Senate uncertainty muddies clean energy path, but offshore wind, EVs poised to gain with Biden: analysts

Even without support from Congress, Biden can still speed up development of nascent industries such as offshore wind and electric vehicles, which faced hurdles under President Donald Trump.

By Catherine Morehouse • Nov. 9, 2020

Dominion claims it's 3rd largest utility owner of solar, continues clean energy transition in Virginia

The utility divested some of its natural gas transmission assets and announced the addition of 500 MW of solar earlier this week.

By Iulia Gheorghiu • Nov. 9, 2020

Explore the Trendline➔

Electricity Supply and Demand

After nearly two decades of flat demand, U.S. electricity consumption reached an all-time high in 2024 and is expected to continue rising. This trendline brings together the best of Utility Dive’s coverage of emerging trends in supply and demand and the decisions being made today that will impact the power system for years to come. 

By Utility Dive staff

You say old coal plant, I say green hydrogen

You see an old coal plant and an obsolescent workforce; I see a superb opportunity for green hydrogen, the author writes.

By Lincoln Bleveans • Nov. 6, 2020

Duke will not settle with environmentalists on $9B coal ash cost recovery, CEO says

"I do not expect that we will be reaching settlement on coal ash. I think all parties are interested in hearing what the court and commissions have to say," Lynn Good said during the company's Q3 earnings call.

By Catherine Morehouse • Nov. 6, 2020

5 ballot initiatives poised to propel states, cities to 100% clean energy

At the local level, as in previous elections, energy is less prone to partisan politics in 2020.

By Catherine Morehouse • Nov. 5, 2020

Black & Veatch leaving coal projects in the dust

The engineering and construction company announced it will honor its coal-based projects, but it is transitioning to more sustainable energy projects.

By Zachary Phillips • Nov. 4, 2020

Biden, Trump each have path to presidency, but likely Republican Senate narrows clean energy path

Republicans are likely to retain the Senate, limiting the impact a Biden presidency could have on emissions and clean energy. Biden has pledged to rejoin the Paris Climate Agreement, which the U.S. officially exited Wednesday.

By Catherine Morehouse • Nov. 4, 2020

Hydrogen is having a moment, and power generation is leading the way

Green hydrogen fuel could facilitate decarbonization across a wide swath of industries, but experts say the utility sector will be the first to transition.

By Emma Penrod • Nov. 2, 2020

Election 2020: Xcel Energy, municipalization advocates face off in Boulder

On Nov. 3, voters in the Colorado city must choose whether to trust Xcel’s commitments or the promise of a municipal utility.

By Herman K. Trabish • Oct. 30, 2020

Election 2020: Trump's FERC may need to shift course on clean energy, though Biden's road will not be easy

No matter what happens Nov. 3, the agency will have no choice but to address the industry's transition, even if it means backing away from some of its more controversial policies under the Trump administration, analysts say.

By Catherine Morehouse • Oct. 27, 2020

Election 2020: Climate policy faces a tough road through Congress regardless of electoral outcomes

A Democratic Senate will attempt to pass Joe Biden's clean energy standard in the face of an expected Republican filibuster, while bipartisan support exists for more R&D spending on carbon-cutting technologies.

By Matthew Bandyk • Oct. 26, 2020

AVANGRID-PNM merger seen as step forward for New Mexico's untapped renewable potential

By purchasing New Mexico's largest utility, the Iberdrola subsidiary can bring its access to capital to bear to invest in renewables and transmission in the state and region.

By Matthew Bandyk • Oct. 23, 2020

As conflict rises over utility DER ownership, a Duke Florida program could offer a way forward

Regulators must decide how to separate regulated and private markets as both see ownership of rooftop and community solar.

By Herman K. Trabish • Oct. 23, 2020

FERC landmark DER rule leaves open questions on grid operator implementation

A key question is whether grid operators and utilities try to open up market participation to DERs as much as possible, or whether they just do the bare minimum, a storage executive said.

By Catherine Morehouse • Oct. 22, 2020

2019 US wholesale solar prices more than double wind, gas as renewables use reaches record levels: EIA

High prices in California, where roughly one-third of U.S. solar capacity is located, drove up the average wholesale price for solar energy to $83/MWh.

By Robert Walton • Oct. 20, 2020

EPA expands coal ash storage options for utilities in move NGOs say violates DC Circuit ruling

The power industry says the rule is based on a record EPA has built since 2015, and will apply to only a narrow subset of facilities.

By Catherine Morehouse • Oct. 20, 2020

DOE approves up to $1.4B to test 12-module NuScale reactor

The announcement is part of DOE's multibillion-dollar effort with industry to develop the next generation of reactors, and comes on the heels of $160 million in funding for two other projects.

By Larry Pearl • Oct. 19, 2020

FERC PJM order muddies state subsidy definition under MOPR, potentially hinders renewables, Glick says

Commissioner Richard Glick said the order is further evidence that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission is overreaching when it comes to state clean energy policies.

By Catherine Morehouse • Oct. 16, 2020

FERC confirms carbon pricing jurisdiction in wholesale markets, Chatterjee 'encourages' proposals

"This commission encourages efforts to develop wholesale market rules that incorporate a state-determined carbon price in [wholesale] markets," Chairman Neil Chatterjee said. Commissioner James Danly called it "unnecessary."

By Catherine Morehouse • Oct. 16, 2020

Gas generators ask FERC to apply PJM MOPR logic to NYISO

Two gas generators claim current market rules do not address price suppression caused by state subsidies, and therefore disadvantage resources not receiving those payments.

By Catherine Morehouse • Oct. 16, 2020

NYPA to consider swapping gas peakers for batteries in novel deal with environmental justice groups

The New York Power Authority will hire consultants, including technical experts, to represent the interests of local advocacy groups when analyzing the potential for energy storage to replace gas peaking facilities in New York City.

By Robert Walton • Oct. 14, 2020

Duke vows to triple renewables capacity, reach net-zero methane emissions by 2030

Environmentalists say Duke's plan signals the company will continue to rely on gas infrastructure for decades to come.

By Catherine Morehouse • Oct. 12, 2020

MISO integrated utilities lost $492M from 2016-2019 via uneconomic coal dispatch: market monitor

"Basically all of … the not efficient, unprofitable decisions were made by integrated utilities," while merchant generators were largely profitable, the grid operator's independent market monitor told stakeholders Thursday.

By Catherine Morehouse • Oct. 9, 2020

'Buyer beware': Report highlights challenges to new PJM gas plants

New analysis from the Applied Economics Clinic and the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis concludes the challenges to new gas plants in the PJM Interconnection "are growing stronger and stronger."

By Robert Walton • Oct. 7, 2020

A resolution to LCOE is not the metric you think it is

After one of the authors questioned the usefulness of the widely-used levelized cost of energy metric, two NREL analysts worked with him to find the metric is reliable — but only if used in real time.

By James Loewen, Pieter Gagnon, and Trieu Mai • Oct. 7, 2020