The U.S. Energy Department on Sep. 19 announced a $156 million grant to establish a unique refinery facility for separating rare earth elements and critical minerals from mining wastes and other unconventional sources. Rare earth elements and critical minerals are considered important for clean energy technologies’ manufacturing. The funding, provided by the 2021 Infrastructure Investment…
The U.S. Energy Department on Sep. 13 released a study evaluating the benefits and challenges associated with a coal-to-nuclear, or C2N, transition in the U.S. The transition could increase nuclear capacity to over 350 gigawatts, according to the report. By comparison, the existing nuclear power fleet has a capacity of 95 gigawatts and provides half…...
The U.S. power grid, in the first six months of 2022, added 15 gigawatts (GW) of utility-scale generating capacity, according to an Aug. 3 report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Wind generation had the largest share with 34 percent, gas had the second largest share, and solar and battery storage made up the rest.…
U.S. refined coal production declined to almost zero during the first quarter of 2022, according to a July 20 report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Refined coal consumption in the U.S. during the first quarter of 2022, held a 10 percent share of coal fired electricity generation, significantly lower than then 31 percent share…...
U.S. primary energy consumption, which includes energy from fossil fuels, renewables, and nuclear, increased by 4 quadrillion British Thermal Unit (quads) in 2021 as compared to 2020, according to a July 1 report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Fossil fuels namely, petroleum, natural gas, and coal, represent approximately 76.6 quads out of the total…...
The U.S. Supreme Court on June 30 restricted the Environmental Protection Agency’s authority to regulate power plant emissions under the Clean Air Act. The 6-3 decision in favour of coal interests in West Virginia v. EPA, is expected to negatively impact the Biden administration’s wider attempts to combat climate change. The court invoked the “major…
PJM Interconnection LLC’s capacity market auction for the 2023-2024 delivery year cleared at $34.13 per megawatt-day (MW-day), which is nearly 32 percent lower compared to the 2021 auction and the lowest in almost a decade. The auction results reflect a low-carbon resource mix, with a growth of more than 5,000 cleared megawatts of carbon-free resources, according to the grid operator, which operates across 13 states and the District of Columbia.
The Michigan Public Service Commission on June 23 approved a settlement agreement that allows Consumers Energy Co. to exit coal-fired generation by 2025 and add 8 gigawatts of solar energy to the grid. The settlement pertains to the company’s integrated resource plan, or IRP, which identifies the optimal mix of resources to serve customers over…...
PJM Interconnection LLC’s capacity auction for the 2023/2024 delivery year cleared at $34.13 per megawatt-day, which is nearly 32 percent lower compared to the 2021 auction, according to the grid operator’s June 21 news release. The auction procured adequate resources to meet energy needs in PJM’s service area, which covers all or part of the…
U.S. power generation from renewables will expand from 21 percent in 2021 to 44 percent in 2050, according to a March 18 report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration. The growth in renewable energy can be attributed to a rise in new wind and solar power generation assets. Growth in wind and solar assets is…...