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Costs passed onto consumers associated with the construction of Duke Energy Indiana’s Edwardsport coal gasification plant near Vincennes, Ind., will be capped at $2.975 billion, according to a settlement agreement reached last week between the utility, the Indiana Office of the Utility Consumer Counselor (OUCC), and Nucor Steel Indiana.

The California Energy Commission (CEC) last week unanimously approved construction and operation of Solar Millennium’s 1,000-MW Blythe Solar Power Project. If built, the project, consisting of four parabolic trough units, could be the world’s largest concentrating solar power (CSP) facility and among the first commercial solar thermal plants permitted on federal land.

Xcel Energy shut down its 538-MW Black Dog Power Plant in Burnsville, Minn., on Tuesday after an explosion rocked the coal- and gas–fired plant, causing visible damage to the exterior of the building. No personnel were harmed, but three firefighters responding to a smoldering fire in a coal hopper received minor injuries, police said.

Disputes concerning dominance of the world’s renewable energy sector heated up in the past week: The U.S.-based United Steelworkers (USW) filed a trade case alleging that “illegal” Chinese policies and practices threatened America’s industries, while Japan complained to the World Trade Organization (WTO) that Ontario’s feed-in-tariff (FIT) program violated rules and is protectionist.

Old Dominion Electric Cooperative (ODEC) last week said it would delay plans to obtain air permits necessary to begin construction of its proposed coal-fired Cypress Creek Power Station in southeastern Virginia, citing a slump in demand growth caused by the slackened economy.

As lawmakers returned to Capitol Hill this week, a bipartisan group of 26 governors on Monday urged Congress to pass a federal renewable energy standard (RES), saying that it could spur rapid growth of the nation’s renewable electricity sources.

Indiana and 11 other states filed an amicus brief with the U.S. Supreme Court last week, asking it to overturn a September 2009 decision by 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that allows greenhouse gas emitters to be sued for contributing to a public nuisance—climate change and global warming.

The U.S. Department of Energy last week committed millions of dollars to accelerate the technical and commercial readiness of renewable and energy storage technologies. Commitments include the largest single federal award to date for emerging U.S. marine and hydrokinetic technologies.

A report issued by the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) last week to the state’s General Assembly lambastes the proposed $3.5 billion Taylorville Energy Center (TEC) as too costly “with uncertain future benefits.” The commission also questioned the 716-MW integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) facility’s construction timeline, concluding that uncertainties could “potentially add to already-significant costs.”

Under a deal made this weekend between energy companies and the government of Chancellor Angela Merkel, the life of Germany’s 17 nuclear power plants, located in five of the country’s 16 federal states, will be extended by up to 15 years. The decision has spurred opposition from the country’s local utilities and renewable industry.