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Sempra Energy Exits U.S. Renewables Sector

April 25, 2019

Sempra Energy on April 22 marked its complete exit from the U.S. renewables business as it completed the sale of 724 MW of operating wind generation and battery assets to American Electric Power (AEP) for $ 1.05 billion.

The San Diego–headquartered utility holding company, which says it has the largest U.S. customer base, said the move is consistent with a strategy to pay down debt and redeploy capital to support the growth of Sempra Energy in North America.

The transaction on Monday is the latest in a series of divestitures over the past year to raise $ 2.5 billion in proceeds. As Sempra Energy CEO Jeff Martin noted in a February fourth quarter earnings call, it stems from a “deep strategic process” led by the company’s board to exit fossil-fired generation as well as renewable generation that began as early as 2014.

“[I]t’s very important to make sure we’re doing all the right things to advance the clean energy transition, but it’s also important that we’re doing that in a way which is thoughtful around price, diversity of supply in a balanced energy program,” Martin said.…

Energy Secretary Wants to Fast-Track U.S. LNG Export Projects

March 11, 2019

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Exports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the U.S. continue to rise, as the use of natural gas for power generation increases in countries such as China, South Korea, Japan, and Mexico. Data from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) shows that four U.S. LNG export facilities combined to ship 483 LNG cargoes in 2018, a whopping 84% increase from the 262 export cargoes in 2017.

Energy Secretary Rick Perry, in a March 11 interview with CNBC at CERAWeek in Houston, Texas, talked about the importance of LNG as the U.S. competes globally in the energy sector. “Whether it’s our technology on the renewable side, whether it’s small modular reactors in the nuclear field, obviously the fossil fuels as well. But all of it plays a role,” Perry told CNBC’s Brian Sullivan. “America is a leader in the energy sector, all of those sectors, not just in the fossil fuel side. Obviously, that’s really changed with our ability to deliver [LNG to] 34 countries, now five continents of LNG.…

States Take Lead with Plans for 100% Carbon-Free Energy

March 7, 2019

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Minnesota and Wisconsin recently joined the list of states aiming for a 100% clean-energy future, while some Illinois lawmakers are pushing for not only carbon-free power, but also 100% renewable energy.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) was the latest to announce a set of policy proposals designed to lead his state’s electricity sector to 100% clean energy by 2050. “Climate change is an existential threat,” Walz said in a statement on March 4. “We must take immediate action. If Washington won’t lead, Minnesota will.”

Xcel Energy, Minnesota’s largest utility, has already publicly committed to generate 100% of its electricity from clean energy by 2050. Xcel operates three nuclear reactors in Minnesota—the dual-unit 1,100-MW Prairie Island facility and the single-unit 671-MW Monticello plant. Nuclear power fits the bill as a carbon-free source, but none of the three units is currently licensed to operate beyond 2034.

In neighboring Wisconsin, Gov. Tony Evers (D) also wants to require his state’s utilities to be carbon-free by 2050.…

Prepare for More Distributed Energy Resources [PODCAST]

February 7, 2019

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Paul DeCotis, senior director in West Monroe Partners’ Energy and Utilities practice, was a guest on The POWER Podcast. West Monroe, in partnership with Greentech Media, conducted a survey of more than 1,700 utility customers, 140 utility executives and managers, and more than two dozen regulators in major markets across North America. Its findings were released in a report titled Planning for a Distributed Energy Future.

Interestingly, 92% of survey respondents said they had distributed energy resources (DERs) on their system, up from 80% when the survey was conducted three years ago. However, DeCotis noted during the podcast that DERs are not yet universally economical throughout the U.S.

“Not all states and regulatory jurisdictions handle DERs the same. It’ll be a few years before we see very significant DER penetrations uniformly across the country,” DeCotis said. “DERs still need substantial backup generation because utilities have the obligation to serve load and be the provider of last resort, so the industry will develop cautiously in some parts of the country until regulations become more certain and incentives become more mature,” he added.…

In Energy Policy Pivot, France Will Shutter 14 Nuclear Reactors

November 30, 2018

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France will shut down 14 of its 58 nuclear reactors by 2035 as well its remaining four coal power plants by 2022, French President Emmanuel Macron said November 27 in a lengthy speech that sought to clarify the country’s future energy direction.

According to the World Nuclear Association, France’s nuclear power share has steadily expanded since 1974, just after the first oil shock. However, France has pondered reducing nuclear’s share of its total generating mix from about 75% since 2012, when former President François Hollande ran on an election pledge to cut the nuclear share to 50% by 2025.

In 2014, the the lower house of France’s parliament passed the so-called “Energy Transition for Green Growth” bill, which set a nuclear cap at 63.2 GWe, which meant reducing nuclear’s share to 50% by 2025. In 2015, the Senate amended the bill to remove the 63.2-GW nuclear cap, but that same year, the National Assembly approved a new bill reinstating the cap.…

Midterms a Mixed Bag for State Energy Ballot Measures

November 10, 2018

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The midterm elections yielded mixed results for power-related matters across the U.S.

Voters in Arizona shot down a measure that would have expanded the state’s renewable portfolio standard (RPS) to 50% by 2030, but voters in Nevada overwhelmingly backed a similar measure, adding it to a growing list of states that have sought 50% RPS levels.

In Colorado, voters defeated a measure to limit drilling for oil and natural gas on state-owned land. In Washington State, voters thwarted a consequential statewide initiativeto impose a fee on emissions of carbon dioxide. And in California, voters defeated a measure that would have allowed state lawmakers to pass a spending plan for revenue from the state’s cap-and-trade program for greenhouse gases (GHGs) from 2024 onward.

Arizona Overwhelmingly Rejects Prop 127

Proposition 127, the “Renewable Energy Standards Initiative” sought approval for a constitutional amendment that required Arizona electric utilities to acquire a certain percentage of power from renewables each year, with that percentage increasing annually—from 12% in 2020 to 50% in 2030.…