Visual Primer: State Decarbonization Goals Spur Innovative Resource Planning Measures

Visual Primer: State Decarbonization Goals Spur Innovative Resource Planning Measures

Climate Change and Emissions, coal, Energy Storage, EnerKnol Impact-Misc Categories, EnerKnol Impacts, EnerKnol Research Reports, EnerKnol Visual Primer, Grid Modernization, Nuclear, Oil, Power & Utilities, PRODUCTS, REC Feed, Renewable Energy Credit Market, Retail Power and Gas, Smart Grid, Solar, Wind

Innovations in energy planning continue to emerge as state regulators devise programs and explore solutions that effectively meet customer needs and support policy goals. Recent state initiatives range from New York’s efforts to align gas planning with climate goals, to Maine’s investigation into the future design of the grid to accommodate growing renewables, and California’s transmission planning guidance to achieve ambitious decarbonization goals.

New England Capacity Auction Prices Rebound from Record Lows

New England Capacity Auction Prices Rebound from Record Lows

coal, Electric Transmission, Energy Efficiency, EnerKnol Impact-Misc Categories, EnerKnol Impacts, EnerKnol Pulse, Nuclear, Oil, PRODUCTS, Renewable Energy Credit Market, Wholesale Power

ISO New England Inc.’s fifteenth annual forward capacity auction concluded with preliminary clearing prices ranging from $2.48 to $3.98 per kilowatt-month across different pricing zones, up from last year’s record low, according to the results released on Feb. 11. Clearing prices declined since peaking at $9.55 per kilowatt-month in 2015 and hit an all-time low…...

Orsted Delays 120-Megawatt Skipjack Offshore Wind Project

Biden Issues Order to Double Offshore Wind, Pause Federal Drilling Leases

Climate Change and Emissions, coal, Electric Vehicles, EnerKnol Impact-Misc Categories, EnerKnol Impacts, EnerKnol Pulse, Grid Modernization, Natural Gas, Oil, PRODUCTS, REC Feed, Wind

U.S. President Joe Biden signed an executive order on Jan. 27 that calls for a review of siting and permitting process on public lands and waters to increase renewable energy production with a goal of doubling offshore wind energy by 2030. The order also directs the U.S. Interior Department to pause new oil and gas…...

U.S. Wind, Solar Developers Brace for Project Delays as COVID-19 Crisis Disrupts Supply Chain

President Biden Takes Action to Rejoin Paris Climate Accord, Review Environmental Rollbacks

Carbon Market, Climate Change and Emissions, coal, EnerKnol Impact-Misc Categories, EnerKnol Impacts, EnerKnol Pulse, Natural Gas, Oil, PRODUCTS, REC Feed, Solar, Wind

U.S. President Joe Biden issued a series of executive actions on Jan. 20 reflecting his energy agenda that prioritizes clean energy and climate action. Biden took action to recommit the U.S. to the Paris Climate Agreement and issued an executive order revoking a key permit for the Keystone XL oil pipeline and temporarily halting oil…...

U.S. Interior Issues Final Review for Wyoming’s Carbon Dioxide Pipeline Initiative

U.S. Interior Issues Final Review for Wyoming’s Carbon Dioxide Pipeline Initiative

EnerKnol Impact-Misc Categories, EnerKnol Impacts, EnerKnol Pulse, Oil, PRODUCTS

The Bureau of Land Management released its final environmental assessment of the Wyoming Pipeline Corridor Initiative, which seeks to designate nearly 2,000 miles of pipeline corridor network for projects associated with carbon capture, utilization and storage, as well as enhanced oil recovery, or EOR, by developing infrastructure connecting to existing oil fields within the State…...

U.S. EPA Finalizes Repeal of 1995

U.S. EPA Finalizes Repeal of 1995 ‘Once In, Always In’ Policy for Major Air Pollution Sources

Climate Change and Emissions, coal, EnerKnol Impact-Misc Categories, EnerKnol Impacts, EnerKnol Pulse, Natural Gas, Oil, PRODUCTS, REC Feed

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Oct. 1 finalized a rule allowing a major source of hazardous air pollutants to reclassify as an “area source,” a less stringent category under the Clean Air Act, any time it implements measures to limit emissions. The action implements the agency’s 2018 guidance that withdrew the 1995 “Once In,…...

