Integrating more renewables into the US grid will be costly and have unintended consequences, including potential for increased carbon emissions, that policymakers need to plan for, warns a new Massachusetts Institute of Technology Energy Initiative study.
The study, unveiled Monday, looked at what needs to be done to accommodate increasing percentages of renewables on electricity grids, said MITEI head Ernest Moniz. Keep reading →
While natural gas is the hot topic in North American energy, many other parts of the world – particularly developing countries – are adding more coal-fired power generation capacity and consuming more of the black fossil fuel.
Speaking at the annual conference of the American Society of Public Administrators (ASPA) held March 5th in Las Vegas, Dean Oskvig, President and CEO of Black & Veatch’s Global Energy Business, made the point that B&V is not aligned with any single energy source and the company designs and builds all kinds of energy infrastructure. Keep reading →
London at night as viewed from the International Space Station
The fuel of the future is very different depending on where in the world you live. Keep reading →
Chicago environmentalists won a hard-fought victory late Tuesday as the city’s two coal power plants announced that they will close — one of them by the end of the year. The Chicago Sun-Times reports that Midwest Generation has agreed to close its two coal fired plants. The Fisk generating station, in the city’s Pilsen neighborhood, is slated to close by Dec. 31, while the Crawford plant in Little Village will close by the end of 2014. Mayor Rahm Emanuel last week presented what was essentially an ultimatum to the plants — that they either clean up their pollution or risk being shut down by the city. He had campaigned on a promise that he would force the plants to reduce their dangerous emissions, Fox Chicago reports
Power prices have been dipping around the country because of low natural gas prices, but some states could face the potential of higher prices for electricity as more renewable energy comes online and seeking to replace threatened baseload power could drive prices higher regardless.
The Manhattan Institute released a study on February 28 by Senior Fellow Robert Bryce concluding US renewable portfolio standards (RPS) for power generation appear to pose risks to a fragile economy — increasing electricity costs in many states at a time when consumers are struggling with high unemployment and discretionary spending constraints. Keep reading →
The best way to get $6 natural gas is to have everyone plan on $3 gas.
That was a sentiment heard repeatedly last week, during the winter meeting of the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC) and the Department of Energy’s National Electricity Forum in Washington, DC earlier this month. Keep reading →
Duke Energy and China Huaneng Group Expand Cooperation to Develop Carbon Capture and Sequestration Technologies – http://prn.to/wSyPlB DukeEnergy
Electricity regulators from across the US insisted this week that the Environmental Protection Agency is underestimating the time they’ll need to meet EPA’s newest air rules, and they want EPA to lay out standards now that will guarantee five years’ compliance time and insulate them from civil liability.
EPA’s Mercury and Air Toxics Standard gives generators three years from its publication date to comply, but allows state regulators to grant a fourth year and EPA to issue an administrative order allowing a fifth year in limited circumstances. The rule was approved but hasn’t been legally published yet. Keep reading →
The US will “dramatically” reduce its oil import dependency between now and 2035, with imports declining from 49% today to 36%, Energy Information Administration Acting Administrator Howard Gruenspecht said Monday in Washington, DC.
In 2005-6, imports reached their record, 60% of US consumption. Keep reading →
The Environmental Protection Agency will work with generators, especially public power agencies, that have difficulty meeting new mercury reduction deadlines, but doubts many will need more time, says Assistant Administrator Gina McCarthy.
Speaking to a breakfast hosted by ICF International in Washington Thursday, McCarthy defended EPA’s decision to stick with a three-year compliance deadline in its final Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS) rule issued December 21. Keep reading →
