From Bloomberg Nuclear exit, coal phaseout boost Germany’s Russian gas dependency with LNG import terminal Germany faces a dilemma: how to get stable energy to counter the intermittent nature of its solar and wind plants The old trading city of Hamburg in northwest Germany will soon become the center for a drive in Europe’s biggest economy to diversify natural gas
For coal the damage is already done, plants are switching to natural gas Today U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Scott Pruitt issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) that proposes to repeal the prior administration’s Clean Power Plan (CPP). “After reviewing the CPP, EPA has proposed to determine that the Obama-era regulation exceeds the Agency’s statutory authority,” the agency
Sabal Trail: court requires FERC to account for GHG impact from pipeline’s downstream gas users On August 22, 2017, the United States Court of Appeals serving the District of Columbia circuit granted the petition for review in the case of Sierra Club v. the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and Duke Energy. “The petition for review in No. 16-1329 is
Eclipse: utilities plan to fill gaps with natural gas, hydro: EIA On August 21, a solar eclipse will obscure the sunlight needed to generate electricity at approximately 1,900 utility-scale solar photovoltaic (PV) power plants in the United States. However, relatively little solar PV capacity lies in the path of totality—where the sun will be completely obscured by the moon—and the
Hydro One to acquire Avista in Canada-U.S. energy transmission combo Ontario’s largest electricity transmission and distribution provider, Hydro One Limited (TSX:H) and Northwest U.S. energy provider Avista Corporation (NYSE:AVA) announced a definitive merger agreement under which Hydro One will acquire Avista for C$67 (US$53) per share in a C$6.7 billion (US$5.3 billion) all-cash transaction. Avista shareholders receive US$53 in
Pending acquisition will result in combined assets of $22 billion (EDITOR’S NOTE: Canadian dollars unless otherwise noted.) AltaGas Ltd. (ticker: ALA) today reported that normalized EBITDA in the first quarter of 2017 increased $50 million to $228 million, compared to the same quarter in 2016. Normalized funds from operations were $170 million ($1.01 per share) for the first quarter of
EIA sees lower demand from cool summer but expects 34% of all electricity consumed will be generated by gas turbines Natural gas will be the largest source of electricity in the U.S. this summer, according to a note released by the EIA today. Natural gas’s share of total U.S. electricity generation is expected to drop to 34%, down from 37%
2 MW floating turbine sends power to the UK national grid You’ve probably heard of the concept—using oceanic tidal flows to generate electricity. After the concept lived a sci-fi storyboard kind of existence for decades, a concept for an affordable technology to generate electricity from the sea has evolved into reality, thanks to the efforts of a Scottish engineering firm
EPA launches Back-to-Basics agenda at Pennsylvania coal mine U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt visited the Harvey Mine in Sycamore, Pa., last week where he announced EPA’s Back-to-Basics agenda, cementing his earlier statement that the new administration has declared an end to the ‘war on coal’. The agenda is a result of Pruitt’s initiative to refocus EPA on its intended mission,
EPA’s Pruitt: states have “no obligation to spend resources” on plan The EPA has withdrawn its proposals for a federal plan to implement the Clean Power Plan, after President Trump instructed the agency to reevaluate the rule on March 28. The federal plan would have provided an example as states were setting up their own regulations to meet Clean Power
Restructuring eliminates $5 billion in debt Peabody Energy emerged from bankruptcy today, ending a year-long Chapter 11 process. The company trades under the stock ticker: BTU. Peabody entered bankruptcy just under one year ago, on April 13, 2016. Declining demand certainly squeezed coal producers, but other factors were also important. Several regulations introduced by the Obama administration provided major pressure
With a proposed ~$4 billion investment in wind generation starting now, Xcel Energy wants to make wind 35% of its total energy mix by 2021 Xcel Energy (ticker: XEL) announced what it called the largest multi-state investment in wind capacity in the country—$3.5-$4.4 billion worth. This week the company said it has proposed 11 new wind farms in seven states,
