Venting and flaring of U.S. natural gas reached its highest average annual level of 1.28 billion cubic feet per day in 2018, with North Dakota and Texas accounting for 82 percent of the amount, according to a Dec. 6 report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration. As crude oil production has outpaced the buildout of…
Coal-fired power plants with higher operating and maintenance costs are more likely to retire, with about 66 percent of units in the highest operating cost group expected to close between 2019 and 2030, compared to 36 percent in the lowest cost group, according to a Dec. 3 report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration. The…
The Ohio Supreme Court on Nov. 27 dismissed FirstEnergy Solutions Corp.’s complaint against a referendum effort by Ohioans Against Corporate Bailouts to repeal legislation enacted in July to subsidize nuclear and coal plants. The court rejected the case for “lack of a justiciable controversy.” The company argued that the rate increase resulting from the law constitutes…
Nearly a year had passed before net electricity generation in Puerto Rico approached levels similar to those in the months before Hurricanes Irma and Maria damaged the territory’s electricity grid in September 2017, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s latest annual Power Plant Operations Report. When Hurricane Irma passed near Puerto Rico in early September 2017,…
U.S. energy sector carbon emissions rose by 2.7 percent last year compared to 2017, reaching 5.27 billion metric tons, according to a Nov. 26 report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Emissions in 2018 rose for the first time since 2014, driven by higher natural consumption to meet demand during extreme weather conditions and transportation-related…
Democratic Governor Steve Sisolak signed an executive order Nov. 22 directing state agencies to evaluate policies and regulatory strategies to achieve emissions reductions consistent with Nevada’s commitment as a member of the U.S. Climate Alliance. The directors of the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources and the Governor’s Office of Energy will coordinate the efforts…
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission authorized the siting, construction and operation of NextDecade LNG LLC’s proposed Rio Grande liquefied natural gas (LNG) export facility in Brownsville, Texas and the associated Rio Bravo Pipeline, according to the Nov. 22 order. The project would have a nominal production capacity of up to 27 million metric tonnes per…
The U.S. Interior Department’s Bureau of Land Management on Nov. 21 issued a draft environmental review for a new integrated activity plan for the 23-million acre National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska. The proposal includes an alternative that would open as much as 18.3 million acres, or about 80 percent of the reserve, to oil and gas development,…
U.S. House Representative Donald McEachin, a Democrat representing Virginia, introduced legislation on Nov. 21 that would set a nationwide goal of achieving a 100 percent clean energy economy by 2050. The bill, which has over 150 co-sponsors, calls on federal agencies to use their existing authorities to reach the net-zero carbon goal while remaining technology-neutral. The…
The California Department of Conservation halted approval of new permits for wells that use high-pressure steam to extract oil from underground formations and instituted a scientific review of pending applications to conduct hydraulic fracturing and other well stimulation practices, according to a Nov. 19 news release. The new measures stem from legislation enacted last month…
The staff of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has prepared a final environmental impact statement for the Jordan Cove Liquefied Natural Gas project and the Pacific Connector Gas Pipeline, set to be the first natural gas export facility on the U.S. West Coast, stating it would result in some adverse long-term and permanent impacts on the environment, according to…
California, joined by 22 other states, filed a lawsuit challenging the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s decision to withdraw a 2013 waiver that allowed the state to set its own tailpipe pollution limits and zero-emission vehicle standards, according to a Nov. 15 news release. The agency acted in September to cancel the waiver as part of…
