The U.S. District Court for the District of Alaska on March 29 overturned President Donald Trump’s executive order issued in 2017 to undo a ban on oil and gas drilling in most of the Arctic Ocean. The court ruled that only Congress has the authority to revoke the ban imposed by former President Obama in…
The U.S. added 31.3 gigawatts of generating capacity in 2018, the largest since the 2003 capacity addition of 48.8 gigawatts, according to a March 11 report from the Energy Information Administration. Natural gas accounted for 62 percent of utility-scale additions, while wind and solar photovoltaic represented 21 percent and 16 percent, respectively. Coal accounted for…
The U.S. Energy Department authorized Venture Global Calcasieu Pass LLC to export liquefied natural gas equivalent to 1.7 billion cubic feet per day from its proposed export facility in Cameron Parish, Louisiana to non-free trade agreement countries for a term of 20 years, according to a March 5 order. With this project, the agency has…
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on Feb. 21 cleared Venture Global Calcasieu Pass LLC’s proposed liquefied natural gas export project in Cameron Parish, Louisiana and TransCameron Pipeline LLC’s associated natural gas pipeline. Commissioner Cheryl LaFleur voted for the project commending the commission’s new approach to calculate the direct greenhouse emissions of the project. Commissioner Richard…
The California Energy Commission on Feb. 20 approved the installation of a battery storage system to the Russell City Energy Center, a 600-megawatt natural-gas fired power plant, to provide black start capability. The project consists of installing 6 to 10 megawatts of lithium-ion batteries, which would be used to start the gas turbines, in order…
South Carolina Electric & Gas Company proposed two resource plans based on the least cost options from 19 scenarios that were modeled for its 2019 integrated resource plan filed with the South Carolina Public Service Commission on Feb. 8. The plans, which detail resource needs from 2019 through 2033, reflect a shortage in base capacity…
New York regulators have authorized a unit of Consolidated Edison Inc. to immediately implement a portfolio of demand-side solutions, in a bid to ease natural gas demand in the utility’s supply-constrained areas. The regulators said that the need to address surging gas consumption has taken special urgency following the utility’s announcement in January that it will stop enrolling new gas customers in the Westchester County region from March 15, in order to maintain reliability for existing customers and offer service to critical facilities.
The U.S. Bureau of Land Management state offices generated more than $1.1 billion of revenue from oil and gas lease sales during 2018, nearly thrice the previous record of $408 million set a decade ago, according to a Feb. 6 press release. The agency’s New Mexico office held 2018’s biggest lease sale in September, earning…
New York lawmakers approved a bill on Feb. 5 that would block oil and gas development off the state’s coastline. The legislation would put New York in line with California, New Jersey, and Oregon that have enacted similar measures following the Trump administration’s plan to open up vast amounts of coastal waters to drilling activities. The measure…
The New York Department of Public Service will conduct an analysis of the changing market conditions that led to Consolidated Edison Company of New York Inc.’s decision to stop enrolling new gas customers, according to a Jan. 28 press release. The study will focus on Westchester County and other areas facing supply and demand issues,…
U.S. energy exports in 2020 are projected to surpass imports for the first time since 1953, thanks to the continued growth in petroleum and natural gas exports, according to the U.S. Energy Information Agency’s Annual Energy Outlook released on Jan. 24. The trend is expected continue for the next three decades driven by large increases in the…
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission found that that adverse environmental impacts from Tellurian Inc.’s Driftwood LNG project in Louisiana can be reduced to less-than-significant levels with avoidance and mitigation measures, according to a Jan. 18 notice. The project includes a liquefied natural gas export facility having a capacity of 27.6 million tons per year, and…
