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…
The United States has more than 2,500 utility-scale (larger than one megawatt) solar photovoltaic electricity generating facilities, most of which are relatively small and collectively account for just 2.5 percent of utility-scale electric generating capacity and 1.7% of annual electricity generation, based on EIA data through November 2018. North Carolina has 433 utility-scale solar photovoltaic…
A bill introduced at the request of Democratic state governor Kate Brown, which would modify the provisions for attributing renewable energy certificates to certain types of thermal energy, passed the state Senate on Feb. 6. Under the new bill, a thermal energy facility would qualify for a renewable energy certificate if it generates electricity from…
The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities on Feb. 7 accepted the results of the state’s annual electricity auction for basic generation service, securing commitments for up to $6 bill worth of purchases to meet about 7.8 gigawatts of customer requirements. The auction will help set electricity prices for most residents and many businesses for…
The New York State Public Service Commission on Feb. 7 authorized Consolidated Edison Company of New York Inc. to implement a portfolio of demand-side solutions at a cost capped at $223 million, in a bid to ease natural gas demand in the utility’s supply-constrained areas. The commission said that the need to address surging gas…
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,…
The Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities on Feb. 4 issued a notice of violation against Union Atlantic Electricity LLC in response to complaints that the retail supplier defaulted on its wholesale electricity market obligations and failed to comply with the renewable portfolio standard. The department noted that the supplier’s actions forced its customers onto basic service,…
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…
New York lawmakers approved a bill on Feb. 5 that would block oil and gas development off the state’s coastline. The legislation would put New York in line with California, New Jersey, and Oregon that have enacted similar measures following the Trump administration’s plan to open up vast amounts of coastal waters to drilling activities. The measure…...
Since early 2014, when the U.S. began exporting ethane by pipeline to Canada, infrastructure additions have facilitated shipments to more destinations including Brazil, India, Mexico, Norway, Sweden, and the United Kingdom, according to a Feb. 5 report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration. The U.S. became the world’s top ethane exporter, surpassing Norway in 2015.…
Michigan’s electric choice customers had about 1,970 megawatts of demand, as of December 2018, an increase of about 8 megawatts from the prior year, according to the Michigan Public Service Commission’s report on electric competition report released on Feb. 1. Electricity consumption rose despite a decline in the number of customers to 5,819, from 5,929…
