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Coal disappears in the heartland as renewables get cheaper
Coal has long been the fuel of choice in the Midwest. But two utility announcements this week highlight the change underfoot in the heartland: Coal is in retreat, and renewables are stepping in to fill the void. [ read more … ]
North Carolina Solar Farms Slowly Recovering From Florence
North Carolina’s solar farms took a beating from Hurricane Florence and many of the power plants remain out of service, a week after the storm slammed into the second-biggest U.S. market. About one-third of the 3,000 megawatts of solar capacity connected to Duke Energy Corp.’s system went down initially, according to Randy Wheeless, a utility spokesman. Almost 600 megawatts are still out of service, including in coastal counties that are contending with record flooding. [ read more … ]
Policy & Politics
Considering energy future, N.J. hears out advocates
Top officials in New Jersey yesterday soaked up a day’s worth of suggestions on how to rewrite the state’s long-term strategy for cleaner transportation. It was the third of five energy-related hearings meant to provide grist for a new energy master plan, the compendium of aspirations and strategies that serves as a lodestar for state agencies responsible for environmental protection, transportation, economic development and other areas. [ read more … ]
McIntyre absent from FERC meeting as chief of staff controversy swirls
The chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) did not attend the agency’s September open meeting, citing health problems. Through a written statement, McIntyre said recovery from back and arm injuries sustained this summer prevented him from attending the meeting. His absence meant there was not the traditional news conference with the chairman after the FERC meeting. [ read more … ]
Jerry Brown’s satellite is really small — and not funded
The world may have finally caught up to Gov. Jerry Brown’s dream of getting California its own satellite, though his decades-old wish still has a ways to go before becoming reality. Brown, a Democrat, took one small step toward that giant leap last week when he announced that California would launch its “own damn satellite” to track climate pollutants — a vision he first floated during a previous turn as governor in the 1970s and 1980s. [ read more … ]
G.E. Steps Into Europe’s Offshore Wind Market
At a brightly lit factory near the mouth of France’s Loire River, technicians in hardened black baseball caps gingerly maneuver wind machine tower turrets called nacelles across the floor and then join them to big round generators. Then they roll the assemblies, which weigh hundreds of tons, onto the dock for shipment to a wind farm that General Electric is building off the coast of Germany. [ read more … ]
Wind On The Wires Is Now Clean Grid Alliance
St. Paul, Minn.-based Wind on the Wires, a regional authority for wind energy policy, transmission planning and renewable energy advocacy in the Upper Midwest, has re-branded to Clean Grid Alliance. “Re-branding was a necessary, thoughtful and deep dive into the essence of our brand attributes and our core work areas,” says Beth Soholt, executive director of Clean Grid Alliance. “As our members have evolved into developing solar and energy storage projects in addition to wind, we grew right along with them. However, our name did not reflect our expanded service offerings. We felt it was important for our name to better represent the full scope of our organization. [ read more … ]
Note: News clips provided do not necessarily reflect the views of coalition or its member governors.