Environmental advocates sue EPA for failure to update NOx standards for new gas plants

The Environmental Protection Agency has 60 days to respond to the lawsuit, which was filed in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.

By Robert Walton • Dec. 12, 2022

What we are thankful for in 2022

At the end of the year, it’s important to remember the challenges overcome and milestones reached as an industry.

Dec. 12, 2022

Manchin calls for Senate vote on permitting reform, warns of billions of dollars stranded without it

Sen. Joe Manchin wants permitting reform — including completion of the Mountain Valley Pipeline — included as an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act. “We're trying everything humanly possible,” he said.

By Robert Walton • Dec. 9, 2022

Nuclear SMR developer X-energy to merge with Ares Management-backed SPAC, creating $2B company

X-energy says 67 GW from SMRs will need to be installed by 2040 in the U.S., Canada and U.K. to offset the retirement of coal and other fossil fuel plants and meet expected increases in demand.

By Stephen Singer • Dec. 7, 2022

On-peak wholesale power prices this winter expected to be more than 60% higher in some regions, EIA warns

Extreme cold or fuel supply problems could drive prices “significantly higher than forecast,” according to EIA’s December Short Term Energy Outlook.

By Robert Walton • Dec. 7, 2022

10 must-read utility sector stories from 2022

Reliability, security and affordability concerns are rising in a U.S. power sector increasingly focused on decarbonization and electrification. Utility Dive has rounded up some of our top stories so far on these and other trends in 2022.

By Larry Pearl • Dec. 5, 2022

California requires permits for large natural gas projects to enable environmental and cost scrutiny

A first-ever order holds investor-owned utility pipelines and other projects to the same standard as big electricity proposals.

By Elizabeth McCarthy • Dec. 5, 2022

Federal appeals court orders FERC to rework MISO interconnection funding decision

The federal agency failed to adequately respond to concerns transmission owners might discriminate in favor of their own generating plants, the D.C. circuit appeals court said.

By Ethan Howland • Dec. 5, 2022

PacifiCorp interconnection plan for retiring power plants sparks anti-competitive concerns at FERC

The proposal would “tilt the competitive landscape sharply in PacifiCorp’s favor, allowing it to lock in its dominant position in the generation market,” NewSun Energy said.

By Ethan Howland • Dec. 2, 2022

NuScale, Shell, others to develop hydrogen production concept with heat from small modular reactor

Research will consider the number of NuScale power modules needed in solid oxide electrolysis cell hydrogen production and the quantity of hydrogen that could be stored for subsequent electricity production.

By Stephen Singer • Dec. 2, 2022

FERC approves PJM’s ‘first-ready, first-served’ interconnection reform plan, steps to clear backlog

FERC Commissioner Allison Clements, who said she reluctantly voted in favor of PJM’s plan, called for additional measures to improve the interconnection process.

By Ethan Howland • Dec. 1, 2022

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

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

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

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