The Maine legislature has passed a bill on June 11 which was set to mandate an 80 percent renewable portfolio standard by 2040, but the goal was removed to focus instead on workforce initiatives and solar installations in schools. The final version of the bill, which was introduced by Democratic Representative Chloe Maxmin, centers instead on workforce…
The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities has released the draft version of the 2019 Energy Master Plan, which provides a blueprint made up of seven strategies for achieving the state’s goal of 100 percent clean energy by 2050, as well as reducing greenhouse gas emission by at least 80 percent compared to 2006 levels,…
The Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (PREPA) filed the latest edition of its 2019-2038 integrated resource plan which calls for 1,800 megawatts of solar, 920 megawatts of storage and resilient MiniGrids at a cost of about $14 billion, according to a June 7 testimony and plan. With the assistance of Siemens and extensive stakeholder input, PREPA settled…
U.S. coal consumption declined from its peak of 1,128 million short tons in 2007 to 687 MMst last year, the lowest since 1978, according to a June 10 report from the Energy Information Administration. Nearly all of the coal consumed in the U.S. is produced domestically, and most of it is used to generate electricity.…
The Oregon legislature on June 7 approved a measure that seeks to prohibit the use of hydraulic fracturing for oil and gas exploration and production. The ban is set to expire on Jan. 2, 2025. (HB 2623) The bill exempts the use of fracturing for natural gas storage wells, geothermal activities, and existing coal bed…
The ISO New England Inc. requires wind and intermittent hydropower generators with a capacity supply obligation to offer their power into the grid operator’s day-ahead energy market, starting June 1. The requirement stems from an initiative launched in 2016 to enable these resources to take part in real-time markets and begin taking electronic dispatch instructions.…
Democratic Governor Ned Lamont signed legislation on June 7, authorizing the state to purchase up to 2 gigawatts of offshore wind energy, equivalent to 30 percent of the state load. The bill requires the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection to select proposals through one or more solicitations and direct the state’s electric distribution companies to…
The Michigan Public Service Commission found that Consumers Energy Co. did not act in a timely manner to mark natural gas and electrical lines after receiving notices of excavation plans in over 20,000 instances, according to a June 7 press release. The findings were based on the commission staff’s tracking of the company’s responses to…
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit Court on June 6 ruled in favor of TC Energy’s proposed Keystone XL oil pipeline, vacating a lower court decision that halted construction of the project after determining that the environmental review of the project was incomplete. The appeals court found that the injunction no longer…
The Michigan Public Service Commission on June 7 approved Consumers Energy Co.’s integrated resource plan, which calls for the addition of 5 gigawatts of solar capacity through competitive bidding by 2030 and phase-out of coal from its generation portfolio, putting the utility on a path to achieve 90 percent emissions reductions by 2040. The plan…
The Missouri Public Service Commission authorized Invenergy Investment Company LLC to acquire ownership of Clean Line Energy Partners LLC’s 780-mile Grain Belt Express transmission project, according to a June 5 press release. The $2.3 billion multi-state transmission line is designed to deliver 4 gigawatts of wind power from Western Kansas to Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, and…
The Bureau of Land Management issued a revised environmental review for four major coal leases in Wyoming’s Powder River Basin, finding that they would not have significant impacts beyond those already disclosed, according to a June 3 news release. The review responds to a 2017 court order, which ruled that the agency’s original analysis did…
