FERC's Christie calls for fixing interconnection 'chaos' as first step in transmission reform

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission could tackle sweeping transmission changes in pieces, according to an agency official.

By Ethan Howland • Nov. 4, 2021

Unlocking the Transition: Biden, Congress aim to fill gap from clean electricity plan's demise

Sen. Joe Manchin's rejection of the plan has led to a scramble for potential alternatives, with a proposal by Reps. Kurt Schrader and David McKinley gaining support from major players in the utility sector.

By Scott Van Voorhis • Nov. 4, 2021

Explore the Trendline➔

Top 5 Stories from Utility Dive

Power demand is rising amid dramatic shifts in federal energy policy, but technology and markets continue to push the grid toward cleaner, more distributed resources. 

By Utility Dive staff

EPA ability to regulate power sector GHG emissions at risk as Supreme Court takes case, analysts say

The court decided Friday to review a lower court rejection of a Trump era rule in a move that analysts say does not bode well for EPA's authority over the power sector.

By Ethan Howland • Nov. 2, 2021

COP26: Biden apologizes for US climate inaction, issues long-term plan for reaching net zero emissions

The plan asks the electric sector to eliminate emissions by 2035 through transmission upgrades, energy efficiency, storage and non-emitting generation, along with several other strategies.

By Robert Walton • Nov. 2, 2021

'A big win for customers': Stakeholders praise South Carolina Supreme Court ruling on Duke coal ash costs

Duke had sought to raise rates in South Carolina to pay for coal ash remediation required by North Carolina. 

By Jason Plautz • Nov. 1, 2021

Vistra sues FERC over decision setting offer caps for PJM capacity market

With PJM's next capacity auction set for January, Vistra intends to ask the appeals court to review the case on a fast-track process.

By Ethan Howland • Updated Nov. 5, 2021

House passes Build Back Better, tees up Senate vote on funding for climate, clean energy and electric vehicles

The bill's passage comes days after President Joe Biden signed a bipartisan infrastructure bill that also boosts spending on shifting the U.S. away from fossil fuels.

By Ethan Howland • Updated Nov. 19, 2021

Xcel CEO: Capital required for green hydrogen production 'could be material' over balance of the decade

Xcel has been selected to test a hydrogen production method in one of its nuclear reactors and is exploring five to eight additional hydrogen projects, Bob Frenzel said Thursday on the company's third quarter earnings call.

By Larry Pearl • Oct. 29, 2021

APS vows legal action after Arizona regulators deny cost recovery for $215.5M coal plant upgrades

Regulators approved the utility’s first rate decrease since 1996, while voting against full cost recovery for APS' investment in upgrades to a coal plant being closed earlier than initially planned.

By Scott Van Voorhis • Updated Nov. 3, 2021

Hydropower's absence in the reconciliation bill is a major gap in U.S. clean energy strategy

Hydro helps integrate wind and solar, so why isn't it supported in the reconciliation bill?

By Alicia Barton • Oct. 28, 2021

New York rejects proposed NRG, Danskammer Energy gas plants, citing 2019 climate law

Environmental groups called the decision "precedent-setting" while industry stakeholders said rejecting nearly 1 GW of new resources was shortsighted and bad public policy.

By Larry Pearl • Oct. 28, 2021

NextEra's failure to upgrade Seabrook plant jeopardizes planned $1B transmission line, Avangrid warns

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's decision in the interconnection dispute could affect clean energy ambitions nationwide, Massachusetts officials warned.

By Ethan Howland • Oct. 25, 2021

California groups divided on inclusion of gas in 11.5 GW 'clean' procurement order

"It's another day and another month, and the Commission is still asking the same tired questions about procuring more gas..." clean energy groups said in a filing with the California Public Utilities Commission. 

By Kavya Balaraman • Oct. 25, 2021

FERC's Glick urges power plant owners to line up fuel supplies as gas prices soar

Rising liquefied natural gas exports are helping drive up natural gas prices, posing a risk in New England markets, FERC said Thursday in a report.

By Ethan Howland • Oct. 22, 2021

California markets in the Lone Star State? Texas regulators consider 'quasi-capacity' market system

Generators and transmission operators will need to weatherize their systems ahead of winter as Texas regulators consider "monumental" market changes.

By Robert Walton • Oct. 22, 2021

NextEra doubles down on green hydrogen, other renewables

The company said Wednesday it has added more than 5,700 megawatts over the first nine months of 2021 to its backlog of renewable energy and storage projects.

By Scott Van Voorhis • Oct. 21, 2021

Meeting state offshore wind, renewable goals requires up to $3.2B in transmission, PJM says

A report on future transmission needs marks a change in how the largest U.S. grid operator considers state renewable energy goals, but more work needs to be done, observers say.

By Ethan Howland • Oct. 21, 2021

To secure the energy supply chain, feds want to reimagine the power sector as defense

Department of Energy officials say vulnerable software and data supply chains expose the U.S. power grid to attack.

By Robert Walton • Oct. 21, 2021

Coal-fired electricity rebounds in 2021, but resurgence could be short-lived

As the price of natural gas soars, a federal report finds coal-fired power plants are expected to produce significantly more electricity this year than in 2020.

By Scott Van Voorhis • Oct. 20, 2021

Close to $16B in gas investments could be stranded with a net-zero by 2050 timeline, report finds

The report doesn’t completely write gas off, however, and acknowledges that a handful of units may be required to sit idle and be called upon when needed for short-term, emergency power.

By Kavya Balaraman • Oct. 19, 2021

By 2030, Portland General sees distributed resources meeting up to 25% of peak demand

The utility said it will need up to 2 GW of clean or renewable resources and 800 MW of non-emitting dispatchable capacity resources to decarbonize its system by 2040.

By Robert Walton • Oct. 18, 2021

Clean energy, environmental groups sue FERC over approval of Southeast energy market

A broad coalition of 13 groups asked a federal appeals court to overturn the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s tacit approval of the bilateral market for utilities.

By Ethan Howland • Updated Feb. 9, 2022

PJM market monitor calls for penalties on generators to spur grid flexibility

Market incentives would be a better way to make the grid more nimble, power plant operators argued to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

By Ethan Howland • Oct. 13, 2021

DOE commits $20M to create clean hydrogen from nuclear power with Palo Verde project

The goal is to learn more about "integrating nuclear energy with hydrogen production technologies," which will help with deploying "future clean hydrogen production deployments at scale," DOE said.

By Scott Van Voorhis • Oct. 12, 2021

Electric co-ops must heed the lessons of Kodak and others in pushing to overhaul today's G&Ts

It must have been painful to throw away the still-working Walkman, film camera or eight-track tape player (and the car it came in), but the world moved on, United Power's CEO writes.

By Mark A. Gabriel • Oct. 12, 2021