The EPA’s newly-announced rule to limit carbon emissions from existing power plants would appear to set the stage for non-carbon emitting technology like nuclear, but historically low-priced natural gas has rendered many of the nation’s smaller nuclear facilities economically uncompetitive. “Already, five nuclear units have either shut down or have announced that they will do so: Duke Energy and Southern California Edison closed their Florida and Southern California facilities, respectively, because of persistent technical issues. Meanwhile, Dominion has closed its Wisconsin unit, Exelon will shut down a New Jersey plant and Entergy will cease its Vermont Yankee, all because they are unable compete with natural gas. [Forbes]

Rapidly growing renewable energy generation capacity in Texas is increasing demand for energy storage solutions, with several competing storage technologies being tested by different utilities. “In part because of its fast-growing renewable energy sector, Texas has become a major testing ground for storage technology, which, while still decades away from grid-wide use because of its costs, is gaining attention as the technology improves.” [New York Times]