The Minnesota Supreme Court on Sept. 17 declined to hear challenges by tribal and conservation groups to the environmental review of Enbridge Inc.’s proposal for replacing its aging Line 3 crude oil pipeline across northern Minnesota. In a June ruling, the Minnesota Court of Appeals found that the project’s environmental review failed to consider the…
Democratic Governor Ralph Northam signed an executive order on Sept. 17, setting a goal for the state to produce 30 percent of its power from renewable energy resources by 2030 and transition to zero-carbon electricity by 2050. Legislation enacted last year set a goal of achieving 5.5 gigawatts of wind and solar by 2028. The…
The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities approved Ocean Wind LLC’s purchase of capacity interconnection rights, or CIRs, to advance its proposed 1.1 gigawatt wind project off the coast of Atlantic City, according to a Sept. 11 order. The agency found that the CIRs reduce the costs of transmission upgrades, and therefore, the ratepayer allocation…
Xcel Energy Inc. asked the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission to authorize a power purchase agreement with Elk Creek Solar LLC for new solar energy generation from an 80-megawatt facility to be located in Rock County, according to a Sept. 10 filing. The company plans to use the generation in support its Renewable*Connect program, a green…
Pacific Gas and Electric Company announced a $11 billion settlement representing about 85 percent of insurance claims associated with the 2017 and 2018 wildfires in California, according to a Sept. 13 press release. The agreement comes on the heels of PG&E’s reorganization plan filed with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of California,…
Nearly 600 million short tons of coal was shipped to the U.S. electric power sector in 2018, the lowest level since 1983, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Coal shipments to the electric power sector in 2018 were 7 percent (47 million short tons) lower than the previous year. More than 75 percent of the…
The California Public Utilities Commission approved new budgets, modified incentives and rules for energy storage under its Self-Generation Incentive Program, as part of an ongoing effort to improve wildfire resiliency throughout the state, according to a September 12 press release. The program upgrade consists of a $100 million resiliency fund that supports the installation of energy storage in…
The New York State Board on Electric Generation Siting and the Environment granted approval to Baron Winds LLC to build and operate a 242 megawatt wind farm in western New York, according to a September 12 press release. According to the regulator, Baron Winds project will consist of up to 68 high-capacity, 492-foot tall wind turbines…
The Kansas Corporation Commission denied Westar Energy Inc.’s request for ratepayers to bear the cost of its seven-month lease and subsequent purchase in August 2019 of an 8 percent interest in Jeffrey Energy Center, a massive 2.16 gigawatt coal plant located in northeastern Kansas. According to the September 12 press release, had it been approved, the…
The Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission found that Pacific Power and Light Company, one of the state’s investor-owned electric utilities, is complying with Washington’s renewable energy requirements for 2019 by supplying at least 9 percent of its electric load through renewable sources, according to a September 12 press release. Last month, the regulator reviewed compliance by the state’s other…
The New York State Public Service Commission will receive comments on Ravenswood Development LLC’s request to develop a stand-alone, battery-based, energy storage facility with a capacity of up to approximately 316 megawatts on a portion of the Ravenswood Generating Station property in Long Island City, Queens, according to a September 12 press release. According to…
U.S. natural gas production continued to increase in August, setting a new daily production record of 92.8 billion cubic feet per day on August 19, 2019 according to the Energy Information Administration’s September 12 Today in Energy. Natural gas production also set a new monthly record in August, averaging more than 91 billion cubic feet per day…