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Surging demand for electricity, soaring electricity prices, and risks to supply chains are creating an imperative for innovative ways to control energy costs, and increase resilience by diversifying commercial and […]
The post C&I Sector Must Diversify Power Sources to Lessen Costs, Supply Chain Risks appeared first on POWER Magazine.
A sweeping new proposed rule published in the Federal Register by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on April 6 establishes new nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions budgets that will require fossil fuel–fired power plants in 25 states to participate in an allowance-based ozone season trading program starting in 2023.
The proposal, which builds on the agency’s existing Cross-State Air Pollution Rule (CSAPR), seeks to implement the EPA’s 2015 National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for ozone of 70 parts per billion by imposing federal implementation plans (FIPs) on these states using its authority under the “good neighbor” requirements of the Clean Air Act. States affected are: Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.
The EPA’s existing CSAPR ozone-season NOx program limits NOx emissions from fossil fuel–fired electric generating units (EGUs) in 22 states during the ozone season, which runs from May 1 through September 30.…
In a finding that is likely to boost controversy over the future of U.S. energy policy, a comprehensive study of the full levelized cost of energy (LCOE) from various sources of electricity conducted by the University of Texas (UT) at Austin’s Energy Institute found that wind turbines and natural gas combined cycle power plants (CCPPs) provide the least expensive options for new generation across a large majority of U.S. counties.
The study, “New U.S. Power Costs: By County, with Environmental Externalities,” is part of an ongoing initiative at UT that attempts to take a “holistic approach” to calculating both direct and indirect costs of generating electricity.
The Institute has placed the results online in the form of an interactive tool that allows comparison of the LCOE for various options and adjustment of fuel costs. (The tool also makes some assumptions about the suitability of certain generation in various locations; for example, there are areas that would be unsuitable for fossil plants for environmental reasons.)…