How Utility Resource Planning is Evolving to Keep Pace with Low-Carbon Transition

EnerKnol’s Visual Primer – How Utility Resource Planning is Evolving to Keep Pace with Low-Carbon Transition

EnerKnol Impacts, EnerKnol Research Reports, EnerKnol Visual Primer, Grid Modernization, Integrated Resource Plans, Power & Utilities, PRODUCTS, REC Feed, Smart Grid

Utility regulators are expanding resource planning requirements as a growing number of utilities are proposing early closure of coal plants, in addition to investing more in solar, wind and battery storage. Long-term resource plans are evolving to consider a host of emerging issues ranging from equity assessments and avoided costs, to reflecting the cost of carbon, as utilities seek to balance flexibility and reliability.

Southwest Power Pool Proposes Rules to Implement Western Power Market

Southwest Power Pool Proposes Rules to Implement Western Power Market

EnerKnol Impacts, EnerKnol Pulse, REC Feed, Wholesale Power

The Southwest Power Pool Inc., the grid operator for 14 states in the central U.S., filed a tariff with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to implement its Western Energy Imbalance Service Market in 2021, according to a Feb. 21 news release. The market is designed to balance generation and load regionally and in real time.…

FERC Delays Decision on Jordan Cove LNG Project After Oregon Denies Key Permit

FERC Delays Decision on Jordan Cove LNG Project After Oregon Denies Key Permit

EnerKnol Impacts, EnerKnol Pulse, Natural Gas

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on Feb. 20 voted not to issue an order on the Jordan Cove liquefied natural gas export project and the associated Pacific Connector pipeline in Oregon. The decision follows the Oregon Department of Land Conservation and Development’s determination that the coastal adverse effects from the project will be significant. As…

FERC Approves Kinder Morgan’s Gulf Coast Southbound Project Expansion

FERC Approves Kinder Morgan’s Gulf Coast Southbound Project Expansion

EnerKnol Impacts, EnerKnol Pulse, Natural Gas

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on Feb. 20 authorized Natural Gas Pipeline Company of America LLC to advance its Gulf Coast Southbound Project, which is designed to provide an additional 300,000 dekatherms per day of firm transportation service for Corpus Christi Liquefaction LLC’s liquefied natural gas facility in Texas. The project involves the construction operation,…

Renewable, Storage Targets, Creating $2.4 Billion Bond For Climate Adaptation

AEP Subsidiary Wins Oklahoma Approval to Add 675 Megawatts of Wind Generation

EnerKnol Impacts, EnerKnol Pulse, REC Feed, Wind

The Oklahoma Corporation Commission approved a settlement allowing Public Service Company of Oklahoma to recover costs to add 675 megawatts of wind power the state, according to a Feb. 20 news release. The move will not increase rates for customers, as cost savings resulting from the project will be passed on to them. Public Service will…

Michigan Regulator Asks DTE Electric to Submit Revised Resource Plan

Michigan Regulator Asks DTE Electric to Submit Revised Resource Plan

coal, EnerKnol Impact-Misc Categories, EnerKnol Impacts, EnerKnol Pulse, Grid Modernization, Integrated Resource Plans, Natural Gas, REC Feed, Solar

The Michigan Public Service Commission on Feb. 20 sent DTE Electric Company back to the drawing board on its long-term resource plan, citing fundamental flaws including lack of competitive bidding for supply-side resource additions. The agency recommended that DTE issue a request for proposals for new generation, and raise the proposed energy efficiency targets. Considering…

FERC Orders Could Hinder Renewables, Electric Storage in New York Power Markets

FERC Orders Could Hinder Renewables, Electric Storage in New York Power Markets

Climate Change and Emissions, Energy Storage, EnerKnol Impact-Misc Categories, EnerKnol Impacts, EnerKnol Pulse, Grid Modernization, REC Feed, Solar, Wind

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on Feb. 20 issued a series of orders to narrow the resources exempt from the New York grid operator’s buyer-side market power mitigation rules. The agency dismissed a complaint from the Public Service Commission and the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority seeking an exemption for electric storage…

Utility-Scale Wind Accounted for 70 Percent of Michigan’s Renewable Energy in 2019

Utility-Scale Wind Accounted for 70 Percent of Michigan’s Renewable Energy in 2019: Report

Energy Efficiency, EnerKnol Impact-Misc Categories, EnerKnol Impacts, EnerKnol Pulse, REC Feed, Wind

Utility-scale wind generators accounted for 70 percent of the 3.1 gigawatts of renewable energy capacity in Michigan last year, according to a Feb. 18 report by the state’s Public Service Commission. Across the state, new wind and solar projects are expected to add more than one gigawatt of new, utility-scale electricity generation in 2020 and…

Massachusetts’ Second Offshore Wind Contract Projected to Yield $2.4 Billion in Ratepayer Benefits

Massachusetts’ Second Offshore Wind Contract Projected to Yield $2.4 Billion in Ratepayer Benefits

EnerKnol Impacts, EnerKnol Pulse, REC Feed, Wind

The Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources endorsed the long-term contracts executed by the state’s electric distribution companies to procure offshore wind power from Mayflower Wind Energy LLC ‘s 804-megawatt project, citing net benefits of about $2.4 billion to ratepayers over the 20-year term. The wind generation output and renewable energy certificates from the project will…

Solar Fuels Research Program

U.S. Energy Department Announces $100-Million Solar Fuels Research Program

EnerKnol Impacts, EnerKnol Pulse, REC Feed, Solar

The U.S. Energy Department plans to invest in a five-year research program focused on producing fuels from sunlight, according to a Feb. 19 news release. The agency will establish one large or two smaller energy innovation hubs, which are “integrated multidisciplinary, multi-institutional research teams” to accelerate the fundamental scientific breakthroughs needed to enable solar fuel…

Time-Varying Rates Gain Prominence as Smart Metering and Renewables Expand

EnerKnol’s Visual Primer – Time-Varying Rates Gain Prominence as Smart Metering and Renewables Expand

Electric Vehicles, EnerKnol Impacts, EnerKnol Research Reports, EnerKnol Visual Primer, Grid Modernization, Power & Utilities, PRODUCTS, Retail Power and Gas, Smart Grid

Electric utilities and regulators across the U.S are increasingly considering time-varying rates as a means to reduce peak energy demand, utilize smart meter investments, and balance the grid amid the proliferation of distributed energy resources, including electric vehicles. Rate design that works in concert with the innovations in clean energy technology is critical to modernize the distribution grid.

PacifiCorp Requests $70 Million Rate Hike for Electric Service in Oregon

EnerKnol Impacts, EnerKnol Pulse, Retail Power and Gas

PacifiCorp filed a general rate revision with the Oregon Public Utilities Commission, seeking an increase of about $78 million for its electric services and recovery of about $17.3 million related to the early closure of Unit 4 of the 395-megawatt Cholla coal power plant, according to a Feb. 14 filing.  The company’s proposal to amortize…