EIA: Gas to outpace renewables for 2018 US gen additions

For the first time in five years, renewables are expected to make up less than 50% of capacity coming online.

By Robert Walton • May 7, 2018

Report: Actors paid to support Entergy gas plant at March hearing

The company said it has nothing to do with paying actors up to $200 to support its gas plant proposal at a March meeting of the New Orleans City Council.

By Gavin Bade • May 7, 2018

ISO-NE cost recovery proposal opens new front in fuel security debate

The grid operator wants cost recovery for 1,700 MW of gas generation because it is afraid an adjacent LNG import facility will close without it. Critics call the request unprecedented and dangerous. 

By Gavin Bade • May 4, 2018

New York ISO: Distributed solar largely to blame for declining load

New York's grid is aging needs an upgrade, but it's also undergoing rapid transition, due to a mix of policy and emerging technologies.

By Robert Walton • May 4, 2018

Potential buyer considering Navajo Generating Station, but time running out

The largest coal plant in the Western U.S. is expected to close at the end of 2019, unless a buyer can be found.

By Robert Walton • May 4, 2018

Solar at the crossroads: Is utility-scale, distributed or both the way to go?

Sunrun says solar's future is on rooftops, but solar advocates and utilities say an advanced power system with utility-scale and distributed energy resources is a better bet.

By Herman K. Trabish • May 3, 2018

Another blow for California gas — judge rejects proposed pipeline

An Administrative Law Judge concluded San Diego Gas and Electric and Southern California Gas Co. failed to demonstrate the $639 million pipeline was necessary.

By Robert Walton • May 3, 2018

FERC approves California reliability-must-run contracts

Calpine's Feather, Yuba and Metcalf gas plants are needed for local reliability, the California ISO determined.

By Robert Walton • May 3, 2018

FERC-NERC: Grid operators have sufficient blackstart capabilities

The ability for a power plant to restart without help from the grid is key to ensuring a resilient power system, federal regulators concluded.

By Robert Walton • May 3, 2018

100-Hour storage? DOE launches $30M program to explore new technologies

The program is designed to address the needs of intermittent generation sources, such as wind and solar, by enabling a new set of applications that can provide long lasting backup power.  

By Peter Maloney • May 1, 2018

EPA ozone designations raise concerns of political influence

EPA listed a number of counties as compliant with 2015 ozone standards that it previously recommended for non-attainment, including a Wisconsin county that's the site of a factory touted by President Trump.

By Gavin Bade • May 1, 2018

Dominion plans up to 3.6 GW gas, 4.7 GW solar in Virginia

The utility is counting on some form of carbon emissions regulation in the future as it laid out estimates of how much that might cost.

By Robert Walton • May 1, 2018

Lithium-ion domination could block promising storage technologies, MIT finds

Li-ion batteries are good for transportation applications, less so for the grid. But their dominance is making it difficult for producers of alternative storage technologies to survive, much less innovate and scale up.

By Peter Maloney • May 1, 2018

PJM launches fuel security initiative to counter gas reliance

The initiative seeks to value attributes like dual fuel capabilities and onsite fuel supply, but critics say it is too narrow and similar to existing capacity performance rules. 

By Gavin Bade • May 1, 2018

New York grid operator floats carbon pricing proposal

All suppliers inside the New York ISO market would be subject to carbon charges, under the initial proposal. NYISO is designing rules to ensure imports compete fairly, too.

By Robert Walton • May 1, 2018

NuScale receives first phase design approval for small modular reactor

There are five more phases in the process, but NuScale says the first is the most rigorous and now expects the NRC to complete certification by September 2020.

By Peter Maloney • May 1, 2018

How big can New England's regional cap-and-trade program get?

The RGGI program has worked so well for its nine Northeastern member states that some say it's ready to go nationwide.

By Herman K. Trabish • May 1, 2018

PJM: FirstEnergy nukes can retire without reliability threat

The grid operator says three plants subject to an emergency bailout request at the Department of Energy can retire without putting electricity service at risk.

By Gavin Bade • April 30, 2018

Supreme Court rejects Constitution Pipeline appeal over NY permit

The decision leaves the pipeline's developer one option: seeking help from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to keep the project on track.

By Robert Walton • April 30, 2018

Illinois energy law revives renewables while aiding nuclear

The Future Energy Jobs Act is also expanding energy efficiency in the state, but the nuclear subsidies are being challenged in court.

By Peter Maloney • April 30, 2018

Michigan OKs $952M cost recovery for DTE gas plant

Opponents of the 1.1 GW facility say solar, wind, energy efficiency, demand response and storage would be cheaper and could save customers $300 million to $1.1 billion.

By Robert Walton • April 30, 2018

DOE gives $60M for advanced nukes, but industry wants better regs

There is growing interest in small modular reactors, but the licensing process must modernize along with the technology, according to a new Nuclear Energy Institute report.

By Robert Walton • April 27, 2018

Pruitt: EPA will seek 'comprehensive rule' to alter New Source Review

The agency's recently announced proposal to limit scientific input to its rules could influence how it rewrites NSR, which governs emissions from new and modified sources.

By Gavin Bade • April 27, 2018

PwC: Power sector deals rose 60% in the first quarter

Two mega deals — Dominion-SCANA and Global Infrastructure Partners-Zephyr Renewables — along with activity in the renewable energy sector drove the increase.

By Peter Maloney • April 27, 2018

PJM generators, DR providers clash over seasonal resources at FERC

Demand response providers say rules barring seasonal resources from capacity contracts are little more than an effort to boost market revenues for generators.

By Gavin Bade • April 25, 2018