Fossil Fuels Account for 80 Percent of U.S. Energy Production, Consumption: EIA

Fossil Fuels Account for 80 Percent of U.S. Energy Production, Consumption: EIA

coal, EnerKnol Impact-Misc Categories, EnerKnol Impacts, EnerKnol Pulse, Natural Gas, Oil, PRODUCTS

The share of U.S. energy production from fossil fuels peaked in 1966 at 93 percent, but production from nuclear power and renewables have also risen. Fossil fuels have accounted for about 80 percent of U.S. energy production in the past decade, according to a Sept. 14 report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration. In 2019,…...

Pennsylvania Board Approves Draft Regulation to Participate in Regional Carbon Market

Pennsylvania Board Approves Draft Regulation to Participate in Regional Carbon Market

Carbon Market, Climate Change and Emissions, coal, EnerKnol Impact-Misc Categories, EnerKnol Impacts, EnerKnol Pulse, Natural Gas, Oil, PRODUCTS, REC Feed

The Pennsylvania Environmental Quality Board on Sept. 15 voted in favor of a proposed regulation that would allow the state to participate in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, or RGGI, a cooperative effort among 10 states to cap and reduce emissions from the power sector. Democratic Governor Tom Wolf applauded the move, which stems from…...

oil and gas lease sale

States Challenge Trump Administration’s Plan to Open Alaska Wildlife Refuge to Oil, Gas Drilling

Climate Change and Emissions, EnerKnol Impact-Misc Categories, EnerKnol Impacts, EnerKnol Pulse, Natural Gas, Oil, PRODUCTS

A coalition of 15 states on Sept. 9 filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration for approving oil and gas leasing activities in the 1.56 million-acre Coastal Plain area of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. The lawsuit, filed with the U.S. District Court for the District of Alaska, argues that the approval is based on…...

Pennsylvania Sets Emissions Reduction Goals in Line With Paris Climate Accord

Pennsylvania Lawmakers Pass Bill Requiring Legislative Approval to Join Regional Carbon Market

Carbon Market, Climate Change and Emissions, coal, EnerKnol Impact-Misc Categories, EnerKnol Pulse, Natural Gas, Oil, REC Feed

The Pennsylvania Senate on Sept. 9 voted in favor of a bill that would require legislative approval before the state can impose a carbon tax or join a multi-state carbon-trading program. The House of Representatives approved the legislation in July. The move comes ahead of a Sept. 15 meeting of the state’s Environmental Quality Board…

Utilities Continue Plans to Accelerate Phase-Out of Coal-Fired Generation

EnerKnol’s Visual Primer – Utilities Continue Plans to Accelerate Phase-Out of Coal-Fired Generation

Climate Change and Emissions, coal, Energy Storage, EnerKnol Impact-Misc Categories, EnerKnol Impacts, EnerKnol Research Reports, EnerKnol Visual Primer, Grid Modernization, Integrated Resource Plans, Natural Gas, Nuclear, Oil, Power & Utilities, PRODUCTS, REC Feed, Request for Proposal, Smart Grid, Solar, Wholesale Power

Proposals to accelerate the phase-out of coal-fired generation appear more prominently in long-term resource plans of U.S. electric utilities, reflecting the growing shift to renewable energy. The transition from coal continues to be driven by state clean energy mandates, emissions reduction goals, low natural gas prices, and increased availability of low-cost renewables and storage resources.

Resource Plan for Carolinas Examines Options to Accelerate Coal Plant Retirements

Duke Energy’s 15-Year Resource Plan for Carolinas Examines Options to Accelerate Coal Plant Retirements

Climate Change and Emissions, coal, Energy Efficiency, Energy Storage, EnerKnol Impact-Misc Categories, EnerKnol Pulse, Integrated Resource Plans, Natural Gas, Oil, PRODUCTS, REC Feed, Solar, Wind

Duke Energy Carolinas LLC and Duke Energy Progress LLC on Sept. 1 unveiled their 15-year integrated resource plans for the Carolinas, presenting a range of scenarios with accelerated coal retirement options and substantial increases in solar, wind, and energy storage technologies. The proposal details six generation portfolios that would keep Duke Energy Corp. on a…...