Latest news with #PJM
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Shaprio's renewable energy plan advances as Trump administration keeps Pa. fossil fuel plant online
The Blue Creek wind farm in Ohio, consists of 152 wind turbines with a total capacity of 304 megawatts. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has finalized new rules that are expected to help ease the backlog of new wind, solar and battery storage projects awaiting regulatory approval. (Robert Zullo/ States Newsroom) Days before Pennsylvania lawmakers advanced Gov. Josh Shapiro's plan to expand the commonwealth's renewable energy resources, the Trump administration ordered a fossil fuel-fired power plant outside Philadelphia to keep running past its planned retirement date. The U.S. Department of Energy on Friday ordered Pennsylvania's electricity grid operator PJM Interconnect and owner Constellation Energy to keep the Eddystone Generating Station in Delaware County ready to meet peak power demands. It was scheduled to cease operations Saturday. The order highlights challenges facing Pennsylvania policymakers as they work to ensure there's enough electricity for industry and residents while reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Legislation that would set a more ambitious goal for renewable energy production in what Shapiro describes as an all-of-the-above approach to meeting demand passed a state House committee on Monday. House Bill 501 would enact the Pennsylvania Reliability Energy Sustainability Standard (PRESS), which is part of Shapiro's broader energy policy dubbed the Lightning Plan. It would require 35% of the state's energy to come from clean sources including solar, wind, nuclear and other emerging technologies by 2040. Other aspects of the plan would provide tax credits for renewable energy development and establish a dedicated board to streamline energy permitting to incentivize developers to prioritize clean energy. While President Donald Trump has backed the oil, gas and coal industries since he campaigned for his first term in 2016, the DOE order to keep the Eddystone Generating Station online cited an 'emergency situation' as PJM warned that electricity demand in the 13 states it serves could soon outpace the opening of new power plants. PJM projects its peak demand will grow by about 70,000 megawatts to 220,000 megawatts by 2040. The growth is being driven by the increased electrification of transportation and industry and the proliferation of data centers to satisfy the demand for computing power from artificial intelligence and other technologies. PJM's process to authorize new power plants to connect to the grid faces a backlog including hundreds of gigawatts of renewable energy while about 20% of its existing generating capacity is expected to retire in the next five years. Starting this month, consumers in Pennsylvania and the rest of PJM's footprint will see electric bills increase by 10% to 20% as a result of soaring prices in last July's capacity auction, in which electricity generators bid to provide generating capacity. Pennsylvania, meanwhile, lags behind most of the nation in renewable energy development. An analysis of federal energy data by PennEnvironment put the commonwealth behind all but Washington and Alaska, which tied for last place. Debate on the renewable energy legislation Monday in the House Environmental and Natural Resources Committee demonstrated the tension between Pennsylvania's energy future and its past. Republicans argued the goal of obtaining 35% of the state's energy from clean sources by 2035 is unrealistic. Natural gas and coal provide reliable electricity while helping to drive Pennsylvania's economy, they said. Rep. Tim Twardzik (R-Schuylkill) said renewable energy sources including solar and wind power would take up too much land. And subsidizing them at the expense of established fossil fuel sources would hurt workers and consumers by taking away jobs and increasing prices. 'It's just going to waste money and not solve our problems,' Twardzik said. Democrats said diversifying the state's energy portfolio is essential to staving off an energy crisis. 'We are at a crossroads,' Rep. Chris Pielli (D-Chester) said. 'I think that we should be looking at many forms of energy, nuclear, geothermal, and even using our gas and our oil.' Pielli rebutted claims by Republicans that the renewable energy legislation would create winners and losers. He argued Pennsylvania's gas industry benefitted from a subsidy when lawmakers chose not to impose an excise tax on gas production, forgoing billions in revenue. Deeply conservative Texas, Pielli noted, leads the nation in both natural gas production, wind and solar energy. 'Let's look at that … recognizing that this bill is an opportunity that we can fine tune, where we can use any and all of these resources to protect our consumers going forward when it comes to our power,' he said.
