US Governors push back against PJM following record-high prices for power plants
Five governors urged PJM Interconnection on Tuesday to change its process for determining the price of power plants, after the auction that saw record prices. Prices in the most recent PJM auction were almost 10 times higher than last year. This was largely due to a shrinking supply of electricity and an increasing demand for electricity. Prices were set at levels that raised concern about the cost of electricity for homes and businesses on PJM territory. Environmental groups filed a complaint to PJM over its pricing process. In a letter sent to PJM…
PJM wants a delay in the auction of capacity after an environmentalist's complaint
PJM Interconnection will delay its next annual auction of capacity by six months, while the largest U.S. Grid Operator addresses a complaint made by environmental groups. The biggest U.S. Grid Operator said this in a letter sent on Thursday. PJM’s latest auction, which resulted to payments to power plants within its system that were 833% more than the previous years, raised concerns about a spike in power bills. The Sierra Club, Earthjustice, and other environmental groups filed a complaint with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission last month, alleging that PJM increased capacity prices in part by excluding certain power stations without justification.
Germany builds LNG import terminals
Germany is expanding its natural gas import options as part of efforts to decarbonise and replace Russian supplies. Here are some details about terminals that will host floating storage regasification (FSRU) units to receive LNG. There are also plans for shore-based terminals, as well as facilities to produce and import ammonia and hydrogen. In German media, the state-owned Deutsche Energy Terminal (DET), without specifying exact dates for commissioning, said that FSRUs will be operational at Stade as well as Wilhelmshaven 2 before winter.
Equinor, Aker BP, Vaar face rising project costs, Norway budget shows
The Norwegian government announced on Monday that Aker BP, Equinor and Vaar Energi had raised their estimates of costs for major oil and natural gas development projects in the Norwegian continental shelf. The government's fiscal budget documents revealed that the cost of Equinor Johan Castberg is expected to rise from 80.3 billion crowns, which was estimated a year ago. Aker BP’s Yggdrasil will likely cost 134.4 billion crowns compared to 120.2 billion crowns a year ago, and Vaar’s Balder Future is expected at 52.2 billion crowns compared to 44.5 billion crowns.
Brazil's mega dams were supposed to lead the way for a greener future. Climate change came next
The drought has exacerbated the problem of underperformance. When he first came to power in the early 2000s, Brazil's President Luiz inacio Lula da silva bet his green future on "run-of river" megadams - whose turbines move by natural river flow rather than cascading water from towering dams. Santo Antonio Jirau and Belo Monte have been built in the Amazonian rainforest despite the strong opposition of environmental groups. They are now among the five most powerful dams within the country. Belo Monte was built in 2016 and has the fourth largest capacity in the entire world. The megadams are operating well below their capacity due to the record drought in Amazon.
Germany builds LNG import terminals
Germany is expanding its natural gas import options as part of efforts to decarbonise and replace Russian supplies. Here are some details about terminals that will host floating storage regasification (FSRU) units to receive LNG. There are also plans for shore-based terminals, as well as facilities to produce and import ammonia and hydrogen. On Sept. 17, the private company Deutsche ReGas began reloading LNG from the LNG tanker Coral Energy using smaller tanks to deliver LNG in areas without pipeline access. The site was opened to regular operations on Sept. 2, with FSRUs Energos Power & Neptune.
Rural towns in New Mexico's arid region are looking to treated oil wastewater for a drought solution.
Stephen Aldridge, a pilot of a four-seater helicopter, could see a dozen lagoons filled with toxic waste glistening in the distance between drill rigs. The mayor of Jal, a tiny town nestled in the middle of U.S. Oil Country near the Texas border, saw the scene as a chance to find water for the state that is suffering from a worsening drought. Aldridge belongs to a growing number of New Mexico politicians that want to see the state develop regulations to allow the millions of gallons per day of produced water, which is spewed out along with the Permian Basin's abundant oil and gas, to be used instead of being thrown away.
California rooftop solar subsidy will cost $8.5 billion per year, according to a ratepayer's advocate
The California Residential Solar Subsidy will cost California ratepayers without rooftop panels $8.5 billion per year by the end this year. This will contribute to higher electricity prices for consumers. In 2022, the California Public Utilities Commission reformed its residential solar policy called net energy metering. This allowed customers who had rooftop panels to receive credit for any excess electricity generated by their systems at or close to retail electricity rates. The new policy reduced the rate. This made going solar less appealing and angered environmental groups. Also, the solar industry has reported that it lost over 17,000 jobs due to the change.
UK faces legal action for new North Sea oil and Gas Licences
A marine conservation group is challenging in court the decision of Britain to issue new oil and natural gas exploration licenses. The organization claims that ministers failed to take into account the impact of these licences on marine life. Oceana UK has filed a lawsuit against 31 licenses granted by the previous British government to the North Sea Transition Authority in May of this year, as part of its latest round for oil and gas licensing. A licence for exploration does not always lead to a producing field. However, environmental…
Philippines fishermen fear solar farm on lake could hurt their income
Alcones, a member of a group that opposes the government's plans to install solar panels on top of Laguna de Bay, the largest source of freshwater fish in the country, to meet the growing demand for electricity, is opposed to this plan. "Laguna Lake provides income and life to fishermen who have not finished school, like us. "It also provides many displaced workers with an alternative source of income by fishing," said Alcones a 55-year old father of two, who lives near Laguna Lake. The Philippines, an archipelago with more than 7,500 islands, is limited by its land resources. It aims to produce 50% of its electricity using renewable sources by the year 2040.
