natural gas

The CEO of Texas-based CPS Energy said March 6 that the utility wants to generate at least 50% of its power from renewable sources by 2040, part of a plan that includes the addition of 550 MW of battery storage, as it looks to reduce its dependence on fossil fuels. But the city-owned San Antonio […]

Florida regulators on March 1 approved Florida Power & Light’s (FPL’s) plan to build a new $888 million natural gas-fired power plant, replacing an existing gas- and oil-fueled plant on the same site in Dania Beach that is being retired this year. The utility on Thursday also announced the opening of four new solar power […]

Analysts who spoke with POWER differ slightly on the numbers, but they all agree that U.S. demand for natural gas for power generation will continue to rise. Supply should not be a problem—domestic

An Indiana utility has confirmed it will close three coal-fired power units, replacing that generation with a proposed natural gas-fired facility along with additional solar power. Evansville, Indiana-based Vectren Corp., a holding company whose assets include Vectren Energy Delivery of Indiana-South, on February 20 released its Smart Energy Future strategic plan, designed to reduce Vectren’s […]

By Ken W. Irvin and David E. Kronenberg Sidley Austin, LLP In one of the first decisions of its kind, the Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware held in In re La Paloma Generating Company, LLC that a power plant can be sold under Section 363 of the bankruptcy code free and clear of […]

Coal-fired power generation has taken another punch, as Consumers Energy—which along with DTE Energy supplies most of Michigan’s power—has announced it will phase out coal burning over the next two decades, with a plan to generate at least 40% of its electricity from renewable sources by 2040. Patti Poppe, Consumers’ president and CEO, made the […]

Can you remember the first car or motorbike you owned? The irresistible look and feel of its solid steel construction, and your proud feeling during the first drive through your brightly lit city. What about your last hard day at work? Pouring cup after cup of coffee from a glass pot into your ceramic mug, trying […]

An executive with the parent company of Tampa Electric said the utility plans to seek regulatory approval to convert its Big Bend Power Station in Florida, the oldest and last major coal-fired facility in its fleet, to natural gas. Rob Bennett, speaking at a breakfast gathering in Tampa on January 12, said an engineering analysis […]

The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) released its first look at expected power generation in 2019, and its conclusions are much the same as those it expects in 2018—the use of natural gas to produce electricity will continue to rise, and the use of coal will continue to decline. EIA’s Short-Term Energy Outlook, released January […]

Merchant markets for independent power producers in the U.S. are unfavorable, and many companies in the sector have slumping profits—even big losses—as they ponder where to go in the months and years

The James M. Barry Electric Generating Plant, both a coal-fired and natural gas-fired facility in Bucks, Alabama, sits on the west bank of the Mobile River. The facility’s coal is delivered via the river

A Michigan utility will build a $500 million natural gas-fired power plant on the site of an existing coal-fired plant in Lansing, and plans to retire the coal plant and another coal-fired facility in the town in the next few years. Lansing’s Board of Water & Light (BWL) announced the project December 18. The city-owned […]

Oman recently began operating a Wärtsilä-built power plant in the northern part of the country, part of more than $1 billion in power and energy projects being developed in the Arab nation. The Musandam Independent Power Project (IPP) is a 120-MW natural gas-fired plant (Figure 1) that can use light fuel oil as a secondary […]

Austin, TX (Dec. 5, 2017) — Drillinginfo, the energy industry’s leading SaaS and data analytics company, announced today it has acquired Dallas-based Pattern Recognition Technologies (PRT), a global leader in energy forecasting. This acquisition marks a significant addition to Drillinginfo’s current offerings while diversifying its solution-focused capabilities as the foremost analytics firm in the energy […]

Baltimore, Maryland (Dec. 4, 2017) – Governor Larry Hogan today announced that the State of Maryland, Montgomery and Prince George’s counties, and Laborers’ International Union of North America (LIUNA), have reached a $161.1 million settlement agreement in the proposed merger of Washington Gas and Light’s parent company, WGL Holdings with AltaGas, Ltd. This settlement requires final […]

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in early October announced it would rescind yet another signature Obama administration policy: the electricity regulation known as the Clean Power Plan (CPP). As with

The bell has tolled for another U.S. coal-fired power plant. WEC Energy Group on November 28 said it would shutter its Pleasant Prairie facility in Wisconsin, another victim of energy market dynamics that include low natural gas prices, falling demand for electricity, and the continuing move by utilities toward renewable power generation sources such as […]

A U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) analysis of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions in 2015 from U.S. coal consumption shows 43 states recorded lower emissions year-over-year, with just four states showing increased levels, while three states and the District of Columbia had little to no emissions. On the whole, the EIA report released in mid-November comparing […]

ExGen Texas Power (EGTP) Holdings LLC and ExGen Texas Power LLC, a subsidiary of Exelon Corp., on November 7 filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The filing in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Delaware is aimed at reducing the company’s debt, and four of EGTP’s five natural gas-fired power plants in Texas would be owned by lenders […]

The International Energy Agency (IEA) says the need for cheap electricity in Southeast Asia will drive global demand for coal for power generation through 2040, even as many countries continue to retire coal-fired plants and cancel projects for new coal facilities. IEA, which is set to release its World Energy Outlook 2017 on November 14, […]

Michigan regulators on October 25 gave their support to Upper Michigan Energy Resources Corp.’s (UMERC) plan for two new natural gas-fired plants in the state’s Upper Peninsula (U.P.). The plants approved by the Michigan Public Service Commission (PSC) would be built in Baraga and Negaunee townships. The plants are designed to produce a combined 183 […]

Florida Power & Light (FPL), which recently sustained a blow to its nuclear expansion plans, on October 19 said it’s about halfway through an ambitious plan to add eight new solar plants in the state by early 2018, as it continues to increase its photovoltaic (PV) generation capacity as part of a larger strategy to […]

NRG Energy has stopped development of a proposed natural gas plant in Oxnard, California, after two state regulators earlier this month recommended the California Energy Commission (CEC) reject the project. NRG on October 16 asked the CEC to suspend its review of the plans for the Puente Power Project, or P3, a proposed $300 million, […]

Two members of the California Energy Commission (CEC) on October 6 said they would recommend the full five-member group oppose construction of a new natural gas-fired power plant in Oxnard. The two commissioners said environmental impacts of the plant could not be mitigated, and the plant would not be able to conform to local ordinances […]

Electric generation and natural gas, both important to each other, have differing cultures, vocabularies, and histories, so making them work together has been a challenge. Glut. That word describes the state

Recently, many articles in a variety of publications speculated on how the August 21, 2017, solar eclipse would impact the electric grid. Most utility people expected no serious outages or disruptions, and

A partnership between one of the nation’s largest utilities and one of the world’s largest construction contractors resulted in the 1,100-MW Paradise Combined Cycle Plant in Drakesboro, Kentucky, next door

Nestled near the center of Shakopee, Minnesota, is the Minnesota Municipal Power Agency’s (MMPA’s) Shakopee Energy Park. The plant, a 46-MW natural gas-fueled reciprocating engine facility, powers the city

For more than 20 years, I have been championing the use of fuel cell powered cars to connect the natural gas distribution network of this country with the electric distribution network, making them partners in

The Drax Group operates the UK’s largest power station, and in a country where government leaders have said all coal generation needs to be retired by 2025, Drax is moving forward with plans to convert its