Generation: Page 30


  • An aerial view of a solar power plant with many rows of solar photovoltaic panels.
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    Grid interconnection queues jumped 27%, to 2.6 TW, in 2023, led by solar, storage: DOE lab

    Solar, battery and wind projects make up 95% of the capacity in interconnection queues, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory researchers said Wednesday.

    By April 11, 2024
  • An artistic rendering of a building which is transitioning from fossil fuel use to renewable sources like solar panels
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    Opinion

    Regulators: Don’t panic and rush to gas amid cries we’re out of power

    Proposing new gas plants to serve growing demand does not occur in isolation. It is a decision that implicitly rejects alternatives as either infeasible, expensive or unconsidered.

    By Mike O’Boyle and Eric Gimon • April 11, 2024
  • High voltage transmission lines in Nevada's desert.
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    Pathways Initiative proposes independent power market organization for the West

    The stakeholder group aims to establish an organization free of CAISO governance to run wholesale power markets, laying the groundwork for a possible regional transmission organization.

    By April 11, 2024
  • Pumpjack (oil derrick) and refinery plant in West Texas.
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    Oklo, Diamondback Energy in talks on nuclear PPA for oil and gas operations

    The nonbinding agreement has Oklo providing 50-MW Powerhouse reactors to Diamondback’s operations for as long as 40 years.

    By Brian Martucci • April 10, 2024
  • Drone shot of a solar farm on the edge of Liberty, a small town in Randolph County, North Carolina.
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    South Carolina advances bill that could spur gas power for Duke, Dominion utilities, hamper solar

    Renewable developers EnergyRe and Pine Gate Renewables urged lawmakers to require that utilities add about 8 GW of solar from approved integrated resource plans, with offramps.

    By April 9, 2024
  • The spillway at a Bonneville Power Administration dam on the Columbia River.
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    Bonneville staff backs joining SPP’s Markets+ day-ahead market over CAISO alternative

    Bonneville Power Administration staff said they preferred the Markets+ governance structure and carbon accounting over the California Independent System Operator’s day-ahead market.

    By April 5, 2024
  • The Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant in San Luis Obispo, California.
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    NRC should assess if its reactor licensing process adequately considers climate risks: GAO

    The federal watchdog found that the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s natural hazard assessments “do not fully consider potential climate change effects,” such as extreme heat, drought, wildfires and hurricanes.

    By Brian Martucci • April 4, 2024
  • Proposed design for TerraPower's Natrium reactor
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    Permission granted by TerraPower
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    New NRC licensing road map aims to add clarity for advanced reactor applications

    The detailed guidance could “significantly reduce the regulatory uncertainty” for non-light water reactors submitting construction permit and licensing applications, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission said.

    By Brian Martucci • April 3, 2024
  • A coal-fired power plant on the Ohio River.
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    Coal-to-nuclear transition can be an economic boon for communities: DOE

    A 900-MWe nuclear facility could increase direct employment by 102 workers, including dozens of highly paid nuclear engineers and technicians, according to a DOE information guide released Monday.

    By Brian Martucci • April 3, 2024
  • A wind farm in Kansas.
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    SPP capacity accreditation plan disadvantages clean power, threatens reliability, ACP, others say

    The American Clean Power Association and other groups urged the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to reject the Southwest Power Pool’s latest plan to reform its capacity accreditation process.

    By April 1, 2024
  • A solar energy farm in Indianapolis, Indiana, an area served by the Midcontinent Independent System Operator.
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    MISO seeks FERC approval for new capacity accreditation process to bolster grid reliability

    “The changing resource mix combined with extreme weather and shifting load profiles have created what the NERC has characterized as a ‘hyper-complex risk environment,’” MISO said.

    By March 29, 2024
  • Rows of solar panels are seen against a green field.
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    Efficiency, clean energy are options for meeting demand growth before gas generation: Energy Innovation

    Texas has met its 2.6% annual demand growth with wind and solar, highlighting how clean energy can handle rising electric use, per the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis.

    By March 28, 2024
  • Palisades nuclear power plant
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    Permission granted by Holtec International
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    DOE makes $1.5B conditional loan commitment to help Holtec restart Palisades nuclear plant

    The 800-MW Palisades nuclear plant in Michigan could be restarted alongside the development of a pair of small modular reactors capable of doubling the facility’s output.

