Generation
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Opinion
A costly lesson in supply and demand: How to address PJM’s capacity shortages
The first law of holes says that you should stop digging when you’re in one. It’s time to stop retiring dispatchable resources if we don’t want the hole we’re in to get any deeper.
By Michelle Bloodworth • Dec. 3, 2024 -
Duke pauses consideration of DOE loan program with Trump election, new Congress
Given the uncertainties around future Department of Energy lending, it makes sense to delay a review of potential benefits from the Energy Infrastructure Reinvestment program, Duke Energy told North Carolina regulators.
By Ethan Howland • Dec. 2, 2024 -
Trendline
Top 5 Stories from Utility Dive
The U.S. energy transition is facing challenges around grid interconnections, project permitting and power system reliability, but state, federal and other solutions are emerging.
By Utility Dive staff -
ECP plan to buy 5.3 GW could drive up PJM capacity prices, Public Citizen, others tell FERC
Energy Capital Partners should disclose whether it intends to divert the plants’ output to supply data centers, according to Public Citizen, Private Equity Stakeholder Project and the Sierra Club.
By Ethan Howland • Nov. 27, 2024 -
Deep Dive
EPRI, Kraken advance DER interoperability standards to boost virtual power plant deployment
“Without interoperability standards, VPPs cannot reach scalability, affordability, and reliability as soon or as efficiently as they will be needed,” said Arshad Mansoor, CEO of the Electric Power Research Institute.
By Herman K. Trabish • Nov. 27, 2024 -
Constellation asks FERC for PJM rules on data centers and other co-located load
In a complaint, the independent power producer contends Exelon utilities are blocking co-located projects at Constellation’s nuclear power plants in Illinois, Maryland and Pennsylvania.
By Ethan Howland • Nov. 26, 2024 -
New York City faces potential electricity resource shortfalls in 2033, 2034: ISO
Transportation and building electrification, along with commercial projects like data centers and chip fabrication, are driving peak demand higher, according to the New York Independent System Operator.
By Robert Walton • Nov. 26, 2024 -
Affordability, data center growth and more: 9 state utility regulators reveal their top challenges
Utility commissioners from across the U.S. say their most pressing issue is balancing affordability with the utility spending required to meet demand growth and maintain reliability.
By Ethan Howland • Nov. 26, 2024 -
EPA proposes tightening NOx limits for new gas-fired power plants
The outlook for the standards — last updated in 2006 — is unclear under the incoming Trump administration.
By Ethan Howland • Nov. 25, 2024 -
Data center boom fuels demand for nuclear projects
A shift in how tech companies like Google and Amazon meet their energy needs is creating opportunities for construction firms equipped to handle atomic power work.
By Sebastian Obando • Nov. 25, 2024 -
Ratepayer advocates press FERC for PJM capacity market changes, citing ‘crushing’ prices
A complaint filed on Monday comes as the PJM Interconnection is preparing to propose capacity market reforms, such as reflecting reliability must-run units in its next two auctions.
By Ethan Howland • Nov. 19, 2024 -
Texas report recommends low-interest loans for advanced nuclear, similar to gas plant fund
The report, released Monday by the Public Utility Commission of Texas, says the state can become a global leader in advanced nuclear energy with funding and a new regulatory regime.
By Robert Walton • Nov. 19, 2024 -
Oklo reactor pipeline swells to 2.1 GW as demonstration project advances
The advanced reactor company has completed key milestones for its first planned deployment and added up to 750 MW in potential future orders, CEO Jacob DeWitte said on Oklo’s Q3 2024 earnings call.
By Brian Martucci • Nov. 18, 2024 -
2024 Elections
Trump taps North Dakota Gov. Burgum to run Interior, new national energy council
President-elect Donald Trump said his administration will “dramatically” increase baseload power generation, which “will reduce the cost of electrical bills that continue to skyrocket for citizens and small businesses.”
By Ethan Howland • Nov. 18, 2024 -
Natural gas supply is a bulk power reliability risk this winter: NERC
Gas producers have taken “a multitude of proactive measures to prepare for winter weather," Natural Gas Supply Association CEO Dena Wiggins said.
By Robert Walton • Nov. 15, 2024 -
Generative AI deployment at Diablo Canyon is a first for US nuclear power sector: PG&E
The NVIDIA-supported search and data retrieval application is the start of a series of AI-powered solutions vendor Atomic Canyon aims to deploy across the nuclear industry, CEO and co-founder Trey Lauderdale said.
By Brian Martucci • Nov. 14, 2024 -
Biden administration sets plan to triple US nuclear energy capacity by 2050
The road map aims for 200 GW of net new capacity from newly built reactors, restarts of plants retired for economic reasons and power uprates of existing reactors, the White House said Tuesday.
By Brian Martucci • Nov. 13, 2024 -
Gas-fired generation likely needed to maintain reliability for years: SPP, Black Hills
“We've got to have something else to keep the lights on … and right now, the best option that we have for generation over the next several years looks like it's natural gas,” SPP’s Bruce Rew said.
By Ethan Howland • Nov. 13, 2024 -
Gas-fired generation for data centers offers bridge to net-negative carbon future: MISO’s Moeller
Regulatory structures are designed to prevent rapid buildouts — partly in response to previous power sector overbuilds — but “suddenly we need to go fast,” MISO President and CEO Clair Moeller said.
By Ethan Howland • Nov. 12, 2024 -
2024 Elections
Trump taps former Rep. Lee Zeldin to lead EPA
The Trump administration will likely roll back EPA regulations affecting fossil-fuel power plants, including a carbon emissions rule, according to Michelle Bloodworth, president and CEO of America’s Power.
By Ethan Howland • Nov. 12, 2024 -
FERC’s Talen Energy-Amazon decision unlikely to impact NuScale data center plans: CEO
NuScale also expects its application before the NRC to uprate its reactor design from 50 MW to 77 MW to conclude by mid-2025, CEO John Hopkins noted during Thursday’s Q3 earnings call.
By Brian Martucci • Nov. 11, 2024 -
FERC approves 6-month delay to PJM’s next 3 capacity auctions
The delay stems from a complaint alleging that PJM’s rules do not account for the impacts of reliability must-run power plants in the grid operator’s capacity auctions.
By Robert Walton • Nov. 11, 2024 -
2024 Elections
Trump win is ‘setback’ for climate protection, but clean energy advocates say progress will continue
Trump’s victory means a Republican will be selected to lead FERC, which will likely work to rein in transmission incentives, said Tyson Slocum, director of Public Citizen's Energy Program.
By Robert Walton • Nov. 6, 2024 -
FERC’s AWS, Talen Energy ruling ‘not the final word’ on nuclear, data center colocation: Constellation CEO
The company’s “foot is on the accelerator” to close data center deals as it works to restart Three Mile Island Unit 1 by 2027, CEO Joe Dominguez said on its third-quarter earnings call Monday.
By Brian Martucci • Nov. 5, 2024 -
AEP, others press for FERC guidance on ‘gargantuan’ issue of data center colocation
Google is interested in colocation to meet its data center needs, not to avoid grid costs, said Brian George, the company's U.S. federal lead for global energy market development.
By Ethan Howland • Nov. 4, 2024 -
FERC rejects interconnection pact for Talen-Amazon data center deal at nuclear plant
Chairman Willie Phillips dissented from the decision on the “first of its kind” co-location proposal, saying it could harm national security and grid reliability.
By Ethan Howland • Nov. 4, 2024