Democratic Senator Ed Markey and Democratic Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez introduced a Green New Deal resolution on Feb. 7 setting out the goals and aspirations of the ambitious plan which seeks to tackle the nation’s contribution to climate change by making it carbon free over just a decade. The resolution calls for unprecedented, World War II-style mobilization of the U.S. economy…
U.S. electric power sector emissions of sulfur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen oxides (NOx), and carbon dioxide (CO2) will remain mostly flat through 2050, assuming no changes to current laws and regulations, according to the EIA’s recently released Annual Energy Outlook 2019. Regulation has greatly contributed to the decline of pollutants like SO2 and NOx from the electric…
The ISO New England Inc.’s annual forward capacity auction cleared 34.8 gigawatts of capacity at a price of $3.80 per kilowatt-month, with adequate resources to meet peak demand in 2022-2023, according to a Feb. 6 press release. The auction was the first to be held under new rules to accommodate entry of state-sponsored resources by…
The Michigan Public Service Commission approved Consumers Energy Co.’s plan to build new wind generation facilities needed to meet the utility’s voluntary renewable portfolio standard of 50 percent by 2030, but delayed a decision on the company’s request to add 100 megawatts of solar citing unrealistically high cost projections, according to a Feb. 7 press release. As part of…
The United States has more than 2,500 utility-scale (larger than one megawatt) solar photovoltaic electricity generating facilities, most of which are relatively small and collectively account for just 2.5 percent of utility-scale electric generating capacity and 1.7% of annual electricity generation, based on EIA data through November 2018. North Carolina has 433 utility-scale solar photovoltaic…
A bill introduced at the request of Democratic state governor Kate Brown, which would modify the provisions for attributing renewable energy certificates to certain types of thermal energy, passed the state Senate on Feb. 6. Under the new bill, a thermal energy facility would qualify for a renewable energy certificate if it generates electricity from…
The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities on Feb. 7 accepted the results of the state’s annual electricity auction for basic generation service, securing commitments for up to $6 bill worth of purchases to meet about 7.8 gigawatts of customer requirements. The auction will help set electricity prices for most residents and many businesses for…
The New York State Public Service Commission on Feb. 7 authorized Consolidated Edison Company of New York Inc. to implement a portfolio of demand-side solutions at a cost capped at $223 million, in a bid to ease natural gas demand in the utility’s supply-constrained areas. The commission said that the need to address surging gas…