Energize Weekly, May 30, 2018 U.S. energy sector employment increased by 2 percent to 6.5 million jobs in 2017. While power generation posted big numbers, energy efficiency and biofuels were the fastest-growing areas, according to a report by the National Association of State Energy Officials. The U.S. Energy Employment Report,…
Energize Weekly, May 30, 2018 PJM Interconnection, the nation’s largest grid, saw prices jump more than 80 percent to $140 a megawatt-day across most of its grid in the annual capacity market auction. But even with the hike, many nuclear power plants couldn’t successfully bid. The price increase was expected…
Energize Weekly, May 30, 2018 Coal-fired generation is being supplanted, for the most part, by cheaper natural gas turbines with $112 billion in new gas-fired power plants proposed or under construction, but those plants could face the same market fate as coal, according to an analysis by the Rocky Mountain…
Energize Weekly, May 30, 2018 When it comes to electrical vehicles (EV), the focus has been on cars from Chevrolet’s Bolt EV to Tesla’s Model S, but the future of the EV market may rest with buses and trucks, according to new studies and initiatives. By 2030, Bloomberg New Energy…
Energize Weekly, May 23, 2018 Regional grid operators are bracing for a hotter-than-normal summer, but say they are prepared to meet peak demand. PJM Interconnection, the nation’s largest grid, covering parts of the mid-Atlantic region and the Midwest, said it expects a summer peak of 150,000 megawatts (MW) as the…
Energize Weekly, May 23, 2018 The world could face a “cold crunch” as electricity demand for air conditioning is projected to triple by 2050—unless steps are taken to make cooling technology more efficient, according to an International Energy Agency (IEA) report. Air conditioners (AC) and electric fans already account for…
Energize Weekly, May 23, 2018 An Xcel Energy proposal to close two Colorado coal-fired power plants as part of a plan to move to 55 percent renewable power by 2026 has drawn wide support, but how the closure is to be paid for has become a bone of contention. The…
Energize Weekly, May 16, 2018 Renewable energy employment around the world grew by 5.3 percent in 2017 to 10.3 million direct and indirect jobs, according to the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA). The strongest growth was in the solar photovoltaic (PV) and bioenergy sectors. There was a slight drop in…
Energize Weekly, May 16, 2018 Almost 32 gigawatts (GW) of new electric-generating capacity is set to come online in 2018—the most in a decade, according to the federal Energy Information Administration (EIA). Natural gas-fired generation will account for two-thirds of the new capacity, a sharp difference from 2017 when renewable…
Energize Weekly, May 16, 2018 Nuclear power plants under pressure from market forces are facing closures, but states with high concentrations of nuclear power are stepping in to bolster these generators, and there may be additional policy initiatives that can be taken, according to new studies. “Nuclear power is responsible…
Energize Weekly, May 9, 2018 Annual global wind power capacity additions are projected to average more than 65 gigawatts (GW) between 2018 and 2027, according to renewable energy consultant MAKE. That is equal to a 4 percent compounded growth rate, Aarhus, Denmark-based MAKE said in its first quarter market report.…
Energize Weekly, May 9, 2018 Solar acquisitions and asset-financing deals worth more than $8 billion have already been made in 2018, according to the kWh Analytics Spring DealFlow report. The solar services and risk management consultant logged 36 projects since the start of 2018, including 17 asset transactions and 19…
Energize Weekly, May 9, 2018 U.S. oil production and productivity per well from shale plays increased in 2017 making up more than half the nation’s crude output—a decade-long trend, according to the federal Energy Information Administration (EIA). The average well produced more oil in 2017 than those drilled in previous…
Energize Weekly, May 9, 2018 PJM Interconnection, the operator of the grid and wholesale electric market covering portions of the mid-Atlantic and Midwest regions, said that the proposed closing of three nuclear power plants in its system will not threaten grid stability. FirstEnergy said it will close two financially struggling…
Energize Weekly, May 2, 2018 Corporate renewable energy purchases reached 2.78 gigawatts (GW) in 2017, on 28 deals, second only to 2015’s 3.2 GW, according to Rocky Mountain Institute’s Business Renewables Center. The market continues to look strong with 19 deals for 1.96 GW already signed in 2018, according to…
Energize Weekly, May 2, 2018 A string of announced closings for nuclear and coal-fired power plants is part of a trend that is offering a big market for natural gas, according to an analysis by energy consultant BTU Analytics. In March, FirstEnergy announced that it would close three nuclear power…
Energize Weekly, May 2, 2018 A little more than half of the coal-fired power plants operated by public power utilities and generation and transmission cooperatives are economically competitive, though several are at risk, according to Moody’s Investor Service analysis. “Coal-fired generation in the U.S. remains under pressure due to coal’s…