2 days ago
- Business
To avoid blackouts, Trump admin keeps another aging power plant online through summer
HARRISBURG, Pa. -- The U.S. Department of Energy has ordered another power plant, this time an oil and gas plant in Pennsylvania, to keep its turbines running through the hottest summer months as a precaution against electricity shortfalls in the 13-state mid-Atlantic grid. The department's order to the grid operator, PJM Interconnection, regarding the Eddystone power plant just south of Philadelphia on the Delaware River, is the department's second use of federal power under President Donald Trump to require a power plant to keep operating on the mainland United States. Constellation Energy had planned to shut down Eddystone's units 3 and 4 on Saturday, but Trump's Department of Energy ordered the company to continue operating the units until at least Aug. 28. The units can produce a combined 760 megawatts. The department, in its order, cited PJM's growing concerns about power shortfalls amid the shutdown of aging power plants and rising electricity demand. PJM last year approved Constellation's request to shut down the units, but it welcomed the department's order to keep them operating, saying it's a 'prudent, term-limited step' that allows PJM, the department and Constellation to study the longer-term need and viability of Eddystone's units. The department took a similar step last week, ordering Consumers Energy to keep the J.H. Campbell coal-fired power plant open in Michigan past its Saturday retirement. The grid operator there, the Midcontinent Independent System Operator, said the order was unnecessary, that there was no energy emergency there and that there should be enough energy in the region through the summer. An environmental advocacy group, the Delaware Riverkeeper Network, criticized the move to keep Eddystone operating as an "environmental injustice." Shutting down the units would reduce hazardous pollution and carbon emissions from the decades-old facility and help the region meet federal clean air standards for smog, it said.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
N.J. Dem senators call for probe of grid operator as electric prices surge
Democratic senators want grid operator PJM investigated. Republicans say the Murphy administration is to blame for high electric prices. (Dana DiFilippo | New Jersey Monitor) State senators sparred on the chamber's floor Monday over a resolution directing New Jersey energy regulators to launch an investigation of the state's grid operator, one day after steep electricity price hikes took effect. The resolution, which passed in a 25-12 vote along party lines and must still be approved by the Assembly, calls on the Board of Public Utilities to investigate PJM Interconnection's capacity market auction, a price-setting auction that saw a nearly tenfold increase over the previous sale last July. Democrats have sought to pin the blame on the rise in electricity bills on PJM, arguing it was too slow to connect renewable projects to its grid, thereby depressing supply and pushing prices upward. In some cases, they've outright claimed PJM's process was corrupt. 'The problem begins and ends with a grid that doesn't work. We are not investing enough money in this grid. The grid is held together by chewing gum, toothpicks, and bobby pins,' said Sen. Bob Smith (D-Middlesex), who chairs the chamber's energy panel. 'So now anyone who wants to enter the grid has to get an approval for a connection, and in the case of New Jersey, for the last two-and-a-half years, we've had 79 projects in the queue that PJM would not approve.' Industry officials and experts have said electricity prices are rising because of an imbalance between supply and demand. Demand, which had been roughly stable for decades, is surging amid growing electrification and the rise of power-hungry artificial intelligence data centers. Meanwhile, New Jersey's own supply of electricity has fallen as the state shuttered fossil plants and renewable projects — chiefly offshore wind — struggled to get off the ground, leaving it more reliant on power imported through PJM's grid. Republican members have charged Gov. Phil Murphy's renewable-heavy energy agenda and reliance on offshore wind projects are responsible for the price surge. The offshore wind projects have stalled because of rising costs and opposition by the Trump administration. 'Experts pointed to a whole host of sources and culprits that have brought us here today, a place that was foreseeable and predictable. And now we want to limit the investigation to PJM?' said Sen. Tony Bucco (R-Morris), the chamber's minority leader. Some GOP members argued the Board of Public Utilities, which they charge is partly to blame for rising energy prices, was an inappropriate pick to conduct the probe. Sen. Bob Singer (R-Ocean) said there is some support for sunsetting the board. 'You've got to put the problem at the foot of those who created it. You've got to investigate those who created it, and you have to replace them if necessary,' Singer said. The Board of Public Utilities is the regulatory body charged with approving utilities' requests for rate increases. New Jersey's regulated utilities do not profit from the sale of electricity itself, but they are permitted to recoup the costs of their investments and some other costs at a markup, typically around 9.6%. PJM itself declined to comment on the resolution but said the current price spike was driven by a divergence between supply and demand. 