ISO New England Inc. filed revisions with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for a new market design that would help emerging storage technologies to “more fully participate” in the wholesale power markets, according to an Oct. 29 news release. The rule would recognize the ability of batteries to transition continuously and rapidly from charging to…
Governor Kate Brown, a Democrat, issued an executive order on Oct. 24 directing state agencies to safeguard Oregon’s coastal economy by preventing the construction of infrastructure associated with oil and gas drilling. The measure comes in response to the Trump administration’s proposal to encourage offshore drilling in federal waters off the Oregon coast. Brown sought…
The Virginia Department of Environmental Quality approved three environmental protection plans for the Atlantic Coast pipeline, allowing construction to begin on the 300-mile track across the state, according to an Oct. 19 press release. Following the approval of the erosion and sediment control, stormwater management, and karst protection plans, final construction approval now lies with…
The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management will auction three commercial wind energy leases comprising nearly 390,000 acres offshore Massachusetts on Dec. 13, according to the agency’s Oct. 19 notice. The auction is expected to support about 4.1 gigawatts of power. Massachusetts has set a goal to procure 1.6 gigawatts of offshore wind by 2027 and…
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on Oct. 18 approved reliability standards to address supply chain risks in industrial control system hardware, software, and computing and networking services. The rule, developed by the North American Electric Reliability Corporation builds on existing critical infrastructure protection standards to allay cyber security risks associated with the supply chain for…
Denmark-based Ørsted A/S will buy Deepwater Wind LLC, which owns the first U.S. offshore wind farm, the 30-megawatt Block Island farm off the Rhode Island coast, according to the company’s Oct. 10 press release. Ørsted entered into an agreement with U.S.-based D.E. Shaw Group to buy a 100 percent stake in Deepwater Wind, resulting in…
GE Capital entered into an agreement to sell a $1 billion portfolio comprised primarily of equity investments in energy assets to funds managed by affiliates of Apollo Global Management LLC, according to the company’s Oct. 8 press release. The sale includes 20 investments in renewable energy, contracted gas-powered generation, and midstream energy infrastructure assets in…
Dominion Energy Inc. and SCANA Corporation on Oct. 4 submitted an agreement to the North Carolina Utilities Commission detailing customer protection measures to advance their merger deal. Under the settlement, SCANA-owned Public Service Company of North Carolina Inc., a gas distribution company, would refund $3.75 million of its 2017 revenues, raise its charitable contributions in…
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit on Oct. 2 ordered another halt to construction activity on all portions of the Mountain Valley natural gas pipeline. The court ruled that the Army Corps of Engineers had instituted inadequate requirements for how the pipeline should cross streams in West Virginia, just a few weeks…
Governor Ralph Northam, a Democrat, released Virginia’s new energy plan which provides a strategic vision for the commonwealth’s energy policy over the next 10 years. The plan is the implementation strategy of the Grid Transformation and Security Act (Senate Bill 966), signed into law earlier this year. Among other things, the legislation includes 3,000 megawatts…
PJM Interconnection LLC on Oct. 2 unveiled a proposal addressing a June 29 directive from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to revamp the capacity market rules to address price distortion as the participation of sources receiving out-of-market state revenues continues to grow. The plan proposes an expanded minimum offer price rule or MOPR that would…
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit on Sept. 27 upheld New York’s zero emission credit program adopted in August 2016 to support the state’s financially struggling nuclear plants. The ruling rejects complaints that the program depresses energy and capacity prices in the wholesale power auction overseen by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.…