Energize Weekly, April 25, 2018 The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced a new $105.5 million round of funding for solar energy research, development and grid integration projects on April 17. DOE will fund about 70 projects to advance both solar photovoltaic (PV) and concentrating solar thermal power (CSP) technologies…
Energize Weekly, April 25, 2018 Xcel Energy has received the first approval in the country from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for the ongoing use of drones to inspect transmission lines and infrastructure in Colorado, according to the company. FAA granted Xcel the okay to use unmanned drones, weighing less…
Energize Weekly, April 25, 2018 The wind industry is having a big impact on red heartland states and rural economies, according to data from the annual report from the industry trade group, the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA). A total of 7,017 megawatts (MW) of new wind capacity was added…
Energize Weekly, April 18, 2018 U.S. crude oil production in the Gulf of Mexico hit a record 1.65 million barrels a day in 2017—and 2018 and 2019 production is set surpass that, according to the federal Energy Information Administration (EIA). Gulf production hit that highest recorded annual level despite platform…
Energize Weekly, April 18, 2018 The installation of solar photovoltaic (PV) arrays is growing in cities across the country—especially in sunny ones, according a survey by the non-profit Colorado Environmental Policy Center. “As of the end of 2017, 20 cities—representing just 0.1 percent of U.S. land area—accounted for over 4…
Energize Weekly, April 18, 2018 Wind farms across the country are getting a makeover as rising costs, declining production and the spur of tax credits is leading to the repowering of projects built as far back as the 1990s, according to federal data and market studies. A study by the…
Energize Weekly, April 11, 2018 In the early hours of March 31, the Southwest Power Pool (SPP) set a new wind penetration record with 62 percent of the load being served by wind generation. Wind turbines accounted for 14.5 gigawatts (GW) of the 23.2 GW load for the regional transmission…
Energize Weekly, April 11, 2018 Coal and natural gas are being hard pressed to compete as the comparative cost of wind, solar and battery storage continue to fall and in concert, can meet the power grid’s key needs, according to a Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF) study. “Fossil fuel power…
Energize Weekly, April 11, 2018 Electricity supplies 21 percent of all the energy used in the U.S. and that share is projected to rise to about a third to half of all energy by 2050, according to an assessment by the non-profit Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI). “The economic potential…
Energize Weekly, April 4, 2018 The solar industry lost jobs in 2017—seeing a 3.8 percent decline equal to 9,800 positions—for the first time since employment statistics were tracked in 2010 by the non-profit The Solar Foundation, the group said in its annual Solar Jobs Census. The foundation saw a host…
Energize Weekly, April 4, 2018 U.S. exports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) quadrupled in 2017 compared to the previous year as global demand jumped 9.4 percent to 285 million metric tons a year, according to market analyses by the federal Energy Information Administration (EIA) and Bloomberg New Energy Finance. After…
Energize Weekly, April 4, 2018 Oil and gas activity in Texas posted growth for the sixth consecutive quarter in the first quarter of 2018 with prospects for continued expansion this year, according to the Dallas Federal Reserve Bank’s quarterly regional energy survey. The survey also found the average break-even point…
Energize Weekly, March 28, 2018 More than 80 foreign solar cell and module manufactures and American companies using imported solar products are seeking exclusions from the Trump administration solar import tariff, according to filings with the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative. The arguments made by the applicants, based on…
Energize Weekly, March 28, 2018 Natural gas-fired electric generation fell a record 7.7 percent in 2017 compared with the previous year, and coal-fired electricity was down 2.5 percent, marking the first time in a decade both electricity sources declined—at the same time renewable electricity hit a record, according to the…
Energize Weekly, March 28, 2018 As wind and solar generation grow, so too have questions about their impact on the reliability and resiliency of the grid. However, a study of markets around world with high levels of renewables has identified keys to keep the systems up and running. The question…
Energize Weekly, March 21, 2018 The Trump administration tariffs on solar cells and modules will cut installations by 13 percent between 2018 and 2022 compared to previous projections, according to GTM Research. A total of 10.6 gigawatts of photovoltaic (PV) capacity was installed in 2017. Installations in 2018 are expected…
Energize Weekly, March 21, 2018 The Southwest Power Pool (SPP) board of directors on March 13 approved the terms for utilities and transmission operators from eight Western states to join their wholesale electricity market. The proposal deals with issues of cost sharing, governance, operations and, in a number of areas,…
