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State Regulators Warn of More Delays at Vogtle

November 26, 2019

The post State Regulators Warn of More Delays at Vogtle appeared first on POWER Magazine.

A filing by Georgia Public Service Commission (PSC) staff and consultants on Nov. 22 said Georgia Power’s expansion of the Vogtle nuclear power plant is falling further behind schedule. The filing Friday came the same day that the utility announced the sixth and last containment ring for the two-unit expansion was set in place.

The PSC filing said the current deadlines for commercial operation of two new reactors are “significantly challenged” amid construction delays. The filing also noted safety risks for workers at the site near Waynesboro, Georgia. Georgia Power has said more than 8,000 workers are currently at the job site.

The Vogtle project is several years behind its original schedule—completion had been expected as early as 2016 when the project was first announced more than a decade ago—and billions of dollars over budget. Officials with Georgia Power and its parent Southern Co. have in the past year pointed to November 2021 and November 2022 as expected dates for the new reactors to enter commercial operation.…

New York Latest State to Set 100% Carbon-Free Goal, with Increased Renewables

January 18, 2019

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New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) is continuing his push for renewable energy in the state, as the governor on Jan. 15 announced an initiative for New York to achieve 100% carbon-free power generation by 2040. Cuomo’s “Green New Deal,” part of his 2019 Justice Agenda and as part of the state budget, calls for an increase in deployments of renewable energy projects, including offshore wind.

New York is the third state, behind Hawaii and California, to commit to a full portfolio of renewable power generation. The Sierra Club said more than 100 U.S. cities and counties also have committed to all renewable energy, and about a half dozen already have met that goal.

“Let us set the goal, 100% clean power by 2040, highest in the United States of America, a climate action council to eliminate the state’s carbon footprint,” Cuomo said in his State of the State address at the state capitol in Albany. He said he wants groups to “come up with the next generation of clean technology and train our workforce for those jobs.”…

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.…

Enviros Dispute State Findings on Coal Ash Spill

October 8, 2018

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Environmental officials in North Carolina say their tests show that coal ash released from Duke Energy’s Sutton power plant in Wilmington during flooding from Hurricane Florence has not had a negative impact on the Cape Fear River.

The state’s Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) on October 4 said its test results on water samples collected on four different days following the hurricane aligned with results from Duke Energy’s water tests. Environmentalists, though, said the state tests are not conclusive because they did not include tests on the sediment at the bottom of the river.

The DEQ said heavy metals found in the river water are within state standards. Paige Sheehan, a Duke Energy spokeswoman, in a statement said the state’s test results show “that Cape Fear River quality is not harmed by Sutton plant operations.” A DEQ spokeswoman said the state did find slightly elevated levels of copper in the river, but said they are not a threat to public health.…