Markets
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Gas
U.S. Agrees to Ramp Up LNG Exports to Europe, Actively Reduce Natural Gas Demand
The Biden administration and the European Commission launched a multi-pronged effort that will dramatically ramp up U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports to the European Union (EU) but also reduce overall natural gas demand in the U.S. and EU through “accelerated market deployment” of clean energy measures. The measures are part of strategic energy cooperation […]
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Markets
Market Transitions: The MOPR Merry-Go-Round
The PJM Interconnection’s Minimum Offer Price Rule (MOPR) was introduced in 2006 as a floor to bar new generators from artificially depressing capacity auction clearing prices through below-cost bids.
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Nuclear
Natural Gas and Nuclear Power Are Not ‘Green’ Investments
It is not an over-reaction to state that we are in the midst of a planetary emergency. We face the combined threats of climate, nature loss, and human health pandemics. Of the nine planetary boundaries that
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Nuclear
Poland Secures NuScale SMR as Urgency for Nuclear Energy Ramps Up Across Central, Eastern Europe
NuScale Power has signed a definitive commercial agreement with mining and processing firm KGHM Polska Miedź S.A. to deploy a VOYGR power plant of up to 924 MWe as early as 2029 to support KGHM’s copper and silver production in Poland. Under an “early works agreement” signed in a ceremony on Feb. 14 in the […]
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Markets
Winter Freeze Testing Texas Power Grid Reforms
Parts of Texas have suffered localized, distribution-level power outages as an Arctic outbreak sent temperatures plummeting across the state, but its heavily scrutinized grid is largely prepared to weather the storm, state entities said. Frigid temperatures stemming from a large dome of Arctic high pressure are sending temperatures into the single digits and below zero […]
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Legal & Regulatory
Former FERC Commissioner Says ‘Market Design Problem’ Was a Leading Cause of February 2021 Texas Power Crisis
In February 2021, a severe cold weather event, known as Winter Storm Uri, caused numerous power outages, derates, or failures to start at electric generating plants scattered across Texas and the south-central U.S. The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), which manages the power supply for about 90% of the load in Texas, ordered a […]
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Renewables
Infrastructure, Renewables, ESG Initiatives Lead Trends for 2022
The Biden administration has made clear its intention to promote the transition to clean energy, setting ambitious goals like carbon neutrality for the power sector by 2035 and for the entire country by 2050. A critical step toward these goals was congressional passage of the $1 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), which President […]
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Gas
GE Grasping for Growth as It Prepares for Integrated Energy Spinoff
GE’s first earnings release after the American conglomerate last November announced it would combine and spin-off its Renewable Energy, Power, and Digital business suggests flagging orders for onshore and offshore wind equipment and gas turbines amid a business environment wrought with uncertainty. GE on Jan. 25 reported revenues of $15.7 billion for its Renewable Energy business, […]
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Gas
Vistra Claims ‘Extortion’ by Pipeline Company, Says Natural Gas Supply to Texas Power Plants Threatened
Two Vistra Corp. subsidiaries have alleged in a complaint filed with the Texas Railroad Commission that a major pipeline firm has threatened to terminate natural gas service to five Texas gas-fired power plants—a combined 2 GW—“at any time” after Jan. 23. If escalated, the issue could pose new hurdles for the state’s electricity security as […]
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News
ESG Aspects Loom Large in Power and Utilities M&A Activity
Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) efforts are factoring into merger and acquisition (M&A) deal activity within the power and utilities sector across North America, according to a report issued by PwC, a professional services firm serving the “Trust Solutions and Consulting Solutions” segments. “As policies are clarified and ESG strategies are strengthened, broad investor interest […]
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