Energize Weekly, March 21, 2018 The Colorado Public Utilities Commission (PUC) voted on March 14 to give Xcel Energy the go-ahead to develop a plan to close two coal-fired power plants and replace them with renewable or low-cost alternatives. Xcel calls its proposal the Clean Energy Plan (CEP). It would…
Energize Weekly, March 14, 2018 The prospects for the U.S. battery storage market, both short and long term, appear strong with capacity doubling in 2018 and reaching as high as 50,000 megawatts (MW), according to new analyses. In 2018, 1,000 megawatt-hours (MWh) of storage is set to be deployed, nearly…
Energize Weekly, March 14, 2018 U.S. industry will be running on natural gas—consuming it as a fuel and a feedstock—and using more of it than any other sector through 2050, according to a forecast by the federal Energy Information Administration (EIA). The EIA expects the industrial sector’s consumption to rise…
Energize Weekly, March 14, 2018 The United States, thanks to surging shale-oil production, will “dominate oil supply growth” over the next five years and is becoming “ever more dominant in the global oil market,” according to the International Energy Agency (IEA). The key exporting countries meeting demand growth along with…
Energize Weekly, March 7, 2018 Renewable generation has overtaken coal-fired plants in the European Union, providing 30 percent of its electricity, but the growth of renewables has been uneven in the 28-nation bloc with coal hanging on in Eastern Europe. Since 2000, renewable generation has more than doubled and the…
Energize Weekly, March 7, 2018 A record number of electric vehicles (EVs) were sold in the U.S. in 2017, and 43 states took a wide range of EV policy initiatives, including financial incentives, special customer rates and building charging infrastructure, according to the NC Clean Energy Technology Center. In its…
Energize Weekly, March 3, 2018 Wind and solar generation could meet up to 80 percent of U.S. electricity demand—but going beyond that toward all-renewable electricity could require trillions of dollars of investment in transmission, generation and storage, according to a new study. Researchers from the Carnegie Institution for Science, the…
Energize Weekly, February 28, 2018 Florida Power & Light Company (FPL) said it is adding “cutting-edge” storage technology to a utility-scale solar facility that will boost output by half-a-million kilowatt-hours a year. FPL, the nation’s third-largest electric utility with five million customers, said that the integration of the DC-coupled battery…
Energize Weekly, February 28, 2018 Anticipating Trump administration tariffs on solar panels, a surge of Chinese imports hit the U.S. in the fourth quarter of 2017, according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF). Chinese imports for the quarter were 11 times higher than for the first nine months of the…
Energize Weekly, February 28, 2018 Trump administration efforts to roll back methane controls on oil and gas operations were blocked by a federal court ruling last week in one of the 60 lawsuits filed against the administration on climate change issues. On Feb. 22, Judge William Orrick, in the U.S.…
Energize Weekly, February 21, 2018 The Trump administration tariffs on imported solar cells and modules are drawing fire from around the world. In the latest challenge, three Canadian companies—Ontario-based Silfab Solar Inc., Heliene Inc. and Canadian Solar Solutions Inc., along with U.S.-based distributor Canadian Solar (USA) Inc.—filed a complaint with…
Energize Weekly, February 21, 2018 Politics may make strange bedfellows, but apparently, so can the utility business as the environmental group, Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), and the Edison Electric Institute (EEI), the industry trade group, teamed up on 21 policy recommendations to bolster clean energy and a modern grid.…
Energize Weekly, February 21, 2018 The restructuring of the U.S. electricity generation portfolio continued in 2017 with renewable sources coming close to nuclear, while reductions in natural gas and coal made the total kilowatt-hours consumed by Americans cleaner, according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance. Renewable generation was up 14 percent…
Energize Weekly, February 14, 2018 Oil, natural gas liquids and natural gas production are all projected to grow steadily over the next five years, with oil and gas liquids leveling off and natural gas continuing to climb slowly, according to the federal Energy Information Administration (EIA). Oil production has already…
Energize Weekly, February 14, 2018 Renewable energy generation doubled in the U.S. between 2006 and 2016, reaching 18 percent of the country’s generating capacity. As strong as those numbers are, global renewable energy growth has been even greater. The National Renewable Energy Laboratory’s (NREL) recently released 2018 Renewable Energy Data…
Energize Weekly, February 14, 2018 The prospects for coal-fired and nuclear electricity generation got off to a shaky start in 2018 with a projected record number of coal unit closures and three nuclear power plants set for shutdown. The Trump administration has been trying to find ways to bolster the…
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