Senators press DOE’s Granholm to help New England avoid major power disruptions, price spikes this winter

The lawmakers from Connecticut, Maine and Vermont asked DOE Secretary Jennifer Granholm to convene stakeholders — including FERC, ISO New England, New England’s governors and utilities — to “mitigate these risks.”

By Stephen Singer • Updated Dec. 1, 2022

Texas grid vulnerable to blackouts in extreme scenarios, ERCOT says as it adds storage to assessment

The Electric Reliability Council of Texas included battery storage for the first time in its winter resource assessment. Population growth and economic expansion are driving Texas electricity demand higher.

By Robert Walton • Nov. 30, 2022

As private investment in nuclear fusion rises, what key milestones will bring it from hype to reality?

Skeptics point out that practical fusion energy has been “20 years away for the past 50 years.” Recently, though, fusion has begun to catch up to the hype.

By Bill Lacivita and Geoff Olynyk • Nov. 29, 2022

High electricity rates impede crucial but costly technology investments to manage rising DER levels: utilities

Utilities want distribution system technologies for more DER visibility and control. But advocates want a new national stakeholder dialogue about the timing of spending for DER integration.

By Herman K. Trabish • Nov. 29, 2022

NuScale’s small modular reactor design draft application has several ‘significant’ issues, NRC staff says

One critic of the company's SMR anchor project in Utah expects it will be delayed, but NuScale officials say they remain on track to file a stanadard design application later this year.

By Robert Walton • Nov. 29, 2022

Small modular reactors will not save the day. The US can get to 100% clean power without new nuclear.

We can create a renewable electricity system that is much more resilient to weather extremes and more reliable than what we have today.

By Arjun Makhijani • Nov. 28, 2022

Managing NuScale, other SMR waste will be ‘roughly comparable’ with conventional reactors, DOE labs find

The Argonne and Idaho national labs say managing nuclear waste from small modular reactors would have no additional ‘major’ challenges compared with other reactors.

By Stephen Singer • Nov. 23, 2022

MISO power prices could remain high, go higher for years: Chatterjee, other Voltus panelists

“This isn't a short-term thing that's just going to last into next year or the year after,” said Neil Chatterjee, former Federal Energy Regulatory Commission chairman and a senior advisor at Hogan Lovells.

By Ethan Howland • Nov. 23, 2022

Dynegy manipulated MISO’s 2015/16 capacity auction, driving up Illinois prices: FERC enforcement office

The Illinois attorney general and Public Citizen contend FERC should order Dynegy to disgorge $428.6 million. Vistra, which bought Dynegy, denies the allegations.

By Ethan Howland • Nov. 22, 2022

AEP’s Public Service Co. of Oklahoma proposes buying 995 MW of wind, solar from Invenergy for $2.5B

PSO expects the renewable energy facilities will produce $1 billion in tax credits and increase rates by 2.1%.

By Ethan Howland • Nov. 21, 2022

DOE conditionally awards PG&E’s Diablo Canyon nuclear plant $1.1B to forestall shutdown

Meanwhile, Holtec said that its application to DOE’s Civil Nuclear Credit Program for funds to reopen the Palisades nuclear plant was rejected.

By Stephen Singer • Nov. 21, 2022

Identify investment opportunities amid ERCOT congestion

With ERCOT’s frequent congestion in West Texas, getting the precise area (or line) when trading, managing or assessing congestion is crucial.

By Rush Milam • Nov. 21, 2022

Inflation Reduction Act upends utility resource planning tenets: NARUC panelists

“These [IRA] incentives …. are transforming how we think about electricity procurement because these resources are going to be so cheap,” Evolved Energy Principal Jamil Farbes said.

By Ethan Howland • Nov. 17, 2022

Cross-border power trade can help leaders at COP27 facilitate emissions reductions

Enhancing cross-border power trade can help achieve global greenhouse gas reduction goals by efficiently integrating low-cost renewable resources while improving electricity affordability and security.

By Jennifer Chen, Edmund Downie and Noah Kittner • Nov. 16, 2022

Rising steel prices, interest rates could push NuScale Utah project cost to $100/MWh, but support remains

NuScale executives say they are lobbying Congress to maintain more than $1 billion in federal support for the Utah advanced nuclear project.

By Robert Walton • Nov. 16, 2022

Thermal energy systems could boost global long-duration storage capacity to 8 TW by 2040: McKinsey

Thermal energy storage would draw cumulative investment in long-duration storage of between $1.6 trillion and $2.5 trillion by 2040, per a report by the Long Duration Energy Storage Council and McKinsey.

By Stephen Singer • Nov. 15, 2022

US can reach 100% clean power by 2035, DOE finds, but tough reliability and land use questions lie ahead

New aggressive planning is needed to identify the long-duration storage technologies and find the land to grow enough resources to reach the Biden administration’s net zero emissions goals, a DOE national lab reports.

By Herman K. Trabish • Nov. 15, 2022

Gas utilities look to hydrogen, renewables integration while facing ‘existential threat’ of decarbonization

Alternative fuels like hydrogen and renewable natural gas can help local distribution companies to reduce emissions but come with higher costs, the ratings agency said.

By Robert Walton • Nov. 15, 2022

‘A sobering assessment’: Large parts of US at risk of outages during extreme weather this winter: NERC

The Southeast and parts of Canada have joined other areas facing elevated winter reliability risks, according to Fritz Hirst, NERC director of legislative and regulatory affairs.

By Ethan Howland • Nov. 14, 2022

Texas regulators weigh $460M ‘performance credit mechanism’ to ensure electric grid reliability

The performance credits would require “anyone who sells power to a household or business in ERCOT to guarantee that they are buying that power from a reliable source,” Chair Peter Lake said.

By Robert Walton • Nov. 14, 2022

DOE touts nuclear-powered hydrogen production projects with Xcel, Constellation, 4 other partners

The clean hydrogen demonstration projects also involve Bloom Energy, Energy Harbor, Arizona Public Service and PNW Hydrogen and will take place at four nuclear plants around the country.

By Rod Kuckro • Nov. 10, 2022

Vistra’s coal-to-battery storage projects receive FERC waiver from MISO interconnection transfer rules

The agency should reconsider “nonsensical” limits on a generator’s ability to transfer interconnection rights, which are a roadblock for new generation at power plant sites, Commissioner Allison Clements said.

By Ethan Howland • Nov. 10, 2022

Fossil fuel, renewable trade groups explore potential paths to energy bipartisanship in a divided Congress

Energy permitting reform, increasing access to rare earth minerals and domestic clean energy manufacturing are areas for compromise, said Scott Segal, a partner at the energy-focused law firm Bracewell.

By Robert Walton • Nov. 10, 2022

Government electricity price forecast ticks higher, as consumer advocate warns there is little relief in sight

“Underlying fuel prices for natural gas and coal remain high and could go higher next month,” said National Energy Assistance Directors Association Executive Director Mark Wolfe.

By Robert Walton • Nov. 10, 2022

NiSource to sell minority share of NIPSCO subsidiary to fund $15B 5-year growth plan, 2040 net-zero goal

Natural gas will continue to play a major role in the utility’s portfolio. Some 350 MW to 400 MW of gas-peaking capacity may be necessary to meet electricity demand, company officials said.

By Robert Walton • Nov. 9, 2022