Timely Federal Review Invigorates Offshore Wind Industry Facing Permitting Challenges

EnerKnol’s Visual Primer – Timely Federal Review Invigorates Offshore Wind Industry Facing Permitting Challenges

Climate Change and Emissions, EnerKnol Impact-Misc Categories, EnerKnol Impacts, EnerKnol Research Reports, EnerKnol Visual Primer, PRODUCTS, REC Feed, Renewable Energy Credit Market, Renewables, Wind, Wind Power

In a move commended by offshore wind advocates, federal regulators released a much-awaited environmental analysis of the $2.8 billion Vineyard Wind project, which would be the first U.S. large-scale offshore wind project, and other facilities planned along the East Coast. The review is a step forward in the project’s permitting process and critical for the future offshore wind industry as it braces for challenges from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and prolonged permitting timelines.

U.S. Coal Consumption 2020

U.S. Coal Production Projected to Decrease by 25 Percent This Year: EIA

coal, EnerKnol Impact-Misc Categories, EnerKnol Pulse, PRODUCTS

The U.S. Energy Information Administration expects coal production to fall by 25 percent to 530 million short tons this year from 2019 levels in its Short Term Outlook released on June 9. The projections are subject to uncertainty as mitigation and reopening efforts related to the COVID-19 pandemic continue to evolve, the agency said. Production in…...

New England Wholesale Electricity Prices Dropped by 40 Percent During 2019-20 Winter

New England Wholesale Electricity Prices Dropped by 40 Percent During 2019-20 Winter: EIA

EnerKnol Impact-Misc Categories, EnerKnol Pulse, Natural Gas, PRODUCTS, Wholesale Power

New England’s average wholesale electricity prices dropped by 40 percent to $28 per megawatthour during the 2019-2020 winter from $47 per megawatthour in the previous winter, according to a June 10 report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Natural gas-fired generators set the price of electricity more often compared with previous winters because of the…...

U.S. Petroleum Demand Fell by Near-Record Amounts in March due to COVID-19

U.S. Petroleum Demand Fell by Near-Record Amounts in March due to COVID-19: EIA

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

Gasoline and jet fuel demand fell by near-record amounts because of the stay-at-home orders and travel limitation since the breakout of COVID-19, according to a June 9 report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration. The gross inputs into refineries fell by 4 percent from February to March to an average of 15.8 million barrels per…...

U.S. Summer Electricity Demand Projected to Hit Decade Low

U.S. Summer Electricity Demand Projected to Hit Decade Low: EIA

coal, EnerKnol Impact-Misc Categories, EnerKnol Pulse, Natural Gas, Nuclear, Oil, PRODUCTS, Solar, Wind

U.S. summer electricity demand, from June through August, is expected to total 998 billion kilowatthours, a 5 percent drop compared to 2019 and the lowest value since 2009, according to a June 10 report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Retail electricity sales in the commercial and industrial sectors are expected to decline 12 percent…...

Idaho Regulator Reviews Avista’s $23 Million Energy Efficiency Portfolio

New Jersey Establishes Framework to Achieve Energy Efficiency Goals

Energy Efficiency, EnerKnol Impact-Misc Categories, EnerKnol Pulse, PRODUCTS

The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities on June 10 issued an order directing the state’s utilities to establish energy efficiency and peak demand reduction programs, taking a significant step towards clean energy transition. The board set a five-year goal to reduce energy usage by 2.15 percent for electric distribution companies and 1.1 percent for…...

ERCOT’s Final Winterization Report Confident That Texas Grid Is Prepared for Winter Weather

FERC Approves Transaction Allowing Delta Montrose to Exit Tri-State

EnerKnol Impacts, EnerKnol Pulse, Retail Power and Gas

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on June 9 approved a request by Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association Inc., a wholesale generation and transmission cooperative, to authorize the transfer of electric service contracts as part of a 2019 agreement, allowing Delta-Montrose to exit Tri-State on June 30. The cooperative will assign its wholesale electric service contracts…

Rover Pipeline Gets FERC Approval to Increase Natural Gas Transportation Capacity

FERC Adopts Rule to Preclude Natural Gas Project Construction Until Completion of Rehearing Process

EnerKnol Impacts, EnerKnol Pulse, Natural Gas, PRODUCTS

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on June 9 adopted a rule that forbids natural gas projects from commencing construction until the agency acts on rehearing requests. The move intends to protect stakeholders, including landowners affected by pipeline projects. The rule attempts to address some of the concerns raised in a lawsuit before the U.S. Court…...

U.S. Interior Department Releases Long-Awaited Review for 800-Megawatt Vineyard Wind Offshore Project

U.S. Interior Department Releases Long-Awaited Review for 800-Megawatt Vineyard Wind Offshore Project

EnerKnol Impacts, EnerKnol Pulse, PRODUCTS, REC Feed, Wind

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management released the long-awaited supplement to the draft environmental review of Vineyard Wind LLC’s 800-megawatt wind farm offshore Massachusetts. Last year, the bureau postponed the final review for the $2.8 billion project, in order to undertake a supplemental analysis to understand the cumulative impacts of multiple projects proposed in the…...

New Mexico Enacts Trio of Bills Supporting Renewable Energy Expansion

NYSERDA Requests Funding to Launch Build-Ready Program for Renewable Energy Development

EnerKnol Impact-Misc Categories, EnerKnol Impacts, EnerKnol Pulse, PRODUCTS, REC Feed, Renewable Energy Credit Market, Solar, Wind

The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority on June 5 submitted a petition to the Public Service Commission, requesting approval to launch and advance the Build-Ready program through 2025. The move is in response to recent legislation that established a Clean Energy Resources Development and Incentives Program through which the agency will advance…...

SWEPCO Wins Arkansas Approval to Acquire 800 Megawatts of Wind Power

NextEra Wins North Dakota Approval for 200-Megawatt Wind Project

EnerKnol Impacts, EnerKnol Pulse, REC Feed, Wind

The North Dakota Public Service Commission on June 10 issued a permit allowing Northern Divide Wind LLC to build a 200-megawatt wind generating facility and associated transmission line in Burke County. The NextEra Energy Resources subsidiary submitted a revised project application after a previous proposal was denied over concerns by federal and state regulators about…