FOSSIL FUELS
The Tennessee Valley Authority Board of Directors on Feb. 14 approved the retirement of Paradise Unit 3 by 2020 and the Bull Run Fossil Plant by 2023, in order to better balance its generation system with changing demands. The vote reflects TVA’s commitment to replace less-efficient coal-fired plants with cleaner resources, despite President Donald Trump’s…...
South Carolina Electric & Gas Company proposed two resource plans based on the least cost options from 19 scenarios that were modeled for its 2019 integrated resource plan filed with the South Carolina Public Service Commission on Feb. 8. The plans, which detail resource needs from 2019 through 2033, reflect a shortage in base capacity…...
New York regulators have authorized a unit of Consolidated Edison Inc. to immediately implement a portfolio of demand-side solutions, in a bid to ease natural gas demand in the utility’s supply-constrained areas. The regulators said that the need to address surging gas consumption has taken special urgency following the utility’s announcement in January that it will stop enrolling new gas customers in the Westchester County region from March 15, in order to maintain reliability for existing customers and offer service to critical facilities.
The U.S. Bureau of Land Management state offices generated more than $1.1 billion of revenue from oil and gas lease sales during 2018, nearly thrice the previous record of $408 million set a decade ago, according to a Feb. 6 press release. The agency’s New Mexico office held 2018’s biggest lease sale in September, earning…...
New York lawmakers approved a bill on Feb. 5 that would block oil and gas development off the state’s coastline. The legislation would put New York in line with California, New Jersey, and Oregon that have enacted similar measures following the Trump administration’s plan to open up vast amounts of coastal waters to drilling activities. The measure…...
The New York Department of Public Service will conduct an analysis of the changing market conditions that led to Consolidated Edison Company of New York Inc.’s decision to stop enrolling new gas customers, according to a Jan. 28 press release. The study will focus on Westchester County and other areas facing supply and demand issues,…...
U.S. energy exports in 2020 are projected to surpass imports for the first time since 1953, thanks to the continued growth in petroleum and natural gas exports, according to the U.S. Energy Information Agency’s Annual Energy Outlook released on Jan. 24. The trend is expected continue for the next three decades driven by large increases in the…...
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission found that that adverse environmental impacts from Tellurian Inc.’s Driftwood LNG project in Louisiana can be reduced to less-than-significant levels with avoidance and mitigation measures, according to a Jan. 18 notice. The project includes a liquefied natural gas export facility having a capacity of 27.6 million tons per year, and…...
The U.S. Energy Department announced funding for cost-shared research and development projects aimed to develop advanced technologies that enhance the performance, reliability, and flexibility of existing coal power plants, according to a Jan. 23 press release. The research effort is intended to lower emissions and foster new technologies that benefit the grid. Projects will support…...
Montana House lawmaker Rodney Garcia, a Republican, introduced legislation on Jan. 15 that would allow the state to sell bonds for up to $500 million to purchase coal-fired generation facilities whose acquisition would be in the public interest. The bill aims at saving the Colstrip plant, which is facing a bleak future as climate change…...
The U.S. natural gas export trend continues thanks to increases in liquefied natural gas export capacity and expansion of the cross-border pipeline network into Mexico, according to a Jan. 7 report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration. In 2017, the U.S. became a net exporter of natural for the first time since 1958. The agency…...
The Maryland Board of Public Works on Jan. 2 unanimously rejected a permit for Columbia Gas Transmission LLC to build a pipeline across the state to transport natural gas from Pennsylvania to West Virginia. Republican Gov. Larry Hogan joined Comptroller Peter Franchot and Treasurer Nancy Kopp to vote against an easement required to install a…...