Leading Light Energy

an energy blog by Terry M. Jarrett

Category Archives: Electric Grid

January 14 News Round Up

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In the news today:

Media Alert:

Mining:

  • Montana Free Press reports Montana’s largest coal mine is set for an expansion that could increase its coal production by 19 million tons.
  • Argus reports the Virginia Maritime Association has corrected some of its data for coal exports out of Hampton Roads, Virginia, in October and November 2024.

World News:

  • Washington Examiner reports Canadian CEOs are being asked for feedback as Canada plans to levy a tranche of retaliatory tariffs against the United States if President-elect Donald Trump makes good on his threat to apply 25% tariffs against Ottawa.
  • Bloomberg reports the leader of Canada’s most populous province is pitching a “renewed strategic alliance” with the US on critical minerals, as President-elect Donald Trump threatens crippling tariffs on the northern nation.

Grid:

  • Utility Dive reports that utilities, renewable energy companies and ratepayer advocates say PJM’s proposal to require renewable and storage projects in the interconnection queue to participate in capacity market auctions was developed with inadequate input.
  • Ohio Capital Journal reports that an Ohio progressive watchdog group raises concerns about the proliferation of data centers in the state, including their potential to spike energy demand and prolong the use of fossil fuels.

January 13 News Round Up

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Good Monday morning!

In the news today and from the weekend…

Media Alert:

EPA:

  • Inside EPA reports a new analysis from economists and other researchers finds the Biden EPA’s power plant greenhouse gas standards would slash even more emissions than the agency projected and that the rule would provide a key backstop in the event high-emissions coal power generation increases, though the rule is unlikely to survive the incoming Trump EPA.

Grid:

  • Utility Dive reports that American Electric Power will sell a nearly 20% stake in two Midwest transmission subsidiaries for $2.82 billion to fund investments in transmission, distribution and generation projects.

January 10 News Round Up

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Happy Friday!

In the news today…

Grid:

  • Star Tribune reports that at least 10 large data centers planned in Minnesota could significantly grow the state’s power demand, though state and local officials welcome the projects’ potential to boost carbon-free power infrastructure and lower electricity bills for all ratepayers.
  • Columbus Dispatch reports that Google committed an initial $1 million to an Ohio fund that would incentivize energy efficiency and grid reliability technology as the tech giant increases its presence in the state.
  • Utility Dive reports that PJM’s proposal to fast-track shovel-ready generation projects in the interconnection queue draws mixed reactions in filings with federal regulators, with states supporting the move and opposition from renewable energy companies and advocates.
  • E&E News reports that a Dubai business tycoon’s plan to invest $20 billion to build data centers across the Midwest and Sunbelt ignores the likely investments needed to boost generation and grid capacity, experts say.

Coal:

  • WWNO reports surging electricity demand is keeping coal power alive.

Climate:

  • Carbon Brief reports despite coal-power output in the US falling to its lowest level in nearly 60 years, the nation’s greenhouse gas emissions fell by just 0.2% in 2024, according to new research from the Rhodium Group.

January 9 News Round Up

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In the news today…

Grid:

  • E&E News and Canary Media report that the future of Biden administration initiatives to spur transmission construction is in question as Republicans take over Congress and the White House, though utilities, state regulators and private investors could use growing power demand to make a case for continued expansion.
  • Utility Dive report that industry experts expect electricity demand and prices to continue to surge this year as challenges loom related to transmission, renewables, and nuclear’s resurgence.

Coal:

  • Power Engineering reports that the owner of a 1,000 MW Indiana coal plant is nearing a long-term deal to sell a majority of the plant’s output to a data center operator.

January 7 News Round Up

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In the news today…

Minerals:

  • E&E News PM reports the Biden administration on Friday signed off on what could be the nation’s first mine to produce antimony, a mineral at the center of a national trade spat with China.

Grid:

  • E&E News (subscription) reports that residential electricity rates rose faster than inflation from 2019-2023 as utilities increased spending on grid infrastructure, a federal lab’s new report finds.
  • North Dakota Monitor reports that state fire officials say a wildfire that killed two people in October was caused by tree limbs falling on power lines.

Utilities:

  • Missouri Independent reports that state lawmakers are set to consider legislation that would allow gas utilities to base customer rates on projected expenses rather than actual costs, which critics say could increase bills.

January 6 News Round Up

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Good Monday morning!!

In the news today…

Grid:

  • Utility Dive reports that  National Grid and Con Edison urge FERC to adopt gas pipeline reliability requirements. To bolster the gas system during cold weather, the federal agency should set pipeline reporting requirements, adopt enforcement mechanisms and tighten the use of force majeure, the utilities said.

 

December 20 News Round Up

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Happy Friday!

In the news today…

Renewables:

  • Canary Media reports that for the first time in U.S. history, wind and solar generated more electricity than coal during the first 11 months of 2024, according to data from a clean energy think tank.

Coal:

  • Cleveland.com reports that Ohio lawmakers passed a bill giving renewable energy credits to a coal-burning coke production plant, arguing that the operator sells steam from the plant to another company.
  • Power Engineering reports that the owner of a large Illinois coal plant will extend the life of the facility by two years from 2025 to 2027, citing “widespread concern over reliability.”

Grid:

  • Chicago Tribune reports that Illinois regulators approved a four-year, $600 million rate increase for ComEd that will fund grid infrastructure investments the utility says are needed as demand grows.
  • KSNW reports that according to Kansas regulators, the Grain Belt Express continues to move through the permitting process after the route was removed from a list of priority corridors for U.S. transmission projects.

December 18 News Round Up

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In the news today…

Transmission:

  • Missouri Independent reports that the Grain Belt Express transmission project will move forward despite a Biden administration decision to remove the proposed route from a program offering assistance to transmission lines.
  • Utility Dive reports that while some lawmakers welcomed the decision to scale back the program from 10 corridors to three, one proposed route moving forward aims to benefit tribes in three Great Plains states.

Electric Grid:

  • Washington Examiner reports the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) said the surge of energy demand growth and difficulty building energy infrastructure is putting most of North America at risk of electricity shortages.
  • E&E Energywire reports Vistra now plans to operate a 1,185-megawatt coal-fired power plant in southwestern Illinois through 2027 instead of shutting it down next year as blackout risks rise on the central U.S. grid.

Media Alert!

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Thanks to the Pottstown Mercury (Pa.), Exton Daily Local (Pa.), Swarthmore Times Herald (Pa.), Lansdale Reporter (Pa.), Delaware County Daily Times (Pa.), Mainline Times and Suburban (Pa.), Yahoo News (USA), Wichita Falls Times Record News (Texas) and The Trentonian (N.J.) for carrying my new op-ed in which I argue that we need to rethink the role existing coal plants can play in getting us to our energy future.

U.S. Must Learn from Europe’s Energy Crisis

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Thanks to The Trentonian (N.J.), Pottstown Mercury (Pa.), Exton Daily Local (Pa.), Swarthmore Times Herald (Pa.), Lansdale Reporter (Pa.), Delaware County Daily Times (Pa.) and Mainline Times and Suburban (Pa.) for carrying my op-ed asserting if the U.S. is to maintain affordable, reliable power during the coming energy transition, policymakers must be careful not to eliminate essential coal and nuclear power capacity before reliable alternatives are in place.