fossil fuel
The nation’s biggest electric capacity market needs fixing, critics say
The nation’s largest grid operator is warning it might not have enough electric generation in the future to guarantee reliability. And it comes as the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission convenes a forum on the multibillion-dollar capacity market PJM operates to ensure there’s enough power to meet demand even during grid emergencies, such as during Winter […]
Arkansas panel votes to ban state investments with managers who consider ESG factors
Arkansas lawmakers voted on Wednesday to divest state holdings from financial services providers that do not invest in energy or firearms companies. Approval from the House State Agencies and Government Affairs Committee was House Bill 1307‘s first step to becoming law. It now goes before the full House for consideration. The bill directs the state […]
Affordable, reliable and sustainable: report compares utility performance
A nationwide comparison of electric utility performance by an Illinois consumer advocacy group found that customers in states that are heavily reliant on fuel oil and natural gas, as in the Northeast and South, tend to pay more than those with larger amounts of carbon-free generation, among other findings. The report by the Illinois-based Citizens […]
As utilities spend billions on transmission, support builds for independent monitoring
An aging electric grid, fossil fuel power plant retirements and a massive renewable electricity buildout are all contributing to a boom in transmission and distribution wire projects by electric utilities across the country. In 2020, investor-owned electric utilities spent $25 billion on transmission, up from $23.7 billion in 2019, figures that the Edison Electric Institute, […]
Report says many utilities are slow-walking clean energy goals
DENVER — A report released this week by the Sierra Club faults dozens of utilities that provide a major chunk of U.S. electric generation for failing to speed up their decarbonization efforts. “For the sake of our communities and planet, we must do everything in our power to create a clean, renewable electric grid by […]
PR work for ‘Big Oil’ helped stymie climate action, U.S. House Democrats say
WASHINGTON – Public relations firms aligned with oil and gas companies have tested the limits of their industry ethics and caused major slowdowns to federal climate change policy, Democrats on a U.S. House panel said at a Wednesday hearing. The firms’ conduct went beyond the bounds of ethical public relations work, Democrats on the House […]
A third of U.S. House Democrats oppose Manchin permitting deal in stopgap spending bill
WASHINGTON – The group of U.S. House Democrats asking the chamber’s leaders not to include environmental permitting changes in a stopgap spending deal this month comprises 76 members, including senior leaders of budget and spending committees and factions across the caucus’ ideological spectrum. The 76 signers on a letter sent late last week and updated […]