    By March 27, 2024
  • Person in a house holding an energy efficiency mobile app on screen
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    Deep Dive

    A new era of price-based demand response emerges, but utilities and regulators need proof of its potential

    New load flexibility from price-based demand response programs could be invaluable if reliability and cost-effectiveness is confirmed in real-world operating conditions, stakeholders agree.

    By March 27, 2024
  • FERC headquarters
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    Permission granted by Esme Howland
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    FERC affirms generator interconnection rule, but ‘it’s not a silver bullet,’ Christie says

    Renewables and storage make up the majority of interconnection queue projects, but they are “not one-for-one replacements” for retiring dispatchable power plants, Commissioner Mark Christie warned.

    By March 22, 2024
  • Xe-100 reactor
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    Courtesy of X-energy
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    Microsoft, Google, Nucor partner on initiative to spur emerging 24/7 clean power technologies

    The Advanced Clean Electricity initiative aims for widespread commercial deployment of advanced nuclear, next-generation geothermal and long-duration storage by the early 2030s.

    By Brian Martucci • March 21, 2024
  • Two cooling towers at Constellation Energy's 2,300-MW Limerick nuclear power plant in Pottstown, Pennsylvania.
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    Constellation Energy’s $900M green bond is first in US directed at nuclear power, company says

    The bond could also be used for “clean hydrogen, energy storage systems, wind repowering and carbon-free energy solutions for Constellation’s commercial customers,” the company said.

    By Brian Martucci • March 21, 2024
  • Gloved handle holding waste
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    Retrieved from U.S. Department of Energy on March 19, 2024
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    DOE estimates US can nearly double energy derived from waste in new report

    The report models several scenarios for bioenergy development, including a 10-year and 20-year projection.

    By Jacob Wallace • March 20, 2024
  • The ISO New England control room.
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    Permission granted by ISO New England
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    New England could see resource adequacy troubles even with billions in investments: ISO-NE

    Batteries make up 46% of ISO New England’s interconnection queue, but the grid operator said that as peak demand grows, they may “struggle to recharge during the winter months.”

    By March 19, 2024
  • FirstEnergy's 1,100-MW coal-fired Fort Martin power plant in Maidsville, West Virginia, along the Monongahela River.
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    Up to 58 GW faces retirement in PJM by 2030 without replacement capacity in sight: market monitor

    Nearly 60% of the generation that could shutter is deemed “uneconomic,” but capacity prices and other factors could change, potentially easing the risk, the grid operator’s market monitor said.

    By March 18, 2024
  • Energy thermal power station roof plant with white smoke cloud.
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    3rd Circuit backs NRG, Constellation Energy, others in rejecting FERC move on PJM capacity auction

    FERC allowed PJM to adopt a new rule to address anomalous high capacity prices in its latest capacity auction, but the federal appeals court said the change was illegal retroactive ratemaking.

    By March 14, 2024
  • High voltage electricity transmission tower back lit by sun with lens flare.
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    US electricity prices outpace annual inflation

    Analysts cited transmission costs and federal policies for the 3.6% increase the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Tuesday.

    By March 13, 2024
  • Nuclear power plant after sunset. Dusk landscape with big chimneys.
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    Opinion

    Nuclear energy finance bans prevent the world from buying American

    Securing financing for commercially-oriented nuclear energy projects is critical for American suppliers to compete against adversarial state-owned entities.

    By Kenneth Petersen • March 12, 2024
  • A rendering of the GE Hitachi BWRX300 small modular reactor.
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    Retrieved from GE Hitachi.
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    Global small modular reactor pipeline hits 22 GW, with US leading the market: WoodMac

    Growing interest from heavy industry and a 25-nation agreement to triple nuclear power globally by 2050 are tailwinds as the first commercial SMR comes online in China.

    By Brian Martucci • March 12, 2024
  • President Joe Biden speaks during an event about lowering costs for American families at the Granite State YMCA Allard Center of Goffstown on March 11, 2024, in Goffstown, New Hampshire.
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    Sophie Park via Getty Images
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    DOE’s ARPA-E faces budget cut, FERC to explore AI and other highlights from Biden’s budget

    DOE’s Grid Deployment Office, the Energy Information Administration and renewables research would see budget hikes, while nuclear energy research and development spending would be cut.

    By March 12, 2024