A new Department of Energy study suggests there may be as much as 12,000 MW of developable capacity at existing dams currently without any hydroelectric equipment. But is that potential capacity low-hanging fruit ripe for the picking, or are there economic, technical and other challenges to developing much of it? Continue reading
Kansas advocate: Westar rate-hike order flawed
The state of Kansas’s advocate for utility customers said that in the April 18 order approving a stipulation agreement that increases Westar Energy’s base rates by $50 million the Kansas Corporation Commission improperly made no reference to the repeated concerns the advocate’s office had raised about elements of the rate hike. Continue reading →
IOUs face shareholder resolutions on coal plans
A shareholder advocacy group, As You Sow, is pressing three of the nation’s largest investor-owned utilities to accelerate their shift to lower-carbon generation by encouraging their shareholders to approve resolutions directing the IOUs to prepare plans to ramp down their coal-fired generation. Continue reading →
Do political contributions mandate PSC recusals?
Should utility regulators whose political campaigns receive significant contributions from people tied to the development of a planned lignite mine and mine-site power project be required to recuse themselves from voting on the matter? Continue reading →
Air base’s pact with wind developer a done deal
A first-of-its-kind agreement between a wind developer and a US Navy air base–under development for several months–has been signed by all parties, and could boost prospects for the developer’s 135-MW wind project south of Corpus Christi. Continue reading →
MIT study drills down on CO2 storage capacity
For years, the idea of capturing and sequestering carbon dioxide emissions from large numbers of new or retrofitted fossil-fired plants ran up against a big unknown: is there anywhere enough CO2 storage capacity in the US to make a real difference? Now, there is something very close to an answer. Continue reading →
Best use of biomass to power Southeast explored
A study is sparking a renewed debate about how much utilities and independent power companies in the southeastern US could ramp up their use of biomass-fired generation without having a net negative effect on forest health or climate change. Continue reading →
Austin Energy faces fight in restructuring rates
Austin Energy, planning major changes to its rate structure, has taken the unusual step of hiring a consumer advocate, Bill Marcus of Sacramento-based JBS Associates, to represent customers through the process.
Continue reading →
Groups sue agencies to block Calico solar job
Three environmental groups said that after exhausting their joint effort to reach an agreement with K Road Power regarding its 850-MW Calico solar project in California they have filed a lawsuit against several US agencies to block the project from proceeding to construction. Continue reading →
Study: Holistic approach could protect many dams
Utilities and independent power companies with hydroelectric assets sometimes view environmental groups as being unalterably opposed to hydro dams and in favor of removing them. Continue reading →