**A Virginia lawmaker introduced a bill last week that, if passed, would prohibit the utilities Dominion Energy and Appalachian Power from charging customers for many of their political activities. The bill, HB 792, would bar Virginia’s investor-owned electric utilities from charging their customers for their dues to trade associations, lobbying of government officials, advertising and other …
Category: Wind Energy
Energy quick reads
** Researchers at LexisNexis Risk Solutions found that when drivers switch from gasoline-powered cars to EVs, they tend to crash more. The frequency of insurance claims rises by about 14.3% while the severity of claims, or the amount that has to be paid out, increases by 14.5%, according to the data. ** The cold temperatures …
How close is ERCOT in Texas to failure over extreme weather?
At least one energy expert maintains the electric grid in Texas, ERCOT, is under a crucial test this week because of the extreme cold and it could show how close it is to another collapse—just like it did during Winter Storm Uri in 2021. That’s the opinion of David Blackmon, a man with a …
Energy quick reads
** Environmentalists are urging the White House to use an obscure legal tool to thwart TC Energy Corp.’s planned expansion of a natural gas pipeline in the Pacific Northwest that they say would stoke climate change. ** Freezing temperatures sweeping the US shut in more than half of North Dakota’s oil production and curbed refinery …
Energy quick reads
** Oil and gas company Talos Energy said on Monday it will acquire privately held QuarterNorth Energy in a $1.29 billion cash and stock deal to bolster its presence in Mexico. ** A Massachusetts wind project, which recently became the first utility-scale offshore wind project to deliver electricity to the grid, wouldn’t have been financially viable if …
Energy quick reads
** Former U.S. senator and secretary of state John Kerry will leave his post as President Joe Biden‘s special climate envoy after three years but will help Biden’s re-election campaign, two administration sources said on Saturday. ** The Biden administration unveiled a new regulatory proposal Friday that would introduce a new tax on the fossil fuel industry, punishing producers that …
Energy quick reads
** The U.S. Energy Information Administration expects electric generation from solar to be the leading source of growth in the U.S. power sector through the end of 2025, with 79 GW of new solar capacity projected to come online over the next two years. ** Venture Global LNG has told a U.S. regulator that it cannot meet contracts …
Energy quick reads
** Rental firm Hertz Global Holdings said on Thursday it would sell about 20,000 electric vehicles from its U.S. fleet due to higher expenses related to collision and damage, and will opt for gas-powered vehicles. ** Hawaii shut down its last coal plant on September 1, 2022, eliminating 180 megawatts of fossil-fueled baseload power from the …
GE spinoff to produce turbines for New Mexico’s SunZia wind project
Construction started in New Mexico on what is described as the largest wind project in the Western Hemisphere that will transfer electrical power from the state to Arizona. At the same time, GE Vernova, a business to be spun off by General Electric, said it will build hundreds of turbines for Pattern Energy’s SunZia …
Energy quick reads
** US oil and gas production is booming, but policies being imposed now could jeopardize the country’s energy might, the industry’s top trade group is warning Washington. That sobering outlook is being delivered by the American Petroleum Institute as it holds an annual gathering in the nation’s capital Wednesday to highlight top policy priorities, amid …
