Last year, I highlighted how voters in Ohio overwhelmingly support developing more clean energy like solar and wind over more traditional resources like coal. Ohio has a remarkable opportunity to capture the benefits of a growing renewable energy market. A new report shows the state could boost supply chains and create local jobs by developing more wind and solar,… Keep reading →
Ohio-based utility FirstEnergy’s efforts to land a bailout from consumers have crossed over from the problematic to the absurd. With the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) in January rejecting a bid to alter the electricity marketplace in ways that would favor some generating facilities over others, FirstEnergy last week launched an end-run around FERC, asking U.S. Energy Secretary… Keep reading →
Early January 2014, during the heart of the Polar Vortex, grid operator PJM had its finger on the switch ready to start rolling blackouts across 13 states and Washington, D.C. As temperatures plunged to 20- and 30-below zero, coal piles froze and conveyors broke down at coal plants, gas plants without firm delivery contracts sat… Keep reading →
FirstEnergy, the giant Ohio-based company that owns power plants and transmission lines in several midwestern and northeastern states, is running out of arguments for its proposed bailout. The Public Utility Commission of Ohio (PUCO), which is currently considering the proposal by FirstEnergy for substantial, customer-funded subsidies to bail out its uneconomic power plants, has suggested… Keep reading →
With a projected 2015 loss, the demand response leader seeks growth in enterprise and utility software. Over the next few years, EnerNOC wants to bring in as much money serving up enterprise efficiency and energy management software as it does in its traditional field of demand response. But that transition won’t come without some significant… Keep reading →
Far from perfect but the best there is Winston Churchill famously said, “Democracy is the worst form of government, except for all the others.” Despite its many flaws, that is how its supporters characterize PJM’s capacity market. As proof of its appeal, countries as far away as the UK, Germany, So Korea, to name a… Keep reading →
With GE’s software, stored wind can increase three revenue streams. After premiering its 2.5-megawatt, 120-meter rotor Brilliant wind turbine in February, GE is now announcing the commercial installation of the first three models that will integrate energy storage capability. GE’s (NYSE:GE) engineering advances have long been moving toward two broad objectives: achieving a more rapid… Keep reading →
Are deregulated power markets producing the long-term, reliable energy infrastructure that manufacturers need to invest and expand?
The issue looms because the Marcellus Shale natural gas boom has raised the potential for a “manufacturing renaissance” in Pennsylvania and other shale states, David Ciarlone, manager of Global Energy Services for Alcoa told the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s (FERC) technical conference on growing electricity and gas industry interdependencies recently held in Washington, DC. Keep reading →
Regional transmission organizations (RTOs) must be more transparent in their operations and accountable to the states where they operate, says Malcolm Woolf, Director of the Maryland Energy Administration.
“We are at the mercy of PJM,” the Middle Atlantic regional transmission operator, said Woolf. “We’re increasingly aware we do not have the tools we need to solve problems” of electricity supply and price for state citizens. Keep reading →
Offshore wind power has become a significant component of several European countries’ electricity generation portfolios and now the US is looking to expand the power generating capacity of wind beyond its coastline.
The economics can be complex – particularly if the production tax credit expires at the end of 2012 – but offshore wind has the potential to become an affordable source of electricity for some of the largest US markets. Keep reading →
