Utah

IEEFA Research

IEEFA U.S.: Colorado electric wholesaler is alienating cost-conscious co-ops with its fossil commitments

IEEFA U.S.: Colorado electric wholesaler is alienating cost-conscious co-ops with its fossil commitments

Tri-State currently plans using coal through 2050 and expanding into gas; projected rate increases of 55% by 2050

Nov. 17, 2020 (IEEFA) — One of the biggest power suppliers to rural electric co-ops in the U.S. is putting its business model at risk as members clamor for better access to renewable energy, more affordable rates, and more say in how they buy or produce power, concludes a report released today by the Institute […]

and November 17, 2020 Read More →

IEEFA U.S.: Utah bailout of bankrupt California coal-export project likely to fail

Markets, distance, and community opposition pose obstacles - proposal lacks private sector backers

August 19, 2020 (IEEFA) —A proposed $20 million state investment in a bankrupt California coal-export project would most likely result in a loss to the state, concludes a research brief published today by the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis. The brief—Utah Bailout of Bankrupt California Coal-Export Project Would Likely Fail—describes how weak export […]

, , and August 19, 2020 Read More →
IEEFA report: Utility-scale solar remains off-limits on most of more than 100 million federally-owned acres across solar-rich Southwest U.S.

IEEFA report: Utility-scale solar remains off-limits on most of more than 100 million federally-owned acres across solar-rich Southwest U.S.

Outdated policies and byzantine processes at Bureau of Land Management hinder energy transition

June 16, 2020 (IEEFA U.S.) ‒ The largest property owner in the U.S.—the Bureau of Land Management (BLM)—has acreage set aside for utility-scale solar development on only 0.03% of the roughly 100 million acres it manages across the sun-rich Southwest, finds a report published today by the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis. The […]

, , and June 16, 2020 Read More →
IEEFA update: Tribal utility-scale solar initiatives emerge across Southwest U.S.

IEEFA update: Tribal utility-scale solar initiatives emerge across Southwest U.S.

As prices fall and markets evolve, deals are in the works on underdeveloped Paiute, Apache and Navajo lands

Oct. 23, 1019 (IEEFA) — Deals for utility-scale solar installations are accelerating on tribal lands in the Southwest U.S., finds a report published today by the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA). The report, Tribal Utility-Scale Solar Initiatives Advance Across Southwest U.S., cites the emergence of battery-storage technology, state energy policy changes and […]

and October 23, 2019 Read More →
IEEFA U.S.: Bill to incentivize federal reinvestment in tribal regions of Arizona suggests a model for coalfield communities nationally

IEEFA U.S.: Bill to incentivize federal reinvestment in tribal regions of Arizona suggests a model for coalfield communities nationally

Bipartisan support is possible; Congressional appropriations will be key

Sept. 29, 2019 (IEEFA) — A bill to encourage federal reinvestment in communities hurt by the closure of the Navajo Generating Station (NGS)-Kayenta Mine complex in Arizona suggests a model that could work for coalfield communities nationally, concludes a report published today by the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis. The report—Bill to Spark […]

and September 19, 2019 Read More →
IEEFA U.S.: Peabody quietly lays off over 150 long-time Native American miners ahead of Kayenta coal closure

IEEFA U.S.: Peabody quietly lays off over 150 long-time Native American miners ahead of Kayenta coal closure

Nearly half of workforce let go; No word from corporate headquarters on long-term fate of remaining employees or of company resolve to honor reclamation responsibilities and local jobs promises

Peabody Energy during the first quarter of the year quietly reduced the size of the workforce at Kayenta Mine in northeastern Arizona by 46 percent, from 336 miners to 182. In March, Peabody acknowledged publicly it had recently let go 40 Kayenta mine workers. The company has been silent beyond that announcement. The latest information […]

and June 11, 2019 Read More →
IEEFA U.S.: Imminent Hopi-Navajo budget crisis as coal industry collapses

IEEFA U.S.: Imminent Hopi-Navajo budget crisis as coal industry collapses

Federal action required, potential for bipartisan national coalfield reinvestment legislation: past models include Hurricanes Katrina and Sandy response, bailout of auto industry, mitigation for military base closures

May 30, 2019 (IEEFA) – Closure this year of the Navajo Generating Station (NGS) and Kayenta Mine will gut tribal government budgets in northern Arizona, according to a report published today by the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis. In response to the planned closures, Navajo Nation will reduce public-service expenditures by 23 percent […]

, and May 30, 2019 Read More →
IEEFA report: Business case for acquiring failing plant and Kayenta mine poses ‘serious financial risk’ to Navajo Nation

IEEFA report: Business case for acquiring failing plant and Kayenta mine poses ‘serious financial risk’ to Navajo Nation

‘Little clarity, no certainty’ seen in NTEC plan; reclamation liabilities loom large

February 22, 2019 (IEEFA Arizona) — The Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) published a report today concluding that a tribal company’s plan to acquire the failing Navajo Generating Station (NGS) and its companion mine would most likely create a money-losing enterprise.  The report—“NTEC’s Plant/Mine Acquisition Plan Puts Navajo Nation at Serious Financial Risk”—concludes […]

, , and February 22, 2019 Read More →
IEEFA U.S: Tribal investment in struggling coal-fired Four Corners plant will lose millions

