** General Motors Co. made a counteroffer to the United Auto Workers union, proposing a total 16% pay raise for the top wage earners in its plants and a 56% hike for newer employees who make less, the company said in a statement. UAW President Shawn Fain reacted quickly saying the proposal is “insulting.” ** …
Category: Wind Energy
Wind power proved to be a weakness for ERCOT in Texas
Texas grid operators are learning their wind power has some issues. They faced a dilema this week when record heat resulted in a major demand for electricity to run air conditioners. The problem? The electricity generated by wind power in South Texas. Click here for Bloomberg
Wind and solar slumps left ERCOT at edge of emergency in Texas
Now it is being admitted—the electric grid in Texas came oh so close to emergency action because of solar and wind power issues in the month of August. The Electric Reliability Council of Texas confirmed this week it encountered multiple tight supply periods during the month because solar output dropped at night when the …
Energy briefs
** The Biden administration on Wednesday confirmed it will nix seven Alaskan oil and gas drilling leases issued under the Trump administration and suspended for review shortly after Biden took office. The area in question in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge had previously been leased to the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority. ** Nearly 1 in …
Transmission turf war in Oklahoma—really?
A Tranmission war in the Oklahoma Panhandle. That’s how one blogger of energy issues, transmission policies and regulations described Oklahoma’s recent transmission line issues in the state’s Panhandle. West Virginia consumer advocate Keryn Newman took up blogging in a fight against AEP & Allegheny Energy’s PATH joint transmission line which was proposed across the …
Fast energy reads
** As the threat of a strike looms amid negotiations between the United Auto Workers union and major US automakers, the White House faces increasing pressure to deliver on its promise of better wages and benefits for workers at electric vehicle facilities. ** Los Angeles International Airport has banned the sale of single-use plastic bottles in …
Headlines of other energy stories
** A Trump-era rule allowing railroads to haul highly flammable liquefied natural gas will now be formally put on hold to allow more time to study the safety concerns related to transporting that fuel and other substances like hydrogen that must be kept at extremely low temperatures when they are shipped, regulators announced. ** Colorado Gov. …
Ground broken on $10 billion transmission line project in New Mexico
Ground was broken in recent days in New Mexico on construction of the $10 billion wind-powered electric transmission line carrying power to Arizona. The SunZia transmission line was described by the chief executive of the company building the project as bigger than the Hoover Dam. Hunter Armistead told the Associated Press that breaking ground …
Quick reads
** President Biden on Wednesday said he would welcome a potential Republican investigation into the federal government’s response to deadly wildfires in Maui after he laid out what his administration has done to help the island recover. ** Rivian, an electric vehicle manufacturer, is teaming up with renewable energy company BrightNight and environmental organization The …
Public Service Company of New Mexico told it needs more renewable energy power
Public Service Company of New Mexico is being told by a nonprofit that the utility will have to add nearly 1,400 MW of wind and solar power if it expects to become emissions-free by 2040. New Mexico’s Energy Transition Act requires utilities to reach 40% renewables by 2025, 50% renewables by 2030, and 100% …