On March 25, 2016, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced that it would partner with Clean Line Energy Partners (Clean Line) to support the development of the Plains & Eastern 700-mile HVDC transmission line. Once completed, the transmission line will transport up to 4,000 MWs of wind power from the Oklahoma Panhandle to the Southeast. Clean Line’s partnership with the DOE revived the project, which was blocked in 2011 by Arkansas regulators.
Investor-owned utilities in Illinois recently announced their support for sweeping energy legislation to address unprofitable nuclear operations after results from MISO’s April capacity auction saw an approximate 50% YoY decline to $72/MW-day. If the proposed Next Generation Energy Plan (NGEP) fails to be passed before the current legislative session ends on May 31, Exelon plans to retire its Clinton and Quad Cities nuclear plants, which would decrease the state’s carbon-emission-free electricity significantly.
In mid-April, Commonwealth Edison (ComEd) and Ameren Illinois (AI) filed their sixth annual formula rate updates in accordance with the Illinois Energy Infrastructure Modernization Act (EIMA). Since their inception, Illinois’ formula rates have resulted in declining authorized returns on equity (ROEs) for the state’s investor-owned utilities. Yet utility earnings have increased as investments in authorized rate base projects have grown.
In March 2016, Edison International launched a new business providing energy consulting services to large energy users, including commercial buildings, data centers, retail, industrial, health care, and educational institutions. The business—called Edison Energy—will identify, develop, and integrate an array of energy solutions for the largest energy users nationwide.
In December 2015, General Motors (GM) agreed to buy wind power from EDP Renewables to power more than half of a vehicle assembly line in Arlington, Texas.
Chesapeake Energy, the second largest U.S. natural gas producer, and Peabody Energy, the largest U.S. coal producer, were simultaneously standing on the edge of a financial cliff at the end of Q1 2016. The latter has since fallen and filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, while Chesapeake remains, clinging to a lifeline.
In March 2016, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) released a new report finding the technical potential of rooftop solar PV in the United States is 1,118 GW of installed capacity and 1,432 TWh of annual energy generation.
On February 24, Cheniere Energy’s Sabine Pass plant officially began exporting liquefied natural gas (LNG) when a tanker carrying 3.7 bcf of domestically produced LNG departed for Brazil. A second tanker docked on March 11, and at least eight more will follow in the next two months, each destined for the global LNG spot market. Sabine Pass is one of several LNG plants being built in hopes of capitalizing on the opportunity to ship cheap U.S. natural gas to regions of the world with significantly higher prices. Unfortunately, timing of completion appears to have missed the market with global LNG prices plummeting in recent months.
As the utility sector seeks to create a cleaner energy future, natural gas has become an increasingly integral piece of the generation mix for many utilities. Given its inexpensive cost, we have previously seen more and more investments in natural gas; however, an October 2015 report released by the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) points out that states may be becoming over-reliant on natural gas. For each state, the report examines gas’ share of overall capacity (2014), projected gas capacity (2017), percentage increases in natural gas generation (2008-2014), percentage increases in emissions (2013), and natural gas capacity as a percentage of power plants being built (2014-2017).
On four occasions in January 2016, Kaua‘i Island Utility Cooperative (KIUC) used a variety of renewable resources to generate 90% of the Hawaiian island’s electricity.
Two weeks ago, President Obama and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced that the United States and Canada would increase cooperation to pursue several initiatives aimed at combating climate change. The leaders committed their respective countries to signing the Paris Climate Agreement “…as soon as feasible” and working together to assist developing nations to implement the measures agreed upon in Paris. Closer to home, both nations announced joint regulatory efforts to reduce methane emissions from the oil and gas sector by 40% to 45% below 2012 levels by 2025.
In December 2015, Green Mountain Power (GMP) became the first utility to lease and sell Tesla Powerwall batteries directly to customers. The battery systems can be paired with small-scale solar to store locally generated energy, or it can be used without solar as a battery to store power from the grid.
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