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…
Renewable energy resources accounted for about 28.1 percent of New York’s electricity generation in 2017, according to a Feb. 7 report from the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, analyzing progress toward the Clean Energy Standard which requires half the state’s electricity to come from renewable energy by 2030. The 28.1 percent contribution…
The U.S. installed about 31 gigawatts of new generating capacity in 2018, up from 27 gigawatts in the prior year, according to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s energy infrastructure update, released on Feb. 5. Natural gas-fired power dominated the capacity additions, accounting for about 20 gigawatts, while wind and solar provided 6 gigawatts and 4.2 gigawatts,…
New utility-scale solar projects totalling 2.1 gigawatts have locked into agreements to connect with the Texas grid in 2019, or enough to more than double the system’s solar capacity, with even larger amounts in store for 2020, according to a Feb. 5 report by the Electric Reliability Council of Texas Inc. While Texas is known for…
The Virginia state House of Delegates on Jan. 31 voted 86 -12 to reject a bill that would have required all of the state’s electricity to come from clean energy after 2036 while also placing a moratorium on new fossil fuel developments. (HB 1635) The bill would have put Virginia in line with California, District…
The U.S. Department of Energy will provide $28 million in funding for a research program that aims to develop new technologies for floating offshore wind turbines, according to a Feb. 1 press release. The department recognizes that the U.S. has the potential to lead the world in the development of offshore wind energy, particularly in floating…
Interstate Power and Light Company anticipates that over the next decade it will have a surplus of renewable energy credits to the tune of between 1.5 million to 5.5 million per year, relative to Iowa’s current renewable energy requirements, according to a Jan. 31 filing by the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission. Interstate Power and Light…
New York Democratic Governor Andrew Cuomo on Jan. 17 unveiled the most aggressive plan of any state to eliminate global warming emissions and achieve 100 percent carbon-free power in just a couple of decades. Cuomo's legislative package, dubbed the "Green New Deal," is designed to put the state on a path to wipe out its carbon footprint by 2040 by slashing the heat-trapping emissions not just in the power fleet, but across the entire economy including the transportation and agriculture sectors and through building efficiency.
Massachusetts House Democratic lawmakers Marjorie Decker and Sean Garballey introduced legislation on Jan. 28 that would transition Massachusetts to 100 percent renewable electricity. The bill would set a target for the state to source all of its electricity from renewable energy by 2035 and calls for an economy-wide transition to renewables, including heating and transportation,…...
The Minnesota Public Utilities Commission issued an order on Jan. 23 approving Tenaska Inc.’s 260 megawatt Nobles 2 wind farm in Nobles County, southwestern Minnesota. The project will include between 65 to 82 wind turbines, with a nameplate capacity ranging from 2 to 4.2 megawatts each, spread over approximately 42,200 acres. In December, Nobles 2 executed a power purchase…
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…...