The New York State Board on Electric Generation Siting and the Environment granted approval to Baron Winds LLC to build and operate a 242 megawatt wind farm in western New York, according to a September 12 press release. According to the regulator, Baron Winds project will consist of up to 68 high-capacity, 492-foot tall wind turbines…
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…
The New York State Public Service Commission will receive comments on Ravenswood Development LLC’s request to develop a stand-alone, battery-based, energy storage facility with a capacity of up to approximately 316 megawatts on a portion of the Ravenswood Generating Station property in Long Island City, Queens, according to a September 12 press release. According to…
U.S. natural gas production continued to increase in August, setting a new daily production record of 92.8 billion cubic feet per day on August 19, 2019 according to the Energy Information Administration’s September 12 Today in Energy. Natural gas production also set a new monthly record in August, averaging more than 91 billion cubic feet per day…
The Public Utilities Commission of Ohio has approved the winter reconnect order, which is designed to help Ohioans reconnect or maintain electric and natural gas service during the winter heating season between Oct. 14, 2019 and April 15, 2020, according to a Sept. 11 press release. Under the order, any customer of a PUCO-regulated electric…
The Michigan Public Service Commission approved a settlement agreement that resolves a number of long-standing contract issues between Consumers Energy Co. and qualified independent power producers in five separate cases, according to a September 11 press release. In June, the commission approved a settlement in Consumers’ integrated resource plan that included a new Public Utility…
The Michigan Public Service Commission released a report on September 11 called Statewide Energy Assessment, which Democratic Governor Gretchen Whitmer requested in the aftermath of an energy emergency earlier this year. In late January 2019, an extreme cold weather event combined with a fire at a major compressor station created an energy emergency in Michigan that challenged the…
The Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources on Sept. 5 proposed to add 800 megawatts to the Solar Massachusetts Renewable Target, or SMART, program, which is fast approaching its current 1.6-gigawatt target. The declining block program was launched last November to provide a long-term, sustainable solar incentive solution.The agency proposed several revisions to the initiative as…
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.
The Public Utilities Regulatory Authority of Connecticut issued a draft decision on Sept. 9 conditionally approving the request of The United Illuminating Company to enter into a power purchase agreement with NuPower Bridgeport FC, LLC for a combined heat and power district energy project in Bridgeport, Connecticut.