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Bloomberg: Most of the coal plants that feed the biggest U.S. power grid will soon no longer be economic to run after prices in a key auction plunged to the lowest in 11 years. Of the 44 coal-fired power plants on the grid operated by PJM Interconnection LLC, 32 will be unprofitable in 2023, the […]
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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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S&P Global Market Intelligence ($): Several current and former policymakers expressed skepticism that hydrogen and renewable natural gas are mature enough to play a major role in their states’ transition from natural gas. “I know that there’s a lot of talk about fuels of the future like RNG and hydrogen,” former New York State Public […]
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S&P Global Market Intelligence ($): A day after Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte signed into law two bills seeking to extend the life of the Colstrip power plant, one of the last remaining coal-fired generating stations in the Northwest, four of the facility’s owners opposed to the legislation fired back with a lawsuit against two owners […]
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KCAW Radio: Concerns around energy independence and high costs have led many places in rural Alaska to look for renewable alternatives to fossil fuels. The Department of Energy recently announced the awardees of a new program to help remote communities find clean energy solutions. The Energy Transitions Initiative Partnership Project or ETIPP will help five […]
David Schlissel
NorthWestern could charge customers for fictional investments at Colstrip rather than actual costs
April 15, 2021 (IEEFA)—A measure being considered in the Montana Legislature (Senate Bill 379) would grossly and unfairly enrich NorthWestern Energy with the creation of an effective tax on the company’s customers for 20 years or longer—a tax that would be based on a fictional company investment of almost $700 million. Traditionally, consumers pay for […]
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S&P Global Market Intelligence ($): Heralded as one of the largest green hydrogen projects in the U.S., Douglas County PUD No. 1 on March 8 broke ground on a 5-MW hydrogen generation and storage pilot project in central Washington state that will harness excess hydropower from the Columbia River and convert it into renewable hydrogen. […]
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Casper Star Tribune: Wyoming’s long-held dream of exporting Powder River Basin coal from a West Coast terminal was recently dashed when the project’s owner filed for bankruptcy and failed to find an interested buyer. Lighthouse Resources Inc. petitioned for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Dec. 3. The company owns the Decker coal mine in Montana, just […]
IEEFA
S&P Global Market Intelligence ($): After 18 months of workshops, hearings and document revisions, the Washington State Department of Commerce and the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission adopted rules to require investor-owned and publicly owned electric utilities to supply power to their customers from sources that do not emit carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas […]
Press Release, Karl Cates and Seth Feaster
Virginia City Hybrid Energy Center (VCHEC), one of the newest in U.S., risks closure due to market forces
December 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 […]
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 […]