Insight for Industry – FERC’s Push to Incorporate Reliability Safety Mechanism in the Clean Power Plan Increases Certainty for State Compliance Efforts On May 15, 2015, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) provided the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) with a letter signed by all five Commissioners that details its role in implementing a Reliability Safety…...
Insight for Industry – Breakthroughs in Battery Storage Technologies Carry Impacts for Wind and Solar On April 30, 2015, Tesla Motors unveiled its Powerwall and Powerpack lithium ion batteries for homes and utility-scale applications, which could facilitate an increased role for wind and solar energy resources that have so far been limited by a need…...
Insight for Industry – Energy Efficiency Improvement Act Will Reduce Energy Demand The Energy Efficiency Improvement Act of 2015, which President Obama signed into law on April 30, will add momentum to falling energy consumption per capita in the United States by reducing energy demand from commercial buildings, manufacturing plants, and homes. The relatively uncontroversial…...
Coal has long reigned as the leading energy source for U.S. electricity generation, but structural changes in U.S. energy markets, brought on by technological innovations and new regulatory initiatives, have called into question the future of the coal industry. For over a century, the coal industry has provided the lifeblood for American progress, fueling the…...
Trans-Pacific Partnership would Open New Markets for U.S. LNG Export Projects Key Takeaways: U.S. shale gas boom created opportunities to export surplus natural gas to high price markets in Asia, but lengthy regulatory processes have weakened U.S. natural gas producers’ ability to compete with global markets The Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) could facilitate western LNG…...
Insight for Industry – PJM Capacity Market Faces Continued Uncertainty Despite ongoing efforts by PJM Interconnection (PJM) to address system reliability issues, regulatory impacts to its capacity market continue to increase uncertainty. The March 31 Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) ruling that requires PJM to provide additional information on its Capacity Performance (CP) proposal could…...
The more the 50 percent crude oil price decline since July 2014 has impacted oil and gas industries throughout the supply chain and reignited energy policy debates at federal and state levels. Light, sweet oil has accounted for the majority of the domestic production increase over the last eight years, but since U.S. refiners are…...
Pennsylvania’s Natural Gas Industry Challenged by Regulatory Changes While a number of regulatory changes could slow Pennsylvania’s oil and gas expansion, its resource deposits will continue to attract steady growth. Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf’s proposed natural gas severance tax would significantly increase the effective tax rate for shale gas producers in the state, and ongoing…...
Insight for Industry – Ongoing Technology Advances and Policy Actions Will Lower New York’s Offshore Wind Costs Global and domestic factors, combined with siting and transmission policies, innovative financing mechanisms, and infrastructure upgrades may allow New York to reduce offshore wind energy costs by 50 percent by 2022. Offshore wind energy cost reductions will enable…...
Insight for Industry – Capital-Intensive Wind Energy Projects Will Rely on Streamlined Processes and Supportive Policies Continued wind industry growth depends on near- and long-term actions that can facilitate continued cost reductions, add transmission capacity, and streamline permitting activities to complement government policies. Domestic wind deployment has increased in recent years despite low natural gas…...
Insight for Industry – RGGI Market Gaining Stability The Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative’s (RGGI) first quarterly auction of 2015 (Auction 27) results indicate a stable market design as compliance entities purchased all allowances and the clearing price remained below the Cost Containment Reserve (CCR) threshold. Despite high overall demand, zero non-compliance (solely financial market) entity…...
Innovative Plans Optimize Excess Pipeline Capacity during Spring and Fall Seasons Northeast natural gas demand is not consistent year-round. This challenges pipeline project developers to prove project necessity. However, developers are proposing enhancements to existing systems and innovative strategies to make use of potentially excess pipeline capacity. Some proposed options to optimize excess supply and…...