Congressional Policy Tracker: Everything you need to know from carbon capture to wind energy

Renewable energy developers are lobbying for tax credit extensions while Republican leaders seek bipartisan research-focused solutions to support advanced nuclear, carbon capture and energy storage.

By Iulia Gheorghiu • Updated Dec. 2, 2019

Sen. Manchin 'fighting' for White House nomination of Democratic FERC candidate

The independent energy regulatory agency has two vacancies but President Donald Trump only nominated FERC general counsel James Danly for the open Republican seat.

By Iulia Gheorghiu • Nov. 6, 2019

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

Trump administration continues efforts to ease utility regulatory burdens with dual coal ash proposals

Environmental advocates say the new rules would allow coal-fired power plants to continue polluting and coal ash waste to remain in place longer.

By Robert Walton • Nov. 5, 2019

As Dominion, others target 80-year nuclear plants, cybersecurity concerns complicate digital upgrades

Nuclear reactors need new digital controls as part of a push to avoid retirement, but cybersecurity concerns and high costs complicate the transition from analog.

By Matthew Bandyk • Nov. 4, 2019

Solar, energy efficiency to drive drops in load, peak demand over next 10 years, ISO-NE says

The region remains energy constrained, but the grid operator expects to have sufficient resources to meet electricity demand through 2028.

By Robert Walton • Nov. 1, 2019

Energy, megaprojects dominate 2019 US construction industry

An economist contributes the trend to a rise in domestic oil and gas production. "The U.S. has become a powerhouse in energy. 10 to 20 years ago, the U.S. was importing oil and gas, and it doesn't have to now," he said.

By Kim Slowey • Nov. 1, 2019

North Carolina eliminates controversial Duke multiyear rate plan from energy legislation

After six months of debate, state legislators agreed Tuesday to eliminate "the biggest paradigm shift in North Carolina electricity regulation in 100 years" from the bill.

By Catherine Morehouse • Oct. 31, 2019

Vogtle opponents get new chance to press case in court as plant manager reprimanded for firing whistleblower

The $27 billion nuclear project is more than 80% complete, Southern Company CEO Tom Fanning told analysts on the company's Q3 earnings call, but potential legal roadblocks remain.

By Lynn Freehill-Maye • Oct. 31, 2019

House introduces $500M carbon capture bill as study questions technology's environmental benefits

"It's never going to be cheaper to use carbon capture or direct air capture because it always has an equipment cost and it never reduces air pollution" from fossil fuel extraction, a Stanford professor said.

By Catherine Morehouse • Oct. 30, 2019

PSEG in talks to acquire 25% of Ørsted's 1,100 MW New Jersey offshore wind project

The utility is in exclusive negotiations to launch a joint venture while working to divest from coal assets and have carbon-free generation by 2050.

By Iulia Gheorghiu • Oct. 30, 2019

Florida Power & Light passes key milestone in quest for first US 80-year reactor license

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission has issued a final environmental assessment of the utility's application to operate the Turkey Point Nuclear Generating Station's two oldest units for an additional 20 years.

By Robert Walton • Oct. 30, 2019

11 attorneys general urge FERC to respect state energy rights

Federal regulators must "promote market design choices that appropriately recognize the rights of states under the Federal Power Act to shape their resource mixes," they write.

By Catherine Morehouse • Oct. 29, 2019

California may be a climate leader, but it could be a century behind on its carbon goals: study

Renewables are driving carbon out of the power sector, but economic expansion has led to much less progress in reducing emissions from the transportation, building and industrial sectors, the nonprofit Next 10 found.

By Herman K. Trabish • Oct. 29, 2019

Puerto Rico grid modernization plan tops $20B

The plan, which the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority sketched out over the summer, includes installing almost 1.4 GW of solar generation and 920 MW of battery storage.

By Robert Walton • Oct. 29, 2019

Murray Energy, largest US producer, joins long list of bankrupt coal companies

The Trump administration vowed to save the coal sector, but Murray is the eighth company to go bankrupt in the last year.

By Robert Walton • Oct. 29, 2019

Report debunks contention that increased renewables worsen air quality

Scientists were concerned the frequent start and stop of gas plants filling in for intermittent resources in California were increasing overall air emissions, but found such operations are still cutting pollutants.

By Catherine Morehouse • Oct. 28, 2019

FirstEnergy subsidy opponents look to Ohio Supreme Court amid missed deadline on ballot measure

Ohioans Against Corporate Bailouts failed to get enough signatures within the required 90 days to get a measure opposing recently enacted coal and nuclear subsidies on the November 2020 ballot.

By John Funk • Oct. 28, 2019

Adding renewables and storage in LA is hard. Clean Power Alliance wants to change that.

Community choice aggregators like Clean Power Alliance are looking for local energy resources, but that has proven difficult in congested metropolitan areas where space is very expensive, such as Los Angeles County.

By Iulia Gheorghiu • Oct. 25, 2019

Global offshore wind prices drop 32%: BloombergNEF

Benchmark prices hit $78/MWh for the second half of 2019, while prices for onshore wind, solar and storage all decreased as well.

By Catherine Morehouse • Oct. 24, 2019

Utilities' failure to plan for DER surge promises missed opportunities, increased costs, analysts say

Utilities can use skyrocketing customer-owned DER to balance rising penetrations of variable renewables on their systems, if they take on the big work of distribution system planning.

By Herman K. Trabish • Oct. 24, 2019

California urges energy providers procure additional 4 GW to avoid potential shortages starting in 2021

The procurement proceeding, part of an effort to overhaul utility integrated resource planning in the state, also recommends compliance extensions necessary to keep several once-through cooling units online.

By Robert Walton • Oct. 24, 2019

Inefficient coal plant scheduling cost ratepayers $3.5B from 2015 to 2017, report says

Coal-powered generation would have dropped 10% across the Midcontinent Independent System Operator region if utilities were dispatching their units based on market signals rather than self-scheduling, according to a Sierra Club report.

By Catherine Morehouse • Oct. 23, 2019

Unpaid debts and lost grants: Co-ops struggle with 2017 tax law as Congress moves to address impacts

The "unintended consequences" from the 2017 tax law have become the "biggest policy priority" for rural electric cooperatives trying to maintain their nonprofit status.

By Iulia Gheorghiu • Oct. 23, 2019

Virginia signs largest state renewable energy contract in US with 420 MW Dominion deal

The utility will deliver the energy from a 75 MW wind project and four proposed solar projects, totaling 345 MW over the next three years.

By Robert Walton • Oct. 21, 2019

Duke VP likens gas plant buildout strategy to 15-year home mortgage on path to zero carbon

How the utility will manage its gas assets in a 2040 scenario is "an accounting question ... not a technological question," and one of many perceived risks as the utility heads toward 2050, according to its Vice President of State Policy.

By Catherine Morehouse • Oct. 18, 2019