WaPo just reported that the Biden admin is drafting an EO to “allow construction of massive data centers and electrical power plants on federally owned lands” #EnergySky
www.washingtonpost.com/business/202...
"German power prices spiked .. to a level not seen since the energy crisis in 2022, as wind generation receded"
Imports hit their highest level in a decade
I'm not anti-wind, love all kinds of generation!
But proponents sacrifice cred by constantly downplaying weaknesses/risks
FERC today upheld its transmission planning/cost allocation rule, but gave states a bigger role in the process. “I would say to the states this is giving you a much bigger toolbox with a much better set of tools,” said FERC’s Christie, who voted against the initial Order 1920.
FERC 1920a changes seem to revolve around giving increased involvement in cost allocation to “state entities.” Something Commissioner Christie raised previously. 🔌💡
🔌💡New Advanced Energy United report quantifies benefits of successful #interconnection reform:
💰$100B economic benefits
⚡️significantly boost grid capacity
👷♀️create 1m years’ worth of employment
blog.advancedenergyunited.org/reports/inte...
Just published: My team breaks down every agenda item in advance of FERC's open meeting on Thursday #EnergySky
www.whitecase.com/insight-aler...
Doesn't surprise me, tbh. The legacy infrastructure of pretty much everything built post-WWII is starting to erode and we've done so little to modernize it all. Daunting but critical. Maybe if we incorporate grid-enhancing technologies etc. while doing so, it'll somehow be a net positive. Maybe.
Just published: My team breaks down every agenda item in advance of FERC's open meeting on Thursday #EnergySky
www.whitecase.com/insight-aler...
Evergreen ... skeet? (Ugh.) But yeah, I could already do without people singing the virtues of this place ad nauseam. We get it. Most of us are here trying it out for the same reason.
Of course — my main point was that DOE might exert pressure on FERC again, though — it’s independent but it wouldn’t have even had to initiate a rulemaking proceeding if DOE hadn’t written a memo requesting it do so (pursuant to Sec. 403 of DOE Act). A new FERC chair might hew closer to DOE’s ideas!
Legit feels like exponential growth over the past week (quant ppl please don’t come for me over the actual meaning of that)
Absolutely — similar phenomena in the Florida Keys, too. I visited my friend + her family last year and we saw the usual boating excursions for snorkeling, even though there wasn’t much for the tourists to see. The lag period of expectation still favors those communities … how much longer, though?
The state of GBR — and virtually all reefs globally, tbh — is the most underreported ecological disaster of our time. We’re watching them bleach and die off in real time.
Except if DOE asks FERC to distort + circumvent market forces by ordering RTOs to buy (at above-market rates) from certain “at-risk” coal (+ nuclear) plants for at least 2 years under the guise of “fuel security.” FERC didn’t play ball then (in ‘18), but technically it is an agency under DOE, so tbd
I am happy that my paper on transmission line cost allocation with @jacobmays.bsky.social is now out in the energy law journal. papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers..... The paper is a deep dive on the law and economics of transmission lines. Full disclosure: I am a transmission line enthusiast.
Major news last week on the New England Clean Energy Connect transmission line, which has been delayed by over three years from its initial in-service date. (1/9)
my ex-wife lives there, so I’ll have to trust this data independently of that. (Sincerely, an Alexandria resident)
Data center land commentary: "elsewhere though the demand is seeming insatiable with one player noting having worked on 5 GWs over 10+ years, with a backlog of work that is now 30 GWs+ while another said any deferrals/cancellations are immediately backfilled by multiple parties who want their place"
Bank of America scores nuclear as a 'medium' investment risk
It's a lower risk score than wind, the same as battery storage, and higher than solar PV
institute.bankofamerica.com/sustainabili...
Tempted to use that FERC seal in a client presentation and see if anyone notices tbh
Agreed — and thanks for sharing this article especially (I ghostwrote my boss’ quotes)
#EnergySky appointment viewing — ‘Landman’ on Paramount+ premieres today! Early reviews seem … bad, but we can still use our collective wisdom to roast it / hate-watch
www.youtube.com/watch?v=7zxh...
Right? Kind of surprised at some of the hand-waving bc he’s … pro-geothermal. LPO is probably no longer. A bunch of other DOE funding sources w/r/t the IRA + recent initiatives also likely gone or reduced significantly. I’m an “all of the above” guy myself but I think this will be a regressive shift
Russia takes aim at US nuclear power by throttling uranium 🇷🇺☢️
⚠️ Russia is temporarily limiting exports of enriched uranium to the US, creating potential supply risks to utilities operating reactor
👉 Russia controls ~50% of the world’s capacity to separate uranium isotopes needed in reactors
A relatively establishment pick, tbh — at least compared to the other cabinet nominees. His stance on climate change isn’t shocking but he seems to mostly(?) take issue w/ what he perceives as alarmism. He’s been wrong about extreme weather, though, so that’s not to say he’s operating in good faith
It hasn’t received a lot of attention, but a federal court this week chucked 40 years of rules governing America’s most controversial environmental law into the wood chipper. Here’s what happens next: heatmap.news/climate/nepa...
Kind of a big deal. This week, FERC approved filings from MISO and SPP that will finance construction of high-voltage transmission to enable the connection of 30 GW of wind, solar, and storage. Yet, many clean energy developers opposed the plan - 🔌💡 elibrary.ferc.gov/eLibrary/fil...
Avangrid sues Nextera about its NECEC transmission line project, claiming "NextEra has committed anticompetitive, unfair, and deceptive business practices to foreclose competition for the supply of wholesale electricity on the ISO-New England marketplace."
statepowerproject.org/wp-content/u...
