Nuclear SMR developer X-energy to merge with Ares Management-backed SPAC, creating $2B company

X-energy says 67 GW from SMRs will need to be installed by 2040 in the U.S., Canada and U.K. to offset the retirement of coal and other fossil fuel plants and meet expected increases in demand.

By Stephen Singer • Dec. 7, 2022

Public power, cooperative utilities face ‘deteriorating’ outlook amid financial pressures: Fitch

“Sustained cost pressures and slower economic growth through 2023 will result in the most challenging operating environment the public power sector has faced in many years,” Kathy Masterson, Fitch senior director, said.

By Ethan Howland • Dec. 7, 2022

Explore the Trendline➔

Sustainability

Companies are pursuing increasingly ambitous sustainability goals around clean energy, but integrating rising amounts of renewables, minimizing environmental impacts, and achieving carbon reduction targets can be challenging.

By Utility Dive staff

Wind energy industry struggles to find qualified workers: NREL

The wind industry is struggling to find experienced workers to fill open roles, while applicants report barriers to entry-level jobs that would provide that experience.

By Diana DiGangi • Dec. 1, 2022

Exelon, Duke, Southern, PG&E still the top utilities on Fortune 500; most show revenues up but rankings down

The utilities on the 2022 Fortune 500 list generated 13% more revenue in 2021 than they did five years earlier, but the sector remains small relative to retail, tech and healthcare giants.

By Stephen Singer • Nov. 30, 2022

ESG score hurts credit rating for 20% of organizations: Moody’s

More than half of organizations that issue speculative-grade debt faced a negative impact on their credit rating after a sustainability assessment.

By Jim Tyson • Nov. 29, 2022

AEP’s Public Service Co. of Oklahoma proposes buying 995 MW of wind, solar from Invenergy for $2.5B

PSO expects the renewable energy facilities will produce $1 billion in tax credits and increase rates by 2.1%.

By Ethan Howland • Nov. 21, 2022

SDG&E partners with General Motors to study electric vehicle bidirectional charging potential

The collaboration will focus on three bidirectional capabilities: the ability for vehicles to support home energy needs, send energy back to the grid or participate in a virtual power plant.

By Robert Walton • Nov. 16, 2022

Dominion Energy launches ‘top-to-bottom’ review of businesses

No option will be off the table as the Richmond, Virginia-based company seeks to create “significant long-term value for our shareholders,” President and CEO Robert Blue said Friday.

By Rod Kuckro • Nov. 7, 2022

Duke Energy greenlights sale of $4B commercial renewable energy unit amid ‘robust’ interest

Proceeds from the sale will help the company reduce debt and lower costs associated with decarbonization amid rising interest rates, CEO Lynn Good told investors on Friday.

By Emma Penrod • Nov. 7, 2022

DTE Electric proposes $9B spend on 5.4 GW renewables, 760 MW storage, coal-to-gas power plant switch

The Detroit-based utility aims to exit coal in 2035, with carbon capture and small nuclear reactors as replacement options.

By Ethan Howland • Nov. 4, 2022

Exelon CEO Crane to retire at year end under accelerated succession plan

Exelon Chief Operating Officer Calvin Butler Jr. will succeed Crane, who moved up his retirement plans after learning of “significant” health issues.

By Ethan Howland • Nov. 3, 2022

PG&E launches vehicle-to-grid export rate for commercial electric fleets to help meet peak demand

The new three-year pilot will cost ratepayers up to $1.52 million.

By Elizabeth McCarthy • Nov. 2, 2022

Tesla revamps EV production schedule to ease logistics strains in its delivery network, Elon Musk says

The EV maker is transitioning to a more evenly spread schedule throughout the quarter to avoid logistics capacity strains.

By Kate Magill • Nov. 2, 2022

NextEra says FPL’s speedy Hurricane Ian recovery could cost customers $1.1B

The company also plans to acquire $1.1 billion in renewable natural gas assets. Similar investments are likely to grow under the Inflation Reduction Act, executives said Friday morning in a third-quarter earnings call.

By Emma Penrod • Oct. 31, 2022

Electric utilities aren’t doing enough to address inequities in today’s power system, advocates say

How are companies, regulators, NGOs and others ensuring that the energy transition is equitable?

By Robert Walton • Oct. 28, 2022

ESG backlash unlikely to derail SEC climate risk rule

SEC Chair Gary Gensler faces growing resistance to the agency’s proposal that companies provide detailed disclosures on carbon emissions.

By Jim Tyson • Oct. 28, 2022

Engie buys 6-GW solar and storage development portfolio from Belltown Power

The deal for projects in PJM, ERCOT and other markets comes as Consolidated Edison, American Electric Power and Duke Energy move to sell their unregulated renewable energy businesses.

By Ethan Howland • Oct. 28, 2022

Clean energy supply bottlenecks hit overburdened communities the hardest, utilities and advocates say

The Inflation Reduction Act and an equity focus should help reverse the trend, however.

By Elizabeth McCarthy • Oct. 27, 2022

Apple calls on suppliers to decarbonize operations by 2030

Major suppliers, including chip vendor TSMC, have pledged to power 100% of production for the tech giant with renewables.

By Sarah Zimmerman • Oct. 26, 2022

The energy system is ‘inherently racist,’ advocates say. How are utilities responding to calls for greater equity?

Utility commitments to customer equity, energy affordability and equitable access to clean energy resources are becoming more common, but energy justice advocates say companies need to do more. 

By Robert Walton • Oct. 26, 2022

5 Walmart suppliers team up on renewable energy buy

Levi Strauss, J.M. Smucker and three others completed the first aggregated power purchase agreement under the retailer’s Project Gigaton, which encourages vendors to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions. 

By Sarah Zimmerman • Oct. 25, 2022

Electric utility CEO pay gap widens as groups push to link executive compensation and decarbonization

An increasing CEO-to-employee pay ratio is being driven in part by a decline in median employee pay, which could indicate a higher paid, more experienced workforce is retiring.

By Iulia Gheorghiu , Julia Himmel • Oct. 18, 2022

Coaltrain Energy agrees to pay $4M to settle FERC allegations the company manipulated PJM’s market

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, which had been seeking $42.1 million from the trading firm, ordered the PJM Interconnection to allocate the Coaltrain proceeds to the grid operator’s members.

By Ethan Howland • Oct. 17, 2022

Divert to provide renewable natural gas for BP from food waste digesters via 10-year contract

The $175 million agreement involves gas from three upcoming food waste digesters in California, Pennsylvania and Washington. It marks the latest sign of investment into waste-related projects that produce renewable natural gas.

By Cole Rosengren • Oct. 13, 2022

Brookfield, Cameco partner to buy nuclear services company Westinghouse in $7.9B deal

The deal is driven by a resurgence in nuclear generation spurred by efforts to cut carbon emissions, the companies said Tuesday.

By Ethan Howland • Oct. 12, 2022