Generation: Page 82
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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 -
Elizabeth Regan, Industry Dive/Utility Dive
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 -
Deep Dive
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 -
Deep Dive
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 -
DOE, NRC team up to accelerate deployment of advanced reactors
The capabilities of DOE's National Laboratories are being combined with regulatory expertise at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission in order to accelerate the development and licensing of advanced reactors.
By Robert Walton • Oct. 18, 2019 -
As PPA price drops slow for wind and solar, developers see PJM, ERCOT as top markets
Wind prices rose in Q3 across several U.S. markets, and developers are increasingly feeling the pressure of declining tax credits, according to LevelTen, which also sees strong potential in MISO.
By Iulia Gheorghiu • Oct. 17, 2019 -
Despite 'political tug-of-war,' the US 'still needs fossil fuels': DOE General Counsel
"Fossil fuels are not some kind of snake oil being sold by somebody who doesn't believe in it, to a public who doesn't want it," DOE head lawyer Bill Cooper told an audience of energy lawyers in Washington, D.C.
By Catherine Morehouse • Oct. 17, 2019 -
FirstEnergy Solutions' shift on pensions paves way for bankruptcy exit
FES agreed to keep the traditional pensions of its power plant employees, rather than switch to 401Ks, prompting the federal bankruptcy judge to approve the company's restructuring plan.
By John Funk • Updated Oct. 16, 2019 -
Green Mountain Power turnaround driven by customer obsession, cultural shift: CEO
Mary Powell reflects on how her HR roots helped her draw systemic changes to the utility's clean energy goals while on the cusp of bankruptcy.
By Iulia Gheorghiu • Oct. 15, 2019 -
FPL settles with Walmart, clean energy groups to advance largest US community solar project
The 1,490 MW project would almost double the amount of community solar currently installed in the U.S., but renewables advocates were initially concerned the program wasn't accessible to low income customers.
By Catherine Morehouse • Oct. 15, 2019 -
Deep Dive
US wind, solar finance alternatives rise as sector rushes against looming tax credit expiration
Resources are being rapidly deployed ahead of the post-2020 phase-out, but political uncertainty makes turmoil unavoidable.
By Herman K. Trabish • Oct. 15, 2019 -
Opinion
Clean Peaks & Polar Vortexes: Aligning climate and reliability goals in an extreme weather world
If states do not align digitization, decentralization and decarbonization policies with a fourth dimension of diversification, industry may need to take unprecedented action, the authors write.
By Brian Evans-Mongeon, Dan Kopin and Lon Huber • Oct. 14, 2019
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