Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

FERC Licenses First U.S. Wave Power Project

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Ocean Power Technologies has gained approval from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for the complete build-out of its wave power station off the southern Oregon Coast, the first wave power station to be licensed in the U.S.

FERC granted a 35-year license for the wave power station to OPT subsidiary Reedsport OPT Wave Park, LLC. OPT said in a news release that construction of the first PowerBuoy® is almost completed and should be deployed 2.5 miles off the Reedsport coast later this year. After the first buoy is deployed, OPT will build up to 9 additional buoys and their grid connection infrastructure – assuming additional funding and the remaining regulatory approvals are obtained. Keep reading →

 /  Published August 27, 2012 at 10:30 AM

Power Sector Environmental Regulations Could Cost Consumers $2 Trillion

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It all comes down to the price of natural gas.

Complying with pending mercury and ozone rules, and possibly carbon regulations, will mean replacing substantial amounts of coal capacity, mainly with natural gas, Dale Nesbitt, founder of Deloitte MarketPoint, told a Deloitte Center for Energy Solutions seminar in Washington July 18. Keep reading →

 /  Published July 23, 2012 at 8:30 AM

Cybersecurity and the Power Grid

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The US Senate’s energy panel did a status check Tuesday on actions taken to ensure the electric grid is protected from cyber-attacks. The hearing came as lawmakers are poised to consider yet another round of cybersecurity legislation.

Testimony we heard about cumbersome processes and the inability to react quickly didn’t sound too promising, but you can read the excerpts below or scan the full testimony here and decide for yourself. Keep reading →

 /  Published July 20, 2012 at 2:30 PM

EIA: New Pipeline Could Lower Natural Gas Costs in New York City

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Future natural gas transportation costs to New York City could be reduced with the expansion of the existing Texas Eastern Transmission pipeline from Linden, New Jersey to Manhattan, New York (see map here). On May 22, 2012, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC)-the main jurisdictional authority over the construction of interstate natural gas pipelines in the United States-approved an 800,000 million British thermal unit (MMBtu) per day, or 800,000 dekatherms per day, expansion of the pipeline.

This project is slated to begin service in November 2013 and represents one of the biggest transportation service expansions in the Northeast during the past two decades. The project could have the following effects on the New York City market: reduce reliance on oil-fired generators, enhance the reliability of natural gas supplies, and lower transportation costs-especially in the winter. Spectra Energy secured firm transportation agreements for this expansion with these customers: Consolidated Edison (170,000 MMBtu per day); Chesapeake Energy Marketing, Inc. (425,250 MMBtu per day); and Statoil Natural Gas LLC (204,750 MMBtu per day). Keep reading →

 /  Published July 3, 2012 at 3:00 PM

Energy Storage Pioneer: An Exclusive Look into the Fall and Rise of Beacon Power

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The political climate generated by the collapse of Solyndra last year had a “profound impact” on the US pioneer in energy storage, the former chief executive said yesterday.

In exclusive comments to Breaking Energy at the Energy Storage Week Summit in San Jose, California, Bill Capp, the former CEO of Beacon Power, which filed for bankruptcy last October, said: Keep reading →

 /  Published July 2, 2012 at 8:30 AM

Wind at Their Backs: Utility Sector Mulls Further Dealmaking

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The power industry has conducted a complex dance of consolidation and division over the past few decades in response to technological disruption, regulatory trends and financial shifts.

Recent years have brought about a new wave of consolidation and utility bankers have been busy ushering companies into new larger footprints through buying complementary assets rather than embarking on broad new competition-based construction and infrastructure investment programs. Constellation is now part of Exelon, and Duke Energy is adding further to its portfolio with the acquisition of Progress Energy, the two highest-profile deals in a spate of transactions all the more surprising for the tightness in financial markets since the 2008 crisis. Keep reading →

 /  Published June 18, 2012 at 11:30 AM

Technology is Reinventing the Utility Industry at Duke Energy: Jim Rogers

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The US utility industry will look fundamentally different within the next forty years as a paradigm shift transforms the sector, the chief of one of the country’s largest energy providers said.

“We’re going to reinvent our business, we’re going to adopt new technologies,” said Jim Rogers, Duke Energy CEO. “When you look at our company four decades from now it will to look fundamentally different. Keep reading →

 /  Published June 18, 2012 at 8:30 AM

Storage Technology Investment An RPS Priority

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Allowing power from electricity storage to be counted toward meeting renewable portfolio standards would boost integration of advanced storage technologies into the electricity system, speakers told the Electricity Storage Association conference in Washington last week.

Terry Boston, CEO of PJM, the nation’s largest grid operator, said he’d like to see states let up to 25% of their RPS be met with storage when the storage systems are fed by clean sources like wind and solar. Keep reading →

 /  Published May 7, 2012 at 3:00 PM

Markets Outpace Regulators in Evaluating LNG Export Projects

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Natural gas exports are clearly in the US national interest, concludes a year-long Brookings Institution study, and the Department of Energy should approve the nine export applications now pending.

All the projects won’t get built because there’s not a big enough global market for all the liquefied natural gas they could produce, said Charles Ebinger, Director of the Brookings’ Energy Security Initiative, who led the study team. Keep reading →

 /  Published May 3, 2012 at 11:30 AM

Hydro Financing Faces Hurdles

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Hydropower supplied 8% of US electricity in 2011, and 62.5% of renewable electricity, according to federal statistics, and hydro advocates say it could provide twice as much if upgrades were made to aging power plants and new technology utilized in rivers and tidal estuaries.

But with the continuing depressed price of natural gas and looming expiration of hydro’s clean energy tax credits, prospects for taking better advantage of US water power are shrinking, financial experts told the National Hydropower Association conference in Washington DC this week. Keep reading →

 /  Published April 20, 2012 at 12:30 PM
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