U.S. shale oil production, which became the more common form of oil extraction in 2015, will continue to grow through 2030, ultimately reaching more than 10 million barrels per day compared to 2018’s 6.5 million. Shale oil, also known as tight oil, accounted for 61 percent of total U.S. production in 2018, according to the Energy Information Administration’s Annual Energy Outlook…
PJM Interconnection LLC on March 29 filed a proposal with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to revise its energy and reserve market rules to properly value the energy reserves that support grid reliability by providing the flexibility needed to accommodate the evolving resource mix. The grid operator said that the growing variability of power demand…...
The Massachusetts electric distribution companies Unitil Corp., National Grid plc, and Eversource Energy, and the state’s Department of Energy Resources proposed a timetable and procedure to solicit and execute long-term contracts for up to 800 megawatts of offshore wind power, according to a March 29 notice from the Department of Public Utilities. The companies are…...
The Hawaii Public Utilities Commission on March 25 authorized the initial, four-year phase of the Hawaiian Electric Companies’ grid modernization strategy set to begin later this year. The companies will invest $86.3 million in advanced meters, a meter data management system, and a telecommunications network. The companies said that the first phase marks a “foundational…
The Maryland legislature on March 28 approved a measure that would extend the state’s community solar pilot through 2024 and remove the limit on the maximum number of subscribers in the program. The legislation would also include annually increasing capacity levels for each program category, modifying the current requirement that allows restrictions to enable regulators…...
The U.S. Energy Department will provide up to $130 million to support research and development of early-stage solar technologies, according to a March 26 news release. The funding will support up to 80 projects focused on photovoltaics, concentrating solar-thermal power, soft costs reduction, innovation in the solar manufacturing sector, and advanced grid integration technologies. The…...
The Rhode Island Office of Energy Resources advised the Rhode Island Public Utilities Commission on March 22 to approve the proposed twenty year Power Purchase Agreement between National Grid’s subsidiary Narragansett Electric Company and the 400-megawatt Revolution offshore wind project developed by Orsted, a Danish energy giant. The contract, which details the terms and conditions by which the…
Democratic Representative Seth Berry has introduced legislation on March 26 which seeks to study measures that would boost the adoption of renewable energy in the state. The bill has been referred to the Committee on Energy, Utilities and Technology. LD 1401 will focus on transmission solutions that help enable more renewable energy investment in the…
Strong international demand, particularly in Asia, has provided relief for U.S. coal producers reeling from the effects of the shale revolution, which has led to national coal consumption declining every year since 2008, according to the Energy Information Administration. The agency reports that U.S. coal exports reached 116 million short tons (MMst) in 2018, the highest level…
The U.S. territory has passed the “Ley de Política Pública Energética de Puerto Rico” or Public Energy Policy Law of Puerto Rico on March 25, which among other energy reforms will set a 100 percent renewable portfolio standard by 2050. The measure, introduced by Senator Larry Seilhamer Rodríguez, a member of the New Progressive Party, and Senator Eduardo Bhatia…
Democratic Governor Ralph Northam signed legislation on March 21 that makes changes to the net energy metering program for customers of electric cooperatives. The bill allows cooperatives to raise the net metering cap to seven percent of the system peak, with an increase allocated among residential, nonresidential, and not-for-profit and non-jurisdictional customers. (HB 2547) The legislation increases…...
Fossil-fuel rich New Mexico may be among the more unlikely states to join the 100-percent-clean-energy club, but it did just that in March, in the strongest sign yet of the momentum building for pro-renewable policies across the U.S. New Mexico's Democrat-led House charted a course for the state to obtain all of its power from carbon-free resources by 2045, with intermediate goals of 50 percent by 2030 and 80 percent by 2040, following passage of the Energy Transition Act.