Pacific Gas and Electric Company announced a $11 billion settlement representing about 85 percent of insurance claims associated with the 2017 and 2018 wildfires in California, according to a Sept. 13 press release. The agreement comes on the heels of PG&E’s reorganization plan filed with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of California,…
Nearly 600 million short tons of coal was shipped to the U.S. electric power sector in 2018, the lowest level since 1983, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Coal shipments to the electric power sector in 2018 were 7 percent (47 million short tons) lower than the previous year. More than 75 percent of the…
The California Public Utilities Commission approved new budgets, modified incentives and rules for energy storage under its Self-Generation Incentive Program, as part of an ongoing effort to improve wildfire resiliency throughout the state, according to a September 12 press release. The program upgrade consists of a $100 million resiliency fund that supports the installation of energy storage in…
The Kansas Corporation Commission denied Westar Energy Inc.’s request for ratepayers to bear the cost of its seven-month lease and subsequent purchase in August 2019 of an 8 percent interest in Jeffrey Energy Center, a massive 2.16 gigawatt coal plant located in northeastern Kansas. According to the September 12 press release, had it been approved, the…
The Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission found that Pacific Power and Light Company, one of the state’s investor-owned electric utilities, is complying with Washington’s renewable energy requirements for 2019 by supplying at least 9 percent of its electric load through renewable sources, according to a September 12 press release. Last month, the regulator reviewed compliance by the state’s other…
Republican Governor Christopher Sununu signed legislation on Sept. 11 prohibiting offshore oil and natural gas exploration in state waters. New Hampshire joins California, New Jersey, Maine, and Oregon that have enacted similar measures in response to the Trump administration’s plan to open vast amounts of coastal waters to drilling activities. The bill bans the lease…
Carbon reduction is becoming ingrained in the planning strategies of utilities across the Northwest in response to state-level decarbonization policies and market changes. As coal plants are no longer cost-competitive, utilities are taking advantage of new technologies and favorable economics of natural gas and renewables.
Democratic Governor Ned Lamont on sept. 3 signed an executive order directing the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection to evaluate pathways and recommend strategies to transition to 100 percent carbon-free power by 2040. The order expands the responsibility of the Governor’s Council on Climate Change, or GC3, which was tasked with developing strategies…
California’s energy landscape is evolving rapidly driven by its ambitious clean energy and carbon reduction goals. Recent actions range from enhancing renewable integration to reforming carbon market rules, strengthening auto-emission standards, and revising energy efficiency policies.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Aug. 29 proposed to reverse regulations put into place in 2016 to limit the emissions of methane, a potent global warming pollutant, during oil and natural gas drilling operations. The move follows a sweeping executive order that President Trump issued in 2017 to undo the prior administration’s climate regulations…
California’s Climate Investments initiative has grown to include over 20 state agencies involved in the development and implementation of 60 programs focused on reducing climate pollution, according to an Aug. 26 press release from the Air Resource Board. The program funded $914 million in projects during the first six months of this year, compared to…
The twentieth quarterly carbon auction held by California and Quebec sold all of the nearly 66.3 million carbon permits offered for current emissions at a price of $17.16 per credit, above the floor price of $15.62, according to the results released on Aug. 27 by the California Air Resources Board. This is slightly below the…
