Environmental and clean energy organizations, represented by the Southern Environmental Law Center and Southern Alliance for Clean Energy, petitioned the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit to review the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s approval of the Southeast Energy Exchange Market (SEEM). The SEEM proposal was originally submitted by large southeast utilities such as…...
Long-term planning strategies of electric utilities across the U.S. reflect the growing trend towards phasing out coal-fired power generation while embracing renewables. Coal power plants account for 85 percent of electric generating capacity scheduled to retire in the U.S. during 2022, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA).
The Minnesota Public Utilities Commission on Feb. 8 approved Xcel Energy Inc.’s 2019 integrated resource plan, which outlines investments between 2020 and 2034. In the approved plan, the utility seeks to acquire or build up to 4,650 megawatts of renewable energy resources by 2032, including solar, wind, and storage. Xcel’s plan is expected to lower…...
Pennsylvania exported 78 million megawatt hours (MWh) of generated electricity to neighbouring states in 2020. This is the highest among any other state, despite other states such as Texas and Florida, producing more electricity, according to a Feb. 7 report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration. During 2020 more than 230 million MWh of electricity…...
Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy on Feb. 4 introduced legislation to create a renewable portfolio standard that would require utilities to use qualifying resources for 80 percent of their sales by the end of 2040. If enacted, Alaska would join 30 states and two territories, which have standards or goals to procure a certain percentage of…...
Puget Sound Energy has filed a three year rate plan with the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission requesting revenue increases that revolve around delivering secure and efficient energy, improving climate resiliency and accelerating efforts towards meeting striving clean energy goals. Under the plan, proposed for the 2023-2025 period, a residential customer would see an average…...
U.S. President Joe Biden announced a four-year extension of tariffs on imported solar cells and modules first enacted in 2018 under the Trump administration, according to a proclamation issued on Feb. 4. Biden’s move includes an exemption for bifacial solar panels and doubles the tariff rate quota to 5 gigawatts per year. The proclamation follows…...
Revisions to rules governing competitive retail electricity markets are focused on strengthening customer protections while exploring ways to expand access to these markets. Recent actions include efforts to open retail electric competition in Arizona, Connecticut’s investigation into supplier offers, and Maine’s update to marketing standards for retail electric services.
The California Independent System Operator Corp. on Feb. 1 released a 20-year transmission outlook that discusses long-term infrastructure requirements to reach the state’s target of generating 100 percent electricity from carbon-neutral sources by 2045. The draft plan is based on the assumption that about 120 gigawatts will have to be added to the grid by…...
Georgia Power on Jan. 31 filed its 2022 Integrated Resource Plan with the Georgia Public Service Commission, proposing to close all of its coal assets by 2035. The company intends to retire a total of 12 generation assets producing more than 3,500 megawatts by 2028. To assist this asset transformation, the utility is planning to…...
The Western Energy Imbalance market generated $739 million in benefits in 2021, the highest annual benefits achieved since the market launched in 2014, according to a Jan. 31 press release from the California Independent System Operator Corporation. This brings the cumulative benefits of the real-time energy market close to the $2 billion mark. The previous…...