IEEFA U.S: Tribal investment in struggling coal-fired Four Corners plant will lose millions

‘Bad bet’ in New Mexico serves as a warning against proposed purchase of Navajo Generating Station

Dec. 13, 2018 (IEEFA) — The Navajo Nation government’s acquisition this past summer of a 7 percent stake in the struggling coal-fired Four Corner Generating Station in northeastern New Mexico will cost the Nation dearly, concludes a report published today by the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis. The deal, in which Navajo Transitional […]

and December 14, 2018 Read More →
IEEFA Arizona: Fast-Track Opportunities Now in Navajo Community-Driven Solar Electricity Generation

IEEFA Arizona: Fast-Track Opportunities Now in Navajo Community-Driven Solar Electricity Generation

Strategically Situated Tribal Lands at the Heart of the American Sunbelt Hold Crucial Market Advantages; Prudent Development Strategies Will Benefit, Protect, and Profit Local People

Jan. 3, 2017 — Locally owned utility-scale solar electricity generation offers Navajo communities an immediate generational economic-development opportunity, concludes a research brief published by the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) and DinéHózhó. The report— “Window of Opportunity: Navajo Solar—A Fast-Track Community-Driven Development Approach” — details how transformative changes in the U.S. electric utility […]

, , and December 22, 2017 Read More →

More News and Commentary

Coal jobs disappearing and renewable jobs growing—in different places

Wall Street Journal ($): The decline of coal in the U.S. is playing out in rural Utah, where a mine is losing two top domestic customers because their power plants are switching to cleaner fuels. One reason: California is taxing and banning carbon-intensive energy sources to slow climate change. The loss of business will potentially […]

December 6, 2021 Read More →

Los Angeles speeds up net-zero transition plans by a decade to 2035

Utility Dive: The Los Angeles City Council voted Wednesday to transition to 100% clean energy by 2035, in line with President Biden’s national goals and a decade earlier than the city originally planned.  The LA100 plan would see the city replace its natural gas electricity generation with wind, solar and battery storage, while also improving […]

September 3, 2021 Read More →

Plans announced for largest blue hydrogen facility in United States

E&E News ($): A North Dakota energy company announced a deal this week to convert a gas plant into the largest and cheapest clean hydrogen facility in the United States, underscoring an ongoing debate about hydrogen’s growth and emissions footprint. Bakken Energy LLC said it had reached an agreement with Midwestern utility Basin Electric Power […]

August 18, 2021 Read More →

Dominion plans filing largest clean energy Virginia submission to date

Utility Dive: Dominion Energy is preparing to file its largest clean energy submission to date as part of Virginia’s triennial review process, totaling $1.5 billion in investment, CEO Robert Blue said on the utility’s second quarter earnings call Friday.  The filing, due later this month, will include up to 1,100 MW of solar, either owned […]

August 9, 2021 Read More →

Vermont utility sets course for decentralizing electric grid

Time: Visitors entering a code-locked central control room at Green Mountain Power (GMP)’s Colchester, Vt., headquarters instinctively lower their voices, whispering in deference to operators relaying orders from behind semicircular clusters of screens. It’s an intimidating space; one side of the black-walled room is taken up by a display showing a sprawling, yellow-lit maze of […]

July 28, 2021 Read More →

PacifiCorp eyes 19 renewables projects to supply 1M US homes by 2025

S&P Global Market Intelligence ($):  In its largest renewable energy shopping spree ever, PacifiCorp has shortlisted nearly 4,000 MW of new wind, solar and battery storage resources across its multistate service territory in the western United States to come online by the end of 2024. The utility subsidiary of Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Energy is […]

June 21, 2021 Read More →

Carbon-burning power plants launching despite net-zero promises

Bloomberg ($): The red-and-white flue stacks of the James M. Barry Electric Generating Station tower over the Mobile River, belching steam into the Alabama sky. The sprawling complex of coal and natural gas plants already spews more than 7.5 million metric tons of carbon dioxide-equivalent every year. Now it’s about to get even bigger, with […]

May 24, 2021 Read More →

Corporations added more than 20,000MW of new solar and wind in 2020

S&P Global Market Intelligence ($): The COVID-19 pandemic proved to be a significant disruption for many corners of the global energy industry, but the corporate renewables market plowed ahead as if nothing had happened. S&P Global Market Intelligence tracked over 20,000 MW of new corporate wind and solar capacity throughout the year, making 2020 the […]

April 23, 2021 Read More →

Navajo Nation moving forward with two solar projects totaling 270MW of capacity

Associated Press: The Navajo Nation is moving forward with two more solar plants on the reservation that are expected to generate millions of dollars in revenue for the tribe over the projects’ lifetimes. Tribal leaders met at the site of the larger solar plant in Cameron on Tuesday to finalize the lease for the Cameron […]

April 9, 2021 Read More →

Renewables, nuclear on track to supply 46% of U.S. electricity by 2030—S&P

S&P Global Market Intelligence ($): The significant downward trend in coal-fired generation seen across the U.S. since 2010 continues in S&P Global Market Intelligence’s fourth-quarter 2020 Power Forecast, fueled by declines in prices of natural gas and renewable generation. In 2020, 7,361 MW of coal was retired, making up 53.9% of the country’s retirements, while […]

March 9, 2021 Read More →
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