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Industry Information

Transmission Development Key To Inflation Reduction Act’s Climate Potential: Report

The U.S. high-voltage transmission system needs to grow 2.3% a year, up from its 1% annual growth rate during the past decade, to meet the Inflation Reduction Act’s greenhouse gas emissions reduction potential, according to a report released Friday by the Princeton University-led REPEAT Project.

Visit https://www.utilitydive.com/news/transmission-ira-inflation-reduction-act-emissions-report-REPEAT/632629/ to view the full article online.

Solar Power Constituted Half Of All Global Capacity Additions Last Year, Followed By Wind: BloombergNEF

At 182 GW, solar power facilities accounted for half of all global capacity additions last year, with wind additions making up a quarter of new capacity and fossil-fuel additions contributing 14%, BloombergNEF said in a report.

Visit https://www.utilitydive.com/news/solar-coal-wind-global-capacity-bnef-report/632316/ to view the full article online.

Utilities May Need To Rethink Their Company Structure To Achieve Climate Goals, Xcel Executive Says

Growing quantities of distributed generation resources require closer coordination between utilities’ generation and transmission planning teams, while coming trends such as electrification and hydrogen will bring gas and electric utilities closer together, according to Alice Jackson, senior vice president of system strategy and chief planning officer at Xcel Energy.

Visit https://www.utilitydive.com/news/climate-utilities-planning-xcel-nexamp-hydrogen/632569/ to view the full article online.

White House Eyes Power Reliability Standards, Energy Efficiency Rules For Bitcoin, Other Crypto Mining

The U.S. government should take steps to ensure crypto mining operations do not reduce electric system reliability or drive up costs on the nation’s power grid, according to a report published by the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP). Those efforts would fall jointly to the U.S. Department of Energy, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and the North American Electric Reliability Corp., and could include development of new reliability standards, OSTP said.

Visit https://www.utilitydive.com/news/white-house-crypto-mining-report/631587/ to view the full article online.

DOE Study Finds Hundreds Of U.S. Coal Plants Could Convert To Nuclear

A new U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) study found hundreds of coal power plant sites could convert to nuclear, dramatically increasing dispatchable, carbon-free energy as the country strives to meet its net-zero emissions goal by 2050.

Visit https://www.power-eng.com/nuclear/doe-study-finds-hundreds-of-u-s-coal-plants-could-convert-to-nuclear/ to view the full article online.

Manchin’s Energy Permitting Push Stripped From Spending Bill

Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin has abandoned, for now, his push to speed up the permitting process for energy projects, easing the Senate’s path toward passing a stopgap spending bill that would keep the federal government running when the fiscal year ends.

Visit https://www.renewableenergyworld.com/storage/manchins-energy-permitting-push-stripped-from-spending-bill/ to view the full article online.

U.S. Proposal Would Permit Eagle Deaths As Renewables Expand

The Biden administration proposed a new permitting program for wind energy turbines, power lines and other projects that kill eagles, amid growing concern among scientists that the rapid expansion of renewable energy in the U.S. West could harm golden eagle populations now teetering on decline.

Visit https://www.renewableenergyworld.com/wind-power/us-proposal-would-permit-eagle-deaths-as-renewables-expand/ to view the full article online.

Biden-Harris Administration Announces $4.9 Billion to Deploy Infrastructure Necessary to Manage and Store Carbon Pollution

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced a nearly $4.9 billion set of funding opportunities to bolster investments in the carbon management industry and to significantly reduce carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions released into the atmosphere through power generation and industrial operations.

Visit https://www.energy.gov/articles/biden-harris-administration-announces-49-billion-deploy-infrastructure-necessary-manage to view the full article online.

Last Coal Burns At New Mexico’s San Juan Station

Public Service Company of New Mexico (PNM) said the last unit at its coal-fired San Juan Generating Station has officially been removed from service.

Visit https://www.power-eng.com/coal/last-coal-burns-at-new-mexicos-san-juan-station/ to view the full article online.

Retail Electricity Prices Continue Rapid Rise; U.S. Homes Could Pay More Than 15 Cents/kWh Next Year: EIA

The average price of electricity for residential consumers could reach $0.1524/kWh in 2023, the U.S. Energy Information Administration forecast in its latest Short Term Energy Outlook. That would represent about a 3.3% increase from this year — and EIA says prices are already 7.5% higher today than they were in 2021.

Visit https://www.utilitydive.com/news/retail-electricity-prices-continue-rapid-rise-utility-debt-growing/631496/ to view the full article online.

CPS Energy Celebrates Addition Of 180 MW Of Solar In Second Agreement Of Flexpower Bundle

CPS Energy, the largest municipally owned electric and natural gas utility in the United States, has reached an agreement with Kenlov Ashtrom Renewable Energy LLC (KARE), a subsidiary of Kenlov Renewable Energy and Ashtrom Renewable Energy, for the purchase of 180 megawatts (MW) of solar energy.

