GAS POWER Direct

Pennsylvania seems poised to levy a severance tax on natural gas extraction after new Governor Tom Wolf proposed a change in the state’s treatment of gas production that could produce as much as $1 billion a year in revenue. The proposal would levy a 5% tax on the value of the gas at the wellhead, […]

The Massachusetts House of Representatives is considering a bill that would enact sweeping changes in the state’s energy mix, among them a tax to support construction of new natural gas pipelines. The bill is being pushed by legislators and business interests alarmed by the state’s rapid loss of coal and nuclear generation, and equally rapid […]

The Obama administration announced on Jan. 14 that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will propose new regulations to cut emissions of methane from the oil and gas industry, as well as other measures, with a goal of reducing total U.S. methane emissions 40% to 45% by 2025. The proposed rule is expected this summer. Emissions […]

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Moving natural gas through long-distance pipelines requires substantial energy, and much of that energy is lost when the gas must be reduced in pressure before it reaches end users. But a new project may demonstrate a way for gas transmission companies to recapture some of that energy and improve the efficiency of the letdown process, […]

The breathtaking collapse in crude oil prices this past fall, which has seen benchmark prices drop from over $110 a barrel last year to under $50 this past week, has had little effect on U.S. natural gas production, which continues to set records. According to data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA), U.S. dry natural […]

The Florida Public Service Commission (PSC) on Dec. 18 approved Florida Power & Light’s (FPL’s) request to invest in natural gas wells in Oklahoma. NextEra subsidiary FPL, one of the largest natural gas consumers in the country—it burns more gas than any other electric utility, about 2 Bcf/d—filed the request this past June. The plan […]

The growth in natural gas–fired generation in the U.S. since 2007 has overwhelmingly displaced coal-fired generation, according to a report from the Breakthrough Institute released Dec. 15. Consistent with the impressions of power sector observers, but in contrast to previous claims by environmental groups that growth in gas is offsetting renewables and nuclear while coal […]

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The drop in world oil prices, given added impetus by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries’ (OPEC’s) decision on Nov. 27 not to cut production, may pose a threat to shale gas production in the U.S. Crude oil prices have fallen substantially since reaching a peak of around $110/barrel this past July, hitting a low […]

After an array of New England’s largest utilities announced rate increases this fall, blaming seasonal natural gas shortages, the region is once again facing short-term gas price spikes as growing demand coupled with supply constraints roil the power market. National Grid, which supplies customers in New York, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island, announced on Nov. 1 […]

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Panda Power Funds awarded the engineering, procurement, and construction contract for a 778-MW combined cycle power plant to a turnkey consortium of Bechtel and Siemens Energy Inc. The Panda Stonewall generating station will be located in Loudoun County, Va., on a 101-acre site about four miles southeast of Leesburg. It is the sixth order awarded […]

After a decade of negotiations, Russia and China have now closed two major gas supply agreements, with a memorandum of understanding for a second route west of the first being signed on Nov. 9. According to Russian media, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese leader Xi Jinping agreed on a deal to supply 30 billion […]

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North Carolina–based NET Power announced Oct. 15 that it had closed funding and major project agreements for a novel gas-fired plant that will produce no emissions whatsoever. NET Power’s design represents potentially the biggest advance in gas-fired power generation since combined cycle gas turbines. Based on a process called the Allam Cycle, it relies on […]

With a warmer winter projected this year, according to recent forecasts from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), last year’s record upheavals in the natural gas market appear unlikely to recur. Especially in the eastern and northeastern U.S., this winter should be substantially warmer than 2013–2014, when the Polar Vortex hammered much of the […]

Booming natural gas production, mostly in the Northeast, will continue to confound traditional North American gas market dynamics in the near future, said speakers at the LDC Gas Forum—Rockies and West in Los Angeles Oct. 7-8. “Northeast production is flipping the market on its head,” said Luke Jackson, an energy analyst with Bentek. Gas production […]

After more than a year of deliberation, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) approved Dominion’s proposal to construct and operate liquefaction and export facilities at its existing Cove Point liquefied natural gas (LNG) import terminal located in Lusby, Md. The proposed export facility will be contained within the existing footprint of the 131-acre import terminal […]

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The U.S. added 1,146 MW of utility-scale solar generation in the first half of 2014—the most ever for a first- and second-quarter period—but natural gas continued to lead new additions, though its margin may be shrinking, according to Energy Information Administration (EIA) data. Through the first six months of 2014, the U.S. added 2,179 MW […]

Long viewed as a potential “next big thing” for power generation—often drawing unwarranted hyperbole in the process—and more recently as niche distributed generation, fuel cells are finally beginning to make some noise at grid scale. Hydrogen- and natural gas–powered fuel cells have been deployed over the past decade in behind-the-meter and microgrid applications for on-site […]

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With three recent requests to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has signaled it may seek to slow the recent drive to export liquefied natural gas (LNG). Three times this year, the Texas regional office of the EPA has asked FERC to consider wider impacts of increased greenhouse gas emissions […]

San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) on July 21 formally requested permission from the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) to enter into a power purchase agreement (PPA) with NRG Energy for up to 633 MW from the proposed Carlsbad Energy Center. The move is what SDG&E and NRG hope is the last chapter in a […]

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When GenOn Energy (now part of NRG Energy) announced in March 2012 that it would retire the 1950s-era coal-fired Shawville Generating Station in western Pennsylvania—blaming the impending Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS)—the reaction was swift and bitter. “Pragmatic energy policies should not guillotine coal from the nation’s energy grid,” then-state Rep. Bud George, who […]

After bottoming out at 822 billion cubic feet (Bcf) the week ending Mar. 28—the lowest level since April 2003—U.S. inventories of natural gas in underground storage have risen sharply this summer, though levels remain below recent averages, according to Energy Information Administration (EIA) data. Following a severe winter in which the country burned through a […]

Florida Power & Light (FPL), Florida’s largest utility, announced on June 25 that it was looking to invest directly in natural gas exploration and production as a means of securing future gas supplies and guarding against price volatility. NextEra Energy subsidiary FPL, the largest consumer of gas in the state, has been rapidly expanding its […]

Siemens AG and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. (MHI) announced on June 16 that they have submitted a proposal to Alstom, the French multinational conglomerate. The offer comes less than a week after the companies confirmed that they were considering a joint proposal and less than 2 months after General Electric (GE) made an offer to […]