'These higher prices are the result of a loss in electricity supply caused primarily by decarbonization policies that have led to an uptick in generator retirements, coupled with an unprecedented spike in electricity demand due largely to the advancement of data centers to power artificial intelligence, the electrification of vehicles and heating systems, and the onshoring of U.S. manufacturing,' said Dan Lockwood, a spokesperson for PJM. The Republicans said a special committee that held hearings on rising energy prices earlier in the spring should conduct the investigation, which they said should include a probe of the Board of Public Utilities. Democratic members argued the board has institutional and subject matter knowledge that would lend expertise to an investigation that might be absent under the special committee, though some said the panel should continue to play a role. Still, Sen. Paul Sarlo (D-Bergen), the chamber's budget chairman, questioned the regulatory agency's future. 'We ultimately should be part of the long-term solution, and I'm not sure if BPU should be part of the long-term solution under the next governor,' Sarlo said. Murphy leaves office in January. The Senate approved separate legislation Monday that would require the Board of Public Utilities to study data centers' impact on electricity prices after tabling a Republican attempt to amend it. That bill, which passed the Senate unanimously, now goes to Murphy's desk.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
To prevent blackouts, Trump administration keeps an aging power plant online through summer
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — The U.S. Department of Energy has ordered another power plant, this time an oil and gas plant in Pennsylvania, to keep its turbines running through the hottest summer months as a precaution against electricity shortfalls in the 13-state mid-Atlantic grid. The department's order to the grid operator, PJM Interconnection, regarding the Eddystone power plant just south of Philadelphia on the Delaware River, is the department's second use of federal power under President Donald Trump to require a power plant to keep operating on the mainland United States. Constellation Energy had planned to shut down Eddystone's units 3 and 4 on Saturday, but Trump's Department of Energy ordered the company to continue operating the units until at least Aug. 28. The units can produce a combined 760 megawatts. The department, in its order, cited PJM's growing concerns about power shortfalls amid the shutdown of aging power plants and rising electricity demand. PJM last year approved Constellation's request to shut down the units, but it welcomed the department's order to keep them operating, saying it's a 'prudent, term-limited step' that allows PJM, the department and Constellation to study the longer-term need and viability of Eddystone's units. The department took a similar step last week, ordering Consumers Energy to keep the J.H. Campbell coal-fired power plant open in Michigan past its Saturday retirement. The grid operator there, the Midcontinent Independent System Operator, said the order was unnecessary, that there was no energy emergency there and that there should be enough energy in the region through the summer. An environmental advocacy group, the Delaware Riverkeeper Network, criticized the move to keep Eddystone operating as an "environmental injustice." Shutting down the units would reduce hazardous pollution and carbon emissions from the decades-old facility and help the region meet federal clean air standards for smog, it said.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
To prevent blackouts, Trump administration keeps an aging power plant online through summer
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — The U.S. Department of Energy has ordered another power plant, this time an oil and gas plant in Pennsylvania, to keep its turbines running through the hottest summer months as a precaution against electricity shortfalls in the 13-state mid-Atlantic grid. The department's order to the grid operator, PJM Interconnection, regarding the Eddystone power plant just south of Philadelphia on the Delaware River, is the department's second use of federal power under President Donald Trump to require a power plant to keep operating on the mainland United States. Constellation Energy had planned to shut down Eddystone's units 3 and 4 on Saturday, but Trump's Department of Energy ordered the company to continue operating the units until at least Aug. 28. The units can produce a combined 760 megawatts. The department, in its order, cited PJM's growing concerns about power shortfalls amid the shutdown of aging power plants and rising electricity demand. PJM last year approved Constellation's request to shut down the units, but it welcomed the department's order to keep them operating, saying it's a 'prudent, term-limited step' that allows PJM, the department and Constellation to study the longer-term need and viability of Eddystone's units. The department took a similar step last week, ordering Consumers Energy to keep the J.H. Campbell coal-fired power plant open in Michigan past its Saturday retirement. The grid operator there, the Midcontinent Independent System Operator, said the order was unnecessary, that there was no energy emergency there and that there should be enough energy in the region through the summer. An environmental advocacy group, the Delaware Riverkeeper Network, criticized the move to keep Eddystone operating as an "environmental injustice." Shutting down the units would reduce hazardous pollution and carbon emissions from the decades-old facility and help the region meet federal clean air standards for smog, it said. The Associated Press Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