Visit https://newsroom.cpsenergy.com/cps-energy-celebrates-addition-of-180-mw-of-solar-in-second-agreement-of-flexpower-bundle/ to view the full article online.

Lake Ogallala To Be Drained For Maintenance On Keystone Diversion Dam South River Gates

Nebraska Public Power District (NPPD) is coordinating with Central Nebraska Public Power and Irrigation District (CNPPID) to begin draining Lake Ogallala to complete maintenance on the Keystone Diversion Dam as well as other canal maintenance projects.

Visit https://www.nppd.com/press-releases/lake-ogallala-to-be-drained-for-maintenance-on-keystone-diversion-dam-south-river-gates to view the full article online.

Big Move Starts In The Construction Of OPPD’s New Natural Gas Generation Balancing Plants

Omaha Public Power District is taking a big step forward with the construction of two new natural gas generation balancing plants in service of our mission to provide affordable, reliable and environmentally sensitive energy services to our customers.

Visit https://www.oppd.com/news-resources/news-releases/2022/september/big-move-starts-this-week-in-the-construction-of-oppd-s-new-natural-gas-generation-balancing-plants/?label=2022+News+Releases to view the full article online.

Platte River Headquarters Wins Award

Platte River Power Authority’s (Platte River) new headquarters building received an Urban Design Award for Architecture from the City of Fort Collins during their 2022 awards ceremony.

Visit https://www.prpa.org/news-releases/platte-river-headquarters-wins-award-2/ to view the full article online.

WAPA Selects Executive VP And COO

Tina Ko has been named executive vice president and chief operating officer at Western Area Power Administration. She has been acting in the position since March and will assume the permanent role in early November upon final approval by the Department of Energy Office of Corporate Executive Management.

Visit https://www.wapa.gov/newsroom/NewsReleases/2022/Pages/executive-vp-coo-ko.aspx to view the full article online.

Study On Possible Southwest Power Pool RTO Expansion Shows Promise, Informs Next Steps

Expanding the Southwest Power Pool Regional Transmission Organization (SPP RTO) into the Western Interconnection could produce a net total of $55 million to $73 million per year in savings depending on hydrologic conditions, according to a new Brattle study commissioned by prospective SPP RTO participants in the Western Interconnection.

Visit https://tristate.coop/study-possible-southwest-power-pool-rto-expansion-shows-promise-informs-next-steps to view the full article online.

United Power Honored As 2022 Solar And Storage Champion

The Colorado Solar and Storage Association (COSSA) honored United Power as one of their Solar and Storage Champions for 2022 for the cooperative’s contribution to the growth of the solar and storage industry.

Visit https://www.unitedpower.com/united-power-honored-2022-solar-and-storage-champion to view the full article online.

Burns & McDonnell Announces Director of Operations for Denver and Pacific Northwest

Burns & McDonnell, a 100% employee-owned engineering, architecture and construction firm, announces its selection of Zach Herrington, PE, to serve as director of operations for the firm’s offices in Denver and the Pacific Northwest. The firm's presence in the region is growing, creating new opportunities to support clients with innovative and cost-effective architecture, engineering and construction solutions.

Visit https://www.burnsmcd.com/news/zach-herrington-operations-denver-northwest to view the full article online.

White Paper

Scientists Improve Process For Turning Hard-To-Recycle Plastic Waste Into Fuel

Turning plastic waste into useful products through chemical recycling is one strategy for addressing Earth's growing plastic pollution problem. A new study may improve the ability of one method, called pyrolysis, to process hard-to-recycle mixed plastics — like multilayer food packaging — and generate fuel as a byproduct, the scientists said.

Visit https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/09/220929133311.htm to view the full article online.

New Research Can Help Electric Utilities Account For Climate Change

Researchers have devised a method to determine the impact of climate change on the supply and variability of local renewable energy. An increase in unusual weather patterns related to climate change means the demand for power and the availability of solar, hydro and wind energy can all become more variable.

Visit https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/09/220927133410.htm to view the full article online.

Rooftop Solar Cells Can Be A Boon For Water Conservation Too

Electricity-generating rooftop solar cells not only save on planet-warming carbon emissions, they also save a significant amount of water. Water consumption is tightly bound to energy use, because without water we cannot mine, drill, frack, or cool thermoelectric and nuclear plants. A given household may save 16,200 gallons of water per year on average by installing rooftop solar.

Visit https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/09/220921210056.htm to view the full article online.

Passive Cooling System Could Benefit Off-Grid Locations

A new passive cooling system relies on evaporation and radiation and requires no electricity. The device can provide up to about 19 degrees Fahrenheit (9.3 degrees Celsius) of cooling from the ambient temperature, to help keep food fresh longer or supplement air conditioning.

Visit https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/09/220920115553.htm to view the full article online.

Rocky Mountain Electrical League