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Associated Press: The latest roadmap for the region’s energy future is big on renewables and confident that coal-fired power plant retirements won’t lead to blackouts. Both assumptions had Montana utilities concerned this week. The Northwest Power Plan is probably most often cited in Montana for its blackout forecasts, which in the past had suggested that […]
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Billings Gazette: Talen Energy, which operates Colstrip Power Plant, is $4 billion in debt and facing negotiations with creditors as its bonds are downgraded to a substantial fundamental credit risk. What the company’s financial troubles mean for its Colstrip future remains to be seen. As the majority of the owners in the southeast Montana power […]
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Reuters: The Biden administration on Thursday said it would conduct a formal review of coal sales on federal lands to study their impact on climate change and value to American taxpayers. The move is the latest in a string of efforts by the administration of Democratic President Joe Biden to address climate change by reining […]
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S&P Global Market Intelligence ($): Daybreak Power Inc said July 19 that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission issued a preliminary permit approving its proposed 2,650-MW Halverson Canyon Pumped Storage project near Creston, Wash. Halverson Canyon is a pumped storage hydropower facility that would use water from Lake Roosevelt and a new reservoir in an upland […]
Tom Sanzillo
IEA Net Zero by 2050 report lays out roadmap for successful economic transition
The recently released International Energy Agency (IEA) roadmap to a net-zero economic transformation by 2050 not only lays out an energy-and-beyond vision, but also sets forth key steps needed to achieve it. The situation is dire, and the message for institutional investors, particularly public funds, is stark. Maintaining returns that meet financial targets—and protecting the […]
Suzanne Mattei and Tom Sanzillo
Demise of Keystone XL should spur regulators, investors to reconsider massive pipeline projects
As the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) reviews the public comments it recently received on its proposal to reconsider how it determines whether a gas pipeline should be granted a certificate of public convenience and necessity, it would do well to consider the cautionary tale of a massive fossil fuel infrastructure project, the Keystone XL […]
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Wall Street Journal ($): Canada’s TC Energy Corp and the Albertan provincial government said Wednesday they would scuttle the Keystone XL oil pipeline project, bringing to an end a years-long controversy over an effort to pipe more Canadian crude to the U.S. The decision had been expected after President Biden used his first day in […]
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Seattle Times: Puget Sound Energy, Washington’s largest private utility, has signed a 20-year contract to purchase wind power in Southeast Montana as part of a major shift away from coal- and gas-generated electricity. PSE will buy 350 megawatts of power, enough electricity for about 140,000 homes, from NextEra Energy Resources, which is building the Clearwater […]
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New York Times ($): President Biden has promised to sharply reduce America’s planet-warming carbon emissions, which means changes to the country’s energy system may reshape landscapes and coastlines around the country. The United States is now aiming to bring emissions down to net-zero by 2050, meaning the country would eliminate as much greenhouse gas as […]
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E&E News ($): Customers of mines in Wyoming and Montana burned as much as 42% less coal last year, according to a new analysis estimating which operations are most at risk of closing. The Powder River Basin mines about 40% of the country’s coal, but the region’s sprawling open pits have seen production cut by […]
IEEFA U.S.: Virginia coal plant’s future isn’t bright: preparation for transition should commence now
Virginia City Hybrid Energy Center (VCHEC), one of the newest in U.S., risks closure due to market forcesDecember 16, 2020 (IEEFA)—Retiring the Virginia City Hybrid Energy Center (VCHEC) will bring unnecessarily abrupt economic hardship to Wise County if state and local officials do not begin to plan now for a transition, concludes a report published today by the Institute for Energy Economic and Financial Analysis. The 8-year-old coal-fired power plant, owned by […]