Colorado Passes Bill Aiming for 90 Percent Emissions Reduction by 2050

RGGI Generates $90 Million in First Carbon Auction After New Jersey’s Re-entry

The 47th quarterly carbon auction of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, the nation’s first mandatory cap-and-trade program to cut power sector emissions, sold about 16.2 million carbon allowances at a clearing price of $5.65, according to a March 13 news release. New Jersey participated in the auction for the first time in almost a decade…...

Virginia Joins Top Tier of U.S. States Advancing Climate Action

EnerKnol’s State Policy Playbook: Virginia Joins Top Tier of U.S. States Advancing Climate Action

Virginia has become the first state in the South to begin a clean energy transition with the passage of a sweeping energy bill that sets the state on the path to carbon-free power by 2050. The law replaces the voluntary renewable energy portfolio program with a mandatory standard, and paves the way for an enormous expansion of wind and solar power, energy storage, and energy efficiency.

Mitsubishi Hitachi Wins Contract to Facilitate Transition of Utah Coal-Fired Facility to Hydrogen Power Plant

Virginia Law Requires Regulators to Review Cost Recovery of Early Power Plant Retirements

Virginia lawmakers approved legislation on March 5 that requires the State Corporation Commission to determine the amortization period for the recovery of any costs associated with the early retirement of coal and natural gas generation. The commission is tasked with performing an independent analysis of economic factors pertaining to the operation of each electric utility’s…...

New York Selects 1.3 Gigawatts of Wind, Solar in Third Large-Scale Renewable Procurement

Democratic Governor Andrew Cuomo on March 16 announced the selection of 21 large-scale solar, wind, and energy storage projects totaling 1,278 megawatts in the state’s latest annual solicitation for large-scale renewable energy capacity. The awards, which represent $1 billion in state investment, include projects that offered bids 23 percent lower than those received three years…...

Invenergy Wins New York Approval for 290-Megawatt Wind Generation Project

Invenergy Wins New York Approval for 290-Megawatt Wind Generation Project

The New York State Board on Electric Generation Siting and the Environment on March 13 granted a permit, allowing Canisteo Wind Energy LLC, a subsidiary of Invenergy LLC, to construct a 290.7-megawatt wind generating facility in Steuben County. The project is expected to generate up to $60 million in local property tax revenues over 20…...

Georgia Power’s Fuel Rate Changes Expected to Reduce Annual Billings by $329 Million

Georgia Power’s Fuel Rate Changes Expected to Reduce Annual Billings by $329 Million

Georgia Power Company seeks to reduce fuel rates by about 16 percent, driven primarily by projected decreases in natural gas prices, according to a March 9 filing with the Georgia Public Service Commission.  The change would lower monthly residential bills by 4 percent or $5 for a customer using 1,000 kilowatt-hours per month, beginning June…...

IPL Wins Indiana Approval to Implement $1.2 Billion Grid Modernization Plan

IPL Wins Indiana Approval to Implement $1.2 Billion Grid Modernization Plan

The Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission on March 4 approved Indianapolis Power & Light Company’s seven-year grid modernization plan, which proposes an investment of $1.2 billion to replace or upgrade the company’s aging transmission and distribution system assets. The plan will provide new technology, equipment, and systems including a self-healing grid that allows the company to…...

Mitsubishi Hitachi Wins Contract to Facilitate Transition of Utah Coal-Fired Facility to Hydrogen Power Plant

Mitsubishi Hitachi Wins Contract to Facilitate Transition of Utah Coal-Fired Facility to Hydrogen Power Plant

Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems on March 10 announced a contract with Utah’s Intermountain Power Agency for the first advanced class gas turbines designed to facilitate the transition of a power plant in central Utah from coal, to natural gas and ultimately to renewable hydrogen fuel. The transition will begin in 2025, with a fuel mix…...

U.S. Energy Department to Invest $64 Million to Advance Clean Coal Technologies

Indiana Lawmakers Pass Bill That Could Delay Coal Plant Closures

Indiana lawmakers approved legislation on March 10 that requires utilities to provide at least three years advance notice to the Indiana Utilities Regulatory Commission before retiring a legacy generation resource. A public utility may not retire otherwise transfer the ownership of a reliable capacity resource before May 2021 without receiving regulatory approval. The measure comes…...

FERC Issues Final Environmental Review for Alaska LNG Project

FERC Issues Final Environmental Review for Alaska LNG Project

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on March 6 issued its final environmental review for the Alaska LNG project, a $40-$45 billion, 800-mile pipeline and liquefied natural gas export facility expected to be the largest in the U.S. The project is being developed by Alaska Gasline Development Corp. in partnership with BP and ExxonMobil. The commission…...

Oregon Governor Orders Sweeping Climate Action Setting Sector-Specific Emissions Caps, Tougher Clean Fuel Targets

Oregon Governor Orders Sweeping Climate Action Setting Sector-Specific Emissions Caps, Tougher Clean Fuel Targets

Democratic Governor Kate Brown signed an executive order on March 10, setting a goal for the state to achieve 45 percent emissions reductions by 2035 and 80 percent by 2050, relative to 1990 levels. The order, which comes after the legislature failed to pass a cap-and-trade bill for the second year in a row, directs…...