Australian regulator: No decision on Woodside Browse Gas Project yet
Western Australia's environmental regulator announced on Monday that it will release recommendations in 2025 on Woodside Energy’s Browse gas project. A newspaper had reported earlier this week that the large project could be rejected. This $20.5 billion gas project off the coast of Western Australia, the largest in the country but still untapped resource has been on the drawing boards for years. The Sydney Morning Herald reported on Monday that the Western Australian Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) sent preliminary comments to the company, in February, calling the proposed terms "unacceptable".
Cheniere Asks Biden Admin to Drop Pollution Rule
Cheniere Energy Inc has asked the Biden administration to exempt it from limits on emissions of cancer-causing pollutants, arguing they would force the top U.S. exporter of liquefied natural gas to shut for an extended period and endanger the country's efforts to ramp up supplies to Europe, according to documents reviewed by Reuters.The request imposes an uncomfortable dilemma on President Joe Biden’s administration as it tries to balance efforts to slash pollution from the fossil fuel industry against promises to help European allies cut energy ties with Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine.Denying Cheniere could reduce America’s LNG exports for months or years…
Activists Blockade Shell Refinery in Port of Rotterdam
Dozens of Greenpeace activists in Rotterdam port used a ship, buoys and a small flotilla of kayaks on Monday to block traffic around Shell’s Pernis refinery, Europe’s largest, as part of a campaign seeking a ban on fossil fuel advertising.Police ended the blockade after several hours and the port’s authority said economic disruption to the wider harbor was minimal.The action comes as Greenpeace and more than 20 other environmental groups began seeking a million signatures for a European Union-wide ban on adverts and sponsorships by oil and gas companies…
Energy Charter Treaty Talks: EU to Seek Fossil Fuel Phase-out
The European Union's executive will push for a 10-year phase-out of the protection for fossil fuels under an international energy treaty, following calls from some countries to quit the accord unless it can be aligned with Europe's climate goals.The more than 50 signatories to the Energy Charter Treaty will next month resume talks to update the agreement, which was created in the 1990s to protect international energy investments.It has faced mounting criticism from European governments and environmental groups that say it undermines efforts…
US Axes Environmental Reviews of LNG Marine Transport
The U.S. Department of Energy on Thursday issued a rule to exclude environmental reviews for marine transport of liquefied natural gas (LNG), as the Trump administration unleashes last minute rules supporting the fossil fuel industry.The rule, which the Energy Department issued in a pre-publication notice in the Federal Register, frees LNG transport license applications from including environmental reviews that have been required under a bedrock environmental law, the National Environmental Policy Act.The requirement has only been on LNG shipments to countries with which the Washington does not have a free trade agreement…
US Oil Industry Group Pledges to Fight Possible Biden Fracking Limits
If U.S. President-elect Joe Biden tries to restrict development of oil and gas drilling on federal lands, the American Petroleum Institute (API) will use "every tool at its disposal" including legal action, chief executive Mike Sommers said in an interview with Reuters on Monday.Biden has said he supports a ban on new gas and oil permits — including fracking — on federal lands.Fracking, or hydraulic fracturing, is a drilling technology that has allowed the U.S. oil industry to vastly boost output in recent years, making the United States the world's largest producer of crude oil.
Cenovus Energy Sets Out to Slash Emissions
Canada's Cenovus Energy on Thursday unveiled plans to reduce per-barrel greenhouse gas emissions by 30% by the end of 2030, as the country's oil industry faces growing pressure from environmental activists.The Alberta-based integrated oil and gas company said it will spend an additional C$1.5 billion on businesses run by the country's indigenous communities.Opposition from environmental and indigenous groups have stalled new pipeline projects in Canada and the United States that are needed to move Canadian crude to refineries. Investors in the region have also become more vocal about environmental…
Drilling Ban Proposals Divide Democrats
In the southeast corner of New Mexico, new houses, hotels and jobs are sprouting like flowers in the desert. Trucks hauling equipment and laborers jam once-barren highways on the way to thousands of oil rigs.The Democrats who control the state's government have lofty plans for the billions of dollars in projected tax revenues from the drilling industry in the Permian Basin, the world’s biggest oil field, starting with an overhaul of New Mexico's ailing public education system. The biggest threat to those plans, however, may be the presidential candidates from their own party.The top 10 Democratic contenders have called for ending new drilling leases on federal lands.
Offshore Wind: Regulatory “Takes” – Take a Close Look
On April 30 the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) published a notice, requesting public comments, on a proposed “incidental harassment authorization” (IHA). An IHA is a legal and enforceable document presenting the terms and conditions with which a company must adhere in order to protect wildlife. In this case, the draft IHA was for Vineyard Wind, the wind energy company ready to start construction on an 800 MW offshore wind farm in the Atlantic, covering about 675 square kilometers, starting 14 miles from the coastline of Martha’s Vineyard.
Trump Administration to Revise Offshore Safety Rules
The Trump administration will unveil on Thursday its final plan to roll back offshore drilling safety measures put in place by the Obama administration after the fatal 2010 BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill, the worst in U.S. history, raising concerns by some groups over potential risks to workers and the environment.The Interior Department will announce the final revised rule at an afternoon event in Port Fourchon, a Louisiana seaport that services over 90% of the Gulf of Mexico’s deepwater oil production.Last year, the agency's Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement proposed revisions to the 2016 offshore well control rule…
