Executive of the Year: Mary Powell, Green Mountain Power

Powell is leaving her post at the end of the year, but created a new playbook for the investor-owned utility to continue to prioritize customer choice.

By Iulia Gheorghiu • Dec. 9, 2019

Project of the Year: Soleil Lofts solar+storage development

The virtual power plant outside of Salt Lake City underscores the role of utility involvement in emerging grid products.

By Robert Walton • Dec. 9, 2019

ERCOT sees brighter days ahead on system reserves despite rising peak demand

The grid operator for most of Texas says it is experiencing above-normal growth in peak electricity demand, but should head into next summer with sufficient resources to keep the lights on.

By Robert Walton • Dec. 6, 2019

FPL's Turkey Point first US nuclear plant to get license out to 80 years

Federal regulators extended the approved lifespan of two of the Florida facility's units until 2052 and 2053.

By Kavya Balaraman • Updated Dec. 6, 2019

Dominion suspends plan to add 1.5 GW of peaking capacity as Virginia faces gas glut

The utility's decision follows reporting that it has over-forecast demand for years in order to justify natural gas additions.

By Robert Walton • Dec. 5, 2019

Is FERC overstepping its authority and hurting renewables? States, power groups question PURPA plan

Diverse stakeholders said the commission's proposal would leave small facilities in unregulated markets at a disadvantage, while several major utilities backed their trade group in supporting the changes.

By Catherine Morehouse • Dec. 5, 2019

Road to 100: How a demolished Kansas town became a model of DOE renewables resilience

The destruction wrought by a 2007 tornado gave the federal government an opportunity to build up a fully renewable town in a conservative part of the country.

By Catherine Morehouse • Dec. 4, 2019

Renewables, legal groups challenge FERC's authority to upend PURPA

Federal regulators are proposing changes to the law for the first time since 2006. Some groups argue the move falls outside the commission's authority and will harm renewables in markets monopolized by utilities.

By Catherine Morehouse • Dec. 4, 2019

In a first, natural gas group supports carbon pricing even if members 'don't get off scot-free'

BP, Shell and several members of the Natural Gas Supply Association previously supported a carbon tax, prompting a new pledge from the group, though some environmental groups criticized the lack of details.

By Iulia Gheorghiu • Dec. 4, 2019

Regulators should 'ask tough questions about carbon capture' before closing coal: Wyoming PSC Chair

Wyoming is in a uniquely precarious position as the country's top coal producer. Its head utility regulator says ratemaking should encourage utilities to profit from carbon capture and utilization outside their rate base.

By Catherine Morehouse • Dec. 3, 2019

FirstEnergy Solutions claims victory on nuke bailout referendum, but proponents push forward

The Ohio Supreme Court dismissed a lawsuit challenging a potential referendum on the state's nuclear subsidies, while a separate proceeding brought by referendum proponents is ongoing.

By Iulia Gheorghiu • Dec. 3, 2019

Too much wind and solar raises power system costs. Deep decarbonization requires nuclear

Once wind and solar provide around 40% of a region's electric power, costs begin to rise substantially, an author of a new study from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology writes.

By John Reilly • Dec. 2, 2019

CAISO says resource adequacy order would cause market uncertainty, asks CPUC to reconsider

The system operator and other stakeholders urged regulators to "re-open the record" on an October decision clarifying the rules.

By Kavya Balaraman • Nov. 27, 2019

Inside the fight to overhaul PURPA: What three commissioners think of FERC's proposed changes

The 1978 law — largely credited with driving the small renewables market — is facing a potential major shift, and though most regulators agree the rule should be changed, they disagree with some of FERC's mechanisms.

By Catherine Morehouse • Nov. 26, 2019

Despite changes, commissioners see traditional utility system dominating over next decade: NARUC

U.S. utility commissioners agree that traditional fossil fuel generation will be an important aspect of grid reliability over the next decade, according to a NARUC survey.

By Iulia Gheorghiu • Nov. 26, 2019

FERC is on the right track with resilience. Republicans can help by upholding conservative principles

Republicans in Congress and the administration should affirm local control, while ensuring a high threshold to justify the government favoring any one energy resource or generation technology over another, the author writes.

By Charles Hernick • Nov. 25, 2019

Cincinnati to build nation's largest city-led solar array

The project, which is predicted to reduce 158,000 tons of carbon emissions annually, will cover 1,000 acres with more than 310,000 solar panels.

By Katie Pyzyk • Nov. 25, 2019

ISO New England chief presses for carbon price in response to Sanders, Warren and others

A carbon price would be a "simple and easily-implemented mechanism" to speed renewables onto the grid, Gordon van Welie wrote, while noting that the region's states oppose its use within wholesale electricity markets.

By Robert Walton • Nov. 25, 2019

Ohio denies AEP cost recovery for 400 MW proposed solar, but projects expected to proceed

The Public Utilities Commission of Ohio concluded the utility had not shown a need for the additional generation, but its decision creates uncertainty for the future of solar development in the state, environmental advocates said.

By Robert Walton • Nov. 25, 2019

PNM: Carbon capture would raise San Juan transition cost to $6B, as PRC, legislator battle rages

A proposal to lengthen the coal plant's life through what would be the largest carbon capture project to date is deemed too expensive by its majority owner and raises environmental concerns.

By Catherine Morehouse • Nov. 25, 2019

Road to 100: How the shale boom broke Georgetown, Texas' renewables spell

In 2017, the city of about 50,000 became the largest in the U.S. able to claim it ran on 100% renewable energy. But after customer bills spiked last year, its utility department is facing an overhaul.

By Catherine Morehouse • Nov. 25, 2019

PJM, NYISO and ISO-NE pay $1.4B annually for excess capacity: Report

Resource adequacy in the Northeast region is determined by grid operators, not states, and it's leading to higher reserve margins, according to Grid Strategies.

By Iulia Gheorghiu • Nov. 22, 2019

EPA estimates proposal to relax power plant wastewater standards will save utilities $312M a year

Groups like Earthjustice fear the agency's proposed standards will put at risk hundreds of millions of dollars in annual public health benefits stemming from a 2015 update to the limits that never went into effect.

By Larry Pearl • Nov. 22, 2019

New York's last coal plant expected online through winter, says NYISO, despite shutdown plans

The last coal plant in New York has filed paperwork to shut down in early 2020, but the state's grid operator must still determine whether the 685 MW Somerset facility is needed. 

By Robert Walton • Nov. 22, 2019

Can carbon capture save the San Juan coal plant?

A proceeding before New Mexico regulators begs the question of when and how the 940 MW plant will retire, and the decision may leave mandates under the state's landmark clean energy law behind.

By Catherine Morehouse • Nov. 21, 2019