production seen as a moderating force in coping with oil market price volatility

Energize Weekly, May 29, 2019 As costs come down for producing oil from shale plays, U.S. production appears to be playing a larger role in anchoring long-term oil prices, according to a Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas analysis. The combination of shorter lead times between drilling and production and the…

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Global energy investment, after a three-year slide, stabilized in 2018, the IEA says

Global energy investment, after a three-year slide, stabilized in 2018, the IEA says

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…

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Oil market hit by uncertainties and slow growth, LNG global market faces an imbalance

Oil market hit by uncertainties and slow growth, LNG global market faces an imbalance

Energize Weekly, May 22, 2019 The oil market is being roiled by production cuts, political sanctions, slow economic growth and political uncertainty, leading to a market of “mixed signals,” according to the International Energy Agency (IEA). The global market for another key petroleum product, liquefied natural gas (LNG), also looks…

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Global renewable energy generation additions stalled in 2018 for the first time in 17 years

Global renewable energy generation additions stalled in 2018 for the first time in 17 years

Energize Weekly, May 15, 2019 The nearly two-decade, year-on-year growth in global renewable energy generating capacity stalled in 2018, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA). The 180 gigawatts (GW) of generating capacity—in wind, photovoltaic (PV) solar, hydro, bioenergy and other renewable sources—added in 2018 was about the same as…

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Oil demand will see a shift with transportation using less and petrochemicals using more, Barclays says

Oil demand will see a shift with transportation using less and petrochemicals using more, Barclays says

Energize Weekly, May 15, 2019 Global oil demand—under current economic and energy development trends—is projected to peak between 2030 and 2035 and then plateau through 2050, according to a new analysis by the London-based investment bank, Barclays. That peak could come as early as 2025 if more aggressive energy policies…

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Renewable generation set to surpass coal-fired generation for April and May

Renewable generation set to surpass coal-fired generation for April and May

Energize Weekly, May 8, 2019 Renewable energy generation in April and May will put more electricity on the gird than coal-fired power plants, according to the federal Energy Information Administration (EIA). It is the first time on record that renewable power sources—hydro, biomass, wind, solar and geothermal—have surpassed coal-fired generation,…

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The crossover point when EVs are cheaper than ICE cars is getting closer, BNEF says

The crossover point when EVs are cheaper than ICE cars is getting closer, BNEF says

Energize Weekly, May 8, 2019 The “crossover point” when electric vehicles (EVs) are cheaper than their internal-combustion-engine (ICE) counterparts continues to get closer with falling battery costs, according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF). In a 2017 BNEF analysis, the crossover point was forecast as 2026. In 2018, the crossover…

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MidAmerican Energy sets one-day record for wind energy, covers all of retail demand

MidAmerican Energy sets one-day record for wind energy, covers all of retail demand

Energize Weekly, May 8, 2019 MidAmerican Energy hit a one-day record for wind generation in April, producing enough electricity to serve 100 percent of its retail customers’ needs with renewable energy. The Des Moines-based utility—which serves 783,000 electric customers in Iowa, South Dakota and Illinois—generated 11,500 megawatt-hours (MWh) on April…

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